Author: Chakrian Hovsep

PRESIDENT KOCHARYAN EXTENDS CONDOLENCES TO SOFIKO CHIAURELI’S FAMILY

armradio.am
03.03.2008 17:40

President Robert Kocharyan sent a telegram of condolence to the family
of actress Sofiko Chiaureli, President’s Press Office reported. The
message reads,

"With great feeling of sorrow I learnt about the death of the great
actress of theatre and cinema, a friend of the Armenian people,
People’s Actress of Armenia Sofiko Chiaureli.

The beautiful images she skillfully created will be long remembered
by numerous admirers of Sofiko Chiaureli’s talent."

For Immediate Release
eni18189.htm

Armenia: Police Beat Peaceful Protesters in Yerevan

State of Emergency Restricts Civil Liberties and Free Press

(New York, March 2, 2008) – Armenian police on March 1 used excessive
force and violence to disperse demonstrators protesting peacefully
against recent election results, Human Rights Watch said today.
Following the crackdown on demonstrators, President Robert Kocharian
decreed a state of emergency in Yerevan, the capital, until March 20,
2008. There was a heavy police presence overnight in central Yerevan.

According to Arminfo news agency, the police have surrounded and sealed
off the opposition news agency A1+, preventing its employees from
entering or leaving the building.

"The Armenian government should refrain from using violence and make
clear that it won’t tolerate excessive use of force by police," said
Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
"A political crisis doesn’t give the government carte blanche in how it
responds to demonstrators."

Several witnesses told Human Rights Watch that at 6.30 a.m. on March 1,
Armenian special police forces violently dispersed a rally protesting
against alleged electoral fraud that had entered its 11th day on
Yerevan’s Freedom Square, beating demonstrators with truncheons and iron
bars. Some were fleeing when police attacked them. Dozens are reported
to have sustained severe injuries and more than 100 protestors were
arrested. Armenia’s first president Levon Ter-Petrosian, who was the
main opposition challenger in last month’s presidential poll, remains
under effective house arrest as police cordoned off his home. Also on
March 1, at least six opposition leaders were detained for organizing
illegal demonstrations.

Kocharian’s press office reported that under the state of emergency
public gatherings and strikes will be banned and freedom of movement as
well as non-government public broadcasts will be severely curtailed.
Internet and satellite reception has been cut in Yerevan.

Later in the morning, protesters gathered in front of the French Embassy
in downtown Yerevan. Their numbers grew substantially during the day, as
did the police presence. A demonstrator told Human Rights Watch that
police were equipped with rubber truncheons, electric-shock devices, and
water cannons. The rally was still continuing in front of the embassy
when the state of emergency was announced after police were reported by
news organizations to have fired in the air to disperse the
demonstrators.

Opposition demonstrations followed the February 19 presidential
election, after the Central Election Commission declared Prime Minister,
Serzh Sargsian the winner with 53 percent of the vote. According to
official tallies, opposition challenger Ter-Petrosian won 21.5 percent
of the vote. Tens of thousands of Ter-Petrosian supporters took to the
streets in downtown Yerevan on February 20 to protest the declared
election results and what they believed to have been electoral fraud
( ni18128.htm). The protests
continued peacefully on Freedom Square for the next 10 days, with some
demonstrators camping out on the square in tents.

The mayor of Yerevan previously called on the opposition to end the
rally on Freedom Square, as the demonstrators had no permit. The Yerevan
mayor’s office issued a statement on February 25 saying the protests
were unauthorized and urging demonstrators to call a halt to them. Two
days later the Armenian police issued a statement urging an end to the
demonstrations.

At about 6:30 a.m. on March 1, a few hundred opposition supporters were
in their tents when police arrived and started to disperse them.
Information about approaching interior troops began to reach
demonstrators shortly after 6:00 a.m. A 30-year-old eyewitness, who
requested anonymity for fear of retribution, told Human Rights Watch
that several rows of Special Forces in riot armor, with helmets, plastic
shields and rubber truncheons, started approaching from the left and
right sides of Freedom Square. The witness said that police, without
prior warning, sprayed water and descended on the demonstrators, using
rubber truncheons and electric prods.

"People started running towards Northern Avenue, but were chased by the
police," the witness told Human Rights Watch.

The witness was among those who fled, running together with his father
and younger brother, but police caught him from behind and beat him on
his back and head with a rubber truncheon.

"I momentarily lost consciousness after a blow on the head, and fell,"
he told Human Rights Watch. "When I came to my senses, my brother was
carrying me away from the square. My head was bleeding and my hat was
all covered in blood."

The witness required seven stitches on the right side of his forehead.
He sustained bruises to his right hand, back and legs. Fearing arrest he
refrained from going to a hospital and sought medical assistance from a
private doctor. His father and brother also sustained cuts and bruises
on their backs and heads, but did not require urgent medical assistance.

An Armenian human rights advocate told Human Rights Watch of several
similar descriptions of the police action given to her by other
witnesses.

The police operation lasted for about 15 to 20 minutes, but as news
about it spread, more people started heading towards the square. At
least two eyewitnesses described separately to Human Rights Watch how
police attacked, beat, and detained groups of 20 to 30 people who
attempted to gather near the square.

A member of parliament from the opposition Heritage Party, Zaruhi
Postanjian, told Human Rights Watch that she arrived at the Yerevan
Central Police Station around 9:00 a.m. to see police cars bringing
detainees to the station, transferring them to other vehicles, and
taking them to different locations. She stayed there for an hour and
counted at least 100 detainees. According to Postanjian, two ambulances
were also parked in front of the station and in one of them she saw a
young man who appeared unconscious and had blood stains on his face and
body. She also described a child she believed to be between 10 and 12
years old, bearing clear marks from beatings. Human Rights Watch could
not confirm the nature or cause of their injuries.

According to Avetik Ishkhanian of Armenia’s Helsinki Committee, police
arrested several opposition leaders, including Aram Manukian, Alexander
Arzumanian, Hrant Bagratian, Vahagn Haiotsian, and Vahagn Khachatrian,
charging them with the criminal offence of organizing an unsanctioned
public rally. According to the opposition news website Lragir, Aram
Manukian and Hrant Bagratian were released later during the day.

Postanjian told Human Rights Watch that in one case a journalist, Gagig
Shanshan, was arrested and held in Zeitun district police station in
Yerevan, but several hours after his arrest his lawyer still had no
access to him.

"Even in a state of emergency, those in detention and facing criminal
charges are entitled to due process rights, and should have access to a
lawyer," said Cartner.

Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to which
Armenia is a party, set out the safeguards which should accompany those
deprived of their liberty, and access to a lawyer is one of those
safeguards.

Government information sources showed police footage of arms stockpiles
that allegedly were discovered at Freedom Square after the demonstration
was dispersed, including truncheons, guns, grenades, and gas capsules.
The report was vehemently denied by the opposition.

"The Armenian government prides itself on having a democratic image,"
said Cartner. "Beating peaceful demonstrators is inconsistent with that
image and violates its obligations under human rights law."

To read Human Rights Watch’s news release on election-related violence
in Armenia, please visit:

eni18128.htm

For more information, please contact:

In Tblisi, Giorgi Gogia (Georgian, Russian, English): +995-77-42-12-35
(mobile);

In New York, Rachel Denber (English, Russian, French): +1-212-216-1266;
or +1-917-916-1266 (mobile)

ROBERT WEXLER SUPPORTS CANDIDACY OF BARACK OBAMA

Azeri Press Agency
March 2 2008
Azerbaijan

Washington. Husniyya Hasanova-APA. Robert Wexler, co-chair of the
Congress’ working group on Turkey announced that he will support the
candidacy of Obama in presidential elections in 2008, Wexler told APA
US bureau that Barack Obama can bring positive changes to policy and
change the atmosphere in Washington.

He mentioned that Obama stated several times that he will carry out
negotiations with Iran and North Korea. Congressman did not agree
with opinion that Obama supports Armenians. He stated that Obama has
not met with the members of Turkish Community yet.

"Bill Clinton and George Bush also stated that they will recognize
so-called Armenian genocide, but they did not do so. Presidential
candidates can give promises, but they will take several factors into
account which can cause damage to country’s interests. US respects
to Turkey," he said.

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION ENDS PROTEST AFTER STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED

Hurriyet
March 2 2008
Turkey

Armenia’s opposition ended a standoff with riot police in the capital
Yerevan on Sunday after the government declared a state of emergency
and mobilised the army in response to the worst unrest in a decade,
Reuters reported. Violent clashes killed 8 protesters and left 33
police injured.

Authorities imposed a state of emergency late Saturday following
clashes between riot police and protesters that also left 33 police
injured. A spokeswoman for the foreign ministry told AFP, seven
civilians and one police officer had been killed. One police officer
was in critical condition and 17 had been hospitalised for gunshot
wounds, she said.

"The police are calling on all citizens to be careful, to hold
back and to obey all the rules of the state of emergency," a police
statement read. A dozen armoured personnel carriers and about 100
soldiers stood guard outside the main government building and foreign
ministry. Several tanks could be seen at the scene of the nighttime
clashes.

The last protestors dispersed during the night, but burnt-out cars,
stones and poles still littered the streets. The city was calm Sunday
and shops and cafes around Yerevan were open as residents walked and
examined the damage done overnight.

The state of emergency will be in effect in the capital until March
20 under a decree signed by President Robert Kocharian. The state of
emergency bans public demonstrations and requires the media to only
publish or broadcast information from government sources. Armenias
National Assembly voted overnight to support the measure and called
in a decree for "wisdom and restraint… so that life in the country
can return quickly to normal."

The violence began early Saturday when riot police cleared a
central square where protestors had been camped since a February 19
presidential election won by Kocharians ally, Prime Minister Serzh
Sarkisian. The runner-up, opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian,
said he had been placed under house arrest, although the government
denied this. Between 6,000 and 8,000 demonstrators quickly regrouped
in another square. When police tried to disperse them after nightfall
the protestors fought back with petrol bombs, sticks and stones.

Police used tear gas and fired live ammunition into the air.

Protestors finally left the streets after an appeal by their leaders.

A police spokesman said eight police officers had suffered gunshot
wounds during the unrest and that several were in a serious
condition. Several protesters could be seen with head injuries and
burns, but there was no official information on casualties among
the demonstrators.

Ter-Petrosians spokesman blamed authorities for the unrest. "The
authorities are entirely responsible for these clashes," spokesman
Arman Musinian said. "We said that for the situation to be resolved
peacefully it was necessary for Levon Ter-Petrosian to be able to
speak with his supporters."

The protesters had massed in Yerevan Saturday for an 11th consecutive
day protesting alleged rigging of the presidential vote — which
Europes main election monitoring organisation said "mostly" met
international standards.

In a statement Saturday, the current chairman of the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Finnish Foreign Minister
Ilkka Kanerva, condemned the use of force against demonstrators.

Official results gave 52.9 percent of the vote to Sarkisian and 21.5
percent to Ter-Petrosian.

EU SENDS ENVOY TO MEDIATE IN ARMENIAN UNREST

Thaindian.com
March 3 2008
Thailand

Moscow/Yerevan, March 3 (DPA) The European Union Monday offered to
mediate in the post-election crisis and violent unrest in Armenia that
has left at least eight dead in the Caucasus republic, local media
reported. EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, after speaking with
Armenian President Robert Kocharian Sunday, has asked his special envoy
for the south Caucasus, Peter Semneby, to go to Yerevan on his behalf.

Eight people, including a policeman, were killed in clashes Sunday
between police and opposition protestors that led the president to
declare a 20-day state of emergency.

Witnesses said that Armenian security forces used truncheons, fired
into the air and released tear gas to disperse 15,000 protestors
against the alleged government rigging of Feb 19 presidential
elections.

Local media reported dozens of injured opposition supporters of
defeated presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian, while the police
said 33 of its members were hurt.

Armoured vehicles and troops with assault rifles were patrolling
the capital Yerevan after outgoing President Kocharian declared a
state of emergency. The declaration was upheld by parliament, which
is led by the winner in the presidential election, Prime Minister
Serzh Sarkisian.

The small Caucasus state of 3.2 million has emerged as a strategically
important region, lying along gas routes from the energy-rich Caspian
Sea region to Europe and being a close partner of Iran.

Western powers fear instability in the region could disrupt gas routes
and further undermine a fragile security situation with Armenia’s
neighbours Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Sunday’s violence was the worst in Armenia’s post-Soviet history,
causing Ter-Petrosian to call for a 20-day halt to demonstrations in
a radio address blared through loudspeakers on cars driven through
the city centre.

Ter-Petrosian refuses to accept official results, which showed him
with 21.43 percent of the vote, far behind Prime Minister Sarkisian
who won just over the 50-percent hurdle needed to avoid a run-off
with the second-place finisher.

The opposition has lodged an appeal with the Constitutional Court
to invalidate the results, complaining of mass voting violations,
including the beating and kidnapping of its supporters at the polls.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s
election-monitoring arm declared the elections mostly in adherence
with international standards.

State of emergency declared in Armenia

armradio.am
02.03.2008 11:48

On March 1st Armenian President Robert Kocharian signed a decree on
declaring a state of emergency in Armenia.

"To eliminate the danger threatening the Constitutional order of the
country and for protecting people’s rights and legal interests, being
guided by the Constitution I decide:

1. To announce emergency situation in Yerevan from March 1st for 20 days.

2. To let the governance of the regulation and implementation of urgent
issues as well as the elimination of circumstances of the emergency
situation to the President of Armenia.

3. To let the Police of the Republic of Armenia and the Defense Ministry
ensure the legal regime of the state of emergency.

4. To establish the following limitations for ensuring legal regime of the
emergency situation

* Banning meetings, rallies, marches and other mass events.
* Banning strikes and other activities suspending the work of
establishments.
* In case of necessity the law enforcement bodies will limit the movement of
transport means and conduct examination.
* Mass media will publish informationprovided only by state establishments.
* Without the permission of relevant state bodies it is banned to spread
leaflets or other means of political propaganda.
* Temporary suspension of the activity of non-governmental organizations
which impede the elimination of circumstances causing the emergency
situation.
* Deporting people not living in the capital who violate the legal regime of
emergency situation on their own means or in case of not having means by the
state budget in condition of compensation.

5. The Government of the Republic of Armenia must undertake necessary
measures for ensuring the implementation of this decree.

6. The decree comes into the force from the moment of informing about it.

Armenian police disperse protest

The Age, Australia
March 1 2008

Armenian police on Saturday dispersed opposition protestors from the
capital Yerevan’s Freedom Square, sweeping away a tent camp after 11
days of non-stop demonstrations against alleged vote rigging.

Hundreds of riot police cleared the square by Yerevan’s opera house of
a hard core of some 1,500 protesters, who had been camping there ever
since the February 19 presidential election in which Prime Minister
Serzh Sarkisian defeated opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian.

Police refused to comment on the fate of the protesters and chased
media away from the square as army trucks arrived to take away the
makeshift tent camp.

According to Ter-Petrosian’s headquarters, the opposition leader
narrowly evaded arrest when police and anti-riot units swarmed through
and surrounded the square.

Ter-Petrosian, a former president of this mountainous ex-Soviet
republic, vowed defiance.

"Today at 3:00 pm (1100 GMT) we will try to continue our peaceful
protest action," he said in a statement.

Police could be seen beating some protestors and appeared to haul
away others, although there was no immediate information about the
number of arrests. Several dozen people could be seen hurling abuse
at the officers.

Ter-Petrosian ran on an anti-corruption platform and alleges massive
vote fraud in the election.

Earlier this week he had described the protests, which attracted tens
of thousands of people at their peak, as "a pure, classic bourgeois
democratic revolution."

The Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) have called for restraint. OSCE observers said
earlier that the election "mostly" met international standards.

However, the opposition claimed major fraud in the poll count and
accused Sarkisian of using state resources to promote his candidacy,
while activists campaigning for Ter-Petrosian across the country were
beaten up.

Though both the round-the-clock tent camp and massive daytime rallies
remained peaceful, the authorities had been warning that their patience
was wearing thin.

Earlier President Robert Kocharian, who backed Sarkisian in the
election, described the protests as an attempt at an illegal power grab
and promised the government’s response would be "decisive and firm."

Sarkisian has tried to reach out to opponents and on Friday signed a
coalition deal with the third-placed candidate, Artur Baghdasarian,
who heads the Rule of Law Party, which drew instant angry criticism
from the protesters.

Sarkisian also said that a deal could soon be made with another
opposition leader, Vahan Hovannisian, who heads the nationalist
party Dashnaktsutiun.

NKR Prime Minister met with students

Azat Artsakh Daily,
Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]

29-02-2008

On February 27th in governmnet the NKR Prime Minister Ara Harutyunian
met with a group of students of economic faculty of Artsakh State
University.

The meeting took place under the request of the future economists,
who expressed desire "from first hand" to hear about the policy,
which that day NKR governmnet carried out in economic sphere. The
Prime Minister welcomed their initiative, noting that in such way
the students had an opportunity to receive exact data on the state
projects from direct authors.

A.Harutyunian in reply to questions of the visitors, represented the
basic programs which had been approved and were realized in economic
sphere of the republic. In 2008 great investments would be done by the
state, particularly in the spheres of flat construction, agriculture,
small and average commercial activities.

Welcoming once again the initiative of the students, A.Harutyunian
assured, that such meetings would be periodical.

Minister of economic development Benik Babaian assisted at the meeting.

EMPOWERED PERSON OF LEVON TER-PETROSIAN DECLINES HIS APPLICATION

Noyan Tapan
Feb 29 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 29, NOYAN TAPAN. Martin Gharibian, an empowered
person of Levon Ter-Petrosian, a president running for the post of
the RA President, in the Polling Station 33/78 of Gyumri handed in an
application on February 19 about giving out electoral bribe from cars
without a state registration number in the vicinity of the polling
station. He gave an explanation in the investigation department of
the region of Shirak that he has written the application taking a
conversation heard from outside as basis, he himself has not seen
anything and cannot introduce any fact.

According to the message of the RA Prosecutor General’s Office,
"M. Gharibian stated that the elections have passed normally in
the above-mentioned polling station, without violations and that he
would no doubt make notes in the register in case of noticing such
things. M. Gharibian also stated that after the elections he asked his
relatives and friends, however, they all stated that nobody has offered
them electoral bribe and that they have voted by their own will.

With the prepared materials a decision was made in the investigation
department of the region of Shirak of the RA Police on February 24
on declining the filing of the criminal case.

According to the same source, Seyran Haroyan, an inhabitant of the
Haghtanak village, was brought a charge against on the indications
of Part 4 Articla 258 of the RA Criminal Code. The criminal case was
sent to the Criminal Court of the city of Yerevan on February 28.

It was grounded by the preliminary investigation that at about 21
o’clock on January 30 Seyran Haroyan, being in a drunken state,
entered the pre-electoral headquarters of RA presidential candidate
Serge Sargsian situated in the same village with a sporting-gun, where
he shot at the TV and in the direction of the wall, demanded to call
the heads of the headquarters, used bad language without address and
damaged the work of the headquarters.

BURGAS CITY COUNCIL RECOGNIZED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.02.2008 17:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On February 28, the city council of Burgas,
Bulgaria, with a vote 43 to 2, recognized the Armenia Genocide,
the RA MFA press office said.

The resolution supposes to mark April 24 as Commemoration Day of
Armenian Genocide Victims.

Burgas city council also intends to urge the Bulgarian parliament to
recognize the Genocide.