Author: Eduard Nalbandian

MAYORAL ELECTIONS AND TOMATO GROWERS
Gevorg Darbinyan

HETQ politics
2009/04/06 | 19:07

Most likely the Heritage Party will not share its seats on the various
electoral committees with the HAK (Armenian National Committee)
during the upcoming May 31 Yerevan municipal council elections. The
party led by Raffi Hovhannisyan has decided to adopt a strict stance
of neutrality in the elections and to not assist HAK in any practical
manner. Thus, it aims not to lose its position in the oppositional
field and use the fact that it is a parliamentary presence, its only
advantage with respect to HAK.

This is the only lever with which Heritage can still keep HAK in
a certain degree of dependence and oblige HAK to sit down and come
to terms with it. Nevertheless, after the decision by Heritage to
not even share its committee seats, HAK isn’t in a rush to carry
out the orders of the regime in terms of that party, to accuse it of
unprincipled manifestations of behavior. These manifestations came to
light immediately after Heritage expressed its intent to participate
in the Yerevan city council elections with an independent ticket.

In essence, despite the fact that seven political forces will be
participating in the elections, in practical terms, two poles have
been created. On the one hand there is the opposition, in the guise
of HAK. Then there is the regime, represented by the four coalition
parties, which have two matters to pursue.

First, for each, to garner the maximum number of transient votes
whose sum will guarantee a council majority. At the very least, these
forces must receive enough votes in the council elections to arrive
at a relative picture that totally portrays the relative distribution
of power in the parliament.

This will also serve as an indirect method to legitimize and verify the
officially recorded results in last year’s presidential elections. In
these conditions, it can’t be ruled out that HAK will garner more votes
than the HHK (Republican Party of Armenia) does outright. However,
the ARF, PAP and OYP, by forming a coalition with the HHK in the
"legislative" body of the municipality, the council, will effectively
hinder the HAK as a minority; in the same manner it hinders Heritage
in the parliament.

This tactic to win the game through "temporary defeat" is conducive
for the regime. On the one hand, it will show that it accepts
the overwhelming advantage that the opposition leader has over its
candidate for the mayor. On the other, with the help of its coalition
partners, it will push through the election of Beglaryan for mayor
and thus solve its problem.

Naturally, in this case, HAK’s dependency on its coalition partners
increases. There will be compensation to pay in return for services
rendered if the operation is achieved through united efforts. The
other parties in the coalition will definitely make their demands
known to the HHK and to the president.

>From the start, Serzh Sargsyan was trying to avert such dependency,
by attempting to utilize the election for the governing bodies of
Yerevan in order to achieve the status of a more independent player.

The unexpected move by Ter-Petrosyan to contest the elections forces
the HHK to temporarily give up on that maximalist plan and fall
back on the services of the pro-regime forces. To avert this trap,
HAK must not only score a victory against the HHK but also against
all the coalition forces in unison.

In the absence of the Heritage Party, the maximalist program sought
by the coalition forces to destroy the votes of the opposition would
appear to be unrealistic.

The second issue is to destroy the votes of the opposition to the
extent possible and not to give them serious opportunities to protest
the results of the elections. The governing authorities understand
very well that this issue will be practically impossible to resolve
via the coalition parties because the election, rather than a contest
among seven parties, is more a contest between the regime and the
opposition; between the HAK and all the remaining participants.

In such a set-up, it really doesn’t matter if the regime is represented
by four or fourteen parties before the voters. In this light the
other two seemingly neutral parties, the People’s Party and the
HASK (Socialist Labor Party of Armenia), are in reserve and can be
utilized. The HASK presence on the ticket will be used to create
a degree of confusion on the part of voters if the regime cannot
foil the plans of the opposition to take the elections to a second
round. Then too, this method can be used, if and when necessary,
to surreptitiously register votes casts for HAK to HASK.

What is noteworthy is that the names of representatives of the
government nomenclature, from a few ministries, are to be found on
the HASK ballot.

Against the backdrop of the absence of the Heritage Party, the
role of Tigran Karapetyan and his People’s Party assume greater
importance. Karapetyan can be used as the man of the moment
and fashioned to take over the votes of Heritage, the moderate
opposition. No wonder why Karapetyan states that is Raffi Hovhannisyan
had participated in the elections he could have taken a portion
of his votes. However, this variant of Karapetyan’s can’t be all
that effective when we take into account his political standing and
eccentric character. These serve to dispel more than attract. Perhaps
the authorities won’t feel the need to employ the services of
Karapetyan anyway. However, that isn’t their main problem.

Both HASK and the People’s Party will try to prevent the election
campaign from being placed on a truly political footing. These forces
will probably do all to see to make sure that the rank and file voter
gets the impression that the Yerevan mayor is being elected merely
to repair and clean the streets and control traffic.

Tigran Karapetyan has already started to brainwash the voter along
these lines. During his latest interview he literally shone by spewing
forth a number of populists adages. He declared that Yerevan residents
must have supplementary sources of income and that they should be
growing tomatoes and cucumbers. This doesn’t only mean that growing
tomatoes will be the leitmotif of Karapetyan in the elections. It
will also signify that a new fifth column of tomato growers will
descend on the patriotic political field, whose cornerstones were
laid in the 2008 presidential elections.

FIVE INDIVIDUALS FULLY EXONERATED IN CASES RELATED TO MARCH 1ST EVENTS
Kristine Aghalaryan

2 009/04/03 | 18:45

Court important

90 criminal cases were brought before the courts surrounding the
events of March b1, 2008. As of today, sentences have been handed down
in 87 cases involving 101 individuals of which five have been fully
exonerated and eleven partially. In the case of one individual the
charges have been reduced. Five were issued with fines, thirty-one
were given suspended sentences and the rest were sentenced with
imprisonment.

These are the figures presented by David Avetisian, President of the
Cassation Court’s Criminal Chamber, during a press conference regarding
the court cases resulting from the March 1st incidents. He added that,
"The picture is more or less the same with other cases not linked to
March 1st. Furthermore, the number of those exonerated, either fully
or partially, is more in the March 1st cases than in the others."

"I have carried out specific analyses and have come to the
conclusion that in terms of the execution of penal practice, I see
no differentiation between March 1 cases and any other cases," stated
Mr. Avetisian.

Cassation Court President Arman Mkrtumyan refused to answer question
regarding specific cases, especially those related to the "March 1st
Seven" trials, arguing that they are still pending in the Court of
First Instance and that he had no right to comment on them.

As to sending the case of Sasoun Mikayelyan to the jurisdiction
of Kotayk Marz, Mr. Avetisyan commented that, "On deciding the
jurisdictional matter of the case the scene of the crime was taken
into account. In the case of Sasoun Mikayelyan, the charges brought
against him, that is possessing illegal arms subsequent to March 1,
took place in Kotayk Marz. Had the decision been taken to try the
case in the Kentron and Nork-Marash Court of First Instance, our
government would be facing a problem if the case was brought before
the European Court because there was a jurisdictional violation."

According to Mr. Avetisyan, the splitting up of the "March 1st Seven"
court case was due to its complex and exhaustive nature and that the
court reserves the right, based on Article 28 of the RoA Criminal
Judicial Code and various European Court precedents, to define a
commonsense time frame to complete trial examinations and a limit
on holding people in custody and to divide up the case to ensure a
multi-sided investigation of the evidence.

Variety
March 7 2009

Inside Ring
Le premier cercle (France-Italy)

By JORDAN MINTZER

A TFM Distribution release of an Alter Films, Thelma Films, TF1 Intl.,
TF1 Films Prod., Medusa Film production, in association with Sofica
Valor 7, La Banque Postale Image, with participation of Canal Plus,
CNC. (International sales: TF1 Intl., Paris.) Produced by Alain
Terzian, Christine Gozlan. Executive Producer, Francois-Xavier
Decraene. Directed by Laurent Tuel. Screenplay, Tuel, Simon Moutairou,
Laurent Turner.

With: Jean Reno, Gaspard Ulliel, Vahina Giocante, Sami Bouajila, Isaac
Sharry, Philippe Leroy-Beaulieu.

A handsomely crafted mafioso suspenser that reworks "The Godfather"
in the bars and on the beaches of France’s Cote d’Azur, "Inside
Ring" is high on visual thrills and slightly lower on
originality. Helmer Laurent Tuel’s yarn of a father-son criminal
empire thwarted by a dangerous love interest is a showcase of
strikingly lensed exteriors and action sequences, with credible but
unspectacular performances. Potent sound work and sharp editing also
help to maintain interest, despite a predictable plot. French biz
will be best in ancillary, while Jean Reno could boost chances of
foreign pickups.

Opening newsreel montage recounts the plight of Armenians who
emigrated to France after the 1915 genocide: Most settled into lives
of menial physical labor, while others opted for an underworld of
crime. But beyond this brief explanation, the film fails to give its
gangsters an engaging historic or ethnic background. The only things
these Armenians — who always speak in French — seem to have in
common is their love of flashy cars and all-black attire.

Luckily, the thrills kick in quickly with a beautifully shot car chase
that follows the action at low, realistic angles, as bad boy Anton
(Gaspard Ulliel) steals another Ferrari for his ruthless daddy, local
mob boss Milo (Reno). Beyond car theft, Milo’s family also excels at
home burglary, and when a Riviera villa heist results in one charred
corpse and lots of missing artwork, detective Saunier (Sami Bouajila,
solid and compelling) vows to take down the clan that killed his
partner a decade earlier.

Despite his appearance — slick hair, skintight shirts, expensive
shoes — Anton actually doesn’t care much for his father’s affairs,
and dreams of opening a hotel-cum-horse farm in a nearby village. When
he decides to flee the roost with g.f. Elodie (Vahina Giocante), Milo
refuses to let them go, and the family conflict happens to coincide
with an airport robbery. The extended sequence offers an impressive
display of smoke and mirrors, with gripping pyrotechnics captured in
eerie widescreen by d.p. Laurent Machuel ("Sex Is Comedy"), enhanced
by a range of stark, muted sound effects by Olivier Le Vacon and Cyril
Holtz.

Co-writer/director Tuel ("Children’s Play") reveals a genuine talent
for staging action without overloading on CGI or aggressive
cutting. But his characters — especially the young couple — could
have benefited from some nuance in their dialogue and costumes, as
they seem to be literally wearing their bios on their sleeves. That
Elodie, despite being the family nurse, knows nothing about Milo’s
nefarious activities also strains credulity.

Nice and Nimes location shooting is pure Pastis.

Camera (color, widescreen), Laurent Machuel; editor, Marion Monestier;
music, Alain Kremski; production designer, Carlos Conti; costume
designer, Pascaline Chavanne; sound (Dolby Digital/DTS Digital),
Olivier Le Vacon, Cyril Holtz; visual effects supervisor; Alain
Carsoux; assistant director, Jerome Zadjermann; casting, Gerard
Moulevrier. Reviewed at UGC Cine Cite Les Halles 13, Paris, Mar. 5,
2009. Running time: 94 MIN.

categoryid=31&cs=1

A PARK IN ROME IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE VICTIMS OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

AZG Armenian Daily
31/01/2009

Armenian Genocide

Rome Municipality culture department has taken a decision to dedicate
the Portuence Park of the Italian capital to memory of the victims
of the Armenian Genocide.

"Recognition of the first genocide of the 20th century is very
important to the Armenian community in Rome", on that occasion one
of the committee members said, Asatur Kyuzelian from London told
"Azg" daily.

ARTICLE 301 REMAINS MAJOR THREAT TO FREE SPEECH

Today’s Zaman
Nov 18 2008
Turkey

In spite of an amendment made last May to a penal code article deemed
by the European Union, rights groups and intellectuals to be limiting
freedom of speech, a statement made by the justice minister on Monday
has shown that the modification has not led to any improvement,
law experts say.

The disputed provision, namely Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code
(TCK), was changed in Parliament in May. The article, which has been
used to prosecute a number of writers, including Nobel laureate Orhan
Pamuk, for insulting "Turkishness," was amended to require the justice
minister’s permission before opening a case. However, statements
made by Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Å~^ahin to the Sabah daily show
that the approval requirement has not had a huge impact. Å~^ahin said
the Justice Ministry had approved court cases for 47 out of the 381
applications that have been filed on 301-related charges since the
law was amended.

"If ministerial approval was not needed, all 381 applications would
be in court right now," he said. Å~^ahin added that he decides the
fate of a 301 probe request after consulting with the experienced
judges of the ministry’s criminal affairs department, who conduct
detailed studies into each case.

Å~^ahin also defended his position on granting permission to prosecute
writer Temel Demirer because of his statements on the Armenian
allegations of genocide against Turkey. "This man is saying Turkey
is a murderer state. I am not going to let anyone call my state
a murderer. These [his] expressions are not exercising freedom of
speech: these are humiliating the state, which is exactly what 301
criminalizes," Å~^ahin said.

"There have been 47 permissions. This by itself shows that the Turkish
judiciary is anti-democratic. It shows that people’s right to freedom
of expression is not under state protection," commented Husnu Ondul,
a lawyer and former head of the Human Rights Association (Ä°HD).

Ondul said the figures also show that the amendment has not really made
any difference. "These figures are actually not very different from
before the change. This shows that the change hasn’t made a difference,
that our rights are not under protection and, most importantly and
gravely, that we are in a very bad situation given Å~^ahin’s own
statement that he would not let the state be criticized," he added.

Mithat Sancar, a professor of law, said it did not matter how many
files actually went to court. "What matters is the criteria used
in assessing all of them. Is the permission to try a 301 case being
given according to some objective criteria? Or is it being given in
a more arbitrary fashion?"

"In democracies, citizens have the right to criticize their state. This
is the difference between totalitarian regimes and democracies. It
is in totalitarian regimes that you get in trouble for criticizing
the state," Ondul noted.

Another criticism of Å~^ahin’s remarks was that he had not only given
permission, but also tried the case and made the judgment himself
with the statement "I won’t let anyone call my state a murderer."

Independent news network Bianet’s Erol Onderoglu commented, "Å~^ahin’s
statement is openly a violation of the Turkish Penal Code Article 277,
which criminalizes ‘influencing those performing a judicial duty,’
and Article 288, which criminalizes ‘an attempt at affecting the fair
judicial process’."

He pointed out, "Minister Å~^ahin is not a court, and he is committing
a crime," and called on daring prosecutors to start legal action
against Å~^ahin.

Sancar said Å~^ahin’s comment on the Demirer case raised serious
concern. "How will the judiciary not be affected by his words? He has
violated the first principle he should have adhered to: the principle
that one is innocent until proven guilty. I think these words show how
sincere the justice minister is about protecting freedom of speech. We
should really revisit what the justice minister understands about
democracy and freedom."

Amending 301

The amendment to Article 301 was welcomed by the European Commission
in May, whose members said they were expecting further changes to
ensure that such prosecutions come to an end.

The change made to Article 301 of the penal code was approved with 250
votes for and 65 against amid fierce criticism from the nationalist
opposition. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party),
which dominates the 550-seat Parliament with 340 lawmakers, was the
only party that voted in favor of the amendment, while opposition
parties voted against it.

In addition to requiring the justice minister’s permission to open
a case, the amendment changed the wording of the article making it
a crime to insult the Turkish nation, rather than "Turkishness." It
also reduced the maximum sentence from three years to two.

Although no one has ever been sent to jail on a 301-related charge, the
publicity of such cases has done a great deal of damage to individuals
who were suspects in these trials. Some, such as Armenian-Turkish
editor Hrant Dink, have paid dearly. Dink, who was tried for insulting
the Turkish identity in 2006, was shot dead by a militant nationalist
in January of last year.

–Boundary_(ID_Gk8qyIw/rswhU/G0yOiQLA)–

World Markets Research Centre
Global Insight
October 24, 2008

Armenian Trade Deficit Remains Deep Through September as Exports
Contract

by Venla Sipila

Armenia’s deep external imbalances continue to cause
concern. According to the latest, preliminary data from the country’s
Statistical Service reported by ARKA News, exports in the
January-September period amounted to $813US.8 million, falling by 1.8%
in annual comparison. In a sharp contrast, imports increased by 38.3%
year-on-year (y/y), reaching $3US.0 billion. Thus, the trade deficit
for the first three quarters of the year measured some $2US.2
billion. In September alone, however, exports surged by over 70% from
August, while imports gained nearly 30% month-on-month (m/m).

Significance:The Armenian trade deficit for the January-September
period this year already exceeds last year’s annual total, when the
shortfall amounted to around $2US.1 billion, or 23% of GDP. The trade
imbalance has soared as domestic demand has persistently maintained
very high growth rates, fuelling imports, at the same time as export
potential remains weak. Economic growth should finally start to ease
from double-digit rates, and this will have a moderating impact on
imports. On the other hand, import value will rise as the price of gas
charged by the Russian energy giant Gazprom, the monopoly gas importer
in Armenia, will increase to $154US per 1,000 cubic metres (cm) from
the beginning of April 2009, up from $110US per 1,000 cm this
year. Likely due to price developments in international markets, the
price for next year is lower than earlier sought by Gazprom, but the
increase will nevertheless have a clear upward impact on Armenia’s
import value.

Armenia has previously agreed with Gazprom to bring Armenian gas
prices up to market level by 2011, with a rise to $200US per 1,000 cm
planned for 2010. The trade deficit further continues to put pressure
on the overall current account position, which leaves Armenia
vulnerable to external shocks, as financing of the deficit is
dependent on investment and transfer inflows. Given the current
increased international risks related to availability of financing in
particular, it is important for Armenia to stay firmly on its
well-started reform course, in order to strengthen its export-earnings
capacity and thus, its potential to bring its external balances onto a
more sustainable path.

U.S. WESTERN DIOCESE BUILDS A COURT THAKS TO THE DONATIONS OF THE FAITHFUL

Noyan Tapan

Au g 15, 2008

NEW YORK, AUGUST 15, ARMENIANS TODAY – NOYAN TAPAN. The U.S. Western
Diocese of Armenian Apostolic Church was able to create a wonderful
facility for our faithful especially the children. This initiative came
true thanks to the generous donation of Mrs. Jean Barsam in the amount
of ,000, made in the memory of her late husband Mr. Vardkes Barasam,

Mr. David Shahpazian from Fowler also made a generous donation in
the amount of ,400 towards the installation of Basketball Goals in
the court. The Office of the Western Diocese expresses its sincere
appreciation to these exemplary and generous faithful for their
God-pleasing efforts.

HOW LONG ARE WE GOING TO SUFFER DEFEATS IN EUROPE?

Vardan Grigoryan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on June 26, 2008
Armenia

As we know, in the report on the "Activity of the Democratic
Institutions in Azerbaijan", the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe touched upon the ill-famed Resolution of the
UN General Assembly concerning the March 1 developments, along
with holding discussions on human rights and freedoms. Thus, the
unilateral pro-Azerbaijani document viewing the NKR people’s fight for
self-determination as the occupation of the Azerbaijani territories
was considered by PACE, another international tribunal.

The amendment proposed by British MP Edward O’Hara was not approved.

According to him, Azerbaijan impeded the activities of the commission
studying the situation of the Armenian monuments in the territory
Nakhijevan.

The ridicule went so far that the foul language of the well-prepared
Azeri delegates drove French Parliamentarian Francoise Rochebloine
out of his temper.

In response to the false statement saying "the Armenians are settlers",
F. Rochebloine announced, "If we deny the existence of the Armenian
people in that territory since pre-historic times, there will hardly
be any hope for progress. We must be able to face the truth."

A question arises as to how long the delegates representing Armenia
in different international tribunals are going to demonstrate weakness
to the increasing political and propaganda pressures of our aggressive
neighbors.

Accounting for their own weakness by Turkey’s powerful support to
Azerbaijan in the debates held periodically in different international
tribunals, our delegates not only conceal the truth but also consider
society ignorant.

It is well-known that both Turkey and the Turkish lobbying do
not, mildly speaking, stand out in terms of their success in the
international and especially European tribunals. On the contrary, the
European political circles and the public at large have a somewhat
cool and partially hostile attitude to any initiative undertaken
by Turkey. Besides, there is a kind of sympathy for Armenia and the
Armenian people in the same circles.

So, what’s the matter? Why, for instance, do our singers (who are not
more skilled in comparison with the Turkish or Azerbaijani singers)
win more sympathy among the Europeans while representing Armenia during
the Eurovision contest? Whereas the situation with the politicians
is just the contrary; they are incapable of holding debates with the
Turks and Azeris and protecting the interests of their own people
even in the most elementary matters.

The first reason is that our country has no active state institutions
or public opinion mechanisms enabling the state and society to replace
the Armenian representatives who, for many years, have suffered
failures in the PACE, the Parliamentary Assemblies of NATO or OSCE
and other international tribunals.

The second reason is that the responsibility of elaborating the
country’s foreign policy first of all lies upon the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. However, our Foreign Ministry was not consistent enough
during the recent years to elaborate certain concepts substantiating
the pro-Armenian viewpoints. On the contrary, Armenia spared no effort
to be more constructive on the international arena, i.e. occupy more
yielding positions in comparison with its neighbors.

The third reason is that the analytical centers, which operated under
the President, the Government and the Ministry of Defense and received
serious sums from the state, have not done anything for bringing the
above-mentioned task to life. Besides, there were no ties between
the state government bodies and the academic institutions of Armenia
which, instead of elaborating those tasks were engaged in researching
some scientific themes inherited from the Soviet times.

In such conditions, the practice of returning from Europe and
accounting for one’s own defeat by the efforts of the pro-Azerbaijani
"oil lobbying" or "Turkish lobbying" has become a usual custom.

The truth is that the delegates representing Armenia in international
tribunals do not demonstrate sufficient consistency while working
with their European partners. As to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
it doesn’t have any serious centre elaborating the principles and
priorities of foreign policy.

It turns out that the defeat of our delegates is 100 percent
predictable, and it’s absolutely no use accusing our rivals because,
as the proverb says, "the wolf may change its coat but not its
disposition".

BAKU’S POSITION NOTHING BUT BADLY-HIDDEN POLITICAL AND DIPLOMATIC BLACKMAIL

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.06.2008 15:44 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Nagorno Karabakh’s Foreign Minister Georgy Petrossian
commented on Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov’s
statement on "some nuances" in Armenia’s new leadership’s stance,
the NKR permanent representative office told PanARMENIAN.Net.

"I am not aware of any changes in Armenia’s stance on the
Azerbaijani-Karabahki conflict. As my Armenian counterpart has already
stated, Armenia’s position on Nagorno Karabakh is unchangeable,"
Georgy Petrossian said.

"NKR’s standpoint has not changed either. Without agreement of the
NKR people, no document on conflict settlement with Azerbaijan can
be signed and all the more realized."

"Azerbaijan’s position that peaceful settlement of the conflict is a
compromise on its part is nothing but a badly-hidden political and
diplomatic blackmail directed to mediators and Armenia. Official
Baku has initially counted on the Azerbaijani-Karabakhi conflict
settlement by pressure, threats and blackmail. Such a policy which
aims at imposing their own scenario of conflict settlement not only
threatens the negotiation process but also undermines the regional
security and stability," he said.

Speaking about Tatarstan’s model as a possible model of autonomy for
Nagorno Karabakh, the NKR Minister said, "Azerbaijan’s representatives
do not take into consideration the fact that Tatarstan is a subject of
a federative state. If Azerbaijan intends to become a federative state
and grant the national minorities – Lezghins, Talyshs, Awarians, Udins,
etc. – the status of federation subject it is the right of people of
the Azerbaijani Republic. The given initiative can only be welcomed;
however, we do not see us in this formation.

We have made our choice. Our independence cannot be an article of
commerce."

SHOULD START FROM THEMSELVES

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on June 03, 2008
Armenia

"Better if the Americans firstly gave assessments to the situation
of democracy and human rights protection in their country. What if
they speak about what’s going on in their prisons and concentration
camps? Lots of people appear in these places only for their political
views and political motivations, whereas they introduce all this in
the form of social accusations. It is always possible to see political
base under an every day crime. If some people take to streets to
express their political views and meanwhile they break heads with
iron sticks, is it not a crime?" Razmik Zohrabyan said in response
to accusations addressed to Armenia in the recent report made by the
US State Department.