Author: Hagop Kamalian

Armenia good example of cooperation both with EEU and EU – Angela Merkel

Hagop Kamalian
AYSOR, Armenia
Aug 24 2018
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Armenia may be a good example of combining cooperation both with Russia and the EU, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel said at a joint news conference with Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

“Armenia may be a good example on how it is possible to successfully cooperate with Russia and the EU at the same time,” the German Chancellor said.

Asked about possible cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union and the EU and Armenia’s role in it, Merkel said, “Such negotiations will hardly take place in near future between the EEU and the EU but Armenia’s good example may show that it is ever possible.”

In his turn Armenia’s PM stressed that the EEU area has a significant role for Armenia but the special trade regime with the EU is important as well.

“During the discussion we have registered that Armenia has a special trade regime with the EU which gives opportunity to enhance the trade circulation volume,” Pashinyan stressed.

Arman Tatoyan visits Shant Harutyunyan

Hagop Kamalian
  • 18:30 | August 21,2018 | Official
  • Armenian:

Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan visited Shant Harutyunyan in Vardashen Penitentiary, and a private conversation took place.

Shant Harutyunyan presented to the Ombudsman all his considerations and questions, including his release.

All raised issues and possible versions of their solutions are currently being examined by the Defender’s Staff. Based on the findings of the study, necessary steps will be taken within the scope of the Defender’s competence.

  • 18:30 | August 21,2018 | Official
  • Armenian:

Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan visited Shant Harutyunyan in Vardashen Penitentiary, and a private conversation took place.

Shant Harutyunyan presented to the Ombudsman all his considerations and questions, including his release.

All raised issues and possible versions of their solutions are currently being examined by the Defender’s Staff. Based on the findings of the study, necessary steps will be taken within the scope of the Defender’s competence.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 08/21/2018

Hagop Kamalian 
                                        Tuesday, 
Armenian Minister Seeks To Allay Concerns Over ‘Transitional Justice’
        • Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - A court building in Yerevan, 27 July 2018.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s plans to set up “bodies of transitional 
justice” do not run counter to Armenia’s constitution or threaten judicial 
independence, Justice Minister Artak Zeynalian insisted on Tuesday.
Pashinian made a case for such bodies when he lambasted Armenian judges at a 
rally held in Yerevan on Friday. He said they may be necessary because “many 
corrupt figures of our judicial system have still not grasped the popular 
revolution” that brought him to power in May.
Pashinian did not specify what concrete forms “transitional justice” in the 
country could take. Nor did he name any of the judges who he said are still 
taking “orders from representatives of the former corrupt authorities.” “Come 
to your senses and don’t mess with the people,” he warned them.
The remarks prompted serious concern from political allies of former President 
Serzh Sarkisian and other critics. Some of them accused Pashinian of seeking to 
gain control over courts through new and unconstitutional bodies. Parliament 
speaker Ara Babloyan suggested on Monday that the premier hinted at “illegal” 
retroactive enforcement of new and punitive laws under the guise of 
“transitional justice.”
Zeynalian dismissed those concerns, saying that the possible introduction of 
new legal mechanisms would not contradict the Armenian constitutional or 
international conventions signed by Armenia.
“No courts will be dissolved and no courts of courts will be set up,” he told a 
news conference. “Our constitution and international obligations will not be 
breached. No special courts will be created. Everything will be legal and aimed 
at restoring human rights.”
The minister too did not explain what exactly “transitional justice” could mean 
in practice in Armenia. He said only that the government is looking into the 
experience of Georgia and other nations that have applied that concept. “We 
will also learn from their mistakes,” he said.
The idea of transitional justice is meant to address large-scale or systematic 
human rights violations in countries emerging from periods of conflict and 
repression. It involves a range of judicial and non-judicial measures, 
including criminal prosecutions, truth commissions, and reparation programs.
Armenian courts have long been known for their lack of independence from the 
government and the law-enforcement apparatus. In the last three months, some of 
them have made decisions strongly criticized by Pashinian and his allies.
Tsarukian’s Bodyguard Freed
        • Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - Businessman Gagik Tsarukian (R) and his chief bodyguard Eduard 
Babayan (L) take part in an anti-government demonstration in Yerevan, 24 
October 2014.
The chief bodyguard of Gagik Tsarukian, an influential Armenian businessman and 
political figure, was released on bail on Tuesday more than one month after 
being arrested on assault charges.
Eduard Babayan was taken into custody on July 3 hours after a 50-year-old man 
was hospitalized with serious injuries. The latter claimed to have been beaten 
up at a compound of Armenia’s National Olympic Committee headed by Tsarukian. 
He said he was hit by Tsarukian before being repeatedly kicked and punched by 
Babayan and another person.
Both the tycoon and Babayan strongly denied assaulting the man. The burly 
bodyguard was prosecuted even though the alleged victim subsequently retracted 
his incriminating testimony and claimed that he simply stumbled and fell down.
Babayan’s lawyer, Armen Melkonian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that a court 
in Yerevan agreed to free his client pending investigation after he pledged to 
post bail worth 20 million drams ($41,500).
Armenian media have repeatedly implicated Tsarukian’s bodyguards and Babayan in 
particular in violence, including against opponents of the country’s previous 
governments, in the past. The tycoon always denied those claims.
A political force led by Tsarukian boasts the second largest group in the 
Armenian parliament. It also has five ministerial portfolios in Armenia’s 
current government formed in May.
Armenia To Manufacture Advanced Kalashnikov Rifles
Russia -- A participant fires a Kalashnikov AK-12 assault rifle at the 
Army-2015 international military-technical forum in Kubinka, outside Moscow, 
June 17, 2015
An Armenian company plans to manufacture the latest models of Russia’s 
world-famous Kalashnikov assault rifles, the Defense Ministry in Yerevan 
announced on Tuesday.
The ministry spokesman, Artsrun Hovannisian, said the head of the little-known 
company, Royalsys Engineering, signed in Moscow a manufacturing license 
contract with a senior executive of Kalashnikov Concern, the state-owned small 
arms manufacturer.
Hovannisian reported “the extremely important news” on his Facebook page, 
saying that the deal paves the way for the production in Armenia of 
Kalashnikov’s AK-12 and AK-15 models which Russia’s Armed Forces adopted as 
their main service rifles earlier this year. He said nothing about production 
volumes and dates.
Photographs posted by Hovannisian showed Armenian Defense Minister Davit 
Tonoyan attending the signing ceremony.
Russia - Top executives of the Armenian company Royalsys Engineering and 
Russia's Kalashnikov Concern sign an agreement in Moscow, .
Kalashnikov’s older AK-74 rifles and PK machine guns are currently the 
principle light weapons of the Armenian army. The deal reported by Hovannisian 
suggests that the Armenian Defense Ministry may be planning to gradually 
replace AK-74s with the more advanced AK-12 and AK-15 versions designed in 2011.
Kalashnikov Concern opened an official representation in Yerevan in 2014 at a 
ceremony attended by then Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian. The latter noted at 
the time that Russian-Armenian agreements call for the creation of joint 
defense ventures. One of them allows Armenian and Russian defense companies to 
supply each other with equipment, assembly parts and other materials needed for 
the production, modernization and repair of various weapons.
Tonoyan flew to Moscow on Monday to attend the opening ceremonies of an 
international defense exhibition and security conference organized by the 
Russian military. He held on Tuesday separate meetings with top executives with 
Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state-run arms exporter, and the Almaz-Antey defense 
corporation.
Almaz-Antey produces, among other things, surface-to-surface missiles and 
sophisticated S-400 air-defense systems. According to the Defense Ministry, 
Tonoyan told the company’s deputy executive director, Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, that 
some of its products are of interest to Armenia. No further details were 
reported.
Press Review
“Zhoghovurd” dismisses Monday’s statement by parliament speaker Ara Babloyan 
that accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian of stifling dissent and 
jeopardizing the constitutional order in Armenia. The paper says that Babloyan 
and other representatives of the country’s former leadership have no moral 
right to voice such complaints because they were part of a regime that had for 
years restricted civil liberties. It claims that Babloyan did not protest when 
Serzh Sarkisian “humiliated” the National Assembly.
“The public’s expectations from the government mainly relate to economic 
development and that is natural,” writes “Haykakan Zhamanak.” “Some people 
constantly criticize the government for having no clear economic program. In 
fact, the government’s program is very clear and obvious to everyone at this 
stage. In the past 100 days the government has been busy mainly eliminating 
obstacles to economic growth. Namely, fighting corruption, favoritism and 
oligopolies. The achievements of the 100 days are obvious. This will be 
followed by the next phase when the business will start making large-scale 
investments in our economy. That should lead to the kind of economic 
development which will boost living standards.”
“Hraparak” takes a more critical look at the first results of Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian’s tenure. “It is not encouraging that 100 days after taking 
office the government regards the [former ruling] HHK as a target and considers 
the fight against ‘counterrevolutionaries’ to be its mission,” explains the 
paper. When the entire public becomes the government’s target we may take note 
of [government] steps towards progress and see light in the tunnel.”
In an interview with “Aravot,” Igor Nazaruk, Belarus’s ambassador to Armenia, 
defends his country’s arms supplies to Azerbaijan. Nazaruk says that 
Azerbaijani-Belarusian defense contracts do not violate any international 
conventions.
(Tigran Avetisian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org

Putin, Nazarbayev deem situation surrounding CSTO sec gen problematic

Hagop Kamalian
Kazakhstan General Newswire
Monday 10:10 AM MSK
Putin, Nazarbayev deem situation surrounding CSTO sec gen problematic
 
AKTAU. Aug 13
 
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has addressed the situation surrounding the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) secretary general at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
 
“From all the issues, which should be discussed, this is the issue of the CSTO secretary general, which became a problem for us,” Nazarbayev said.
 
“As to broader relations, as part of the CSTO, the EAEU, here there is a very large agenda, major programs, and there are some problematic issues, like those you have mentioned now,” Putin said.
 
Armenian representative Yury Khachaturov now serves as CSTO secretary general.
 
Khachaturov was identified as a defendant as part of a criminal case opened by Armenian law enforcement in July.
 
The Armenian Special Investigation Service has indicted Khachaturov in a case dealing with the dispersal of a demonstration on March 1, 2008. Ten people were killed and over 250 injured when security forces dispersed thousands of protesters following a presidential election won by Serzh Sargsyan.
 
Khachaturov was serving as the head of the Yerevan garrison of the Armenian Armed Forces at the time.
 
He was appointed CSTO secretary general for three years in 2017.
 
On July 28 of this year, a court in Yerevan ruled to arrest Khachaturov on charges of violating the country’s constitutional order in 2008 and granted him bail. The Special Investigation Service allowed Khachaturov to leave Armenia and go to Moscow to perform his duties as CSTO secretary general as long as he reports when necessary.
 
Armenia has suggested that CSTO member states start the procedure of replacing the secretary general.
 
Former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has also been arrested on charges of violating the constitutional order in 2008

Azat village residents record hail damage (video)

Hagop Kamalian
  • 20:19 | August 13,2018 | Regions
  • Armenian:

The hail damaged the fields of Azat village residents. Wheat was harvested, but vegetable crops suffered. There are only dried fruits in the field.

According to the villagers, potato harvest will not be restored. The community leader records the damage. Azadians will not be able to repay the loans.

Book: Armenia’s third largest city to host presentation of "The Gambler" about Kirk Kerkorian

Hagop Kamalian
Panorama, Armenia
Aug 10 2018
Culture 12:55 10/08/2018 Armenia

The presentation of “The Gambler”, a book about American-Armenian businessman, billionaire, philanthropist, Executive Director of Tracinda Corporation and National Hero of Armenia, Kirk Kerkorian, is set to be held in Armenia’s third largest city of Vanadzor.

The Armenian version of the book published by Edit Print publishing house will be presented at the Lori regional library of the city on August 11, Panorama.am reports.

“We continue presenting the “The Gambler” about Kirk Kerkorian in the country’s different regions. The regional presentations are aimed at not only introducing the book to the local residents and telling them who was Kirk Kerkorian, but also boosting the cultural life of the inhabitants of regions,” said Shavarsh Karapetyan, the marketing director of the publishing house.

On 4 August, the presentation of the book was held in the second largest city of Gyumri.

Authored by William C. Rempel, “The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History Hardcover” was released in the United States on 23 January 2018. 

Rempel states that this is an inspiring story of the 98-year life of Kirk Kerkorian, a boy who would run barefoot on the soft and fertile land of the San Joaquin Valley until his family’s financial crisis turned him into a city boy who was forced to fight for finding his place on the dirty sidewalks of Los Angeles.

He was a tough boy who would cry during funerals, a modest person who would secretly take pride in his achievements, a business genius who would ignore the MBA’s advisors, a brave pilot and movie magnate, a gambler in casinos and in Wall Street and a person who would place bets on the most probable outcome with a supernatural skill and minimum risks.

This is factually a documental book, since all the citations and descriptive scenes are based on eyewitness accounts or previously published stories.   

Head of SIS: Hovik Abrahamyan has not been charged, and his brother is in the status of a suspect (video)

Hagop Kamalian
  • 15:37 | August 9,2018 | Politics
  • Armenian:

Sasun Khachatryan, Head of the Special Investigation Service, did not comment whether former RA Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan was questioned on March 1 case:”It’s a pre-examinational secret,” he said.

And to the question whether Hovik Abrahamyan has not been charged at this time, he replied: “No, no charges have been brought. In general, if we someone is charged, we will report it.”

Hovik Abrahamyan’s brother, who was arrested yesterday, brother is in the status of a suspect and is charged with illegal possession of weapons.

Also, there is information that weapons discovered at Abrahamyan’s factory by the search operations can have links with the weapons used during the 2008 March 1 events.

Armenian pundits criticise what Kocharyan said about political persecution

Hagop Kamalian
Kavkazsky Uzel, Russia
July 31 2018
Armenian pundits criticise what Kocharyan said about political persecution
by Armine Martirosyan
[Armenian News note: the below is translated from Russian]

Second Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, who was arrested within the frames of the case of the dispersal of protesters in 2008, no longer has serious political influence and has never announced his participation in elections previously, political analysts have said.

Kavkazsky Uzel reported that on 26 July, former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan was charged with overturning the constitutional order by dispersing protests in Yerevan on 1-2 Mach 2008. The investigation petitioned for his arrest and the court ruled to arrest Kocharyan on 27 July.

“First, they want to isolate me from involvement in political processes and second, they want to say that they solved the 1 March [case]. However, what are they going to solve by doing so? There are no grounds for these accusations,” Kocharyan said in his interview to Yerkir Media [TV affiliated to the Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun party – ARFD].

He also noted that he had said on many occasions previously that he was reluctant to return to politics. “However, this is a case, when it is not you, who is dealing with politics, but politics is dealing with you,” Lragir.am quoted the former president.

Kocharyan stressed in the interview that he had been writing a book over the past two years. It is autobiographic and it comprises the whole history of the recent years, including his personal conversations. It is going to be quite interesting, Armenian Report said.

Badalyan: Kocharyan has not announced his intention to run in elections

Robert Kocharyan preferred to speak about the forthcoming parliamentary elections to substantiate his statement on political reprisals, but he failed to specify whether he intended to participate in them or not, political observer Hakob Badalyan said.

“It is unclear how he can run in the elections and which political force he plans to participate in the elections with, whether he will create a party or will cooperate with one of the parties existing at the moment. A lot of things are unclear here. However, at least up to now, Kocharyan has unveiled nothing regarding elections,” Hakob Badalyan explained to Kavkazsky Uzel.

According to Badalyan, Kocharyan himself is soberly assessing his chances in case he returns to politics and prefers to be in the shade of a specific political force. “On the one hand, Robert Kocharyan may have financial resources. However, as we can see, the struggle against corruption is penetrating politics too. Therefore, Kocharyan’s chances are not big in this regard,” the political observer believes.

In addition, he said that Robert Kocharyan lost influence as a politician back in February 2015, when then Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan levelled accusations against the leader of the Prosperous Armenia party, Gagik Tsarukyan. The second Armenian president did not support Tsarukyan, although it was believed that Robert Kocharyan created the Prosperous Armenia party in 2006 in opposition to Sargsyan and the Ruling Republican Party [of Armenia – RPA] , the political analyst said.

He also pointed to the neutral position of the Prosperous Armenia party after Kocharyan’s arrest.

Support for Robert Kocharyan by politicians is linked to investigation into the criminal case, Hakob Badalyan believes. “Yes, Kocharyan was at the head of this system on 1 March 2008, but it was the mechanism as a whole that acted. Kocharyan showed in his interview that he was not acting alone and said very clearly that all responsible people should find themselves in the spotlight. In other words, he said that all of them were in one ship and he does not intend to sink to the bottom alone,” Badalyan said.

On the one hand, politicians realise that they are facing the problem of support, but on the other hand, they also realise that support for Kocharyan implies a conflict with society, “most of whom are very negatively disposed towards Kocharyan”, the political analyst said.

“There will nevertheless be people, who will support Kocharyan. However, they must understand what they are going to do if his guilt is proved, as it is about criminally liable actions,” Badalyan said with confidence.

Badalyan: No Kocharyan’s proteges remaining in power

Previously, Robert Kocharyan did not speak about his participation in the forthcoming elections, but the influence of the second Armenian president has significantly weakened, political analyst Armen Badalyan said.

As he said, today, Robert Kocharyan “is hardly as influential as he was 10 years ago, as a lot has changed in this country since then”.

“The political forces that have always been with him do not have the influence they used to have either. Therefore, only the ARFD and RPA have supported him directly or indirectly now. However, the RPA is in such a condition now that they need support themselves,” he explained.

“I do not think that the government viewed a real threat for themselves in Kocharyan, because he is not a force. He had supporters five years ago and representatives of the ARFD and RPA supported him directly or indirectly, but following the change of power in Armenia, government structures, including the judiciary and the power-wielding agencies, were completely cleaned of his cadres,” Badalyan noted.

He also said that politicians would not avoid Kocharyan, as he was “stigmatised with the 1 March case”.

Mehrabyan: Diaspora not to support Kocharyan

Ruben Mehrabyan, an expert of the Centre for Political and International Studies, described Kocharyan’s statement as “banal demagoguery”.

According to Mehrabyan, Kocharyan is trying to make the case political. “And he is politicising it in the context of actual politics, where his approval rating is equal to zero,” political analyst said with confidence.

The reason for that “is not only 1 March 2008, but also the economic policy that was aimed at handing over the whole potential under Russian control according to the ‘property in exchange for debts’ deal,” Ruben Mehrabyan explained to Kavkazsky Uzel.

Mehrabyan believes that the diaspora will remain indifferent and will not support Kocharyan. “At this moment, Russia may provide most powerful assistance, but given the incumbent government’s decisive actions, the support is not going to produce any results,” he said.

It is noteworthy that Hovsep Khurshudyan, a senior expert for economic and diaspora issues of the Armenian Centre for Strategic and National Studies (ACSNS), told Kavkazsky Uzel in 2008 that it was under Robert Kocharyan that Russia received the controlling stakes of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline and the fifth power-generating unit of the Hrazdan thermoelectric power plant. In 2003, Armenia’s debt to Russia amounting to 93.760m dollars was annulled by means of handing over to the latter 100 per cent of the shares of five Armenian enterprises, including the Mars closed joint-stock company (estimated at 56.290m dollars) and the Yerevan Research Institute of Mathematical Machines (2.750m dollars), he also said.

Two parties accused the Armenian government of political reprisals against Kocharyan

On 27 and 28 July, the ARFD and RPA made statements, expressing concern about the accusations against former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan.

“The party welcomes measures aimed at establishing law and order and believes that the processes should unfold only within legal frames, without giving rise to various interpretations and political speculations. We regard bringing charges of overturning the constitutional order in connection with the ’21 March case’ against Robert Kocharyan as an alarming step, which can be interpreted as political persecution,” Kavkazsky Uzel quoted the statement by the ARFD.

The accusation “gives the impression of political reprisals and is absurd from the legal point of view”, the statement by the RPA says. “The situation that has taken shape is a threat to democratic development and a blow to the process of building a rule-of-law state. The politically motivated criminal case and the charges threaten constitutionality in Armenia,” the RPA statement said.

We would like to remind you that lawyers said earlier that the accusation against second Armenian President Robert Kocharyan was based on the testimonies of anonymous witnesses and was devoid of any concrete aspects and that the court disregarded his immunity. Kocharyan’s companion Viktor Soghomonyan described his case as political persecution, reminding of promises by Nikol Pashinyan, who ruled out political revenge and reprisals against opponents before he came to power.

Republican Party Concerned Over Recent Trends in Armenian-Russian Relations

Hagop Kamalian
Arminfo, Armenia
Aug 1 2018
Republican Party Concerned Over Recent Trends in Armenian-Russian Relations

Yerevan July 31

Tatevik Shahunyan. Representatives of the Republican Party of Armenia express their concern over the latest dangerous, by their definition, tendencies in the Armenian-Russian relations.4

Edward Sharmazanov, the RPA spokesman, told the ArmInfo correspondent that the “small” but diplomatically “demonstrative” transfer between the foreign affairs agencies of Armenia and Russia gives reason to think that at present the Armenian-Russian relations experiencing not the best of times. “The same goes for Armenia-CSTO relations,” he said. Meanwhile, the vice-speaker reminded, Armenia’s strategic partnership with Russia is primarily aimed at serving the state interests of the Republic of Armenia. “We must realize that in the current geopolitical realities, the CSTO does not have an alternative in terms of ensuring Armenia’s security,” Sharmazanov stressed.

In his turn, another Republican, head of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Armenian Parliament Armen Ashotyan wrote on his Facebook page: “No matter how much the RA authorities try to focus society’s attention on domestic issues, this reality does not change, and the situation around Armenia and Artsakh continues stay tense. ” According to him, the situation was aggravated by the forms and methods of recalling CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov, as evidenced by a tough diplomatic protocol statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry in response to Armenia’s proposal to begin the procedure for changing the secretary general. “Obviously, all these processes negatively affected the image of the CSTO, and the risks of all this were visible from the very beginning,” the parliamentarian said, citing the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova in Baku, where she puts Moscow’s relations with one level Yerevan and Baku. “All this cannot but worry, especially against the background of the activation of the Azerbaijani lobby in Russia and the anti-Russian circles in Armenia,” Ashotyan said.

The accusations presented to Kocharyan and Khachaturov are groundless. Vazgen Manukyan

Hagop Kamalian
  • 30.07.2018

    •  

  • Armenia:

    •  

  • arm

    •  

  • rus

1
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Chairman of the Public Council, Chairman of the National Democratic Union Party Vazgen Manukyan issued a statement, expressing concern about the indictment of former President Robert Kocharyan in the case of March 1, and then the arrest and indictment of CSTO General Secretary Yuri Khachaturov.


“Our party and I personally have been a tough opposition during the ten years of Robert Kocharian’s presidency, we have blamed the authorities on many issues, we have been against many decisions.


But I categorically disagree with the charges that have now been presented to Robert Kocharyan and Yuri Khachaturov, I consider them groundless, and the decision to detain them as dangerous, which affects the security of our state. A baseless accusation against people who played an invaluable role in our nation’s greatest military victory in centuries.


However, from a political point of view, what happened in 2008? on March 1.


Since 1996, presidential elections have always been marred by numerous frauds. They were the same in 2008. the elections. According to the results of those elections, according to official data, three of the candidates received overwhelming votes. Serzh Sargsyan – 52.8%, Levon Ter-Petrosyan – 21.5% and Artur Baghdasaryan – 17.7%.


In that sense, this was different from the situation in 1996, when the fight was between two people: the opposition candidate (41%) and the government candidate (51.3%). Moreover, in 1996 we submitted a huge, voluminous evidence base to the Constitutional Court. However, we did not announce that the candidate of the opposition won, but we demanded to randomly open 3 boxes from each electoral district, and if election frauds are detected, we should go to the second round.


A similar situation was created during the presidential elections of 2003, when the main candidates were Robert Kocharyan and Stepan Demirchyan. After the publication of the results, the people indignantly surrounded the CEC building, and under the pressure of the people, after the recount, a second round was announced.


During the 2008 elections, the evidence base of the opposition was very weak, and almost nothing serious was presented to the Constitutional Court, although it was clear that fraud had taken place. But since there were quite a few votes split among the three, the best political claim the opposition could make was to go to the second round. Instead, Levon Ter-Petrosyan announced that he won, got 60 percent and should become the president, then tried to fulfill his unconstitutional demand by all means. And since a large part of the people had quite significant dissatisfaction with the authorities, not only related to the elections, they took advantage of that dissatisfaction and inflamed it, permanent rallies began. The authorities tried to disperse these rallies.


That standard situation, which existed both in our country before and in other countries, suddenly transformed into a non-standard situation and got out of control. There were casualties on both sides: both the security forces and the protesters. Either there are two sides here, and both should be assessed, or there is a third party that tried to escalate the situation.


In any case, it is necessary to find out who started shooting, on whose order it was, and I think many unexpected facts may emerge. I cannot say whether it is possible to reveal it or not, but these mysterious cases must be investigated to the end. What is important for us is not only to evaluate Robert Kocharyan or Levon Ter-Petrosyan, but to understand how the standard situation, which was always repeated in Armenia, suddenly turned into murders, burning cars, smashing shops, etc.


Dear people, I understand the indignation you have towards all the previous authorities, towards the people who oppressed us and the republic, I understand the satisfaction you feel when some of them are punished. But everything should be done legally, without pursuing political goals and revenge.


Dissatisfied with the past, sometimes justified, sometimes unjustified, we must realize that since the founding of the Republic of Armenia in 1918, first under the leadership of the Dashnaktsutyun, then under the leadership of the Communists, the Armenian National Movement, and the Republican Party, over the years, with the efforts of our people, with all the mistakes, we have had big and small victories, a powerful state machine has been created, and we should not destroy it, we should improve it and move forward.


It is worrisome that now Armenia has become a theater of one actor, the counterweights are almost not functioning: opposition parties, non-governmental organizations, press, etc. It seems everyone is scared and waiting. This path will lead us to number 37, war and isolation in the international arena.”