Author: Harutyunian Christine

JAN KUBI~Z: RA GOVERNMENT IS ACTING CORRECTLY

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.02.2008 17:48 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian government is acting correctly under
the circumstances, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe (CMCE), Foreign Minister of Slovakia Jan Kubi~Z
told a news conference in Yerevan today.

Armenia will manage to avoid escalation of violence and tensions,
according to him.

"The citizens of Armenia are entitled to express their attitude
about the presidential election. However, the movement should not
exceed the limits of democratic processes. Conduction of opposition
rallies appears as expression of will of some population strata and
manifestation of developing democracy in Armenia," Mr Kubi~Z said.

The February 19 presidential election was won by Prime Minister Serzh
Sarsgyan, who was backed by 52,82 per cent of voters.

Armenia’s first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who finished the
presidential race with 21,5 per cent of votes, launched a movement
to protest the outcomes of the election.

Youth wing of the United Communist party of RA Communist party urged to
refrain from participation in meetings of Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s
supporters

2008-02-23 17:40:00

ArmInfo. The youth wing of the United Communist party of Armenia urged
the Armenian youth to refrain from participation in the meetings of
Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters. The statement, spread today,
indicates, in particular, that the ‘lost party tries to use lack of
experience and information of the youth for its purposes’. ‘A familiar
handwriting’, the statement authors emphasize. They recall that 20
years ago the same people urged to announce a strike of the workers of
787 enterprises operating in the country at that time. Today, as a
"black force", they intend to use schoolchildren and students. The
youth wing of the United Communist party of Armenia urged to recognize
the results of February 19 election as an accomplished fact and refrain
from participation in the meetings and processions.

THE U.S. DOES NOT QUESTION THE OUTCOME ARMENIA’S ELECTION

Hayots Ashkhar
Published on February 22, 2008

`We are not questioning the outcome of Armenia’s election,’ US Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State MATTHEW BRYZA announced.

Mr. Bryza has made his comments upon State Department representative
Edgar Vazquez’s statement that the United States is concerned over the
reports of problems in the vote count of

Armenia’s presidential elections held on February 19.

`But we are not yet in a position to declare all the concerns about
irregularities have been fully addressed. That will take a little bit
of time, as was the case with Georgia’s 5 January presidential
election. We have seen the statements by the ODIHR and Javier Solana,
and share those assessments,’ Matthew Bryza said.

DM Michael Harutyunyan pays homage to the soldiers killed in the Great
Patriotic War

armradio.am
23.02.2008 14:44

RA Defense Minister Michael Harutyunyan today visited `Haghtanak’ Park
to pay homage to the memory of the soldiers killed in the Great
Patriotic War. The Minister laid flowers at the memorial to the Unknown
Soldier.

Michael Harutyunyan was accompanied by the Chief of the General Staff
of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, Colonel-General Seyran
Ohanyan, Head of Staff of the Frontier Troops of the Russian Federation
located in Armenia, Lieutenant General Sergey Bondarev, Russian
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia Nikolay Pavlov,
senior servicemen. It should be noted that February 23 is celebrated in
Russia as Army Day.

`Many of our Officers served in the Armed Forces of the former Soviet
Union, we have been always celebrating this holiday together. The
holiday is not envisaged by Armenian laws, but it’s the holiday of our
colleagues, and we celebrate it with them. I congratulate all those,
who serviced in the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and the Russian
Federation,’ the Defense Minister said.

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION WARNS THAT PROTEST ACTIONS MAY STOP BEING PEACEFUL

PanARMENIAN.Net
21.02.2008 17:22 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Head of presidential candidate Artur Baghdassaryan’s
staff Heghine Bisharyan made a speech at the rally of Levon
Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters today.

"Despite the improper statements against Artur Baghdassaryan made
by Levon Ter-Petrosyan and his team during the election campaign,
the huge number of violations in the process of elections dictates
the necessity of joint struggle," she said.

Ms. Bisharian stated that as a result of re-count in certain polling
stations the number of votes given to Artur Baghdassaryan and Levon
Ter-Petrosyan, started increasing.

Although the RA Police warned that the rally is not authorized,
representative of Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s staff Nikol Pashinyan said that
"numerous falsifications proved that the actions of the authorities
during the elections were illegal."

He stated that "in case there is the necessity, actions of protest
will be held simultaneously in various parts of Yerevan".

"We will hold peaceful protest actions until the legal ways of struggle
are exhausted. If the authorities do not satisfy our demand to hold a
new election, the protest actions will stop being peaceful", Pashinyan
said, elections2008 reports.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION SHARES OSCE ASSESSMENT OF ARMENIA’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
22.02.2008 14:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "I have taken note of the preliminary findings of
the OSCE Election Observation Mission for the February 19 presidential
elections in Armenia. I commend the people of Armenia and its leaders
on the fact that these elections were conducted mostly in line with
the country’s international commitments," says a statement issued
by European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner on the conduct of
presidential elections in Armenia.

"As the OSCE Election Observation Mission stated in its preliminary
statement further improvements will be necessary to address remaining
challenges, in particular strengthening of public confidence in
the electoral process. At the same time it is important to note that
considerable progress has been achieved with regard to the preparation
and conduct of the electoral process since the last Presidential
elections in 2003 thanks to reforms undertaken.

Support for these reforms is a key priority of the EU/Armenia Action
Plan under the European Neighborhood Policy. The European Commission
will continue to assist Armenia on its path to political and economic
reforms. The recent strengthening of the Commission presence in
Yerevan through the opening of an EC Delegation is a clear sign of
our ongoing commitment.

I am confident that the new President of Armenia, together with the
new government, will continue firmly on the path of reform, which
is vital for the Armenian people as well as for the future of our
relationship," Mr. Ferrero-Waldner said.

SUPPORTERS OF LEVON TER-PETROSIAN GATHER NEAR MATENADARAN

Noyan Tapan
Feb 20, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The supporters of the RA
presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian have been gathering
near Matenadaran (Armenian repository of ancient manuscripts) since
11:00. At this moment over 300 people have already gathered.

It should be mentioned that the rally of Levon Ter-Petrosian and the
forces supporting him is envisaged near Matenadaran at 15:00.

CONGRATULATIONS FOR BEING ELECTED

Panorama.am
13:51 21/02/2008

The press and public relations department of the government announced
that the other day Serzh Sargsyan, the Prime Minister of the RA
received congratulations for being elected in the presidential
elections as the president of the RA. According to the source Vladimir
Putin, the president of Russian Federation congratulated Serzh Sargsyan
for being elected as a president of the Republic of Armenia.

The same source announced that Bako Sahakyan, the president of Nagorno
Karabakh Republic also congratulated Serzh Sargsyan. He particularly
mentioned that Sargsyan’s election should direct the country to
economic development and democratic victory.

Michael Sahakashvili, the president of Georgia also congratulated
Serzh Sargsyan.

The Supreme Patriarch of all Armenians Garegin II and Aram I Kilikio
patriarch also congratulated Serzh Sargsyan. Charles Aznavour sent
his congratulation wishing also.

GAZ DE FRANCE RECALLED ITS APPLICATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN NABUCCO GAS PIPELINE PROJECT

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.02.2008 15:17 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Gaz de France has recalled its application for
participation in Nabucco gas pipeline project, French Trade Minister
Herve Novelli said in Istanbul.

"We have recalled our application because we think that the decision
of the Turkish authorizes was dictated by political reasons," Mr
Novelli said.

Earlier, Turkey vetoed participation of Gaz de France in the project
due to adoption of French bill penalizing the Armenian Genocide denial.

The Nabucco pipeline is a planned natural gas pipeline that will
transport natural gas from Turkey to Austria, via Bulgaria, Romania and
Hungary. It will run from Erzurum in Turkey to Baumgarten an der March,
a major natural gas hub in Austria. Some consider the pipeline as a
diversion from the current methods of importing natural gas solely
from Russia.

Nabucco could bring gas supplies from Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan,
Turkmenistan, Egypt and Syria.

It will be connected near Erzurum with the Tabriz-Erzurum pipeline,
and with the South Caucasus Pipeline, connecting Nabucco Pipeline with
the planned Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline. It will run from Erzurum in
Turkey to Baumgarten an der March in Austria with total length of 3,300
kilometres (2,050 mi). In early years after completion the deliveries
are expected to be between 4.5 and 13 billion cubic meters (bcm) per
annum, of which 2 to 8 bcm goes to Baumgarten. Later, approximately
half of the capacity is expected to be delivered to Baumgarten and half
of the natural gas is to serve the markets en-route. The transmission
volume of around 2020 is expected to reach 25.5 to 31 bcm per annum,
of which up to 16 bcm goes to Baumgarten.

Construction of pipeline is expected to begin in 2009 and is planned
to be finished in 2012. It estimated to cost around 4.6 billion EUR
(5.8 billion USD). The company leading the project is OMV from Austria.

General Prosecutor’s Office of Armenia refuted the statements on ballot box stuffing, received from "Orinats Yerkir" party

February 19, 2008

Yerevan /Mediamax/. General Prosecutor’s Office of Armenia refuted
the statements on ballot box stuffing in 13/16 polling station,
received from "Orinats Yerkir" party (OYP), referring the members of
the electoral commission from OYP Ivan Asatrian.

As Mediamax was told in the General Prosecutor’s Office of Armenia,
in the process of the check realized, Ivan Asatrian refuted the fact
of ballot box stuffing and noted that he was informed of that by
phone from "Heritage" party, however, as a result, the member of the
commission of 13/16 polling station from OYP Nazik Ohanian informed
that ballot box stuffing case was not registered.