Author: Hovhannisian John

OPEN LETTER TO LYUDMILA SARGSYAN

Aysor
Dec 21 2009
Armenia

Today the Social Democratic Hnchkayan Party’s (SDHK) "Sargis Tkhruni"
student’s youth union has sent an open letter to the ex-Chairwoman
of the party Lyudmila Sargsyan. Below the content if the letter
is presented:

"Ms. Sargsyan we right this letter with pain and sorrow as we never
thought that there will come the time that we will keep in touch with
you through press only, as with a person who is far from its party
and its sources. Yes, during the last 6 months of your activities you
pushed yourself out of Your Mother Party. You can announce everywhere
that you are Hnchak, but you know better that it’s not the words that
make the person Hunchak but the deeds and the belief.

We, the youths of Tkhruni passed with you a way which is completely
depicted in the marching song of the SDHK called "Give me your hand
my friend".

You renounced and forgot the rule number one to solve any problem
only through a meeting. How many interviews did you give to the press
insulting and offending your friends of the same party, friends with
who you had passed a very long way?

And you without blushing announce that we the youngsters are corrupted
and are not able to make judgments. You announce without feeling bad
that the authorities have bought us. But unlike you we do not betray
the way we passed together, and only that is the reason why we do
not go deep into the details.

You can pass over any sacred thing for the sake of you chair, to blame
us in betrayal. Yes we are the "Judas" who have always been with you
and on your back, next to you when you where in a bed situation. We
respect you but we adore the Hunchak party.

Leave us, for god’s sake leave us, do not oblige our party and do
not despise the way the way we passed together. One chair is not more
expansive than the whole party. You are accepted neither in Armenia
nor in Diaspora. Do not try to receive the label of betrayer and
splitter, it is a label that is given with difficulty but is never
and never forgotten", – the letter said.

WILL GAGIK HARUTYUNYAN, CONSTITUTIONAL COURT’S CHAIR, HELP ARMENIA AVOID BECOMING A BANANA REPUBLIC?
By Appo Jabarian

USA Armenian Life Magazine
December 18, 2009

Nearly three weeks have passed since Pres. Serzh Sargsyan submitted the
Armenia-Turkey Protocols to the Constitutional Court on November 19.

It is understood that under Armenia’s laws 1) All international
agreements have to be submitted to the Constitutional Court,
prior to their consideration by Parliament for ratification; 2) The
Constitutional Court has 90 days from date of submission to announcing
its decision; 3) The Court has the authority to decide whether the
obligations deriving from such an international agreement are in
conformity with Armenia’s Constitution.

The general consensus and widespread expectation among Armenians both
in Armenia and its Diaspora is that the Court should not rubber-stamp
the government’s decision.

Some political observers and watchdog groups fear that Tte Court
– instead of being truly independent – would be heavily guided by
cronyism. They view Gagik Harutyunyan, the Constitutional Court’s Chair
as being biased in favor of the Protocols and they even suggest that he
recuse himself from the Court’s decision-making process regarding the
Protocols. Mr. Harutyunyan accompanied Pres. Sargsyan on his recent
pan-Diaspora "consulting tour," promoting the Protocols as being
"in Armenia’s best interest."

Any normal sovereign state that is guided by democratic principles
shall vigilantly maintain the independence of its three branches
of government a) the Legislature (the Parliament); the Executive
(the President and his Administration); and the Judiciary (the
Constitutional Court and the entire judicial system).

In a healthy democracy, these three branches individually function
as counter-balancing powers. One would never see the Chief Justice
of the United States Supreme Court accompanying Pres. Obama on a
nationwide or worldwide presidential tour promoting U.S. involvement
in the Afghanistan War or healthcare plan. That would surely undermine
the Supreme Court’s independence.

Mr. Harutyunyan, by accompanying Pres. Sargsyan on the Protocols
Promotion Tour, has certainly raised many eyebrows all the way from
Yerevan to Stepanakert, the capital of Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno
Karabagh Republic), to Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Moscow, Beirut
and many other parts of the world. It has also caused fears that the
Court may fail in its stated mission.

But now the Court’s Chair, Mr. Harutyunyan, has a historic
opportunity to not only allay these fears for bias and cronyism,
but most importantly, to help the sovereign Armenian statehood lay
the foundation for a truly independent Judicial branch of government,
counter-balancing both the Republican Party-controlled Executive and
the Legislative branches.

The Court may consider "adding a provision that would give the Armenian
government the right to unilaterally abrogate this agreement, should
Turkey violate any of its provisions after ratification.

…Given the critical nature of the proposed Protocols and their
long-term impact on Armenia’s national interest, it is expected that
the Constitutional Court would approach this case with the utmost
seriousness and responsibility. …Since it appears that the Armenian
government is intent on going through with these Protocols despite
all objections, the Constitutional Court and the Armenian Parliament
should attempt to minimize the damage to be caused to the country’s
national interests by adding specific reservations and clarifications
prior to their eventual ratification," wrote Harut Sassounian, the
Publisher of The California Courier.

Can the Court under Mr. Harutyunyan be true to its mission in
independently, objectively, and fairly deciding whether the obligations
deriving from the international agreement – The Protocols – are in
conformity with Armenia’s Constitution?

Will Mr. Harutyunyan act in the best interest of the nation or will
he simply rubber-stamp the government’s agenda? Does Mr. Harutyunyan
have the judicial courage that his position as the Chairman of the
Court requires? Will he muster enough willpower to help Armenia avoid
becoming a banana republic?

MEDIEVAL ARMENIAN PAINTINGS’ SINGULARITY PRESENTED IN "TSGHRUT GOSPEL" BOOK

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
16.12.2009 15:56 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia’s National Library hosted Wednesday a
presentation of "Tsghrut Gospel". book, authored by Nikolai Kotanjyan.

Medieval Armenian paintings’ singularity is presented in this ancient
handwritten Gospel.

The book was published in Armenian, French and Russian languages. In
his scientific works, the author describes peculiarities of ancient
calligraphy and miniature.

UNION OF ARMENIAN PHILATELISTS IS INTENDING TO CREATE ASSOCIATION OF ALL-ARMENIAN PHILATELISTS

ARMENPRESS
DECEMBER 16, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS: Union of Armenian Philatelists is
intending to create Association of All-Armenian Philatelists. The
chairman of the union Hovik Musayelyan told Armenpress that five
members of the union are involved in the group of initiators of
creation of the association. Currently the preparatory works are
being carried out, the statute of the to-be-created association is
being formed, the union is trying to establish contacts with all the
Armenian philatelists based in different countries of the world.

According to the calculations of the union in the world there are
collections of stamps with 270 Armenian themes and only the 15% of
their authors are Armenians. H. Musayelyan said they are planning to
involve in the association all those philatelists who would like to
join it.

The main goal of the association is to develop philately in Armenia,
organize exhibitions, forums, involve young people in all the processes
connected with philately. According to initial information, the
association will start functioning already in June 2010 and initially
60-70 philatelists will be involved in the association.

The association will also cooperate with a number of state
establishments.

140TH ANNIVERSARY OF KOMITAS CELEBRATED IN CALCUTTA

Aysor.am
16/12/09

The Armenian community of India celebrated the 140th anniversary of
Komitas in the newly repaired hall of Calcutta’s Armenian humanitarian
university.

The official opening of the hall was realized by the Indian Armenian
spiritual shepherd and the head of Calcutta’s Armenian humanitarian
university monk Khoren and by the newly appointed ambassador of
Armenia to India Ara Hakobyan.

The official opening of the hall was realized by the Indian Armenian
spiritual shepherd and the head of Calcutta’s Armenian humanitarian
university monk Khoren and by the newly appointed ambassador of
Armenia to India Ara Hakobyan.

According to the press service of the university the program dedicated
to the 140th anniversary of Komitas was prepared by the professors
of the university Nakhshun Durgaryan and Anzhela Manukyan. The works
of Komotas were realized by the students of the university.

Father Khoren Hovhannisyan said to the present "… Listening to
Komitas the unfaithful becomes faithful. The one who has no love
inside falls in love and sings the song of Sona."

YEGPARIAN: HOW SWEET IT IS
By Garen Yegparian

Armenian Weekly
December 11, 2009

Paul Krekorian won the election for LA’s second council district seat!

This is a credit to very good organization, outreach to the many
communities and components that make up that weirdly gerrymandered
district, and also a very respectable turnout and effort by the
Armenian community and ANC. It’s also proof that organization can
trump money. If you add up the cash raised by each campaign itself,
the money received from the city’s matching fund, and the independent
expenditures made by outside groups (supporting their candidate or
opposing the other one), the totals look like this, rounded to the
nearest thousand:

Paul Krekorian: $666,000 (total); $223,000 (city matching)

Christine Essel: $1,729,000 (total); $184,000 (city matching)

I included the matching funds because those figures demonstrate
something else. Paul’s contributions came in amounts up to $250 per
person (the limit up to which the city will match) to a greater
degree than his opponent’s. She obviously had fewer contributors
giving larger sums up to the $500 maximum. And that’s not all. Both
campaigns still have unpaid expenses and cash on hand. Factoring
all this in, the Krekorian campaign is in the red by only $1,900,
whereas Essel’s is over $90,000 in the hole. Imagine! These figures
are likely to increase a bit as straggling bills and receipts arrive.

Between the votes and the money, clearly Krekorian enjoys broader
support among the residents of the district.

The race itself got ugly near the end, and even absurd. Sure,
there were hit pieces on both sides. But the Essel campaign and
its supporters stooped a bit too low. One of her mailers claimed
Krekorian is anti-Semitic, sexist, and generally hateful. Anyone who
knows the man, or his positions, is struck by the utter absurdity
of these accusations. In particular, the bases are ridiculous. Some
misguided soul had posted anti-Semitic remarks to the online Asbarez
article reporting Essel’s taking Turkish denialist money. Somehow,
Paul was supposed to be responsible for this. The sexism? A picture
of Essel as a puppet of special interest (see the money aspect above)
from a Krekorian mailer was portrayed as "hogtying" her. Despite all
this, Paul’s graciousness shined at the victory party. He extended
a cooperative and forgiving hand to her, attributing the excessive
ugliness to her campaign consultant.

So now it’s time to build a more grassroots governance in Los Angeles,
fortunately including the Armenian community. This same community
is now confronted with a new challenge. Who will replace Krekorian
in the State Assembly to represent the most "Armenian" district in
the country? Hopefully, we’ll have the wisdom to avoid the foolhardy,
self-destructive, egotistical, embarrassing, and politically immature
behavior that has caused much damage to the Glendale (the largest
jurisdiction included within this Assembly district) Armenian
community’s political clout.

But to end on a more positive note, this victory reflects what we
can do when we act sensibly. And, this time around, as always, there
was plenty more we could have done, organizationally (ANC) and as a
community. So next round, let’s do a little bit better.

Finally, humor and irony are always present on election day. I’d be
remiss if I didn’t share. I was assigned to a precinct that had posed
problems to Armenian voters on September’s Primary Election Day. The
polling place was a residence, ensconced in the hills, out of the way,
very near where the Angeles National Forest boundary lies. I went
there expecting the worst, prepared to do battle. But, it turned out
that three of the five polling station staff were Armenian. To boot,
I knew one of them! Then, there was the man whose wife had already
voted earlier in the day and couldn’t give him a ride. It was 7:35 p.m.

Polls closed at 8:00. He couldn’t drive since, as he put it, he didn’t
want to land in jail. You see he’d just done some drinking… But
this genial and jovial fellow eagerly accepted my offer of a ride,
joking all the way about how he hoped I’d give him a ride back home,
otherwise he’d be completely lost. He was also emphatic about hosting
the polling place in his home next time around, since it was a "much
better location" and not so impossible to find.

Get ready. There are lots of elections of (Armenian) significance on
their way. And, be prepared to put out just a little more than the
last time.

WEIGHTLIFTER NAZIK AVDALYAN AND ARMENIAN GRECO-ROMAN STYLE WRESTLING TEAM RECOGNIZED THE BEST ATHLETE AND THE BEST TEAM OF 2009

ARMENPRESS
DECEMBER 15, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 15, ARMENPRES: According to the results of polling
conducted among sports journalists, champion of the world and Europe
in weightlifting Nazik Avdalyan (69 kg) has been recognized the best
Armenian athlete of 2009 gathering 520 points.

Weightlifter, world vice-champion, vice-champion of Europe Arakel
Mirzoyan (69 kg), who has gathered 420 points, occupies the second
place. World vice-champion, boxer Andranik Hakobyan (75 kg) is in
the third place with 355 points.

Fifty two sports journalists took part in polling, which is conducted
traditionally among Armenian sports journalists. Among the candidates
they have mentioned also the names of chess player Levon Aronyan,
football-player Henrik Mkhitaryan, unarmed self-defense sportsmen
Vachik Vardanyan and Ashot Danielyan, free style wrestlers Edgar
Yenoqyan, Zhirayr Hovhannisyan, Ruslan Basiev, basketball-player
Boyana Vulichi, gunner Norayr Bakhtamyan and sailor Sara Heber.

41% OF ARMENIA’S ECONOMY IN SHADOW: ARTSVIK MINASYAN

NEWS.am
16:17 / 12/14/2009

No proposal of ARF Dashnaktsutyun was accepted by RA Government since
it joined the opposition, even the ones presented when ARFD was in
ruling coalition and were underway, are currently turned down. This
proves the fact that RA authorities are guided not by political or
economic expediency, but political conjecture, ARFD member Artsvik
Minasyan informed NEWS.am.

He expressed bewilderment with the fact that RA Government even
rejected the proposal by ARFD to increase budgetary allocations to
NKR security zone settlement. Minasyan also criticized severely the
authorities’ economic policy stating that Armenia’s economy will
hereafter depend on international market due to their illiterate
actions. As for the pre-crisis achievements of Armenian economy and
GDP two-digit growth, it is nothing else but a bubble, if it does not
impact the social level of the population, Minasyan underlined. "Such
a growth is worthless if people keep on living in bad conditions," he
outlined. According to him, Armenia’s banking sector is in deplorable
state too.

Referring to the RA authorities’ intention to abolish oligopoly,
Minasyan noted all the steps in this direction taken by Government can
expose over 4% of the economy, whereas according to ARFD calculations
(that matches with the official data) the level of shadow economy
is up to 41% in Armenia or even 60% under certain estimates. "41%
of hidden economy totals AMD 243bn, of which 4% is a scanty part and
will not affect the economy dramatically," Minasyan concluded.

ARF SAYS NEXT YEAR BUDGET NOT IMMUNE FORM RISKS

ARKA
Dec 11, 2009

YEREVAN, December 11, /ARKA/. A senior member of the opposition
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) party said today next
year’s budget is not immune from risks. Vahan Hovhanesian, head of
ARF parliamentary faction, which voted against the budget together
with another opposition Zharangutyun (Heritage) party, said the 2010
budget is not based on a constitutional requirement that Armenia is
a social-oriented country.

According to Vahan Hovhanesian, the 2010 budget may broaden the gap
between the rich and the poor and does not propose solutions to
help the population raise their living standards. He also chided
the government for failing to develop effective mechanisms to
protect Armenian exporters and importers, who are not given any
privileges, especially in the context of the anticipated opening of
the Turkish-Armenian border.

With a vote of 82 to 16 the Armenian parliament adopted Thursday the
revised and final version of 2010 budget eyeing a modest 1.2 percent
growth. The budget calls for spending of 935.5 billion drams ($2.44
billion) and revenues of 742.0 billion drams. The budget deficit is
projected at 6.0 percent of GDP, lower than the 7.5 percent expected
in 2009. The deficit is planned to be financed by external resources,
mainly by international financial organizations and donors. The
biggest spending item in 2010 is earmarked for social needs as well as
defense and support of the Nagorno-Karabakh republic. The 2010 budget
forecasts annual inflation next year in the range of 4.0 percent,
with deviation of 1.5 percentage points, unchanged from 2009 level,
which is expected to be up to 5.0 percent. International Monetary Fund
(IMF) projects Armenia’s economy to contract by 15 percent in 2009. The
country’s GDP contracted 17.5 percent in January-October 2009.

SWEDEN INTERESTED IN EASTERN PARTNERSHIP IMPLEMENTATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.12.2009 14:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ As a country holding the EU presidency, Sweden
stands for complete implementation of the Eastern Partnership,
Ambassador of Sweden for the South Caucasus, Mr. Hans Gunnar Aden said.

"The Eastern Partnership initiative is congenial for us and we want
to develop relations with all participant countries," he said.

Sweden assumed the EU presidency in July 2009.