Author: Jagharian Tania

TER-PETROSIAN RESPONDS TO ARTHUR BAGHDASARIAN

A1+
[08:31 pm] 29 February, 2008

Today Levon Ter-Petrossian mounted the platform with his granddaughter
to answer reporters’ question on the shameful news of the day according
to which a person got some trifling position (he meant OYP Leader
Arthur Baghdasarian).

"I shall never utter his name and touch upon his activities. Obviously,
he is an ordinary man who betrayed his nation and joined the team of
"Tokhmakh" Mher and "Nemets" Rubo," Levon Ter-Petrossian said.

Erealier in the day, Nikol Pashinian said at Liberty Square that
"Kocharian named Arthur Baghdasarian a traitor months ago. There is
nothing else to add."

ARMEN ROUSTAMIAN: DASHNAKTSUTYUN CANNOT BE IN ROLE OF OBSERVER AND STAND ASIDE

ARKA
Feb 28, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 28, NOYAN TAPAN. The strained situation after the
February 19 presidential elections is becoming a deadlock so every
political force concerned about it must take steps in order to find a
way out, member of the ARF Armenia Supreme Body, the chairman of the
RA National Assembly Standing Committee of Foreign Relations Armen
Roustamian told NT correspondent.

In his words, the Dashnaktsutyun cannot be in the role of observer
of the process and stand aside. He said that so far there has been no
response to the ARF’s offer to act as a mediator between the opposing
sides, but there are "some signals".

According to A. Roustamian, "one of the positive signals" is the RA
prime minister, newly elected president Serge Sargsian’s call for
cooperation, which was made to the former presidential candidates
and political forces that support them. A. Roustamian said that it
only remains that "the other side will see the way of cooperation".

As for the statement of the NA speaker Tigran Torosian that the
ARF’s proposal to end cooperation in the political coalition was made
with "a bit strange" formulation, A. Roustamian said that under the
agreement signed on June 6, 2007, cooperation may be ended because of
an insurmountable disagreement in principle, based on a statement of
one of the sides or by consent among the sides. "We have proposed the
most logical way of solving the problems related to our cooperation,"
he said.

SUMGAIT TRAGEDY VICTIMS COMMEMORATED IN TBILISI

PanARMENIAN.Net
28.02.2008 15:48 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A soiree marking the 20th anniversary of Sumgait
pogroms took place in Tbilisi February 28. A documentary was screened
and a photo exhibition dedicated to the Sumgait pogroms and start of
the Karabakh Movement opened in Georgia’s capital.

The Sumgait massacre in February 1988 that claimed lives of 32
Armenians was the first mass explosion of ethnic valance in the modern
soviet history that resulted in huge refugee flows to Armenia and
Nagorno Karabakh.

The tragedy in Sumgait entailed ethnic cleansings in Baku, Kirovabad
and other Azeri towns.

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVED RESIGNATION OF VICE-SPEAKER VAHAN HOVHANNISSIAN

Mediamax
February 28, 2008

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian parliament approved today the resignation
of the Vice-Speaker of the National Assembly Vahan Hovhannissian,
which was submitted on Monday.

Mediamax reports that the Speaker of the parliament Tigran Torosian
thanked Vahan Hovhannissian for the productive work in the position
of the Vice-Speaker and expressed hope for its successful continuation
in the National Assembly.

SERGE SARGSIAN CALLS ON OPPOSITION MEMBERS TO COOPERATE – UP TO FORMATION OF COALITION GOVERNMEMT

Noyan Tapan
Feb 26, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 26, NOYAN TAPAN. A rally of supporters of the
presidential candidate who won the elections, the RA prime minister
Serge Sargsian took place in Republic Square of Yerevan on February
26. The rally was attended by officials of the executive and
legislative bodies and high-ranking officials from marzes. Serge
Sargsian made a speech at the rally. Below are excerpts from his
speech.

"Dear compatriots,

I welcome all of you and congratulate on the successful holding of
the presidential elections in Armenia. We succeeded in organizing two
elections one after another and getting positive opinions in both cases
for the first time in the history of newly independendent Armenia.

Today we experience both delight of victory and concern about the
future of our country.

We have gathered today to heal another wound – the wound that these
elections have opened on the body of our people. We must overcome
this ordeal, must be able to heal this wound quickly.

Dear citizens of the Republic of Armenia,

I assure you that you will not regret having given your votes to
Serge Sargsian.

I also express my gratitude to all those who have given their votes
to other candidates. We respect the opinions of our citizens and
we do not divide the society into "our own people" and "strangers",
or as some good-for-nothing democrats do now – into "our own people"
and "dregs of the nation".

I assure you that all criticism voiced by the candidates in the
pre-election period will be examined in detail.

>From this high rostrum, I am appealing to the former candidates and
the political forces supporting them: let’s cooperate. Up to formation
of a coalition government. One of our goals is to use all constructive
major forces in the name of Armenia’s development.

I want to speak today about the fate of democracy in our country,
I want to speak in front of you about the dignity of man, of each
citizen of the Republic of Armenia. The dignity that may only exist in
the country, in which power is formed through elections. The dignity
that we have no right to waste.

I promised victories to you, and we have won. I promise new victories,
and we will win.

We will defeat poverty, we will defeat evil, we will defeat
indifference.

Humaneness will win in our country, compassion will win in our country,
optimism will win in our country.

Unfortunately, we are witnessing a different phenomenon today. We
are witnessing division and split of the society, how an aggressive
grouping wants to achieve its goal at any price. We are witnessing
a process which is unprecedented by its danger.

I urge you not to become embittered because our sisters and brothers
are there, in another square. I am sure that the desire to have a
better Armenia have brought them to the square but, alas, they are
already not allowed to notice that they have become the tool of
several people’s revengful and office-seeking aspirations.

Dear friends,

These elections showed that we have managed to solve many and many
problems on the path of organizing good elections. These elections
showed that we still have a way to pass: first of all, the way of
raising confidence in the electoral process.

Dear compatriots, the most unacceptable thing in all this is the
unworthy conduct of a few of my comrades-in-arms whom the Devil has
mamanged to tempt by promises and ribaldry.

I will defend the right of speech freedom. However, free speech does
not mean the freedom of slander and swearing.

I will defend the right to hold rallies. However, the freedom of
rallies does not mean that the life of the capital city must be
paralyzed.

I defend the right to protest but the right of protest does not mean
that the other constitutional rights of our citizens must be abused.

Yes, the economic growth does not affect so rapidly the people’s
standard of living as we would like to. Yes, poverty reduction takes
time. Yes, we have the problem of ensuring a competitive economy
in the country, finally getting rid of the oligarchic system of the
economy that forms inevitably in the post-Soviet phase. But today we
are much stronger to solve these problems.

Today we are facing the dilemma of unity and fragmentation. We are
facing the dilemma of democracy and power usurpation.

Today we are the defenders of this democracy.

Democracy means that the rights of our citizens will be
protected. First of all, the right to form power through
elections. Today we protect this right.

I will protect fundamental human rights.

Today, a week after the elections, I say that the time of pre-election
slogans is up, the propaganda time is up, the time of accusations
is up. Now we have other problems to solve. We must implement the
expectations of our compatriots, address their problems and we must
continue to work and create.

"Everything has its time," is said in the Holy Writ.

Today is not the time to collect stones. It is time to throw them away.

It is time to work.

Today is the time of new national victories.

The time of human dignity and democracy.

Let’s go ahead. Armenia, go ahead, to new victories! Ahead Armenia!"

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
Feb. 21, 2008

TURKEY’S GUL HOPES FOR BETTER TIES IN MESSAGE TO ARMENIAN LEADER

["TURKISH PRESIDENT CONGRATULATES HIS ARMENIAN COUNTERPART" – AA
headline]

ANKARA (A.A) -Turkish President Abdullah Gul congratulated Serge
Sarkisian on his election as the new president ofArmenia on Thursday.

Sending a congratulatory message to Sarkisian, President Gul said he
hopes Sarkisian’s mission will enablecreation of a ground to
normalize relations between Turkish and Armenian people who have
proved that they can co-existin peace and harmony for centuries.

"I sincerely wish that our concerted efforts will contribute to
regional peace and prosperity and create anatmosphere based on
stability, mutual confidence and cooperation," Gul also said in his
message.

Presidential election took place in Armenia on Tuesday. Prime
Minister Serge Sarkisian won almost 53 per cent ofvotes and became
the new president of this country.

PRESS RELEASE
Huys NGO
Contact: Lala Aslikyan or Karen Hakobyan
Hambardsumyan 16, apt. 26., Yerevan
Tel: 093447643
Email: [email protected]

To International Organizations carrying out observation mission
OSCE/ODIHR observation mission
OSCE PA observation mission
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
PACE

Statement

Elections of 2008 like presidential elections in 1996, 1998, 2003
and the constitutional referendum in 2005 were distorted by official
competent bodies by using the governmental machine of repressive
measures and criminal mechanisms. The data given by NGO observing
missions and monitoring, evaluations by the political parties put
their candidacy for the presidential elections, and the society
itself, that expresses its outburst in the square of Freedom are the
evidence of those distortions.

Nevertheless, all these didn’t get their evaluation by European
structures. The evaluation on February 20 given by OSCE/ ODIHR says
that `Armenian presidential elections were mostly in line with
international commitments’ became a card blanch by the governmental
authorities for further crimes and for taking actions against the
citizens struggling for their rights. So, with such an assessment, the
consecutive process of violation of the law by Armenian authorities
gets to its logical victory with the assistance of European
structures, i.e. `democratic’ state with distorted elections.

We consider that in this situation the democratic processes are
getting to its end in Armenia. Citizens finally are deprived from the
most important right of being a citizen, freely expressing his/her
thoughts and will. One of the fundamental rights of the citizen to
elect the authorities of his/her country has an exclusively
declarative character in Armenia.

This will is defined and dictated by the government with repressive
measures to the society including criminal processes such as taking
bribes, blackmail, distortion of votes, misuse of administrative
resources, terrorizing, beating etc., which resulted in an unhealthy
situation, to which the absence of free media is even more
contributing. Moreover, authorities are already justify their
repressions against the citizens fighting for their rights. The
situation was flowing in the same way as it was in the night of April
13, 2003, when the authorities cruelly broke down the peaceful meeting
by beating defenseless people, journalists, members of parliament. In
the future the governmental bodies didn’t implement their commitment
taken against the European council- no one was punished.

In this circumstances any public action, efforts directed to the
human rights protection become nonsense, meaningless. The letters to
law protection bodies are just funny. The only way for the citizen
remains civic recalcitrance and complaints, the vivid example of this
are rallies in Liberty Square.

We under signed, with all responsibility declare that the process
of Presidential elections in Armenia went through the way of criminal
in all its stages. This is for the benefit of the Armenian society to
implement the right to express its freely will by the process of
election, independently from the political orientation. Today’s
public complaints could not be considered as a pure political struggle
or coup de tate, that is civil action against violated rights, for the
establishment of the real democracy.

From now on RA Citizen does not have any alternative but
struggling. In the means of protesting the citizens are free but the
responsibility for its consequences lays on the provoking the
situation authorities of the RA and their supporters, including
European structures.

We demand from the mission:
– Thoroughly investigate facts of infringements with the
participation of NGOs and political parties, to reconsider the
assessment;
– To use all possible tools to keep the authorities of the RA away
from the implementing repressive mechanisms of the army and police.

Huys NGO
Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly of Vanadzor
Mijnaberd NGO
Transparency International, Armenia
Asparez Journalists’ Club
Lawyers for human rights
Lala Aslikyan, citizen
Gayane Shagoyan, citizen
Zhanna Alexanyan, journalist

FERRERO-WALDNER: EC WILL CONTINUE TO ASSIST ARMENIA ON ITS PATH TO POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC REFORMS

armradio.am
22.02.2008 17:45

EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood
Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner stated that she commends the people
of Armenia and its leaders on the fact that these elections were
conducted mostly in line with the country’s international commitments.

"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," the statement of Benita Ferrero-Waldner reads.

"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 undertake," European Commissioner stated.

She added that "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," Benita
Ferrero-Waldner stated.

Benita Ferrero-Waldner expressed confidence that "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."

ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER AND HIS DEPUTIES URGED LEVON TER-PETROSIAN "NOT TO USE OUR NAMES AND NOT TO MAKE PROVOCATIVE STATEMENTS"

Mediamax
February 21, 2008

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian Defense Minister and his Deputies made a
statement today, in which they urged Ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosian
"not to use our names and not to make provocative statements, which
do not correspond to the reality".

As the statement of the Defense Ministry’s leadership, which was
received by Mediamax, reads, "we urge the political figures to refrain
from involving the Armed Forces into political processes".

"We assure the citizens of the Republic of Armenia that the Armed
Forces will not be involved in internal political processes, will
act within the framework of law and will provide the security
of our Homeland, solving the tasks, set for them by the Supreme
Commander-in-Chief", the statement reads.

By another statement, the Armenian Defense Ministry’s leadership
congratulated Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian on being elected for
the position of the President.

ARMENIANS RIOT OVER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULT
Angela Balakrishnan and agencies

guardian.co.uk
Wednesday February 20 2008

Thousands of supporters of Armenia’s leading opposition candidate
were rioting today after it was announced that the prime minister,
Serge Sarkisian, had won the country’s presidential election.

Armenia’s election chief, Garegin Azarian, said a complete preliminary
count of the first round showed Sarkisian had gained nearly 53%
of the vote.

The result is enough to avoid a runoff against the top opposition
candidate, Levon Ter-Petrosian, who received about 21%.

Election officials said turnout was nearly 70%. However, the opposition
are alleging widespread fraud and said voters were harassed and beaten.

Ter-Petrosian, who was Armenia’s first president after it gained
independence in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union,
is insisting he is the real winner and is calling for mass protest.

Riot police armed with truncheons and shields were today facing
several thousands of protestors in Yerevan, the capital of the former
Soviet republic.

Sarkisian was groomed by the outgoing president, Robert Kocharyan,
and was favoured to win the election.

The election campaign was dominated by policies for economic revival:
more than a quarter of Armenia’s 3.2 million people live in poverty.

The allegations of fraud and mass protests bring further instability
to the volatile country, caught between the energy-rich Caspian Sea
region, southern Europe and bordering Iran.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and observers
from a Moscow-led group of ex-Soviet republics, were monitoring the
vote and will release their assessment later today.

Millions of dollars of aid from the US and closer links with Europe
could be jeopardised if the elections are judged to have not met
democratic standards.