EDGAR SEDRAKIAN APPOINTED RA CEC MEMBER
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN. By the December 25 decree, RA
President Robert Kocharian made a change in the RA Central Electoral
Commission’s staff. According to the report provided to Noyan Tapan by
the RA President’s Press Office, the commissions of CEC member Ashot
Abovian were stopped ahead of the schedule. Edgar Sedrakian was
included in the CEC as a representative of the RA Judicial Department.
Lragir, Armenia
Dec 26 2007
OYP OFFERS A PROPOSAL TO ALL PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
Who will Arthur Baghdasaryan support in the second round of the
election or whom he will not support if he loses the first round of
the election, the reporters asked the leader of the Orinats Yerkir
Party Arthur Baghdasaryan in a news conference on December 26 when he
said they think there will be a second round, despite the statements
of the government.
Arthur Baghdasaryan said they are not discussing the option of losing
the first round and supporting another candidate in the second round.
`Even the sham polls which are used to hide the truth rank the
Orinats Yerkir two. Naturally, we do not react to an option which is
not under consideration, because it is not true for our supporters,
for all those people who follow us, and they count hundreds of
thousands. Naturally, we were and we remain opposition, we are for
the consolidation of healthy forces, and time is a fair judge, and
will prove the justification, truth and consistency of the stance of
each of us,’ Arthur Baghdasaryan says.
As to polls, Arthur Baghdasaryan thinks they are false and are meant
to wash the brains of the society. There are some reservations
regarding the poll by the Gallup Institute which suggests that the
leader of the Orinats Yerkir Party ranks two after Serge Sargsyan.
`The Gallup Institute, in this case the American Republican
Institute, orders the poll. The poll is conducted by Gevorg Poghosyan
we all know and the Armenian Sociological Association he leads. I
would like to tell you that these polls are conducted at homes of
respondents. According to the polls by Gallup, over 60 percent of
people are afraid. Imagine they call in on people 60 percent of which
are afraid and ask who they would vote for. Naturally, most people
cannot tell the truth, because most mayors of villages are
propagating the ruling party. Moreover, every mayor is obliged to
assure a given number of votes. And no community member wants to have
a conflict with the mayor of the community. The same is with
condominiums,’ Arthur Baghdasaryan says.
Therefore, he says the polls by the Gallup Institute cannot be
reliable because nobody guarantees their confidentiality. Gallup is
also aware of this. Nevertheless, according to Arthur Baghdasaryan,
the results of polls by the Gallup Institute are more reliable than
by other sociological organizations. As to public polls, the Orinats
Yerkir Party offers a proposal to all the candidates. `We propose all
the presidential candidates to shape groups of 2-3 professional
pollsters and conduct a real public poll, with reporters,
professional quota, and this group will conduct a poll and release
the results, and the reliability of these results should be known to
everyone. We have voiced concern with the Gallup Institute, and they
promised to make efforts to guarantee the anonymity of respondents,’
Arthur Baghdasaryan says.
At the same time, however, Arthur Baghdasaryan says the climate of
intimidation seems to have become milder, and evidence to this is
that more people go to rallies in Yerevan despite the pressure of the
government to prevent people from participating in rallies. Arthur
Baghdasaryan thinks violence expresses the fear of the government,
saying that a government with such a high rating would not use the
administrative resource to this degree. Meanwhile, according to the
presidential candidate Arthur Baghdasaryan, without fear in
government and among people there would be a society of free citizens
who would elect a president.
Russia & CIS General Newswire
December 21, 2007 Friday 11:07 AM MSK
One of Armenia’s biggest parties backs Sarkisian’s nomination for
presidency
YEREVAN Dec 20
Leader of the Prospering Armenia (PPA)
party Gagik Tsarukian, who leads the second largest parliamentary
faction, said he backs Prime Minister and leader of the Armenian
Republican Party Serzh Sarkisian as the Armenian presidential
candidate.
"The party’s decision is based on the coalition agreement and on our
cooperation," Tsarukian said at an expanded session of this party’s
political session in Yerevan on Thursday.
Sarkisian is able to better address the country’s task of preserving
political stability in Armenia, he said.
For his part, Sarkisian gave thanks for supporting his nomination,
adding that the PPA, which is present in the parliament and
participates in the work of executive authorities, is one of the
country’s most influential and biggest political forces.
"To have the backing of such a political force at the presidential
election is an honor for any politician," he said.
The May parliamentary elections in Armenia led to a new political
situation and laid a good foundation for efficient work. The
cooperation between the Republican Party and Prosperous Armenia is
also a good example, the premier said.
"The presidential election is particularly important from the point
of view of further development of the country. The praised
parliamentary elections were a surprise to many, so in case of a good
presidential election we must prove that this is a rule and not an
exception," the prime minister said.
The presidential election in Armenia is due on February 19, 2008.
STANDING SUBCOMMITTEE ON FROZEN CONFLICTS MAY BE FORMED IN PACE
PanARMENIAN.Net
21.12.2007 14:53 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The PACE co-rapporteur on Azerbaijan, Andres
Herkel stands for formation of a permanent subcommittee on frozen
conflicts. "I do support the idea of formation of a permanent
subcommittee or organization of public hearings. The issue should
certainly be discussed," Mr Herkel said.
"Resolution of frozen conflicts is a very important issue for the
Council of Europe. It refers not only to Azerbaijan but also to
Georgia and Moldova. We can’t hope that these conflicts will be
resolved tomorrow," he said. "Public diplomacy is also significant
for the purpose. Absence of civil ties will badly prevent development
of the process."
When comparing the Nagorno Karabakh and South Ossetian conflicts,
Mr Herkel said the later is remarkable for existence of dialogue and
contacts, what allows to speak of prospects, Trend reports.
RPA WILL TRY TO BRING THE POSSIBLE FRAUDS TO MINIMUM
armradio.am
21.12.2007 16:15
Press Secretary of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Eduard
Sharmazanov declared in Yerevan today that RPA will make every
effort to hold the upcoming presidential elections on February 19,
2008 better than the parliamentary elections held in May, 2007.
Mr. Sharmazanov recalled that in May, 2007 the nation-wide elections
were the first in Armenia to receive the positive assessment of
international observers. He expressed confidence that the upcoming
elections will proceed at high level, and all the possible violations
will be brought to minimum.
Summing up the year of 2007, the MP stated that, as a result
of parliamentary elections, "the radical political forces were
defeated." According to him, "the new constructively functioning
coalition Government presented an ambitious, but at the same a
realistic program." Eduard Sharmazanov noted that in the course of
the past 7 years "the Government, headed by the Republican Party,
fulfilled the responsibilities assumed, as a result of which the
level of poverty in the country was decreased from 56% to 29.8%.
"In the course of the starting second-generation reforms we plan to
reach equal development of the capital and the regions of our country,"
he stated.
US REDUCES ASSISTANCE TO ARMENIA
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Dec 19 2007
"In February, 2007, White House submitted the draft budget document
on the Department of State, Foreign Affairs and Relevant Programs
for 2008 to the Congress.
The document envisaged allocating $18mln. to Azerbaijan and $35mln.
to Armenia in the framework of Freedom Support Act. Separatist
Nagorno Karabakh regime was not offered any assistance," official
of Azerbaijani embassy in Washington Remzi Teymurov told APA’s
US bureau.He said that House of Representatives amended the budget
document presented by the White House, demanded $68mln. to be allocated
to Armenia, which is twice more than the planned assistance, and
the members of the Lower House asked to offer $6mln.-assistance to
Nagorno Karabakh.
"In October, when the draft budget was debated in the Senate, the
members of the house, unlike the House of Representatives again wanted
$38mln. to be allocated to Armenia and $22mln. to Azerbaijan.
Concrete figure on assistance to Nagorno Karabakh was not reflected
in the document debated in the Senate," he said.
Remzi Teymurov said that taking into account divergence on the bill
between the two houses of the Congress, a conference was organized of
the members of the Supreme Legislative Body’s institutions. According
to the final decision of the conference, $19mln. will be offered to
Azerbaijan and $38mln. to Armenia in 2008. The financial assistance
to Nagorno Karabakh has been halved.
Teymurov said that halving the assistance to be rendered for Armenia
and separatist Nagorno Karabakh regime was possible with the activity
of Azerbaijani Embassy in US and local Diaspora organizations. The
meetings were held with congressmen and their assistants during
discussions carried out in the Congress since February due to the
above-said draft bill. Diaspora members appealing to their congressmen
asked to take interests of Azerbaijan into account.
U.S Armenians did not hide their dissatisfaction with the decision
of House of Representatives of the Congress. The executive director
of US Armenian National Committee Aram Hamparian stated that
Armenia’s receiving less assistance due to the borders with Turkey
and Azerbaijan will cause problem. Armenians are very anxious about
House of Representative’s allotting $3mln-twice reduced amount to
Nagorno Karabakh.
Ballot should be held in Senate due to draft bill on 2008 State Budget
in nearest days. Following this, the document will be submitted to
US President George Bush for signing it.
Armenia will be rendered less assistance intended in the framework
of Millennium Challenges in 2008. Congress House of Representatives’
allocating $1.55 billion to that program caused it. But White House
asked to allocate $ 3 billion for the above-said program.
TURKEY AND ITS CHRISTIANS: THE CROSS AND THE CRESCENT
Economist, UK
Dec 19 2007
Why Christians feel under threat in today’s Turkey
AFPTHIS has been a bad year for Orhan Ant. As a Protestant missionary
in Samsun, on the Black Sea, he has had death threats and his church
has been repeatedly stoned. Local newspapers called him a foreign
agent. A group of youths tried to kidnap him as he was driving home.
His pleas for police protection have gone unheeded.
Mr Ant is not alone. All over Turkey, Christians are under attack. In
January Hrant Dink, an ethnic Armenian newspaper editor, was shot dead
in Istanbul by a teenager who said he had "insulted Turkishness". In
April two Turks and a German, all evangelists, were murdered in
Malatya. Their killers bound and tortured them before slitting their
throats. In December an Italian Catholic priest was knifed by a
teenager in Izmir. Another Italian priest was shot dead in Trabzon
in 2006.
Many blame the attacks on a new ultra-nationalism, tinged with Islamic
militancy, that has swept across Turkey. Unemployed teenagers in the
Black Sea region seem especially prone to it. "The plight of Christians
is critical," says Husnu Ondul, president of the Ankara-based Turkish
Human Rights Association. Like many others, he believes that the "deep
state", comprising a few judges, army officers and security officials
who need enemies to justify their grip on power, is behind the attacks.
That may seem far-fetched. Yet evidence leaked to the media in the
Dink and Malatya cases points to collusion between the perpetrators
and rogue elements in the police and the army. It also suggests that
the Istanbul police were tipped off about Mr Dink’s murder a year
before it was carried out. "So why did the Istanbul police do nothing
to prevent it?" wonders Ergin Cinmen, a lawyer for the Dink family.
Respecting the religious freedom of non-Muslims is essential to
Turkey’s hopes of joining the European Union. Laws against Christians
repairing their churches have been relaxed. Overriding objections
from pious constituents, the ruling Justice and Development (AK)
party has just restored an ancient Armenian church in eastern Turkey.
School textbooks are being purged of an anti-Western bias.
Yet many Christian grievances remain. The prime minister, Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, resists calls to reopen the Greek Orthodox Halki
seminary on Heybeli island off Istanbul, shut down in 1971. Turkey
refuses to recognise the ecumenical title of the Greek Orthodox
patriarch, Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of over 200m Orthodox
Christians. The patriarch, a loyal Turkish citizen, has lobbied hard
for Turkey’s EU membership. But this has only reinforced suspicions
among ultra-nationalist detractors, who accuse him of trying to
"Christianise" Turkey and wanting a Vatican-style state in the heart
of Istanbul.
Never mind that the Greek Orthodox church in Istanbul has dwindled
to 4,000 souls, many of them too old to follow their children abroad.
Nor that the patriarch must under Turkish law be a Turkish citizen, a
rule which is making it difficult to find a successor to Bartholomew
I. "They [ie, the Turks] apparently won’t regard the conquest of
Constantinople as complete until the patriarchate ceases to exist and
all Christians have been frightened away," suggests one restorer of
icons in Istanbul.
The government has yet to approve a draft bill to help non-Muslims
recover thousands of properties that have been confiscated by the state
and either sold or left to decay. The Aya Yorgi church in Istanbul’s
Edirnekapi district, which was badly damaged in an earthquake, is one
sad example. Its walls are cracked, its roof is leaking; a marble angel
lies in pieces on the floor. "All we ask is to be permitted to rescue
our church, but we cannot hammer a single nail," complains Bishop
Dionysios, a Greek Orthodox prelate who still conducts services there.
Many Christians concede that AK has treated them better than its
secular predecessors did. They blame the deep state for their recent
troubles. But the excuse of the deep state’s power is wearing thin
after AK’s big victory in July’s general election. "With such a strong
mandate, the government’s failure to meet our demands can only mean
one thing, that the deep state is still in charge," says a Christian
priest. Or perhaps that AK believes in religious freedom for Muslims,
but not Christians.
/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10337900
80% OF AZERBAIJANI POPULATION SPEAKING FOR PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF AZERBAIJAN-ARMENIA CONFLICT
Today.Az
17 December 2007 [16:25]
Sahib Babayev, human rights activist and chairman of the Ganja
affiliate of the Helsinki Civil Assembly of Azerbaijan, visiting
Yerevan, announced that nearly 80% of the population of Azerbaijan
is against war with Armenia.
"Ordinary people want peace and we should change our stereotypic idea
about the enemy. We should understand that we are neighbors". S.Babayev
said.
According to the Azerbaijani human rights activist, the unification
of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia may lead to creation of a more
perfect union than EU.
"Our peoples are brought up under common traditions. We should not
walk with guns in our hands and from my part I am ready to do my best
to establish peace between our nations", Babayev noted.
The Days of Azerbaijan, within the framework of the program
"Armenia-Azerbaijan-Turkey-a step to a dialogue" started in Yerevan,
Monday.
A delegation from Azerbaijan, including human rights activists,
publicists, political scientists and experts are visiting the capital
of Armenia for participation in the event by an invitation of the
Caucasus Center of Peacekeeping Initiatives.
The Azerbaijani human rights activists and experts will take part
in the activity of the school educational and research campus in the
Mkhitar Sebastatsi educational complex of Yerevan.
CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT VAHAN HOVANNESYAN: WE SEE SERIOUS THREAT IN MONOPOLIZATION NOT ONLY IN ECONOMY BUT ALSO IN POLITICS
2007-12-13 15:20:00
ArmInfo. "We see serious threat in monopolization not only in
the economy field of the country but also in the political life of
Armenia", – vice-speaker of the parliament, member of the ARFD Bureau,
candidate for president Vahan Hovannesyan said at the press-conference
in the National press club today.
He also added that the ARFD thinks such development is
unacceptable. The policy of giving the monopolist facilities should
be ruled out in Armenia.
He also said that in Armenia the liberal economy has already exhausted
itself. "We reached the level when new steps should be taken to support
high macro-economic indicators and rates of growth. Today Armenia has
an opportunity of applying more social machinery within the country",
– he said.
AZERBAIJANI REPRESENTATIVE BLACKMAILING OSCE
2007-12-13 15:21:00
ArmInfo. Representative of Azerbaijan blackmails OSCE.
The public-political organizations of Azerbaijan are dissatisfied with
the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict settlement. "If from the beginning of next year the Minsk
Group does not present proposals on the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict
settlement in accordance with Azerbaijan’s position and within
the international legal standards, Baku may refuse the mediation
service of the Minsk Group," the Head of the Azerbaijani Community
of Nagorno-Karabakh, Nizami Bahmanov, reported to Trend on 13 December.
According to Bahmanov, the recent written proposals reflect only the
personal position of the co-chairs. He said that if the co-chairs
make proposals not corresponding to Azerbaijan’s official position,
the Country will not accept them. Bahmanov said that during discussions
on the status, the heads of the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities
of Nagorno-Karabakh would also join the talks.