Author: Jalatian Sonya

"CONTINUED PROGRESS IS KEY TO ENSURING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE"

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01 February, 2008

Strasbourg, 31.01.2008 – A pre-electoral mission of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe has just completed a visit to Yerevan
to assess the political climate and preparations for the forthcoming
Presidential election in Armenia. Its main task was to assess progress
in the implementation of the electoral framework, as continued progress
in the manner in which the election is conducted will be essential
to ensure public confidence in the electoral process in this country.

Continued progress is key to ensuring public confidence in democratic
election, says PACE delegation

The delegation noted that the parliamentary elections in 2007 had
shown progress over previous elections and expressed its hope that this
progress would continue during the forthcoming Presidential election on
19 February 2008. It was therefore heartened by the clearly expressed
political will of the authorities to address previous shortcomings and
to hold fully democratic elections in line with Armenia’s commitments
to the Council of Europe. In this respect, the delegation welcomes
the improvements in the legal framework for these elections, which
address a number of recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly.

However, it would also like to stress that the democratic conduct of
the elections will squarely depend on the electoral framework being
fully implemented, both according to the letter and spirit of the law.

Genuinely democratic elections, and the legitimacy of their outcome
in the eyes of the people, depend on a high level of public confidence
in the electoral process. In that respect, the delegation is concerned
with the apparent lack of trust in the electoral process, including in
the impartiality of the legal complaints and appeals process, expressed
by a number of interlocutors. It therefore strongly recommends that the
authorities take all necessary measures to ensure public confidence
in the electoral process, especially with regard to the secrecy of
the vote and the transparency of the counting and tabulation processes.

While the setup of the voting booths has been changed to impede
vote-buying and multiple voting, there is some concern that this may
lead to voters inadvertently showing how they voted, especially if
large numbers of people are present in the polling stations. The
delegation saw a sample voting booth and was convinced that they
are designed according to international standards. However, it calls
upon the Central Election Commission (CEC) to take all precautions
to ensure the secrecy of the vote on election day. Moreover, while
the CEC has made laudable efforts to increase the transparency of the
tabulation process, these measures did not work fully satisfactorily
during the previous parliamentary elections. The delegation hopes that
the technical problems encountered at that time have been overcome
and recommends that the CEC sets a minimum timeframe during which
the results protocols have to be publicly posted at polling stations.

The Election Code ensures a balanced composition of all election
commissions, but it was noted that this balance was not reflected in
the composition of the leadership troikas of the Territorial Election
Commissions. The delegation hopes that this imbalance will not be
repeated at the level of the Precinct Election Commissions.

Democratic elections demand a level playing field between all
candidates during, but not limited to, the legal campaign period. The
delegation therefore regrets the clearly unbalanced media coverage
on most broadcast media, including public television, before the
official campaign period, as was reported by several monitoring
organisations, including by the Election Observation Mission of the
OSCE/ODIHR, whose findings – published in its first interim report –
the delegation fully supports.

The delegation heard several complaints that the current Prime
Minister, who is a Presidential candidate, would have unfair campaign
advantages as a result of his decision to maintain his position
as Prime Minister during the campaign period. While recognising the
legality of the current Prime Minister continuing his functions despite
being a candidate, it adds to the responsibility of the government to
avoid any perception that administrative resources are abused in favour
of, or against, any particular candidate. The delegation welcomes
the fact that, until now, the election campaign has taken place in
an open and unimpeded climate, but notes reports by some candidates
of their difficulties in obtaining campaign offices in some regions.

The delegation is confident that the authorities will address the
concerns of the delegation and will continue its efforts to organise
a fully democratic Presidential election that will have the full
confidence of the Armenian people.

The delegation would like to thank the authorities for their
co-operation and assistance during this visit.

The Parliamentary Assembly will return to Armenia to observe the
Presidential election with a 30-member delegation.

HEAD OF BAKU AIRPORT’S SECURITY SERVICE IS SUSPECTED OF COLLABORATION WITH
RUSSIAN SPOOKS

Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 22:47
PF in Security, Intelligence

31 January 2008

Azer-Press (Azerbaijan)

BAKU, 31 JANUARY, AZER PRESS. Emil Suleymanov, the former head of the
security service of the international airport of Baku, is incriminated with
the transfer of very important state information to the Russian
intelligence, the Echo newspaper reports, adding that it was found out that
the hall in the airport building where the president of Azerbaijan Ilham
Aliyev talked to governmental officials prior to leaving on his foreign
trips was tapped – by officers of the airport’s security service and Mr
Suleymanov himself.

Mr Suleymanov is a former KGB officer educated in Russia. He had headed a
unit in the Military Counter-Espionage Service and then a department in the
counter-espionage unit of the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan
prior to his appointment to what turns out to be his last job. One more
officer of the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan has been pointed
at as a Russian spy alongside Mr Suleymanov.

Mr Suleymanov and the IT engineer of the airport’s security service Tahir
Assadzade are charged with high treason, abuse of office and other crimes.
The felons’ dock also includes the colonel-lieutenant of the National
Security Ministry Rafet Aliyev, the IT engineer of IT Faig Guliyev and the
head of the service of operations Tamerlan Mikayilov. They are all charged
with the unlawful possession and sales of weapons, ammunition and
explosives, high treason and abuse of office under the relevant articles
228, 274 and 302 of the Criminal Code. The preliminary hearing started
yesterday and is continued today.

The state prosecutor Togrul Husseinov asks for a behind-closed-doors trial
owing to the national secrets involved.

Btw, the US press came up with reports this week that the former envoy of
Azerbaijan to UN Eldar Guliyev collaborated with the Russian spooks. Mr
Guliyev left the diplomatic service of Azerbaijan in 2001.

VAHAN HOVHANNISSIAN BELIEVES THAT IN THE COURSE OF TIME NATO WILL INFLUENCE TURKEY FOR THE NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA

Mediamax
January 30, 2008

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian presidential candidate, Member of
"Dashnaktsutiun" party Bureau Vahan Hovhannissian stated in Yerevan
today that sooner or later NATO will have influence on Turkey,
concerning the issue of normalization of relations with Armenia.

Mediamax reports that Vahan Hovhannissian said this today during the
meeting with journalists in the Information Center on NATO in Yerevan.

The candidate noted that the talks on Turkey’s entry in the EU are
accompanied with reforms, which will have positive influence on the
prospect of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations as well. At the
same time, Vahan Hovhannissian stated, Turkey is a member of NATO for
already a few decades and was always considered the "western advanced
post of the Alliance". "In the soviet time, Turkey opposed the Soviet
Union, today it also has a "special role", caused by the instability
in Iraq and in the whole Middle East", Member of "Dashnaktsutiun"
Bureau stated.

Despite that fact, Vahan Hovhannissian expressed hope that other
member-states of NATO will realize the reason of cautious perception
of the Alliance in Armenia, conditioned by Turkey’s policy, and will
work to improve the situation.

WORLD MORTGAGE CRISIS GOES PAST ARMENIA’S ECONOMY

ARKA News Agency
Jan 30 2008
Armenia

YEREVAN, January 30. /ARKA/. The turmoil in the global mortgage market
and the stock market crisis have not affected Armenia’s banking system
and economy, said Edward Aghajanov, former head of the RA National
Statistical Service (NSS).

The economist believes Armenia is not involved in the development of
the global mortgage and stock markets.

"No equity market works in Armenia, and it is senseless to say those
world processes may somehow affect our county," Aghajanov said.

He pointed out that in 2007 only the Armeconombank and the ACBA-Credit
Agricole Bank were granted syndicated credits at $15mln and $12mln
respectively.

The economist believes this money is not enough to think of possible
influence of the global financial crisis on Armenia’s banking system
and economy.

The turmoil in the global mortgage market has affected the USA,
as well as European and Asian countries directly involved in the US
equity market.

Capitalization in the Armenian Stock Exchange (ARMEX) totaled AMD
3.2bln (0.1% of GDP) in 2007.

The Swedish OMX Financial Services Company became the absolute
shareholder of ARMEX and the Central Depositary of Armenia on January
7, 2008. The company plans to develop the county’s stock market soon.

CIS OBSERVER MISSION KEEPS ON FOLLOWING ELECTION CAMPAIGN IN ARMENIA

arminfo
2008-01-29 13:54:00

ArmInfo. The CIS Observer Mission keeps on following the course
of the election campaign in Armenia. As the CIS Observer Mission’s
headquarters told ArmInfo, during monitoring of the election campaign,
first deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee – Executive Secretary
of CIS Vladimir Garkun held meetings with the Heads of RA government
and Foreign Ministry.

The Armenian party informed of the course of the election campaign
and the practical measures taken by the authorities in line with the
election legislation for holding of transparent and free election.

On January 22-27, the CIS Observer Mission’s headquarters held
meetings with RA presidential contender Artur Baghdasaryan, Heads and
members of the campaign headquarters of the presidential contenders
A. Geghamyan, V. Manukyan, V. Hovhannisyan, S. Sargsyan and
L. Ter-Petrosyan. An opinion exchange was also held concerning the
course of the election campaign. On January 23, the CIS Observer
Mission’s headquarters started monitoring of coverage of the Armenian
presidential contenders’ election campaign in Mass Media and study
of the work of the election commissions of all the levels.

Letters with request to inform the Mission’s headquarters about
the results of consideration of the incoming appeals were sent to
the republican bodies which deal with consideration of complaints
and applications connected with violations of the electoral
legislation. During the election campaign, the Mission members were
present at the meetings of A. Baghdasaryan, V. Manukyan and L. Ter-
Petrosyan with voters. As of January 28, 32 representatives of the
CIS member-states, Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member
Nations and the CIS Executive Committee have been accredited in the
CIS Observer Mission.

"NO ONE CAN HINDER"

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29 January, 2008

The RA presidential candidate Arman Melikyan will hold meetings in
the RA regions. This particularly refers to those regions, where
the number of refugees prevails. "People call us from regions and
ask to organize meeting with Arman Melikyan. They even say that they
will solve all technical problems for the candidate to come and meet
them. Thus, we will take measures, if they want it, why should we
say no?", said Eleanora Asatryan, head of Melikyan’s headquarters.

Tomorrow the candidate will have a meeting organized by the "Center
for Public Dialogue and Initiatives" in Tekeyan center. Then the
candidate will meet members of the pre-election mission of the PACE
ad hoc Committee.

According to Eleanora Asatryan, many citizens visit their
headquarters. Their meetings are sometimes organized spontaneously. As
Mrs Asatrayn mentions, people come and express their astonishment
why Melikyan is alone and is not an official’s representative.

Another presidential candidate Tigran Karapetyan will hold meetings
in Artashat tomorrow, and the next day in Armavir. Artak Harutyunyan,
head of the "People’s Party" political board informs that the meetings
are hold without any incidents and they have not met any obstacles
during this period. "The problem is that we act within the frames of
the law and no can accuse us of anything. We are the people’s party and
people trust us. Even if they want, no one can hinder our activities",
ensures Artak Harutyunyan.

Financial Times: "Few doubt that Ilham Aliyev, the current president
of Azerbaijan, will win a second term in office at a general election
this October"

26 January 2008 [10:38] – Today.Az

The Influential British Financial Times newspaper published a series of
articles on Azerbaijan on January 25.

It paid much attention to processes of intensive economic development
ongoing in Azerbaijan, successful oil and gas policy, country’s growing
influence in the region and on the international level,
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Garabagh, as well as
achievements in the sphere of democracy.

The articles praise achievements, attained owing to President of
Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

Authors come to a conclusion that Ilham Aliyev’s victory on the
forthcoming presidential elections of 2008 is unquestioned.

The newspaper reads: "Few doubt that Ilham Aliyev, the current
president of Azerbaijan, will win a second term in office at a general
election this October. The Moscow-educated, English-speaking leader is
said by associates to be committed to westernising reforms."

On the whole, the authors positively assessed the processes of
democratization, ongoing in Azerbaijan.

MWC News, Canada
Jan 26 2008

Australia ignores its ongoing Indigenous Genocide

Sidney Madonna by Gideon Polya

Australia Day marks the official commencement on January 26 1788 of
British theft, invasion, occupation, settlement and Aboriginal
Genocide in Australia – it is accordingly denoted as Invasion Day by
Indigenous Australians (Australian Aborigines, Australian
Aboriginals, Black Australians).

`Politically correct’ racism (PC racism) is the remarkable,
continuing feature of Australian atrocities against Indigenous
People in Australia and around the world as a particularly selfish
and violent member of the Anglo-Celtian, Anglo-American Genocide
Club.

Brutal British invasion, settlement and Aboriginal Genocide
paradoxically coincided with the burst of liberal and humanitarian
sentiment associated with the Enlightenment – just as American
Independence and enunciation of `all men are created equal and have
an unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’
were immediately followed by the final genocide of remaining
Indigenous Americans.

Just as British colonialism was `dressed up’ as `bringing
civilization’ to assertedly `inferior’ non‑Europeans (see:
Lindqvist, S. (1992), Exterminate All the Brutes, Granta Books,
London, 2002), so today the Bush-ite Australians (`Liberal-Nationals’
= Libs) and neo-Bush-ite Australians (Labor = Labs) `dress up’ their
gross violation of Occupied Iraqi, Occupied Afghan and Indigenous
Australian human rights by `politically correct’ assertions of their
deep concern for these captive peoples and their earnest desire to
bring them `democracy’ and other benefits.

Politically correct racism (PC racism) of which the Australian
Murdochracy and the other Anglo-Celtia Murdochracies are guilty
involves declaring non-racism and even legislating against domestic
expressions of racism while simultaneously horrendously violating
human rights in a race-specific fashion (see `Politically correct
racism in proto-Nazi racist White Australia’).

While Australia was a product of the European Enlightenment and was a
world leader in free public education, trade unions, the eight hour
working day, public heath, one-man-one-vote and women’s suffrage (for
Whites) it has had an appalling history of racist violence that
continues to this day.

Thus the Indigenous population dropped from about 1 million to 0.1
million in the first century of settlement and Indigenous Genocide
effected mainly through introduced disease, dispossession,
deprivation and massacre (the last major massacre of Indigenous
Australians occurring in the 1920s). In the 20th century the
Aboriginal Genocide continued through the evil policy of forcible
removal of about 0.1 million Indigenous children from their mothers
(the so-called Stolen Generations) and through dire poverty and
effective slavery (payment in `flour and sugar’ for agricultural or
domestic work on their own stolen land and retention of `pocket
money’ wages by corrupt officials).

Until a referendum in 1967 Indigenous Australians were subject to
appalling racist laws and were not even `counted’ as Australians,
being dealt with under Flora and Fauna legislation (see: here ).

The reformist Whitlam Labor Government (1972-1975) abolished racism
(e.g. the notorious 1901-1974 White Australia Policy) by law,
notably the 1975 Racial Discrimination Act. However in 2007 the evil,
racist, Bush-ite Liberal-National Party Coalition Government
suspended the 1975 Racial Discrimination Act in relation to Northern
Territory Indigenous Australians with the support of the cowardly,
unprincipled, neo-Bush-ite Labor Opposition – despite 90% popular
support for the 1967 referendum and a majority Australian desire to
say `Sorry’ and sympathy for the desperate plight of Indigenous
Australians.

Of course the continuing Aboriginal genocide is just part of the
continuing genocidal history of PC racist White Australia. Australia
was founded as a penal colony in part to strategically help secure
the British position in India against the French. Australia was thus
important to British Occupation if India and was accordingly
complicit in excess deaths in `British’ India totalling 1.5 billion
over 2 centuries and horrendous British-made famines, notably in what
should have been famine-proof Bengal from the Great Bengal Famine of
1769-1770 (10 million dead) to the World War 2 Bengal Famine (4
million deaths; associated with horrendous sexual abuse of starving
women and girls; possibly due to a deliberate British scorched earth
policy; and unlike the contemporaneous Jewish Holocaust, almost
completely `rubbed out’ of history by lying, racist,
holocaust-denying British academics and writers) (see `Jane Austen
and the Black Hole of British History’).

Australia `was there’ for Great Britain in the British wars in China,
New Zealand, the Sudan and South Africa in the 19th century; in
World War 1 in European, Pacific and Middle Eastern theatres (notably
the invasion of Turkey that precipitated the 1.5 million victim
Armenian Genocide – April 24 is Armenian Genocide Day for Armenians
and April 25 is celebrated as Australia’s most important holiday,
Anzac Day, commemorating the heroic but unsuccessful Australian and
New Zealand Army Corp – i.e. Anzac – invasion of Turkey at Gallipoli
in the Dardanelles in 1915); and in World War 2 .

Post-war Australia was still intimately linked to British imperialism
under a Common Head of State (1950-2005 excess deaths in countries
for which the UK was a major post-war occupier total 727 million) and
post-1950 was involved militarily in all US Asian Wars – 1950-2005
excess deaths in countries for which the US was a major post-war
occupier total 82 million; excess deaths in post-1950 US Asian Wars
total 24 million, the breakdown being roughly 1 million (Korea), 13
million (Indo-China), 4 million (Iraq) and 6 million (Afghanistan)
(see William Blum’s `Rogue State’; `Body Count’:
; and `United State terrorism’ on MWC
News) .

In the 21st century PC racist White Australia quite rightly makes a
lot of noise about the Japanese killing 1,000 whales each year but is
silent about the horrendous Indigenous Genocides in which it
continues to be complicit. Thus 9,000 Indigenous Australians die
avoidably each year out of an Indigenous population of about 0.5
million; 90,000 Indigenous Australians died avoidably in the 11 years
under the Bush-ite Coalition Government; the `annual death rate’ of
Indigenous Australians is 2.2 % (2.4% in the Northern Territory) as
compared to 2.5% for Australian sheep (see `Aboriginal Genocide’ on
MWC News ).

Post-invasion excess deaths in the Australian- and US-occupied
Occupied Iraqi and Afghan Territories total 1.5-2 million and 3-6
million, respectively; post-invasion under-5 infant deaths total 0.6
million and 2.2 million, respectively; and Indigenous refugees from
these devastated territories total 4.5 million and 4 million,
respectively (see: `US mass infanticide’ on MWC News ). Even worse,
if you include its world #1 coal exports, Australia is the world’s
#1 developed country for `annual per capita CO2 pollution’ and is a
major climate criminal country complicit in a mounting climate
racist, climate terrorist climate genocide that is set to kill 6
billion people by the end of the century according to Professor James
Lovelock FRS (for detailed , documented analyses see `Climate
Emergency, Sustainability Emergency’ and `Rudd Australia Report Card’
for Australia’s involvement in the Iraqi Genocide, the Afghan
Genocide and Climate Genocide.

The ugly reality is that Australia is a Land of Lies, Flies and Slies
(slies being spin-based untruths). Notwithstanding ostensible
`democracy’, Australia is ruled by powerful, secretive,
mutually-loyal, fraternally-associated Pacmen (Prosperous
Anglo-Celtic Men). Further, Mainstream media and politicians in the
Australian Murdochracy are dominated by the `Dirty Digger’, former
Australian, US citizen, media mogul and king-maker Rupert Murdoch.

The lying, racist, holocaust-ignoring, genocide-ignoring Mainstream
media (including the notably decent but highly intimidated and
neo-con-subverted Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the ABC) will
simply not report the involvement of racist White Australia in
Indigenous Genocides, in the passive mass murder of its Indigenous
Subjects both at home and abroad.

On Australia Day – Invasion Day to Indigenous Australians – White
Australia celebrated its prosperity, achievements and sporting
prowess but ignored its continuing involvement in horrendous, ongoing
Indigenous Genocides.

Dr Gideon Polya, MWC News Chief political editor, published some 130
works in a 4 decade scientific career, most recently a huge
pharmacological reference text "Biochemical Targets of Plant
Bioactive Compounds" (CRC Press/Taylor & Francis, New York & London,
2003), and is currently writing a book on global mortality —

PACE BUREAU NOT CONSIDERING ISSUE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN AZERBAIJAN

Today
s/42638.html
Jan 25 2008
Azerbaijan

The PACE Bureay held a session in the framework of the winter session
of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

In particular, it was planned to consider document No 11486 on Studying
the state of political prisoners in Azerbaijan, worked out by Cyprus
deputy Cristos Purgurudes.

Yet the issue has not been included into the agenda of the session.

Head of Azerbaijani delegation in PACE Samed Seidov announced that the
issue will never be discussed: "The said issue will never be discussed,
as this work is carried out by the Monitoring Committee.

Any document can be submitted to the Bureau. But is it necessary
to discuss all of them? The Bureau received only one document on
Azerbaijan, which has not been discussed.

The Bureau adopted another decision on Azerbaijan-activity of the
subcommittee on Nagorno Garabagh has been prolonged for another
1 year".

SERZH SARKISSIAN: "ARMENIA WILL SOON BECOME A GLORIFIED COUNTRY"

A1+
25 January, 2008

On January 25 presidential candidate Serzh Sarkissian visited
St. Sargis Church before the scheduled meeting with residents of
Nor-Nork Commune. He was escorted by the leader of Araratian diocese
Navasard Ktchoyan.

Over a thousand people were waiting for the Prime Minister’s arrival
in Nor-Nork.

After welcoming local residents Serzh Sarkissian presented his
pre-election programme. "Taking into consideration the fact that
the amended Constitutions sets new criteria for the RA President
we decided to attach some figures to the programme as the President
still bears responsibility for everything in the country," Sarkissian
said and went on making pre-election promises, "The figures imply that
Armenia’s living conditions will better in a short time. It means that
pensions, salaries and social expenses will be doubled. People will
lead a dignified life. You must rely on me to achieve these figures."

According to the Armenian Premier, he reiterated the words at each
meeting.

"I always cite the example of Karabakh veterans. Many high-rank
officials thought the Karabakh conflict was already settled,
territories were surrendered and Armenia was defeated. But we were able
to win a victory due to people who sacrificed their lives for the sake
of the country and who strongly believed that the Cause was justified
and the war was sacred. I assure you that Armenia will soon become
a glorified country. I have all grounds to pledge that we shall live
in a different country in five years’ time," Serge Sarkissian said.

"I call on you to participate in the upcoming election and to vote
for the candidate you want. Yes, I do need your votes and I do not
refrain from asking people for support. One shouldn’t prefer his
personnel rating to the country’s interests. Ambition should be within
limits. I have always served my country."

Serzh Sarkissian’s speech was followed by a concert featuring Armenian
famous pop singers – Forsh, Shushan Petrossian, Arsen Safarian,
etc. But the show didn’t seem to attract the presentees. They rushed
to Serzh Sarkissian to pose questions and hand letters. Some wanted
job, others flats.

To note, today Serzh Sarkissian was escorted by Yerevan Mayor Erwand
Zakharian and head of the Cultural Department at Yerevan Municipality
Onik Vatian. They both joined the Armenian Premier at working hours.

It is due to mention that the meeting participants arrived at the
venue by buses N22.

When we asked one of the drivers where they were heading, the latter
said, "Don’t get on the bus. The bus is ordered. We are going to Jrvej
(a village in Kotayk Marz).