Author: Kajoyan Gevork

EUFOA FORECASTS GREATER EU ASSISTANCE FOR ARMENIA IN CASE OF FAIR ELECTIONS
Parandzem Vardanyan

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 4, 2012

European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) NGO has conducted a poll titled
“Last Assessment of Pre-Electoral Armenia” prior to National Assembly
elections 2012. PanARMENIAN.Net held an interview with EuFoA’s
Secretary General Dr Michael Kambeck who spoke about the results of
the latest survey, Armenia – EU further cooperation and other issues.

What was the goal of the latest poll? What were the motives?

EuFoA conducted the poll as a neutral, non-partisan NGO. It aimed to
foster a more meaningful political debate, to raise public awareness
on the forthcoming elections, political parties and their leaders,
as well as to draw a parallel between the outcomes of this poll and
the ones EuFoA conducted in October 2010 and March 2012. We also try
to boost the level of public trust in a realistic picture of Armenia’s
political life.

What are the key differences related to domestic political situation
between the results of the polls conducted in 2010 and 2012?

As the political situation in the country was more neutral in 2010,
the poll mainly focused on international policy and foreign relations,
with only a small part of it covering election questions.

Public information sources can serve an example for comparing the
results. The internet usage totalled 15% back in 2010; whereas today
it has doubled, reaching 30 %. The rest of mass media including
television have retained their positions. This example proves the
quality of the poll. Public awareness on parties was lower in 2010
due to a more passive political situation in the country. The more
politics is discussed, the higher the awareness level about political
parties is. That is why strong progress has been recorded in awareness
levels of all parties and politicians since the poll in 2010, and
even further since the campaign started.

What are the main development prospects of Armenia-EU ties?

The past four years were the most dynamic in Armenia-EU relations,
with the Association Agreement talks being a vivid proof.

As for future developments, they mainly depend on the upcoming
parliamentary elections. There will be increase in EU funding for
Armenia in case the elections meet the European standards. With this
funding, the EU wants to help Armenia to reach European standards in
all aspects of the economy, public administration, etc.

In case of fair elections, Armenia’s European integration process is
likely to take 5-10 years, which will bring the country in line with
the standards Croatia, Norway or Island have today. There will be
a new visa regime and a so-called Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade
Area between Armenia and the EU. The Association Agreement currently
being negotiated for all this envisages tangible progress in the
fields of law, trade, visa facilitation, etc. Armenia’s absence of
the voting right in the EU will be the key difference compared to a
full EU member.

It is noteworthy that the EU has offered this to all its Eastern
neighbours, from the South Caucasus to Russia, but also Belarus and
Ukraine. The speed and depth of the integration is determined by each
country itself.

What are the organizations EuFoA cooperates with in Armenia, and
which have been the cooperation products so far?

In general, EuFoA is open to cooperation with every organization that
is engaged in EU-related projects. I can name European Movement in
Armenia NGO among the organizations we cooperated with, also the German
political Foundations and other NGOs. With our head office located in
Brussels, EuFoA pursues its main activities there. We promote Armenia
when we are in Europe and Europe when we are in Armenia. Often we
must also counter Azerbaijan’s anti-Armenian propaganda.

Currently EuFoA focuses on Armenia’s domestic policy due to the
election process in the country. However, generally we center on
foreign policy.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER OF URUGUAY WHICH WAS THE FIRST STATE TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VISITS TSITSERNAKABERD

ARMENPRESS
4 May, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS: Uruguayan Foreign affairs minister Luis
Almagro who is in Armenia on official visit visited Armenian genocide
victims’ memorial Tsitsernakaberd. Armenpress reports that the foreign
minister of the country, which was the first to recognize the greatest
crime against humanity in the beginning of 20-th century – Armenian
genocide, put a wreath near the eternal flame of the memorial.

Accompanied with the director of Armenian genocide Museum-institute of
Armenian National Academy of sciences Hayk Demoyan he went around of
the memorial territory, museum-institute, got acquainted with factual
materials, documents, photos of the crime. Luis Almagro put a note
in the book of Tsitsernakaberd’s honorable guests, planted a fir in
Memorial park.

“The whole history of Uruguay shows that it is a country which
respects Human rights. Uruguay did not expect others to recognize
Armenian genocide and he first recognized it” said foreign affairs
minister Luis Almagro.

Among other more than twenty countries, Vatican, European Parliament,
International council of Churches, other prestigious institutions,
42 states of USA, municipal structures of world’s different cities
Uruguay recognized and condemned Armenian genocide in 1965.

70% OF ARMENIA’S SCHOOL PRINCIPALS ARE RPA MEMBERS

tert.am
04.05.12

Armenia’s authorities are subjecting voters to double discrimination,
chairman of ‘Asbarez’ journalist club Levon Barseghyan told a news
conference today.

‘The Armenian authorities have deprived about 600-700 thousand people
living abroad of the voting right in diplomatic representations,
but the employees of the same representations do have right to vote,’
he said.

Barseghyan said his survey among the school principals revealed that
the majority of them are party members. ‘A teacher must just have a
voting right. He/she should not participate in a campaign. About 70%
of teachers and principals are members of the Republican Party of
Armenia,’ the right advocate said.

‘Thirty-two out of 42 schools in Gyumri are RPA members. One of the
principal in Abovian is from PAP, there is no need even to ask the
others,’ Barseghyan said.

Avetik Ishkhanyan, chairman of Armenia’s Helsinki Committee, noted
that he is more concerned with the fear of people to voice about
illegalities.

‘People are informing us but ask not to give their names. One of the
opposition members of an electoral constituency said he refused to do
the job because of a pressure on his relatives. Employees of Yerevan
City supermarket are forced to guarantee voters,’ Ishkhanyan said.

The later said violations are registered outside of polling stations.

‘One should just go 50 meters away the polling station and see how
election bribes are being distributed,’ chairman of the Helsinki
committee said.

Levon Barseghayn added that people in Gyumri are warned not go to
polls until cars arrive and take them to polling stations.

TEACHING THE LEGACY OF GENOCIDE TO YOUNG DESCENDANTS OF IMMIGRANTS

89.3 KPCC

May 3 2012

How to teach young descendants of immigrants who survived a genocide,
wartime atrocities and other horrors about their turbulent heritage?

KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has put together a fascinating series
taking in how elders are teaching younger descendants of Cambodian,
Armenian, and European Jewish immigrants about what their parents,
grandparents and great-grandparents lived through.

It’s difficult, especially in the cases of the Cambodian genocide of
the 1970s and the Armenian genocide of 1915, which receive little
mention in American students’ history books. His series explores
various projects, like a recent event in Glendale organized for high
school students called “Our Traditions Keep Us Alive.” From his piece
in the Pass/Fail education blog:

In a darkened auditorium at Glendale Community College, the remembrance
of the Armenian Genocide took a somber tone. The campus Armenian club
screened Suzanne Khardalian’s film “Grandma’s Tattoos.”

The film focuses on the trauma of the genocide survivors and how that
trickled down to the filmmaker’s generation.

After the film, student Chantalle Parsakhian said its portrayal of
the genocide’s destruction is very different from what she learned
at home and at Armenian private school. She’s worried young Armenian
Americans are losing touch with this side of the genocide.

“I feel it’s just another day for them to not go to school because,
and the passion for justice has kind of dwindled, that’s what really
is upsetting,” she said.

Another event in Long Beach called “Courage to Remember” drew young
Cambodian Americans like Brenda Man, a Cal State Long Beach student:

Unlike the survivors of the Nazi Holocaust and the Armenian genocide,
there is little discussion among Cambodians about that chapter in
their history.

Man says she first learned about the genocide when she was a teenager.

“I first read about it in textbook. My parents never brought it
up to me and so I confronted them about it and my grandparents and
eventually my senior year of high school, I was in AP government,
an extra credit was to do an interview and I decided to do Khmer
Rouge as the topic and I interviewed my grandma,” she said.

Her grandmother asked why she wanted to know about such a terrible
time in Cambodian history, although eventually she opened up. That
needs to happen more, says Chad Sammet, who helped organize the
Courage to Remember event.

Knowledge of the Holocaust during the World War II era is
institutionalized among descendants of European Jews, but getting the
point of remembering this history across to a younger generation a
different kind of challenge. Adolfo followed Phil Liff-Grieff of the
Jewish education group BJE into a private Jewish elementary school
classroom:

Liff Grieff talked to about 50 children on Yom HaShoah. He projected
a map of central Europe onto a screen. The kids are dressed in street
clothes, some with Nike athletic shoes. The boys wear yarmulkes,
religious skullcaps. “Where are your ancestors from?” he asks them.

“Poland. Poland. America. Germany. Africa. Poland. Poland. Israel.

Mexico. Australia,” were some answers.

The Holocaust is part of this school’s curriculum, so these fourth
and fifth graders know about the horrors.

“Here’s my question to you. Why? Why remember something so difficult?

What’s it for? What good is it to remember?” Liff-Grieff asked.

So that it will never happen again, a student says.

ARF-D REP. PROPOSING LAUNCHING NEW ECONOMIC MODEL

tert.am
03.05.12

Armenia’s economy consists of two sectors – virtual and real,
according to Ara Nranyan, a member of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation-Dashnaksutyun (ARF-D) faction in parliament.

Speaking at the party’s pre-election meeting with Armenian businessman,
Nranyan said that the economy reflected in different documents does not
address the real economic problems that the country is facing today.

“Armenia’s economy is, as a matter of fact, absolutely different. We
propose creating a new economy. Those who say this economy paves no
way to settling problems are right,” he noted.

Nranyan particularly pointed out to such problems as the inability
to create jobs, ensure competition etc.

“Therefore we propose launching a new economic model instead of
implementing cosmetic reforms in different branches of the economy,”
he added.

Nranyan, who is the twelfth candidate on the ARF-D’s proportional
ballotl said the model should conform to international standards,
taking into consideration developed and rapidly developing countries’
experience and Armenia’s potentials, as well as the challenges that
the country may face in the coming years.

As an economist, Nranyan believes that the model will enhance
Armenia’s competitive advantages in the present-day world, enabling
the country to prepare highly-qualified specialists whose salaries
will be equivalent to the sums earned by their colleagues abroad.

TURKISH PM SLAMS S&P FOR DOWNGRADING HIS COUNTRY

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 3, 2012 – 16:53 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced
Standard and Poor’s rating agency on Thursday, May 3, saying its
downgrading of Turkey’s outlook was clouded by an “ideological
approach.”

Erdogan told a televised meeting in Istanbul: “This is entirely
an ideological approach. You cannot fool anybody, you cannot fool
Tayyip Erdogan.”

He condemned the outlook revision as “very odd” and hit back at what
he implied was discrimination by S&P, which had improved the outlook
of crisis-hit neighboring Greece, while lowering the perspective
for Turkey.

The Turkish PM also threatened not to recognize the Standard and
Poor’s as “a credible ratings agency.”

On Tuesday, Standard and Poor’s revised the outlook on Turkey’s
long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings to
stable, from positive.

On Wednesday, the agency lifted Greece out of selective default status
in view of a bond swap which cancelled a big slice of Greek debt.

Explaining its view of Turkey, the agency said: “Less-buoyant external
demand and worsening terms of trade (the price of exports compared to
imports) have, in our view, made economic re-balancing more difficult,
and have increased the risks to Turkey’s creditworthiness given its
high external debt and the state budget’s reliance on indirect tax
revenues.”

The agency said: “We have revised the outlook on Turkey’s long-term
sovereign credit ratings to stable from positive, reflecting our view
that the ratings are likely to remain at the current level during
the next 12 months.”

Finance Minister Mehmet Å~^imÅ~_ek joined the government’s criticism
and blasted the report as full of “very serious” mistakes, Hurriyet
Daily News reported.

JFF: THE REPUBLICAN PARTY RECEIVED MOST COVERAGE IN ELECTRONIC MEDIA
Lilit Muradyan

“Radiolur”
03.05.2012 16:45

The “Journalists for the Future” NGO presented an interim report
on the Monitoring of Coverage of the 2012 Parliamentary Election
Campaign by Armenian Electronic Media. The monitoring was conducted
between April 6 and 18.

Before the start of the election campaign and during the first 10
days the 10 electronic media monitored published 10,564 articles on
election-related topics, which is a huge number, according to Suren
Deheryan, Presidnet of the NGO. The websites under monitoring included:

1. 1in.am 2. 7or.am 3. a1plus.am 4. azatutyun.am 5. civilnet.am
6. lragir.am 7. news.am 8. tert,am 9. panarmenian.net 10. panorama.am

According to the results of the monitoring, the Republican Party of
Armenia received most coverage in electronic media (31.1%) followed by
the Armenian National Congress (17.2%), the Prosperous Armenia Party
(12.7%), the Heritage Party (9%), the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(4.9%) and Orinats Yerkir Party (4.8%). The Communist Party and the
United Armenians received the least coverage.

The attitude of the electronic media towards different parties is
mostly neutral. The number of positive articles is more than that of
negative ones. Most articles with the author mentioned are neutral
(98%); they are rarely negative and almost never positive.

The NGO will present its next report within ten days following the
elections.

ROBERT KOCHARYAN: “WHILE GOVERNING THE COUNTRY ONE MUST NOT SET AN AIM TO WIN SOMEBODY”

15:31 . 03/05

Today the second Armenian President Robert Kocharyan gave an exclusive
interview to Mediamax.

Armenia will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its independence in a
week. Thank you for having agreed to talk to us about the anniversary
and let us congratulate you on the upcoming holiday.

– Thank you. I would also like to congratulate you and all our
compatriots on the 20th anniversary of independence.

– You were the President of Armenia during 10 years out of 20 years
of independence. Did your perception of an independent statehood
change during these 10 years, conditioned by the gained experience,
change of the scale of the tasks set or other factors?

– Yes, of course it did. First of all, the world itself is changing
fast enough and one has to harmoniously fit in these changes. By the
way, it refers both to the country and to the citizens. Otherwise
you will lag behind. And, of course, the governing experience and
the intuition help quickly choose the direction of reforms, their
speed and depth. The process of globalization already sets definite
parameters of economic policy and ignoring them might be simply fatal
for country’s economy. One should grasp the emerging trends and not
catch up with them. Armenia simply must and can develop faster than
the world’s average rates.

– You have met with the leaders of largest and most powerful countries,
discussed complicated issues with them and, most likely, not always
managed to come to an agreement. How can the head of a small but
independent country say “No” to the powers that be?

– You shouldn’t have any complexes. The size of the country doesn’t
mean that its leader is cleverer or more efficient than other
presidents. Yes, they are certainly more powerful due to the political
weight of the country. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that they
are your bosses if, of course, you don’t perceive them as such. The
most important thing is to build correct, fair, partner relations,
clearly outline the interests of your country and have persuasive
arguments if you disagree with something. For example I have very warm
recollections of my meetings with Vladimir Putin, Jacques Chirac and
Bill Clinton. None of them ever tried to emphasize his superiority.

– The boys and the girls who were born in 1991 are already 20 years
old. This is the generation, which has never seen the Soviet times
and has heard of them only from parents or books. In some 10 or 15
years this generation will play a decisive role in the process of
building of Armenia’s future. What can you advise these young people?

I think giving advice is useful only if the addressee realizes that
he needs it. That’s why I don’t like giving advice. I would rather
wish them to become the example of Armenia’s competitive advantage
by their knowledge, energy and creativity.

– Independent Armenia will mark its 50th anniversary in 30 years.

What will it be like then?

I don’t know. A little more than 50 years ago, Somali and South Korea
had almost the same GDP per capita and today it’s even impossible to
compare these countries. Somali is torn apart by contradictions, the
population is starving, whereas South Korea has become a powerful
industrial country and one of the world leaders by a number of
branches of economy. This is the effective management, the vision of
perspectives and the choice of proper development model. I believe
Armenia has a serious potential to become the most effective country in
the South Caucasus. Time will show how this potential will be realized.

– In conditions of globalization, people’s free movement across the
world, development of internet, social networks and technologies,
opinions are more frequently voiced that the conception of an
independent statehood gradually loses its primary meaning and will
finally have a symbolic significance. What do you think, how real
this scenario is?

– The model of the European Union certainly suggests something like
that. But this model is effective only in Europe. It has a pronounced
European character and there will be no such integration anywhere
else in the foreseeable perspective. Yes, nobody is going to reject
national states even in the European Union. I think independent
countries will long be the main subject of the international law.

– Boris Yeltsin and Nursultan Nazarbayev visited Stepanakert 20 years
ago. What do you remember about this visit? Are there any details
still unknown to the general public? What do you think, could this
visit give real results or Azerbaijan was not ready for concessions
and the war was inevitable?

– Yes, I remember this visit very well. Together with Leonard Petrosyan
we conducted negotiations with Boris Yeltsin and Nursultan Nazarbayev
on our vision of the fate of Nagorno Karabakh. There are indeed some
details unknown to the general public. But I don’t think the time has
come to speak about them. This was the mediators’ sincere attempt
to stop the escalation of the conflict, but I don’t think anything
could be changed by that time. The process developed by other logic,
in the context of collapse of the USSR.

IRAN’S PRESIDENT AHMADINEJAD REITERATED THE NEED FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEHRAN-YEREVAN JOINT ECONOMIC PROJECTS

arminfo
Thursday, May 3, 16:56

Iran’s President Ahmadinejad reiterated the need for the implementation
of Tehran-Yerevan joint economic projects.

Speaking in a meeting with Armenian Foreign Affairs Minister Edward
Nalbandian, the Iranian president underlined that “Iran attaches
much importance to the implementation of joint economic projects
with Armenia”.

Also during the meeting, Nalbandian submitted a message from Armenian
President Serzh Sargsian to Ahmadinejad.

Nalbandian arrived in Tehran on Sunday on an official visit at the
invitation of his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi.

Upon arrival, Nalbandian held talks with his Iranian counterpart,
where they examined avenues for further improving the friendly ties
between the two countries and the activities of the Armenian-Iranian
Intergovernmental Commission.

They reflected on bilateral cooperation, and exchanged views on
expanding the legal framework.

Salehi gave details on the latest developments with respect to Iran’s
nuclear program, and Nalbandian expressed a satisfaction that a
positive trend was recorded during the last meeting in this regard.

To note, here are the key joint investment projects: building of
Magri power plant at River Arax ($323 mln), of oil products pipeline
from the Iranian Tebriz to Armenian Eraskh ($100 mln), of Iran-Armenia
railway ($2.0 bln). According to the statistics of the Armenian party,
foreign trade turnover between Armenia and Iran amounted to about
$324 mln in 2011 with a credit balance $111 mln.

AZERI POGROMS IN SHAHUMIAN STILL UNPUNISHED

asbarez
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

The Dadivank Monastery in Shahumian

STEPANAKERT-The Foreign Ministry of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
(Artsakh) issued an announcement Wednesday recalling the brutal
1991 pogroms by Azeri OMON forces against the Armenian population of
Shahumian and other northern regions of Artsakh.

Below is the text of the announcement:

>From late April to early May 1991, special police detachments (OMON)
of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, with the support
of the USSR Interior Ministry troops, launched a large-scale punitive
operation known as Ring, the essence of which was to exile the Armenian
population of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, the Shahumian
region, and some regions of Northern Artsakh (Khanlar, Dashkesan,
Kedabek, and Shamkhor regions of the former Azerbaijani SSR).

As a result of this operation, dozens of Armenian settlements were
completely devastated, destroyed or populated by Azerbaijanis. Tens
of thousands of people were deported, hundreds were killed. It was the
Ring operation, characterized by unprecedented cruelty and mass human
rights violations, that dramatically increased the level of tension in
the region and transferred the Karabakh conflict to a military plane.

The report of the Committee for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(the predecessor organization to the OSCE) Mission of February 28, 1992
noted that “particularly serious escalation took place in April-May
1991 when the Soviet Army, with the support of the Azerbaijani
Interior Ministry’s units, deported Armenians from many villages of
the region. The deportation was carried out with extreme cruelty.”

The events, which took place during the operation of Ring, were
reflected in the documents of some international organizations, became
a subject of hearings at the Human Rights Committee of the Supreme
Soviet of the Russian Federation and got the corresponding assessment
in the resolutions of the European Parliament and the U.S. Senate.

The Human Rights Center of Memorial Moscow Association documented
gross violations of the basic human rights: “They grossly violated
the right of every person to life, liberty, and security; they used
torture, carried out arbitrary arrests and detentions and committed
numerous property offenses. The practice of people’s deportation
acquired a mass character. Particularly cynical these violations
were made by the fact that the mass violence against the civilians
was committed by the law enforcement agencies. The responsibility
for this rests with the top leadership of the Azerbaijani Republic,
Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry and Committee for State Security (KGB),
as well as with the leadership of the USSR Interior Ministry, Ministry
of Defense and the Command of the USSR MIA Interior Troops. These
crimes cast a shadow also on the top leadership of the USSR.”

On May 1, 1991, the U.S. Senate unanimously adopted a resolution
condemning the crimes committed by the authorities of the USSR
and Azerbaijan against the Armenian population. The resolution,
in particular, condemned “the attacks on innocent men, women and
children in Nagorno-Karabakh, in the adjacent Armenian settlements and
in Armenia; the large-scale use of military force and firing of the
unarmed population on the eastern and southern borders of Armenia”,
as well as contained calls “to put an end to the blockades and other
forms of force and the terror against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.”

On May 25, a draft statement on the situation in some regions of
Armenia and Azerbaijan was submitted to the session of the Fourth
Congress of People’s Deputies of the Russian Soviet Federative
Socialist Republic (RSFSR) for consideration and was approved by
the overwhelming majority of votes. The statement, in particular,
noted that “in accordance with the internationally accepted norms
and conventions on human rights, the deportation of civilians must
be immediately stopped, the hostages must be freed, and the suspects
on cases of armed clashes must be transferred to the prosecution of
the USSR Prosecutor’s Office.”

However, the crimes committed during the operation of Ring haven’t
got the proper political and legal assessment by the international
community and their organizers and executors are still unpunished.

This became a precedent for new military crimes and inhumane actions
by Azerbaijan against the peaceful Armenian population.

The deported residents are still unable to return to their homes and
they haven’t received any reimbursement so far.

Unfortunately, we also have to state that the Armenian villages
deported during the operation of Ring are not mentioned in any
of the documents proposed by the international mediators for the
Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement.