Author: Kajoyan Gevork

LEVON ANDREASYAN: RPA AND PAP WILL GET A LITTLE MORE THAN 50% OF THE VOTES
Nvard Davtyan

“Radiolur”
13.04.2012 15:37

The Republican Party of Armenia and the Prosperous Armenia Party
will get a little more than 50% of the votes at the forthcoming
parliamentary elections, Levon Andreasyan, Director of the Black
Sea and Caspian Region Institute of Political and Social Research,
told a press conference today.

Commissioned by the Institute, the Exit Poll sociological and social
research center conducted a survey among 2 710 citizens in Yerevan
and the regional centers to reveal the rating of the political parties
and the motivation of voters.

“Republican Party of Armenia and the Prosperous Armenia Party will
get a little more than 50% of the votes. Another three forces have
chances to enter the National Assembly: the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation, the Armenian National Congress and the Heritage Party,”
Levon Andreasyan said.

According to the results of the study, 13.2% have not decided who
they will vote for. As for the motivation of voters, the picture
is as follows: 8.4% will vote for a party, because it launches a
patriotic activity, 12% will cast their vote for this or that force
at the request of their relative, friend or neighbor, 13% will vote
because they like the leader of the given party, 19.7% anticipate
material reimbursement.

FLOUR, SURGERIES ON CATARACT, BOXES OF CHOCOLATE AS ELECTION BRIBE AND DEAD MEN AS VOTERS

April 11, 2012 13:52

City of Yerevan, Community of Ajapnyak, Polling Station No. 6/34,
Address: 15 Nazarbekyan St., Apt. 1, Voter: Hambardzum Yurik
Hambardzumyan, Born 17.08.1962, Passed Away.

The Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) provides medical services and hands
out medication and flour to the villagers of regions as election
bribe. The voting list of the village of Arevashogh, district of
Spitak, region of Lori, Republic of Armenia, is put up not on the
polling station, but on the election headquarters of the Republican
Party of Armenia (RPA).

In some regions included in no. 40 electoral district of the region
of Tavush boxes of chocolate have been handed out to the residents
on behalf of Mikayel Vardanyan, current MP elected from the given
district. There was also an April 7 postcard written on behalf of
Vardanyan along with festive sweets. However, they didn’t forget
to put the pre-election program of Marine Margaryan, a candidate
nominated in no. 40 electoral district, in the festive bag. M.

Murabyan is the CEO of International Masis Tabak company; she is
non-partisan and nominated by the RPA. Mikayel Vardanyan has stated
many times about endorsing her.

Before the first rally of the RPA election campaign, on the occasion
of Serzh Sargsyan’s visit, the marketplace in the vicinity of Sasuntsi
Davit Station was closed all day.

The Prosperous Armenia Party “supports” villagers in regions with
medication, also gives money for surgeries on eye cataract that
is not denied by Telman Nazaryan, the head of the National Union
of Beekeepers NGO, either. These are only a few of 100 alerts sent
by citizens to website. IDITORD initiative offers an
opportunity to citizens to communicate violations they have noticed
by phone or online. Samvel Martirosyan, the head of the Pluralist
Information Institute, stated, “This mechanism offers an opportunity
to citizen to appear as an observer. The alert is also placed on the
map and it becomes clear from which region or which administrative
district of the capital it has come from. The location, where the
violation has taken place, is also shown on the map.” Mr. Martirosyan
recapped that the majority of alerts so far had referred to voting
lists and election bribery

ARMENIA IN GAS WAR
Naira Hayrumyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 13:03:53 – 12/04/2012

Yesterday, Gazprom considered the gas price formation for Armenian
consumers for 2012-13. Besides this, the parties discussed the process
of realization of the agreement on the Gazprom participation in the
gas-energy projects in Armenia.

In the meantime, the government of Armenia confirmed the technical
exploitation of the Iran-Armenia oil pipeline. The basic agreement on
the deployment of the pipe was reached in 2009. According to different
assessments, the scale of the required demands amounts to USD 100
million. It is not ruled out either that under “gas-energy projects”
Gazprom means this pipeline.

The world entered the turbulence era: the configuration of global
markets is changing, said the Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin
on April 11. For example in the U.S. they are actively engaged in the
development of technologies to produce shale gas. This could seriously
reshape the market of hydrocarbons and Russia should respond to this
challenge, Putin said. In the 21st century other geopolitical centers
and priorities have been added- strengthening of the position of Russia
in the world, strengthening of the Eurasian region, the Russian prime
minister said.

Oil and gas directions are sharply changing in the world, along with
the geopolitical separation lines. In particular, Iran stated about
the suspension of oil provision to Germany. Tehran made this step in
response to the sanctions of the European Union against the Iranian
oil sector. Recently, Iran has seized exporting oil into Span and
Greece. Italy has already stated it feels the impact of the gas war.

Iran’s president Mahmud Ahmadinejad stated that the economy of its
country can work under the embargo in the course of the next few
years. In February, Tehran stated about the suspension to export oil
to England and France. At the same time, Iran is going to export gas
to Kirgizstan, Tajikistan and China.

Russia is already correcting its main pipes trying to buy from Belarus
and Ukraine the transit lines. Belarus has practically passed to
Russia the part of the Transgas, but Putin is going to use other mean
in relation to Ukraine.

In this context, Armenia’s position is interesting: will Yerevan go
on completely depending on Russia in terms of gas? What will Russia
demand from Armenia in exchange? Perhaps, the consideration of the
price in the Gazprom is just a warning shot for Armenia which may be
involved in actions against Iran from the Russian side.

Washington is not preparing “cakes” for Tehran at the forthcoming
negotiations in Istanbul. The U.S. President spokesman confirmed the
country welcomes the upcoming April 14 talks of the “six” international
mediators on Iran, but it is not sure of the success. By the way,
the National oil and gas policy is a subject of heated debates between
Obama and Republican candidate for president Mitt Romney.

In the meantime, the joint extended meeting of the Armenian and Russian
parties of the Inter-governmental commission on CSTO military-technical
cooperation, kicked off.

” 24 AVRIL 1915, GENOCIDE DES ARMENIENS ” BANDEROLE GEANTE SUR LE FRONTON DE LA MAIRIE DE BOUC BEL AIR
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
jeudi 12 avril 2012

Vendredi 6 avril, face a l’Hôtel de Ville de Bouc bel Air, le public
etait venu nombreux a l’appel de l’Association Culturelle Armenienne
de Bouc bel Air, presidee par M. Edmond Eutedjian pour le deploiement
d’une banderole sur la facade de la Mairie. Pour la 5e annee, ainsi
une inscription geante ” 24 Avril 1915, Genocide des Armeniens, Bouc
bel Air se souvient -Genocide perpetre par le gouvernement Jeune
Turc dans l’Empire ottoman : 1 500 000 victimes ” etait deployee en
plein centre-ville, L’ inauguration s’ est deroulee en presence de
Messieurs Vartan Sirmakes Consul general d’Armenie a Marseille ,
Richard Mallie Depute , Jean Claude Perrin Maire de Bouc Bel Air,
Didier Parakian Adjoint au Maire de Marseille, Edmond Eutedjian
President de l’ Association Culturelle Armenienne de Bouc Bel Air,
ainsi que de nombreux elus et amis . La banderole restera deployee
jusqu’a fin avril. Saluons la petite communaute armenienne de cette
commune proche de Marseille et le dynamise de l’Association Culturelle
Armenienne.

MOURAD AMIRKHANIAN EN CONCERT A L’EGLISE DIMANCHE

Sud Ouest

12 avril 2012
France

Une opportunite familiale et amicale va permettre a Mourad Amirkhanian,
chanteur lyrique armenien, de se produire lors d’un concert caritatif
a l’eglise Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens, dimanche 15 avril a 16 h 30.

Ne en Armenie, le jeune Mourad a eu une enfance impregnee de musique
et de chant et a suivi naturellement une formation très complète au
Conservatoire national superieur de musique d’Armenie, où il a obtenu
les plus hautes recompenses, notamment dans la classe de chant de
Mariana Harutunian. Dote d’une voix exceptionnelle de baryton-basse,
il a une tessiture très large avec un timbre tout particulier,
puissant et charge d’emotion, pour des interpretations aussi bien
d’airs d’opera, de Lieder que de melodies et de musique sacree.

Après avoir vecu le tremblement de terre de 1988, il a ete invite
a passer deux mois en France, où il a interprete partout où il
en avait l’occasion ” Pour toi, Armenie “. Il a decide en 2001 de
s’installer a Paris. La, il a frequente l’Ecole normale de musique,
les cours d’Anna-Maria Bondi et plusieurs master class, notamment avec
Jose Van Dam, Francois Le Roux, Gabriel Bacquier et Cecilia Bartoli,
glanant de nombreux diplômes et prix internationaux. Depuis 2001, il
se produit regulièrement en France, Italie, Espagne, Grèce, Egypte et
en Coree du Sud. Il a deja enregistre plusieurs DVD et publie un livre.

À Lanouaille, il sera accompagne au piano par Antoine Metelin et
interpretera des extraits de ” Don Juan ” de Mozart, de Georges Bizet,
Cesar Franck, Beethoven mais aussi des chants sacres armeniens.

Pratique. La recette du concert sera reversee a l’orphelinat de
Grumry. Participation : 10 euros. Renseignements auprès d’Edith
Boulesteix, au 06 88 25 08 92, ou a la mairie, au 05 53 52 60 21.

CHRISTIAN CLERICS ALARMED AT GROWING THREATS, PERSECUTION IN TURKEY

Hurriyet
April 10 2012
Turkey

In the wake of an attack against an Istanbul Protestant Pastor,
Christian Clerics in Turkey say they feel alarmed at the accelerating
number of such incidents and even hesitate to open their doors
to people

Vercihan Zifliogluvercihan.

Christian clerics in Turkey have expressed their anxiety regarding
the growing threats they face in wake of an attack against Pastor
Semih Serkek of the Protestant “Lutuf” (“Grace”) Church in Istanbul’s
Bahcelievler district on April 7.

“Attacks against Christian clerics drop off for a while, then they
begin to re-energize. [Such attacks] have begun to accelerate again
in recent days. We hesitate when opening our doors and welcoming the
faithful inside,” Pastor Krikor Agabaloglu of the GedikpaÅ~_a Armenian
Protestant Church in Istanbul told the Hurriyet Daily News.

Attack on Easter

Three unidentified individuals attacked and beat Serkek on the night
of April 7, immediately after an Easter service. “They were three
people around the age of 18. They wore [prayer caps] on their heads.

They forced the door open and said they were going to kill me unless
I recited the ‘Kelime-i Å~^ahadet’ [Islamic confession of faith]. I
received a severe blow to my chest,” Serkek told the Daily News. The
attacks were not coincidental, according to Serkek, who had also
served as a mentor to the three victims slain in the Malatya Zirve
Publishing House incident in eastern Turkey.

Pastor Orhan Picaklar of the Agape Protestant Church in the Black Sea
province of Samsun also said he has been living with a personal escort
24 hours a day for the past four years, since a plot to assassinate
him first came to light. “Police [officers] keep watch at the door
during mass; the believers are afraid to enter the church due to the
threat to their lives,” he said. The make-shift church, located inside
an apartment building, also came under attack about a month ago,
Picaklar said, adding that the congregation was chagrined at being
stuck in an apartment. “[The authorities] gave the green light to
the construction of a new church in 2004, within the framework of the
European Union harmonization laws, although with the pre-condition that
it must be no smaller than 2,500 square meters. We have no budget. We
appealed to establish a church building 1,000 square meters in size,
but did not receive approval for it.”

Agabaloglu said that in the case of his church, the state intentionally
refused to grant permission for the construction of a church
building. “They are trying to stymie the spread of Christianity in
this way.”

ARMENIA’S FIRST DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS CSTO OFFICIAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 11, 2012 – 19:05 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Today, On April 11, Armenia’s First Deputy Defense
Minister David Tonoyan met with Deputy Secretary General of CSTO
Valery Semerikov.

Issues related to preparation of CSTO CRRF maneuvers due September
3-8 were in focus of discussion, RA Defense Ministry’s press service
reported.

Mr. Semerikov further briefed on the preparation of consecutive meeting
of CSTO Council of Defense Ministers scheduled for May 3 in Kazakhstan.

ARMENIAN EXPERT: IRAN’S APPREHENSIONS CONCERNING AZERBAIJAN ARE NOT GROUNDLESS

arminfo
Wednesday, April 11, 19:42

Iran’s apprehensions concerning Azerbaijan are not groundless. The arms
the Azeris have bought from Israel will undoubtedly be used against the
Iranians, expert on Iran Never Davtyan told journalists on Wednesday.

“They can hardly use naval arms against Nagorno-Karabakh, can they?

Nor will they be able to effectively use unmanned aircraft there.

Moreover, they will need qualified personnel for operating the
equipment. And so, their deal may last for longer than one year and
may have certain implications,” the expert said.

He is sure that the deal with Israel will spoil Azerbaijan’s relations
with Russia. “If the Azeris start a war against Iran, their relations
with Russia will be spoiled as the Russians are against any war in
Iran. 50% of the Azeri arms are of Russian manufacture. If Azerbaijan
starts the war, the Russians will refuse to maintain them, and the
Azeris will face lots of problems,” the expert said.

He said that even an ordinary private in Iran knows against whom
the Azeris will use the arms. “No surprise they the Iranians are
reinforcing their positions along their border with Azerbaijan. Should
the war start, Iran will have to fight at two fronts: with Azerbaijan
in the north and with the coalition in the Gulf,” the expert said.

Feb 26 Israeli Aerospace Industries and Azeri Defense Ministry agreed
on the delivery of Israeli unmanned aircraft and air defense systems
to Azerbaijan.

HERITAGE DEMANDS INVESTIGATION INTO CANDIDATE’S BEATING

05:56 pm | Today | Politics

The Heritage Party condemns the physical assault on independent MP
candidate Meruzhan Mkhoyan that took place on Friday, April 6. Running
in the single-mandate constituency No. 21 in the Armavir region-and
opposed in the race by Republican-backed Aleksan Petrosian-Mkhoyan
withdrew his candidacy as a direct result of the assault.

Heritage demands that the Central Electoral Commission and law
enforcing bodies conduct a fair and thorough investigation of the
case. Such violence brutally undermines the electoral process, and
nothing like it must ever happen again, reports the press service of
the Heritage Campaign Headquarters

INVESTIGATION SAYS ARMENIAN BUSINESSMAN STABBED ROBBERS IN SELF-DEFENSE

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 11, 2012 – 17:27 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Russian Armenian businessman Gagik Sargsyan having
killed three armed robbers, acted lawfully, Russia’s Investigative
Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said.

“The present data prove that Sargsyan acted in the limits of necessary
defense against criminal attack of the four armed robbers,” Interfax
quoted Markin as saying.

He noted that Sargsyan is not viewed as a suspect in criminal case.

“Final legal assessment will be issued following a thorough
investigation,” Markin said.

“Steps are taken aimed at arresting the fourth robbery accomplice,
with measures taken to defend Sargsyan and his family members,”
Committee spokesman said, adding that “grounds for bringing Sargsyan
to justice will remain unchanged.”

“He is both a witness and a victim,” Markin said.

Earlier, the Union of Armenians of Russia disseminated a statement
saying that “a tragic incident happened on April 7, 2012; businessman
Gagik Sargsyan was assaulted in his house in Bogoroditsk town in
Tula region.”

“Four robbers (who later appeared to have previous criminal records)
armed with a gun, knives and baseball bat, attacked the house and
beat Sargsyan and his family, wife and four junior kids including a
one-year-old infant. In an attempt to protect his family, Sargsyan
grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed the assaulters; 3 of four died
on the spot,” the statement said.

Following the April 7 incident, a criminal case is filed against
Sargsyan, who is charged of homicide of two and more persons.