Author: Kajoyan Gevork

EMERGENCY ORDER EMPTIES ARMENIAN CAPITAL’S STREETS
By Sabrina Tavernise

New York Times
March 3 2008
NY

YEREVAN, Armenia – Tanks blocked central streets in the capital of
this tiny mountain country on Sunday, a day after Armenian authorities
clashed with demonstrators in a violent confrontation that left at
least eight people dead and more than 130 wounded.

The government imposed a state of emergency, and for the first
time since a contested Feb. 19 presidential election, the streets
and central squares of this ancient city were empty of the crowds
of protesters.

Any attempt at demonstrating "will immediately result in adequate and
strict reaction by the armed forces," Gen. Seyran Ohanyan, Armenia’s
top military commander, said in a statement.

Levon Ter-Petrossian, the opposition leader who has led the crowds,
and whose failed candidacy was the reason for the protests, said that
he would not encourage his supporters to defy the curfew, and that
the government had won by closing down his only outlet to the public.

"They’re happy with themselves," said Mr. Ter-Petrossian, speaking
to reporters in his 1930s mansion on the edge of Yerevan. "They got
what they wanted."

Lines of military police officers moved in on the demonstration
late Saturday night, firing rubber balls and tear gas canisters,
and shooting bullets into the air. It was not clear how many of the
deaths were caused by bullet wounds.

Mr. Ter-Petrossian blamed the Armenian government for what he described
as a "slaughter." Seven civilians were killed and only one security
officer, according to the Foreign Ministry. Of the 131 injuries,
72 were police officers and 59 were civilians, Agence France-Presse
reported, citing the Health Ministry.

The casualties prompted statements of concern by the State Department,
the European Union and the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights.

It was clear by early afternoon Saturday that after 10 days of peaceful
protests, the demonstrators, who had been beaten by police officers
in the morning, were spoiling for a fight. Men were yanking bricks
out of sidewalks, barricading streets with city buses, and assembling
gasoline bombs. By evening, a four-or-five-block area had become an
encampment run by agitated young men wielding metal poles and bricks.

Even before police officers moved in, a group of protesters set
fire to a police jeep after it bumped into a woman, and when a fire
truck arrived to put out the blaze, someone pitched a rock through
its windshield.

Mr. Ter-Petrossian accused the government of sneaking provocateurs into
the crowd. "It’s their people," he said. But he acknowledged that some
of his supporters might have joined in. Looters who dragged cognac,
cakes, fruit and even food scales from the Yerevan City grocery store
on Saturday seemed to strongly support him.

"I’m fighting for honesty," said a man in his 50s, holding a stolen
beer in one hand and a lemon in the other. "Levon Ter-Petrossian is
for the people."

Fifteen people were arrested.

The emergency decree dealt a particularly paralyzing blow to the
opposition because local television stations, controlled by Prime
Minister Serge Sargsyan and President Robert Kocharian, virtually
ignored the daily rallies, which often drew tens of thousands of
protesters. "Losing the square means losing the connection to the
people," Mr. Ter-Petrossian said. "Now they have taken this away
from us."

According to the emergency decree, local news media are barred
from disseminating information given by any source other than the
government.

CNN segments about Armenia were clipped from television programming,
and many Web sites were closed. Only journalists from foreign news
organizations could attend Mr. Ter-Petrossian’s briefing.

Mr. Ter-Petrossian’s state-financed security detail had orders not
to allow him out of his house, but Armenia’s foreign minister said
he was free to leave if he agreed to forgo the security.

Armenian authorities have used violence against political opposition
several times over the past 13 years. In 1995, for example, during
Mr. Ter-Petrossian’s tenure as president, at least one opposition
figure died in police custody after his political party was shut down,
according to Human Rights Watch.

On Sunday afternoon, city workers swept shards of glass and towed
burned shells of cars off central streets, still sticky from looted
food and gasoline fires, as passers-by came to gape at the damage.

"It’s shameful," said a 27-year-old economist surveying the wreckage.

"They did it for themselves. Not for the people."

Police cordoned RA government building

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.03.2008 17:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Police has lifted the cordon of France’ Embassy in
Yerevan, where collisions between the policemen and oppositionists
have been taking place since 11 a.m.

Almost all law enforcers abandoned the scene of action. Defense
technology, armored personnel machines and water cannons were
evacuated.

Meanwhile, special troops in helmets, with batons and shields, surround
the government building in Republic Square, Novosti Armenia reports.

Armenian police disperse opposition protesters camping out in capital

Associated Press Worldstream
March 1, 2008 Saturday 4:20 AM GMT

YEREVAN Armenia — Armenian police early Saturday morning dispersed
a protest by a few hundred opposition supporters who had been camping
out in the capital for more than a week.

The police moved in before 7 a.m. (0300GMT) and began forcing
protesters onto buses. A few clashes broke out on the central Yerevan
square.

The opposition has protested the results of the Feb. 19 presidential
election results and tried to force a new vote.

Officials said Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian the favored successor
of outgoing President Robert Kocharian won the vote outright. But
supporters of opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian have rejected
the results, citing fraud.

Daily protests on a large square in central Yerevan have drawn tens
of thousands of people. Several hundred have remained overnight,
warming themselves over campfires and sleeping in tents.

Ter-Petrosian, a former president of Armenia, appealed to the
Constitutional Court on Friday to overturn the results.

The observer mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe said there were concerns about the vote count, but issued
a generally positive assessment.

The standoff has raised concerns of instability in the poor Caucasus
nation at the junction of the energy-rich Caspian Sea region and
southern Europe, with Russia and Iran nearby.

The National Assembly issues a statement

armradio.am
02.03.2008 13:02

Upon the initiative of 60 MPs, the National Assembly of the Republic
of Armenia convened an extraordinary sitting today and adopted a
statement on the events that took place in Yerevan on March 1st. the
draft decision of the National Assembly was signed by all 81 MP
present at the sitting. The statement says in part:

"Expressing concern over the events of March 1st and denouncing â~@¢
The provocation of disorders in the capital by known forces, as a
result of which tens of citizens and representatives of law-enforcement
bodies were wounded, and the capital suffered considerable moral
and material losses; â~@¢ The propagation of hatred and malice
in political processes; â~@¢ Any action endangering the country’s
stability, international image and national unity;

And attaching importance to

â~@¢ Reestablishment of order in the capital, restoration of normal
life â~@¢ Neutralization of the danger to the lives of people and
property; â~@¢ Resolution of political issues on the basis of dialogue;
â~@¢ Resolution of legal issues, especially connected with electoral
procedures, in compliance with RA Constitution and laws; â~@¢ Respect
for tolerance as a basis for excluding divisions among the society;

the National Assembly considers that the decree of the President of the
Republic of Armenia on establishing a state of emergency is necessary
and legitimate. It call our citizens for restraint and vigilance in
order to overcome this complex situation as soon as possible to have
the country return to normal life."

–Boundary_(ID_reZBWCoRZoahhjCD4F3u5A )–

Police dispersed opposition rally in Yerevan

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.03.2008 08:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today, at 7 a.m. the RA Police dispersed the
opposition rally in Liberty Square in the center of Yerevan. Witnesses
say several thousand people were at the site during the operation.
Policemen used rubber batons.

A source told PanARMENIAN.Net that leader of the opposition movement,
Armenia’s first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who also was in the
square, is now under domiciliary arrest.

Oppositionists plan a new rally at 3 p.m. today. If the entry to
Liberty Square is closed, they are going to march down Mashtots Avenue.

Opposition forces, discontent with outcomes of the presidential
election, have been holding rallies for 10 days already, demanding
to declare the election invalid.

MFA: AZERBAIJAN IS IN A CLEAR PANIC OVER KOSOVO

armradio.am
29.02.2008 10:24

Asked to comment on Azerbaijan’s flurry of activity following Kosovo’s
declaration of independence, Head of Media Relations Division of
RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tigran Balayan said: "Azerbaijan is
in a clear panic over what they are afraid might become the Kosovo
precedent.

They are putting words in people’s mouths, forcing public statements
by others on Azerbaijan’s one-sided and wishful version of the Nagorno
Karabakh solution.

Armenia reiterates that each conflict is distinct and that each
self-determination movement needs to be allowed to evolve on its
own merits.

The more Azerbaijan tries to insist that Kosovo is not a precedent,
the more people will think that there perhaps are obvious parallels
with other conflicts."

ADDRESS OF ARMENIAN CHURCH PRIMATES TO THE ARMENIAN PEOPLE

armradio.am
29.02.2008 17:47

On February 29, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians, presided during a meeting of the diocesan
primates and bishops of the Armenian Church in the Mother See of
Holy Etchmiadzin.

Expressing their concern with the internal political situation in
Armenia resulting from post-election developments, the leaders of
the Armenian Church appealed to the people with the following message:

"To our dear and pious faithful,

We are deeply troubled and distressed with the tense internal political
landscape in our country following the presidential elections. The
waves of emotions contain within them seeds of intolerance and
confrontation for the sons and daughters of our people. The current
situation is fraught with dangers threatening the internal peace and
stability of our country and the reputation of our state.

On the path to independence, our people overcame many difficulties and
obstacles, with the hope and faith of seeing a stronger country – not
one that is unstable and rocked by divisions, conflicts and tremors. A
divided people are condemned to fail in the realization of their
aspirations and in their desires to establish a progressive, prosperous
country and a strong state. As our Lord Jesus Christ says, "Every
kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city
or house divided against itself shall not stand". (St. Matthew 12:25)

Dear Armenian Sons and Daughters, we exhort you to preserve the
spirit of common sense, wisdom and discretion; remain alert and
law-abiding. Disregard all voices provoking hatred and enmity. Take
each step with serious consideration for our country’s reputation,
and for our present and future.

We call upon the representatives of the opposition who do not accept
the results of the election, to work within legal frameworks, so
that the stability of our statehood remains unharmed and that the
achievements of our people and the tranquility of their lives are
not endangered. Mass rallies and marches are not the ideal methods
to dispute the final results of a completed election.

We call upon the state authorities to exert their utmost efforts
using peaceful means to find solutions to the unresolved issues
and challenges.

We pray to Almighty God, that He keep our country in tranquility, our
Holy Apostolic Church unshaken, and our people dispersed throughout
the world in peace, all under His benevolent and watchful gaze.

May the Grace, Love and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you
and with all. Amen."

ARMENIAN JEWISH LEADER CONDEMNS USE OF ISRAELI FLAG AT OPPOSITION RALLY

Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
Feb 28 2008

Yerevan, 28 February: The leader of the Jewish community of Armenia,
Rimma Varzhapetyan, told Mediamax today that sheconsiders the use
of the Israeli flag at the rally of ex-President Ter-Petrosyan’s
supporters to be a"provocation".

"I received many phone calls today concerning this and this is why I am
asking you to report that the Jewishcommunity of Armenia has nothing
to do with that, and this is a provocation," Rimma Varzhapetyan told
Mediamaxagency.

Yesterday, Armenian TV channels showed the rally of Ter-Petrosyan’s
supporters where the state flag of Israelwas flapping near the
platform.

WHO MAKES UP THE "PARTY OF STABILITY"?
Vardan Barseghyan

Hayots Ashkhar
Published on February 29, 2008

We have already analyzed the team of the "revolutionary movement",
we have spoken about the main groups included in it. It would be
interesting to make similar investigation in the opposite camp as well,
which we conditionally call "party of stability". The overwhelming
majority of society is against colored revolution. And this society
is naturally far not homogeneous it includes different groups.

The first group consists of those who, strange, as it may seem, don’t
suffer from sclerosis and haven’t forgotten about the catastrophic
consequences of the governing of Armenian Pan National Movement. They
perceive the return of Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Armenian Pan National
Movement as serious threat for the country. Whereas some of them
don’t cherish illusions towards the government in power, but on the
one hand, as they say, they choose the lesser of two evils, and on
the other hand they highly appreciate the stability provided by the
administration in power.

Second – those who have found their place in this life. Of course here
we don’t mean materialistic well-being (most of the revolutionaries,
softly speaking, are far not homeless). What we mean is their
moral-psychological attitude towards the reality. They can see the
slow but stable positive change in our lives during the last 10 years.

Third – those who are in the state machinery, and the majority of the
representatives of this spine. The stance of these people is obvious,
only because they didn’t respond to the appeal of the "movement"
to joint them, with the exception of the nephew of the ex-President,
Shahen Karamanukyan’s son.

Forth – the majority of entrepreneurs, employees of private companies
and intellectuals, that is to say those who are called "the consumers
of stability". It is another issue that these people will never take
to the streets to defend stability. Instead they defend the rear and
it is enough.

Fifth – the law enforcement bodies, the army and in general the force
structures. Here we must lay special emphasis on the army.

Those "Yerkrapah" (defenders of the land) representatives who joined
Levon Ter-Petrosyan are like a drop in an ocean, in general:

a) Patriotic disposition is more emphasized in the army

b) The officers’ staff are gifted with state-oriented instinct

c) They are well conscious in the army that if due to the colored
revolution they manage to establish the power of cosmopolitan elite,
they will not need the present officers’ staff.

Thus the patriotic and state-oriented stance of the officers’ staff
is combined with their personal interests, and the latter is a very
powerful motive for orientation.

Sixth – the majority of business-elite. There is a wide spread
conviction among the "revolutionaries" that allegedly these people
are extremely inert, they are cowards, and lack any ideology. And the
most important thing is that deep in their hearts they allegedly hate
the government in power. But it is far not true.

Armenian oligarchs, with scanty exceptions, and in general the elite
support the idea of law and order, which, besides all, guarantees
their rule in the country.

Certain complaints about money and ownership, inter-clan clashes, etc.
don’t have any impact on the consensus. Let alone the fact that most
of them are very patriotic they have their convictions and they are
far not cowards.

Naturally we enumerated not all the groups of the
"anti-revolutionaries". As you see these people are from quite
different layers of society. Some of them have clear convictions and
system of values. And there are some, who have appeared in that camp
ex officio or they simply pursue commercial or personal interests,
having no convictions.

And together the "anti-revolutionaries" make up the majority of
society.

COALITION OF OUR PETTINESS
Hakob Badalyan

Lragir
11:21:10 – 29/02/2008

The invitation for a coalition government, in almost all the home
political cases, is commendable, in the sense that it fosters
social dialogue and prevents or soothes civil disagreement. In this
sense, Serge Sargsyan’s proposal to form a coalition with all the
presidential candidates could be commendable if it did not contain
the danger which the political sphere seemed to have ridded of
after the presidential election. Before speaking about this danger,
it should be noted first that, nevertheless, in this case, the home
political situation in Armenia does not contain civil disagreement,
evidence to which is the mass flow of people from Serge Sargsyan’s
rally to Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s rally. It was evidence that there is
no disagreement among citizens. The government tried to simulate home
political disagreement through rallies in support of Serge Sargsyan
afterwards to gain the laurels for overcoming disagreement but the
citizens themselves thwarted this effort very quickly, joining together
in Yerevan.

After this the proposal on coalition becomes pointless because it is
obvious that disagreement in this case is quite distinct. It exists
between the citizens and the government. In this case, the abstract,
general offer of collaboration is nothing, and becomes a formality,
which this time lacks sufficient energy to produce an impression. The
situation would be different if Serge Sargsyan had offered a definite
proposal to Levon Ter-Petrosyan to whom the citizens "detained"
for his rally went. Now it is impossible to disagree that Levon
Ter-Petrosyan definitely leads a popular movement which is beyond any
other political activist in Armenia to keep energetic but peaceful
for already eight days. This may sound a categorical assessment but
the political forces have proven themselves that they are unable to
initiate any process except for instant bursts. The problem is other,
how Levon Ter-Petrosyan would react to Serge Sargsyan’s proposal.

Maybe he would not even wish to listen to it. In any case, it would
be clear that Serge Sargsyan has will to resolve disagreement and
tension. Meanwhile, the accent of the proposal for a coalition seems
to be on those who got some zero point percentages in the presidential
election.

It seemed that by showing the right place of these forces after
the parliamentary election a seal would be put on that place by the
presidential election. The outcome of the presidential election seemed
to seal those zero points, and the citizens finally got rid of them,
and the political sphere eventually was cleared of eternal candidates,
musical instruments, appendices and remains. If afterwards these
people decided to be nominated as an Armenian presidential candidate,
which will be so, the society would not learn about them, and only
their friends, relatives and maybe also acquaintances would be
aware, some 5 to 10 thousand people. Moreover, the "conduct" of the
election which the government "guaranteed" on February 19 had one
"attenuating circumstance". It was that the zero points got their
assessment. However, the government is now likely to eliminate the
only positive thing it did by involving zero points in a process
which will be named coalition agreement. In other words, they will
be returned to the stage. In fact, habit is the greatest tyrant. When
one gets used to destroying every negative thing, one does not spare
even the positive thing that one does.