Armenian parliamentary speaker calls nonsense information on his
resignation
2008-02-23 13:59:00
ArmInfo. Chairman of the Armenian National Assembly Tigran Torosyan
called nonsense the rumors on his resignation spread by the supporters
of Levon Ter-Petrosyan rallying in the Republic Square.
To recall, NA Vice Speaker Vahan Hovhannissyan sent in his resignation,
Friday.
REPORT ON KIDNAPPING TWO EMPOWERED PEOPLE OF LEVON TER-PETROSIAN REFUTED BY EXPLANATIONS INTRODUCED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT BODIES
Noyan Tapan
Feb 21, 2008
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The report on the kidnapping of
the two empowered people of Levon Ter-Petrosian, an RA presidential
candidate, taking them to "Harsnakar" hotel complex, giving them a good
hiding and keeping them in the cellar of the complex for an hour, which
was spread by mass media, and the report and explanations introduced
to law enforcement bodies essentially differ in their contents. This
statement was made by Sona Truzian, the Spokesperson of the RA
Prosecutor General, in his interview with a Noyan Tapan correspondent.
The Avan Police Section received a report at about 14:30 on February
19 by a person, who called himself Robert Sanoyan, the plenipotentiary
representative of the pre-electoral headquarters of the candidate,
according to which unknown people in a black Jeep car kidnapped two
of the empowered people of Levon Ter-Petrosian: Arsen Khanamirian
and Garik Ghazarian, in Polling Station 1/04, which is situated in
the administrative territory of Avan. The same report was received
on the hot line of the RA Prosecutor General’s Office as well.
Hakob Sargsian, an empowered person of Levon Ter-Petrosian, who came to
the police station at the invitation of the Chief of the Avan Police
Section, stated that he has been told about the kidnapping of Arsen
Khanamirian by unknown people by the brother of Arsen Khanamirian:
Armen Khanamirian, however, after a while the very empowered person
called him and said that he is in the polling station. H. Sargsian
called Arsen Khanamirian from the section by his mobile phone,
offered him to come to the police station and make a report, however,
the latter refused.
H. Sargsian also mentioned that there is no empowered person named
Garik Ghazarian in the headquarters of Levon Ter-Petrosian.
SERBIA RIOTS OVER KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.02.2008 13:45 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Police on Friday guarded the U.S. and other Western
embassies damaged in massive rioting overnight in the Serbian capital
in which one person died and 100 were injured.
The streets were cleared of debris amid the morning rush-hour traffic.
Rioters broke into the U.S. mission Thursday night and set fire
to offices and to police guardhouses on the sidewalk in front of
the building. The nearby Croatian embassy was also attacked, and a
residential building next door was damaged by flames.
Firemen put out the blazes and found a charred body inside the
U.S. mission’s consular section. Media reports said the body may have
been that of the rioters who set had fire to the office.
After breaking up the protests, riot police fought running battles
in the capital’s downtown area against bands of hooligans who looted
dozens of shops following a state-sponsored demonstration against
Kosovo’s independence in which nearly 200,000 people took part.
Belgrade’s medical emergency center said 96 people – a third of them
policemen – had been treated for light injuries sustained during the
night. There were more than 100 arrests, police said.
On Friday, a McDonalds restaurant in the city center was still
smoldering from the fire that torched much of the interior.
Shops were putting up plastic sheeting and glass panels to cover their
smashed front windows. Several sports goods stores and other shops had
been cleaned out by looters leaving display windows completely bare.
Streets were swept clean of debris in the early morning, and
maintenance crews were repairing smashed traffic lights along the
main avenues.
Many of the undamaged stores had hung Serbian flags and pasted signs
reading "Kosovo is Serbia" on their front windows.
The UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously condemned "in the
strongest terms the mob attacks against embassies in Belgrade" and
said that it welcomed the steps taken by the Serbian authorities to
restore order and protect diplomatic property and personnel.
The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, said
earlier Thursday he was "outraged" by the attack, the AP reports.
More than a dozen nations have recognized Kosovo’s declaration
of independence, including the United States, Britain, France and
Germany. But the declaration by Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian leadership
has been rejected by Serbia’s government and the ethnic Serbians who
populate northern Kosovo.
NIKOLAY BORDUJA CONGRATUALTES SERZH SARGSYAN
Panorama.am
20:24 21/02/2008
Collective Security Treaty Organization Secretary General Nikolay
Boriuja has congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan with
the victory in the presidential elections. The congratulation address
says in particular: "Dear Serzh Sargsyan, please accept my sincere
congratulation in relation to your election at the high post of the
Armenian president. I am deeply convinced that by your active and
fruitful activity and proceeding from the national security interests
of the Republic of Armenia as well as by enjoying the high vote of
trust of the people, you will ensure the dynamic development and
prosperity of Armenia."
MORELLA: ARONYAN SECOND PLACE
Panorama.am
14:33 21/02/2008
After the fifth circle of Morella-Linares super competition
Vishvanat Anand, world cup holder, Indian grand master leads the
competition. Anand won Israeli Peter Leckoil and has 3.5 scores on
his account.
Levon Aronyan, the winner of "Chorus Chess 2008" is in the second
horizontal. Aronyan ends his game in a draw with Aleksey Shirov who
presents Spain.
Shirov Topalov and Karlsen are in the 3rd to 5th horizontals. Radjabov,
Leko, and Ivanchuk are in the 6th to 8th horizontals.
Note that the first part of the competition takes place on 15-23
February in Morela, Mexico. And the second part is arranged for 28
February to 7 March in Linares, Spain. The competition is held for
the third time.
PRICES OF HOUSES GROW
KarabakhOpen
20-02-2008 11:37:18
According to the NKR State Committee of Real Estate Cadastre, in the
fourth quarter of 2007 a detached house of 200 sq m with 1000 sq m of
land cost an average 65 thousand dollars which is up by 9.2 percent
compared with the third quarter. In Askeran a similar house cost 11
112 dollars and went up by 8 percent.
In Martuni a similar house could be bought for 10 thousand dollars,
which is up by 3 percent compared with the third quarter of 2007. In
Martakert the price went up by 3 percent and was 6500. In Hadrut
a house costs 6900 dollars and the price went up by 5.4 percent,
in Shushi a house costs 7450 dollars and went up by 8.8 percent.
The prices of houses in Stepanakert have grown by 68.3 percent
compared with 2006, in Askeran 46.7 percent, Martuni 33.7 percent,
Hadrut 37.6 percent, Shushi 47.3 percent.
As of 11:00, 11,2% of the electors participated in the presidential elections of Armenia
February 19, 2008
Yerevan /Mediamax/. As of 11:00, 265.533 electors, or 11.2 % of the
people, having the right of vote, participated in the presidential
elections in Armenia.
Mediamax reports that the Secretary of the Central Electoral Commission
(CEC) of Armenia Hamlet Abramian said this.
Today, at 08:00, 1923 polling stations opened in the whole territory
of Armenia.
2.328.320 citizens of the republic have the right of vote in the
elections.
STATEMENT ISSUED BY COUNCIL OF CHURCH LEADERS IN JORDAN
PETRA Jordanian News Agency
Feb 15 2008
Jordan
Amman, Feb.15 (Petra) – The Council of the Church leaders in Jordan
expressed its surprise regarding an article published by an American
News Agency, "Compass Direct News" about Christians in Jordan. The
article contained falsities that distort the truth and harm relations
between Muslim and Christian citizens in Jordan.
The Council added that it is puzzling that certain small groups, whose
memberships number only few hundred people and which are foreign to
Christians in Jordan and to the history of Muslim-Christian relations,
permit themselves to speak in the name of all Christians and appoint
themselves as the guardians and protectors of Christianity as if
Christianity were in danger.
The statement clarifies the proportion of Jordanian Christians
nationals currently residing in the country comes to about 4 per cent
and rise to 5 per cent if the Christian nationals residing abroad
were included. The statement added that Christian citizens are not
imported from abroad; they are Jordanian citizens deep-rooted in
this land since the days of the prophets and the first Christian
generation. There is a Council of Church Leaders residing in Jordan
grouping the Bishops of Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, (Melkite),
Roman Catholic, and Armenian Orthodox Churches. Ninety-five per cent
of Christian citizens in Jordan belong to one of these churches. Due
to the small numbers of the followers of other churches their religious
leaders reside in Jerusalem.
The statement underlined the Christian nationals in Jordan live
a normal life, in various towns and villages, in secure and safe
environment where they maintain good social relations with their
Muslim compatriots. The two different religions did not produce two
split communities: Muslim and Christian. Christian contribute to the
social, economic, cultural and scientific life in Jordan, and serve
in the army and in various front line with other intellectual, and
arte educationally qualified in various fields. Christian leaderships
enjoy good relations with both Muslim religious leaders and government
officials.
The statement added Jordanian Christians do not fear at all that
the government might regress on its traditional policy of religious
tolerance. Muslim and Christians, as well as the government itself,
are all subject to the Jordanian Constitution. Amendment and changes
are not effected to the constitution as a result of a shift in mood
here and there. According to the constitution, Islam is the state of
religion; it’s therefore only natural that some laws, such as personal
status laws, stem from Islam. They are applicable to Muslims, but
not Christians. To ensure equality, the Constitution and the laws in
force stress the right of the churches to establish their own courts,
which their own jurisdiction-on par with the Muslims’ Shari’ah Courts,
in matters of Personal Status and Waqf. A Christian citizen, in such
a case, has the right and indeed an obligation, resort to his/her
Church Court; and the civil authority is obliged to implement relevant
church court decision. The churches are exempted from taxes just like
the mosques and places of worship for Muslims.
Christians have the right to build their own churches and schools and
to establish charity organizations and hospitals; and they have the
right to exercise their religious rites with complete freedom. If
problems do arise, as they do in all societies, countries and
religions, we, Jordanian Christians are more than capable of solving
them with the relevant parties, and within our Jordanian home. We
are citizens here and not strangers; therefore, we would never ask
an outsider to interfere in our internal affairs, speak in our name,
or defend us.
The Statement added any Christian national has the right to join
the army, the police, the security forces, any other government
institution. The law also preserves a number of seats in the Lower
House of Parliament for Christian citizens. One or more Christian
ministers serve in any Jordanian government and Christian senators
sit in the Upper House of Parliament. All of this is a proof of the
Authorities’ interest in seeing Christian citizens play an active role
in government and in various political fields. The Will of the Lord
had chosen us, the Christians of this Land which was sanctified by
Jesus and the Disciples, as well as the Prophets of the Old Testament,
to carry the Message of love and peace. The Jordanian people, Muslim
and Christians alike, have an ages-long experience of living together
in peace and love, protecting their national unity constantly working
to further solidify it. Jordanian Christians have never been exposed
to violence or terrorism; to the contrary, they always lived an
ordinary and peaceful social and political life alongside their Muslim
compatriots. The Hashimite Family, as well as the government protect
with total care the Christian religious sites in Jordan, particularly
Mount Nebo, Prophet Elya, John the Baptist at the Makawer, and the
Baptism site; the government has generously given Churches places of
land for free, in order for them to build churches and abbeys.
The Statement affirmed there is nothing a Christian national must
fear from his/her Constitution or Government. He/she is a citizen
enjoying all pertinent rights, just as Muslim does. Different in
faith and multilateralism are legitimate matters protected by law.
Relations between Muslims and Christians are very good and so are
the relations between the Christian leaders and all the Jordanian
authorities. Christians are confident about their lives and futures in
the country, and enjoy rights stipulated in the Jordanian Constitution,
which Christians in Europe and America do not.
Regarding non-Jordan Christians, the statement clarified that
non-Jordanian Christians who come from other countries and who belong
to such demonstrations and the Roman Catholic, Orthodox and protestant,
receive their spiritual services at the local churches.
For example, the Roman Catholic Church maintains prayers in various
languages for the Christian communities which speak English, Italian,
French and Spanish. The Egyptian Orthodox Copts have their own church
in Amman. Other churches address the spiritual needs of foreigners
belonging to the same demonstration.
Regarding the foreign missionary groups that come to Jordan, the
Statement said the number of foreign missionary groups comes to under
social education or cultural cover, has increased in recent years;
there are currently around forty groups. Jordan has provided them
with the necessary facilities to perform the humanitarian services
which they ostensibly have come to deliver. These groups which came
under the guise of charitable organizations, have started to call
themselves as churches-which they are not-and ask for the same rights
that the Constitution stipulates for formal churches. They also have
proselytized among Jordanians, in a manner that has given rise to the
religious animosity, disrespecting the freedom of conscience, and thus
disturbed relations among Christian and Muslim citizens. These groups
are financially and politically supported by certain countries. It
is worth mentioning here that Arab Anglican Episcopal Church and
Anglican Lutheran Church do not recognize these missionary groups as
churches. The Statement pointed out that the Council of the Churches
Leaders has warned successively the Jordanian Government of the danger
these groups pose to Christianity in Jordan to the Christian-Muslim
relations; we wrote many times to various officials in order to
explain their true nature; and we condemned their radical practices
which create strike among citizens. The most recent of such letters
was addressed to His Majesty King Abdullah II on September 29, 2007,
in which the Bishops explained to His Majesty that the objective of
these groups, which are known for their religious radicalism, is to
sow the seeds of religious animosity among citizens. The Bishops also
asked in the above mentioned letter that the government not allow
those groups to establish a "theological institute" to which they
attract poor and unemployment youths, drawing them from our churches
and tempting them with facilitations and missionary jobs in Jordan
and send them to various Arab and Muslim countries, thereby causing
needless trouble for Jordan and churches in those countries.
On issue of deportation, the Statement elucidated that the issue of
deporting certain numbers of those radical groups is one security,
and deportation should not be surprising when radical practices that
give rise to religious strife. It is natural that the State should
exercise its sovereign right to protect its citizens from harm
and harassment by foreigners. Foreigners are subject to the law of
the country where they reside, irrespective of their religion, and
must respect the regulations regarding their residency permits. If a
foreigner breaches the law, then the State has the right to ask that
person to leave. This is an act of sovereignty.
The statement called on those groups to stop acting as self-appointed
guardians of Christians and Christianity in Jordan, stop describing
themselves as churches and respect the Jordanian State, its laws,
and its citizens. They should stop being the cause of strife,
problems and worries to Christians and Muslims alike. We do not need
their religious extremism or activities that harm national unity
and historical Christian-Christian and Christian-Muslim relations
existing among all citizens. We have made our position regarding
these groups clear to their leaders, offered them our honest advice,
and asked them not to be the cause of strife or destabilization in the
society, but they did not heed our message. The Statement was signed
by Bishop Benedicts, Bishop of the Greek Orthodox and Bishop Yaser
Ayyash Bishop of Greek Catholic (Melkite), the Roman Catholic Bishop,
Bishop Vahan Tobolian, Bishop of Armenian Orthodox and Bishop Salem Al
Saigh Bishop Latins and the secretary of the Council Bishop John Noor.
HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN FIT INTO THE FREEDOM SQUARE?
2008-02-15 02:21
This time as well, it is tough to imagine pre-election Armenia without
the Freedom Square. In the course of each rally and after it, the size
of the crowd is one of the most discussed matters. The opinions are
almost always different, and there may be alternative figures.
Based on architect Alexander Tamanyan’s project, the Yerevan Theater
Square was supposed to serve as a leisure and promenade zone. In 1988,
it was renamed as Freedom Square, obtaining a political signifiacnce and
becoming te symbol of unity of the Armenian people.
This time as well, it is tough to imagine pre-election Armenia without
the Freedom Square. In the course of each rally and after it, the size
of the crowd is one of the most discussed matters. The opinions are
almost always different, and there may be alternative figures.
Sergey Tonoyan is a future architect – he studies at the Yerevan State
Architecture and Construction University. He has conducted numerous
calculations, stating that the rally size can be defined with the help
of special software.
Sergey takes into account the data worked out by Yerevanproject
institute, calculating the Freedom Square capacity.
`We have separated the whole territory where the citizens can stand
while taking part in a gathering. It is the square in front of the opera
and the neghboring roads. According to our calculations, the whole
surface of that space forms 10.255 square meters. Since 3 or 4 people
can stand on one square meter, the total number of people will form 30
or 40 thousand,’ Sergey presents his calculations.
Based on the picture he got, only the space of the square in front of
the opera is no more than 10 thousand square meters, and about 30
thousand people can get together only in the semi-circle. Also, he does
not exclude that, in case of standing very tightly, that number can
increase. If using the space of the cafes – the former green zone – and
the paths, maximum 60 thousand people will fit into the Freedom Square.
More people will fit in case of walk-rallies.
Sergey makes a comparison with the 1988 rallies, noting that, at that time,
the gathered people were going further, up to the Swan Lake. `I don’t
think that now there will be many people gathering there. It is a
skating rink there. Instead, now we have the Northern Avenue – there may
be such a big gathering that people will get together even there,’ the
future architect states.
He says that it is possible to approximately count the number of people
at any meeting. Here, it is accepted to measure the number with the
naked eye. However, it can never be accurate. Sergey is surprised to
hear that a few thousand people have gathered here. `All the figures
exceeding one hundred thousand are absurd,’ the specialist states.
Sergey notes that more people will fit into the Republic Square and the
space near Matenadaran. However, the Freedom Square is very conventient
with its position for such an event – it does not impede the traffic,
creating a unique atmosphere of unity.
Mane Grigoryan
—
28&lang=en&PHPSESSID=c482cad6edcb473ff30a9 c097c60c066
A1+
WOMEN APPEAL TO MEN
[04:08 pm] 16 February, 2008
Women members of the `Armenian Revolutionary
Federation – Dashnaktsutyun’ with the initiative of
the `Armenian Aid Union’ organized a peaceful march
with the RA flag, `Stop, Brothers!’, `No to Election
Bribes’, `No to Hatred’, `For the Peace’, `No to
Political Frauds’, `For the Sake of the Country’s
Stability’ posters.
They called the presidential candidates to keep
solidarity, peace and stay sober, since the life
neither began nor ended with their words and the
elections.
The women participants took the peace foreword first
to the pre-election headquarter of Levon
Ter-Petrosyan, which is located on Koryun Street. Then
they moved to the office of the `Republican Party of
Armenia’, crying out `peace’ and `freedom’.
The participants of the march let white doves fly in
front of the office of the `Republican Party of
Armenia’. `We have gathered to call them to sobriety.
We want to tell them that no chair deserves inner
collisions or skirmish’, said Alvard Petrosyan, member
of the ARF. By the way, the foreword was written by
her. During the whole march she had been sitting in
the car and following the process of the march.
Naira Zurabyan, member of the `Prosperous Armenia’
party received the foreword at the office of the
`Republican Party of Armenia’. Then the participants
of the march headed to the office of Dashnaktsutyun,
where the presidential candidate Vahan Hovhannisyan
met them and made a speech.
He pointed out that former and the present authorities
wanted to come to power by various ways. According to
him, the most dangerous for Armenia was physical
collisions.
`We want consolidation; all people fight for one thing
and let them fight peacefully. We call all men to stay
sober. They fight against each other for nothing. We
have gathered for solidarity, independence and fair
elections’, said Alisa Hakobyan.
The ARF office presented roses, flags and scarves to
the women participants of the march.