Author: Kajoyan Gevork

ARMENIE
L’ambassadeur Heffern a rencontré une citoyenne américaine ayant
dénoncée la fraude électorale

L’Ambassadeur des Etats-Unis en Arménie John Heffern a rencontré la
citoyenne américaine Narine Esmaeli, qui a été placée sous enquête par
les autorités arméniennes, après avoir révélé la fraude électorale,
immédiatement après les élections présidentielles du 18 février.

Observatrice d’une organisation internationale non gouvernementale,
Narine Esmaeili a été en poste au bureau de vote 17-5 dans la ville
d’Artashat lors de l’élection présidentielle arménienne. Quand elle a
protesté face aux fraudes électorales présumées, elle a été
physiquement agressé et menacé par les responsables du bureau de vote.
Actuellement, une procédure judiciaire a été ouverte contre elle.

La situation juridique de Narine Esmaeli a été au c`ur de sa rencontre
avec Heffern.

L’ambassadeur a promis de continuer à suivre de très près son cas,
ainsi que d’autres développements post-électoraux. John Heffern a
indiqué que le bien-être des citoyens américains à l’étranger demeure
la priorité absolue pour le gouvernement des États-Unis.

John Heffern a déclaré que les États-Unis demeure résolu à continuer à
travailler avec le gouvernement d’Arménie et le peuple arménien pour
aider à renforcer les processus démocratiques qui garantissent la
liberté de tous les individus en vue d’exprimer leurs points de vue et
opinions, sans crainte de harcèlement ou de persécution.

Narine Esmaeli a signalé qu’elle avait vu un groupe de 25 à 30 hommes
marchant dans le bureau de vote et entourant l’urne. Le policier qui
gardait le bureau avait ignoré sa demande de ne pas laisser plus de 15
personnes entrer dans le bureau de vote car cela était une violation
des règles du vote. Quand elle a essayé de protester, l’un des hommes
du groupe l’a poussée contre le mur et a tenu ses mains l’une contre
l’autre, alors que des membres du bureau ont coupé le cachet de l’urne
pour permettre à l’un des hommes du groupe de verser un sac plein de
bulletins de vote dans la boîte. Les policiers locaux, qui sont
arrivés sur les lieux plus tard, répondant à son appel, ont demandé à
Narine Esmaeili d’être une « bonne fille » et ne pas parler aux
médias.

L’enquête sur les activités de Narine Esmaeli a commencé une semaine
après les élections.

« L’enquêteur Hovakimyan, qui était sarcastique et agressif dès la
première seconde où nous nous sommes rencontrés, a toujours tenté de
modifier mon témoignage et l’ordre des événements dans le but de
placer le blme et la suspicion sur moi. Au lieu de transcrire
exactement ce que je racontais, l’enquêteur a utilisé des questions
suggestives et les réponses méprisantes comme « vous savez ce n’est
jamais arrivé » a déclaré Narine Esmaeli au bloggeur d’Amnesty
International Simon Maghakyan.

« Pour éviter toute distorsion de l’enquêteur sur mon témoignage, mon
avocat Tigran Yegoryan insisté sur le fait que nous enregistrons
l’interrogatoire du 1er mars. Après avoir argumenté pendant 40
minutes, le départ de l’enquêteur ce dernier revint avec Andranik
Mirzoyan, chef du Service des enquêtes spéciales. Le chef a arraché de
façon effrayante l’enregistreur de la main de mon avocat et de manière
agressive l’a jeté contre l’étagère dans la salle d’entrevue. Puis mon
avocat et moi-même avons été entouré par une demi-douzaine
d’enquêteurs » a ajouté Narine Esmaeli.

« Nous avons quitté l’endroit physiquement intact, mais j’ai peur d’y
retourner. C’est exactement ce qu’ils veulent de moi. C’est exactement
pourquoi je ne vais pas arrêter mon combat pour la justice » a
expliqué Narine Esmaeli.

dimanche 24 mars 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

Step Into My Parlor, Said the Spider to the Fly

13:44, March 24, 2013

By Lucine Kasbarian

In April 2013, the winners of the 4th Annual International Turkish
Tourism Cartoon Competition will be announced.

The purpose of the competition is to `examine tourism’ in Turkey by
highlighting travelers’ experiences from a cartoonist’s point of view.
The theme of this year’s competition is `the resident and tourist
relationship.’ Tourism is one of the biggest income-generating
sectors of the Turkish economy.

Open to professional and amateur cartoonists around the world, the
contest will award the winners a one-week vacation for two at a
five-star hotel in Turkey.

The competition is co-sponsored by the Turkish Ministry of Tourism and
Culture, the Turkish Association of Tourism Writers and Journalists,
the Research Center for Caricature Art at Anadolu University, and the
`Anatolia’ Journal of Tourism Research. A representative of the
Turkish Ministry of Tourism, Turkish cartoonists, two Turkish tourism
journalists, and the editor of `Anatolia’ Journal serve as judges.

As a writer and cartoonist of Armenian descent, I am aware of the
overtures made by Turkey to encourage tourism by Diasporan Armenians
who may be interested in embarking on `nostalgia pilgrimages’ to the
regions from which their indigenous ancestors were driven during the
Turkish government-perpetrated genocide of 1915-1923. Turkish
officials and businessmen alike are clearly eager to derive tourism
revenues from what they see as a natural target demographic, namely,
the descendants of the forcibly exiled Armenians. After all, the
Armenian Highland, now referred to as `Eastern Anatolia’ or `Eastern
Turkey’ and virtually emptied of its Armenian population, is now one
of Turkey’s most impoverished regions.

While Turkey desperately wishes to avoid the issue of reparations and
restitution for the Armenian Genocide, one wonders whether the Turkish
government is nevertheless experiencing cognitive dissonance as it
invites Armenians to territory inhabited by their ancestors for more
than 3,000 years. It must take a uniquely wired mind to self-justify
the commission of mass murder, property theft and abduction while
coaxing the descendants of the victims to cough up money for the
`privilege’ of touring the lands stolen from their parents,
grandparents and forebears.

Turkey’s tourism outreach to Armenians reached unprecedented levels in
2010, after it purportedly `renovated’ the 10th century Armenian Holy
Cross Cathedral on Aghtamar Island on Lake Van.

Turkey announced that it expected thousands of tourists from Armenia
and its Diaspora to spill into the Van region for the ostensibly
auspicious opening of a monument that holds great historical,
spiritual, and cultural significance for Armenians. A condition in
Turkey’s gesture of `great tolerance’ and `largesse’ was that Holy
Cross would be a house of worship no more, as the structure was to be
only a state museum. Downplayed was the fact that ongoing Christian
worship inside the structure would be forbidden.

We could, of course, discuss how unsafe Turkey is, not only to
tourists but also to those indigenous groups who have been made to
feel like outsiders. The murder of Armenians — from journalist Hrant
Dink and defenseless old women in Istanbul to visitors in the resort
town of Antalya — are but a few recent examples.

Armenians commemorate April 24 every year because on that day in 1915
the Turkish government rounded up and murdered hundreds of Armenian
intellectuals and community leaders. The purpose was to eliminate
the top echelon of the Armenian people and, thereby, to more easily
dispose of the masses.

In recent decades, the Turkish government has reserved the month of
April to publicly rehabilitate its genocidal reputation. Each year,
Turkish Children’s Day and Turkish Cultural Month strategically
commence on April 23rd. Significantly, the Tourism Cartoon
Competition’s exhibition of finalists’ cartoons and its award ceremony
are also to be held in April.

As Turkey’s genocide whitewashing campaigns continue unabated, it
should come as no surprise that, `coincidentally’ this April, the
Eurasia Partnership Foundation, its co-sponsor, the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID), and other organizations
are bringing about direct passenger flights between Yerevan and Van
even as Turkey continues to close its border with Armenia.

The title of this article – derived from the opening line of Mary
Howitt’s famous poem – is intended to apply to Turkey’s overtures to
tourists. The line is often used in popular culture to indicate an
offer of friendship that is, in fact, a trap.

`Will you walk into my parlor?’ said the Spider to the Fly,

‘Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy;

The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,

And I’ve a many curious things to show when you are there.’

`Oh no, no,’ said the little Fly, `to ask me is in vain,

For who goes up your winding stair —

Can ne’er come down again.’

— Mary Howitt, 1829

# # #

Lucine Kasbarian is a journalist, book publicist, children’s book
author and political cartoonist. She will speak on April 2 about the
book publishing industry on International Children’s Book Day at the
Armenian Library and Museum of America in Watertown, MA. See:

Rezonansi, Georgia
March 22 2013

‘Nationals’: Abkhaz railroad will turn Georgia into military bridgehead

[Translated from Georgian]

Paata Zakareishvili, the Georgian state minister for reintegration,
has stated that the opening of the Yerevan-Tbilisi-Sokhumi railroad
“has not gone beyond the idea stage.” The opposition [United National
Movement party], meanwhile, has discussed the threat of Georgia
becoming a military bridgehead if the railroad resumes functioning.

“Even if the entire world were to wish for the railroad through
Abkhazia to open, unless Russia and Georgia agree, the railroad will
not operate,” Zakareishvili stated in Parliament during the joint
session of the Temporary Commission for the Restoration of Territorial
Integrity and the Committee on Diaspora and Caucasian Issues. During
the session, representatives of the parliamentary minority discussed
negative aspects of opening the railroad.

According to Parliamentary minority [United National Movement] member
Shota Malashkhia [deputy chairman of the Temporary Commission on the
Restoration of Territorial Integrity], every expert in Azerbaijan,
Turkey, and Armenia, is discussing the real threat of the resumption
of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “In this case,
consenting to [the restoration of] the railroad means that we will
become a military bridgehead in the war,” Malashkhia said.

It should be noted that on 12 March Russian President Vladimir Putin
first met with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, and later with
Aleksandr Ankvab, the de facto president of Abkhazia. After the
meeting, while talking to journalists, Sargsyan stated that he
received Putin’s consent while discussing the reopening of the
railroad through Abkhazia.

“When I was talking with Putin, he told me that he was planning to
meet with the Abkhaz president on the same day, and that he would
definitely discuss the matter with him as well. After this we received
a response saying that the attitude [toward the restoration of the
railroad] was positive, and that more effort should immediately be
devoted to this important goal. I am unable to estimate when all this
might happen,” Sargsyan stated.

Caucasian House Director Giorgi Kanashvili told Rezonansi that coming
from the existing reality, despite the parties’ interest, the railroad
project is a “long-term issue”:

“We have to take into account that the [Winter] Olympic Games are
planned in Sochi in 2014. Correspondingly, this is a hindering factor
for the realization of such projects in the region. Nor is Russia
ready to implement this project. It may be that Sargsyan’s and
Ankvab’s simultaneous visit to Russia was no coincidence. But I still
think that in terms of realizing the project, we should not expect any
serious steps before 2014. This is a long-term project. Also, many
parties are involved in it. It is not an issue pertaining to
Georgian-Russian or Georgian-Abkhazian relations. Therefore, this is a
long-term project that demands long-term efforts from all parties,”
the expert said.

According to Kanashvili, the parliamentary opposition’s arguments
opposing the opening of the railroad are groundless:

“Connecting this project with the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict is
frivolous. Azerbaijan would want to get involved in this issue only if
it felt the route would be used to supply Armenia with military cargo.
No Georgian Government would consent to the transportation of military
hardware to the South Caucasus. Correspondingly, any talk of Georgia
becoming a military bridgehead is completely groundless,” Kanashvili
Said.

Conflict expert Gogi Khutsishvili opined that the situation is dire in
terms of Georgian-Abkhazian relations, and this can be assumed to be
the main hindering factor for this project:

“Negotiations concerning specific issues have been started between
Georgia and Russia but Georgians and Abkhazians have completely
severed all relations. And in order to realize this project, a minimal
degree of trust between Tbilisi and Sokhumi is necessary. It will not
be possible to realize this project without trust. This is more of a
future project. Russia’s and Armenia’s interest is ultimately not
decisive here,” Khutsishvili said.

Also according to him, discussing the topic of possible hostilities
between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the railroad’s context is
unrealistic.

“Theoretically, this risk really does exist. In real terms, however,
many serious factors hinder the resumption of hostilities between
Armenia and Azerbaijan. Nobody is interested in the [Nagornyy]
Karabakh war as this will cause a great Caucasian war and will
completely change the circumstances in the region. That is why they
will try their best not to allow this to happen. This issue of this
threat is raised every year but nonetheless, no one begins a war.”

“Georgia will not refrain from resolving its own conflicts because of
a threat. We should think about how the Georgian and Abkhazian sides
can resume relations. We have always maintained that non-recognition
together with inclusion will be the precondition for reconciliation.
We manage non-recognition but fail at inclusion. This would constitute
real inclusion of the Abkhazian and Georgian sides in a joint project.
This would create the precondition for rapprochement and conflict
resolution. When active communication between the Georgian and
Abkhazian sides begins, then the issue of the railroad will arise.
Until then, no matter what degree of interest Russia and Armenia may
show, they will not be able to solve [this problem] without us,
unilaterally,” Khutsishvili said.

[Translated from Georgian]

Armenians Seek Language Rights in Georgia

For some politicians, allowing official use of minority languages is
first step towards separatism.

Institute for War and Peace Reporting
CRS Issue 681
22 Mar 13

By Sopho Bukia – Caucasus

Local officials in an Armenian-majority area of Georgia have sparked
heated discussion by calling on the state to ratify an international
treaty that protects minority languages.

Members of the municipal assembly in the southern town of Akhalkalaki
said they would write to parliament about the issue. The councillors
are members of the Georgian Dream coalition which formed a government
after winning elections in October.

Georgia is home to about 250,000 ethnic Armenians, around five per
cent of its total population. Most live in the mountainous
Samtskhe-Javakheti region, bordering on Armenia and Turkey.

In the southeast, another substantial minority, 280,000 Azeris, live
along the border with Azerbaijan.

The European Charter for Minority or Regional Languages, ECRML,
commits member states in the Council of Europe to make education,
court proceedings and state services available in minority languages
in areas where they are traditionally spoken. Georgia pledged to
ratify the charter when it joined the Council of Europe in 1999, but
it has not yet done so.

`We believe the protection of national minorities in Georgia’s regions
is an important element of building Georgia,’ said a draft statement
from the councillors in Akhalkalaki, who belong to the Republican
faction within Georgian Dream. `We also note that protecting and
developing regional languages and the languages of national minorities
must not take place at the expense of the state language.’

Council chairman Hamlet Movsesyan said the deputies had not yet agreed
the final text.

`This statement is still being worked on, and a final version will be
sent to parliament. It does not emphasise the Armenian language. This
statement is about ratification of the European charter,’ he said.

The Akhalkalaki assembly members said they did not consult their
Georgian Dream allies in Tbilisi before raising the issue.

The move has revived concerns about the implications of people from
ethnic minorities failing to learn Georgian, the sole state language.

Although the statement does not mention Armenian, the Georgian media
interpreted it as a clear demand for official status for that
language.

`Georgian Dream Republicans demand status for Armenian language,’ the
ExpressNews Agency reported on March 15.

Van Baiburt, an adviser to President Mikhail Saakashvili, told
reporters that although he did not think ECRML would encourage
separatism, it was still too soon to ratify it.

`At a time when less than ten per cent of people from ethnic
minorities speak the Georgian language, naturally it is not desirable
to ratify the charter. It would turn out we were passing laws to
totally stop instruction in Georgian,’ he said.

Tina Khidasheli, a member of parliament from the ruling Georgian Dream
coalition, denied that ratifying ECRML would mean that state
institutions no longer had to operate in Georgian.

Vano Merabishvili, a former prime minister and now general secretary
of Saakashvili’s United National Movement, UNM, warned that giving
official status to regional languages could encourage separatism. He
said the UNM government had spent nine years trying to stop separatism
gaining a foothold.

David Darchiashvili, a legislator from the UNM, now the minority
faction in parliament, pointed out that many other Council of Europe
members had not ratified the treaty.

He said Georgia should wait until it was secure from external threats
before exposing itself to domestic risks.

Referring to Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which have claimed
independence since conflicts in the 1990s, Darchiashvili said, `When
20 per cent of your territory is occupied, and then you hear
statements from Moscow that Georgia should be `Tbilisi Province’ [ie
part of Russia], then it is not in our interest to raise these
matters.’

Paata Zakareishvili, State Minister for Reintegration, pointed out
that it was Saakashvili himself who committed Georgia to ratifying
ECRML 15 years ago, when he was head of parliament’s legal committee.

`Sooner or later, Georgia will have to join the charter, otherwise we
will not achieve any of the European integration that Mr Saakashvili
talks about so often. Also, the plan for a more liberal visa regime
with the European Union cannot be signed until we accede to the
charter,’ he said.

`So this is a difficult issue which must be considered by the public,
the government and parliament. When we talk about moving closer to the
European Union and European institutions, we need to discuss the
difficulties that are preventing us from taking steps in that
direction.’

Sopho Bukia is an IWPR-trained journalist who works for the Rustavi-2
broadcasting company.

Magnus Carlsen and the renaissance of chess

With 600m players worldwide, revamped rules and a new poster boy,
chess may well be entering a new phase

The Guardian (UK)
Saturday 23 March 2013

By Nigel Short

>From this week, until early April, eight of the world’s leading chess
grandmasters will be battling in the Candidates’ Tournament in London,
to determine a challenger to the chess crown of the Indian world
champion, Viswanathan Anand. Known as the Tiger of Madras, Anand has
held the championship for the past six years, defending his status
three times against well-established and dangerous opponents.

This competition to determine Anand’s challenger is the strongest
chess tournament ever held in the capital. And fronting the pack of
ambitious hopefuls, yearning to seize their share of the record
=82¬500,000 prize fund and go on to dethrone the sitting champion, is
the fresh, menacing force of Norway’s Magnus Carlsen. At just 22 years
of age, this chess superstar has already been the public face of teen
fashion house G-Star RAW and is the recipient of hundreds of thousands
of pounds per year in sponsorship deals. Such is Carlsen’s allure,
both on and off the chessboard, that many people are hoping he could
rekindle an interest in the game that has been lacking since the glory
days of Fischer-Spassky, and Karpov-Kasparov. Indeed, Carlsen has
already been invited to take the role of a chess-playing alien from
the future in the forthcoming new edition of the Star Trek movie
franchise =80` an offer he turned down.

Defending champion Anand is becoming somewhat long in the tooth and
has won only one major tournament since his successful title defence
in Moscow a year ago. Carlsen, in contrast, has soared to the highest
chess rating of all time, obliterating Kasparov’s previous record,
while regularly picking off top honours in elite contests. His chess
style is harmonious, uniquely versatile and backed up by a fierce will
to win.

Under new rules, older contestants are finding it increasingly onerous
to survive long games, which now demand a gladiatorial fight to a
finish. Before the advent of computers it was still possible to stop
play and adjourn the game after five hours play. No longer.

Middle-aged grandmasters find this unremitting mental warfare hard to
stomach – Anand is twice Carlsen’s age. The chess world is in a phase
of renewal, and most experts believe the time has come for change at
the top.

Will Carlsen succeed in London? He remains the favourite but there is
no doubt, after the early rounds, that the London contest will provide
a nail-biting race.

The game, it seems, could be on the verge of to reliving the days when
Fischer challenged Spassky in a metaphorical paradigm of the cold war,
or when the embodiment of glasnost and perestroika, Garry Kasparov,
took on Anatoly Karpov, the golden boy of the Kremlin establishment,
in a titanic series of battles.

Even with this recent relative downturn, though, recent research by
YouGov pointed to 600 million people who regularly play chess. The
game is now being taken up by governments around the world as an
academic subject on the school curriculum, with Israel and Armenia
being joined this month by Hungary. Medical research indicates that
playing chess can help fend off Alzheimer’s disease.

So, with chess proving to be beneficial both for students and the
elderly, with fresh backers such as Azerbaijan’s State Oil
Corporation, and with the alluring prospect of a young new champion
who will significantly contribute to revitalising and promoting the
sport worldwide, the future seems bright for an ancient game that
entertained the Caliphs of 9th century Baghdad and continues to do so
for fans of all ages.

The Economist: Since joining the CoE Azerbaijan has used “caviar diplomacy”

15:14 23/03/2013 » REGION

Though in theory only democratic countries can join the Council of
Europe (CoE), which promotes human rights, Azerbaijan has been a
member since 2001, the British `The Economist’ writes.

`Council of Europe members hoped that membership would accelerate
Azerbaijan’s democratic transition. That has not happened. Indeed,
political manipulation of elections may have increased over the past
decade. In a blistering report published last year, the European
Stability Initiative, a think-tank, called Azerbaijan’s 2010
parliamentary elections the most flawed ever in the CoE’s member
states.

According to Freedom House Azerbaijan is not really a democratic
country, the article says. `Since the early 1990s, it says, elections
have been deeply flawed. Parliament is rubber-stamping the
government’s decisions. Corruption is widespread,’ The Economist says.

Azerbaijan’s international significance lies in its energy resources
and strategic location. Over the past decade, western diplomats have
been quick to pull their punches over thorny human rights issues.

`Yet this is not merely a story of western indifference. Since joining
the council, the ESI argues, Azerbaijan has used `caviar diplomacy’,
including gifts, free trips and money, to create a group of apologists
within PACE who consistently act in its interests and render the
assembly impotent,’ the article says.

Following the deeply flawed 2005 parliamentary elections, some council
members argued that PACE should suspend the Azerbaijani delegation’s
voting rights. Five years later, it couldn’t even manage that: despite
widespread violations in the 2010 parliamentary elections, PACE
election monitors found far more positives in that year’s
parliamentary elections than observers from the Office of Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

`Is PACE’s adoption of a recent monitoring report on implementation of
Azerbaijan’s commitments to the council, written by Pedro Agramunt and
Joseph Debono Grech, a step in the right direction?’ the The Economist
wonders and notes that according to ESI Mr. Agramunt a long-standing
`defender of the Aliyev regime.’

By far the most divisive issue is political prisoners, the article
says. In December 2009, PACE asked Christoph Straesser, a German
member, to define the term officially. `Despite being refused a visa
to visit Azerbaijan three times, Mr Straesser wrote a monitoring
report on the situation of political prisoners in Azerbaijan, which
PACE debated on January 23rd. Arguments were polarized. Some delegates
called Azerbaijan’s refusal to let Mr. Straesser visit unacceptable;
others claimed his report therefore lacked credibility,’ the article
says.

Yet three days after PACE rejected Mr. Straesser’s report, the courts
in Baku sentenced five more demonstrators to prison, the article says.

`While a record number of people voted against Mr. Straesser’s report,
many others voted for it. A growing number of people are worried by
Azerbaijan’s antics. According to Amnesty International, the
government is cracking down on dissent in the run up to presidential
elections in October this year. In February, it locked up Illgar
Mammadov, a presidential candidate, for `organising’ apparently
spontaneous riots in the town of Ismayili in January. Last week, the
authorities jailed an independent journalist for nine years,’ the
publication says.

It says that Azerbaijan is due to assume the chairmanship of the
council’s Committee of Ministers in May 2014. `The Council of Europe’s
credibility is on the line,’ The Economist says.

Source: Panorama.am

2013 European Wrestling Championship: Armenian sportsman becomes double champion

19:55 – 23.03.13

Armenian wrestler Arthur Alexanyan won a double champion’s title at
the 2013 European Championship being held in Tbilisi, Georgia.

In the final round, he beat Bulgaria’s Vladislav Metodiev.

The sportsman, who joined the competitions in the 1/16 round, had
earlier celebrated victories over Swedish, Georgian, Turkish and
Azerbaijani rivals.

Anti-Corruption Group Urges Diasporans to Observe Yerevan Municipal Elections

March 23, 2013

The following is an open letter by Transparency International
Anticorruption Center, urging Armenians in the Diaspora to act as
election observers in future elections in Armenia, starting with the
May 2013 municipal election in Yerevan.

On election day, observers as well as voters witnessed gross
violations such as ballot stuffing, multiple voting on behalf of
absent citizens, and falsification of results in many of the precincts
around Armenia. (Photo: The Armenian Weekly)
On Feb. 18, 2013, the presidential elections demonstrated the Armenian
people’s distrust towards authorities and the pressing demand for
change. Elections, as usual, were accompanied by gross violations
organized by the authorities. During the entire span of the
pre-election campaign, voters faced suppression, threats, abuse of
administrative resources, and vote buying. On election day, observers
as well as voters witnessed gross violations such as ballot stuffing,
multiple voting on behalf of absent citizens, and falsification of
results in many of the precincts around Armenia. Most local electoral
commission members were completely integrated into the falsification
process, while many proxies of oppositional candidates were either
intimidated or engaged in the deal with the ruling regime.

On election day, many violations were detected, prevented, and
reported by independent civil society organizations throughout the
country. One of the witnesses of the crudest violation was 21-year-old
Narine Esmaeili, a U.S. citizen and participant of the Birthright
Armenia program. Narine interns at Transparency International
Anticorruption Center and acted as an observer within the observation
mission of Europe in Law Association in precinct 17/05 in the town of
Artashat. Narine was directly assaulted when she tried to prevent and
record mass ballot stuffing, whereas a group of 25-30 men stormed the
polling station, grabbed her arms and pinned her against the wall.
With assistance from the secretary of the local electoral commission,
the band stuffed 400-500 ballots, significantly affecting the results
in favor of the incumbent president. In other precincts the ballot
stuffing process was smoother and less violent, with the employment of
tricks such as temporary isolation of observers. In the aftermath of
such countrywide violations, 60.18 percent of eligible voters
`participated’ in the elections, out of which 58.64 percent `voted’
for incumbent Serge Sarkisian, as reported by official sources.

Following the elections, a criminal proceeding was launched by the
Special Investigative Service of Armenia (SIS). However, instead of
trying to reveal and condemn the crime, the SIS intended to conceal
the facts. The investigator in charge of the case was aggressive,
attempting to put psychological pressure on Narine for her to change
her testimony. Even the head of the SIS violently interfered in the
process of interrogation, seizing the tape recorder and preventing
Narine’s attorney from collecting evidence on the unlawfulness of the
proceeding. Later, SIS representatives continued to use scare tactics
and intimidation to ensure Narine and her lawyers from the Europe in
Law Association and Transparency International Anticorruption Center
recant their call for justice and recognition of electoral fraud.

Narine’s participation in the observation of elections and her high
moral and solid stance for the defense of the integrity of the
electoral process made a significant difference in Armenia. Violations
at precinct 17/05 were recognized by the Constitutional Court and the
election results of that precinct (and only that precinct) were
annulled, which marked a small but important step towards the
realization of the dream of building a democratic state. Her courage
and sense of civic duty attracted the attention of many, and
spotlighted the problem of election fraud and the reluctance of the
authorities to eradicate violations.

Elections in Armenia are constantly distorted, which in turn affect
general democratic processes, foster corruption and emigration, and
risk the country’s national security and statehood. There is a need
for increased active engagement by civil society in the promotion and
oversight of electoral processes. There is also the need for
engagement of both our citizens as well as our co-patriots around the
globe, who care about the future of Armenia.

We are calling upon Armenians throughout the world, as well as the
Disaporan organizations to encourage and actively participate in
Armenia’s future elections – at both national and local levels. We
believe that Narine’s experience, when multiplied, will accelerate
Armenia’s progression along the continuum of democracy. By witnessing,
voicing concern, and protecting the truth, these observers will help
the democratization of Armenia, while extending the scope of their
feelings beyond the recognition of genocide.

As a first step, we are calling all active Armenians and Diaspora
organizations to join the efforts of local Armenian non-governmental
organizations in observing the Yerevan City elections to be held in
May 2013.

For more information about participation in the observation mission,
please contact Transparency International Anticorruption Center at
[email protected] before April 10, 2013.

The Economist reveals Azerbaijan-CoE corruption-based relations

16:23, 23 March, 2013

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS: The Economist daily has published an
analytical article, revealing specifics of Azerbaijani policy, mainly
regarding the relations with Council of Europe. As reports Armenpress
it is mainly noted in the article:

`Azerbaijan is not really a democracy according to Freedom House, a
watchdog. Since the early 1990s, it says, elections have been deeply
flawed. Parliament is rubber-stamping the government’s decisions.
Corruption is widespread.

In theory only democratic countries can join the Council of Europe
(CoE), which promotes human rights. Yet Azerbaijan has been a member
since 2001. Back then, council members hoped that membership would
accelerate Azerbaijan’s democratic transition. That has not happened.
Indeed, political manipulation of elections may have increased over
the past decade: in a blistering report published last year, the
European Stability Initiative, a think-tank, called Azerbaijan’s 2010
parliamentary elections the most flawed ever in the CoE’s member
states.

Since joining the council, the ESI argues, Azerbaijan has used `caviar
diplomacy’, including gifts, free trips and money, to create a group
of apologists within PACE who consistently act in its interests and
render the assembly impotent.

Following the deeply flawed 2005 parliamentary elections, some council
members argued that PACE should suspend the Azerbaijani delegation’s
voting rights. The majority in the assembly disagreed, and issued a
strongly critical statement instead. Five years later, it couldn’t
even manage that: despite widespread violations in the 2010
parliamentary elections, PACE election monitors found far more
positives in that year’s parliamentary elections than observers from
the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

By far the most divisive issue is political prisoners. In December
2009, PACE asked Christoph Straesser, a German member, to define the
term officially. The definition he presented in October 2012 was one
that the Council had used since 2001. Several delegates then argued
that PACE did not have the authority to assess such human rights
violations; that belonged to the European Court of Human Rights. Their
attempt to block the definition was defeated by the narrowest of
margins. It followed lobbying by Azerbaijan that one delegate
described as `unmatched in its brazenness’.

Worse was to come. Despite being refused a visa to visit Azerbaijan
three times, Mr Straesser wrote a monitoring report on the situation
of political prisoners in Azerbaijan, which PACE debated on January
23rd. Arguments were polarized: some delegates called Azerbaijan’s
refusal to let Mr Straesser visit unacceptable; others claimed his
report therefore lacked credibility. Several members highlighted a
`prisoner carousel’, in which people are arrested, released and
re-arrested. Indeed, shortly after the co-rapporteurs published their
report in December, a presidential amnesty led to the release of 13
out of the 14 prisoners mentioned.

According to Amnesty International, the government is cracking down on
dissent in the run up to presidential elections in October this year.
In February, it locked up Illgar Mammadov, a presidential candidate,
for `organizing’ apparently spontaneous riots in the town of Ismayili
in January. Last week, the authorities jailed an independent
journalist for nine years. Azerbaijan is due to assume the
chairmanship of the council’s Committee of Ministers in May 2014. The
Council of Europe’s credibility is on the line,’ The Economist wrote.

350 violations of ceasefire in a week. Defence Army gave adequate
response to opponent

13:55, 23 March, 2013

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS: In accordance with data of Defence
Army, opponent has violated ceasefire regime on Karabakh-Azerbaijani
border for 350 times during period from March 13 till March 23. More
than 2000 bullets of different diameters were fired towards Armenian
side. As Armenpress was informed from press service of NKR Defence
Ministry, Defence Army gave adequate response to opponent and
implemented military vigilance along the entire length of the contact
line.