Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Tigran Sargsyan’s Visit Postponed

Tigran Sargsyan’s visit to Moscow planned at the end of February or
beginning of March has been postponed, the spokesman for the prime
minister Harutiun
Kbeyan told the Hraparak Daily. `Because a higher-level meeting will
be organized, Tigran Sargsyan’s visit to Moscow has been cancelled,’
he said. The newspaper
informs that Serzh Sargsyan will visit Moscow on March 12 to meet with
Vladimir Putin.

10:51 02/03/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

WorldBulletin.net, Turkey
March 2 2013

Azerbaijan says will face Russian soldiers in Karabakh

The Azeri government has stated that if Baku chooses to settle the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict via wide-scale military operations, it will
face Russian soldiers rather than Armenian

World Bulletin/News Desk

The Azerbaijani government has stated that if Baku chooses to settle
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict via wide-scale military operations, it
will face Russian soldiers rather than Armenian, its neighboring
country which currently controls occupied Azerbaijani territories.

`President Ilham Aliyev has always promised a military solution to the
[Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict and he still has the issue on the agenda.
The option of a military solution is always on the table, but the most
important thing is how this kind of operation will be carried out. We
need to become much stronger so that if we become involved in combat
in Nagorno-Karabakh we can stand up to Russian troops, because that is
who we will have to face. Did Armenia occupy our territories? Do you
think Armenia’s power is sufficient for that?’ asked Ali Hasanov,
Azerbaijan’s deputy prime minister, in a press conference held with a
group of Turkish reporters in the capital city of Baku.

Recalling his home city, which is also in the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan, Hasanov said the occupation was accomplished with the
military support of Russia. `I saw Russian soldiers get out of tanks
and celebrate their victory with champagne.’

Russia is considered the dominant power in the region, seeking to
preserve its influence over its former republics and, in particular,
the South Caucasus. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has
attempted to manipulate the region through protracted conflicts,
including Nagorno-Karabakh, a territorial conflict between Azerbaijan
and Armenia that still remains unsettled.

Azerbaijan lost 20 percent of its territories as a result of the
bloody war over Nagorno-Karabakh in the early 1990s, prompting Turkey
to close its border with neighboring Armenia in a sign of solidarity
with its ally Azerbaijan. Turkey’s isolation of Armenia has
subsequently pushed Armenia toward Russia.

Moscow and Yerevan signed a mutual security agreement and Russia is
known to be backing Armenia militarily, as its only ally in the
region.

While Azerbaijan is developing in economic terms and translating its
economic might into military muscle, Russia continues to pursue its
policy of domination over Armenia through its notorious economic
leverage.

According to diplomatic sources, following the government change in
Georgia, a neighboring country that also acts as a buffer zone between
Armenia and Russia and as a transit country to deliver Caspian energy
resources to Europe, Baku became concerned, as newly elected Georgian
Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili is reported to be closer to Russia
rather than the Western powers President Mikhail Saakashvili is known
to be close to.

Moreover, Baku is very concerned about Iran’s position in the region,
as Tehran is easing the blockade of Armenia by lending a helping hand
to Yerevan. Azerbaijan keeps Armenia out of regional projects as part
of its policy to keep Yerevan under economic blockade in a bid to push
its adversary abandon its intransigent position over the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

`If Tehran breaks its ties with Armenia, Yerevan will die of hunger,’
Hasanov said to Today’s Zaman.

Commenting on the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement process that is
currently deadlocked, Hasanov expressed Baku’s pleasure with the
Turkish position in the region. Noting Turkish support for Azerbaijan,
especially in the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Hasanov
recalled the speech of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an in which he
said Turkey will never open its borders with Armenia until the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is settled.

According to Ferhad Memmedov, chief of Baku-based Center for Strategic
Research (SAM) under the office of the Azerbaijani president, Turkey
is not expected put the idea of opening its borders with Armenia into
play in a bid to defuse the pressure of Armenians across the world as
they plan to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1915 mass killings in
two years.

Memmedov argues that opening the borders with Armenia will not push
the strong Armenian lobby to abandon their cause seeking recognition
of the so-called genocide and instead will bury the chance for
Armenians to make any concessions in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

While Baku is not optimistic for the peace talks held under the
auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) Minsk Group between Armenia and Azerbaijan for nearly two
decades, neither does it want to abandon the negotiations.

Hasanov complained about the structure of the Minsk Group, which he
said has not functioned properly for 20 years. According to Hasanov, a
change in the format used by the mediators could keep the conflicting
sides busy for another 20 years, similar to the Palestinian and
Kashmir problems.

Hasanov said it is impossible to include any of the Turkic republics
among the three co-chairs of the 15-member Minsk Group since decisions
in the mediating group are taken based on consensus. He also
criticized the fact that no Muslim nation is co-chairing the group and
that all of them are Christian nations. `On the one hand, we are
criticizing the Minsk Group, but on the other hand, we don’t leave
it,’ Hasanov added.

Hasanov believes the US holds the key to the solution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh: `If the US wants to find the solution to this
problem, it should sit down with Russia and solve it. If it cannot do
it, then it should take Armenia out of Russia’s orbit.’
Hasanov claimed that Washington does not want to damage ties with
Russia and won’t do what it has done in Georgia. He was referring to
steadfast US support for Georgia during the 2008 war with Russia.

Criticizing the international community for remaining silent on
Armenia, Hasanov said Armenia, occupying 20 percent of Azerbaijani
territory, also has territorial claims in Georgia and Turkey.

Hasanov claimed that Armenians are training terror groups and
dispatching them to conflict zones in occupied territories, adding
that they are also growing and selling drugs. `The entire
international community is aware of this fact.’

LA LOI PENALISANT LA NEGATION DU GENOCIDE ARMENIEN DEVRA NECESSAIREMENT ETRE ADOPTEE D’ICI LE 24 AVRIL 2015

C’est ce qu’a declare le depute francais Francois Rochebloine,
vice-President du Groupe d’amitie France-Armenie de l’AN francaise,
interroge par l’agence Armenpress. Il a affirme avoir ete très
impressionne, le jour du 90ème anniversaire du Genocide, en voyant
le flux des Armeniens convergeant vers le monument du Genocide. Le
parlementaire francais se trouvait en Armenie pour observer les
elections presidentielles en Armenie. / Hayastani Hanrapetoutioun

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Armenie en
date du 21 fevrier 2013

vendredi 1er mars 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

LE ELEZIONI ANTICIPANO LA PRIMAVERA IN ARMENIA

Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso, ITalia
27 febbraio 2013

L’opposizione di Raffi Hovannisian rifiuta di accettare i risultati
ufficiali delle presidenziali, contestando la rielezione di Sargsyan.

L’ex ministro degli Esteri prepara la “rivoluzione del ciao”, mentre
i suoi sostenitori reclamano una primavera come nei paesi arabi

Ci si attendevano poche sorprese dalle presidenziali armene del 18
febbraio. Analisti, politici e giornalisti sembravano concordare sul
fatto che il presidente in carica Sargsyan avrebbe vinto comodamente.

I principali rivali del partito di governo, tra cui tre dei cinque
partiti rappresentati in Parlamento, si erano astenuti dal concorrere,
e quelli che l’hanno fatto, tra cui l’ex ministro degli Esteri Raffi
Hovannisian, erano poco accreditati dagli osservatori. Hovannisian,
armeno della diaspora nato negli Stati Uniti e rimpatriato nei primi
anni novanta, si è distinto per un’innovativa campagna porta a porta,
ma non ha avuto il sostegno di una forte macchina di partito, e alcuni
commentatori hanno ridicolizzato la sua strategia come imitazione
di tecniche politiche occidentali inutilizzabili nell’Armenia
post-sovietica. A parte alcuni incidenti, come un attentato fallito
contro uno dei candidati, l’ex dissidente sovietico Paruyr Hayrikyan,
la campagna è sembrata per lo più calma e persino noiosa.

I risultati delle elezioni, dunque, hanno sorpreso molti. I risultati
ufficiali hanno assegnato la vittoria al presidente uscente Sargsyan
con il 58% dei voti, ma Hovannisian ha ricevuto quasi il 37%. Questo
è un risultato notevole per l’opposizione in un paese post-sovietico:
nel 2008, nel vicino Azerbaijan, il presidente in carica Aliev ha vinto
con l’87%. Un altro risultato notevole per Hovannisian consiste nel
fatto che i risultati ufficiali gli hanno riconosciuto la vittoria in
diverse citta importanti, tra cui Gyumri, seconda citta dell’Armenia. I
suoi sostenitori, tuttavia, ritengono che il numero effettivo di voti
ricevuti fosse molto più alto. Hovannisian ha quindi rifiutato di
accettare i risultati ufficiali, proclamandosi vincitore e invitando
i suoi sostenitori a scendere in piazza.

– — Dal nostro archivio: vai al dossier sulle elezioni presidenziali
del 2008 -Se rimane difficile valutare la veridicita delle affermazioni
di Hovannisian, il livello di fiducia verso le elezioni nella societa
armena è comunque estremamente basso. In precedenza, le elezioni
in Armenia sono state segnate da accuse di frode, e da massicce
proteste post-elettorali represse con la forza. Le ultime proteste
hanno portato ad una violenta repressione, il primo marzo 2008,
con dieci morti e decine di feriti e arrestati.

Una scheda per colazione In questo clima di sfiducia, migliaia
di elettori hanno invalidato il proprio voto, talvolta in modi
curiosi. Alcuni giovani disillusi hanno “votato” per star pop come
Chuck Norris o per la diva dei reality statunitensi Kim Kardashyan,
un’attrice di origine armena. Un elettore scontento si è mangiato la
scheda presso il seggio, spiegando che “è più facile inghiottire un
pezzo di carta che digerire altri cinque anni di regime”. Un gruppo di
attivisti ha espresso la propria protesta ballando al ritmo della hit
globale “Gangnam Style” davanti alla sede centrale della Commissione
elettorale. Dopo la pubblicazione dei risultati ufficiali, i social
network si sono riempiti di accuse di frode in specifici seggi,
con post provenienti per lo più da membri dei comitati elettorali,
delegati od osservatori.

Hovannisian ha indetto diverse manifestazioni nel centro di Yerevan
e in varie regioni dell’Armenia, cui hanno partecipato migliaia di
persone. A lui si sono uniti alcuni importanti personaggi non solo
politici, fra cui Ruben Hakhverdyan, uno dei più celebri cantautori
armeni. Il 21 febbraio Hovannisian ha incontrato il presidente
Sargsyan per negoziare una via d’uscita dalla crisi politica, un’azione
criticata dai sostenitori della linea dura dell’opposizione.

Tuttavia, i due politici non sono riusciti a raggiungere un compromesso
e Hovannisian, che continua a tenere comizi, si è spinto fino ad
affermare che il movimento ha rappresentato una rivoluzione pacifica,
e coniando il nome di “rivoluzione del ciao”, alludendo alla sua
campagna elettorale.

Congratulazioni internazionali

Armenian activists protesting in front of OSCE election monitoring
mission office (PanArmenian Photos) A dispetto di tutto ciò, la
valutazione delle elezioni da parte della comunita internazionale è
stata per lo più positiva, anche se con alcune critiche: Sargsyan
ha gia ricevuto le congratulazioni per la rielezione non solo
da Putin, Ahmadinejad e altri leader post-sovietici, ma anche da
parte dei governi occidentali di Francia e Italia. I rappresentanti
dell’UE e del Dipartimento di Stato degli Stati Uniti hanno dato
valutazioni generalmente positive, pur criticando alcuni aspetti
delle elezioni. Tale valutazione è stata probabilmente alla base
della dichiarazione della missione di controllo dell’OSCE, che ha
elogiato le elezioni come “ben gestite […] nel rispetto delle liberta
fondamentali”, ma ha criticato la mancanza di concorrenza e l’abuso
di “risorse amministrative” da parte del governo. Come ha osservato
l’analista armeno Martirosyan, la relazione degli osservatori “sembra
essere stata scritta prima delle elezioni: alla luce dei risultati
elettorali e degli sviluppi post-elettorali, l’accusa di mancata
concorrenza sembrava un po’ prematura”. Gli osservatori internazionali,
tuttavia, gia accusati di attribuire giudizi positivi per elezioni
piuttosto dubbie, hanno perso la fiducia di molti armeni. Giovani
attivisti hanno tentato di interrompere la conferenza stampa degli
osservatori, il 19 febbraio, e hanno manifestato davanti agli uffici
dell’OSCE/ODIHR nei giorni seguenti.

Il campo filo-governativo sembra essere stato colto di sorpresa dagli
sviluppi post-elettorali. Secondo l’analista Gegham Baghdasaryan,
il governo pensava di avere tutto sotto controllo: “Se il precedente
presidente Robert Kocharyan era apertamente autoritario, Sargsyan
ha sperimentato, consentendo maggiori liberta dei media e liberta di
riunione, pensando che il governo avesse ancora modo di controllare la
situazione. La realta, tuttavia, si è rivelata più complicata”. Anche
in assenza dei pesi massimi dell’opposizione, come il primo presidente
armeno, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, le elezioni hanno dimostrato l’esistenza
di un consistente elettorato antigovernativo pronto a mobilitarsi
attorno a nuovi leader. Paradossalmente, infatti, la decisione presa
da diversi esponenti dell’opposizione di non partecipare al voto
si è rivelata dannosa per il governo, dal momento che ha permesso
all’elettorato contrario al presidente in carica di consolidarsi
intorno ad un unico candidato.

Cautela da parte di governo e polizia In ogni caso, la risposta del
governo alle proteste è stata finora molto contenuta, sia rispetto agli
standard post-sovietici che ai precedenti dell’Armenia. Naturalmente,
i commenti di alcuni membri del partito al potere sono stati
condiscendenti e sprezzanti, quando non offensivi. Lo sdegno è
esploso nei social network di fronte ai commenti del parlamentare
del partito di governo Hayk Babukhanyan, che ha detto che “solo
omosessuali, eretici e persone non consapevoli hanno votato per
Hovannisian”. Tuttavia, tali osservazioni sono state finora espresse da
rappresentanti secondari del partito al potere, mentre i più importanti
sono rimasti in silenzio o si sono limitati a commenti relativamente
rispettosi. Anche la polizia armena è stata finora più professionale
e meno violenta nel gestire le proteste, soprattutto rispetto agli
eventi del 2008.

A questo punto è difficile prevedere gli ulteriori sviluppi. Da un
lato, sembra che i manifestanti non abbiano una strategia chiara.

Hovannisian ha promesso di lottare fino alla fine con metodi pacifici,
ma non è del tutto chiaro quali metodi di lotta pacifica abbia in
mente a parte le manifestazioni che, come dimostra l’esperienza,
tendono ad esaurirsi con il passare del tempo. Il governo in carica
ha ricevuto dichiarazioni di sostengo da Est e Ovest, mentre la stampa
internazionale sembra del tutto indifferente agli sviluppi in Armenia.

D’altra parte, è anche chiaro che mobilitazioni di questo tipo non
svaniscono semplicemente. Se il movimento cresce, potrebbe creare
crepe nel campo del governo. Come ha dichiarato un sostenitore
dell’opposizione, “loro [il governo] ci devono una primavera e noi
ce la prenderemo, in un modo o in un altro”.

ARMENIANS HOLDS A MEMORY EVENT UNDER TIGHT SECURITY

APA, Azerbaijan
Feb 28 2013

Azerbaijani journalist has not been allowed to enter the hall

Moscow. Farid Akbarov-APA. In Moscow, Armenians held an event
“Remembrance day for the victims of Sumgayit incidents in 1988”.

Only Armenians nobody else were allowed to attend the event, held
at the Central House of Writers in Russian capital, Moscow bureau
of APA reports. The event was held under tight security and no one
was permitted to enter the hall except of those whom the organizers
knew personally.

After the incident at the National Assembly of France (two Azerbaijani
students were brutally beaten by French MPs and Armenians at the
National Assembly of France where Sumgait incidents anniversary were
held), the Armenian organizers of the Moscow event decided not allow
representatives of other nations to attend the ceremony: “Therefore
we have used even a special security check,” APA reports.

An hour before the event, area near the Central House of Writers was
taken under the protection of special police units.

Although name of the event was written as “the 25th anniversary of
independence movement in Artsakh” on the website of Armenian Union in
Russia, yesterday it was changed to ” A memory event for the victims
of Sumgait incidents in 1988″

Ambassador of Armenia to Russia Oleg Yesayan attended the ceremony
as well.

APA’s Moscow bureau correspondent was not allowed to the event either.

Representatives of the Moscow mayor’s office, who were in the area,
along with the security service, asked the correspondent for not to
attend the event. They explained it by the fact that only Armenians
had been invited to the event.

‘TEARS’ OF A NATION: ART CENTER STUDENT WINS DESIGN COMPETITION FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MEMORIAL

Pasadena Weekly
Feb 28 2013

By Nick Smith 02/28/2013

Earlier this month, the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee
(PAGMC) approved an Art Center College of Design student’s concept for
a monument commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, a human slaughter that started in 1915 and did not end until
1923, after 1.5 million people had been killed.

The concept offered by 26-year-old Catherine Menard was one of 17
reviewed by the committee, many of them submitted by established
architects and designers. Menard came up with the concept as part of
“Designmatters,” an Art Center program focusing on humanitarian need
and social change.

“I was attracted to this project because we [designers] don’t often
have the opportunity to engage in design work that is so deeply
meaningful to people,” said Menard, who is not Armenian, but of French
Cajun descent. She moved with her family to Los Angeles from Louisiana
when she was 4. “I had made a few close Armenian friends at school,”
she said, “so I was especially curious.”

“This was an educational experience for all that I feel will have them
viewing their world in a fresh, new perspective, one with compassion,
sensitivity, remembrance and hope for the human condition,” said Art
Center Instructor James Meraz of the intensive seven-week course in
which Menard and six other students submitted designs.

An Environmental Design major at Art Center, Menard didn’t always know
where her artistic instincts could or would be applied. With a passion
for history, dance, architecture and film, it wasn’t until others
encouraged her to pursue it that she really considered environmental
design. “[It] offered endless creative outlets for me,” said Menard of
her chosen area of study.

“Every project was a new world,” she said of the curriculum’s demands.

“It is the most challenging and rewarding work I could have ever
imagined, and has proven to be where I truly belong.” After
graduation, Menard plans to attend graduate school to study
architecture and historic preservation.

The concept for the memorial, one of three designs Menard worked on,
“had the strongest effect on the class and me, emotionally. It both
moved me and terrified me,” Menard said.

As she described it, the minimalist design is “a death structure that
is weeping over a carved stone basin … set into the ground.” With a
drop of water falling into the basin every three seconds, by April 24,
the memorial’s commemoration date, 1.5 million “teardrops” will have
fallen, representing the lives lost in the “Great Crime” committed by
Ottoman Turks during the course of World War I and afterward.

Although normally reserved for memorials commemorating America’s wars,
the structure will be placed in Pasadena’s Memorial Park, as
determined by the Department of Public Works and City Manager Michael
Beck.

“This [memorial] will serve as a meeting place for multi-generational
families of the community to contemplate such a horrific event,” Meraz
said.

Architect Stefanos Polyzoides, consulting architect on the project and
one of three panelists entrusted with choosing the design, told the
Weekly why he was particularly impressed with Menard’s concept.

“When you sit in front of projects and you look at them for a while,
some of them stand out. … [Menard’s work] was the most sensitive and
the most imaginative and the most poetic of all the designs in
commemorating the horror of genocide, particularly this one.”

It is important to note that Menard’s design is a concept for a
memorial not to be completed until 2015. As such, (and given the
politically sensitive nature of the project), those involved are
reluctant to share specifics with the media “until the right time” –
during the approval process by the city of Pasadena.

“It’s an ‘ideas’ competition. You don’t have to answer in the kind of
definitive way that you would in front of a public works commission,”
said Polyzoides. While it has been confirmed that a meeting was held
on Thursday, Feb. 14, at City Hall to establish a schedule for the
approval process, final details, including functionality, size,
materials and cost will be determined by Polyzoides and his team,
including Menard, who will not receive compensation for the design,
save for the satisfaction of being a part of something so meaningful.

When asked about what inspired her toward this particular image,
Menard quoted a poem by Siamanto, an Armenian poet among the first to
be killed in the Genocide: “Don’t be afraid / I must tell you what I
saw / So people will understand / the crimes men do to men / For two
days, by the road / to the graveyard.”

A somber reflection of an ugly chapter in human history, the words are
nonetheless inspiring of something beautiful and emotive to help
people remember the past. When asked how she felt when her design was
selected, Menard said, “I was completely emotional and elated, then
moments later … felt the impact of this responsibility. I know I now
have to defend [the design] to the world and make sure that the people
who matter most, the Armenian community, truly love it as their own.”

But will they, is the question.

Former Pasadena City Councilman and PAGMC Committee Chair Bill
Paparian, an attorney and the city’s first Armenian-American mayor of
Pasadena (1995-97), said Southern California’s Armenian community will
appreciate Menard’s design.

“I think it’s more compelling that [the memorial] was designed by a
non-Armenian,” said Paparian. “The Vietnam War Memorial in Washington,
DC, wasn’t designed by a Vietnam War vet.” In fact, Maya Lin, who
designed the Vietnam War Memorial, was also a student at the time her
design was selected. “We were deeply impressed by Catherine, who
developed and presented an emotionally compelling design for a
historical event that she initially knew nothing about,” said Paparian
in a prepared statement. “We hope that this memorial will inspire a
similar emotional connection in those who encounter it, for
generations to come.”

Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard noted the cultural significance of the
project. “Having in mind the significant presence and participation of
Armenian Americans in the life of our community, a memorial to the
Genocide is a matter of importance,” Bogaard said. “[The design]
strikes me in many ways as an evocative and appropriate memorial for
the Genocide.”

RAFFI HOVANNISIAN CHANGES TIME OF FRIDAY RALLY

February 28, 2013 | 19:06

YEREVAN.- Former presidential candidate Raffi Hovannisian changed his
mind and revised the time of a protest action to be held in Yerevan
on March1 (photos).

At midday, he will hold an open air press conference in Liberty Square
and then without chanting, his supporters will march to the monument
to A. Myasnikyan where they will lay a wreath to honor memory of
those who died during the March 1 tragic events.

Earlier representatives of Raffi Hovannisian provided the municipality
with a notification on holding demonstration in the territory adjacent
to Myansikyan monument.

As a result, the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) annulled
the previously planned rally to be held in Liberty Square on March 1.

– See more at:

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, SUMGAIT BECAME SCENE OF BLOODY ANTI-ARMENIAN RIOTS

18:34 28/02/2013 ” SOCIETY

Twenty-five years ago, the seaside town of Sumgait in Azerbaijan, then
part of the Soviet Union, became the scene of bloody anti-Armenian
riots in which at least 32 ethnic Armenians were killed, according
to the official estimates, although some sources say that the real
figure is much higher, the article of The Voice of Russia reads.

Radio station says, that a week before the riots, on February 20,
1988, the parliament of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region
with the predominately Armenian population petitioned to Moscow to
be allowed to reunite with Armenia. That was the beginning of the
ongoing territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, which led to a
full-scale war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 1991-1994.

When the Sumgait pogroms broke out, the authorities first branded
them as hooliganism and did not intervene. Troops were brought in only
the following day but observed neutrality until they themselves were
attacked by rioters. Tougher measures followed. The riots were quelled
and a curfew imposed. Within days, however, anti-Armenian violence
swept Baku, Kirovabad, Hanlar and other Azerbaijani cities. The
conflict snowballed and in 1990 the Karabakh war began.

The article says that tens of thousands were killed and hundreds of
thousands became refugees. In May 1994, an indefinite ceasefire was
signed, putting an end to the bloodshed. A quarter of a century since,
that ceasefire still holds.

The Sumgait events were the first symptoms of the looming collapse of
the USSR, says Alexander Krylov, a Caucasus expert at the Institute
of World Economy and International Relations. “The central government
was in a deep crisis and losing control at all levels – republican,
regional and nationwide. And bursting from beneath were destructive
processes as nationalistic-minded forces sought to achieve their
goals. In Azerbaijan, it led to violence in Sumgait and other cities.”

Political scientist Stanislav Tarasov thinks that Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict can be resolved, though not in the near future. “There were
other forces playing in the region and destabilizing the situation.

And now a solution looks more promising than ever. The first
scenario is that both sides will demonstrate good will and opt
for peaceful coexistence. But the current policies of Armenia and
Azerbaijan make that scenario unlikely. It is also possible that,
given the geopolitical fragmentation of the region, the independence
of Nagorno-Karabakh may, after all, eventually be recognized.”

The Voice of Russia says that the Sumgait tragedy was mentioned at a UN
Security Council meeting this week. Top UN officials highlighted the
need for joint efforts to protect civilian in armed conflicts. The
Armenian side reaffirmed its commitment to settling the Karabakh
conflict peacefully and in keeping with international law.

On 26-29 February 1988 in terms of actual complicity of local
authorities and inaction of the USSR government mass pogroms
of civilians were organized in Sumgait city of Azerbaijani SSR,
accompanied with unprecedented brutal murders, violence and pillaging
against the Armenian population of the city. Armenian pogroms in
Sumgait were carefully organized. At the meetings, which began on
February 26 in the central square, city leaders openly called for
violence against the Armenians.

On February 27 protests which were attended by hundreds of rioters
turned into violence. Armed with axes, knives, specially sharpened
rebar, rocks and cans of gasoline and with the pre-compiled lists of
apartments where Armenians lived the rioters broke into the houses,
turning everything upside down there and killing the owners. In
the same time, people were often taken out to the streets or to the
courtyard for jeering at them publicly. After painful humiliations
and torture the victims were doused with gasoline and burnt alive.

On February 29 army troops entered Sumgait but without an order to
intervene. Only in the evening, when the mad crowd began to attack
the soldiers the military units took up decisive steps.

The exact number of victims of Sumgait pogroms is still unknown.

According to official data, 32 people were killed; however there
is ample evidence that several hundred Armenians have been killed
in the city in three days. There is also evidence that the riots
were coordinated by KGB in Azerbaijan. Executioners of Sumgait were
subsequently declared as national heroes of Azerbaijan.

Documentary “Ordinary Genocide: Sumgait 1988”

REPUBLICAN PARTY MP CALLS FOR DIALOGUE, SAYS THE ONLY WAY OUT

TERT.AM
17:00 ~U 28.02.13

Republican party MP Margarit Yesayan said she worries not for Raffi
Hovannisian or authorities but for 37% of citizens who gave their
votes for the Heritage party leader and who are in Liberty Square
and complain of authorities.

“We all, the country’s president and the candidate who came the second
should take into consideration the demands of these people. We should
sit and decide what should be done,” she said, adding that the tension
in the region should also be taken into consideration and not result
in unnecessary increase of tension among people.

Former member of Heritage party Vardan Khachatryan stressed that
elections were rigged throughout the country and that is why the
people have taken the streets.

He said the demands of the people should be taken into consideration
and new elections should be held.

Margarit Yesayan said she is against the proposal as the elections
were not rigged and members of the same commission signed under the
results. Vardan Khachatryan stressed that these figures are relative
and disputable as ‘dead souls have also been actively engaged in
the voting.’

“Naturally all the people cannot agree with the results,” she said,
calling for compromise.

“Dialogue is the way out. Many think that the elections were rigged
but I do not think new elections should be appointed by violating
the law,” Yesayan said.

Repuplican party MP said it is an attempt of revenge by the Heritage
for receiving few votes at parliamentary poll and getting small number
of seats.

Margarit Yesayan said it is necessary to give ministerial portfolios
to Heritage party and see what it will give.

Vardan Khachatryan said it will not discharge the society and the
Heritage will become dependent.

The only thing the interlocutors agreed over is the necessity to
avoid clashes.

SERZH SARGSYAN AND RAFFI HOVHANNISYAN DO NOT HATE EACH OTHER

03:43 PM | TODAY | POLITICS

“A new leader has been born, who can bring certain changes”,- mentions
political scientist Levon Shjirinyan referring to the post-election
political situation of Armenia.

According to him, a historical opportunity has appeared to transfer
our country to the civilized world.

The political scientist believes in the political movement, but
considers primordial the necessity of compromise between and Serzh
Sargsyan and Raffi Hovannisian.

“The parliament should be dissolved with its current oligarch deputies
and Serzj Sargsyan Raffi Hovannisian should come to an agreement
to organize new elections, which must be transparent and fair”, –
said the political scientist.

Mr. Shirinyan is inclined to believe in the possible compromise.

According to him, there is no hatred between these two individuals
there which has always been in the past.

The political scientist remembered how Gregory the Illuminator was
visiting different regions of Armenia and asked to note without
turning his words into a mystic, that the same thing is doing Raffi
Hovhannisyan greeting and saluting people.

Referring to the Prosperous Armenia party’s (BHK) post-election
statement that BHK is next to people, Levon Shirinyan said.

“Beside the people is good, but let the party be oriented next to
which people”,-said the political scientist.