Author: Kajoyan Gevork

ARMENIA’S PRESIDENT SARKISIAN CELEBRATES ELECTION VICTORY

Deutsche Welle, Germany
Feb 19 2013

Preliminary results in Armenia show that incumbent President Serge
Sarkisian has won another five-year term. He has promised stability
for the troubled region where pipelines carry Caspian oil and gas
to Europe.

The Central Election Commission show Armenia’s pro-Russia President
Serge Sarkisian being re-elected with 58.6 percent of the votes cast,
enough to avoid a second-round run-off.

The closest of six rivals was post-Soviet Armenia’s first foreign
minister, Raffi Hovannisian, who had 36.75 percent, according to the
commission. However, he has claimed that there had been irregularities
in voters’ lists and procedures.

Several prominent opposition rivals had chosen not to stand, including
former arm-wrestling champion Gagik Tsarukian who leads the Prosperous
Armenia party.

Two other candidates, Paruir Airikian, who was injured in an apparent
assassination attempt in January and former premier Hrant Bagratian
each won about 3 percent, according to the Gallup exit survey of
19,000 voters.

Armenia’s electoral commission said voter turnout had been 60 percent
and polling had been peaceful. The vote which brought Sarkisian to
power in 2008 ended in clashes in which 10 people died.

A fringe candidate, political analyst Andrias Gukasian, had alleged
widespread vote-buying by Sarkisian’s party.

Stability promised

Campaigning ahead of Monday’s vote, Sarkisian, 59, had promised
economic recovery and stability in his landlocked South Caucasus nation
after years of upheaval and border closures with Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Sarkisian is a veteran of Armenia’s 1990s war with neighboring
Azerbaijan over the disputed Armenian-run region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Poverty high

Most election candidates had promised to reduce poverty and
unemployment, trends which had prompted nearly one million Armenians
to leave over the past two decades.

More than a third of its 3.2 million population lives below the
poverty line, according to the World Bank. Unemployment ran at 16
percent last year.

Armenia also remains estranged from its neighbor Turkey over a
long-running dispute about the massacres of Armenian civilians during
and after World War I.

ipj/slk (Reuters, dpa, AFP)

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT WINS RE-ELECTION; RIVALS ALLEGE ELECTION FRAUD

International Business Times
Feb 19 2013

BY Amrutha Gayathri | February 19 2013 5:35 AM

Armenian President Serge Sarkisian won a re-election Tuesday avoiding
a runoff in a national poll that international observers said was not
“genuinely competitive.”

Sarkisian received nearly 59 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a
runoff, Tigran Mukuchian, chairman of the country’s Central Election
Commission, said Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.

His closest rival, U.S.-born Raffi Hovannisian, who served previously
as foreign minister, took nearly 37 percent.

After polls closed Monday, police said they received 70 reports of
voting violations, including bribery at polling stations, and that
they had opened two criminal investigations, Reuters reported.

Just over 60 percent of Armenia’s 2.5 million eligible voters cast
votes in Monday’s election, the AP reported citing the election
commission.

Though votes from all polling stations have been counted, the winner
is not expected to be declared until next Monday.

Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Europe’s main election
monitoring body, said Monday’s election was peaceful.

“However, the limited field of candidates meant that the election
was not genuinely competitive,” they said in a written statement,
as reported by Reuters. “The candidates who did run were able to
campaign in a free atmosphere and to present their views to voters,
but the campaign overall failed to engage the public’s interest.”

Several of Sarkisian’s key rivals pulled out of the contest fearing
that the process would be skewed in the president’s favor.

One of the candidates – Paruyr Hayrikyan, head of the National
Self-Determination Union – was shot Jan. 31 outside his home near
Armenian capital Yerevan in a suspected assassination attempt.

Another candidate, Andrias Ghukasyan, has been on hunger strike
since the start of the election campaign calling on the authorities
to invalidate the president’s candidacy and urging international
observers to boycott the election.

Another contender Arman Melikyan had earlier said he would neither
recognize the election results nor vote Monday because he believed
the poll would be rigged in favor of the president.

In the 2008 presidential election, then Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian
was declared winner in the first round with 52.9 percent of the vote.

But thousands of opposition supporters staged protests against the
poll, which they said was rigged. OSCE said the vote met international
standards for most part.

PROFILE: ARMENIAN PRESIDENT-ELECT SERZH SARGSYAN

NZ Week, New Zealand
Feb 19 2013

YEREVAN, Feb. 19 – Incumbent Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan was
re-elected on Monday with 58.64 percent of the vote, the Armenian
Central Electoral Commission said.

A total of 1,518,407 voters have cast their ballots in 1,988 polling
stations across the country for a turnout rate of 60.05 percent.

Born in 1954, Serzh Sargsyan came into the country’s political
picture by chairing the self-defense forces for Nagorno-Karabakh,
a region disputed by Armenia and Azerbaijan during 1989-1993.

He then became the Armenian defense minister in 1993 and the country’s
national security minister in 1996, before becoming the chief of
staff for Armenia’s second elected president Robert Kocharyan and
the country’s prime minister in 2007.

With the backing of Kocharyan, Sargsyan won the 2008 presidential
election in the first round. But the result was disputed by his
arch-rival, Armenia’s first elected president Levon Ter-Petrosian,
whose supporters held a week-long protest at the Yerevan Freedom
Square accusing Kocharyan of rigging the election in favor of Sargsyan.

The protest ended in bloodshed between protesters and the police.

During his first term in office, Sargsyan launched an effort on
anti-corruption especially in the country’s customs system, which he
described as with “thriving corruption.”

Graduated from the Yerevan State University in 1979 with a philosophy
major, Sargsyan married Rita in 1983 and now has two daughters.

Apart from his political position, Sargsyan also chairs the Armenian
Chess Federation.

YEREVAN, Feb. 19 – Incumbent Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan was
re-elected on Monday with 58.64 percent of the vote, the Armenian
Central Electoral Commission said.

A total of 1,518,407 voters have cast their ballots in 1,988 polling
stations across the country for a turnout rate of 60.05 percent.

Born in 1954, Serzh Sargsyan came into the country’s political
picture by chairing the self-defense forces for Nagorno-Karabakh,
a region disputed by Armenia and Azerbaijan during 1989-1993.

He then became the Armenian defense minister in 1993 and the country’s
national security minister in 1996, before becoming the chief of
staff for Armenia’s second elected president Robert Kocharyan and
the country’s prime minister in 2007.

With the backing of Kocharyan, Sargsyan won the 2008 presidential
election in the first round. But the result was disputed by his
arch-rival, Armenia’s first elected president Levon Ter-Petrosian,
whose supporters held a week-long protest at the Yerevan Freedom
Square accusing Kocharyan of rigging the election in favor of Sargsyan.

The protest ended in bloodshed between protesters and the police.

During his first term in office, Sargsyan launched an effort on
anti-corruption especially in the country’s customs system, which he
described as with “thriving corruption.”

Graduated from the Yerevan State University in 1979 with a philosophy
major, Sargsyan married Rita in 1983 and now has two daughters.

Apart from his political position, Sargsyan also chairs the Armenian
Chess Federation.

YEREVAN, Feb. 19 – Incumbent Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan was
re-elected on Monday with 58.64 percent of the vote, the Armenian
Central Electoral Commission said.

A total of 1,518,407 voters have cast their ballots in 1,988 polling
stations across the country for a turnout rate of 60.05 percent.

Born in 1954, Serzh Sargsyan came into the country’s political
picture by chairing the self-defense forces for Nagorno-Karabakh,
a region disputed by Armenia and Azerbaijan during 1989-1993.

He then became the Armenian defense minister in 1993 and the country’s
national security minister in 1996, before becoming the chief of
staff for Armenia’s second elected president Robert Kocharyan and
the country’s prime minister in 2007.

With the backing of Kocharyan, Sargsyan won the 2008 presidential
election in the first round. But the result was disputed by his
arch-rival, Armenia’s first elected president Levon Ter-Petrosian,
whose supporters held a week-long protest at the Yerevan Freedom
Square accusing Kocharyan of rigging the election in favor of Sargsyan.

The protest ended in bloodshed between protesters and the police.

During his first term in office, Sargsyan launched an effort on
anti-corruption especially in the country’s customs system, which he
described as with “thriving corruption.”

Graduated from the Yerevan State University in 1979 with a philosophy
major, Sargsyan married Rita in 1983 and now has two daughters.

Apart from his political position, Sargsyan also chairs the Armenian
Chess Federation.

SARKISIAN WINS ANOTHER TERM AS ARMENIAN PRESIDENT BUT NO. 2 DISPUTES THE RESULT

680 News
Feb 19 2013

The Associated Press and Avet Demourian, The Associated Press Feb
19, 2013

YEREVAN, Armenia – Armenia’s president easily won a second term,
according to preliminary election results Tuesday, but his main
rival claimed vote fraud and thousands of his supporters held a
protest rally.

President Serge Sarkisian received nearly 59 per cent of the vote,
enough to avoid a runoff, Tigran Mukuchian, chairman of the country’s
Central Election Commission, said Tuesday.

The 58-year-old Sarkisian was widely expected to win. He has overseen
a return to economic growth after years of stagnation, although the
former Soviet republic still suffers from widespread poverty.

The closest of his six rivals, American-born Raffi Hovanessian,
got 37 per cent of the vote.

Hovanessian, Armenia’s first foreign minister after the 1991 collapse
of the Soviet Union, on Tuesday called the election unfair and rigged,
claiming cases of ballot-box stuffing and voters being coerced to
back Sarkisian.

At a protest rally in the capital that drew 2,000-3,000 people,
Hovanessian declared himself the genuine winner and called on Sarkisian
to arrange a transfer of power by Wednesday evening.

The rally ended peacefully, but some participants later held a march
chanting “Raffi is president.”

Just over 60 per cent of Armenia’s 2.5 million eligible voters cast
ballots in Monday’s election, the election commission said. All
the votes have been counted, but the winner will not be officially
declared until Feb. 25.

International observers from the Organization for the Security and
Cooperation in Europe say the election “lacked competition,” but they
noted improvements over the previous poll.

OSCE observers said the fact that several influential politicians
decided not to run may have “contributed to apathy and a lack of
trust among voters.”

Observer mission chief Tonino Picula said Tuesday that competition is
“critical” if Armenia wants to live up to democratic aspirations.

Another OSCE news conference in Yerevan, this one by its Office
for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, was disrupted Tuesday
when protesters stormed the room, jeering and demanding that OSCE
representatives leave the country.

“You’re legitimizing an illegal vote by your declarations!” said one
protester, Artur Minasian.

He and other protesters would not say whether they backed Hovanessian
or another opposition candidate.

The landlocked country’s economy is hobbled by the longstanding
closure of its borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey. Both neighbours
reject the occupation by Armenian troops and ethnic Armenian local
forces of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region. That conflict shows no
signs of resolution despite years of international mediation attempts.

NATO OFFICER: AZERBAIJAN COULD BE AN IMPORTANT LINK IN THE TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN TO EUROPE

ARMINFO
Wednesday, February 20, 11:20

NATO is discussing with Azerbaijan on the use of Azeri territory
during troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, Officer-Coordinator for
the South Caucasus William Lahu said.

He made this statement at the winter session of the NATO International
School in Azerbaijan dedicated to Challenges to Security in the
Caspian Region.

William Lahu said Azerbaijan and NATO were discussing the troop pullout
from Afghanistan, including the Azeri contingent after 2014, with the
plan of actions after 2014, the year that should end the ISAF mission.

The NATO officer-coordinator pointed out that Azerbaijan’s location
was vital for the pullout process since it was a potential country for
re-deployment of the withdrawn NATO troops. In view of this, Azerbaijan
could be an important link in the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
to Europe, he said. It is noteworthy that some Russian experts suppose
reasonably that Azerbaijan that is being actively armed by Israel for
billions of dollars will not refuse USA in the given issue. Obviously,
it concerns preparation of a foothold for attacking Iran. Besides,
deploying troops in Azerbaijan, Pentagon gets a direct access to the
Caspian Region, and consequently, the Russian Northern Caucasus.

PARTI TRAVAILLISTE TURC : LA TURQUIE VA PAYER CHER

Le numero deux du Parti travailliste en Turquie vient de le reconnaître
: La Turquie s’est transformee en principal pôle de trafic d’armes
a destination de la Syrie.

Bilent Assin Oglou a critique, dans un article publie par les journaux
turcs, le gouvernement d’Erdogan l’accusant “d’avoir autorise depuis 25
mois le trafic d’armes et le transfert des terroristes vers la Syrie”.

“Ce sont des pas qu’Erdogan a bien franchi pour renforcer Al-Qaïda
et Al-Nosra, en Turquie”.

Le numero deux du Parti travailliste s’inquiète de ce transfert de
terroristes et d’armes vers la Turquie, qui a fait de son pays “un
grand refuge pour les assassins et les tueurs”.

“Les villes turques se sont transformees en de veritables ateliers
où sont fabriques des bombes, des obus et des engins explosifs”. “La
Turquie va payer cher cette erreur”, a-t-il averti.

mercredi 20 fevrier 2013, Jean Eckian ©armenews.com

“HERITAGE” TO CONSIDER THE CITIZENS’ WISH

02:50 PM | TODAY | POLITICS

“Tomorrow we will present our strategy”, – announced the “Heritage”
faction’s chairman Ruben Hakobyan referring to Raffi Hovannisian’s
further steps.

However, he informed that the political assessment of the elections
will be given today at 17.00 at “Azatutyun” square.

“We have to stand up for the dignity of this consolidation”,-said
Ruben Hakobyan. He warned that Raffi Hovannisian teammates’ next
steps will be “equivalent to the moods of people”.

TWO APPLY FOR VACANCY OF MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC TELEVISION AND RADIO COMPANY COUNCIL

14:05 ~U 19.02.13

Director of Sharm holding Ruben Jaghinyan and former aide to ex
spokesman for Armenia’s president Astghik Avetisyan have applied
for the vacancy of member of the Public Television and Radio Company
Council.

On February 1 the term in of the office of the chairman of the Council
Alexan Harutyunyan ended and on February 7 a competition has been
announced that lasts 10 days. As far as non-working days appeared
during the period, the competition’s term ended today.

According to the 16th provision of the conduction of the competition,
the competition commission will study the documents of all the
participants and decide the winner in ten-day period.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT RE-ELECTED, OPPOSITION CRIES FOUL

19 February, 2013

Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan has won a new five-year term,
the Central Electoral Commission said on Tuesday.

Police said after polls closed on Monday that they had received 70
reports of voting violations, including bribery at polling stations,
and that they had opened two criminal investigations.

The president, 58, has vowed to sustain economic recovery in his
landlocked South Caucasus country and said before the vote he would
ensure stability and security after years of war and upheaval though
he outlined no big policy changes.

Preliminary results released by the Central Electoral Commission
showed Sarksyan had won 58.6 percent of the votes cast. His closest
rival, U.S.-born Raffi Hovannisian, who served previously as foreign
minister, was on nearly 37 percent of votes.

The preliminary results followed an exit poll immediately after
voting ended in the former Soviet republic which had put Sarksyan on
58 percent of the votes.

The opposition Heritage Party said that some ballots cast for
opposition parties had been thrown out, although there was no
indication whether it would challenge the vote, which passed without
any major violence.

TURKEY ENTERS KEY WEEK IN KURDISH SOLUTION BID

Turkey is entering one of its most crucial weeks in its efforts to
solve the Kurdish question amid expectations surrounding new judicial
reforms and visits to theKurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader, but
the premier has warned against possible sabotage, the Hurriyet Daily
News reported.

The significance of this week is due in part to expectations that the
government is expected to complete its deliberations on the fourth
judicial package before submitting it to Parliament, which could
result in the releases of many jailed Kurdish politicians, as well as
anticipation of a second meeting between a Peace and Democracy Party
(BDP) delegation and Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo an was set to decide on the names
of the BDP delegation late yesterday.

“A very big atmosphere of hope has developed across all of
Turkey. Believe me, this crowd today is voicing hope the way [the
Black Sea province of] Rize is voicing it. Istanbul and Ankara are as
hopeful as you are. Let’s not waste this hope. Let’s not allow those
who would kill this process [to succeed],” Erdogan said yesterday
during an address to voters in the southeastern province of Mardin.

Erdogan spent the weekend in the province, where he attended the
opening ceremonies of numerous projects accompanied by several
ministers, including his new interior minister, Muammer Guler, who
is from the area.

Following days of uncertainty as to the date of the BDP’s second visit
to Imrali island, where Ocalan is serving a life sentence, Justice
Minister Sadullah Ergin announced that it could occur this week after
he receives an official application from the BDP. Erdohan said on
Sunday morning that the names had been provided to the government and
that they would provide a decision later in the day. The peace process
is being coordinated by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT),
which has been in constant talks with Ocalan since December 2012.

Kurdish lawmakers Ahmet Turk and Ayla Akat Ata conducted the first
visit to Erdogan on Jan. 3, but the Turkish premier vetoed Turk for
the second visit because he subsequently criticized military strikes
in the southeast. The BDP has pressed for the delegation to include
one of the party’s co-chairpersons, Selahattin DemirtaÅ? or Gultan
KıÅ?anak, but the latter is said to have no chance of going after
being photographed embracing militants last summer. Alongside Demirtas,
BDP deputy Pervin Buldan is in the running to join the delegation.