Author: Kalantarian Kevo

HERITAGE PARTY NEEDS 50% OF VOTES IN ARMENIA ELECTIONS

Tert.am
09.04.12

Anahit Bakhshyan, a Heritage party member, presented the party’s
election program on Monday.

The meeting was held at the Marriot hotel.

“We cannot be content with few votes. We need at least fifty percent
of votes,” she said.

“For the last five years we have been serving our citizens. We are
going to serve our people now as well. To do it we need at least
fifty percent of votes,” Bakhshyan added.

The Heritage party Armen Martirosyan said: “We are going to win and
keep our promises and defend our votes.

Karapet Rubinyan, the former vice-speaker of Armenia’s parliament,
said that “struggle for democracy has not begun now nor will it end
after the parliamentary elections.”

Parliamentary elections are scheduled for May 6.

OWNER OF FC SHIRAK AGAINST AZERBAIJANI FILM FESTIVAL

Tert.am
09.04.12

The owner of Shirak Football Club, Arman Sahakyan, who is running
for parliament from the second largest city of Gyumri, has called
for boycotting the Azerbaijani film festival Stop.

Sahakyan’s office has issued a statement urging all the governmental
organizations and NGOs, as well as citizens, to join their protest
on Wednesday afternoon to say NO to the event.

The idea to hold the festival in Gyumri was proposed by the Caucasus
Center for Peacemaking Initiatives; the event sponsor is the British
Embassy to Armenia.

The organizers had scheduled the Stop festival for April 12. The
program includes four short-length Azerbaijani movies that last
altogether 1 hour and 33 minutes.

An attempt to hold a similar event in Armenia was suppressed last
year due to civil society efforts.

NATURAL GAS STATION BURNS IN YEREVAN

news.am
April 09, 2012 | 15:09

A natural gas station was on fire in Armenia’s capital Yerevan
on Monday.

Four firefighting squads and operative teams from the Ministry of
Emergency Situations (MES) are dispatched to the scene, MES informed
Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The local residents told Armenian News-NEWS.am that the fire had
started at a natural gas station in the city’s Southwestern District.

So far there is no word on any casualties, or injuries.

VARUZHAN AKOBIAN LEADS PHILADELPHIA OPEN CHESS TOURNAMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 9, 2012 – 13:17 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Grandmaster Varuzhan Akobian (U.S.) tops the 2012
Philadelphia Open chess tournament standings, with 5.5 points after
7 rounds.

GMs Serge Erenburg (Israel), Jon Hammer (Norway) and Sam Shankland
(U.S.) are behind Akobian on tie-break with same results.

Another Armenian grandmaster, Vigen Mirumian representing Czech
Republic at the open tournament in Norderstedt, Germany, gained 4
points in 5 rounds, being only 0.5 point behind leaders.

CRIMINAL DELUSION

09:45 – 04.04.2012

During the briefing with “Liberty” radio station, the police
Chief Vladimir Gasparyan said that he will definitely vote for the
authorities as he himself is an authority.

Although it has been dozens of years that he is in the force structure,
but there’s a necessity to remind him of the 3 simple truths.

First, people vote not for the authorities but for a political unit
taking part in the elections.

Second, he was positioned in his position not by the head of the
Republican Party but by the president of the country.

And the third, he was appointed to his position not as a gendarmerie
to the Republican Party but as police Chief of the country, so he
represents the state and not the party in power.

20TH ANNIVERSARY OF MARAGHA MASSACRE TO BE COMMEMORATED TOMORROW

hetq
15:11, April 9, 2012

An event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the massacre of
Armenians in the northern Artsakh village of Maragha by invading
Azeribaijani soldiers will be held tomorrow at Yerevan’s Congress
Hotel.

A documentary film as to what took place will be shown.

Estimates differ as to how many Armenians were killed, as well as how
many people from the village were subsequently kidnapped, although
most sources report that at least forty civilians were killed and a
further fifty-three taken hostage and 19 people who were never returned

The Azerbaijani army captured Maragha on April 10, 1992, but it
was retaken by the Armenians the following day. Upon re-entering the
village, Armenian fighters reported that they came across the bodies of
forty-three civilians, some of whom were missing eyes or decapitated,
and heard reports that several others were taken hostage.

ARMENIA GRABS 11 MEDALS AT EUROPEAN SAMBO TOURNAMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 9, 2012 – 13:33 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Youth and Juniors European Sambo Championships
were held in Bucharest, Romania, on April 5-9, with Armenian team
wining 11 medals, including one gold, two silver and eight bronze.

Armenian junior participants came 3rd among 21 in team event, with
Russians and Georgians placed 1st and 2nd respectively.

Gor Malayan (56kg) became tournament winner in his category. Jivan
Ghazaryan (48kg) and Maxim Manukyan (52kg) both came 2nd.

Grigor Mkhitaryan, Hovhannes Alexanyan, Edik Petrosyan, Roza
Khachatryan, Lendrush Zatikyan, Rafik Manukyan, Suren Garnikyan and
Mher Karapetyan grabbed the bronze.

ARMENIA’S REPRESENTATIVE IS CROWNED EUROPEAN CHAMPION

news.am
April 9

Armenia’s Gor Malyan (56 kg) became the winner in his weight category
at the European Youth and Juniors Sambo Championships, which wrapped
up in Bucharest, Romania.

And Suren Garnikyan received a bronze medal in 74 kilograms.

Overall, Armenia’s national team won 11 medals: 1 gold, 2 silver,
and 8 bronze.

And in the Championships’ final standings, Armenia became third-among
21 countries-and only conceded to Georgia and Russia.

ARMENIA’S CENTRAL BANK OBSTRUCTS ECONOMIC GROWTH – OPPOSITION PARTY MP

news.am
April 09, 2012 | 13:17

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s Central Bank (CB) should not be engaged in
regulating the country’s financial market, the opposition ARF
Dashnaktsutyun Party MP Artsvik Minasyan said during the Party
pre-election program’s official presentation on Monday.

As per Minasyan, the CB’s policy makes the country’s economy serve
the banking system, and the real economy and the joint-stock companies
are unable to “breathe.”

In ARF member’s opinion, a new agency needs to be established to
regulate Armenia’s financial market.

Also, the Dashnaktsutyun Party is of the view that the auto-insurance
payments can be reduced by AMD 10,000 (approx. US$ 26).

DID THE CANDIDATE HAVE TO BE KILLED?
Naira Hayrumyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 11:19:46 – 09/04/2012

The National Assembly has set up an election monitoring group to
react to violations. Violations came earlier than expected. The
parliamentary candidate in Armavir, Meruzhan Mkhoyan, was forced to
withdraw from the race under the pressure of the criminal Republican
opponent. The man was beaten up which was confirmed by both forensic
experts and OSCE/ODIHR.

This is a very good chance to show the mechanisms the police and
the parliamentary monitoring group and the CEC are going to apply to
prevent breaches. If this outrageous case is not assessed properly,
we can flush the elections and state that violence will win again.

Why did the law enforcement bodies fail to detain Republican Member
of Parliament Nahapet Gevoryan whose people, according to witnesses,
beat up the candidate? Are the police hands tied? Or is parliamentary
immunity meant to defend them from justice?

Do the Central Election Commission and the coalition or the
parliamentary group want to reveal the cases related to the RPA? Or
are they just waiting for the youths of the Armenian National Congress
or Heritage MPs to clash with the police to accuse them of resistance
to the government?

What else should happen for these bodies to react? Did they need to
kill the candidate to cause any reaction?