Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ARMENIAN PEOPLE WILL OVERSEE COURSE OF ELECTIONS TO COME – POLITICIAN

NEWS.AM
February 20, 2013 | 11:38

YEREVAN. – The history of the third Republic of Armenia does not
commence on the day when the country achieved formal independence
in 1991, but rather in February 1988, when the people stood up for
their rights, together with the Karabakh Committee, Public Council
Chairman and Karabakh Committee member Vazgen Manukyan stated during
a press conference on Wednesday.

Manukyan said the Karabakh movement was very crucial and decisive for
the Armenian nation. He recalled that in those days he had announced
for the first time that, “We [that is, the Armenians] do not have
an eternal friend and an eternal enemy; instead, we have an eternal
interest of the Armenian nation.”

“The great accomplishment of the movement was independence, [and]
the triumph at the Karabakh war. But we fell into the wrong electoral
cycle ever since 1995. [But] I believe the people will oversee the
course of the elections in the votes to come,” Vazgen Manukyan said.

RAFFI HOVANNISIAN’S WIFE APPEALS TO PEOPLE

TERT.AM
17:53 ~U 21.02.13

Armenuhi Hovannisian, the wife of the former presidential candidate
Raffi Hovannisian, and Vice-Chairman of the Heritage party Armen
Martirosyan called on the people in Yerevan’s Freedom Square to wait
until 5:00pm on Friday and advised them against responding to
provocations.

“We are starting our final triumphal march tomorrow,” Mr Martirosyan
said. Their task is to provide the public with all the necessary
information.

Heritage party Chairman Raffi Hovannisian will be in Freedom Square at
6:00pm on Thursday.

In her turn, Mrs Hovannisian made a speech. “Each of us must see an
Armenia where our children will not be hungry. An Armenian woman is
not traditionally expected to speak so much, but I will stand beside
Raffi Hovannisian and your,” she said.

NO NEWS ABOUT SUFFERED ARMENIANS DUE TO DAMASCUS EXPLOSION

15:00, 21 February, 2013

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS: In accordance to preliminary
information over 20 people were killed due to the shelling orchestrated
in capital Damascus Mazraa district’s nearby located Central Bank
and Russian Embassy on February 21. Damascus based Armenian Nazaret
Elmagyan told Armenpress, the shellings were three, Baas party building
and nearby located school have suffered great losses.

In the words of Elmagyan the hot spot district was not Armenian
populated, and till now there are no news regarding suffered
Armenians.Syrian SANA news agency reported there were pupils among
the victims and injured.

According to UN data over 70 thousand people were killed during 23
months lasting clashes in Syria, including four dozen Armenians.

PUBLIC FIGURE: KOCHARIAN MANAGES CORRUPT INSTITUTIONS

February 21, 2013 – 16:12 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Large-scale corruption in Armenia poses a threat
to national security, Homeland and Honor party chairman said.

As Garnik Margaryan noted, the principle of nomination of top officials
has been formed, with professional expertise added to the principle
of personal dedication.

“The last factor significantly impaired the situation with respect
to the passage of both laws and acts,” he said, voicing readiness to
release the top ten list of the most corrupt institutions.

“Armenia’s second president Robert Kocharian tops the list, with the
current leader Serzh Sargsyan possibly included in it. We cooperate
with Russian, CIS and European institutions, having received the UN
invitation to register themselves as anti-corruption structures. We
urge Armenian authorities to have extensive involvement in the
process,” Mr Margaryan said.

“Struggle against corruption” NGO was established in 2012, aiming to
curb corruption in Armenia.

CAN AN ARMENIAN SPRING COME WITH ONE FLOWER?
by Simon Maghakyan

February 21, 2013

For the first time in post-Soviet Armenia’s history, a
non-establishment candidate has almost won the presidency. Liberal
candidate and Heritage Party nominee Raffi Hovannisian’s supporters,
like those of former officially unsuccessful candidates, assert that
the Feb. 18, 2013 Presidential Election was rigged. His official
36.8 percent-against conservative incumbent Serge Sarkisian’s 58.6
percent-is widely viewed to not reflect the actual vote. Hovannisian’s
supporters cite the near 70 percent their candidate received in
Armenia’s second largest city-Gyumri. Unlike in the rest of the
country, Gyumri’s mayor is not a local strongman of incumbent President
Serge Sarkisian and his Republican Party.

Raffi Hovannisian and other leaders addressed a huge crowd gathered at
Freedom Square on Feb. 20 in support of Hovannisian. (Photo by Khatchig
Mouradian, The Armenian Weekly) Hovannisian’s high performance has
brought hope to many, particularly in the light of the wide speculation
that Sarkisian would handily win reelection. Hovanissian’s performance,
which some minimize as a mere vote of protest against the regime, is
also surprising in the light of the lack of endorsements from other
opposition forces, such as Prosperous Armenia, Armenian National
Congress, and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. Whether this
was an inability to build coalitions or a strategy of direct outreach
is unclear.

Hovannisian has a record in both. In the latest parliamentary
elections, Hovannisian partnered with another former Foreign
Minister-Alexander Arzumanyan. The fraction split after securing a
humble number of seats and disagreeing over their pledges and plans.

This may be partly why Hovannisian launched a presidential campaign of
direct outreach, which often included random appearances in different
neighborhoods to shake hands. His outreach to young people also
involved an appearance on ArmComedy, Armenia’s popular version of
Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show with occasional Stephen Colbert-like
nationalist sarcasm. Hovanissian told the hosts that he cancelled
everything as soon as he got their invitation.

Hovanissian also cancelled his comfortable life in his native
California, relocating to Armenia in the aftermath of the 1988
earthquake. A lawyer and diplomat, he soon accepted to become the
newly-independent country’s first Foreign Minister in 1991 and fax
“Armenia is free. Please recognize” to the world. Yet his diplomacy,
charisma, and icon of fair-mindedness seem to contradict some of his
arguably hardline positions. Hovanissian wants Armenia to recognize
the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh as a free country, which many
believe would hinder the hitherto unfruitful peace negotiations and
even be used as an excuse by conflict party Azerbaijan for a military
attack against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. It is particularly
offensive for incumbent President Serge Sarkisian to hear hints that
he isn’t doing his best for the region he hails from and fought for.

Yet Hovanissian is the only major political figure to recently visit
Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.

Hovanissian’s perceived hardline position on Nagorno-Karabakh, as
well as the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, may explain western
powers’ reluctance to support his case. Serge Sarkisian, his critics
argue, has been more than accommodating in demands to reconcile
with Turkey, in part because of the West’s implicit recognition of
his first, 2008 election. The New York Times bluntly articulates
Washington’s steak in the Feb. 18, 2013 Armenian election: “maintain
stability in a country that has become an increasingly important,
if uneasy, United States ally in monitoring Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”

In the eyes of some, international observers’ monitoring results
seemed to reflect Washington’s interests (while a non-governmental
observer reported massive ballot staffing). A group of activists
interrupted the press conference by official observers and read a
statement about the fraud. They didn’t mention Hovanissian’s name and
only identified as “Citizens of the Republic of Armenia.” One of them
screamed in Armenian, “Do you have such elections back home?”

Presidential elections, save the first one, have always been divisive
and sometimes bloody in Armenia. All candidates who won second
place and their supporters felt that the election was rigged. Unlike
Hovanissian, however, these candidates were or had been a key part
of the establishment and had influential supporters with eyes on
power and resources. Most of those forces have been quiet, waiting
for the next comeback opportunity. Hovannisian’s failure or choice
not to unite opposition forces is an apparent shortcoming. But it may
have been a blessing, as a stronger challenge might have actuated more
intense election fraud. An Armenian saying advocating for unity states,
“Spring won’t come with one flower.” But it can start with one.

HUNGARIAN-ARMENIAN COMMUNITY PAYS RESPECTS TO GURGEN MARGARYAN

NEWS.AM
February 21, 2013 | 11:01

The Armenian community of Hungary paid its respects, at the Armenian
cross-stone that is placed in Budapest, to Armenian army officer Gurgen
Margaryan, who was brutally murdered nine years ago by Azerbaijani
officer Ramil Safarov, who in 2012 was declared a hero in Azerbaijan
for this act of his.

Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier that Ramil Safarov, a lieutenant
in the Azerbaijani military, was extradited on August 31, 2012 from
Hungary, where he was serving a life sentence-and with no expression of
either regret or remorse-for the premeditated axe murder of Armenian
lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan, in his sleep, during a NATO Partnership
for Peace program in Budapest back in 2004. Safarov had planned on
killing the other Armenian military serviceman, who likewise was
attending the aforesaid program, but he was unable to carry out
this plan.

Ramil Safarov’s return to Baku was welcomed, as was his act of murder,
by the officials of president Ilham Aliyev’s government and much
of Azerbaijani society, and the Azerbaijani president immediately
granted him a pardon, he was declared a national hero, promoted to
a higher military rank, and was allocated housing and pension.

And Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan announced on August 31, 2012
that Armenia is suspending its diplomatic ties with Hungary. Also,
Sargsyan instructed the Ministry of Justice to take all measures to
petition to the international judicial tribunals, and with respect
to the Safarov case.

Ramil Safarov’s pardoning was condemned by virtually all international
organizations.

Also, a group of Hungarian intellectuals visited Armenia last year-and
in connection with this incident-to announce that they are ashamed
of the action that was taken by the Hungarian authorities.

“CILICIAN” SCHOOL MET THE EXPECTATIONS OF SYRIAN ARMENIANS

10:13, 21 February, 2013

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS: “Cilician” school established in
Yerevan for Syrian Armenian children met the expectations of our
compatriots. Nora Piliposyan headmaster of the school, former teacher
in Aleppo based “Cilician” school called the re-opening of the school
a good idea. “A lot of works have been launched for the establishment
of the school, we cared no efforts. “Cilician” Benevolent Association
and Hnchakyan party funded the initiative. Ministries of Diaspora,
Education and Science and Yerevan city hall also contributed to the
realization of the idea, Armenpress reports.

The school curriculum is Syrian. English, French, Arabic, Western
Armenian languages are also concluded in the subjects of the school.

The headmaster of the school considers the establishment of “Cilician”
school necessity, reportedly the pupils have quit their studies
unfinished in Aleppo Armenian schools and had to continue their
studies with the same program.

In accordance to their application submitted beforehand are experienced
professionals arrived in Homeland from Syria are teaching in the
school. The headmaster assures the have made a choice among the best
ones. Over 300 pupils of 1-9 grade are studying in the school. The
pupils of higher grades are continuing their studies in Yerevan
schools.

Over 6500 Syrian Armenians conditioned by war situation in Syria are
currently habiting in Armenia. Most of them are provided with houses.

A large number of Syrian Armenians have got jobs.

L’ETUDIANTE FRANCO-TURQUE SEVIL SEVIMLI A SON ARRIVEE EN FRANCE : LE COMBAT CONTINUE

L’etudiante franco-turque Sevil Sevimli, condamnee vendredi en Turquie
a 5 ans de prison pour “propagande” en faveur d’une organisation
“terroriste”, a lance mercredi a son arrivee a l’aeroport de Lyon que
“le combat continue”.

Accueillie par une haie d’honneur de son comite de soutien, la jeune
femme de 21 ans, entouree de nombreux medias, a retrouve sa famille a
l’aeroport de Lyon-Saint-Exupery où son vol en provenance d’Istanbul
a atterri mercredi après-midi.

“Je suis très contente de retrouver tout le monde, de remettre
les pieds en France. Je suis très emue d’etre ici, bien sûr, et
je remercie vraiment tout le monde de m’avoir soutenue jusqu’ici”,
a-t-elle declare.

“Le combat continue, il y a des milliers de personnes emprisonnees
en Turquie pour les memes raisons que moi”, a poursuivi l’etudiante,
pour qui une fete sera organisee le 2 mars a Belleville (Rhône)
où habitent ses parents.

Vendredi, le tribunal de Bursa (nord-ouest de la Turquie) a reconnu
Sevil Sevimli coupable de “propagande” en faveur d’un mouvement
d’extreme gauche, le Parti/Front revolutionnaire de liberation du
peuple (DHKP-C). Initialement, elle etait accusee d’avoir dirige une
branche de ce mouvement, classe comme terroriste par la Turquie et
l’Union europeenne.

En meme temps qu’elle l’a condamnee, la justice a leve son interdiction
de quitter le territoire turc, en echange d’une caution de 10.000
livres turques (4.250 euros).

Sevil Sevimli, etudiante a l’universite de Lyon 2, etait arrivee a
l’universite d’Eskisehir (nord-ouest) debut 2012 dans le cadre du
programme d’echanges europeen Erasmus. Elle avait ete arretee le
10 mai et placee en detention provisoire pendant trois mois, avant
d’etre remise en liberte sous contrôle judiciaire.

jeudi 21 fevrier 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

A TOPIC THAT CAN’T BE AVOIDED

Burbank Leader (Glendale, California)
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
February 19, 2013 Tuesday

Feb. 19–We all know the stigmas attached to domestic violence, and
the fears victims harbor — being ostracized, no safety net, impacts
to children, just to name a few.

For years, services providers like the YWCA and women’s commissions
have tried to make inroads into what is perhaps the biggest obstacle
to getting help: silence.

And so when dozens of people this week marched from St. Peter Armenian
Apostolic Church in Glendale to St. Leon Armenian Apostolic Church in
Burbank to raise awareness about domestic violence, it was a show of
bravery and much needed education for an Armenian American population
that organizers say has a tendency to avoid the topic.

The march was organized to highlight the formation of a new domestic
violence task force to create a resource center where victims can get
help and support, or be taken to a safe place. The center, scheduled
to open this fall, likely will have a central office at the Western
Diocese in Burbank.

In his address to supporters, Fr. Vazken Movsesian of St. Peter
Armenian Apostolic Church in Glendale said they needed “to get people
to wake up and say that this is a real problem” — “this” being
domestic violence, but also the silence that allows it to happen.

Organizers may have marched under the slogan “Violence Hurts, Love
Conquers,” but bravery and resolve also conquer. And those two
attributes were put on loud display in our communities on Monday.

AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE CURRENT AUTHORITIES APPEARS IN ARMENIA

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 20 2013

David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza

According to preliminary data of the Central Electoral Commission,
after the counting of ballots from all 1,988 polling stations, as
a result of the sixth presidential elections in Armenia, incumbent
President Serzh Sargsyan, having gained 58.64% (861,160) of the votes,
won in the first round. His main rival, former Foreign Minister
of Armenia and leader of the opposition “Heritage” party, Raffi
Hovannisian, got 36.75% (539,672 votes). Other candidates received
minor percentages of votes. According to the preliminary data of
the CEC, 1,518,407 voters or 60.05% of the total electorate of the
country voted during the election.

In general, the results of the sixth Armenian presidential elections
were quite predictable. This was evidenced by a number of factors,
primarily – the variegated candidates. Even before the election,
it was clear that the main struggle, of course, if what happened
in the country on February 18 may be called so, will take place
between the incumbent president Sargsyan and Raffi Hovhannisyan. The
remaining candidates were only an appropriate backdrop for the
planned performance. And they brilliantly performed their role in
this play written by those in power; some did it consciously, others
not, and some for their own purposes. It is noteworthy that, to all
appearances, the team of republicans led by Serzh Sargsyan did not
intend to get 70-80% of the votes. In the current post-Soviet sad
reality, when the leaders of some countries “gain” up to 99% of the
votes, the republicans could only, so to speak, get 50% + 1 votes,
in order to prevent a second round with the participation of the
fairly unpredictable Raffi Hovannisian. This task was carried out by
the republicans, and with an “extra” 8.9 percent, since a minimal gap
could allow Hovannisian to demand a recount. Today, Serzh Sargsyan,
at first sight, at last, gained legitimacy, at least in the eyes
of the international community, the lack of which he felt after the
previous presidential election in 2008 followed by the tragedy and
loss of life on March 1.

This is shown by a preliminary assessment of the presidential election
by the representatives of the international observation missions. 6251
representatives of 26 community organizations and 632 observers of
twelve international organizations, including the ODIHR, the mission of
the CIS, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe, the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, the
International Expert Center for Electoral Systems (ICES) and the
International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) followed the
election in the country. One way or another, but they are able to
become aware of the fact that the elections in Armenia were held. And
they considered all recorded violations as insignificant and not
affecting the final outcome of the election. Judging by the public
response and reaction to the election results, people in Armenia do
not think so. Already on February 19 in front of the Central Electoral
Commission of Armenia an event “The death of stillborn democracy”
was held, during which the participants laid a funeral wreath at the
door of the CEC. Thus, the citizens of Armenia assessed the regular
election of Serzh Sargsyan as the demise of democracy. However,
media observers are also not very optimistic about the state of the
electoral processes in Armenia. For instance, according to a member
of the observation mission of the International Expert Center for
Electoral Systems ICES, Lydia Lawson, in some areas there was delivery
of voters, but the observers of the mission somehow never managed to
figure out the relationship between the drivers and the voters. It is
more than obvious that for Mrs. Lawson, if desired, it would be very
easy to get information about the nature of this relationship from
any voter or just a passer-by on the street. It so happened that in
today’s “democratic” Armenia, the people have to almost beg election
bribes from people who tomorrow take back the same bribes taken with
a vengeance, unduly increasing the price of imported foreign products
and essential commodities in the first place.

Nevertheless, the Armenian oligarch monopoly forming the basis of the
current government has a lot of “justifications” for it. And the first
of them would be their position in case of the victory of opposition
candidate Raffi Hovannisian. In his election program Hovannisian
vowed to increase almost all the costs in the state budget by 50%
due to forced withdrawal of unscrupulous representatives of Armenian
businessfrom the “shadows”, which would increase the budget by 300
billion drams. Considering the disappointing condition of Armenian
small and medium-sized businesses under imposed levies, it is not
difficult to imagine who would be dragged out of the “shadows” in the
first place. That is why the new term of Sargsyan and all the previous
government team at the helm is a vital necessity for the oligarchs.

As a result, local authorities, obeying and defending the interests
of the oligarchic power, have done everything they can to prevent
free elections. Typically, this was done not in Yerevan, stuffed
with international observers, but in especially remote areas. During
February 18, the media were attacked by the calls of voters and
representatives of Raffi Hovannisian about numerous violations
of the electoral law. When the situation was out of the control
of the authorities, and Hovannisian, bypassing Sargsyan, gained a
substantial proportion of the votes, the cases of ballot stuffing,
driving voters, double voting, and, finally, giving electoral bribes
directly at the polling stations became extremely numerous. Even
the official election results confirmed that in the Shirak region
Hovannisian bypassed Sargsyan. And if the election were really fair,
competitive and transparent, the victory of the opposition candidate
Raffi, at least, could not be ruled out.

Thus, the final point in all this action will be put not by the CEC
which has already recognized the victory of Serzh Sargsyan, but by
Hovannisian himself. Today, his supporters and all the citizens
who voted for him are waiting for the reaction of the leader of
“Heritage”. And it is still unclear how Hovannisian, who repeatedly
stated his readiness to protect his voters, will behave. In any case,
after the refusal of the Armenian National Congress, “Dashnaktsutiun”
and “Prosperous Armenia” to participate in the elections, Raffi
Hovannisian and his “Legacy” were the main opposition force in Armenia
and, at last, created an alternative to the current government. And
37% of the formal votes of Armenian voters are the best proof of this
fact. .