Author: Kalantarian Kevo

25TH ANNIVERSARY OF KARABAKH MOVEMENT MARKED IN FRANCE

17:40 19/02/2013 >> SOCIETY

On February 15, an event dedicated to the 25th anniversary Ïf Karabakh
Movement took place in the French town of Bouc-Bel-Air. The ceremony
was initiated by the Armenian cultural unions in the French towns of
Bouc-Bel-Air, Pennes-Mirabeau, Septeme and Cabries-Calas and by the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Permanent Mission to France. The mayor of
Bouc-Bel-Air, members of the city and regional councils, deputies
representing the city, members of the local Armenian Diaspora were
present at the event titled “Discovering Artsakh.”

During the event, a French language documentary movie produced by the
NKR Permanent Mission and a book titled “Artsakh: Garden of Armenian
Arts and Traditions” were presented. The co-authors of the book,
professors Patrick Donabedian and Tigran Kuyumjian, made a speech
about art and culture in Artsakh.

At the end of the meeting, a range of issues concerning the conflict
between Azerbaijan and Karabakh were discussed, NKR MFA press service
reported.

Source: Panorama.am

Raffi Hovannisian’s campaign office reports mass violations in
Armenian presidential vote

YEREVAN, February 18. /ARKA/. Mass violations occur in Armenia’s
presidential elections, press secretary of presidential contender
Raffi Hovannisian’s election campaign office Hovsep Khurshudyan
reported.

Armenia’s presidential vote is currently under way at a total of 1,988
ballot stations across the country.
`Since 8 o’clock in the morning, we have been receiving reports fr om
all over the country about violations, particularly open voting,
stuffing, and controlled voting. Cases of stamps disappearing from
passports are also being reported’, Khurshudyan said.

Khurshudyan demonstrated to reporters how easily the stamp in the
passport can be removed with a wet tissue.

Raffi Hovannisyan’s authorized representatives report that some
village community heads stand at polling stations and organize an open
voting process. This happens in villages wh ere bribing was reported
for voting in favor of incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan the day
before, Khurshudyan said.

Raffi Hovannisyan’s election campaign office applied to the
law-enforcement agencies for all these reports to be considered under
a respective procedure.

The press secretary also expressed doubts about additional voters’
lists. According to Khurshudyan, the lists should include only
citizens who live temporarily in Yerevan, but are registered in the
country’s regions. Candidates’ authorized persons found additional
lists for Yerevan, which included hundreds of people from the same
village.

In this respect, member of Heritage party Armen Martirosyan will make
an official statement to the central electoral commission and request
them to publish additional voters’ lists today.

Among other violations is crowding at ballot stations, Khurshudyan
said. He stressed that no gathering of more than five people at a
polling station at the same time is allowed under the electoral code.
Meanwhile, authorised persons report flocking at some polling stations
both in Yerevan and in the regions, which creates additional tension,
Khurshudyan said.

The press secretary also reported that some local electoral commission
heads refuse to record violations seen by authorised persons of the
candidate.

Seven contenders are running for the country’s president today:
incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan, former prime minister and leader
of Freedom party Hrant Bagratyan, former foreign minister and leader
of Heritage party Raffi Hovhannisyan, well-known Soviet dissident and
leader of National Self-Determination party Paruyr Hayrikyan, ex
foreign minister of Karabakh Arman Melikyan, political scientist and
head of Radio Hay Andrias Ghukasyan and specialist in epic studies
Vardan Sedrakyan.. -0 –

Have 10.000 AMD and vote for Serzh Sargsyan

14:10 – 18.02.2013

Press speaker of presidential candidate Hrant Bagratyan, Karine
Harutyunyan informed yerkir.am that a citizen of Avan district called
the HQ of Hrant Bagratyan and informed that some people are going home
to home and bribe people with 10.000 AMD for voting for Serzh
Sargsyan.

Women’s Community Council of Martuni reports election frauds

TERT.AM
16:02 – 18.02.13

Talking to the Media Center club, Anahit Gevorgyan, Chairwoman of the
Women’s Community Council of Martuni reports numerous election frauds
in Vardenik and Martuni.

Voters do not put their ballot papers in the envelopes, but show them
to the people sitting beside the ballot boxes.

`Most of the presidential candidates have no proxies, but their
presence would put everyone on the alert. This is the reason that
election frauds are not recorded,’ she said.

Ms Gevorgyan is also concerned over cases of voting instead of the
people that are outside Armenia now.

`For example, two of my family members are outside Armenia. However,
their absence from Armenia has not been announced. They are well aware
of who is in the country and who is outside. Election bribes do not
seem to be distributed, but the people that are used to election
bribes were waiting for them,’ she said.

`Hot line’ for reporters available on Armenia’s election day

YEREVAN, February 18. /ARKA/. `Hot line’ for reporters is available on
the Election day in Armenia under the initiative of Committee to
Protect Freedom of Expression.

Reporters can call (010) 53-38-95, (093) 10-70-85 or email to
[email protected] in case their rights are violated, according to
the message on the Committee’s website.

`Rapid response team will review all the messages and demonstrate all
the necessary measures,’ the organization said.

Seven candidates are running for the country’s president today:
incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan, former prime minister and leader
of Freedom party Hrant Bagratyan, former foreign minister and leader
of Heritage party Raffi Hovannisian, well-known Soviet dissident and
leader of Union for National Self-Determination party Paruyr
Hayrikyan, ex- foreign minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Arman
Melikyan, political scientist and head of Radio Hay Andrias Ghukasyan
and specialist in epic studies Vardan Sedrakyan. -0 –

Another Armenian is wounded in Aleppo

Today – 11:22

Another Armenian is wounded in Aleppo New Village settlement. Source
from Syria informed Armenpress news agency. According to the source
the Armenian’s hand was wounded as a result of fire. He is at hospital
now and is under doctors’ supervision. According to the source the
Armenian has already been operated.

According to the other information an Armenian, Gevorg Karagulyan, was
kidnapped on February 14, in Aleppo suburbs. It is supposed that
Karagulyan was not alone. His brother and two fellow-workers were with
him, but they are not kidnapped. The kidnapers claim money to set
Karagulyan free.

According to the UN more than 70.000 people have been killed during
Syrian war which lasts since March, 2011.

Arménie
Un président par défaut

Faute d’alternative crédible, Serge Sarkissian est assuré d’être réélu ce lundi.

Même si un candidat a été victime d’une tentative d’assassinat et si
un autre observe une grève de la faim pour protester contre un «
scrutin truqué », l’élection présidentielle arménienne du 18 février
est décrite comme « la plus ennuyeuse » que la petite république du
sud du Caucase ait connue.

Crédité d’environ 60% des intentions de vote, bénéficiant de l’appui
de Moscou et des chancelleries occiden – tales, le président sortant,
Serge Sarkissian, est assuré, faute de réelle candidature alternative,
de remporter un second mandat de cinq ans. Son principal challenger
potentiel, l’oligarque et ancien champion de bras de fer Gagik
Tsaroukian, a jeté l’éponge. Ne reste ainsi, comme seul concurrent
crédible, que l’ancien ministre des Affaires étrangères Raffi
Hovannisian, dont la cote grimpait ces derniers jours.

« Un président, mais aussi un chef des armées » Serge Sarkissian fut
ministre de la Défense au moment de la guerre victorieuse du
Nagorno-Karabagh contre l’Azerbaïdjan, point d’orgue du patriotisme
arménien depuis l’indépendance de l’ancienne république soviétique. Il
fut ministre de l’Intérieur, puis premier ministre en 1997 avant
d’accéder à la magistrature suprême en 2008. Sa politique de
rapprochement avec l’Union européenne a l’avantage de ne pas effrayer
Moscou qui, grce à sa présence militaire sur place, peut compter sur
la loyauté de son voisin du sud. « Nous ne choisissons pas seulement
un président mais aussi un chef des armées », rappelle le porte-parole
du parti présidentiel, Edouard Charmazanov. Jouant de la menace
sécuritaire que font peser sur l’Arménie les deux grands voisins
hostiles – Turquie et Azerbaïdjan – et du péril économique engendré
par le blocus russo-géorgien, Sarkissian rassure une grande partie de
la population.

Système oligarchique

lire la suite , voir lien plus bas

lundi 18 février 2013,
Jean Eckian ©armenews.com

Samvel Alexanyan Transports `Voters’ From Akhuryan To Yerevan

Country – Monday, 18 February 2013, 12:16

GALA TV has learned a few days ago that MP Samvel Alexanyan is going
to transport voters to the polling stations in buses. Those are the
staff of his sugar company in Akhuryan,. Today, February 18, at 09:05
4 minibuses and 1 bus full of employees of the sugar factory took off
from the company’s premises. The engineer of the company said people
were taken to Gyumri’s Garegin Nzhdeh square to vote. GALA TV has
evidence that the buses were moving to Yerevan. In addition, that
according to GALA TV, the voters will be given marked ballots for
Serzh Sargsyan at the entrance which they will drop into the ballot
box and take out the blank ballot they will receive at the polling
station.

Abrahamyan Needs Tsarukyan In The Same Role For Another 5 Years

HAKOB BADALYAN
Comments – Monday, 18 February 2013, 13:36

Speaker Hovik Abrahmayan, who is also the head of Serzh Sargsyan’s
campaign, after having voted today, was asked by reporters about the
possibility of the Prosperous Armenia return to the coalition.
Abrahamyan didn’t rule out any format. He advised to wait for the end
of the election saying that everything is possible and this issue will
be discussed by the RPA executive board. This is an important issue
for Hovik Abrahamyan and he could not say anything else but not to
rule out the possibility of a new coalition. If he excludes such
possibility, he will rule out his chance to be one of the axis figures
of the ruling system of Armenia. Hovik Abrahamyan keeps his position
on account of the RPA-PAP relations. The unclearness of these
relations enabled Hovik Abrahamyan return as the NA Speaker, in case
Hovik Abrahamyan failed the previous election for Serzh Sargsyan. It
was then when the Republicans lost in Hovik Abrahamyan’s hometown –
Ararat Marz; Republicans were defeated also in Shirak region, where
the responsible was Vardan Ghukasyan, whose curator is Hovik
Abrahamyan. No accident, Abrahamyan convinced Ghukasyan to leave his
office. And if Ghukasyan resisted, both of them would have left their
offices. Today Hovik Abrahamyan said he voted for the safe Armenia and
is sure that this election will record progress compared to the
parliamentary elections. Apparently, Abrahamyan means that this time
Serzh Sargsyan won’t lose in Ararat and Shirak Marzes. No accident
Hovik Abrahamyan’s brother, Jonik, instructed everyone to vote Serzh
Sargsyan and not to betray his brother. Comments on Hovik Abrahamyan’s
hopes and expectations if Serzh Sargsyan preserves the office of the
president are different. Someone thinks he is striving for the office
of the prime minister. Perhaps Abrahamyan will be happy if he keeps
the office of the speaker. But all this is tactical expectations. The
main issue of the Speaker is harder: he is fighting for the status of
being Serzh Sargsyan’s heir. At the end of Serzh Sargsyan’s campaign,
during the final event, the incumbent president left the event
accompanied by the NA Speaker, Prime Minister, Mayor, ministers and
MPs. Everyone, except Serzh Sargsyan, had `Safe Armenia’ scarves, and
Hovik Abrahamyan threw his one to the people. It seemed a gesture of
happiness and excitement, but in reality, he just wanted to be
different from the others and be similar to Serzh Sargsyan. It is of
no importance for Abrahamyan whether Prosperous Armenia will or won’t
join the coalition. The important is that Gagik Tsarukyan has
`lessons’ to teach always. Hovik Abrahamyan hopes to become the most
secure concession for the passage of the power in 2017-18: the most
secure not for Armenia, but for the current criminal oligarchic
system. For this, Hovik Abrahamyan needs Tsarukyan in the same role
for another five years.

Violations registered in capital’s Avan precinct

09:55 – 18.02.13

An observer from Civil Society Institute NGO reports about violations
in Yerevan Avan district. According to the report, in the 1/6 precinct
the observer registered a crack in one of the ballot boxes from which
it will be possible to insert a ballot.

The chairman of the election commission explained that all the members
have checked the boxes.

In the same precinct Raffi Hovhannisian’s proxy reported that the
commission does not allow him to work, does not engage him in the
working process and does not provide necessary materials.