Author: Kalantarian Kevo

“THERE WAS NO NEED FOR ARRESTS, EVERYTHING WOULD BE SETTLED UNTIL APRIL 24” (VIDEO)

10:15 | April 9,2015 | Politics

Were the actions implemented against the members of the Founding
Parliament legitimate? HHK deputy Hovhannes Sahakyan thinks that
assessments can be given when a criminal case is instituted or not,
details will be given.

HAK deputy Lyudmila Sargsyan is sure that Zhirayr Sefilyan and his
friends had no intention of instigating confusion in Armenia, “There
was no need for arrests, everything would be settled until April 24.”

Details and opinions- in the video

ARMENIA’S DOMESTIC TRADE TURNOVER FALLS BY 6.9% TO AMD 269.8 BILLION IN JANUARY-FEBRUARY

YEREVAN, April 9. /ARKA/. Armenia’s domestic trade turnover dropped
by 6.9% in January-February 2015 to AMD 269.8 billion, the National
Statistical Service of Armenia reports.

Retail trade accounted for about 63% of the overall volume and
amounted to AMD 170 billion in January-February, a reduction of 6.5%
as compared to the same period of the year before.

At the same time, wholesale trade fell by 6.4% in the period and
accounted for 33.8% of the overall domestic trade (about AMD 91.2
billion).

According to the statistics, store trade accounted for a substantial
share of the retail trade – 69.8% or AMD 118.6 billion. Trading at
commodity markets was over AMD 13.5 billion or 8% of the overall
retail trade, according to the report. ($1 – 474.99 drams). –0-

GENERAL TER-TADEVOSYAN: ARRESTING ZHIRAIR SEFILYAN WAS A MISTAKE

Lragir.am
Country – 09 April 2015, 11:45

Major General Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan, Hero of Karabakh War, finds
that arresting Zhirair Sefilyan, Pavel Manukyan and the others was
the mistake of the authorities. He says they could have met them,
talked to them, urged them not to take to the street and refrain from
protests on April 24.

“Arresting Zhirair Sefilyan was something incomprehensible. First
they beat them, then they arrested them… There must be freedom of
expression. To tell the truth, I don’t know anything about their plans,
I don’t know what he wants but he is my brother-in-arms, and I think
he cannot be arrested just in case he does something on April 24.”

Evoking his brothers-in-arms and their feats, Arkady Tadevosyan also
noted that planning something on April 24 was a mistake too though he
knows that the representatives of the Founding Parliament, and Zhirair
Sefilyan himself announced that their actions will be peaceful and
in accordance with law.

“But he shouldn’t have told that, that was the reason to arrest him.

There was so much [time] till April 24, they could have worked with
him, he might have agreed but to arrest Zhiro and claim that he is a
terrorist… That was a very wrong decision to arrest him. Now those
who are speaking so much now, those speakers will hide somewhere when
hard times come, and people like him will again pick up their guns
and defend our country,” he notes.

Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan calls to free the heroes. He calls his
brother-in-arms Pavlik Manukyan to stop his hunger strike. “He’s a very
good guy, Pavlik is very good. Zhiro sat for several times and got
out… They are very strong men, I know them very well. I just can’t
understand why they chose April 24. It was their mistake, I think.”

The hero of the Karabakh war believes that arrests and searches will
not bend those people who have passed a glorious way.

PM MEDVEDEV SUGGESTS FREE TRADE ZONE BETWEEN THAILAND, EEU

(c) Sputnik/ Alexander Astafiev
BUSINESS
18:02 08.04.2015(updated 18:11 08.04.2015) Get short URL
800
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev wants to have a free-trade
zone between Thailand and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). The
prime minister said now everything depends on Thailand’s decision.

BANGKOK (Sputnik) — A free trade zone between Thailand and the
Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) may be established following a similar
move with Vietnam, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said
Wednesday during his visit to Thailand.

“Today I suggested to my counterpart [Thai Prime Minister Prayut
Chan-o-cha]… to think about the possibility of creating a free trade
zone using the same principles by which we’ve practically already
created a similar zone with Vietnam,” Medvedev said in an interview
with the Thai media corporation Nation.

(c) SPUTNIK/ ALEXANDER ASTAFYEV Vietnam to Join Free Trade Area with
Russian-led Economic Bloc Medvedev said that everything now depends
on Thailand’s decision.

The Russian prime minister also asked Thailand’s businesses to consider
the opportunities offered by Russia’s Far East.

“We are developing our Far East… We have established a legal
structure called the ‘territory of priority development.’ It’s
essentially a preferential zone with special taxation, a simplified
tax regime, simplified land transfers, etc.,” Medvedev said, adding
that this might be of interest to Russia’s Thai partners.

The EEU, established on January 1, 2015 to aid economic integration,
aims to achieve the free flow of goods, services, capital and labor
across its member countries.

Current EEA member countries include Russia, Armenia, Belarus and
Kazakhstan, with Kyrgyzstan expected to receive full membership soon.

On Monday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said that Hanoi
plans to sign an agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU)
on the establishment of a free trade zone by the middle of year 2015.

The proposed free trade agreement with Vietnam will be the first of
its kind for the EEU.

Read more:

KIM KARDASHIAN RETURNS TO HER ROOTS – DAILY MAIL

12:45 * 08.04.15

Kanye West kept a firm hold of his precious daughter North as he and
wife Kim Kardashian arrived at LAX on Tuesday, and he couldn’t resist
giving her a sweet kiss on the cheek.

Kim, 34, showed off her new hair extensions which transformed her
hair from her recent short, platinum coloured tresses, back to a more
natural brunette look for the special trip to Armenia.

The family of three, along with other members of the Kardashian clan,
are making the journey to mark the 100th anniversary of the mass
slaughter of ethnic Armenians in Ottoman Turkey.

E! cameras will reportedly follow the stars as they pay homage to
their heritage on the eight-day visit for TV show Keeping Up With
The Kardashians.

Kim’s late father Robert Kardashian was of Armenian-American descent,
so the trip to Yerevan will mark an important pilgrimage for the
famous family.

A source told Us weekly that the entire clan apart from Kendall Jenner
will be flying out there this week.

ARGENTINIAN MEDIA: IMMERSED IN COZY LANDSCAPE AROUND GANDZASAR IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT CONTACT LINE IS WITHIN HOUR’S DRIVE

18:37 08/04/2015 >> SOCIETY

For more than 20 years following the ceasefire that put an end to
Karabakh war, Nagorno Karabakh struggles for the recognition of
its independence despite the fact that it has Armenian population,
language, currency and is financed to a significant degree by
Yerevan, Argentinian media outlet Clic de Noticias writes citing
Telam’s article.

“The coincidences do not end here. Nagorno Karabakh republic has the
same flag as Armenia, except for the little white line dividing it
on the right. The government explains that the split represents the
division of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, and the white color allows to
‘dream’ that the split will be overcome one day,” the article reads.

According to the article, there are captivating landscapes and
Christian cultural heritage in Nagorno Karabakh but it is not rich
in natural resources, neither is it a key point for global geopolitics.

However, since the late 80s the territory became a site of tension
and violence which brought about a war causing the death of around
30,000 people; and the fragile ceasefire is being violated to this day.

As the article reads, the conflict broke out in 1988 when the
political movement demanding ‘reunification’ rose in Armenia and
Nagorno Karabakh. The whole region was a part of the Soviet Union
by then. In 1921, Josef Stalin decided that Nagorno Karabakh should
be inside Azerbaijan rather than Armenia, despite that fact that
the majority of the population was Armenian. The war destroyed the
territory of Nagorno Karabakh from 1991 – when Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh declared their independence – up to the ceasefire agreement
in 1994.

The author points to the name ‘Nagorno Karabakh’ which takes its roots
from three languages: ‘Nagorno’ – meaning ‘mountainous’ – from Russian,
‘Kara’ – meaning ‘black’- from Turkish, and ‘bakh’ – meaning ‘garden’
– from Persian.

“The Armenians use that name only when they are talking to the
foreigners, but for themselves, according to Nagorno Karabakh
leadership, that ‘holy land’ is called Artsakh, as the tenth province
of the ancient Armenian kingdom of the Middle Ages,” the site writes.

It is noted in the article that at the Armenian government’s
invitation the journalist of Telam visited the small republic with
green mountains, some of whose peaks are covered with snow, and where
the inhabitants of the small villages are engaged in family farming.

On the way to the capital Stepanakert one can read on numerous
signboards that this or that infrastructure is recovered ‘with the
participation of all the Armenians.’

“The center of Stepanakert is the main symbol of the growth and
development of the past two decades. Wide and clean streets, newly
constructed buildings, shops and a football stadium a few blocks
from the calm central square where one can see the same banks which
decorate the whole center of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. The
renovated part is modern with a European air; still, what immediately
strikes the eye is that all the shops and banks are either local or
Armenian. The small supermarkets sell European and American products,
especially dainties and drinks, but the significant majority of the
food is either Russian or Armenian,” the article reads.

It is written in the article that there are refugees both here and
in Azerbaijan. However, two mosques of the 18th and 19th centuries
are still preserved in the town of Shushi. The Armenians of Karabakh
are concentrated on the preservation of the medieval monasteries
and schools of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The oldest preserved
monastery is the beautiful Gandzasar of the 13th century. It retains
the simple and strict style of the Armenian churches. It is built on
a mountain and is surrounded by little graveyards of different epochs.

“Immersed in this cozy landscape, it is hard to believe that this
little and picturesque monastery is within an hour’s drive from
the line of contact with Azerbaijan, a militarized zone where the
shots and disturbing news are still a norm rather than exception,”
the author writes.

Related:

TV channel BBC tells about Armenians’ lives in NKR under Azerbaijan’s
permanent threats

British Journal: Nagorno Karabakh populated with Armenians could
become the new wonder of world

The Fresno Bee: In upcoming parliamentary elections NKR will assert
its national independence and sovereignty

MONITORING GROUP VISITS DETAINED OPPOSITIONISTS, SAYS THEY ARE DEPRIVED OF MANY THINGS

14:16 | April 8,2015 | Politics

Members of a monitoring group today visited Yerevan Detention Facility
of the RA Police Yerevan Department to see the six members of the
radical opposition Founding Parliament group, who were arrested on
April 7 and charged with planning to organize ‘mass disturbances.’

The detainees did not express any complaints about the Facility or
conditions there. Only Founding Parliament Pavel Manukyan started a
hunger strike as a sign of protest against the illegal detention. The
group also found out that the detained activists were not allowed to
see their family members or make telephone calls. The investigative
body also restricted their right to communicate with the outside
world – something incomprehensible for the monitoring group. Nor can
the detainees use a radio or read newspapers.

Several members of the radical opposition Founding Parliament
group were detained on April 7. The Investigative Committee of
Armenia said the detentions took place within the framework of a
criminal investigation conducted in connection with possible ‘mass
disturbances’ planned during public events scheduled for April 24 –
the day when Armenians worldwide will be commemorating the centennial
of the Armenian Genocide. Jirair Sefilian, Varuzhan Avetisyan, Gevorg
Safaryan, Aram Hakobyan, Hovhannes Ghazaryan, Pavel Manukyan, Garegin
Chukaszyan are among the detainees.

HENRY THERIAULT: ARMENIA IS SUFFERING FROM LEGACY OF GENOCIDE; ARMENIA’S LONG-TERM SECURITY AND VIABILITY DEPEND ON REPARATIONS

14:20 08/04/2015 >> SOCIETY

Nvard Chalikyan from Panorama.am has spoken with Professor Henry C.

Theriault – Chair of the Philosophy Department at Worcester State
University and Chair of the Armenian Genocide Reparations Study Group
(AGRSG) about the recently published report of the Group titled
Resolution with Justice: Reparations for the Armenian Genocide
(Armenian and English versions of the executive summary and full
report are available at ).

Part 1

Dr. Theriault says that the issue of Genocide reparations is gaining
greater popularity and that recognition should only be a part of
broader reparations process and not an end in itself; he believes
that the present-day Republic of Armenia is suffering from the legacy
of Genocide and that Armenia’s long-term viability as the secure and
permanent home of all Armenians depends on territorial reparations;
he also explains the group’s formula for calculating the reparations
package presented in the report.

Nvard Chalikyan: Dr. Theriault, there seems to be a lack of discussion
on the reparations aspect of the Genocide, which the AGRSG Report
addresses in detail. How much support does the issue of reparations
have in general? How popular is it nowadays?

Henry Theriault: The reparations issue has recently acquired greater
importance and acceptance in general. This is true not only for the
Armenian case but for many other human rights cases around the world.

It is important to put the question of the Armenian Genocide in the
context of a wider area called Genocide Studies where many cases are
examined together. This is not just an individual group concerned about
its own history but it is a much bigger issue in history that concerns
everyone else in the world. I link the question of the Armenian
Genocide to human rights, social justice, civil rights, and gender
issues in the US and across the world. Our report is actually very
applicable to other groups, as we tried to present a universal case.

While some ten years ago many Armenians did not consider reparations
as a practical issue to be talked about, there has been a major shift
in this direction, especially within the last five years. Now there
is a tremendous interest in the Armenian community and readiness
to advocate for reparations, much more than we had expected when
beginning the study group’s work. The Armenian National Committee
of America (ANCA), for instance, has changed its strategy a good
deal from a focus on recognition towards emphasising reparations;
many Armenian scholars have gotten involved, many studies
have been conducted and books published on the subject, and in
Turkey major work is now being done (by Ugur Ungor and Mehmet Polatel
,
for instance).

And, the recently adopted pan-Armenian declaration by the State
Commission on the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide talks about
reparations, specifically “preparing . . . a file of legal claims
as a point of departure in the process of restoring individual,
communal and pan-Armenian rights and legitimate interests.” So there
is a positive trend in this direction.

N.C: Chapter 3 and Chapter 8 of the Report identify steps for a
comprehensive reparations package, among which are recognition,
apology and return of property. What is the sequence of these steps?

Can reparations be considered only after recognition or should we be
pushing for reparations without further delay?

H. Theriault: These points of the Report identify different key
aspects, but their order is not in time. Recognition is there as part
of reparations approach because we think that without recognition
by the perpetrator group and others that the harm happened, there
is a danger that the point of material reparations will be lost. As
one of the report’s co-authors, Jermaine McCalpin, has emphasized in
recent speeches, reparations is not “hush money.” On the contrary,
it is only meaningful if all concerned acknowledge the injury that
was done and understand how and why the reparative measures taken
now promote justice. This is especially true for territorial returns.

At the same time, even though recognition and apology should be a
part of the overall process, what we want to emphasize is that on
their own or as an end result they are absolutely inadequate. It
doesn’t help produce justice to push for recognition without pushing
for reparation. Thus, we tried to reverse the usual logic – we see
reparations as the most central issue which includes both material
and symbolic acts, with recognition as part of reparations, but only
a part. The idea of giving up a broader reparations process in favor
of recognition alone is an old and a very problematic idea.

In terms of the timing, if recognition is understood as a step towards
justice and reparations then it can come first, but if it is treated
as the central goal then it is very dangerous to put it first.

Still, we should keep in mind that from the Republic of Turkey’s
standpoint, one major reason for not recognizing the Armenian Genocide
is because they fear that reparation claims will immediately follow
recognition, and their primary concern I believe is reparations. We
could see this clearly in the case of the Armenian-Turkish protocols.

It is very telling that of the very few specific Armenian-Turkish
relations issues addressed, the territorial issue, i.e., the point
about confirming the border, was on the top of the Turkish agenda. It
does tell us a lot about what their concerns are and shows that it
is all about territorial issues ultimately. Going forward, we must
be very careful to include reparations as an issue in any political
discussion of the Genocide with Turkey.

N.C: By recognition do you mean recognition by Turkey, by the
international community or both?

H. Theriault: Ultimately both. Many people in Turkish civil society
today recognize the Genocide but it is a real question of what
would get the Turkish state to do so. Historically for the most part
(Australia being an exception) countries have recognized genocides or
mass human rights violations only when external actors pushed them
to do it. So, there is a role for the international community in
pushing for recognition. What is more, the Armenian Genocide is not
a Turkish-Armenian issue. Going back to the work of Raphael Lemkin
in creating the concept and word “genocide,” genocide affects all of
humanity and is thus the concern of all of humanity.

N.C: The Report presents specific calculations of financial, material
and territorial compensations that are due to Armenians. Based on
what data are these calculations made? How reasonable and realistic
are they?

H. Theriault: First of all, in the Report we tried to present numbers
based on historical data and on the work that was done previously,
in the aftermath of the Genocide, by those with direct data on what
happened in the genocidal process. We took data from the Paris Peace
Conference for instance, where there was a real historical effort to
catalogue the Armenian losses and to calculate a reparation package
based on evidence. We also used the New York Life settlement method to
get an idea of what appropriate compensation for deaths would be. By
“appropriate” here I do not mean that compensation can in any way make
up for the deaths, but that compensation funds can help Armenians as
a group – in the Republic, Diaspora, and Turkey – with resources that
can promote Armenian security, identity, and well-being, against the
very significant impacts of the Genocide on Armenians today.

In terms of territorial compensations we tried to come up with a
formula based on a realistic approach to Wilsonian boundaries. Woodrow
Wilson’s Arbitration Award (Ara Papian addresses this) likewise
presents a detailed process which formulated the appropriate
territories necessary for Armenians surviving the Genocide to
reconstitute in a sustainable way the group. It must be stressed that
the need issue is really important because the Republic of Armenia
today is suffering from the consequences of the Genocide. We must not
forget that the hardships and the limitation of resources in Armenia
today are in large part a direct result of Genocide.

Of course, the issue of territorial return is very complex, and in
the report we offer four possible approaches to it that include three
different territorial determinations and an alternative political
approach that could work with any of the territorial determinations.

As for how realistic the size of the proposed financial compensation
is, it is a limited, conservative estimate of what would be
appropriate. The numbers we are presenting are very reasonable and
actually represent a middle point. There are certainly higher estimates
that would be legitimate.

N.C: How is the present-day Republic of Armenia suffering from the
consequences of the Genocide? How can reparations actually mitigate
this?

H. Theriault: This is a huge topic, but I can single out two major
issues. First, when Ataturk militarily conquered the bulk of the 1918
Armenian Republic’s lands and forced the remainder into the Soviet
Union, that not only stunted the potential population (think about
how many Armenians later left just to go to Russia, for instance) but
it also created a situation where Armenia just cannot sustain a bigger
population, cannot sustain the kind of agriculture that’s necessary for
full independence. Thus the impact of that legacy is quite demonstrable
today; but it also goes way beyond that. We must not forget that, in
fact, the Wilsonian Arbitral Award gave Armenians at least partial
reparations for the Genocide, but the Turkish nationalist movement
that established the current Turkish Republic took the portion of
the awarded lands that the 1918 Republic actually possessed away –
that is, Turkey took away the reparations given to Armenians.

The second thing to stress is the way Turkey is currently a threat
to Armenia. Just going back to the blockade in 1990s when Turkey
was interfering with shipments of food aid from the US – it was
scandalous. Turkey is also able to interfere in a significant way with
Armenia today and to harm the country economically and politically,
while supporting Azerbaijan is a whole other dimension. All of this is
the legacy of the Genocide as well, and specifically that the Genocide
is unacknowledged and unrepaired. Could Germany, for instance, treat
Israel in this way?

So if we are talking about calculating the land that’s necessary,
it really has to be focused on what the Armenian Republic needs in
order to be permanently viable for its population and any Turkish
and Diasporan Armenians that would like to resettle. Territory is
not only a historical justice issue but it is also a very legitimate
human rights issue for the present. My analysis of the situation has
led me to conclude that the future viability of the Armenian Republic
as the secure and permanent home of Armenians as an identity group
depends on territorial reparations.

N.C: From your words can we conclude that the present territory of
the Republic of Armenia is not viable for the long-term survival and
prosperity of the Armenian people, and that the Genocide reparation
is actually a question of security of Armenia and Armenians in the
long run?

H. Theriault: Yes, absolutely…

To be continued…

L’HOMMAGE DU MEMORIAL DE LA SHOAH AUX ARMENIENS

Exposition

En cette annee 2015, 100 ans après le genocide qui a frappe le peuple
armenien dans son coeur, sa chair et son âme en terre ottomane, le
Memorial de la Shoah, a Paris, a inaugure, le 2 avril, une exposition
inedite intitulee .

Cette negation, voulue et entretenue par les autorites turques des
souffrances subies par le peuple armenien, contribue, je crois,
pour les Armeniens, a rendre ce traumatisme encore plus douloureux.

Je tiens a saluer et remercier chaleureusement, celles et ceux,
descendants des victimes de cette tragedie, qui sont ici aujourd’hui
avec nous pour cette inauguration. Nous serons a vos côtes dans
cette quete de justice et de verite. Nous avons ce devoir vis-a-vis
des victimes innocentes. Et nous avons aussi ce devoir pour tenter
d’empecher et d’enrayer le retour de tels drames.

Cette exposition et les manifestations qui auront lieu au Memorial
tout au long du mois d’avril, notamment plusieurs projections de
films et documentaires, retracent et decrivent pas a pas le processus
d’extermination dans une perspective pedagogique et didactique,
afin de permettre a chacun de comprendre comment l’impensable a pu
et peut encore, malheureusement, arriver.

Depuis 2005, notre institution a ouvert ses portes aux deux autres
genocides du XXème siècle. A celui des Tutsis et celui des Armeniens,
dans une perspective cooperative. Parce qu’a la fois, l’ideologie,
les circonstances et aussi le crime en lui-meme et sa radicalite, ainsi
que la negation qui l’entourent, ont veritablement les caracteristiques
communes du genocide. >>

Eric de Rothschild a ensuite rendu hommage a Yves Ternon, >, le remerciant pour ses travaux realises >. Il a egalement remercie Claire Mouradian qui collabore
avec le Memorial depuis de nombreuses annees.

Il a par ailleurs indique que l’action du Memorial au Memorial de la
Shoah d’accueillir l’exposition consacree au genocide des Armeniens ;
ne manquant pas de rendre hommage a la memoire des victimes innocentes
de l’Holocauste. Dans son evocation du genocide et ses consequences,
l’ambassadeur cite les propos prophetiques d’Anatole France lorsqu’il
ecrit : >. Il a exprime aussi sa
solidarite avec tous les peuples qui ont subi des atrocites, faisant
part d’un combat >.

Yves Ternon : Le negationnisme n’a plus d’importance. Ils n’ont
pas avance d’un pouce depuis 70 ans. On peut toujours avancer sur
le terrain de la betise et de l’obscurantisme, mais le terrain
universitaire leur est ferme

Claire Mouradian : Le fil conducteur de l’exposition s’articule autour
de la stigmatisation, de l’intolerance, de la question de l’inegalite
des droits et de la disparition culturelle.

Jean Eckian + photos

Objets personnels ayant appartenu a la famille de Dickran Kouymjian

(*) Commissaires de l’exposition :

Claire Mouradian, directrice de recherche au CNRS Raymond Kevorkian,
directeur emerite de recherche a l’Institut francais de geopolitique,
Universite Paris 8 Yves Ternon, docteur en Histoire, Universite Paris 4

Exposition jusqu’au 27 septembre 2015

Des vistes guidees pour groupes sont possible sur reservation au 01
53 01 17 38

Projections de films

Dimanche 12 Avril a 11h : Les incendiaires de la memoire.

Negationnisme, la face cachee, de Chantal Picault, en presence de la
realisatrice et d’Yves Ternon

A 14h30 : La vengeance des Armeniens. Le procès Tehlirian, de Bernard
George (co-ecrit avec Laurence Chassin), en leur presence et celle
de Claire Mouradian

A 16h30 : Genocide Armenien, le spectre de 1915, de Nicolas Jallot
(co-ecrit avec Regis Gente, en leur presence et celle de Raymond
Kevorkian

Entree libre sur reservation

Memorial de la Shoah 17 rue Geoffroy Lasnier, 75004 Paris. Metro :
Saint-Paul / Pont-Marie

mardi 7 avril 2015, Jean Eckian (c)armenews.com

SEVEN HOUR SEARCH OF FOUNDING PARLIAMENT OFFICE ENDS: SEIZED ITEMS TRUCKED AWAY

Zaruhi Mejlumyan

16:27, April 7, 2015

The seven hour search of the Yerevan central office of the Founding
Parliament (FP) organization by Armenian law enforcement wrapped up
minutes ago.

Items seized during the search have been loaded onto a waiting truck

The search began at 6:30 this morning according to an earlier
communique by the FB. During the search, several night watchmen and
an adolescent, were locked in the office and couldn’t leave.

Before the search was over, FP member Gagik Sarukhanyan arrived on the
scene and opened the door with a key in his possession. An individual
in civilian clothes standing inside showed Sarukhanyan his certificate.

– Show me the court order allowing the search, Sarukhanyan demanded.

– The inspector will arrive and present it, said the individual
who closed the door from the inside.

“Even if the government allows a rally on the slopes of Mt. Aragatz,
there will be regime change. The authorities know what they have
cooked up – exodus and a bad social situation. There’s no doubt that
the end of this regime has arrived,” said Karabakh War vet Sarukhanyan.

FP member Vardan Hakobyan noted that the government could not halt
the popular movement by isolating certain individuals.

“This was the worst thing it [the government] could have done.

Everyone expected this given what happened at Berdzor and the
provocative actions in Gyumri. They have confused peaceful disobedience
with widespread disorder. If they want the people’s rage, they will
have it,” said Hakobyan.

FP member Garo Yegnukian told Hetq that ten staffers from the National
Security Service arrived at his house at 6:30 this morning to search
the place. Yegnukian told them to wait for his attorney.

“In the presence of my attorney and two other witnesses they searched
my apartment. Maybe they were looking for guns and ammo, but there
wasn’t any,” Yegnukian said.

Yegnukian told Hetq that cops seized three computers and memory chips
containing videos of the Berdzor incident, FP booklets and flyers
and CDs.

“They counted some 680 booklets and flyers and took them. They
took stuff not even remotely connected to the Founding Parliament,”
Yegnukian said.

He said they seized money, a watch, pens and paper and was told that
he should give testimony in the case as a witness.

“This seemed strange and I refused to offer any testimony. A bit later
they told me I was free to go but they never returned any of my stuff.

They wanted to arrest me but seemed to change their mind at the last
minute,” Yegnukian told Hetq.

Earlier this morning, law enforcement searched the homes of several
FP members and detained a handful including Jirair Sefilyan and Pavel
Manukyan. Four individuals (Varuzhan Avetisyan, Pavel Manukyan, Gevorg
Safaryan and Jirair Sefilyan) have since been arrested on charges of
planning to foment public disturbances during events marking April
24 in Yerevan.