Author: Kamalian Hagop

EU HAILS TURKEY FREE SPEECH MOVE

BBC NEWS
7375327.stm
2008/04/30 12:43:33 GMT

The EU has described a vote by the Turkish parliament to soften its
controversial law limiting free speech as a "welcome step forward".

Under the law, intellectuals including Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk
have been accused of "insulting Turkishness".

The EU had set reform of Article 301 of Turkey’s penal code as a
necessary move on the road to membership of the bloc.

An EU spokesman said the EU now "looks forward to further moves to
change similar articles in the penal code".

TURKISHNESS LAW REFORM Crime to insult the Turkish nation, rather
than Turkishness Justice minister required to open each case Maximum
sentence of two years in jail, rather than three

Amadeu Altafaj Tardio told reporters that the article was "the main
one" – but not the only one – that needed reform, to ensure an end to
"ungrounded prosecutions".

He said it was now time for the Turkish authorities to focus on
guaranteeing "full freedom of expression for all Turkish citizens".

Since 2003, hundreds of people have been tried for "insulting
Turkishness" and nationalists, as well as the main opposition,
opposed any change to the law.

Article 301 was used against novelist Orhan Pamuk because of comments
he wrote about the massacres of Armenians by the Ottomans in 1915-16.

Armenian-Turkish editor Hrant Dink, who was shot dead last year, had
been convicted under it. It was his murder by an ultra-nationalist
that spurred the most recent pressure to reform the penal code.

Insulting the Turkish nation – rather than "Turkishness" – will still
be a crime, punishable by two years in jail.

Are you in Turkey? What is your reaction to changes to the law? Send
us your comments and experiences using the form below:

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
Zoryan Institute of Canada, Inc.
255 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite 310
Toronto, ON, Canada M3B 3H9
Tel: 416-250-9807
Fax: 416-512-1736
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

Contact: Megan Swan

April 22, 2008

Roger W. Smith of Zoryan Institute Honored by the President of Armenia

Yerevan, Armenia-Today the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, signed
a decree to award Roger W. Smith the Movses Khorenatsi medal "for his
considerable contribution to the international recognition of the
Armenian Genocide." The Khorenatsi medal is the Republic of Armenia’s
highest award presented by the president to people who have
significantly contributed to the advancement of Armenian culture.

Roger W. Smith is Professor Emeritus of Government at the College of
William and Mary in Virginia, where he taught political philosophy for
thirty-four years and the comparative study of genocide for twenty. A
pioneer and major authority on the subject of genocide, Smith has
written and lectured widely on its nature, history, and prevention, and,
in particular, on denial of the Armenian Genocide. He was a co-founder
of the International Association of Genocide Scholars in 1994. He joined
the Zoryan Institute’s Academic Board of Directors in 1988, and has been
its Chairman since 2004.

In response to receipt of the Khorenatsi medal, Roger Smith
acknowledged, "I am deeply honored by this award and will continue to
promote international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. The tide of
denial is turning: the world is increasingly recognizing the Genocide,
in public statements, the media, and scholarship. Civil society in
Turkey is also moving toward taking the historical events as reality,
and the denial as an evasion of political responsibility. The struggle
for truth goes on, but there are grounds for hope."

Prof. Vahakn Dadrian, Director of Genocide Research at the Zoryan
Institute, remarked, "Only a scant number of people have been honored
with the Khorenatsi medal, the highest cultural award of the Republic of
Armenia; and nearly all of them have been Armenians. Therefore, this
presidential act of recognition has the imprint of exceptional value.
Prof. Roger Smith amply deserves this accolade of high esteem on account
of his manifold contributions to the field of genocide studies, with a
special focus on denial, as it relates to the Armenian Genocide. His
steady stewardship of Zoryan’s Genocide and Human Rights University
Program, a yearly, intense, summer course on the topic of genocide, is
such as to accent the value of these contributions."

In addition to his teaching and public lecturing, some of Professor
Smith’s many contributions to the international affirmation of the
Armenian Genocide include the following: in 1995, along with Robert Jay
Lifton and Eric Markusen, he exposed the activities of the Turkish
Embassy in Washington in promoting denial of the Armenian Genocide among
American scholars; in 2000, he gave testimony before the U.S. Congress
relating to the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H. Res. 596); he helped
establish the Genocide and Human Rights University Program in
Minneapolis and Toronto; he helped organize the international conference
on genocide in Yerevan on the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
in 2005; the same year, he wrote a public letter to the Prime Minister
of Turkey regarding alternatives to a joint historians’ commission; he
is a co-founder of Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International
Journal; and he has published numerous studies on genocide, its denial,
and especially denial of the Armenian Genocide.

Greg Sarkissian, President of the Zoryan Institute, commented, "I am
deeply appreciative of the President of Armenia bestowing this well
deserved honor on our Chairman, who has been a guiding light for the
institute over the past 20 years, and especially since his tenure as
Chairman. Not only has he expanded Zoryan’s vision, activities and
engagement with other academic institutions around the world, but he has
also been personally involved in the directing and teaching of his
beloved university program."

The Zoryan Institute, parent organization of the International Institute
for Genocide and Human Rights Studies and the International Institute
for Diaspora Studies, co-publisher of Genocide Studies and Prevention:
An International Journal and Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational
Studies, is the first non-profit, international center devoted to the
research and documentation of contemporary issues with a focus on
Armenian social, political and cultural life, with the concern for the
human rights of all. For more information please contact the Zoryan
Institute by email [email protected] or telephone (416)
250-9807.

AGNESH VADA’S DELEGATION LEAVES FOR HUNGARY

Panorama.am
16:23 26/04/2008

Today the state secretary of Hungary Defense Ministry Agnesh Vada
and the delegation headed by him had a meeting with the RA Defense
Minister Seyran Ohanyan.

The information is provided by press secretariat of the Defense
Ministry.

First Mrs. Agnesh Vada congratulated S. Ohanyan for his appointment
on the position of the defense minister. The minister greeted the
guests and mentioned the importance of bilateral military cooperation.

The officials discussed questions on strengthening the cooperation
and the reforms which should be carried out in some military issues.

Tomorrow the Hungarian delegation leaves for Hungary.

The delegation has arrived in Armenia on 24 April for three-day labor
visit in the regional countries. The delegation had meeting with
the deputy foreign affairs minister G. Gharibjanyan and the deputy
defense minister A. Nazaryan.

On 25 April the members visited Tsitsernakaberd to commemorate the
victims of Armenian Genocide.

Armenian National Committee of Australia
The Peak Public Affairs Committee of the Armenian-Australian Community
259 Penshurst Street, Willoughby NSW 2068 ~ PO Box 768, Willoughby NSW 2068
Tel: (02) 9419 8264 ~ Fax: (02) 9411 8898
Email: [email protected] ~ Website:

27 April, 2008

MEDIA RELEASE: For Immediate Release

BALAKIAN SPEAKS FOR SYDNEY ARMENIAN GENOCIDE COMMEMORATION WEEK

SYDNEY: As the keynote speaker and guest of the Armenian Genocide
Commemorative Committee, Professor Peter Balakian delivered four lectures in
Sydney from 20-24 April.

On Sunday night, 20 April, before a crowd of about a thousand including
various Members of Australian and New South Wales Parliament, Balakian gave
the keynote address as part of a two-hour ceremony to commemorate the
Armenian Genocide of 1915. Speaking about the significance of the Armenian
Genocide for the twentieth century, Balakian discussed and analysed the
importance of the event as a template for genocide to follow in the 20th
century, emphasising that genocide in Germany, Cambodia, Rwanda, the
Balkans, Darfur and other places could be better understood in light of how
the Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out.

On Monday, 21 April, Balakian spoke at the prestigious Sydney Institute
directed by Gerard Henderson. In his lecture, he presented the Armenian
Genocide as a landmark event in modern history and spoke about how the
Turkish government’s unprecedented campaign of denial has become an
embarrassment to Turkey in the face of one of the best documented genocides
in history. Balakian reflected on the importance of the Australian
government’s recent apology for its treatment of the Aboriginal peoples.

At the Shalom College of the University of New South Wales, Balakian spoke
on Wednesday 23 April, along with a Holocaust survivor, Mr. Feldman and a
Darfur survivor, Mr. Mansoul about genocide in the twentieth century and the
lessons of the Armenian Genocide. The lecture was sponsored by the
Australasian Union of Jewish Students, the Australian Institute for
Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and the Darfur Australian Network.

For Thursday 24th April, Balakian delivered the keynote address at the
Parliament of New South Wales. In a moving ceremony that preceded the event,
a wreath was laid by the young daughter of a Darfur survivor and by Mr.
Badelian, the oldest Armenian Genocide survivor in Sydney at the site of the
Genocide memorial on the grounds of the Parliament. In his address, Balakian
focused on the lessons of the Armenian Genocide and the problems that arise
when massive human rights crimes are committed with impunity. He focused on
the impact of the Turkish denial on the Armenian community and on Turkey,
noting that Turkey is further alienating itself from the modern world by its
refusal to own up to its history.

Balakian also noted the exemplary statement made by Australian Prime
Minister Kevin Rudd in apology for the Australian treatment of the
Aborigines.

"It’s a statement that sets a high standard for all the nations of the world
as they seek to come to terms with dark chapters of their pasts," he said,
adding that Prime Minister Rudd’s emphasis on Australia’s need to "deal with
unfinished business", and the "need to face the pain of past injustice", was
essential for a nation to "turn the page and move forward". Balakian
suggested that Australia might be the kind of nation that would see ethical
meaning in acknowledging the Armenian Genocide.

Balakian closed by thanking the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee
for their extraordinary work in planning the complex events of the week, and
for their grace and warmth and their many talents as a cultural community.

"Professor Balakian has raised the profile of the Armenian Genocide amongst
the wider Australian community," said Armenian Genocide Commemorative
Committee Representative, Stephen Abolakian. "As a result of Balakian’s
visit, progress toward affirmation of the Armenian Genocide by the
Government of Australia has gained greater momentum."

On Friday, Balakian headed to Melbourne for another week of lectures and for
the Australian Poetry Festival.

MEDIA COVERAGE

The following Australian news agencies covered April’s Armenian Genocide
Commemoration:

– ABC Radio National
– ABC Radio Sydney
– ABC Newsradio
– ABC Television
– SBS Radio
– The Australian
– The Daily Telegraph
– The Age
– Southern Courier
– North Shore Times

During the last days of the Ottoman Empire, the government implemented a
policy of Genocide upon its Christian Armenian population. As a result, up
to 1.5million Armenian men, women and children lost their lives between 1915
and 1922. The Armenian Genocide is yet to be recognised by the Government of
Turkey.

Town Hall, DC
April 27 2008

Bitter, Clingy Gun Owners of America
By Doug Giles
Saturday, April 26, 2008

I’m a bitter/clingy gun owner’and I’m happy about it!

Obama, the great healer of America, the hope of our nation, came out
last week and whizzed on millions of Christians and firearm fans
calling us bitter Cling-Ons to religion and guns. I, personally,
wasn’t insulted because I really like God and my rifles, and I make a
good living off my rage.

Yes, when I heard BHO blast us in front of his sassy San Fran crowd
and attempt to put a dig into us plebeians, I thought, finally, this
man has spoken the truth, unlike all the rest of the stercore tuari
he’s been spewing about his dear pastor, his home boy, Bill Ayers, and
his audacity of hype.

Matter of fact, I think he’s rather spot on describing me because I’m
one PO’ed Christian who owns guns’nice guns and very many guns. And,
yes, I’m rather clingy with them. I’m not alone either, as there are
millions of other brothers, from other mothers, who really, really are
endeared to our God-given right to self defense and firearm fun. Can I
hear a big amen, my brothers?

Yes, Barack, you may rightly call millions of us men `clingy’ because
the truth is, when the workday is done, boys just wanna have guns:
guns to hunt with, guns to look at, guns for personal defense and a
few zany lead spewers should al-Qaeda, or the anti-Christ, or any
foreign or domestic threat, or Godzilla ever attack America, we, the
clingy ones, will be ready to rock in a hard place, guaranteed.

Here are eight factoids I found that also cause backwards little old
me to clutch my wood and metal friend called the gun:

1. In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to
1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves,
were rounded up and exterminated.

2. In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5
million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.

3. Germany established gun control in 1938, and from 1939 to 1945, a
total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend
themselves were rounded up and exterminated.

4. China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20
million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were
rounded up and exterminated

5. Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981,
100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up
and exterminated.

6. Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000
Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.

7. Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one
million people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.

8. Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century
because of gun control: 56 million.

As the old adage goes: `With guns, we are citizens. Without them, we
are subjects.’ Therefore, I’ll cling to my gun because I really enjoy
being a free bird and truly hate kissing someone else’s backside, but
that’s just me.

So, Barack, since you threw that supposed insult at me and millions of
other gun-needy Americans, I am going to react by doing the five
following things:

1. I am going to walk up to my gun cabinet and hug and kiss all of my
rifles and shotguns and tell them they are really good guns no
matter what any far-left liberal lug nut says about them.

2. Since I just finished my new book, How to Keep Thugs and Bad Boys
Away from Daddy’s Little Girl (Thomas Nelson, December 2008), I
need a break. Let’s see, what can I do? I know, I just got a custom
Ruger #1 elephant gun in 450/400 Nitro Express. I think I’ll go out
and celebrate with it in the South Florida swamps next
weekend. Clingy me is going to baptize it in wild boar blood as a
sort of a cordite warm-up pitch before I go bear hunting in Maine
this summer, aoudad and mountain lion hunting in West Texas this
fall, and Cape Buffalo hunting in Africa the summer of `09. I’m so
clingy!

3. I’m going to buy the new Ruger .380 LCP for my lady because she,
too, is also kinda clingy.

4. I’m going to cling more to God and Christ than I ever have before.

5. I’m going to vote for John McCain.

Doug Giles’ new book `A Time to Clash: Papers from a Provocative
Pastor’ is now available. Ann Coulter says "Doug Giles’ A Time to
Clash is a substantive and funny tour de force for traditional
values.’ Doug’s award winning talk show and video blog can be seen and
heard at

8/04/26/bitter,_clingy_gun_owners_of_america

DIALOGUE WITH ARMENIA AGAIN ON THE AGENDA OF TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER
By Hakob Chaqrian

AZG Armenian Daily
24/04/2008

Armenia-Turkey

On April 21, Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plasnik while being on
an official visit to Ankara met with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali
Babacan. In a joint press conference after the meeting and also in
the opening ceremony of a round table under heading "Turkish-Austrian
neighborhood" the two Ministers touched upon the issue of Turkish
relations with Armenia.

According to "CNN-Turk", Ali Babacan expressed readiness to regulate
the relations with Armenia.

"Turkey keeps open its doors especially for the newly formed government
of Armenia", he said.

The Austrian Foreign Minister recalled the announcement of Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, "We are ready for the dialogue with
Turkey". The Austrian Foreign Minister mentioned that it is evident
from the words of Babacan that Turkey is also ready for the dialogue.

"Armenia held elections and already formed a government. A new Foreign
Minister is also appointed.

I have sent a congratulatory message and mentioned in the message that
Turkey is ready for a dialogue to normalize relations with Armenia. We
are taking some preparatory steps towards the relations with Armenia
and we are ready to inform the new Government of Armenia of those
steps and carry out them together. ".

CYPRUS HOUSE PRESIDENT CALLS FOR RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

.php?id=10758&nt=Politics
24/04/2008

Presiden t of the House of Representatives Marios Karoyan has reiterated
the support of the House to the demand of the Armenian people for
the recognition of the Armenian genocide of 1915.

In an address, read by the Director of his Office, at an event on
Wednesday evening organised by the Committee in Memory of the Armenian
Genocide, to mark the 93rd anniversary of the genocide, Karoyan noted
that "tonight we recall the huge crime, we honour the victims of the
Armenian genocide and we condemn once again the atrocious crime and
the criminals."

Karoyan called on Turkey to recognise and admit its crime and to
apologise to the Armenian people and humanity as a whole.

The House President pointed out that the House, along with the Greek
parliament, was among the first to condemn the Armenian genocide and
support the demand for its recognition by the international community.

"We do not beg, we do not implore. We demand justice from the
contemporary democratic humanity, the entire international community,
all the nations and all the peoples. Nothing more, nothing less,"
he noted.

In his remarks at the commemoration ceremony, former Greek Minister
of Defence Akis Tsohatzopoulos said that recognition of the Armenian
genocide is a duty to history.

The Armenian and the Pontian genocide is a historical fact and cannot
be dismissed, he said, adding that Turkey does not show any resolve
to accept its responsibilities.

Referring to the continuing occupation of Cyprus’ northern part by
Turkey, he said Ankara must realise that its European perspective
passes through its relationship with Greece and Cyprus.

"We support President Christofias’ efforts at all levels and we are by
side of the Greek Cypriots for a fair and viable solution," he added.

The Representative of the Armenians in Cyprus Vartkes Mahdessian said,
in his address, that the Cyprus House of Representatives was the
first parliament which was the first parliament to have recognised
the genocide and also condemned Turkey for this heinous crime.

He described the genocide as one of the biggest tragedies with global
ramifications.

He called on Ankara to find the courage to recognize the crimes
committed by past governments to many people around the globe.

Mahdessian said Turkey refuses to establish diplomatic ties with
Armenia and imposes an embargo on the country.

ARMENIA TO STEP UP "GENOCIDE" RECOGNITION DRIVE
By Hasmik Lazarian

Reuters, UK
April 24 2008

YEREVAN, April 24 (Reuters) – Armenia’s new president said on Thursday
he will seek "historic justice" for 1.5 million ethnic Armenians
killed by Ottoman Turks, claimed as a genocide by Yerevan and which
still affects relations with Turkey.

Turkey strongly denies Armenian claims, backed by many Western
historians, that the massacres of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during
World War One amounted to a systematic genocide.

The issue has evolved into a source of tension that has complicated
Ankara’s relations with the United States and the European Union,
which Turkey is seeking to join.

President Serzh Sarksyan, who was sworn into office this month,
said in a speech to mark Armenia’s annual Genocide Day that securing
international condemnation of the killings nearly a century ago would
be a priority for his administration.

"As a result of the genocide that was planned and carried out by the
state in Ottoman Turkey, a vast number of Armenians were annihilated
on their native land and lost their living space," Sarksyan said in
a statement.

"International recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide is
an appropriate and inevitable part of Armenia’s foreign policy agenda,"
he said in the statement. "The Motherland of all Armenians, the
Republic of Armenia, should redouble its efforts for the restoration
of historic justice."

Thousands of Armenians — some with tears in their eyes — laid wreaths
of carnations and tulips in Yerevan at a memorial that honours those
who perished in the killings, which took place between 1915 and 1923.

The tiny ex-Soviet republic of Armenia is sandwiched between Turkey
and Azerbaijan in a region that is emerging as an important transit
route for oil exports from the Caspian Sea to world markets, although
Armenia has no pipelines of its own.

Armenia insists the killings should be declared a genocide and the
massacres have been recognised as such by some Western lawmakers.

But Ankara says large numbers of both Christian Armenians and Muslim
Turks were killed during the violent and chaotic break-up of the
Ottoman Empire. A law in Turkey makes it criminal offence to call
the killings a genocide.

Armenia and its neighbour Turkey have no diplomatic links, although
Turkish President Abdullah Gul this month sent a letter to Yerevan
calling for dialogue to normalise ties.

Turkey has kept its land border with Armenia closed since the early
1990s in protest at Yerevan’s occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, a
slice of territory belonging to ally Azerbaijan which is populated
by ethnic Armenians. Turkey also objects to Yerevan’s claims on some
of its land.

MHER SHAHGELDIAN APPOINTED EMERGENCY SITUATION MINISTER

ARMENPRESS
April 21, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 21, ARMENPRESS: Armenian President Serzh Sargsian
signed today a decree on appointing Mher Shahgeldian as Minister of
Emergency Situations of Armenia.

M. Shahgeldian was born in 1967 in Yerevan. He graduated from the
Yerevan State University, attended special classes of AUA and Armenian
Management Center.

>From 2002-2003 was member of parliament, member of faction of the
Orinats Yerkir faction.

>From 2003-2007 member of parliament. Until May 25, 2006 he was the
head of the NA’s defense, national security and home affairs permanent
commission, afterwards member of the same commission.

On May 12, 2007 has been elected member of the NA from Orinats Yerkir
party. He is married has a child.

ELECTION SECRETS REVEALED
by Marietta de Pourbaix

Transitions Online
April 22 2008
Czech Republic

Crying foul over chicanery at the polls and the honeyed tones of
European diplomacy.

[The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has threatened
to suspend Armenia’s voting rights in the body unless it makes
considerable progress toward democratic and judicial reforms by PACE’s
June session. PACE sent observers to witness Armenia’s presidential
election in February. It declared the voting to be "mostly in line with
the country’s international commitments, although further improvements
are necessary to address remaining challenges." John Prescott, a
former British deputy prime minister who headed the delegation, said,
"While we noted improvements in the framework for these elections,
problems with its implementation, especially during the vote count,
in some cases undermined the trust of the people." Marietta de
Pourbaix-Lundin, a parliamentarian from Sweden who was part of the
Armenia mission, considered that an understatement. She delivered
her speech during PACE’s 14 April session.]

I have been in this parliamentary assembly since January 2007 and I
have observed elections in four countries: Turkey, Ukraine, Russia
and Armenia. The elections I observed in Armenia were the worst I have
seen so far. The opening of the polling stations and the proceedings
on the day were not too bad, but the counting in the polling station
that I chose to visit was a disaster. Everything that could go wrong
did go wrong. The number of voters who had voted and who had been
marked on the list of voters was not counted, unused ballot papers
were not destroyed and the protocol in which the results were to be
entered had already been signed by members of the election committee.

Pourbaix-Lundin The most serious incident involved the chairperson
of the local election committee reading out the wrong names when
the ballot papers were to be put into different piles for the nine
candidates. The chairperson was well aware of what she was doing. She
was taking votes from Levon Ter-Petrosian and allocating them to the
[then-] prime minister, Serzh Sarkisian. Election officials tried
to hide what they were doing by holding their hands over the ballot
papers or by placing them in the middle of the piles so that I could
not see them.

When the officials were supposed to sum up the votes for the
different candidates, 100 votes were missing. I know that I was
not supposed to say anything but I could not help mentioning what
I had seen, so the officials pretended to count the votes quickly
and then decided that those votes should go to Serzh Sarkisian,
the guy who won the election. All candidates were allowed to have
proxies to observe the elections and the counting, but the only
observers at the polling station I chose were three young men from
Serzh Sarkisian’s party. These three young men created an unpleasant
and uneasy atmosphere in the room. My interpreter was very scared
and asked me not to say anything more but just to observe and take
notice. I noticed that all the election officials were well aware of
what they were doing and they felt uneasy when I stood behind them
watching the electoral fraud. But that did not prevent them from
continuing to do what they had probably already planned, namely to
ensure that the sitting prime minister got enough votes so that there
would be no need for a second round. If what I observed occurred in
just one-tenth of the polling stations, of course there would have
been an effect on the result. I reported everything that I saw and
returned to my hotel disillusioned, upset and tired. I could not sleep.

I am very critical of the fact that from a press conference the
following day you could have got the impression that the election had
been conducted in the most correct way and according to international
standards. Do we help the Armenian people by believing that? I do
not think so.

I also went to visit the parliament building. I tried to take a
photograph, but three policemen and guards rushed after me and said,
"No, no. You can’t take a photo." I asked them in Russian, "Why?" and
they told me that the parliament was "secret." That summarizes very
well the current position in Armenia. If a stronghold of democracy,
which is what a parliament should be, is secret, there are no
opportunities for democracy, transparency, human rights or free and
fair elections.

[Three days later, during another session on the Armenian election,
Hungarian delegate Matyas Eorsi made the following remarks:]

One problem is that we often tolerate rigged elections. If you visit
the assembly’s website, you will often see headlines in the "news"
section that say, "One step towards democracy"; we all know that
we are not telling the truth. There can be some improvements in the
election environment, but very often the elections in question are
rigged. If we want to be helpful to those countries, the least we
can do is speak up and tell the truth. Very often, when we discuss
our relationship with member countries where there are democratic or
election deficits, we reiterate the point that we have to reinforce our
consultation with the governments of those countries so that elections
can be conducted better, but if there are shortcomings in an election
or administrative problems, we can do a lot to improve those elections.

In a country where an election is rigged, or has involved fraud or
cheating, what the hell can we discuss with those governments? Can we
say, "Please do not do this?" Of course they are fully aware of what
they are doing. I do not think it is a matter of consultation. One
of the major problems in Armenia, aside from what happened on that
tragic day, is the general distrust of the democratic processes among
the population because of the rigged elections. At the end of the
day, those who lose the election cannot disprove the legitimacy of
the election because of the procedures, which they have become used
to. Of course it matters who wins an election, but it matters much
more that wider society should be able to trust and have confidence
in the constitution and the electoral processes.

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe fully supports the
recommendations of the rapporteurs that call for dialogue. … The
recommendations also call for the release of political prisoners,
but they put the point somewhat more nicely, and they call for the
removal of the amendments on the election law that resulted in the
rigged elections. We support that, but if we are honest to ourselves,
we all know that the preconditions will never be met. I do not think
that the political environment is such that the government could make
such a compromise.

Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin is a Swedish member of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe. Matyas Eorsi is a Hungarian member
of PACE.