Author: Kanayan Tamar

PRESIDENTIAL REPORT BACKS PROBE INTO OFFICIALS FOR ROLE IN DINK MURDER

Today’s Zaman
Feb 22 2012
Turkey

A new report from the country’s top office is expected to put much
needed support behind judges and prosecutors who are currently
conducting investigations into several public officials for their
role in the murder of Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos’ editor Hrant Dink.

The State Audit Institution (DDK), which started the investigation
into the issue last year in January and posted it on the website of
the presidential office on Monday, has stated that a threat against
Dink’s life was known by the police and gendarmerie officials who
failed to take the necessary measures in light of early warnings and
tips about the plot to kill Dink.

The report also noted that the seriousness of the actions of public
officials in the run up to the murder has not been understood and the
link between their actions and the murder could not be established,
leading to the failure of all of the investigations into public
officials.

The DDK report came out at a time when there is a secret investigation
into some public officials who allegedly had roles in preventing the
murder of Dink, who was shot dead by an ultra-nationalist teenager in
broad daylight. Dink was convicted in 2005 for “insulting Turkishness”
in a newspaper article, despite an expert report that he had not
committed the said charge. He received threats from extremist rightist
groups and ultranationalist circles until he was murdered, causing
outrage among many Turks who joined a massive demonstration on the
day of his funeral.

The 650-page report stated that the DDK’s authority is limited in
conducting such an investigation, and it should avoid influencing
the judiciary, but it evaluates the situation in the face of the
ECtHR ruling, which declared in September 2010 that Turkey failed to
fulfill its duty to protect the life of Dink and included a reference
to possible links between the 2007 murder of Dink and Ergenekon,
a clandestine terrorist group accused of plotting a military coup
against the government.

“In that context, there is a decision to evaluate laws and regulations
criticized in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruling in
relation to the prosecution of the public officials,” the report
stated, adding that only a part of the report — the conclusion with
some parts covered with black — was made public because of an ongoing
investigation by the prosecution into some public officials. “The
first point is that it is understood that there are structural problems
in the security sector related to the failure to protect the life of
Hrant Dink.

In this framework, in the murder of Hrant Dink and in similar
events (murder in the Council of State, murders of intellectuals
and journalists, Sivas and MaraÅ~_ events), there were problems in
institutional structures and practices in relation to the collection
and evaluation of intelligence and providing individual security;
therefore, there is a need to touch on the ‘need for reform’,” the
report stated.

Cem Halavurt, a co-plaintiff lawyer for the Dink family, told Today’s
Zaman that there are several positive elements in the DDK report,
and there are some unknowns due to the secrecy of some parts.

“The report made the point that we have long been making in regards
to Law 4483, which protects public officials,” he said. “It also
makes another point that we have long been making, and it is that
public officials who are suspects can be tried in accordance with
the Turkish Penal Code’s related articles.”

Co-plaintiff lawyers for the Dink family have been defending the
view that in order to solve the murder of Dink, the whole picture
should be seen, and this cannot be done with one separate case in
Trabzon, another in Samsun and yet another in Ä°stanbul; therefore,
all the separate cases should be combined. One example of that is in
a separate case in Trabzon in which a public official was punished
with a prison sentence of six months for dereliction of duty. However,
the lawyers of the Dink family say if that case was part of the main
murder trial, then it would be possible to ask for this official’s
punishment under Articles 83 and 220 of the Turkish Penal Code [TCK].

Article 83 relates to malicious murder by dereliction of duty. And
Article 220 clearly states that if someone contributes to organized
crimes intentionally, then that person needs to be tried and punished
accordingly.

“We don’t know yet if the DDK report goes further to reveal
organizational links of the public officials in the murder,” Halavurt
said. “The team from the DDK worked well. They called us for submission
of many documents. But we don’t know yet how far they went.

We expect to receive the full report from them. And as this report
comes from the top office of the Turkish state, judges and prosecutors
should feel the courage to reveal all the facts, all of the wrongful
acts of public officials.”

The Dink case was closed last month in the five-year-long murder
trial with a verdict saying that the suspects had no ties to a larger
crime network but acted alone — even though government officials,
politicians and commentators have asserted that this cannot be true.

Even Judge Rustem Eryılmaz, who delivered the verdict, said —
amid growing outrage over the trial that many feel has failed to
shed light on alleged official negligence or even collaboration —
that while he personally cannot deny the murder was the work of
an organized network, the evidence submitted to the court was not
sufficient to issue such a ruling.

The trial ended with conviction of the hitman and his instigator. The
ruling was appealed as both the prosecution and lawyers on behalf of
the Dink family believe the killers are affiliated with the Ergenekon
network, whose suspected members currently stand trial on charges of
plotting to overthrow the government.

The gunman, Ogun Samast, and 18 others were brought to trial. During
the process, lawyers for the Dink family and the co-plaintiffs in the
case presented evidence indicating that Samast was not acting alone.

Samast stood trial in a juvenile court because he was a minor at
the time of the murder, and he was sentenced to 22 years 10 months
in prison.

The report by the DDK made a reference to Samast — who was
photographed after being captured, posing in front of a Turkish flag
and holding another flag next to security officials, indicating that
he was given the hero treatment — saying that it is necessary “to
confront with marginal understandings that gave a flag to the killer
of Hrant Dink.”

In a separate trial, two gendarmerie officers were convicted on
charges of “dereliction of duty” in the run-up to the Dink murder.

Another suspect, Yasin Hayal, was given life in prison for inciting
Samast to murder.

“The DDK report presents new opportunities,” said law professor
Hakan Hakeri.

Since opinions in the Turkish press indicate that a new investigation
should be started into the murder of Dink, he added that it is not
technically possible to start another investigation into the suspects
because the case is under review by the Supreme Court of Appeals.

“However, if the top court overrules the verdict, then a new
investigation can be possible. Additionally, with the DDK report,
investigations can be started against people who have never been
investigated before,” he said.

In late January, a group of people who identify themselves as “Hrant’s
Friends” released a press statement pointing out “untouchable”
officials allegedly responsible for Dink’s murder. The list included
Muammer Guler, who was the governor of Ä°stanbul at the time and
currently a lawmaker. Guler was listed as being responsible because
Dink was threatened by two MİT officials, Ozel Yılmaz and Handan
Selcuk, at the office of Deputy Governor Ergun Gungör.

Other individuals listed as being responsible for Dink’s assassination
include Osmaniye Governor Celalettin Cerrah, who was the Ä°stanbul
chief of police at the time of the murder; Ahmet Ä°lhan Guler,
then head of intelligence at the Ä°stanbul Police Department;
ReÅ~_at Altay, then Trabzon police chief; Engin Dinc, then head of
intelligence at the Trabzon Police Department and the man who told
the Ä°stanbul Police Department that Dink was going to be killed;
and Ali Oz, the then commander of the Trabzon Gendarmerie Command,
who covered up information regarding plans to murder Dink.

ARMENIAN PM TO PRIORITIZE AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

Vestnik Kavkaza
Feb 22 2012
Russia

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan met activists of the Republican
Party in Oktemberyan (Armavir Region) and said that agricultural
development would be a priority for the next 5 years, ARKA reports.

He noted that Armenian villages will have infrastructure and service
system formed, as in Yerevan.

The main aspects of agriculture to be developed are seeding,
agricultural equipment and production of fertilizers. Armenia has
been importing elite seeds from Russia in the last two years, for the
first time in decade. Armenia plans to produce 30,000 tons of seeds
annually to have self-sufficient seed production.

90% of agricultural equipment has become outdated and needs
modernization.

Sargsyan noted agreements to import harvesters from Russia and tractors
from Belarus. The government is developing leasing companies for
the purpose.

The World Bank is assisting in development of a program to subsidize
50% of funds needed for purchases of agricultural equipment for 55th
most socially-unsupported communities.

HIDDEN WAR IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS
By Nicholas Clayton

Asia Times Online

Feb 22 2012

TBILISI, Georgia – Two apparent assassination attempts against Israeli
diplomats in the South Caucasus over the past month have spread fears
in Georgia and Azerbaijan that the region may once again become a
battleground for great power politics.

Last Monday, a “magnetic bomb” was found attached to the car of
a driver for the Israeli Embassy in Georgia. The same day, a bomb
exploded on an Israeli Embassy vehicle in New Delhi, India, wounding
the wife of an Israeli defense official, among others.

Less than three weeks earlier, neighboring Azerbaijan announced it had
arrested three would-be assassins who were allegedly hired and paid to
kill the Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan and attack a Jewish school.

Also last week, the Iranian Foreign Ministry handed the Dilbert

Azerbaijani ambassador a note of protest, alleging Azerbaijan aided
Israeli intelligence in assassinating an Iranian nuclear scientist in
early January, who was also killed by a bomb magnetically attached
to his car. Iran claims Azerbaijan knowingly allowed the assassins
to escape through its territory.

The two sides have been feverishly trading barbs throughout the
week, but Georgia has been notably silent. Although Georgia, led by
pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili, maintains close ties with
the United States, it has also worked to open up is relations with
Iran, signing a visa-free travel agreement and several other bilateral
arrangements with the Islamic Republic over the past two years.

Lincoln Mitchell, a professor at Columbia University’s School of
International and Public Affairs, said that the incident underlined
the untenable nature of that position.

“If you let Iranians come in without visas, this kind of thing is
going to happen. Iran has made its views on Israel quite clear,
and the notion that some Iranians might come in and do bad things to
friends of America and friends of Georgia is not crazy,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell, who has authored a book on the Saakashvili regime, said that
while there have so far been no overt attempts by Georgia’s American
backers to persuade it to step back from Iran, that is about to change.

“For Georgia, which is a client of the US, whose base in the US is in
the far right, this is the one fight they can’t pick because they’ll
never win,” he said.

But Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, a professor at the Center for Iranian
Studies at the University of London, said that although the South
Caucasus countries looked West for investment and security guarantees,
Iran for them was “inescapable, embedded in the region like few other
countries”, and they would not rush to break ties.

“The pressures have been there for a long time, but Iran continues
to have cordial relations with these states because it is in their
mutual interest,” he said. “The United States is far away when you
sit in Kazakhstan, Dushanbe and Baku. Regional leaders seem to be
aware that it is not in their interest to collude too one-sidedly
with one side or the other. It is a balancing act.”

But while the other two countries in the South Caucasus – Azerbaijan
and Armenia – have worked to moderate their relationship between
regional players, Georgia is a different story.

Saakashvili is currently heading into a surprisingly competitive
parliamentary election in October, with a presidential election
following in 2013. The president has been coy about whether he will
step away from politics or return to power as prime minister – a post
strengthened by recent constitutional changes.

American officials have repeatedly said they hope to see a peaceful
transfer of power through free and fair elections in Georgia – a feat
the country has yet to accomplish since its 1991 independence from
the Soviet Union. Therefore, Mitchell said Saakashvili could take
advantage of his usefulness in this area to give himself the leeway
to maintain his preeminent position in the country’s politics.

“If the Georgian government is smart, then [the current tensions
with Iran are] an opportunity to double down on their support for the
United States, and if they play it any other way then they are making
a huge mistake. Going into a tough two years for himself politically,
Saakashvili can cement his indispensability, which is wrong. He’s
not indispensable. But it would be very easy for him to say, if there
is a war going on, that ‘I have to stay on and be prime minister’,”
Mitchell said.

For now, Georgian officials have the time to make up their mind as an
investigation into the bombings goes on. On the day of the attacks,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately pointed
the finger at Iran. Georgian officials have mostly been mum on the
incident, with some downplaying the attack, noting that the bomb was
attached to the local driver’s personal car, not an embassy vehicle.

But, the president’s administration released an ominous statement the
day the bomb was found, calling it “a serious challenge” to the state.

Many Caucasus observers worry that the assassination plots in Georgia
and Azerbaijan portend a return to the region serving as an espionage
no-man’s-land like Switzerland before World War II.

“Everyone is using the South Caucasus for this hidden war. No doubt
about it,” Alexander Rondeli, president of the Georgian Foundation
for Strategic and International Studies, told the BBC this week.

While there is not yet any concrete evidence tying Iran to the car
bombings, many analysts say there is no other country with the same
combination of motive, capability, and history of similar behavior
as Iran.

Furthermore, the attacks came one day after the anniversary of the
assassination of a top Hezbollah commander, ostensibly by Israeli
operatives. On Saturday, Hezbollah reiterated its alliance with Iran,
and its leader Hassan Nasrallah said this month that Iran had provided
it “moral, political and financial support in all its available forms
since 1982”.

While Adib-Moghaddam said that it would be illogical for Iran to risk
its favorable relationships with countries like Georgia and India
for attacks that do negligible damage to the enemy, Wayne Merry,
a Eurasia expert at the American Foreign Policy Council, told Radio
Free Europe last week that the proximity of Azerbaijan and Georgia
and the relative ease at which Iranian operatives can access their
territories make Israeli facilities there the “most available targets”.

“I think what we are looking at here is a low-level asymmetric conflict
between intelligence services – Iranian and Israeli – in which the
territory and sovereignty of other countries are not well-respected,”
he said.

While Georgian officials remain tight-lipped about the incidents,
Armenia and Azerbaijan spent the last month conferring with their
allies.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited North Atlantic Treaty
Organization headquarters in Brussels on February 15 and has also
met with Israeli President Shimon Peres and US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton over the past few weeks. Armenia sent its deputy
foreign minister to Iran last week, “reinforcing” its relationship
with Tehran “for the sake of maintaining peace and stability”,
according to Armenian state media.

Georgia is now left to decide if it can still keep its friends close,
and its friends’ enemies closer.

Nicholas Clayton is a Tbilisi-based journalist and blogger
covering the Caucasus and the world. His blog can be found at

THREE OF A KIND – MUHAMMARA
STEPHANIE CLIFFORD-SMITH

Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
February 21, 2012 Tuesday
First Edition

Anyone who’s visited a Middle Eastern restaurant, or indeed an
Australian supermarket, will be familiar with hummus and babaghanoush.

But there’s another dish with a lower profile that’s an absolute
corker: muhammara. The main ingredient is grilled red capsicum, so it
trumps the others in the glamour stakes with its luscious deep-red hue.

Walnuts, chilli, olive oil and pomegranate molasses are part of the
mix. It’s originally from Aleppo, in Syria’s north, and the Armenian
influences on that city’s food mean it’s blindingly hot with chilli.

No fear, Sydney restaurants tone it down, so proceed with gusto rather
than caution. 1. Almond Bar Carved timber wall panels, chunky wooden
tables and tea lights set an intimate mood. It’s almonds a-go-go as you
would expect in a bar with this name, a variety in different coatings
there for the grazing on each table. The muhammara ($7.50), while
slightly adjusted for Aussie palates, is as close to the gutsy Syrian
type as any we tried. It’s a coarse mix of grilled red capsicums,
chilli flakes, olive oil, pomegranate molasses and spices with a few
breadcrumbs for body. 2. Arax The mural depicting cypresses along a
winding mountain road fits with the predominantly Italian pizza menu
here but they also serve Middle Eastern favourites. Enter muhammara
($12), a gentle, family-friendly mix of grilled red capsicums,
house-made pomegranate molasses and olive oil. The owners say it’s
important the breadcrumbs and walnuts are chopped to a uniform
texture. The overall result is pleasingly chunky and very light on
chilli, a surprise, given the owners’ Armenian heritage. The dish
is popular with kids, we’re told, so it has to be mild. 3. Safi This
bright, compact space broken artfully by Middle Eastern textiles and
ceramics was one of the first places in Sydney to serve muhammara
($11.50). It’s an appealing mix with subtle warmth from paprika and
walnuts adding richness and texture. Cumin is pronounced and lemon
juice adds tang. The subtle sweetness, normally from pomegranate
molasses, comes from … sugar! But don’t hold that against it. Almond
Bar, 379 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, 9380 5318 Arax, 670 Willoughby
Road, Willoughby, 9958 1518 Safi, 55 Ridge Street, North Sydney,
9954 6146

BORDYUZHA: STRIKES AGAINST IRAN TO HAVE COLOSSAL CONSEQUENCES FOR THE WHOLE REGION

ArmeniaNow
23.02.12 | 14:40

The tensions in the countries of the Muslim world are reaching the
borders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization leading CSTO
to develop a new strategic policy. First of all, it’s about Syria
and the situation around Iran.

By mid March CSTO’s Secretary General Nikolay Borduyzha will be
visiting Yerevan to discuss and reconcile strategic documents, such
as the Concept Paper for CSTO’s Development, Collective Security
Strategy and Strategic Planning System.

Borduyzha announced that representatives of CSTO’s United Staff
secretariat will be visiting Armenia already in a day or two to do
preparatory work for military drills scheduled to start here in fall.

At the same time, CSTO’s SG made a number of serious statements,
saying that strikes against Iran would shake the region from all
perspectives, starting from politics and ending with ecology.

“If it happens, there will be very serious, colossal consequences.

That is why CSTO member-countries have expressed their opinion on
such a possibility a number of times and are definitely against it,
such actions are unacceptable to us,” he stressed.

On the other hand, Borduyzha continued, CSTO is watching the overall
situation carefully, and is taking measures should there be a big flow
of refugees. “As for our readiness, we are taking certain steps. ”
What are those steps exactly?

With the heightened possibility of military intrusion into Iran and
in the highlight of acute aggravation of relations between Teheran
and Baku, an opinion is frequently speculated upon that Azerbaijan
might be used as a military platform for strike against Iran. In this
context provocations on the part of Baku in terms of the Karabakh
issue cannot be ruled out either.

Armenia will receive necessary assistance from CSTO in case of a
crisis in the Karabakh conflict zone, said Borduyzha, however did not
specifically touch upon the issue and gave no details: “I cannot say
right now what kind of assistance that would be, as it’s something
that should be said based on definite circumstances”.

He also stressed that CSTO will not interfere in the settlement
issue of the Karabakh conflict. “We are monitoring the situation,
we are tracking it closely, understanding that Armenia is our ally.”

The CSTO Secretary General’s statement has caused Azerbaijani
politicians’ indignation.

“Nikolay Borduyzha is making statements way exceeding his commission,”
stated Aydin Mirzazade, member of Security and Defense Committee of
Azerbaijani parliament.

“One can get an impression as if Bordyuzha doesn’t know the Charter of
the organization he is in charge of. CSTO has to ensure the security
of member-countries, whereas Nagorno Karabakh is not an Armenian
territory. The so-called Republic of Nagorno Karabakh created by
Armenia on an occupied Azeri territory is recognized neither by the
world, nor by Armenia herself,” he stressed.

MP Fazil Mustafa said Azerbaijan will take certain actions only after
thorough consideration of all issues. “During the past two decades it
has become obvious who will be supporting Armenia. One day Armenia
has to receive a response, Armenia’s guardian countries will try to
help her by all possible means. Azerbaijan has to find allies. Only
Turkey is not enough.”

ARMENIAN ENGINEER ADVISES HOW TO PROTECT EARTH FROM PARADE OF PLANETS

epress.am
02.23.2012

Earth might go out of orbit during the parade of planets expected in
Dec. 21, 2012, in which the planets of our Solar System will line up,
and by joining their gravitational fields, they will be able to change
the habitual and optimal trajectory of the Earth~Rs rotation around the
Sun, warned Yerevan-based engineer and inventor Stepan Yepiskoposyan,
in conversation with an Epress.am correspondent recently.

Though parades of planets have happened in the past, what~Rs different
this time is that not only the planets of our Solar System will line
up, but also planets of other stellar systems will line up from the
center of the galaxy.

Yepiskoposyan suggested two ways of neutralizing the negative impact
of the parade of planets on the Earth, which he shared in a letter
to the UN, UNESCO and Greenpeace.

The first option requires a certain distance between the Earth and
the planets lined up in a row to produce a series of nuclear and
thermonuclear explosions. The resulting emission of protons, electrons,
light and gamma rays will neutralize the effect of gravitational
fields on the Earth.

The second method involves the use of several satellites already
existing around the planet. Yepiskoposyan suggests they be gathered at
particular points and rotated horizontally toward the earth~Rs surface.

This too, he says, will neutralize the effects of gravity on the
planets.

BAKO SAHAKYAN: CRIMES DESERVE SEVERE PUNISHMENT

Panorama.am
23/02/2012

President of Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan condemned terrorist act
against the head of Abkhazia Alexander Ankvab, central information
department of Artsakh President reported.

The letter reads:

“Your Excellency, I am deeply indignant at the assassination attempt
at You as the President of the Republic of Abkhazia.

Those who carried out that shocking crime, which was essentially an
encroachment on the statehood of the Republic of Abkhazia and directed
to destabilization of the situation in the republic, deserve the most
severe punishment.

People and authorities of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic definitely
condemn this outrageous terrorist act and express solidarity and
support to You and the people of fraternal Abkhazia”.

AMERICAN ANALYST: SNIPERS ALONG THE LINE-OF-CONTACT BETWEEN AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA ARE THREATENING A COMPROMISE SOLUTION OVER THE NK CONFLICT

APA
Feb 21 2012
Azerbaijan

Washington. Isabel Levine – APA. Mark Dietzen, a prominent American
analyst and specialist on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, believes that
snipers along the Line-of-Contact between Azerbaijan and Armenia are
threatening a compromise solution over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
APA’s correspondent reports.

“Since 1994’s Ceasefire Agreement, sharpshooters have claimed about
30 victims annually on both the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides”,
he says, adding, “but as tensions mount over Nagorno-Karabakh,
sniping’s tit-for-tat bloodletting is slowly claiming another victim-
compromise”.

Mr. Dietzen, who has researched the conflict for many years, reminds
that, the OSCE’s Minsk Group has proposed the Madrid Document,
“a gradational peace plan”.

“Regrettably, the increasingly militarized nature of the conflict-
most notably through snipers’ habitual ceasefire violations- are
preventing the development of the mutual trust needed as a prerequisite
for compromise”, he adds, underlining, that as a result, the prospect
that the territories will be returned is becoming more and more remote.

The analyst also mentioned that, if implemented, the Madrid Principles
would seek to address the security concern through its provision for
“international security guarantees that would include a peacekeeping
operation.” However, he adds, with every new sniper attack, however,
this “if” becomes less likely.

“The Line-of-Contact no longer risks becoming a Line-of-Death: it
already is”, he says, adding that absent change, the final hopes for
a peaceful compromise to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be buried
beneath it.

BAKU DOWNPLAYS ETHNIC TENSION IMPACT ON BID

Around the Rings

Feb 21 2012

Ongoing ethnic tensions will not impact the Baku 2020 Olympic bid,
the Azeri National Olympic Committee vice president says.

In western Azerbaijan near the Armenian border sits the disputed
Nagorno-Karabakh region. Populated primarily by Armenians despite
being in Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh exercises some autonomy. In 1994,
a war between Azerbaijan and Armenia broke out when the region tried
to become part of Armenia.

However, Chingiz Huseynzade, AZNOC VP said there are examples of the
Games going to other cities with recent histories of violence.

“Based on this logic, the IOC should not have given permission for
the Olympic Games in London, given the conflict in Northern Ireland,
or in Seoul, which has uneasy relations with North Korea, and many
such examples,” he was quoted as saying.

“The main criterion in selecting the candidate country is the decree
it is prepared to undertake such large-scale sporting events.”

International peace negotiations regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh region
fell apart last summer.

POLICE ENSURE RENEWED SHOP CONSTRUCTION IN YEREVAN PARK

21.02.2012

Armenia – Clothing shops built in a public park in downtown Yerevan,
21 Feb2012. Karlen Aslanian

The highly controversial construction of shops in a public park in
central Yerevan resumed overnight and continued on Tuesday after riot
police returned there to ward off more protests by environmental and
civic activists.

The construction site was again cordoned off by the police late on
Monday after more than 100 activists ended a protest against what they
consider further damage to Yerevanâ~@~Ys shrinking green areas. The
mostly young activists broke through the police cordon to halt the
construction work earlier in the day.

Many of them again gathered in the small park on Tuesday but were
kept at bay by scores of police officers guarding the site. They
were furious with the authoritiesâ~@~Y decision to capitalize on
the nightfall.

â~@~We are not going to retreat,â~@~] one young woman told
RFE/RLâ~@~Ys Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). â~@~This is ridiculous,
these steps are the beginning of their defeat.â~@~]

â~@~I have every right to stand here,â~@~] said another female
protester.

“This is my park. No police officer has the right to push me out
of here.”

Throughout the day prominent public figures and ordinary citizens
visited the protesters to express sympathy for their campaign which
has gained a public resonance despite receiving little coverage
from government-controlled TV stations. Meruzhan Ter-Gulanian, a
pro-establishment writer, was among them. Speaking to RFE/RL’s Armenian
service, he urged the still unknown shop owners “to abandon all this
for the sake of Yerevan.” Ter-Gulanian also said the city’s under-fire
Mayor Taron Markarian lacks the power to stop the construction.

Markarian defended the authorities’ refusal to bow to the pressure in
a statement issued later on Tuesday. He said that the new kiosks will
stand in the park “temporarily” and will cause no harm to its trees.

“Important and complex issues related to property ownership cannot
be solved on the basis of certain citizens’ subjective understanding
of justice,” Markarian said. “Nevertheless, despite the negative and
critical evaluations, I am happy that my fellow city residents are
so concerned about the problems and the future of our beloved Yerevan.”

The Armenia police defended their actions in a separate statement
saying that they are obliged to enforce municipality decisions
and that only courts can determine their legality challenged by the
protesters. The statement warned that activists defying police orders
will face “administrative punishment.”

The police also offered to hold a roundtable discussion with relevant
civic groups on “the legal grounds for the police actions” in the park.