Author: Kanayan Tamar

DOES AMNESTY PAVE WAY FOR POLITICAL DIALOGUE?
by Marianna Grigoryan

EurasiaNet.org
May 26 2011
NY

Armenia’s parliament on May 26 approved a presidential amnesty
that will set free four individuals who are portrayed by government
critics as political prisoners. It remains unclear whether the amnesty
means that Armenian opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian and top
officials in Yerevan will now sit down to engage in a much-touted
“open dialogue.”

Authorities declared that their actions aren’t motivated by the
opposition’s demand for an amnesty of political prisoners, who were
jailed for allegedly stoking post-presidential election violence
in 2008. In May 20 remarks to parliament, President Serzh Sargsyan
linked the amnesty to the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s declaration
of independence from the Soviet Union.

Overall, 397 prisoners are slated to be released from prison on May
28 under the amnesty. An earlier amnesty in 2009 set free most of
those considered to be political prisoners by the opposition.

“I realize that some people will try to link the amnesty with the
March 1 [2008] events only, but the amnesty is a far more comprehensive
act aimed at solving global issues,” Justice Minister Hrair Tovmasian
told journalists.

The Armenian National Congress, the country’s largest opposition
coalition, is giving no public sign of celebration, or offering
praise for the government’s action. However, ANC representatives
earlier asserted that two of the soon-to-be-released prisoners –
Haykakan Zhamanak daily newspaper editor-in-chief Nikol Pashinian
and activist Sasun Mikaelian – would take part in the coalition’s
next rally, planned for May 31 in Yerevan.

Pashinian, a vibrant speaker and a driving force of the
pre-2008-election rallies, has been behind bars since July 2009 when
he surrendered to police after spending more than a year underground;
social network discussions often tag him as a potentially key player
in Armenia’s 2012 parliamentary elections.

Mikael Danielian, chairman of the Helsinki Association in Yerevan,
attributed the amnesty mainly to international pressure on Sargsyan’s
administration. At the same time, he noted: “If it had not been for
domestic pressure, there would be no international pressure.”

In recent weeks, Armenia faced strong criticism about its
democratization performance from the US government and the Council of
Europe. US Ambassador to Armenia Marie L. Yovanovitch declared April
22 that Armenia would not be eligible to apply for new Millennium
Challenge Account funds again until it meets program standards. And
on May 9, Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for
human rights, criticized the government’s handling of the 2008 events.

The amnesty removes a major stumbling block to the opening of a
political dialogue between the opposition and government. But both
sides appeared reluctant to offer information about future plans. “We
will have our say when our people are free; for now, we just want
them to be free,” said ANC press secretary Arman Musinian.

Some analysts suggest the second half of 2011 could get “hot” in
Armenia. Alexander Iskandarian, the director of the Caucasus Institute,
suggested that the recent developments might embolden the ANC as the
country gears up for parliamentary elections next year.

Editor’s note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based in
Yerevan and editor of MediaLab.am.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF ARMENIAN OPPOSITION PAPER PASHINYAN RELEASED

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 27, 2011 – 19:08 AMT

Editor-in-chief of Haykakan Zhamanak paper Nikol Pashinyan, who was
convicted in the March 1, 2008 case, has been released from Artik
prison several minutes ago.

Several dozens of opposition supporters were waiting for Pashinyan’s
release near the building of the prison. Pashinyan had been at large,
then surrendered and was sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment in March
2010 under article 215 of the Armenian Criminal Code (organization
of mass riots.)

Pashinyan has been released under the amnesty declared by the Armenian
President. Former member of the Armenian parliament Sasun Mikaelyan,
who was convicted in the March 1, 2008 case too, was released on May
27 as well. Mikaelyan had been sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment
for illegal weapons possession since March 2008. In December 2009,
he underwent a cardiac surgery.

President Sargsyan offered the National Assembly to declare amnesty
on occasion of the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s independence, the
proposal being based on article 81.1.1 of the RA Constitution and
article 90 of the law on National Assembly regulations. With a vote
91-0, the Armenian parliament approved Thursday, May 26, President
Serzh Sargsyan’s proposal for declaration of amnesty for 396 people
to be released and 379 to have their sentence cut.

>From February 20, 2008, the Armenian opposition led by first president
Levon Ter-Petrossian, who ran for presidency in 2008, but was not
elected, held rallies in the central part of Yerevan, protesting
against the election results. The protest actions resulted in unrest
and clashes between the police and rally participants on March 1-2.

According to the Office of RA Prosecutor General, around 200 people
were injured, 10 people were killed, and over 100 people were arrested.

President Sargsyan: “Unpaid Taxes Are Money Stolen From Education, Healthcare”
By Gayane Lazarian

ArmeniaNow
27.05.11 | 11:09

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan warned the country’s leading
businesspeople against evading taxes and seeking illegal excessive
profits as he addressed a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (CCI) on Thursday.

Describing the fourth CCI convention as “the best occasion to
summarize and evaluate the work done and revise the activities of the
Chamber based on those evaluations and conclusions”, the president,
in particular, denounced such phenomena as large businessmen seeking
excessive profits and obstructing fair competition.

“It is unacceptable when businessmen spend a lot of time thinking
about ways of evading taxes or abuse their dominant positions in
markets in order to make excessive profits,” Sargsyan underlined.

“Such a condition is particularly incomprehensible in the case with
large economic entities that already have an advantage thanks to
their size and amount of business.”

Stressing that “unpaid taxes are money stolen from education
and healthcare and, therefore, are a blow to the future of our
people… and in the long run are also a blow to the future of those
enterprises”, the president called on businesspeople “to be next to
the government in combating such phenomena.”

Speaking about stimulation of domestic production, Sargsyan described
it as a primary purpose of activities, but said it required a great
deal of effort.

“It requires new resources and sophisticated estimations. But all
expert-level assessments of our economy show that there are untapped
opportunities in our country and specialists are needed for doing such
work. We are a people of industrious, enterprising and independent
individuals. Failing to create the best possible conditions for our
people to apply those qualities is an unforgivable crime against our
future generations,” the Armenian president concluded.

EXPERT: SUPERPOWERS NOT INTERESTED IN KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 27, 2011 – 16:03 AMT

Armenia and Azerbaijan are the only interested parties in Karabakh
conflict settlement, according to a political expert.As Levon Shirinyan
told a news conference in Yerevan, stability in South Caucasus to be
established in case of conflict settlement will deprive the superpowers
of a chance to control the region.

“In conflict settlement issue, Armenia mustn’t set hope on
international guarantees. Instead, Armenia must strive towards a
status to allow the country to be reckoned with,” the expert stressed.

LES PEINTURES ET COLLAGES DE MADELEINE OSSIKIAN INVITENT AU VOYAGE

MIDI LIBRE
16 mai 2011 lundi
France

Que feriez-vous d’un manchon de chauffage en aluminium, ou d’une
plaque de fer rouille ? Eh bien Madeleine Ossikian, pour sa part,
ne se pose pas de question, elle s’en sert de support pour ses ?

uvres de collages et de peintures amenant un resultat plus que
surprenant : surrealiste, anecdotique, decale, mais ô combien
singulier pour une artiste habituee a creer dans le reseau de
” l’Art… Singulier ” .À côte, se melent ses tableaux qui sont
de veritables invitations au voyage, au cirque, a l’Orient (peut
etre un clin d’?il a ses origines Armeniennes ?) et qui accrochent
indeniablement le regard de tout un chacun.L’artiste, qui est arrivee
dans la region il y a un an sur un coup de tete, offre dès lors au
regard des visiteurs des ?uvres d’une qualite indeniable car elles
ont toutes une histoire, une pâte qui leur donne un relief artiste
incontestable meme si elle estime ne pas avoir de perspectives dans
ses tableaux ( ” Il n’y a que des aplats ” ). Des peintures pleines de
rondeurs, de couleurs, de rires, de plenitudes et de poesies.Nougat a
ainsi encore reussi son pari : permettre a un artiste d’accrocher ses
?uvres aux cimaises de son magasin de fleurs/galerie d’Art, amenant
une nouvelle fois sur la commune des ?uvres generalement uniquement
visible dans les galeries d’Art des grandes villes.

ZARUHI POSTANJYAN APPEALS TO MINISTERS

A1Plus.am
27 May 2011

Heritage Party MP Zaruhi Postanjyan has addressed a letter to the
Minister of Health, Harutyun Kushkyan, Minister of Justice Hrayr
Tovmasyan, Head of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation to Armenia Lorenzo
Caraffi, and Head of the Armenian Red Cross Society Anna Yeghiazaryan.

Postanjyan calls their attention to her brother Tigran Postanjyan
who started a hunger strike in Nubarashen penitentiary on May 11, 2011.

The Heritage MP urges the relevant bodies to provide proper medical
aid to the detainee.

In February 2011, a case was filed against Tigran Postanjyan, a leading
specialist in Yerevan’s Arabkir district and the brother of Heritage
MP Zaruhi Postanjyan, for receiving AMD 100,000 (about $274 US)
remuneration for turning a blind eye to illegal construction done in
his district. A few days later, Postanjyan was called to the National
Security Service for questioning where he was taken under arrest.

Zaruhi Postanjian denounced the case as baseless and politically
motivated and said it was coordinated attack against her, Heritage
and the whole defiant public.

AGAIN NO CONFIDENCE FOR THE GOVERNMENT

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 13:13:10 – 27/05/2011

Member of Parliament Armen Rustamyan, head of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun
Supreme Body, said today the motion of the party concerning a vote of
no confidence to the government was made after an assessment of the
past 3 years of the government which failed, the ARF Dashnaktsutyun
thinks.

Rustamyan noted that they supported their motion with facts, and if
they were not grounded, the government would have easily answered
them. According to him, the government gives three reasons for its
failure – the heritage of the former government, nature and climate,
and external pressure. The ARF Dashnaktsutyun rejects all the three
and reminds that three years ago the present government felt obliged
to continue the former one and even praised it. Rustamyan says this
is a question of the government’s sincerity.

Rustamyan says the decision of most members of parliament not to
support their motion is determined by their agreement with the facts
noted by the ARF Dashnaktsutyun. He says there are a series of methods
to achieve resignation of government, such as collection of signatures
of 1/3 of the members of parliament. The ARF Dashnaktsutyun will
initiate it in September or October.

Rustamyan says it is necessary to adopt a parliamentary system of
government since experience shows that the elite formed around the
president controls the centralized economy.

NO APPROPRIATE MEDICAL AID WAS PROVIDED TO TIGRAN POSTANJYAN

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 14:12:55 – 27/05/2011

Today Member of Parliament Zaruhi Postanjyan wrote a letter to the
minister of health Harutiun Kushkyan, the minister of justice Hrair
Tovmasyan, the head of the Armenian delegation of the ICRC, and the
head of the Armenian Red Cross Society Anna Yeghiazaryan on the hunger
protest of Tigran Postanjyan, the MP’s brother.

Tigran Postanjyan is on hunger protest since May 11, 2011 at the
penitentiary of Nubarashen. So far no appropriate medical aid has
been provided to him. Zaruhi Postanjyan demands appropriate medical
service for the detainee on protest.

OGUN SAMAST’S NAME TO BECOME TRADEMARK IN TURKEY?

Tert.am
27.05.11

Turkish ultra-nationalist Ogun Samast, currently on trial for
the assassination of Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of the
Armenian-Turkish weekly Agos, may soon become a popular figure in
his country.

According to the Turkish newspaper Radical, Samast’s family has asked
the Turkish Trademark Registration’s Institute (TPE) to register
their son’s name.

TPE has reportedly given its consent. The murderer’s family plans
to use the name Samast as a trademark for educational programs,
conferences, symposiums, sports and cultural events, entertainment
activities, as well as the publication of newspapers, TV and radio
broadcasts, photo services and research.

ZHAMANAK: OSKANYAN’S DREAM DIDN’T COME TRUE…

Tert.am
27.05.11

The paper says that according to the information it has, Armenian
former Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan was trying to become the
chairman of the board at an Armenian.

However, he was unable to get the job simply because he did not
qualify, the paper says, speculating that the bank in question could be
one of the banks owned by former President Robert Kocharyan’s family.

“According to the Russian publication Versia, the Kocharyans are
co-owners of the following banks: Artsakhbank, Areximbank, Unibank,
Haybusinessbank and Converse Bank,” the paper says.