Author: Kanayan Tamar

VIDEO SHOWS POLICEMAN KICKING HERITAGE PARTY VICE-CHAIR

14:32 ~U 12.04.13

Heritage party Vice-Chairman Armen Martirosyan is happy that the video
of the incident clearly showing policemen kicking him is available
on the Internet now.

“That’s great they have posted it on the Internet, and it clearly
exposes the lies by different policemen as well as the Armenian
Police’s false statement,” Martirosyan told Tert.am.

According to some comments, the video shows Martirosyan swearing and
hitting a policeman first. However, Martirosyan claims the opposite.

“You can clearly see who was the first to kick, and the freeze-frame
is available on Facebook,” he said.

The video is available on Martirosyan’s Facebook page, and he draws
the users’ attention to the 20th to 22nd seconds that clearly show
a policeman kicking him.

On his Facebook page, the activist Daniel Ionisyan names the policeman
that kicked Martirosyan in the face. He is Artur Ghazaryan (born in
1990), who, as his colleagues said, “tried to strike the eye to be
admitted to Serzh [Sargsyan’s] guard.” He was also noticed in using
violence against students.

Armenian News – Tert.am

SERZH SARGSYAN CONDUCTED HIS POLITICAL FUNERAL ON TUESDAY – ARMENIAN OPPOSITION MP

April 12, 2013 | 12:54

YEREVAN. – The phase of negotiations with Armenia’s authorities is
over because opposition Heritage Party Chairman, former FM Raffi
Hovannisian-who was declared runner-up to the winner, incumbent
President Serzh Sargsyan, as a result of the presidential election
that was conducted on February 18, but who claims to be the real
winner in the vote-does not recognize Sargsyan as a representatives
of the authorities, as an official. Heritage’s National Assembly (NA)
Faction Secretary Zaruhi Postanjyan announced this during Friday’s
NA briefings with news reporters.

“On [Tuesday,] April 9, on the day of his inauguration, Serzh Sargsyan
conducted his funeral in the political sense. Serzh Sargsyan does
not exist as an official,” she noted.

To the query as to what the people have gained from the cooperation
between Hovannisian and Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan, Postanjyan
responded that the main achievement was that Gasparyan, who is one
of Sargsyan’s “pillars,” did not mark Sargsyan’s “fake” inauguration.

Instead, and together with 8,000 police officers, he marked the
creation of a “New Armenia.”

“We were tasked to prevent clashes between the police and the
opposition, and we achieved our objective,” Zaruhi Postanjyan
maintained.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

LAST CHANCE FOR BAREV MOVEMENT

In fact, Raffi Hovannisian did not succeed in disputing the election
results. Raffi’s and Heritage Party’s unexpected success of receiving
half a million votes was not translated to capital.

The PAP and ANC state every now and then that Raffi’s success was
ensured by their electorates. Raffi did not believe this thesis. The
only stable electorate is that of the government composed of civil
servants, officials, pro-government businesses. The opposition’s
electorate makes up its mind by situation. In other words, the
political force which is the leader of the opposition, represents the
“revolt” will appeal the dissatisfied electorate.

The problem is that the dissatisfied electorate is not capitalized
and remains in the air after post-electoral processes. Creation of
a new ANC including non-partisan participants of the movement could
be such a step. However, there are several reservations because
capitalization takes place at another level, not so political in
nature, such as loyalty etc.

Returning to Raffi, actually Raffi did not stand this thesis. The
capital which the Heritage had never had before was not fixed.

As a political tool the street is an important factor indeed. However,
it is not stable. It could be a territory for political behavior
in critical situations. Frequency of street opposition and fight in
Armenia is due to imperfection of the classic mechanisms of political
dialogue. In other words, there is no opposition that represents the
society except for the electoral, pre-electoral and post-electoral
periods.

It turns out that oppositional behavior lasts until after the voting
and grows into a movement and eventually disappears. The street is a
very important political tool in situations when classic mechanisms
of struggle do not function. Besides, street fight repeats which may
be a pleasant process but it is not political.

One of the most important fragments of political processes is the
fixation of the electoral process. It still remains a problem. The
opposition sector is not ready for the electoral processes because it
lacks a toolkit and human resources. It never recruits human resources,
this time either.

Barev Movement received different assessments. It has both good and
bad sides. One thing is clear. The achievements were underestimated,
the results were not capitalized, and it will not be a surprise if
the expectations from the mayoral election do not come true.

The RPA with its governmental resource will continue with the same
logic. The PAP with its financial and social resources will resist. As
a result, the huge opposition will be wasted or left in the air. The
reason is the discrepancy between the goals and possibilities of
Barev Movement. All the chances for a dialogue with the government
were wasted. PAP and ARF turned out to be temporary companions.

The election to the municipal council of Yerevan will be the last
trial for Raffi Hovannisian and his supporters. If Barev fails to
keep up the results of the presidential election, the political fight
will end. It will be hard to capitalize resources by then. There
is very little time left, and the street, despite all its positive
and pleasant aspects, is not a tool for protecting votes at polling
stations. And if Barev fails in the local election, the presidential
election will go without saying.

The main rival of Barev is PAP with its financial and economic
resources. Independent from the mindset of the public, the PAP is the
only extra-governmental force which will be able to protect its votes,
of course using the same tools as the government, such as vote buying
and local strongmen. Even though these are unacceptable and illegal
resources, these are resources which PAP can use successfully.

Levon Margaryan 13:34 12/04/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

DEFENSE COOPERATION BETWEEN ARMENIA, NKR ONE OF THE PRECONDITIONS FOR MAINTAINING PEACE

11:05 12.04.2013

On April 12 President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakyan
received the Acting Defense Minister of the Republic of Armenia,
Seyran Ohanyan.

Issues related to the cooperation between the two Armenians states
in the field of army building were discussed during the meeting.

The two sides the called cooperation in this sphere between the
Republic of Armenia and NKR one of the pivotal preconditions for
maintaining peace and stability in the region, Central Information
Department of the Office of the NKR President reported.

ARMENIA-DIASPORA-ARTSAKH UNITY IS GUARANTEE OF SUCCESS FOR KARABAKH’S RECOGNITION – ARTSAKH PRESIDENT’S SPOKESPERSON

April 12, 2013 | 00:25

STEPANAKERT. – The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), or Artsakh,
welcomes the joint resolution, which was adopted by the House of
Representative and the Senate of the US State of Maine, and whereby
they recognize NKR’s independence.

In an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am, the President’s Press
Secretary Davit Babayan recalled that, much earlier, the US states of
Massachusetts and Rhode Island likewise had adopted a similar decision.

“The State of Maine, along with Massachusetts and Rhode Island, is
one of the oldest [US] states on whose foundation the present-day US
was created. These very states make up the heart of the struggle for
independence. At the same time, this shows the correctness of our
tactics and strategy toward NKR’s recognition and the establishment
of ties,” Babayan said, and stressed that the guarantee of success
is the unity among Armenia, the Armenian diaspora, and Artsakh.

“Artsakh plays an important role in this process. We are building
a democratic state, of which Armenia and the diaspora will not be
ashamed. But it would be impossible to achieve this without Armenia
and the diaspora,” Babayan noted.

He added that establishing ties with the regions of a variety of
countries is very important and, from a political perspective, this
is a less painful process but, ultimately, it will result in NKR’s
recognition by the central authorities of these countries.

“[But] we are not in a hurry. The process needs to be well thought
out and designed,” Davit Babayan said, and highlighted that the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic will work consistently, building its future
with its own hands.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

SURB ASTVATSATSIN CHURCH IN MERENIA VILLAGE SANCTIFIED

01:27 PM | TODAY | SOCIAL

On 7 April, 2013 under the leadership of the Head of the Diocese of
the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church in Georgia, His Grace Bishop
Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, and with the participation of Vicar-General of
Javakhk Supreme Archimandrite Babken Salbiyan, priests serving in the
region Ter Tadeos, Ter Tatev and Ter Tigran Surb Astvatsatsin Church
in Merenia village of Javakhk was sanctified.

According to the Armenian Church order, on April 6, in the evening,
the rebuilt church was consecrated. 16 columns, baptistery and holy
images were consecrated as well. The walls of the church were anointed
with chrism.

Merenia village is located 15 kilometers from Akhalkalaki. Armenian
residents of the villages Salnadzor, Ozni, Marz, Bayburt moved from
Karin and settled here since the 18th century. Surb Astvatsatsin
Church was built in 1830’s. In 1899 a stone structure with a wooden
roof collapsed after the earthquake. But the church was restored in
a few years.

On 7 April, in the morning Merenia village was crowded. The Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia to Georgia Hovhannes
Manoukian, Taron Shagoyan, Head of the Caucasus Department at the
RA Ministry of Diaspora, local government representatives, guests
and pilgrims, who came from different parts of Georgia and Armenia,
attended the sacred ritual. The residents of Merenia village welcomed
the Head of the Diocese with bread and salt.

“Drnbatsek (Opening of the Doors) symbolizes the opening of the Gates
of the Heavenly Kingdom. Today this church after the consecration
becomes the house of God, house of prayer. After Drnbatsek and
consecration the God’s blessing descends upon this church”, – the
Head of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Vazgen
Mirzakhanyan addressed the audience of believers gathered in front
of the Church.

Masis Amirkhanyan, Ararat Ghushchyan, Ararat Avakyan, Aharon Avakyan,
Hamlet Harutyunyan and Zaven Pochikyan, who in their youth dreamed
about seeing the temple of ancestors operating and restored, made
donations to rebuilt Surb Astvatsatsin Church and the surrounding area.

His Eminence praised the attitude of pious benefactors, and handed
them letters of blessing and Holy Bibles.

In honor of the feast a concert was held in front of the church with
the participation of Mavr Lazarian and his friends.

At the end of the consecration of Surb Astvatsatsin Church blessing
of the traditional sacrifice (Armenian “matagh”) took place.

“ESPRIT DE CORPS” AND WHETHER THE EVENTS OF APRIL 9 WERE LAWFUL

April 11 2013

“When men in uniform put on the uniform, they become a member of a
team, so to speak. However, one shouldn’t forget that one must not go
beyond the limits. There cannot always be one party, can there? What
does it mean when a party comes to power, it should make everyone
wear its uniform and say that they are members of its team?” Tigran
Ter-Yesayan, the director of Forum, a human rights center, expressed
this idea during a conversation with , assessing the
events that transpired on April 9 and the actions taken by the police
of the Republic of Armenia. Focusing his attention on the beating of
Armen Martirosyan, the deputy leader of the Heritage Party, he stated:
“These are cases, from which one should draw serious conclusions. Let
us put aside the fact that Armen Martirosyan is an estimable person,
a candidate for mayor, was an MP; he was the person who stood between
police officers and citizens and prevented clashes, for example,
during the events of 2008. We can also point out the good qualities of
the police and our state. But when you watch the videos of the events
of April 9, you see that there is a subtlety in what happened to A.

Martirosyan. If he wants to take actions not permitted by the
legislation, the security forces can prevent that. However, what
does it mean, when they take such group actions against a person
that remind of ‘no-holds-barred’ fighting; he was leaning, and 4-5
people were pinioning his hands, and another man was hitting him
with his knees, seizing the opportunity. Then we see that when Armen
was calmly walking with a police officer, someone was running after
Armen Martirosyan again, took him by the arm and hit him again. OK,
suppose it was not Armen, it was an ordinary citizen. One should draw
conclusions from this.” According to T. Ter-Yesayan, “Times change:
today you are a minister, tomorrow not; today you are the Chief
of Police, tomorrow not.” Mr. Ter-Yesayan stated that we have seen
many prime ministers over the past years who have found themselves
in the opposition camp, National Assembly speakers, even presidents
of the Republic of Armenia. Talking about the actions taken by the
police on April 9, T. Ter-Yesayan expressed the following idea:
“Every one of us should understand that such people should not be
in our security forces. They should be sent to rings on business
trip. On the other hand, you represent the government and you are
under an obligation, you are wearing a uniform and you should be
restrained. Everyone should understand that political processes differ
from social ones; for example, environmental movements. And parties,
those same police units are formed as a result of political actions,
and one shouldn’t treat people violently, explaining it by the fact
that he is a representative of the government. At the end of the
day, one comes to power as a result of politics. This is the issue
of lawfulness. This is not the issue of esprit de corps; it belongs
to us, to our state too, if one has behaved badly, that person must
leave.” We inquired whether the movement’s actions had been lawful. Our
interlocutor replied: “It is politics; if we look, we will see that
marches and rallies take place in other states too. Raffi is not an
unaware person. It is a state. The most important issue is the issue
of prevention and proportionality. But Baghramyan Street has become
an evil for our state; how many times people have been beaten since
2003.” Human rights advocate Mikayel Danielyan, in his turn, noted:
“Generally, the police’s actions are not in compliance with the law in
Armenia. I am not aware of the movement’s actions, but the fact that
streets are closed, and they forbade crossing streets, it cannot be
accepted in any way. I always think that the authorities are to blame,
since in our country, they are a far cry from concepts of freedom,
democracy, and human rights.” Tatev HARUTYUNYAN

Read more at:

© 1998 – 2013 Aravot – News from Armenia

HOVANNISIAN’S MOSCOW TRIP: ARMENIAN OPPOSITION LEADER REPORTEDLY MEETS WITH KREMLIN OFFICIAL

POLITICS | 12.04.13 | 10:43

NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow

By SIRANUYSH GEVORGYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

Opposition Heritage Party leader Raffi Hovannisian’s surprise visit
to Moscow has perplexed many in Armenia despite the fact that the
opposition leader made a mention of his plans at an April 9 late
afternoon rally in Yerevan’s Liberty Square.

Nothing specific has yet been reported about details of Hovannisian’s
stay in the Russian capital as Heritage members have been reluctant to
reveal them. But all of them insist that their leader could not have
left for Moscow without an invitation or arrangements made in advance.

They also insist that after a one-day trip Hovannisian will be in
Yerevan for an evening rally on Friday during which he is due to
make a program speech. He is also likely to speak about results of
his trip to the Russian capital.

Addressing supporters on Tuesday Hovannisian said that, if need be,
he was ready to go to Moscow and meet with Russian President Vladimir
Putin “to bring a victory for the Armenian people from there”. But
local pundits doubt that the opposition leader may have met with the
Russian president or prime minister in Moscow.

However, the local daily, 168 Zham, reported, quoting its Moscow
sources, that while in the Russian capital Hovannisian met with
Vladimir Chernov, head of the department for inter-regional and
cultural ties with foreign countries affiliated with the Russian
president’s administration.

“Chernov was appointed to this position in April 2012 and, judging
from the Russian media publications, he is considered to be one of
the officials actively involved in the Eurasian and Customs Unions
projects. It is enough to note that at the March 16 forum in Yerevan
entitled “Economic Aspects of Eurasian Integration and Armenia”
Russian Ambassador to Armenia Vyacheslav Kovalenko read out Vladimir
Chernov’s rather than Vladimir Putin’s message,” writes the newspaper.

Certain information on Hovannisian’s visit to Moscow is also presented
by the Zhoghovurd paper, which, too, cites its sources in the Russian
capital. It says that as of 9 pm Thursday Hovannisian had not yet
held any official meeting or any meeting of a “political” nature.

The newspaper’s sources excluded that any official from the Russian
president’s administration would receive Hovannisian. But for his day
in Moscow not to be wasted, wrote Zhoghovurd, President of the Union
of Armenians of Russia Ara Abrahamyan got himself involved in this
matter. The newspaper’s sources reminded that deputy chairman of the
Heritage party Ruben Hakobyan for many years had served as Armenia’s
consul in St. Petersburg and, naturally, has close relations with
the affluent Russian-Armenian businessman. It is yet unclear who
Abrahamyan could have set up Hovannisian for a meeting with in Moscow.

Zhoghovurd suggests that by undertaking such a trip the Armenian
opposition leader perceived by many in Armenia as a pro-Western man is
trying to show that he can work with the Russian authorities as well.

American-born-and-bred Hovannisian, who moved to Armenia to serve
as its first foreign minister after the nation gained independence
in 1991, has largely been regarded as a pro-Western politician not
least due to his being not fluent in Russian, which is the second
most commonly spoken language in Armenia.

During the latest presidential campaign the 53-year-old oppositionist,
however, on several occasions demonstrated his good command of the
Russian language, including during a meeting with the ambassador
of Russia to Armenia. At the same time, Hovannisian has rejected
as wrongful the perception of him as a pro-Western politician as he
advocated Armenia’s strengthening ties with both the West and Russia,
but on condition that these relations are developed “horizontally”
rather than “vertically”, which he claims is the case now.

After hearing criticism for being unable to manage his supporters
in leading what proved to be a failed attempt of marching on April 9
through a Yerevan boulevard where the Presidential Palace is located,
Hovannisian is now being criticized by some for undertaking a trip to
Russia and thus bringing foreign powers in Armenia’s internal affair.

In this connection Heritage Party secretary Stepan Safaryan again
stresses that Hovannisian “is neither pro-Western, nor pro-Russian”.

“Hovannisian is a pro-Armenia politician, a politician who loves
Armenia and there is nothing loftier for him than the independence
of the Republic of Armenia,” he says. “But it does not mean that
the elected president [editor: Hovannisian] cannot look around and
engage with countries that expressed their position on the disgraceful
presidential election. In fact, it was not so much the recognition
of the outcome of the election as an attempt to promote the current
authorities’ further robbery of the people’s freedom. Therefore, Raffi
Hovannisian wants the return of this freedom and it is about this that
he will be talking in places from where this robbery was promoted.”

Earlier, Hovannisian repeatedly dismissed congratulations to President
Serzh Sargsyan on his reelection that had been sent also from the
United States and other Western democracies. He said he was also
“ready to go to Washington, Brussels or elsewhere” to convince these
world power centers of the “victory of the Armenian people.”

DECEIVED RESIDENTS OF DEMOLISHED DISTRICT RALLY IN FRONT OF PRESIDENT’S HOUSE

About 50 people whose houses in the district of Kond at the city
centre were demolished for eminent domain have gathered in front of
Serzh Sargsyan’s house to demand their apartments promised but not
built since 2006.

Hundreds of people lost their houses in Kond district, instead they
got a big ditch and some half-destroyed walls. Soon the building
company went bankrupt, and the City Hall denies responsibility though
it is the third party in the contracts signed with the citizens. The
certificates of property are not returned to them so that they could
build their houses.

The mayoral election is coming up. Yesterday representatives of all
the political parties were invited to a discussion at Media Center.

They spoke about urban development issues but none of them brought
up the issue of Kond. Either they forgot or are reluctant to remember
about this visible and primary issue.

10:00 12/04/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

TURKISH-ARMENIAN CALLS FOR RAISING MINORITIES’ ROLE

10:32 ~U 12.04.13

An Istanbul based Turkish-Armenian activist has called for
constitutional reforms to raise the ethnic minorities’ role in local
government bodies.

Speaking to the Bianet news website, Tatyos Bebek said the ethnic
minorities residing in the country should enjoy equal rights guaranteed
by the law.

“The Armenians, Greeks, Jaws and Assyrians should have a chance to
become a village governor, policeman, officer or a deputy minister,”
he said, expressing hope that the Turkish Constitution will help put an
end to past grieves, allowing everyone to enjoy freedom and equality.

“In that respect, the citizens who are minority representatives, want
equal rights, not freedoms and privileges. The new Constitution has to
turn a blind eye to ethnic and religious identities. Anyone born in
Turkey and having a mother and father who are Turkish citizens must
be called a citizen of the Turkish republic or [a representative of
the Turkish] nation,” Bebek added.

Armenian News – Tert.am