Author: Kanayan Tamar

ARMENIE-AZERBAÏDJAN
L’Azerbaïdjan qui a perdu la guerre face aux Arméniens, fabrique des héros

L’Azerbaïdjan qui a perdu la guerre du Haut Karabagh invente des héros
! Après le « héros » Ramil Safarov, l’homme à la hache qui a pour
héroïsme d’avoir tué dans son sommeil un officier arménien, c’est au
tour de Moubariz Ibrahimov d’être consacré au rang de héros national
par un Azerbaïdjan en mal de héros. Les journaux azéris ont fait des
pages entières d’articles consacrés à Moubariz Ibrahimov à l’occasion
de son anniversaire. Qui est ce « héros » ? En juin 2010 un groupe de
soldats azéris attaqua des positions frontalières tenues par les
Arméniens au Haut Karabagh. Il y eut des victimes de chaque côté. Mais
les azéris décidèrent de créer un héros. L’agence de presse azérie APA
écrit « Ibrahimov, seul a parcouru le kilomètre de terrain miné entre
les deux positions des deux armées et élimina de nombreux soldats et
officiers Arméniens. Puis en utilisant l’arme de l’ennemi, durant cinq
heures, seul, il tint tête à l’ennemi. Le matin, Ibrahimov meurt en
héros lors d’une lutte inégale face aux occupants ».

Ibrahimov aurait eu 25 ans cette année. Victime de la propagande
azérie, il laissa la vie sur le champ de bataille alors d’un
cessez-le-feu est signé entre l’Azerbaïdjan et l’Arménie. En
Azerbaïdjan des rues et des écoles portent désormais le nom du « héros
». Dans un pays en mal de héros, les autorités facilitent ce statut en
créant au besoin de nouveaux héros…

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 9 février 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

No Budget for the Holocaust

Huffington Post
02/06/2013

By Tyler Moss

My favorite class from high school is being cut.

There are few courses that I remember fondly. Whether disillusioned
geriatric teachers or bland curriculums revolving around standardized
testing goals are to blame is up for debate. But I was devastated to
see the following message posted on Facebook the other day by one of
the best teachers I’ve ever had:

Well I figured I better share here… after 7 years of teaching so
many amazing students the Holocaust and Genocide Studies course, the
class isn’t going to be offered anymore. This is due primarily to
budget cuts and tough choices made by administration (struggling with
funding choices)… I thank you for an amazing 7 years sharing my
passion with each of you. It’s been an amazing honor!

He then implored students to write him letters documenting their
positive experiences in the course as a last-ditch effort to petition
the district. I was devastated — this was one of the only classes in
high school that actually asked me to engage with it beyond the basic
book report or Powerpoint presentation. Thus I wrote the following
letter:

To Whom It May Concern,

I’m a professional magazine writer and editor living in Cincinnati,
Ohio, and was enrolled in the class Holocaust and Genocide Studies in
Fall 2006. It recently came to my attention that this course is to be
cut from the school curriculum, which compelled me to write in and
insist that you reconsider.

It’s no secret that public school funding doesn’t exactly grow on
trees, but if you’re looking to cut classes, I beg that you leave
Holocaust and Genocide Studies unscathed. Nearly 90 percent of the
courses I took in high school were survey classes that could barely
afford to spend more than a day on any major topic, which means that
hardly any of the material was actually retained. In freshman history,
we covered topics like the Industrial Revolution and the Great
Depression in the span of two or three days. I remember being asked to
practice rote memorization of acronyms of New Deal programs instated
by the FDR Administration, and today I can barely recall a single one.

But I can still tell you how many Jewish people were murdered by the
Nazis during the Holocaust (6 million). I can still tell you the name
of the man who coined the term genocide (Raphael Lemkin) and when
(1944). I can even recall the name of the Cambodian dictator and
leader of the Khmer Rouge who slaughtered his own people in the late
70s (Pol Pot). But more than that, I remember discussing the nature of
prejudice and the precarious social conditions that drive one group to
slaughter another. I can still visualize the images of emaciated
children behind chain-link fences, and the symbolic significance of a
20-foot high stack of abandoned shoes. I recall engaging in passionate
debates over the omnipotence paradox, and contemplating Hannah
Arendt’s phrase ‘the banality of evil’ from her book Eichmann in
Jerusalem — a text so rich and dense that I didn’t revisit it again
until studying journalism as a graduate student at Northwestern
University.

Why do I remember so much? Because Holocaust and Genocide Studies is a
course that inherently intertwines education with empathy. You have no
idea how much being emotionally invested in the material can actively
engage a student in his or her own education. Not only were the
photographs, readings, videos and lectures both powerful and
provocative, but the class itself inspires students to be more than
just a passive observer in history. By bearing witness to the horrors
of the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, the Rwandan Genocide, the
class becomes more than just a semester-long high school course or a
letter on a report card. We’re fulfilling a duty as first-world
citizens living in a post-Holocaust era: to remember what happened. To
Never Forget.

I sure as hell haven’t.

Sincerely,

Tyler Moss

Unfortunately, it sounds like what the district really needs to keep
this course afloat is cash, and these letters are only printed on
computer paper, not blank checks. Regardless of the fate of Holocaust
and Genocide Studies, let this episode stand as yet another tragedy in
the tome of public education funding.

Follow Tyler Moss on Twitter:

BAIT FOR TOOTHLESS WHALES

Friday, 08 February 2013 09:33

The issue of the Stepanakert airport commissioning has again occupied
the top positions in the information of the mass media. And we can
boldly speak about its internationalization, as it is discussed not
only in the Armenian and Azerbaijani, but also in the foreign press.

The issue of the airport’s restart its appearance at the
international arena only and only to Azerbaijan, which has repeatedly
and artificially actualized it. To be more precise, it politicizes
and even … militarizes it.

As is known, official Baku, which reacts quite nervously to any
positive process taking place in any sphere in the NKR, opposed
the opening of the Stepanakert airport from the outset. Moreover,
representatives of Azerbaijan, including at the highest level,
periodically voiced threats to use force against civil aircrafts
flying to Nagorno-Karabakh.

As a result, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen had to respond to
the hysterical behavior of Azerbaijan by adopting in April 2011 and
July 2012 corresponding statements, which, in particular, noted the
inadmissibility of politicizing the issue. It was also noted that the
co-chairs had received assurances from the parties not to use force
against civilian aircrafts and to resolve the issue exclusively by
diplomatic means.

It would seem that the mediators created the necessary documentary
basis for civilized solution of the hypertrophied-by-Azerbaijan
problem, but no, it was nothing of the kind. The authorities in
Baku did not stop to escalate the tensions on the aviation topic,
continuing to pour threats to shoot down the civilian aircrafts,
which will appear in the sky of Nagorno-Karabakh. The culmination of
the anti-aviation actions of Azerbaijan was the January 18 resolution
of the Azerbaijani government, actually, allowing the Azerbaijani
air forces to shoot down civilian aircrafts. Reasonable people would
fairly call similar behavior of the Azerbaijani authorities savage.

True, CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha called it “a bad
joke” in late January in Yerevan, commenting on the resolution of the
Azerbaijani government. We believe that the CSTO Secretary General was
not joking, as he used to act by common sense, which completely rejects
the possibility of deliberate shooting down of civilian aircrafts. “I
take Azerbaijan as a civilized state, which follows universal norms”,
said Bordyuzha and expressed strong doubt about the readiness of the
Azerbaijani leadership to give a command to attack civilian aircrafts.

However, we dare to state that official Baku doesn’t either joke. Mr.

Bordyuzha’s remark on “a civilized state, which follows universal
norms” is a very strong compliment to Azerbaijan, with its criminal
potential. CSTO Secretary General’s skepticism is understandable,
but he should be reminded that at the end of the 20th century, many
people couldn’t either believe that “civilized” Azerbaijan could have
bloody Sumgait and bloody Baku, where people were killed with the most
savage methods only because they were born Armenians. So the threats
to shoot down civilian planes should hardly be taken as a joke, as
due to its criminal actions Azerbaijan has earned the reputation of
a terrorist state requiring a very serious attention and attitude by
the international community. And all its steps are aimed only at one
thing – not just to hamper the development of the NKR, but finally –
to remove it from the world map.

In this regard, we think a series of important questions occur. Don’t
the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen see that by initiating different-level
discussions on the purely humanitarian issue of opening the Stepanakert
airport, Azerbaijan thus replaces both the essence of the Karabakh
conflict settlement and the mediators’ functions, leading them away
from the basic topic of the negotiations?

Why do not the co-chairs strongly condemn the resolution adopted
in Baku and representing gross violation of international and
humanitarian law, which guarantee freedom of movement, regardless
of the recognized or non-recognized status of a state? Why do not
they remind the President of Azerbaijan of the arrangement reached
with him on the non-use of force against civilian aircrafts? And why,
instead of condemning Azerbaijan, some politicians, in particular, a
number of European parliamentarians are merely led by it, considering
the opening of the airport as … an impact on the negotiation process?

The reason is that at the instigation of Baku, a shift in emphasis
and reassessment of moral values took place. The case of killer
Safarov demonstrated to the world the extreme radicalization of
Azerbaijan’s position, which, however, did not result in appropriate
consequences for official Baku. Yes, there were condemning statements
by international organizations and separate states, the European
Parliament even adopted a resolution in this regard, but the matter did
not go beyond words. Meanwhile, the situation demanded not only angry
rhetoric. The palliative measures, as we see, could not reason with
Azerbaijan, which is currently posing at the international arena as
a political outcast ignoring not only the rules of international law,
but also of human ethics. Seeing the spinelessness and toothlessness
of corresponding international structures, Azerbaijan, having stood
the primarily verbal criticism regarding the case of Safarov, refocused
the attention of the international community on the farfetched issue of
the Stepanakert airport. Apparently, the whales of the world politics
ingested successfully the bait thrown by Azerbaijan.

Leonid MARTIROSSIAN Editor-in-Chief of Azat Artsakh newspaper

TREND OF DECLINE IN AZERI OIL EXPORT: CESD FORECASTS DECLINE IN OIL OUTPUT BY 5% IN 2013

BAKU. February 7, 2013: Azeri oil export declined by 15.3% in January
2013 compared with the previous month according to State Oil Company of
Azerbaijan (SOCAR). The company reports that it exported 1.67 million
tons in January 2013 (compared to 1.976 million tons in December). Last
year’s highest export occurred in July (2.36 million tons).

In January 2013, 2,629 tons of oil was exported via Baku-Novorossiysk;
242,339 tons via Baku-Supsa; and 1.439 million via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
(BTC). “Over 2012, it was exported 25.006 million tons of oil,
including 2.06 million tons via Baku-Novorossiysk, 2.7 million tons
via Baku-Supsa and 20.199 million tons via BTC,” – SOCAR reported.

SOCAR says that the MEOD exports both its own oil and oil falling on
the share of the government within PSA contracts.

The put 2013’s projections in perspective, SOCAR’s oil products export
dropped by 14.1% in 2012, as well – down from 1,448,068 tons in 2011
to 1,243,742 tons last year.

The assessment model of the Center for Economic & Social Development
(CESD) also forecasts decreasing of oil production in Azerbaijan. 50.8
million tons oil in 2010, 45.6 million tons in 2011 and 43.9 million
tons last year, which was 6.9 million ton less than 2010’s output.

Meanwhile, the latest predictions confirm that oil production will
decrease to about 33 million tons in 2015. Even with current prices of
crude oil in the world market, State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan’s (SOFAZ)
assets will be totally spent within the budget lines if current
unbelievable transfer levels persist. Maintaining such a high rate
of transfers can result in negative consequences because of cutting
budget expenditures due to potential lack of financial resources.

CESD is not optimistic about SOCAR’s oil output forecast for 2013,
which projects an output of 44 million tons of oil in 2013, even
though decline in this sector was already registered in the first
months of year. CESD forecasts decline in oil output by 5% in 2013
based on its econometric models and PSA matrix.

According to the Production Share Agreement (PSA), oil reserves turned
down starting in 2011. Considering that the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field
currently has 3 billion barrels (of the initial 5 billion) reserve,
production in paying quantities from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field
is estimated to end in 2019 (3 billion barrel /340 million barrel
annual). Given that 2010 was the peak year of Azeri oil production, the
descent began in 2011. Of course, the output will not stop immediately,
but its reduction by 10 percent a year will be a severe blow.

The BTC pipeline extends to 1768 km including 443km in Azerbaijan,
248 km in Georgia and 1076 km in Turkey. The shareholders of the BTC Co
pipeline company are BP (30.1%), SOCAR (25%), Chevron (8.9%), Statoil
(8.71%), TPAO (6.53%), Itochu (3.4%), ONGC Videsh Ltd. (2.36%), ENI
(5%), ConocoPhillips (2.5%), Inpex (2.5%), Total (5%) (CESD).

EBRD TO GIVE USD 25 MILLION LOAN FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF 7 HPP OF SEVAN-HRAZDAN CASCADE

17:54, 8 February, 2013

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS: European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD) has announced about its willing to provide
International Electrotechnical Commission with the loan of USD 25
million for the reconstruction of 7 HPP of Armenian Sevan-Hrazdan
cascade. Armenpress reports this was noted in the official web site
of the bank.

The EBRD facility will provide essential support to the overall
rehabilitation program of the cascade which was built between 1936 and
1961 and has had almost no further investment since. The rehabilitation
of the hydropower plants HPPs will raise the technical standards in
line with best international practices and restore the lost capacity
while avoiding further deterioration. This will ensure the continued
stability and security of the country’s electricity supply while
improving overall generation efficiency and carbon emissions.

IEC, established in 2003, is majority owned by OJSC RusHydro, one of
the largest hydropower companies in the world, and the owner of more
than 35 GW of generating capacity in Russia.

“We are very happy to be working with IEC on this important project
while also building on our long relationship with RusHydro. Both
companies bring a wealth of experience in the hydropower sector
which we are sure will make the project a success. It will be
implemented using the latest technologies which will not only
increase the production of clean electricity in Armenia but will
also significantly reduce the volume of water currently lost through
dilapidated channels”, said Nandita Parshad, Director of Power and
Energy for the EBRD.

Konstantin Bessmertny, a member of RusHydro’s management board,
commented: “We have a long-standing and productive relationship with
the EBRD. I am convinced that the Bank’s support will be instrumental
in the Sevan-Hrazdan Cascade modernisation. This long-term financing
perfectly meets IEC’s needs and what is very important is that the
project is highly cost effective and so is quite reasonable and
bearable in terms of tariff regulation in Armenia.”

Located along the Hrazdan river and running about 70km from Lake Sevan
to the capital Yerevan, the Sevan-Hrazdan Cascade is an essential
component in Armenia’s electricity network. With a total installed
capacity of 565 MW, it provides 10 per cent of the country’s annual
electricity production and its water channels supply enough water to
irrigate 70 per cent of Armenia’s agricultural land.

The EBRD has been active in Armenia since the country’s independence
and to date has invested over ~@613 million. Investing in green energy
generation is one of the EBRD’s key priorities in Armenia. In 2012,
the EBRD signed 15 projects worth a total of ~@94 million in Armenia.

LEVON ANANYAN SURE “STONE DREAMS” NOVEL TESTIFIES ABOUT AKRAM AYLISLI’S CIVIL COURAGE

15:48, 8 February, 2013

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS: Mass persecutions initiated by the
Azerbaijani authorities against Azerbaijani writer, novelist, author of
“Stone Dreams” novel on the massacre of the Armenians in Azerbaijan,
are seeking to politicize the literature.

“The country and environment the author is living and working in is
too unfavorable for creating suchlike literature pieces” the head of
Writers’ Union of Armenia Levon Ananyan told Armenpress. According to
Ananyan the patriotic writer succeeded to express two decades dating
anguish in his book.

“Stone Dreams” novel is a call targeted to humanity, tolerance and
harmony. What happened is a challenge against the regional and balanced
development of the world. The step by Azerbaijani authorities should
be condemned” the head of Writers’ Union of Armenia noted. In his
words Azerbaijani authorities’ intolerance is a political persecution.

Among other things Levon Ananyan noted: “Reportedly this is not the
first time the Azerbaijani authorities are manifesting intolerance
against the writers.”

DES MEMBRES DU PARTI DE GAGIK TSARUKIAN PARTICIPENT A LA CAMPAGNE DE SERGE SARKISSIAN

Le maire d’Abovian qui est membre du parti Armenie Prospère (BHK)
etait visiblement present lors d’un meeting de campagne electorale
qui a ete organisee par le President Serge Sarkissian dans la province
centrale du Kotayk.

Le maire d’Abovian Karapet Guloyan a publiquement salue Serge
Sarkissian en lui presentant le pain symbolique et le sel dans la
ville situee 15 kilomètres au nord d’Erevan avant d’assister a un
meeting dans la capitale regionale.

La region du Kotayk est depuis des annees un bastion du BHK, avec
Gagik Tsarukian, qui est ne dans l’un des villages de la region.

Le parti de Tsarukian a vaincu le parti republicain de Serge Sarkissian
(HHK) dans Kotayk lors des elections legislatives de l’annee dernière.

Karapet Guloyan, qui est marie a l’une des filles de Tsarukian,
a insiste pour dire qu’il s’en tient a la decision du BHK de ne
soutenir aucun candidat lors de l’election presidentielle.

” Je ne viole pas les decisions du parti ” a-t-il declare au service
armenien de RFE / RL (Azatutyun.am).

Karapet Guloyan a clairement indique egalement au meme moment qu’il
va prendre part a l’election. Mais il a refuse de reveler pour qui il
va voter. Le maire a egalement commente sur les rapports ambigus que
de la municipalite d’Abovian avec les militants de Sarkissian dans
la ville. ” Je ne viole pas les principes de notre parti “, a-t-il dit.

Selon la presse armenienne, plusieurs personnalites du BHK font
campagne pour la reelection de Sarkissian. L’un d’eux, le maire de
Gyumri Samvel Balasanian, a publiquement soutenu le president sortant
la semaine dernière.

vendredi 8 fevrier 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

L’EGLISE APOSTOLIQUE ARMENIENNE DECIDE DE METTRE FIN A LA BENEDICTION DES MARIAGES MIXTES EN TURQUIE

Le Patriarcat Armenien de Turquie a recommence a executer les
règlements quant au respect des mariages mixtes selon lesquels
les armeniens epousant une personne d’une religion differente ne
recevront plus de benediction ou ne seront plus permis de se marier
dans une eglise.

La permission pour un mariage dans l’eglise pour les mariages mixtes
avait commence en 2000 avec l’approbation de Patriarche Mesrop
Mutafyan, mais le mouvement a suscite un debat dans la communaute.

” Nous mettons en pratique une loi qui existe deja dans notre eglise.

Je ne veux pas faire une autre declaration que cela, a declare le
Patriarche en exercice Aram Atesyan au journal Hurriyet quant a cette
dernière decision.

Le nouveau règlement est entre en vigueur le 1er octobre.

Murat Kaspar, un redacteur de 36 ans au quotidien Dunya quotidien
qui s’est marie avec une turque le mois dernier, a dit la decision
de l’eglise ets un desir de proteger la communaute et ses traditions
parmi la population armenien qui se reduit dans le pays.

” Je ne pense pas que cette decision est juste. Avoir un mariage dans
une eglise est une tradition. Si ces couples qui se marient respectent
les croyances de chacun, donc cela ne doit pas etre empeche. Je
m’oppose au conservatisme ” a-t-il dit. Zakarya Mildanoglu, un membre
en vue de la communaute armenienne, a epouse une femme turque musulmane
il y a 35 ans. ” Nous avons dû passer des difficultes extremes. Bien
que ma femme se soit converti a ma religion, nos enfants n’ont pas
ete baptises ” a-t-il dit.

” Malgre toutes les difficultes, je n’ai meme pas pendant un instant
faire machine arrière. Heureusement, j’ai epouse ma femme. Si j’avais
epouse une armenienne, je ne sais pas si j’aurais ete aussi heureux.

C’etait ma mère, pas nous, qui avons eprouve de la tristesse. Elle
etait très triste que l’eglise a refuse de baptiser les enfants ”
a dit Zakarya Mildanoglu.

Kristin, 33 ans, qui n’a pas voulu reveler son nom de famille, va
se marier avec un turc musulman. Tandis qu’elle affirma comprendre
les mesures qui ont ete concues pour proteger la communaute, elle a
aussi dit qu’elle etait contre cette pratique.

” La decision du patriarcat me semble erronee ; je ressens que je
suis restreint. Je veux meme cacher mon nom de famille tandis que je
vous parle parce que ma famille et quelques-uns de mes amis proches ne
connaissnet pas ma liaison ” a-t-elle dit. ” J’ai peur de la pression
de la communaute ” a dit Kristin qui affirme que le choix de deux
personnes et leur respect l’un pour l’autre est plus important que
tout autre chose tout en critiquant l’echec de benir son conjoint
musulman dans une eglise.

” Les couples ne peuvent pas se marier de la facon dont ils le
souhaitent. Leurs mariages ne sont pas acceptes mais leurs enfants
sont baptises. C’est une contradiction ” a-t-elle dit.

Mais Anahid, 28 ans, a dit qu’elle est d’accord avec le patriarcat. ”
Les reglements de l’Eglise Armenienne et de la communaute sont
definis et ils doivent etre respectes. Le patriarcat n’invente pas de
nouvelle pratique. Ils mettent en pratique celle qui existe deja. Il
y a une augmentation serieuse des mariages mixtes. La population,
les traditions et la culture doivent etre proteges “.

vendredi 8 fevrier 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

UN JOURNAL D’EREVAN POURSUIVI

Plusieurs dizaines de journalistes et de militants civiques ont defile
devant un tribunal d’Erevan pour denoncer le traitement d’une plainte
en diffamation deposee contre un journal independant par un homme
d’affaires proche du gouvernement.

L’homme d’affaires, Khachik Khachatrian, a poursuivi le journal
Zhoghovurd le 10 janvier dans le cadre d’un article qui accuse
une entreprise avicole dont il est proprietaire de vendre des
oeufs avec des dates de peremption perimees. Khachik Khachatrian a
nie cette allegation, accusant le journal de nuire a sa reputation
professionnelle et exigeante 3 millions de drams (7400 $) de dommages
et interets.

Un tribunal du district d’Erevan a gele les avoirs du journal et de
l’auteur de l’article controverse a hauteur de 3 millions de drams
alors qu’il commencait a etudier le cas plus tard en janvier. La
cour a ensuite indique que le procès en diffamation est prevue pour
le 22 mars.

Taguhi Tovmasian, redacteur en chef du journal Zhoghovurd a declare
que la poursuite des operations du journal est maintenant en danger
grave, car les huissiers de justice peuvent maintenant confisquer son
materiel en attendant une decision definitive dans cette affaire. Elle
a affirme que les autorites armeniennes essayent de ” brider ”
un journal critique envers eux avant l’election presidentielle du
18 fevrier.

Taguhi Tovmasian s’est exprime au service armenien de RFE / RL
(Azatutyun.am) alors qu’elle manifestait devant le palais de justice
dans le centre-ville d’Erevan avec des dizaines de journalistes et
d’autres activistes civiques. ” Nous demandons la justice ” a crie
l’un des manifestants a travers un megaphone. ” Nous exigeons la fin
de la pression sur les medias “.

La petite foule etait particulièrement furieuse contre l’injonction
de la cour. Un avocat du journal Zhoghovurd a demande a la juge de
l’affaire, Ruben Apinian, de lever le gel des avoirs.

Les publications independantes et de l’opposition font face a
une recrudescence des cas de diffamation intentee par d’anciens
fonctionnaires, de parlementaires pro-gouvernementaux et d’hommes
d’affaires suite a un projet de loi controverse adopte par le
Parlement armenien au debut de 2010. Le projet de loi a depenalise la
diffamation, mais a considerablement durci les sanctions financières
pour de telles infractions.

Les ONG ont signale 30 cas de diffamation en 2010-2011, exprimant
leur profonde preoccupation sur ce qu’elles considèrent comme une
menace majeure pour la liberte d’expression.

La Cour constitutionnelle a repondu en ordonnant aux tribunaux de
niveaux inferieurs de manière generale d’eviter d’imposer de lourdes
amendes aux medias.

L’action en justice contre le journal Zhoghovurd est apparemment le
premier cas en diffamation depose depuis la grande decision de la
Cour constitutionnelle.

vendredi 8 fevrier 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

OPPOSITIONAL ANC LEADER LABELS ARMENIA’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS AS FEAST IN TIME OF PLAGUE

YEREVAN, February 7. /ARKA/. The first president of Armenia, leader
of oppositional Armenian National Congress (ANC) Levon Ter-Petrosyan
said in the interview with “Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” ( The Fourth Branch
of Power) newspaper that presidential elections in Armenia resemble
a feast in time of plague.

“Today’s election campaign appears more like a feast in time of plague
to me rather than something else,” he said.

Ter-Petrosyan stated the biggest misfortune of the elections is
that everyone knows the outcome, and “the nightmarish consequences
are obvious”

“During the first term of Serzh Sargsyan annually 50,000 people were
migrating from our country, and during the second term the migration
will reach 100,000 people,” Ter-Petrosyan said and added that if this
process continues Armenia will face a demographic catastrophe and a
threat to lose its statehood.

ANC leader clarified that due to the sharp shrink of population,
the country may lose its defensive capacity in 10-20 years… and for
self-preservation, initiated by its own authorities, it will renounce
independence and as a federation subject or an associate member will
voluntarily become a part of Russia.

The mass migration in Armenia is mainly caused by overall corruption,
loot of the country and the nation, he explained.

Ter-Petrosyan also said it is not geographical location, natural
resources, good or bad government, national mentality or culture,
but state institutions which make prosperous countries different from
poor ones. Developed institutions should be interested in boosting
economy, fostering the union of all constructive forces, which is not
possible when there is no democracy, rule of law, free competition
and guarantee of inviolability of property, according to him.

Presidential elections of Armenia are scheduled for February 18.

The following candidates will be leading the race: current president
Serzh Sargsyan, former prime minister and leader of Freedom party
Hrant Bagratyan, former foreign minister and head of Heritage party
Raffi Hovannisian, famous Soviet dissident and leader of National
Self-Determination party Paruyr Hayrikyan, former foreign minister
of Nagorno-Karabakh Arman Melikyan, political scientist and head
of Radio Hay Andrias Ghukasyan, philologist Vardan Sedrakyan. -0-
15:26 07.02.2013