Author: Karapetian Hovik

SUMGAIT POGROMS VICTIMS COMMEMORATED IN INDIA, UK, TURKMENISTAN, BELARUS, CANADA

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.02.2008 18:36 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The 20th anniversary of Sumgait pogroms was marked
not only in Armenia and Karabakh, the RA MFA press office said.

The victims of Sumgait tragedy were commemorated in UK, India, Belarus,
Canada and other states.

When addressing the attendees of the London event, Armenian Ambassador
to UK emphasized that Sumgait pogroms became a precondition for
violence and armed conflicts in the former republics.

OPPOSITION SHOULD NOT ABUSE AUTHORITIES’ PATIENCE – ARMENIAN PRESIDENT-ELECT

Mediamax, Armenia
Feb 29 2008

Armenian Prime Minister and president-elect Serzh Sargsyan has told
EU envoy Peter Semneby that attempts by the opposition to abuse the
authorities’ patience may lead to "bad consequences". Supporters
of opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosyan have been rallying in
Yerevan for over a week, protesting that the 19 February presidential
election was rigged in Sargsyan’s favour. The following is the text
of a report by Armenian news agency Mediamax on 29 February:

Yerevan, 29 February: Armenian Prime Minister and president-elect Serzh
Sargsyan has said: "We will be exceptionally patient until there are
attempts to abuse this patience, which may have bad consequences."

The government press service told Mediamax that Serzh Sargsyan said
this on 28 February in comments on the post-election situation in
Armenia at a meeting with the European Union’s special representative
for the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby.

Sargsyan confirmed his readiness to cooperate with all forces
that are ready to use their potential for the good of Armenia’s
development. Sargsyan said the authorities are doing everything
possible to ensure that post-election processes do not harm the
republic’s citizens or Armenia’s international image.

Semneby congratulated Sargsyan, noting that the recent election [on
19 February] were an important factor on the path of strengthening
democracy. He added that at all his meetings with representatives of
the Armenian opposition and authorities, he had conveyed the message
of the EU high representative for common foreign and security policy,
Javier Solana to avoid steps leading to violence, to act within the
bounds of the law, and to channel political energy into a constructive
course.

ARMENIAN POLICE SAY OPPOSITION DEMOS SHRINKING

mediamax, Armenia
Feb 29 2008

Yerevan, 29 February: The number of people attending the demonstrations
staged by supporters of ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan at Yerevan’s
Freedom Square is shrinking every day, the head of the Armenian
police’s directorate for public relations and information, Sayat
Shirinyan, has told Mediamax.

"According to our reports, 8,000 people attended the 27 February rally;
7,000 were present on 28 February and today the number of demonstrators
was fewer than 6,300," he said.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED ORDER OF GRANTING HOUSING CREDITS

DE FACTO
Feb 28, 2008

YEREVAN, 28.02.08. DE FACTO. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic government
established the order of the state support’s granting for purchasing
housing via hypothec credits.

According to the information DE FACTO received at the NKR government’s
press office, the credits will be granted within 20 years at an annual
rate of 12 percent. The NKR Investment fund will pay off the half of
the rate.

Besides, it has been envisaged that the state will also grant almost
50 percent of the sum as no interest credit.

The NKR government has also made a decision to prolong the terms
of the housing’s privatization for 2 years more. At present about 8
percent of the Republic’s Housing Fund has not been privatized yet.

EX-KGB ADMITS SENDING AGENTS TO OPPOSITION RALLY
By Emil Danielyan and Hovannes Shoghikian

Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
Feb 28 2008

Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) acknowledged on Thursday
that the two men detained in Yerevan’s Liberty Square the previous
night for allegedly urging opposition supporters to resort to violence
were its employees.

Organizers of the non-stop rallies held there by supporters of
former President Levon Ter-Petrosian for the past nine days said the
men agitated for a violent overthrow of the government and secretly
recorded protesters’ reaction to their calls. Their recording devices
were laid out on a table in a nearby cafe where the two NSS agents
were forcibly taken by opposition activists before being handed over
to senior police officers.

In a written statement, the NSS condemned the detention and exposure
of its two agents and warned organizers of the "illegal rally"
against making further attempts to hamper "professional activities"
of these and other security officers. The statement said NSS agents
are in fact helping to ensure the security of the protesters.

Also, the Armenian successor to the Soviet KGB again claimed to
have arrested six "extremist-minded" participants of Ter-Petrosian
rallies and confiscated large quantities of weapons, ammunition and
explosives from them in recent days. But it did not identify any of
those individuals.

Ter-Petrosian and his top allies insisted on Thursday that the exposed
NSS agents were tasked with provoking the peaceful demonstrators
into taking violent actions and thereby substantiating government
allegations that the ex-president is bent on seizing power by
force. Nikol Pashinian, a top Ter-Petrosian backer, also poured scorn
on the former KGB and its director, Gorik Hakobian, in particular. "If
our guys can detect their agents so easily, how are they fighting
against Azerbaijani and Turkish special services?" he told thousands
of protesters in Liberty Square.

Also on Wednesday night, police detained two young opposition
supporters near the square in downtown Yerevan. They were set free two
hours later after the intervention of two parliament deputies from the
opposition Zharangutyun party. Stepan Safarian and Zaruhi Postanjian
arrived at the police headquarters of Yerevan’s central administrative
district with several journalists. All of them were forcibly removed
from the building before the police agreed to release the detainees.

The Armenian authorities’ crackdown on the radical opposition has
until now focused on prominent figures close to Ter-Petrosian. At
least six of them have already been remanded in pre-trial on a string
of criminal charges, including illegal arms possession and assault.

The police also began on Thursday impounding cars parked around Liberty
Square. Vartan Boyajian, an opposition supporter, told RFE/RL that
traffic police stopped him two blocks away from the square and said
they are taking away his car for "examination. "One officer said I
won’t have my car back until most of the cars get out of the area,"
he said.

A police spokesman defended these actions, saying that they are legal.

A CROOKED MAN
BY Meghan Harrison

Eye Weekly

Feb 27 2008
Canada

Richard Kalinoski’s second play concerned with the Armenian genocide
is also a lyrical reflection on aging, memory and history. Luckily,
he has a light and deliberate touch with the material, allowing the
play to unfold naturally toward its devastating conclusion.

Hrant Alianak plays Hagop Hagopian, an aging survivor of the Armenian
genocide who was once famous for killing the Turkish governor who
oversaw the murders in his village. His grandson Alex (Garen Boyajian)
thinks the story of his criminal trial will make a great magazine
article, but his grandfather’s history proves more complicated and
tragic than Alex supposed. Hagop also struggles to maintain his
independence despite his well-meaning daughter’s attempts to move
him into an assisted-living facility.

Alianak, who also directs, manages to give a very talky play enough
movement to remain visually interesting. Much of the action hinges
on the chemistry between the defiant, prickly Hagop and his curious
grandson, and Alianak and Boyajian are believable and often very
funny together. Boyajian looks way too young to pass as a 26-year-old,
though the glib, bumbling reporter he plays also seems rather young for
his years. Still, Alex visibly grows out of his innocence on stage,
and Boyajian gives an assured, nuanced performance that gracefully
allows Alianak to remain the centre of the play.

Kalinoski integrates the historical background without seeming to
interrupt the story or the characters, and the ensemble that reenacts
Hagop’s trial is almost universally excellent, right down to their
carefully-observed accents.

A Crooked Man’s flaws are more distracting than seriously
undermining. The actors tend to rush through Kalinoski’s more poetic
lines in the first half of the play, and the set design is a bit
heavy-handed, featuring scrims with old sepia-toned photographs and
blown-up documents about the genocide – the constant presence of the
ensemble around the edge of the stage makes the same point about the
lingering effects of history far more elegantly. It’s really too bad
that Michael Kazarian is flat in all his roles, though, especially
as the Turkish governor, who seems wholly ineffectual.

While it features an incredible performance by Alianak, A Crooked
Man’s greatest strength is undoubtedly the writing, which features
both a fine ear for language and a well-developed sense of narrative
proportion.

A CROOKED MAN Featuring Hrant Alianak, Garen Boyajian. Written by
Richard Kalinoski. Directed by Hrant Alianak. Presented by Alianak
Theatre Productions. To Mar 2. Tue-Sat 8pm; Sun 2:30pm. $21; $25 Sat;
$10 Sun. The Theatre Centre, 1087 Queen W. 416-504-7529.

RA FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVES OSCE CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE

Noyan Tapan
Feb 26, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 26, NOYAN TAPAN. During the February 26 meeting
of RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian with Ilkka Kanerva, the
OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the Foreign Minister of Finland, the sides
touched upon the presidential elections held in Armenia. I. Kanerva
said that by visiting Armenia in these days, he has a possibility to
receive information about estimations given to the elections by both
the authorities and the opposition, which will enable him to form a
realistic idea.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Foreign Ministry Press and
Information Department, then the sides touched upon the bilateral
relations. Both sides mentioned the great potential of development
of bilateral relations.

The Ministers also discussed issues connected with the activity of the
OSCE Office in Yerevan and expressed satisfaction with the programs
implemented by the Office.

Thoughts on the process of Nagorno Karabakh settlement were
exchanged. I. Kanerva said that he completely supports the activities
of the OSCE Minsk Group. Developments over Kosovo were also touched
upon.

At the guest’s request V. Oskanian presented Armenia’s approaches on
normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.

Interfax, Russia
Russia & CIS Military Newswire
February 22, 2008 Friday 12:16 PM MSK

Armenian defense minister denies military brass support opposition

YEREVAN Feb 22

Armenian Defense Minister Seiran Shakhsurian has brushed aside
speculation that some high-ranking military officials might have
switched allegiance to the losing candidate in the presidential
election in Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosian.

"There was nothing like that," the Armenian Defense Minister told
Interfax on Thursday.

Ter-Petrosian earlier told a rally of his supporters, who want a
revision of election results, that he met with the deputies of the
Armenian defense minister, Manvel Grigorian and Gakik Melkonian.

"On their behalf I am authorized to tell you that they, as deputies
of the defense minister, stand by the people and will defend the
candidate who got the people’s vote of confidence," Ter-Petrosian
said.

He said he was reassured that the army "will not interfere in
politics. Both see themselves as guarantors of security for the
people.

And I am certain that the army command will join them."

The deputies told me they are in talks with Armenian Chief of General
Staff Seiran Oranian, he said.

It has been reported that Ter-Petrosian’s supporters are protesting
in Yerevan, demanding a revision of the results of the presidential
election held in the country on February 19.

The election was won by Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, with
52.86% of the vote. Ter-Petrosian got 21.5% of the vote.

"LEVON TER-PETROSYAN A TOOL IN HANDS OF OTHER FORCES"

Panorama.am
21:28 25/02/2008

"It is amusing when Levon Ter-Petrosyan speaks about vote rigging and
violence since he has been their godfather," Chairman of Constitutional
Right Union (CRU) Haik Babukhanyan told a press conference today.

Chairman of Armenian Democratic Party (ADP) Aram Sargsyan mentioned
that the solutions proposed by Levon Ter-Petrosyan absolutely fail
to comply with the state interests of Armenia in terms of Nagorno
Karabakh conflict settlement, Armenian-Azerbaijani, Armenian-Turkish
relations and the genocide.

Babukhanyan said they have not been with the authorities in the
course of 20 years, either with the current or the past. He said
what Levon Ter-Petrosyan does is an attempt of "orange revolution"
also saying CRU and ADP are radically against of such attempts.

REPUBLICAN PARTY MEMBER DAVID ZADOYAN LEAVES PARTY

Noyan Tapan
Feb 25, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, NOYAN TAPAN. David Zadoyan, a member of the
Republican party, has left the party. This statement was made by Nikol
Pashinian, the representative of the pre-electoral headquarters of
Levon Ter-Petrosian, the first President of the Republic of Armenia,
on the Freedom square on February 23.

According to him, at present, the authorities are in a nervous
state. "We showed that we have strong nerves, our psychology is
distinct, and Robert Kocharian and Serge Sargsian have become
panic-stricken," Nikol Pashinian said.

Tamara Gevorgian, the representative of the United Labour Party,
stated that before the presidential elections the party declared that
they will support RA Prime MInister Serge Sargsian, whereas after the
close ballot, many of the party members declared that they support
Levon Ter-Petrosian. "We support Levon Ter-Petrosian, as this is a
struggle of soul and freedom," Tamara Gevorgian mentioned.