Author: Khoyetsian Rose

KOSOVO’S INDEPENDENCE WILL STIR UP TROUBLE. WHO WILL BENEFIT?
John Laughland

Brussels Journal

D ec 13 2007
Belgium

Perhaps the most striking things about the impending declaration of
independence about Kosovo is that is happening at all. Why should
the Kosovo Albanians be striving for independence from Belgrade
now, since there has been peace in the province for eight years
(interrupted only in 2004, when a mob of Albanians killed 25 Serbs)
and since the regime in Serbia, of which the Kosovo Albanians are
citizens, has been democratic and pro-European since 2000?

Why, indeed, did the Kosovo Albanians spend the whole of the first part
of the 1990s in peace, when the rest of Yugoslavia was in flames? If
their desire for independence had really been so intense as their
national propaganda claims, then surely the time to act would have
been when the Yugoslav federation was collapsing in 1992-1992, or
during the Bosnian civil war of 1992-1995.

For that matter, why did the Albanians inside Serbia, who are in
the majority in the area around the Southern towns of Presevo and
Bujanovac, start their attacks there in 2001, a year after the fall of
Slobodan Milo~Zeviæ’s fall from power, whereas they had been left in
peace during the civil war between Serbs and Albanians in neighbouring
Kosovo in 1998-1999?

None of this seems to make any sense.

One thing is certain: the Kosovo Albanians would not have threatened
to declare independence if they were not certain that they would
receive diplomatic recognition from the United States and most European
states. The Kosovo leadership (which means the leadership of the Kosovo
Liberation Army, the guerrilla force whose head, Hashim Thaci, is now
the "Prime Minister" of Kosovo) has very close ties to the West. Thaci
famously kissed Madeleine Albright during the Kosovo war of 1999 and
also visited Tony Blair at Number 10; one of his predecessors as Prime
Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, who has since been indicted by The Hague
for war crimes, is known as a major CIA asset.

No doubt the Kosovo Albanians have some claim to independence,
although it is notable how seldom they refer to the persecution of
which they were supposedly the victims in 1999 under Milo~Zeviæ. This
is no doubt because everyone knows that those claims of genocide bore
as much relation to reality as did the claim made in 2002-2003 that
there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Indeed, the charge
of genocide turned out to be so unsustainable that it was never even
included in the indictment against Milo~Zeviæ.

The loss of Kosovo by Serbia would be a terrible blow to the values of
Christian civilisation, since that region is itself a symbol of the
victory over the European spirit over the superior military force of
Islam, having been the scene of Serbia’ historic battle against the
Turks in 1389. The province contains some of the jewels of European
architecture, the monasteries of Peæ, Deèani and Graèanica.

But the truth is that the new battle of Kosovo was lost a long time
ago, when the Serbs, like most Europeans, stopped having babies
while the Albanians, like many other Muslim peoples, continued having
them – and at a vast rate. The demographic battle having been lost,
there is very little the government in Belgrade can do now to halt
the inevitable.

Worse, perhaps, is the effect which the independence of this small
province will have on the region and the wider world. The anger of
Bosnian Serbs is inflamed by the West’s double-standards. While it
demands autonomy and now secession for the Kosovo Albanians, it is
pushing ever greater centralisation and curtailment of autonomy in
neighbouring Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Serbs there have been told they
must never hold a referendum on independence from Bosnia, while the
EU-back "High Representative" is determined to abrogate what remains
of the autonomy of Republika Srpska. Independence for Kosovo will,
in all likelihood, lead to the fragmentation of the artificial and
largely bogus state of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

But the double-standards are not confined to the Balkans. The
narrative in Cyprus is almost identical to that in Kosovo: a Muslim
population there, the Turks, was the subject of persecution by
its Orthodox co-nationals, the Greeks, until they were protected
by military intervention according to international law: Turkey
invaded Cyprus in 1974 and invoked the terms of the 1960 Treaty
of Guarantee (between Britain, Turkey and Greece) which guaranteed
the constitution of Cyprus. Yet Northern Cyprus (the Turkish part)
has been the victim of an embargo and international isolation ever
since then, an international pariah while Kosovo’s leaders are the
toast of the world’s chancelleries.

The same goes for Transnistria. Transnistria is a small sliver of
land along the left bank of the Dniestr river, North-West of Odessa.

When the Romanian province of Bessarabia was illegally annexed by the
Soviet Union in 1940, according to the terms of the secret protocol
of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, Transnistria became part of the
Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova. It had never before in history
been governed from the Moldovan capital, Chiºinãu, and most of its
inhabitants speak Russian. The Soviet Union started to collapse in 1990
precisely when Moscow admitted, after years of denial, the existence
of the secret protocol to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and this led to
the secession of the Baltic states and, eventually, the dissolution
of the USSR itself. Transnistria naturally said that its incorporation
into Moldova was as illegal as Moldova’s incorporation into the Soviet
Union and demanded independence. Although it has indeed been de facto
independent since 1992, the West has consistently told it that it
will not allow it to secede from Moldova. Ditto for Nagorno-Karabakh
(formally part of Azerbaijan, populated now exclusively by Armenians),
South Ossetia (part of Georgia but culturally linked to North Ossetia,
which is inside Russia) and Abkazia (also part of Georgia but de
facto independent since 1992).

Encouraging independence for Kosovo will only re-ignite the
conflict which has been basically frozen there since 1999, as well
as the similarly frozen conflicts in the Balkans, in Moldova and the
Caucasus. What is the point of this when the other option is to let
sleeping dogs lie? Does someone have an interest in causing trouble?

The only common denominator in all these various conflicts, indeed,
is attitudes to Russia. Russia supports Serbia on Kosovo and Bosnia;
it is broadly supportive of Transnistria and the other non-recognised
states on the territory of the former Soviet Union (although it has
done little concrete to help them). Any trouble in these area is
trouble for Moscow in its own backyard, which President Putin told
me in September is the last thing he wants. Maybe that is why the
West is determined to provoke it.

–Boundary_(ID_WwV1B/1u5xrorAoh1pH51Q)–

TURKEY ACCUSES EU OF SUPPORTING KURDISH REBELS

Yerkir
12.12.2007 15:14

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Turkey’s military command has accused certain EU
countries, in particular France and the U.K., of acting in a way that
supports Kurdish militants.

Turkey, a NATO member with European Union membership aspirations,
has long sought to put an end to attacks from northern Iraq carried
out by militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

"The position of and actions by a number of EU countries, including
our allies, enable the terrorist organization [PKK] to look for new
bases for operations," said Gen. Ergin Saygun, deputy chief of the
Turkish General Staff.

He said that although the EU had recently taken "encouraging steps in
standing up to the PKK," the group’s representatives and sympathizers
"are conducting propaganda campaigns in the European parliament,
as well as in the French and U.K. parliaments."

"Providing support to separatists, including in activities such as
these, is tantamount to sharing responsibility with the terrorists
for material damages caused to Turkey, and for the deaths of people
in its fight against terrorism."

On November 30, Turkey’s government authorized the military to conduct
a cross-border operation against Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq,
following parliament’s approval in mid-October.

The country has deployed about 100,000 troops on the border with Iraq,
according to army sources.

The PKK, labeled by the U.S., NATO and the EU as a terrorist
organization, has been fighting for autonomy status in southeast
Turkey for nearly 25 years. The conflict has so far claimed about
40,000 lives, RIA Novosti reports.

A JOINT ARMENIAN-GREEK STAMP TO BE SIMULTANEOUSLY ISSUED IN YEREVAN AND IN ATHENS

armradio.am
12.12.2007 15:04

As part of its objectives of strengthening collaboration between
Armenia and Greece, and fulfilling the decision of the Hellenic –
Armenian Joint Intergovernmental Commission, the Greek Embassy and
HayPost will hold a special celebration on Friday, November 14.

The Greek Chargé d’Affaires, Mr. Alekos Ikonomopoulos in collaboration
with HayPost, will be welcoming special Armenian and international
guests to the Embassy for a special cultural program.

To symbolize the long-standing relationship between the two nations,
HayPost and ELTA (Hellenic Post) will be issuing a joint Armenian-Greek
stamp simultaneously in Yerevan and in Athens. This joint-stamp will
be issued and circulated during the Armenian-Greek event on Friday.

This joint issue represents the famous statues of Goddesses Aphrodite
and Anahit – the primarily female goddesses in both nations’ mythology.

"We are very proud and excited that HayPost has played a primary role
in substantiating the friendship between these two ancient nations,"
stated Hans Boon, Director General of HayPost. "We trust that this
joint issue encourages not only political and business collaborations,
but encourages the general public to appreciate this as well."

The Greek Chargé d’Affaires, Mr. Ikonomopoulos expressed his
satisfaction for the existing exceptional bilateral relations between
Armenia and Greece, and praised the contribution of Hellenic Post
and HayPost for underlying the secular historical ties between the
two nations.

As of January 2007, the government transferred to HayPost CJSC the
exclusive right to issue postal stamps in Armenia, as the official
national postal operator in Armenia.

–Boundary_(ID_rXu3CGdjyuWAi05XfhkEFg)–

NOT ALL CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENCY ARE GUIDED BY PRINCIPLE OF PRESERVATION OF STATEHOOD, ARAM HAROUTIUNIAN SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Dec 11 2007

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN. Aram Haroutiunian, the Chairman
of the National Consent party, who is a candidate for presidency,
considers that though the official election campaign has not been
launched yet, "the preelection marathon resembles a fight without
rules." Such a situation, in his words, does not contribute to holding
of democratic elections, as "if the game has no rules, the audience
wishes to see blood without fail."

A. Haroutiunian stated at the December 12 press conference that not all
candidates for presidency are guided by the principle of preservation
of the statehood, and some of them are ready for everything to come
to power. He said that since 1991 up to present he has been the
opponent of first RA President Levon Ter-Petrosian, in particular,
in the issue of settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. And
in response to the question of in what issue he does not agree with
the other main candidate, RA Prime Minister and RPA Chairman Serge
Sargsian, A. Haroutiunian stated: "I am against his team."

Explaining what hopes he has this time, after receiving few votes in
the previous presidential elections, A. Haroutiunian said that as a
result of elections’ falsification, last time the votes received by
him were "brotherly distributed among pro-governmental and opposition
forces."

According to him, in the 2003 parliamentary elections the National
Consent party received as much votes as the Armenian National Movement,
and ANM can nominate L. Ter-Petrosian’s candidature "in the disguised
way," while the National Consent party, "which is not discredited and
has no faults, has an absolute moral right" to nominate its candidate.

By the way, A. Haroutiunian said that he had managed to get the sum
of pledge necessary for his candidature’s registration with great
difficulty.

He said that no oligarch has financed the National Consent party and
the party has received the necessary sum from ordinary citizens."

MINORITY REPORT: LACK OF POLITICAL REPRESENTATION

BIA, Turkey
Dec 12 2007

The Minority Rights Group International has published a new report on
the status of minority rights in Turkey. It has criticised the high
electoral threshold and the ban of minority languages in political
life.

Minority Rights Group
12-12-2007

In a report entitled "A Quest for Equality: Minorities in Turkey",
the Minority Rights Group International says that there is still a
ban on minority languages in political life and public services and
that school books reinforce stereotypes about minorities.

In the press release announcing the publication of the report, the
group further says:

Millions of ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities remain
unrecognized by the Turkish state, face discrimination and are now
increasingly under threat as a result of a growing wave of violent
nationalism, Minority Rights Group says in a new report.

International standards not met

The report says that whilst the accession process to become a EU member
state has forced Turkey to make significant strides in minority rights,
much more remains to be done. The report titled "A quest for equality
– minorities in Turkey" is the most up-to-date analysis available on
the situation of all minorities in Turkey.

"Turkey is a country where a centuries-old mix of languages, religions,
cultures and traditions is practiced within its borders, but minority
protection still falls far short of international standards," says
Ishbel Matheson, MRG’s Head of Policy and Communications.

"Turkey’s multi-cultural heritage is one of its biggest assets. But
this positive aspect is not embraced at the highest level. Instead,
mention of minorities and minority rights triggers nationalist
reactions by certain sectors of society," she adds.

Lausanne Treaty limited to some religiously defined minorities

The only protection for minorities in Turkey has been set out in the
1923 Treaty of Lausanne but in practice its scope is limited only to
Armenians, Jews and Rum (Greek orthodox) Christians.

But Turkey is home to a vast number of minorities including ethnic
Kurds, Caucasians, Laz and Roma. The country’s other religious
minorities include Alevis, Assyrians, Caferis and Reformist Christians.

These groups are legally not recognized as minorities and simply
referring to their minority status, let alone working for their rights,
could lead to a jail sentence.

Linguistic and religious rights limited

According to the report, minorities excluded from the Treaty of
Lausanne are very limited in their rights to use their languages in
schools and in the media. Their religious rights are also curtailed.

The report also says a 10 percent electoral threshold prevents minority
pro-Kurdish parties from getting elected to parliament.

These parties have repeatedly failed to surpass the national threshold
despite having received the highest percentage of votes in some of
the Kurdish populous southeastern provinces.

Minorities have also increasingly becoming victims of a rising trend
of nationalism in the country. In January 2007, journalist and Armenian
human rights activist Hrant Dink was shot dead in Istanbul.

The suspect told police that Dink was Armenian and had "insulted
Turkishness".

The report says that the EU accession process and the proposed new
constitution in 2008 give plenty of opportunity for Turkey to make
legal changes to protect minorities.

"We recommend speedy legal reforms – this is crucial, but to bring real
change to Turkey’s minorities there has to be radical transformation
of the prevalent mentality towards minorities of both the state and
society," Matheson says.

Some events concerning minorities in Turkey:

1934: Mass attacks on Jews in Thrace, northern Turkey

1949: Law changing non-Turkish village names into Turkish names passed

1955: Mass attacks on non-Muslims in Istanbul

1982: New constitution which limited basic freedoms and rights was
passed. Obligatory religious education (Sunni Islam).

1991: Kurdish MP Leyla Zana spoke in Kurdish in parliament; she and
three other MPs were imprisoned for 15 years.

1992: 20,000 Turkish soldiers entered the security zone in Northern
Iraq in operations against the PKK.

1994: The Constitutional Court closed the pro-Kurdish Democracy Party
(DEP).

2003: Laws passed which relaxed restrictions on freedom of expression
and the use of Kurdish. However, mostly children are still not
allowed to be given Kurdish names. The Constitutional Court closed
the pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy Party (HADEP).

2004 The first private Kurdish language course was opened, and a
state channel began its weekly half-hour broadcast in Kurdish.

2005: It was decided to nationalise the Roma areas in Istanbul. The
Roma were not fairly treated.

27 April 2007: The Chief of General Staff said in a press statement,
"Whoever cannot say ‘How happy I am to be a Turk’ is and will remain
an enemy of the Turkish Republic."

2007: Because mayor Abdullah Demirbas of the Sur municipality in
Diyarbakir offered multilingual municipal services, he was taken from
office by the State Council and the municipal council was dissolved.

MEL GIBSON’S MOVIE DENIAL

The Celebrity Truth, Australia
Dec 11 2007

A story has appeared on a Turkish news website claiming that a group
has starting an email campaign against Mel Gibson and his new movie,
a claim his rep is denying.

According to todayszaman.com, The Foundation for the Struggle Against
Baseless Allegations of Genocide (ASIMED) has targeted Gibson to
attempt to dissuade him "from playing a role in a film that underscores
claims of an alleged genocide of Anatolian Armenians by Ottoman Turks
during World War I."

A Professor at Ataturk University told the website that, "We have
begun sending documents about the truth of the situation to Gibson.

We started an e-mail campaign to urge him to decline the role and to
not allow this film to be shot at his production company."

The ‘Lethal Weapon’ star’s representative has denied any such
involvement with the production, telling TMZ that, "We don’t know
where that started. He doesn’t know anything about the project. Never
heard of it."

-s-movie-denial/00602

I’M NOT A POLITICIAN, I’M A JOURNALIST

Azat Artsakh Tert
Dec 11 2007
Nagorno Karabakh Republic

Interview with the chief editor of the newspaper of "Aravot" Aram
Abrahamyan

– Mr Abrahamyan, you prefer politics for about 15 years. Is it vocation
or simply activity?

– I’m not a politician, I graduated from conservatoire, I was a state
official in the war years, now I’m a journalist – Nevertheless, how
do you explain the return of the first president into public politics?

– I think he feels high responsibility for our country and the
settlement of Karabakh question. He tries to prevent our country from
dangerous tendencies.

– After 10 years of silence the appearance of Levon Ter Petrosyan
on political scene as "the first attacker" was unexpectedness for
many people.

– I’m not agree with the formulation. The power and its propaganda
is the "first attacker" criticizing the first president for 10 years.

– There’s opinion that our public life is too politicized, don’t you
think the Press plays important role in it?

– I don’t think so. The people think about their daily bread, incomes
and it is quite natural. Those, who are insatisfied, they complain
of the authorities.

– We always appeal to the word of democracy, even we try to explain
today’s situation by the thesis – I don’t know how the others
understand the sense of the word.

The democracy means the power of the people. When the people elect
their authorities and the minority is given the chance to express
their point of view.

– Mr Abrahamyan, which of many candidates have chances to be in 2nd
tour, whose chances are more real?

– I can’t predict anything yet. If all remains as it is, Serge Sargsyan
will win. But it’s possible some will change for next 3 months.

– But the first president is aware the authorities’ candidate has
much resources than others have.

– I don’t know what the first president is thinking about, I don’t
see the perspectives that he ‘ll be in second tour. But, perhaps,
I’m not right, there can be the situation which is not predictable now.

– In his speeches the first president hints that Karabakh must be
the part of Azerbaijan – It’s impossible. No politician in Armenia
even if he wants can not do it against the will of Karabakh people,
I think Karabakh must participate in the elections and Karabakh status
definition must be postponed for indefinite time. In the question
of the status armenian and azeri approachings are so different that
it’s senseless even to discuss them – Do you consider the political
confrontation is possible in Armenia judging by situation?

– No I don’t want to think about it. Certainly, preelection campaign
will be intense but I am sure noone will provoke the confrontation. The
majority of the people will not go on the barricades for any candidate
– The opinion exists that your newspaper is steady and informationally
objective in editor’s words but there’s subjectiveness on the rest
pages of the newspaper.

– I don’t agree . The parity is kept between authorities’ and
opposition’s views. I’m sorry if there are people who notice
subjectiveness in our newspaper.

– Mr Abrahamyan, don’t you think that under the cover of pluralism
too many parties appeared ? If it’s not correct to unite them on the
basis of political ideology?

– It would be right because 70-80 parties for 3mln Armenia is
innatural. At last, there can not be 70-80 ideologies and programs
for the people. From the point of view, enlarging, unification of the
parties is affirmative process – What will you wish to the peole of
Artsakh and the employees of the newspaper of "AA"?

– Patience and unity, will to withstand the victory. Creative power
and energy to the reporters of "Azat Artsakh". I congratulate chief
editor Mourad Petrosyan on the occasion of appointment.

ARMENIA NOT LIMITED TO THE THEATRICAL SQUARE
Haroutyun Gevorkyan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily
Dec 11 2007
Armenia

Interview with GEVORK POGHOSYAN, Chairman of the Armenian Sociological
Association

"Mr. Poghosyan, to what extent is the nomination of 9 presidential
candidates consistent with the political domain? " "Georgia is also
in store of presidential elections in the near future. 13 candidates
have been nominated there, and this is too much even for a country
like Georgia; especially considering that Sahakashvily has greater
chances to be re-elected.

As to our country, 9 candidates have been nominated here, but I am
convinced that 2 or 3 pretenders will have their candidacies removed
by January 20, the deadline for the registration of the candidates,
or by February 9, the deadline for withdrawing the candidacies. In
other words, they will have satisfied their pretensions, together
with getting back the electoral pledge of 8 million Armenian Drams.

At this point, some clarifications are needed too. If the candidate
is not backed by some ponderous political force or organizational
structure or people capable of participating in all the electoral
processes in a proper manner, why is he nominated? It is also
conceivable that the rating, political argument and ideological
aptitudes are not enough for attaining a more or less tangible
political result. It is also required to have enormous financial
means and a team capable of working.

The pre-election campaign is a money-consuming process requiring
efforts. Each pretender has to consider whether he has relevant
means. If he is nominated without having such means, he will clearly
withdraw his candidacy sooner or later. Simply, politics is also a
game pursuing some goals, and the people nominating their candidacies
admit those game rules. Then, they try to add their 0.3 per cent to
the 40 or 50 per cent of votes received by somebody else and gain
some dividends. This is the reason that January 20 and February 9 are
marked as specific dates. This game becomes especially clear after
publicizing the results of numerous social polls."

"All the social polls reveal the same picture. What does it testify
to?"

"As shown by the analysis of the social polls, among the 9 candidates
running for presidency there are only 3 people capable of serious
electoral rivalry, with Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan, leader of the
Republican Party, being the undisputed top figure. He is followed
by Arthur Baghdasaryan, Head of "Rule of Law" party, and Artashes
Geghamyan, leader of "National Unity", both of them having a rating
twice as smaller.

Considering that Raffi Hovhannisyan was not nominated, this list
can, with great reservations, include the name of L. Ter-Petrosyan,
whose rating does not go beyond the limits 3 per cent. However, due
to various propaganda tools and press publications, there is such an
impression as though Levon Ter-Petrosyan were the chief rival of the
pro-Government candidate Serge Sargsyan. Whereas, in the rating list
the ex-President ranks as the fifth or sixth candidate.

The thing is simply that the first President’s return after the
9-year absence has aroused a certain interest. This is the intrigue,
since nothing new is expected from those ranking as second or third
candidates, i.e. Arthur Baghdasrayan or Artashes Geghamyan.

L. Ter-Petrosyan is currently the most active figure represented in
the pro-Opposition camp; this is why the press focuses on him.

However, interest in this particular candidate does not imply that he
enjoys an equivalent rating. In this respect, the invasion of social
culture in the political domain is quite natural. It is welcome that
this tool of measuring public opinion is being used effectively,
despite the fact that sociologists are constantly "bombarded" by
those political figures and forces that enjoy a low rating.

ARMENIAN LAW-ENFORCERS ARREST CAR THEFT RING

ARMENPRESS
Dec 11, 2007

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS: Armenian law-enforcers have arrested
a criminal group that was engaged in car thefts.

A press release disseminated today by the National Security Service
said the ring stole expensive cars and then negotiated their return
to owners in return for a round sum of money.

When owners denied the ‘deal’ their cars were often destroyed and
burnt. The press release said the ring stole 24 cars in Yerevan in
2006 and 2007. The investigation into the case is being handled by
the National Security Service.

WHAT WILL THE "MOST COMPETITIVE" CANDIDATE DO?

Lragir, Armenia
Dec 10 2007

"Most probably the administration will decide in one of its upcoming
meetings on the mechanisms to detect the individual whom the Heritage
Party will support," stated the secretary of the Heritage Party Vardan
Khachatryan on December 10 at the Pastark Club.

Vardan Khachatryan thinks there is little probability of not
supporting anyone because the country is at a turning point, and in
such a crucial period it is wrong to keep away. "Keeping away at
this turning point may lead to a Dante ending. According to Dante
Alighieri, the hottest parts of the hell are reserved for those who
kept away from the society at turning points," Vardan Khachatryan says.

He says as opposition the Heritage Party cannot support the
government. The reporters asked if the ARF Dashnaktsutyun is
opposition, and Vardan Khachatryan said they have never had common
approaches with the government, as well as the ARF Dashnaktsutyun on
important issues.

"In the current process we have never seen that we are the same or
we view all the possible issues from the same aspect. There were
negotiations with the ARF Dashnaktsutyun but we cannot say that we
reached agreement on any issue. In this stage I cannot insist that
the Heritage and the ARF Dashnaktsutyun are coming closer," Vardan
Khachatryan said.

He also said in the recent meeting of the Heritage Party which
decided not to nominate a presidential candidate leaving the issue
of supporting a candidate up to future, Vazgen Manukyan and Levon
Ter-Petrosyan were considered. They are now negotiating with Vazgen
Manukyan but it does not mean that they are about to make a decision.

As to the appeal of Jirair Sefilyan and Vardan Malkhasyan to Raffi
Hovannisian, Vardan Khachatryan says they respect their appeal as
opinion of people who are their friends, but it is not correct to
say that it will determine the stance of the Heritage Party.

"Our stance will be determined by the reaction of the first ranks,"
Vardan Khachatryan says. He also stated that since Raffi Hovannisian
is not eligible, the most competitive candidate is not running in
the race.