Author: Khoyetsian Rose

STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT AND DEMOCRACY IN ARMENIA
Gevorg Harutyunyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on June 03, 2008
Armenia

Interview with RPA vice Chair, MP Razmik Zohrabyan.

"Recently the US State Department and international human rights
organization "Amnesty International" released a report in which they
strictly criticized Armenia. Which part of the report is fair and
which formulations are conditioned by political factors?"

"Actually these reports are made yearly and they include standard
estimations regarding those countries the authorities of which are not
under the influence of the USA. The assessments included in the recent
reports are also not worthy of any serious response, because in this
case as well both the US State Department and "Amnesty International"
were over again guided by double standards. When they dislike the
ruling power of this or that country they introduce the situation in
that country in very dark colors.

Anyhow I would like to touch upon the issue of human rights protection,
which is the inseparable part of the US foreign policy. I’m one of
the fighters for Armenia’s independence during the soviet times and
as a political prisoner I have been expelled and detained for around
ten years.

Beginning from the seventies of the past century, the US authorities
started a huge campaign of human rights protection, especially during
Jimmy Carters presidency. This circumstance really contributed to
the victory of some nations’ struggle for freedom. This policy was
justified towards super-powers such as Soviet Union, because most of
the soviet republics really wanted to become independent.

But today Armenia is an independent and sovereign state. We are
building our statehood, forming a healthy civil society. There is
lots of work to be done on this path. But they represented March 1
events and the developments following it, as if it was a national
struggle for freedom.

In soviet countries political dissidents were either detained or being
sent to the psychiatric hospitals to be "healed". But after March 1
our authorities proposed dialogue to all the political powers and did
their best to restore social solidarity. As a response our opposition
put impracticable conditions, which was definitely aimed at avoiding
dialogue. Moreover after July 20 they are planning to intensify the
situation over again. And similar reports will only challenge them
to plan new provocations because they feel the backing of the USA
and certain intentional organizations.

They inject this doping to increase the number of Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s
supporters, which is evidently becoming lesser and lesser, because
his supporters have become skeptical towards their "leader" and it
is visible that he fulfills the orders of the foreign powers."

"Mr. Zohrabyan why does the USA pursue double standard policy?"

"The USA possesses enormous financial means and they don’t lack special
agents in our country to provide information regarding our internal
policy. By these tools they guide the leaders of the newly emerged
"opposition", and unfortunately some part of our people follow them.

Can we call this democracy?

The USA managed to stage colored revolutions in Georgia, Ukraine
and Kirgizistan. If on March 1 our "revolutionaries" ruined only the
center of Yerevan, in Kiev and Tbilisy they ruined many other parts
of the cities. As for Kirgizistan they ruined not only the capital
city but also the whole country. But it turns out that democracy is
in a better condition in Kirgizistan, than in Armenia, because their
leader is the henchman of the USA and our President is not.

The formulation: "the people don’t have the possibility to overthrow
power" is a direct appeal for revolution. The central goal of the
neo-conservatives headed by Bush is "to make changes" in the world.

I’m sure, no matter how they will try to stage colored revolutions in
our country, they will fail. Besides the USA many other states in the
world follow the process of democracy and post election developments
in our country.

It is evident that our law enforcers are doing their best to avert all
the possible political speculations. Those who were participants of
the political struggle but committed crimes were put on probation. But
in the same USA they would have never given this chance to criminals."

MASS DISORDERS CONTINUE IN THE COURTROOM
Shoushan Matevosyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on June 04, 2008
Armenia

Interview with KORYUN PASHINYAN, Senior Prosecutor of the General
Prosecutor’s Office, defender of the lawsuit filed in connection with
the March 1 disorders

"The participants of the hearing very often have a critical attitude
towards the defendants who plead guilty in the courtroom."

"The attitude displayed in the courtroom is very aggressive, but I
would like to speak about the attitude of some attorneys. To begin
with, the attorney’s task is to defend the accused. But there are
attorneys who simply subordinate the individual’s interest to their
own political interests.

Just see: the fact that the defendants have pleaded guilty to the
crimes committed is a fact deriving from their interests, and if the
same defendants express the truth in the courtroom as well, it will
be possible to mitigate the burden of responsibility. But the defense
attorney comes and does his/her best in the courtroom to prevent the
defendant from pleading guilty and openly states that the stricter
the punishment the better.

In my view, what happens currently is the continuation of the disorders
in the courtroom. Some groups of hired individuals wander about the
courts and courtrooms, having a primary goal of interrupting the
hearings, intimidating the prosecutors and attempting to use pressure."

"There were press reports saying that the detainees use pressure
against the witnesses not only in the courts but also in the
penitentiary institutions…"

"There has obviously been some communication, and I believe that it
happens through the attorneys as well. If you pay attention to the
motions proposed by the defense attorneys in the courtroom, you will
see that the same text has been distributed to everybody. The same
text is available to all the attorneys no matter whether it applies
to their defendants or not.

The atorneys come and begin reading the texts as though they had
learnt them by heart.

It has now become strictly fashionable to bring examples from the
European Court and the Convention on Human Rights – things that bear
no relationship to the case. What’s more, the attorneys do not even
know the factual circumstances of the examples they bring."

"I wonder whether the examples you mentioned concern the prosecutions
of the individuals who participated in the lootings of ‘Roberto’ and
‘Yerevan City’ shops."

"Yes they do. The absurdity is that L. Ter-Petrosyan announces the
looters do not belong to their team. If you are not the looters,
why do your women supporters come and organize demonstrations for
these people?

In any case, the numerous attempts of politicizing the case are
never crowned with success. The cases examined so far have revealed
substantiated facts that the given offences have been committed by
the given people."

"It has been emphasized many times that society is split, divided into
two poles which are ill-disposed towards each other. Do you feel that
during the court hearings?"

"I definitely do. Even if I make a statement in favor of the accused,
the people in the courtroom become aggressive again because it was
me that made the statement. It’s all the same to them what I say. If
I say something, it’s subject to attack; if the attorney stands up
and discredits the defendant, they applaud.

…What happened in Armenia is an unprecedented crime which has
produced grave consequences not only in terms of the victims but also
in terms of the rÃ¥putation of our state in general. I believe it’s
time for all the people to realize what has really happened, and give
account first to their conscience and then – to the court of law."

–Boundary_(ID_EFYwjMwnLMjuMKCFFuax1Q) —

RUSSIAN FM CONVINCED UPCOMING MEETING OF ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI LEADERS AIMS TO LAY BASIS FOR FURTHER WORK OF FOREIGN MINISTERS WITH SUPPORT OF OSCE MG

arminfo
2008-06-02 11:37:00

ArmInfo. ‘Impatience natural for some cases must not cast doubts on
the mechanisms of the negotiations’, Foreign Minister of the Russian
Federation Sergey Lavrov said at a joint press conference with Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan when asked to comment on the UN
Resolution on the situation in the occupied territories.

‘I’d like to add that the aspiration of the parties for sooner
settlement of the conflict and normalization of the situation is
clear, of course. It is always important. At the same time, there is
great experience in management of various crisis situations, which
requires consistent activity in the format that the parties once
agreed to work in. And the impatience natural for some cases must
not cast doubts on the mechanisms of the negotiations, especially,
the mechanism that proved effective in practice’, Lavrov said.

He mentioned that last year Mink Group Co-chairs made proposals to
the parties, which do not solve all the issues necessary for a final
agreement, but they made some breakthroughs in the greatest part of
the aspects of future settlement. ‘It is an official document kept
at OSCE. It is a strong basis for future progress. I am sure that
the upcoming meeting of the two presidents in St. Petersburg aims
to lay a basis for further work of the two ministers with support
of the Co-chairs. Of course, an agreement is possible only through
direct negotiations but the parties have always highly appreciated
the mechanism of the Co-chairs at our meetings. In this connection,
I believe it necessary evaluating the situation when a proposal for
settlement of conflicts outside the mechanisms created for it is put
for public voting. It can hardly help our general efforts to create
maximum constructive external atmosphere for the normal specific work
of the parties’, the Russian minister said.

Asked to assess the prospects of Karabakh conflict’s resolution
given the opinion of some representatives of the Minsk Group that
the settlement is possible quite soon in case of political will of
the parties, Minister Lavrov said: ‘In case of political will of the
parties, everything must be done very quickly indeed. However, there
are things that do not need hasty measures. Specific negotiations
are conducted on a very complicate issue.

The parties confirmed their intention to further coordinate the
remaining aspects of the problem. And there is strong decisiveness
of the MG Co-chairs to support the parties in it, which is very
important. We reckon with another factor i.e. the domestic political
calendar of Armenia and Azerbaijan. We believe it necessary for all
the external players to avoid making any careless steps and providing
new ideas to the parties trying to help the process. In such cases
consistency and devotion to the agreements achieved and especially
to the agreements bringing results that will finally, I am sure,
allow settling the conflict is an extremely important element of the
general task’.

‘As regards the build of forces in the region, international treaties
backed by a series of verified mechanisms regulate the parameters of
armament. We proceed from this. I am sure that it is the stance of
the Minsk Group saying that no military solution to the problem is
possible. The three Co-chairs work on this basis and the president
and foreign ministers do the same’, the minister said.

RA FM MEET CHAIRMAN OF UNION OF RUSSIAN ARMENIANS

arminfo
2008-06-02 11:17:00

ArmInfo. Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandyan met Head of
the Union of Russian Armenians Ara Abramyan and the governing staff
of URA in Moscow.

As RA FM press service told ArmInfo, during the meeting, E. Nalbandyan
highly appreciated the programmes organized by URA since its foundation
and wished success in the Union’s future activity aimed at welfare
of the Armenian people. RA FM confirmed decisiveness of the Armenian
authorities in activation of Armenia-Diaspora relations. He said that
after the government’s decision to create a Committee for Diaspora
in the structure of the Foreign Ministry, the work on its formation
has already started.

Moreover, the source reports that the minister visited the All-Russian
exhibition and the pavilion "Armenia", where the samples of goods,
imported to Russia from Armenia, have been represented. E. Nalbandyan
discussed the opportunities for implementation of joint programmes
with the exhibition organization management.

RA PRIME MINISTER: RA GOVERNMENT INTENDS TO ACTUATE ADMINISTRATIVE LEVERS TO RESTRAIN INFLATION

arminfo
2008-05-29 15:16:00

ArmInfo. RA government intends to actuate administrative levers to
restrain inflation, as solution of this problem is a problem number
one in the republic, RA Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisyan said at
today’s government session.

As he said, the Gallup polls have shown that the society is most of
all concerned over the price rise in Armenia today. The premier said
that the government is not satisfied with the degree of elasticity
of prices as their rise happens rapidly and sufficiently while the
cut in prices – slowly.

Unfortunately, the premier said, the government do not succeed to
restrain inflation without administrative levers.

He paid the governmental members’ attention to the fact that
a sharp fall in prices for bread, cereal products and rice has
been fixed in the international markets. In particular, the grain
prices during the last month dropped by 42% and for rice – by 22%,
that created favourable conditions for the tendency of reduction
for these foodstuffs in Armenia, which have a high specific weight
in the consumer basket, T. Sarkisyan said. The premier charged the
Economy and finance Ministry, as well as the Central Bank and the
Commission for Protection of Economic Competition to submit proposals
for control of inflation. "The problem of prices is in the center
of the government’s attention and, first of all, we shall carry out
inspections in the organizations, where the rise in prices is not
adequate to the world tendencies", the premier said.

To recall, according to the data of the National Statistical Service
of Armenia, inflation in Armenia in April, as compared with March,
made up 1,1%, over Jan-Apr – 6%. The annual inflation indicator has
been fixed by the budget 2008 at 4% level with deviations at the rate
of 1,5%,,however, the experts forecast to 10%.

U.S. EMBASSY’S OFFICE OF DEFENSE COOPERATION DELIVERS PROPERTY TO FRIDTJOF NANSEN ORPHANAGE

US Fed News
May 27, 2008 Tuesday 3:26 AM EST

The U.S. Department of Defense’s European Command issued the following
press release:

The U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission, Robert Frazier, hosted a ribbon
cutting ceremony with Mr. Ruben Markosian, Director of the Fridtjof
Nansen Orphanage here May 21. The event recognized the delivery of
over $33,000 dollars worth of household furniture and equipment to
the orphanage.

This project was coordinated by Maj. Ed Keller of the U.S. Kansas
National Guard who is assigned to the U.S. Embassy’s Office of Defense
Cooperation (ODC), and the furniture for the Orphanage was donated
by the U.S European Command based in Stuttgart, Germany. This single
project is only part of the ODC’s overall Humanitarian Assistance
program this year, which will also provide furniture and equipment
to an additional orphanage in Yerevan, provide fire fighting gear
to the Armenian Rescue Service, and renovate aged water systems in
three northeastern Armenian villages this summer.

The Fridtjof Nansen Orphanage was founded in 2000, and has had 150
children pass through it since that time. One measure of the success of
this orphanage is that 80 children have been returned to families. The
delivery of U.S. donated furniture will help sustain the 70 remaining
children who currently live at the orphanage. The property that was
delivered consists of bunk beds complete with mattresses, sheets, and
pillows, as well as night stands, and wardrobe cabinets. Additionally,
two stainless steel medicine cabinets, a medical exam table, two
pharmaceutical cabinets and an assortment of medical supplies were
provided to the orphanage’s clinic.

The Humanitarian Assistance Program run by U.S. European Command
(EUCOM) is considered one of their most important activities
for assisting the various peoples of the region. EUCOM assists
approximately 20 different countries through humanitarian assistance
and executes roughly 150 projects each year.

The U.S. Office of Defense Cooperation in Armenia works to foster
U.S. government and industry assistance to Armenia in the defense
sphere. The office operates under the authority of the U.S. Chief of
Mission in Armenia and the U.S. European Command.

AZG Armenian Daily #102, 30/05/2008

Karabakh issue

IT IS IMPORTANT NOT TO RESTART THE WAR

OSCE Minsk Group Russian former Co-chair, Deputy Chairman of the
Russian Diplomats Association Vladimir Kazimirov in a press conference
mentioned that it is important not to restart the war.

According to him, while Azerbaijan hopes for military revenge and the
Armenian party tries to hold the most advantageous field positions,
the progress in the political settlement of the conflict is
impossible. "I don’t understand the Armenian party that agrees to
discuss the issue of Karabakh status after 10-15 years. Here the
position is so clear that 5 years would be sufficient", mentioned
V. Kazimirov.

Touching upon the ceasefire agreement achieved 14 years ago on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani contact line Mr. Kazimirov mentioned that
besides the Bishkek statement signed on May 5, there are also two
other documents that serve as a basis for it – the statement of the
leaders of CIS countries on Nagorno Karabakh conflict adopted in April
1994 and the document of ceasefire maintenance signed by the heads of
military departments of the three parties of the conflict.

The former Co-chair criticizes not so much the Minsk Group that has
become a consultation body rather than the Co-chairs. According to
him, settlement of the conflict based on the ideas being discussed at
present brings into question the compromise between the parties and
demands prolonging at best.

Translated by L.H.

Armenia’s Public Council to be Formed by Sept

YEREVAN, May 30. /ARKA/. The RA Public Council is to be formed by
September, RA Presidential Advisor Garnik Isaghulyan told reporters.

He pointed out that the President advanced the initiative to form the
council when the national security strategy was being elaborated. The
strategy indicated the necessity for an organ to establish contacts
between the public and government authorities.

Isaghulyan pointed out that the issue of forming the council was not
raised because of the current political situation in Armenia.

`The current domestic political situation only suggests that the
Council should in the best way possible consider the viewpoints of the
political forces that have no platforms to speak from. They are
primarily the extraparliamentary political forces, public organizations
expressing their criticism, individual public figures,’ Isaghulyan said

He pointed out that the council will carry out independent activities.

`It will be an advisory body entitled to discuss and express its
viewpoint on any bill that will be submitted to the Parliament, as well
as on the presidential decrees of great public importance,’ Isaghulyan
said.

He stressed that the Council’s viewpoint on issues of state importance
will be open to the public
No one can interfere in the Council’s activities, but its viewpoint
will be of importance, Isaghulyan said.

He pointed out that the activities of a task group, as well as the
place for its working meetings, are being discussed. He said that
representatives of Armenia’s mass media are expected to be involved in
the Council.

`I think that the Council’s activities will be efficient,’ Isaghulyan
said.

The task group of the Public Council is expected to include
representatives of parliamentary and extra-parliamentary political
forces, NGOs, ex-presidents, the presidential candidates in the latest
election, workers of art and culture, scientists and sports workers.

The RA Public Council will consider all the issues of state importance,
analyze bills, by-laws, presidential decree. The Council will state
advisory opinions. -0-

Middle East Council of Churches
Office of International Ecumenical Relations P.O. Box 5376, Beirut, Lebanon

Guirgis Ibrahim Saleh, General Secretary [email protected] or
[email protected]

+961-1-353-938
htt p://

Friday, May 30, 2008 5:16 AM
ORIENTAL ORTHODOX STANDING COMMITTEE MEETS IN ST MARK – CAIRO

The Standing Committee of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the Middle East
met in St Mark Coptic Orthodox Conference Centre – Cairo May 7 – 8. On the
9th, the meeting was presided by His Holiness Pope Shenouda of the Coptic
Orthodox Church, and His Holiness Patriarch Zakka Iwas I of the Syrian
Orthodox Church. His Holiness Catholicos Aram I of the Armenian Orthodox
Church was not able to travel from Beirut because of the special situation
in Lebanon. The Committee presented its working papers to the Heads of
Churches. No common declaration was issued until the Heads of Oriental
Orthodox meet again. There were many issues and reports on the agenda of the
meeting, regarding the relations and dialogues between the Oriental Orthodox
churches in the Middle East and the Anglican, Catholic and Lutheran Churches
as well as the World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of
Churches.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

CATHOLICOS ARAM I CONGRATULATES THE NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT OF LEBANON

His Holiness Aram I offered his warm congratulations to the newly elected
President of Lebanon, General Michel Suleiman, during a phone conversation
with the President on the morning of May 27.

The Pontiff pointed out that at such critical times taking this
responsibility is a great challenge. He also expressed hope, however, that
the new President will succeed in opening a new page of understanding
between the Lebanese communities, as well as development and progress in the
country. The Catholicos offered his full support and endorsement to the new
President.

##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.