Author: Khoyetsian Rose

ARARAT ZURABYAN, CHAIRMAN OF APNM PARTY BOARD, AND ALEKSANDER ARZUMANYAN, THE FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER OF ARMENIA, DETAINED

arminfo
2008-03-12 13:03:00

ArmInfo. Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia published some details
of the detention of Ararat Zurabyan, Chairman of APNM Party Board,
and Aleksander Arzumanyan, the former foreign minister of Armenia.

Press Secretary of Prosecutor General SonaTruzyan reports National
Security Service operative group exposed the wanted A. Zurabyan
and A. Arzumanyan on March 10 at a rented flat in 16 Saryan Street,
in Yerevan. They were detained for suspicion in crimes under item
3 of Article 225 and item 1 of Article 300 of the Criminal Code
of Armenia i.e. organization of mass disorders followed by murders;
actions aiming seize of state power with violation of the Constitution
of Armenia as well as actions aiming forced state coup.

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT MAKES NO ALTERATION TO CENTRAL ELECTORAL COMMITTEE RESOLUTION

AZG Armenian Daily
11/03/2008

Post-Election

On March 8 the Constitutional Court of Armenia published its verdict
on Tigran Karapetian’s and Levon Ter-Petrosian’s appeal to cancel
the February 24 "24-A" resolution of the Central Electoral Committee
"On Having Elected the President of the Republic"

It has been already reported by the Armenian mass media that the
Constitutional Court found the resolution legitimate and made no
alteration to it.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT LIFTS BAN ON ACTIVITIES OF POLITICAL PARTIES

Mediamax
March 10 2008
Armenia

Yerevan, 10 March: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan signed a decree
abolishing certain items of the decree on imposing a state of emergency
in Yerevan.

Mediamax reports that the spokesman for the Armenian president,
Viktor Soghomonyan, stated today that the repeal covers subpoints
6 and 7 of Part 4 of the decree on imposing a state of emergency,
which provided for:

6. Temporary interruption of the activities of [the political] parties
and other public organizations, which hinder the elimination of the
conditions, which became a reason for imposing the state of emergency.

7. Sending out the people, who violated requirements of the state of
emergency and who do not reside in the zone of its effect.

Viktor Soghomonyan noted that the president made a decision on
mitigating the order of the state of emergency, taking into account the
fact that starting from 1 March up till now, no cases of violation of
the given order have been registered. Besides, the spokesman stated
that by making the decision, the president took into account the
stabilization of internal political situation.

Interfax News Agency, Russia
Russia & CIS Military Newswire
March 6, 2008 Thursday

Stepanakert will cooperate with OSCE in monitoring line of contact
with Azerbaijan

STEPANAKERT March 6

The breakaway Nagorno Karabakh Republic is prepared to assist in
conducting crisis monitoring at the line of contact between the
Karabakh and Azeri troops on March 7.

The office of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe) chairman-in-office’s personal representative delivered to the
Karabakh Foreign Ministry a note asking for assistance in crisis
monitoring on March 7, the Karabakh Foreign Ministry told Interfax on
Thursday.

The Ministry said it is prepared to assist in organizing and
conducting crisis monitoring and to ensure the safety of the OSCE
mission members, the press service said.

The note was received in reply to Karabakh’s request for a crisis
monitoring at the line of contact between the Karabakh and Azeri
armed forces near the village of Levonarkh in Martakert district, the
ministry said. "Here, in the early hours of March 4 the Azeri armed
forces grossly violated the ceasefire, which resulted in eight Azeri
special unit soldiers killed and two Karabakh servicemen wounded,"
the ministry’s press service said.

Elected Armenian President stated that `we are striving for Turkey’s
repentance’

March 7, 2008

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian President-Elect Serzh Sarkisian stated
that `we are striving for Turkey’s repentance, which will benefit the
Turkish society, which strives for full membership in the European
family’.

Mediamax reports that Serzh Sarkisian said this in an interview,
published in `Rossiyskaya Gazeta’ today.

`We always said and we continue saying that Armenia is ready to
establish diplomatic relations with Turkey without any preconditions
even tomorrow. Turkey is the one to present to Armenia quite strange
requirements for the establishment of diplomatic relations. One can say
that the ball is now on Ankara’s field’, Serzh Sarkisian.

Answering the question on why the issue of Armenian Genocide
recognition has such fundamental importance for Yerevan, the elected
President stated:

`For foreign policy of Armenia, the issue of the Genocide is a
priority, first of all for the international community, having
recognized the fact of Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915,
to have secured the impossibility of repetition of Genocide in future
not only concerning the Armenian people, but any other nation as well’.

Broadcasting Board of Governors, Washington DC
March 5 2008

US OBJECTS TO NEWS "BLACKOUT" OF ARMENIA MEDIA

press release on 5 March

Washington D.C., March 5, 2008 – The Broadcasting Board of Governors
(BBG) strongly objects to the blackout ofindependent media in
Armenia. Under the state of emergency rules that went into effect on
March 2, media were ordered tocite only official sources when
covering national news, and the Voice of America’s (VOA)
Armenian-language TVprogram and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s
(RFE/RL) Armenian-language radio programs are no longer
beingbroadcast through local affiliated stations. In addition,
Internet access has been curtailed as part of the governmentefforts
to control news and information as the political crisis has deepened
since the disputed February 19elections.

"Censorship and harassment of the media are the antithesis of
democracy," said James K. Glassman, Chairman of the BBG, which
oversees all non-military U.S. international broadcasting. "Our
broadcasters wish to serve theaudience in Armenia by providing
reliable news and information at this critical juncture.
Unfortunately, that is not an option at the moment, unless you are a
patient and resourceful Internet user."

In the course of the violence over the weekend, a driver for RFE/RL
was beaten by police in Yerevan, despite beingidentified as a
representative of the media, and another RFE/RL correspondent in the
town of Gumri, covering a similardemonstration, was manhandled and
threatened by Interior Ministry troops.

VOA and RFE/RL are among the entities that broadcast in 60 languages
under the direction of the Broadcasting Board ofGovernors, reaching
an overseas audience of 155 million people on radio, television and
the Internet.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent federal agency
which supervises all U.S. government-supported, non-military
international broadcasting, including the Voice of America (VOA);
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL);the Middle East Broadcasting
Networks (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa); Radio Free Asia (RFA); and the
Office of CubaBroadcasting (Radio and TV Marti). Through its
broadcast services, the BBG provides the United States and its
leadersdirect and immediate access to a worldwide audience of 155
million people. Current governors are Chairman James K.Glassman,
Joaquin F. Blaya, Blanquita W. Cullum, D. Jeffrey Hirschberg, Edward
E. Kaufman, and Steven J. Simmons.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
is an ex officio member.

For more information, please contact the Office of Public Affairs at
202-203-4959 or via e-mail [email protected]

RUSSIAN AIR FORCE CHIEF COMMENTS ON SWITCHOVER TO S-400 SAM SYSTEM

Interfax
March 4 2008
Russia

Yekaterinburg, 4 March: The Russian Army plans to switch to the
latest S-400 Triumf air defence missile system in thevery near future,
Russian Air Force Commander-in-Chief Col-Gen Aleksandr Zelin has said.

"I think we will be all switching to the new air defence missile
system S-400 in the very near future. Russiahas already put it into
service; one of the regiments is being rearmed with the system",
Zelin said at a newsconference in Yekaterinburg today.

He noted that other CIS countries also expressed interest in
the system. "In terms of the organization ofinteraction and the
organization of automated control systems of air defence, the Republic
of Belarus has the mostadvanced position. Everything new and advanced
is being put to use to ensure the protection of air borders of CIS
membercountries", Zelin said.

A representative of Belarus said at the new conference that Belarus
was working on the issue of buying S-400 systems."This is a matter
of years", [the representative said].

Aleksandr Zelin, commenting on military and technical cooperation
among CIS countries, said that they were interestedin equipment
repairs in the Russian Federation and other CIS countries with
appropriate potential.

Zelin chaired a meeting of the Air Defence Coordination Committee
under CIS Council of Defence Ministers held inYekaterinburg today. It
was attended by air force and air defence commanders from Armenia,
Belarus, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine
as well as representatives of the commander of the Baltic Fleet,
CIS and CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization] bodies and
the defence industry.

RUSSIAN DUMA TO CONSIDER RECOGNITION OF CIS BREAKAWAY REPUBLICS

Center TV
March 5 2008
Russia

Today the Russian Foreign Ministry called upon Baku and Yerevan not
to allow the escalation of violencein Nagornyy Karabakh.

The main thing is to ensure that clashes with the use heavy hardware,
which flared up in the earlyhours of 4 March, would not grow into
large-scale combat activities, the statement of the Russian Foreign
Ministrysays.

At the same time, some observers think it is no accident that the
conflict flared up again now, a few weeks afterKosovo declared its
independence. Vladislav Shikoyan continues on the issue.

[Correspondent] The Kosovo example, as Moscow warned, turned out
to be contagious. Even before the protest actions inSerbia and the
popular celebrations in Kosovo itself faded, passions flared up in
other unrecognized republics. [Passageomitted: situation has escalated
in Nagornyy Karabakh]

Nagornyy Karabakh is too busy for this but the three other
self-proclaimed republics – Abkhazia, South Ossetia andDniester region
– are preparing a statement addressed to Russia, the CIS and the UN
regarding recognition ofindependence. At least in Russia there is an
intention to consider this issue seriously.

[Konstantin Zatulin, captioned as deputy of the Russian State Duma,
speaking at news conference] They have more than enough of their own
grounds, without any precedents, to have independence. Based on our
proposal, the proposal of ourcommittee [Duma committee on the affairs
of the CIS and ties with compatriots], a parliamentary hearing will
be held on the situation regarding the settlement of conflicts on
the territory of the CIS and a statement regarding therecognition
of independence sent to Russia by the Dniester-Moldova Republic,
the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republicof South Ossetia.

Naturally, expressing my personal point of view, I think that,
generally speaking, the issue of recognizing theindependent states
has become ripe long since even without the Kosovo precedent.

[Presenter] Against this background, Georgia has decided to leave
the talks process altogether – Tbilisi is no longersatisfied with the
tripartite commission for the settlement of the Ossetian conflict. In
the unrecognized republics itis thought that this would lead to
the escalation of the conflict. By the way, in a week’s time the
representativesof the parliaments of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and
Dniester region will come to Moscow for a hearing. It has so far
notbeen decided whether to invite representatives of Georgia and
Moldova.

TROUBLING NEWS FROM THE CAUCASUS

Economist
/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10809006
March 6 2008
UK

Bloodshed in Armenia worries both Russia and the West

THE day after Dmitry Medvedev’s presidential victory, Moscow’s leading
papers turned their attention away from the long-predicted result
to the unexpected bloodshed in Armenia. At least eight people were
killed in clashes between security forces and opposition supporters
protesting against alleged fraud in the country’s presidential
elections. "An election won with some blood", ran the headline in
Kommersant, a leading business daily.

Small, complicated and with names that are hard to spell, Armenia has
long been out of the mainstream of world news. Yet what happens in
this country has implications not only for the whole of the Caucasus,
a region vital for Europe’s energy security, but also for Russia. The
story of rigged elections, corrupt officials and dead protesters is
particularly unnerving for Russia, a country that prides itself on
its stability.

On February 19th Armenia held presidential elections. The incumbent
prime minister, Serzh Sarkisian, assisted by a biased media and
occasional stuffing of the ballot boxes, won 53% of the vote. If the
election had been conducted fairly, there is a good chance he would
have faced a second round and a possible defeat. But Mr Sarkisian
had the backing of Robert Kocharian, the current president, which
swung the result. (Mr Kocharian, it is said, fancies the job of prime
minister-not unlike his Russian counterpart.)

International observers did not cover themselves in glory. The
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe pointed out many
shortcomings, yet said in an initial statement that the ballot was
"mostly in line with the country’s international commitments".

The opposition, led by Levon Ter-Petrosian, an academic and Armenia’s
first president, demanded a re-run of the election. His supporters
took to the streets. Mr Ter-Petrosian is no democratic angel. In 1996
he is widely believed to have rigged the presidential election in
his favour. Still, those who voted for him this time did so largely
in protest against the local mafia, corruption and unemployment now
associated with Mr Kocharian.

For 11 days the government put up with the peaceful protest. But
on March 1st, the police moved in on the pretext that protesters
were carrying firearms, which some observers say were planted. Mr
Ter-Petrosian was placed under de facto house arrest and the crowd
was dispersed. Predictably it regrouped and gathered in front of the
French embassy in Yerevan. Mr Kocharian sent in the army, and the
area was soon lit up with tracer fire.

Eight people were killed, cars were torched and shops were looted.

Many protesters were armed with stones and metal poles. But the
responsibility ultimately lies with the government which allowed
the situation to deteriorate into chaos. The state of emergency now
imposed by Mr Kocharian for 20 days, including a media blackout and the
arrest of opposition figures, may temporarily suppress the protests,
but it is unlikely to resolve the underlying problems.

These include corruption, low living standards and an economic
blockade by Azerbaijan and Turkey because of Nagorno-Karabakh,
the Armenian-populated enclave inside Azerbaijan that was conquered
by Armenia in 1994. This conflict has long been frozen. But three
days after the violence in Yerevan, Armenian and Azerbaijani forces
were involved in their worst firefight in a decade. Both Armenia and
Azerbaijan accuse each other of starting the skirmish, which caused
a disputed number of deaths on both sides.

Claiming that Kosovo’s declaration of independence last month has
emboldened Armenian separatists, Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliev,
has given warning that he is buying weapons to retake Nagorno-Karabakh
by force, if necessary. A renewed war could destabilise the region
and jeopardise a strategic oil pipeline to Turkey that runs only 15
kilometres (ten miles) from the ceasefire line.

Nagorno-Karabakh remains an open sore. Mr Ter-Petrosian’s downfall
in 1998 was mainly caused by his hints of a more flexible approach
to a peace settlement with Azerbaijan. Both Mr Kocharian and Mr
Sarkisian are from Nagorno-Karabakh and fought in the war, but they
have done little to move towards peace. In a recent commentary in
the Washington Post, Mr Ter-Petrosian dismissed the notion that only
hardliners from Nagorno-Karabakh can solve the conflict. Indeed, he
argues that Mr Sarkisian, whose presidency is now marred by bloodshed
and incompetence, will be even less able to govern.

Russia and the West have an interest in Armenia’s stability, and
they need to work to maintain it. This could be Mr Medvedev’s first
foreign test as president.

ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES VOW TOUGH RESPONSE AFTER CLASHES
by Antoine Lambroschini

Agence France Presse — English
March 3, 2008 Monday 5:15 PM GMT

Armenian authorities vowed Monday to pursue those responsible for
violent clashes that left eight dead, after arresting two lawmakers
accused of attempting to seize power in a coup.

Seven civilians and one police officer were killed in Saturday’s street
battles between riot police and opposition supporters protesting the
result of a presidential election. Dozens were injured, many from
gunshot wounds.

On Monday Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, the official winner of
the February 19 election, vowed to bring those responsible for the
clashes to justice.

"The organisers of these disturbances must answer before the law,
history and future generations," Sarkisian said in a statement.

Police said they had arrested two lawmakers for allegedly attempting
a coup following the clashes.

Deputy Miasnik Malkhasian was arrested for "attempting to seize power,"
the press service of the Armenian police told AFP. A source in the
security services said another lawmaker Hakob Hokopian was arrested
on the same charge.

The opposition immediately denounced the arrests.

"This is a new step in the violence the authorities are using
against the opposition to deprive it of its leadership," said Arman
Musinian, a spokesman for opposition leader and election candidate
Levon Ter-Petrosian.

The two deputies had defected to Ter-Petrosian’s camp after being
elected as members of the ruling Republican Party.

The opposition claims the election was rigged to ensure victory for
Sarkisian, President Robert Kocharian’s hand-picked successor.

On Monday a mediator from the Western-led Organisation for Security
and Cooperation in Europe said he saw little chance of negotiations
in the immediate future.

"In all likeliness, a political dialogue is not possible at the moment
between Ter-Petrosian and the government, but let’s not exclude it
for the future," the mediator, Heikki Talvitie, told journalists.

He called on both sides to assume responsibility for the unrest.

"Everybody has a responsibility and everybody should acknowledge it,"
he said. "Accusing each other is the last thing that should be done.

Now the most important thing is to try to start working for a political
situation."

The violence began early on Saturday when police tried to disperse
between 6,000 and 8,000 demonstrators, after days of mass protests
in the capital.

The protesters fought back with petrol bombs, sticks and stones.

Police used tear gas and fired live ammunition into the air.

Protesters finally left the streets after an appeal by their leaders,
but not before rioters overturned and burned dozens of vehicles and
smashed shop windows.

Kocharian declared a 20-day state of emergency in the capital,
banning rallies and imposing restrictions on the media.

On Monday the police prevented Ter-Petrosian, the runner-up and a
former president, from leaving his home.

Ter-Petrosian, who took 21.5 percent of the vote according to
the official count, has been confined there since Saturday by his
state-assigned security detail, which authorities say is acting out
of concern for his safety.

The capital was relatively calm on Monday but dozens of soldiers and
armoured personnel carriers guarded government buildings.

The state of emergency bans demonstrations and requires the media to
put out only information from government sources.