Author: Maghakian Mike

LEVON MKRTCHIAN: MAKING EDUCATION SYSTEM PARTY IS MORTAL FOR EDUCATION

Noyan Tapan
Apr 23 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 23, NOYAN TAPAN. According to characterization of
ARF member, RA Minister of Education and Science Levon Mkrtchian,
interest is nocited among the people during the propaganda mission
preceding the National Assembly elections to take place in Armenia
on May 12: there is no despair among the public like it was during
the previous elections. "However, task number one of the propaganda
mission today is the issue to take the people to the elections,
L. Mkrtchian mentioned, who also stated that, for example, only 35
thousand of the 90 thousand voters living in the center of Yerevan
participated in the previous elections.

Levon Mkrtchian considers explosions and shots taking place during the
propaganda mission as a normal phenomanon. In his words, the criminal
element always uses the pre-electoral period for "settling accounts:"
"The criminogen situation always strains during that period, and
clashes take place among these or those forces," L. Mkrtchian said.

Emphasizing that making the education system party is mortal for the
education, L. Mkrtchian assured that the ARF has never made the sphere
employees become party members and has not put pressure on them for
joining other parties."

IN CASE OF VIOLATION OF ORDER OF PREELECTORAL AGITATION RA CEC TO APPLY TO COURT WITH DEMAND TO RECOGNIZE INVALID REGISTRATION OF CANDIDATES OR POLITICAL FORCES

Noyan Tapan
Apr 23 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 23, NOYAN TAPAN. At the April 23 sitting RA CEC
unanimously made a decision, according to which it demands from
parties, party bloc registered by proportional system and candidates
for deputacy registered by majoritarian system observing the orders
established by RA Electoral Code and CEC decisions when carrying out
electoral agitation by media. Otherwise, CEC will apply to the court
for invalidating the registration of electoral list of candidate or
political force who violated the order or preelectoral agitation.

CEC’s above mentioned decision was based on the precedent of
Marxist Party’s giving its broadcast hour on Public TV on April 14
to non-partisan deputy Tatul Manaserian registered as a candidate
for deputacy by majoritarian system.

David Hakobian, the leader of the Marxist Party of Armenia, who was
present at CEC sitting, said that "the reproof is absolutely right" and
begged CEC’s pardon. As he explained, he was anaware of the prohibition
to give broadcast hour to another candidate or party, as well as of
the fact that T. Manaserian is a candidate for deputacy. CEC took
into consideration D. Hakobian’s explanations deciding not to follow
the letter of the law in this case.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH SUPPORTED BY THE DIASPORA
By Selahattin Sevi

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
April 24 2007

[IMPRESSIONS FROM OCCUPIED LANDS-1]

* Nagorno-Karabakh supported by the diaspora

* Davit Melkumuyan is a representative of a Nagorno-Karabakh-based
civil society organization. He was expecting an invitation from the
European Commission.

With the invitation, a visa is required and his hometown of Hankendi
(Stepanakerd) in Nagorno-Karabakh needs to be listed. However, Brussels
sent the invitation to Baku as the European Commission — just like
Azerbaijan and many other countries — recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh
as Azeri territory.

The Armenians of Karabakh, however, declared independence after a
referendum in 1991, which was boycotted by Karabakh Azerbaijanis. In
the subsequent war, Armenia occupied Karabakh and five other adjacent
districts disconnecting Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan. Twenty
percent of Azeri territory has been under Armenian occupation since
then.

Despite negotiations supervised by the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) after the cease-fire in 1994, no
significant progress has been made in getting past the deadlock.

Davit’s current problem is perhaps the most concrete indicator of
the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh impasse.

Access to Nagorno-Karabakh is possible only through Armenia.

Traveling time for the 330-kilometer-long Yerevan-Hankendi highway
takes six hours. After traveling the Armenian part of the trip, we
approach Lacin, the Azerbaijani city under occupation which serves
as a buffer zone between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. Vehicles are
stopped by traffic police. It turns out the road is temporarily closed
to traffic because of a military drill for Armenian troops.

Even this alone signals the tension in the region. The commander
directing the drill from his comfortable jeep pushes the troops to
their limits with his orders.

After passing through the Lacin valley, the first thing we see is
a military control point which marks the beginning of the occupied
zone. There is no serious border check. Nobody asks for either
passport or permit. Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied zones seem to
be extensions of Armenian territory. There is a seemingly abandoned
village a few miles away near a brook. This is Zabuk (Aðavnok)
village which Azerbaijanis left after the war. The village is
dilapidated. However, the presence of bee hives tells us there are
people living down there.

The first person we met there is Griþa who told us she came from
Georgia in 1995 and hesitated to give her last name. Asked why she
came here, Griþa responded: "An Armenian is not asked why he or she
is here. An Armenian is born in somewhere, grows up somewhere else,
migrates to another place and dies in a totally different place."

Griþa had to leave her original home. She now lives in a house
abandoned by the Azerbaijanis. She was followed by other 40 families
who did almost the same thing. They asked for no permission. Nearly
120 people live in the village at the moment.

Sonya is the second person we talked to. A teacher in the village
school which has 30 students, Sonya migrated from Taþkesen in
Azerbaijan nine years ago. She has had no news about her home there.

But she misses Baku a lot. Asked if she wants to live in Baku someday,
Sonya responds asking, "Do you believe everything will be fine?"

* After Lacin (Lacin) was destroyed

Lacin is five kilometers ahead of Zabuk. The same situation prevails
there. Public buildings include a post office, a museum and a theatre;
all are in abject condition. The partially usable ones were transformed
into police station and hospital. No Azeri trace is left in the
city. Even civilian buildings were seized.

We hit the road to arrive in Hankendi before it gets dark. We
traveled 40 kilometers in one and a half hours. Soon we realized
why this region is called Nagorno-Karabakh; impassable mountains,
deep valleys and steep roads that make you dizzy. But green plateaus
and a nice spring evening await us in Hankendi after this tiring trip.

Hankendi, Karabakh’s largest city with a population of 140,000,
features classical Soviet architecture which can be observed in a
large square, wide streets, multiple floor social residences and
public buildings. The impact of the Armenian diaspora is felt on the
streets of Hankendi. Armenians abroad gave large sums for restoration
and reconstruction works in the city, including the renovation of the
schools and the construction of social buildings and roads. The newly
erected public buildings openly display names of American-Armenian
millionaires who sponsored the construction work.

The statue of Alek Manukyan, the benefactor known for his generosity
to Karabakh who died in 1996, adorns the city’s main square.

According to Karabakh’s unrecognized foreign minister, Georgi
Petrosyan, monetary aid provided by the diaspora reaches $9-10
million every year. diaspora aid makes up the third largest portion
in Karabakh’s annual budget.

We were amazed when we saw Turkish goods sold in the stores. Local
people show great interest in these products shipped to Karabakh
via third countries. Turkish products marketed in Hankendi include
virtually all the basics, from tomatoes to tea, from socks to fridges.

To be continued..

–Boundary_(ID_XCqIDtYHVLvWgsQBfAjiwg )–

FAMILY DOCTORS TO FROM NOW ON HAVE POSSIBILITY OF FUNCTIONING INDEPENDENTLY

Noyan Tapan
Apr 20 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The order of implementation of
individual and group independent practices of family doctors was
affirmed at the April 19 sitting of the RA Government. It defines
compulsory demands and conditions of implementing the above-mentioned
practice.

It was mentioned at the sitting that introduction of independent
activity of family doctors in the health care system is in keeping
with strategy of primary keeping and development of health care and
is the most important one among the main principles of the family
medicine. Creation of conditions necessary for individual and group
independent practice of family doctors and for their activity will
greatly assist final formation of the family medicine in the RA
and not only accessibility but also security of the quality of the
services in the primary circle.

As Vahan Poghosian, the Chief of the Medical Assistance Organization
Department of the RA Ministry of Health Care informed journalists
after the sitting, family doctors must be utmost independent from
the viewpoint of organization, management of financial resources and
implement their services based on the principle of free choice by
the population.

In V. Poghosian’s words, family doctors had no possibility till now
to independently manage their financial resources and property. And a
family doctor from now on will be more careful and interested in the
issue of medical equipment, responsible for the quality of his service.

It was also mentioned that family doctors will freely implement their
services as it is at polyclinics as the state pays 4800 drams (about
13 U.S. dollars) annually for every person served by them.

CEC ESTABLISHES FORM OF APPLICATION OF APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS OF DISTRICT ELECTORAL COMMISSIONS TO BE FORMED FROM APRIL 23

Noyan Tapan
Apr 19 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 19, NOYAN TAPAN. At the April 19 sitting RA CEC
established the form of application of appointment of members of
district electoral commissions. The application of appointing members
of district electoral commissions by a member of constituency electoral
commission will include the latters’ personal data and the number of
qualification certificate. The copy of qualification certificate will
be attached to it.

To recap, according to the schedule of preparation and holding of
the main events of May 12 parliamentary elections, district electoral
commissions should be formed from April 23 to April 26, 18:00.

CEC also made a decision about using electoral documents’ sack of
one-time use. According to the decision, in case of necessity to
recalculate the votes, the sack will be opened from below, then it
will be closed by laces of one-time use intended for ballot-boxes
and will be sealed and signed by commission member.

By another decision the commission rejected accreditation of observers
of Noyemberian’s Association of Young Christian Women NGO due to lack
of issues of democracy and human rights among the regulation issus
of the organization.

As CEC Chairman Garegin Azarian stated, as of April 19, 28 NGOs and
5 international organizations are accredited in CEC. To recap, the
deadline for accrediting observers is May 2.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 0033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 10) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 10) 52.48.46
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Website:

World Public Rejects US Role as the World Leader

Majorities Still Want US to Do its Share in Multilateral Efforts,
Not Withdraw from International Affairs

Mixed Views on US Overseas Bases

April 18, 2007, 01:00 GMT
Contact, International Findings:
Steven Kull, 202-232-7500
Christopher Whitney, 312-451-1040

April 18, 2007, Yerevan, 06:00
Contact, Armenia Findings:
Stepan Safarian, 37410-528-780
Syuzanna Barseghian, 37410-274-818

Yerevan–The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS)
today convened a roundtable discussion to present the results of the fourth
in a series of reports based on a poll of worldwide opinion on key global
issues. The report was devoted to the role of the United States as a world
leader. The meeting brought together citizens, members of leading think
tanks, analysts, and media representatives.

ACNIS director of research Stepan Safarian delivered opening remarks. "The
attitudes in Armenia and the rest of the world with respect to US global
policy are mixed," he said. "For the most part, this is a reflection of the
double standards endorsed by the current US administration and ongoing
policies that often contradict the precepts of American democracy. The
study, nonetheless, has indirectly revealed the public need and desire for
improving US-Armenia relations." ACNIS analyst Syuzanna Barseghian then
presented survey results.

A multinational poll finds that publics around the world reject the idea
that the United States should continue to play the role of preeminent world
leader. Most publics say the United States plays the role of world policeman
more than it should and cannot be trusted to act responsibly.

But the survey also finds that majorities in most countries want the United
States to do its share in multilateral efforts to address world problems and
do not want it to withdraw from world affairs. Views are divided on whether
the United States should reduce the number of military bases it has overseas
and in some countries publics perceive an improvement in their bilateral
relations with the US.

Americans largely agree with the rest of the world: most do not think the
United States should remain the world’s preeminent leader and prefer that it
play a more cooperative role. They also believe United States plays the role
of world policeman more than it should.

This is the fourth in a series of reports based on a worldwide poll
conducted by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and
WorldPublicOpinion.org, in cooperation with polling organizations around the
world. The larger study includes polls in China , India, the United States,
Indonesia, Russia, France, Thailand, Ukraine, Poland, Iran, Mexico, South
Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Argentina, Peru, Israel and Armenia-plus
the Palestinian territories. The publics polled represent about 56 percent
of the world’s population. Not all questions were asked in all countries.

Steven Kull, editor of WorldPublicOpinion.org notes that this poll
reinforces the conclusions of other recent global surveys, which have found
that the United States’ image abroad is bad and growing worse. But he added
that this survey also explores what kind of role the international community
would like the United States to play in the world.

"This survey shows that despite the negative views of US foreign policy,
publics around the world do not want the United States to disengage from
international affairs, but rather to participate in a more cooperative and
multilateral fashion," Kull said.

Majorities in all 15 of the publics polled reject the idea that "the US
should continue to be the preeminent world leader in solving international
problems." However in only two of them (Argentina and the Palestinian
territories), do majorities say that the United States "should withdraw from
most efforts to solve international problems."

Publics in all of the countries surveyed tend to prefer that the United
States pursue a cooperative, multilateral approach by doing "its share in
efforts to solve international problems together with other countries."
This is true in South Korea (79%), the United States (75%), France (75%),
China (68%), Israel (62%), Peru (61%), Mexico (59%), Armenia (58%),
Philippines (55%), Ukraine (52%), Thailand (47%), India (42%) and Russia
(42%).

Just as they reject the idea that the United States should continue to be
the world’s preeminent leader, most believe the United States is "playing
the role of world policeman more than it should." Majorities in 13 out of
15 publics express this view, including large majorities in France (89%),
Australia (80%), China (77%), Russia (76%), Peru (76%), the Palestinian
territories (74%) and South Korea (73%). More than three out of four
Americans (76%) also agree. The only exceptions are the Filipinos, a
majority of whom (57%) disagree that the United States is playing world
policeman more than it should, and the Israelis, who are divided on the
issue.

This desire for a reduced American role may flow in part from a lack of
confidence that the United States can be trusted to "act responsibly in the
world." This lack of confidence was the most common view in 10 out of 15
countries. Two Latin American countries show the highest numbers
expressing this mistrust–Argentina (84%) and Peru (80%)–followed by
Russians (73%), the French (72%), and Indonesians (64%). But in four
countries, majorities or pluralities say the United States can be at least
"somewhat" trusted to act responsibly, led by the Filipinos (85%), Israelis
(81%), Poles (51%) and Ukrainians (49%).

Despite the widespread belief that the United States should be more
cooperative and less dominant, countries express mixed views about whether
the United States should reduce its military presence around the world. In
only five out of 12 publics polled does a majority favor decreasing the
number of overseas US military bases: Argentines (75%), Palestinians (70%),
the French (69%), Chinese (63%), and Ukrainians (62%). In four, majorities
favor either maintaining the current number or increasing it: Philippines
(78%), Americans (68%), Israelis (59%), and Poles (54%). Armenians and
Thais lean in favor of maintaining or reducing, while Indians are divided.
No country favors increases.

Also contrary to their negative views of the United States’ role in the
world is the perception in some publics that relations between their country
and the United States are getting better. Majorities in India (58%) and
China (53%) say relations with the United States are improving. Pluralities
think so in Australia (50%), Armenia (48%), Indonesia (46%) and Thailand
(37%). In the other countries polled, majorities or pluralities say
relations with the US are staying about the same: 60 percent in Poland, 56
percent in South Korea, 52 percent in Israel, 52 percent in the Ukraine, and
45 percent in Russia. In no country does a majority or plurality say
relations with the US are getting worse.

"The publics in many countries differentiate between their negative views of
the US international role and their perceptions of bilateral relations,
which are seen as improving in a significant number of countries, even some
that are highly critical of the United States," said Christopher Whitney,
executive director for studies at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

For details, please see or
WorldPublicOpinion.org is a publication of the
Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland.

For the Armenian version, visit Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s
first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K. Hovannisian and supported by a
global network of contributors, ACNIS serves as a link between innovative
scholarship and the public policy challenges facing Armenia and the Armenian
people in the post-Soviet world. It also aspires to be a catalyst for
creative, strategic thinking and a wider understanding of the new global
environment. In 2007, the Center focuses primarily on civic education,
democratic development, conflict resolution, and applied research on
critical domestic and foreign policy issues for the state and the nation.

For further information on the Center call (37410) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax
(37410) 52-48-46; email [email protected] or [email protected]; or visit

MOTHER WHO FEARS FOR HER LIFE DEPORTED WITH FAMILY
By Yakub Qureshi

Manchester Evening News
April 16, 2007 Monday

AN Armenian journalist who feared for her life after revealing alleged
election fraud has been deported from Britain.

Gina Khatcharyan, 30, had been living in Bury since 2003 with her
husband Vahan and five-year-old daughter Elena while seeking asylum.

The Home Office accepted that the TV journalist had received death
threats for exposing ballot rigging in her home country – but believed
the risks to her and her family were exaggerated.

The family were placed on a flight from Heathrow destined for the
Armenian capital Yerevan, via connecting flights through Malta
and Russia.

Campaign groups, including the National Union of Journalists, had
staged a desperate attempt to apply for a delay in deportation,
but were unable to file papers in time. The Maltese authorities had
been asked to offer the family temporary asylum, but were unable
to intervene.

The family was hoping to seek leave to stay in Russia rather
than completing the final leg of the journey to Armenia, where Ms
Khatcharayan expected to be arrested on arrival. The family’s daughter
Elena had been attending classes at Heap Bridge primary school in
Bury and campaigners say English is her first language.

Sue Arnall, of the Bury Castaways asylum group, said: "I spoke with
Gina before she left and she was just desperate. She did not have a
lawyer because she had been refused legal aid.

"There was a last attempt to re-examine her case with people
contributing money to pay for a human rights lawyer but unfortunately
it was too late."

Ms Khatchatryan claims to have witnessed ballot stuffing while a
polling booth observer during local elections and said she subsequently
received death threats after alerting the authorities.

Although the central Asian country has improved its political and trade
links with Europe since leaving Soviet control in 1991, it has been
routinely criticised by international observers for electoral fraud.

It was also named as the 101st worst country out of 168 for press
freedom restrictions by Reporters without Borders in 2006.

TURKEY’S BEING MUSLIM STATE NOT A CAUSE FOR EU REJECTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.04.2007 18:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Rene van der Linden, President of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe, welcomes the moves Turkey undertakes
for joining the EU. During a news conference in Strasbourg today he
said the EU doesn’t consists of Christians only and Turkey’s being
a Muslim state is not a cause for EU’s rejection. The PACE President
also voiced content with his visit to Cyprus and a clearer vision of
the problem existing between the North and Greek Cyprus.

He said he requested TRNC President Mehmet Ali Talat for a visit to
the Council of Europe, Trend reports.

MOSCOW SIGNALS SUPPORT FOR ARMENIAN POWER HANDOVER
By Emil Danielyan

Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
April 16 2007

With less than a month to go before Armenia’s crucial parliamentary
elections, Russia has signaled its support for an anticipated handover
of power from Armenian President Robert Kocharian to newly appointed
Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian. In a series of early April visits to
Yerevan, senior Russian officials indicated Moscow’s strong opposition
to regime change in the loyal South Caucasus state. The Russians
also plan to send a record-high number of election observers, in an
apparent bid to counter and/or water down Western criticism of the
Armenian authorities’ handling of the May 12 vote.

Control of Armenia’s next parliament is essential for the success of
Sarkisian’s plans to succeed Kocharian after the latter completes
his second and final term in office in March 2008. His governing
Republican Party (HHK) is widely regarded as the election frontrunner
not so much because of its popularity as its vote-rigging capacity
that manifested itself during the previous legislative polls. Talk of
Sarkisian’s presidential ambitions intensified after he was named to
replace Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, who died of a heart attack
on March 25. Some Russian media and pro-Kremlin analysts said that
Sarkisian is Moscow’s preferred candidate for the Armenian presidency.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov effectively confirmed
this as he visited Yerevan on April 3. "The official position of
Russia coincides with the unofficial position of Russia," he told
journalists. Lavrov stressed the need for continuity in the Kocharian
administration’s policies, which he said have proved beneficial for
Armenia. Russia wants to see a "continued movement in that direction,"
he said. "Russia, which traditionally plays an important role in
internal political processes in Armenia, has made it clear who it
has sided with," the Moscow daily Kommersant wrote on April 9.

Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov made it even clearer
during a separate visit to Armenia two days later. Ivanov said he
and Sarkisian had developed "not only good businesslike but also
personal relations" in their previous capacity as defense ministers
of the two countries. "The human capital which we developed in the
past few years is very useful and allows us to discuss many issues
in a straightforward and frank manner," he said at a news conference.

Sarkisian underlined the significance of Ivanov’s trip by greeting
and bidding farewell to the Russian deputy prime minister at Yerevan
airport, despite his higher government rank. Russian backing has helped
him and Kocharian to keep the Armenian opposition at bay throughout
their nearly decade-long joint rule. It will also bode well for the
realization of his presidential ambitions, which seem to be approved
by Kocharian. The Armenian constitution bars Kocharian from seeking a
third five-year term. But he is clearly keen to remain in government
in some other capacity.

The administration of President Vladimir Putin has little reason
to be unhappy with Armenia’s two most powerful men. After all,
they were instrumental in the signing in recent years of highly
controversial agreements that have given Moscow a near total control
over the Armenian energy sector. Sarkisian has personally negotiated
those deals in his capacity as co-chairman of a Russian-Armenian
inter-governmental commission on economic cooperation. He and
Kocharian have also bolstered the Russian presence in other sectors
of the Armenian economy such as telecommunication. In addition,
membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the
continued presence of Russian troops in Armenia remain key elements
of Yerevan’s national security doctrine.

All of that has more than offset Yerevan’s increased security links
with the West, including the launch of an individual partnership
action plan with NATO and the dispatch of Armenian troops to Kosovo
and Iraq. True, the Russians have covertly sponsored some pro-Russian
opposition groups in Armenia. But they seem to have done so in order
to hold the Kocharian-Sarkisian duo in check, rather than to cause
its downfall.

Moscow appears to be disinterested in regime change in Armenia also
because of its broader opposition to the democratization of the
political systems of this and other former Soviet republics. Two of
those states, Georgia and Ukraine, are now led by staunchly pro-Western
presidents as a result of democratic revolutions sparked by rigged
elections. Armenia could likewise have a less pro-Russian regime if
its current leaders hold a democratic election and run the risk of
losing power.

Incidentally, the first foreign visitor received by Sarkisian after
his April 4 appointment as prime minister was Vladimir Rushailo,
the Russian executive secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent
States. Rushailo arrived in Yerevan to discuss preparations for
the upcoming elections. After the talks he announced that the CIS
Secretariat plans to deploy some 200 election observers in Armenia,
far more than it did in the past. Unlike their counterparts from
the OSCE and the Council of Europe, CIS observers described the
previous Armenian parliamentary and presidential elections tainted
with widespread fraud as "free and fair." Their next verdict will
hardly be more negative. The drastic increase in the size of the CIS
observer mission, to be headed by Rushailo, is clearly aimed at giving
its statements greater credibility.

Russia also intends to seriously influence the findings of some
330 mostly Western observers that are due to monitor the Armenian
elections on behalf of the OSCE. Their opinion will be key to the
international legitimacy of the vote. As a leading OSCE member state,
Russia can contribute up to 10% of the organization’s vote monitoring
missions. As Lavrov stated in Yerevan, Moscow, which has slammed the
OSCE for questioning the legitimacy of former Soviet governments,
will for the first time use its participation quota in full.

(168 Zham, April 12; Haykakan Zhamanak, April 10; Kommersant, April 9;
RFE/RL Armenia Report, April 3, April 5)

OMBUDSMAN FUNCTIONS TO SPITE OF PRESENT AUTHORITIES, RA FIRST
OMBUDSPERSON FINDS

YEREVAN, APRIL 16, NOYAN TAPAN. The Ombudsperson in separate cases
manages to re-establish violated human rights, but in general, it is
too difficult to liquidate negative deep phenomena. First RA
Ombudswoman Larisa Alaverdian expressed such an opionion in the
interview to the Noyan Tapan correspondent. In her words, those
phenomena were not liquidated both during the years of her officiating
and during the years of the present Ombudsman’s officiating. "It is a
pity, protection of the human rights does not make a part of the
policy carried on by the present authorities, what means that the
Ombudsman functions against those authorities," L. Alaverdian
mentioned.

In her words, though it is fixed by the RA Constitution that a person,
his rights and fundmental freedoms are a supreme value but Serge
Sargsian, the Council Chairman of the RPA, the recently officiating
party, the newly appointed Prime Minister stated that the economic
growth is more supreme for Armenia than the human rights. In
L. Alaverdian’s words, it means that the authorities are ready to
secure economic growth, ignoring or violating the human rights.

In L. Alaverdian’s words, power shift is necessary to change the
created situation. It will give possibility to implement system
reforms. She emphasized that in those countries where no power shift
has taken place for a long time, a stagnation process starts. As the
former Ombudswoman emphasized, "how small the hope of holding fair and
free elections in Armenia is, the ruling system must be changed only
with the help of fair elections."