Author: nina hovnanian

VAHAGN KHACHATRYAN: “SAMVEL ALEKSANYAN URGES: “OPPOSITION, SHARE YOUR VOTES WITH.”

2013-05-02 13:57:10

“Today the government showed its face and image against us”, at a
meeting with journalists Vahagn Khachatryan, who heads the list of
the Armenian National Congress party in the upcoming elections to
Yerevan’s Council of Elders, said.

Vahagn Khachatryan also noted that in order to struggle against
election frauds the ANC has been cooperating with the PAP, Heritage
party and Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun.

Vahagn Khachatryan asked RA Police to focus attention on Yerevan’s
Malatia-Sebastia community. Most election frauds are being committed
there.

“For example, RPA MP Samvel Aleksanyan met with opposition
representatives and persuaded them to share the votes. He offered
our representatives to share the votes cast for their party. We are
verifying the lists of the voters that are not in Yerevan and we have
an agreement to tighten supervision during the vote count.”

According to Khachatryan, everyone can work as a Mayor, if the system
is changed, otherwise nothing will change, and the opposition Mayor
may not work with this system, since he will create problems for
the authorities.

“HELP YOUR BROTHER” AT KILIKIA SCHOOL FOR SYRIAN ARMENIAN CHILDREN

April 23, 2013

The “Help Your Brother” civic initiative hasn’t ceased its activities
for the relief of the Syrian Armenians. On the contrary, it continues
implementing projects for the Syrian Armenians that have settled in
Armenia and in Mountainous Karabakh.

On April 23, “Help Your Brother” co-ordinators, Vahan Hovhannesyan,
Lilit Galstian and Khachig Djozigyan visited the Kilikia school which
applies the Syrian educational program and accommodates almost 300
Syrian Armenian pupils. The purpose of the visit was dual:
familiarize with the implemented educational system and distribute the
previously promised gifts donated by “Metzn Nerses” charitable
Foundation; all the children received a pair of Toms sport shoes.

The “Help Your Brother” promised to continue with more joyful
surprises for the young Syrian Armenians and to always pay a special
attention to their needs.

‘NO ONE CAN BREAK OUR WILL’ – LEVON TER-PETROSYAN

18:37 ~U 30.04.13

The Armenian National Congress (ANC) party has started its rally in
Yerevan’s Freedom Square.

ANC leader, Armenia’s first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Vahagn
Khachatryan (who tops the ANC list in the elections to Yerevan’s
Council of Elders) and other members are to speak at the rally.

Speaking at the rally, Vladimir Karapetyan, who is on the ANC list
in the upcoming elections to Yerevan’s Council of Elders, expressed
the confidence that the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)
will suffer defeat.

“A competent and politically conscious voter cannot vote for a greedy
person that cannot speak his native language. The RPA candidate is
known to be avoiding debates with his rivals. He is phobic about the
moment of explaining the sources of his fortune,” he said.

“Cannot any member of the ruling party explain the sources of an
official’s fortune? No, they cannot because they cannot imagine an
honestly paid official,” Karapetyan said.

“I feel Taron has won in the category ‘the cleverest RPA member with
the cleanest hands.’ He must be the ‘cleanest’ in the ruling party
because he tops its list in the May 5 elections,” Karapetyan said.

He is indignant that the RPA candidate is surrounded by the “Yerevan
crime kingpins.”

ANC Spokesman Arman Musinyan (3rd on the ANC list in the upcoming
elections to Yerevan’s Council of Elders), said that, despite
the population’s great disappointment at the Feb. 18 presidential
election, the ANC succeeded in explaining the importance of the
municipal elections to voters.

“Our election campaign showed the population’s utter contempt for
the ruling regime,” he said.

The misinformation the authorities are disseminating through some
media outlets shows they are afraid of the ANC’s potential and its
political team.

Victory in the upcoming elections is only possible due to “effective
opposition to the ruling party’s planned frauds.”

ANC leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan made a speech at the rally.

He spoke of the recent presidential election and of the upcoming
elections to Yerevan’s Council of Elders.

The ANC rejects anyone that is not ready for a consistent struggle.

The ANC is “accustomed to blows,” and no one can hope they can break
the ANC’s will and force it to give up.

Although the rally highlighted the upcoming municipal elections,
Ter-Petrosyan recalled his last public meeting ten months ago.

On February 18, the gang rule managed to retain power by means
of election frauds and pressure. However, the people delivered a
powerful blow. According to official data, opposition candidates
received about 42% of votes.

In the context of the upcoming municipal elections, Ter-Petrosyan
called on all the opposition forces to reject recriminations and
combine their efforts to “free Armenia’s capital from captivity”
on May 5.

“I am sure that, just a couple of months after the presidential
election, when the people are still in a spirit of struggle, we can
take this chance. And the country’s opposition forces would commit
a gross blunder if they missed this chance,” Ter-Petrosyan said

Armenian News – Tert.am

ANC WILL NUMBER – VIDEOS

A1Plus.am
08:26 PM | TODAY | POLITICS

Former Mayor of Yerevan, ANC candidate for the Mayor Vahagn Khachatryan
assured that we are able to make drastic changes in our lives

“During the campaign, meeting with lots of citizens, once again we
came to the thought that Yerevan, as whole Armenia, is in deplorable
condition. Our citizens are forgotten by the authorities”, said
Vahagn Khachatryan.

Vahagn Khachatryan spoke about their programs too, about what they
will do when elected. “The permanent construction of Kentron district
will be stopped, not a single tree will be cut, we will number all
the trees, will decrease the taxes for small and medium businesses
and private entrepreneurs”.

Coming back to the importance of these elections, Mr. Khachatrayn
assured, that liberating Yerevan from the present regime, we will
destroy its political monopoly, will essentially weaken it. “If we
come to power, you will live in a green, clean, comfortable city,
where you can rest and enjoy your time. You will all feel that you
live in the best city in the world”.

“TARON IS THE SYMBOL OF RPA” – VIDEOS

A1+
07:27 PM | TODAY | POLITICS

Candidate for the Yerevan Elder’s Council Election from ANC Vladimir
Karapetyan shared his impressions at the Liberty Square.

“RPA has no votes in Yerevan. Reasonable and thinking voters cannot
give their vote to someone who cannot properly speak Armenian, has
mediocre abilities, but big greed”.

Vladimir Karapetyan is surprised that there is no one who could answer
where Taron Margaryan’s wealth comes from.

“RPA does not have a better candidate and Taron is the symbol of RPA
with all his characteristic traits. I have the impression that Taron
has won the primaries inside RPA and has been awarded the smartest,
the most intellectual and conscientious figure. This is nothing but
a mockery in Yerevan resident’s address”.

THE NUMBER OF MARRIAGES IN ARMENIA REDUCE AS DIVORCES GROW

YEREVAN, April 30. /ARKA/. The number of divorces in the first quarter
of 2013 in Armenia surged by 15.1% when compared to the same period in
2012, while the number of marriages decreased by 1.6%, Karine
Kuyumjian, head of Census and Demography Department of the National
Statistical Service, told reporters today.

She said 4,591 marriages were registered in the first three months of
the year, down from 4,668 marriages registered in the first quarter of
2012. Thus, the number of registered marriages per one thousand people
was six, she said.

The decline in the number of registered marriages was reported in
Yerevan and Ararat region, while in Gegharkunik and Armavir provinces
their number increased. Speaking on divorces, she said 897 divorces
were granted in January-March, up from 779 in the first three months
of 2012. The number of divorces per one thousand people in the first
quarter of 2012 was one, while in the first quarter of this year the
index rose to 1.2. The largest number of divorces was among couples
married over 20 years and those married from one to four years.

Kuyumjian also said according to the latest census conducted in 2011,
32.6% of Armenian males and 24.6% of females were never married; 63%
of men and 57.7% of women were either in registered or so-called civil
marriage.

Also some 3.2% of men and 13.9% of women were widows and widowers, and
1.2% and 3.8% respectively were divorced.

Compared to the 90s the average age of men and women getting married
has increased by 2.5 years, reaching 29.6 for men and 25.3 for women.

-0-

HEGHINE BISHARYAN COMPLAINED, BUT DIDN’T TELL WHICH PARTY THE “NEIGHBORHOOD PRINCES” SERVED

April 29 2013

Yesterday Arman Musinyan, an Armenian National Congress (ANC)
candidate for city council, said that their examination of the voter
registration lists had shown that more than a thousand citizens
who had been registered in the regions in the February 18 election
were now registered in Yerevan. Heghine Bisharyan, a deputy leader
of the Rule of Law Party (RLP), didn’t agree with Musinyan’s claims
and gave the example of their examination. “The voter registration
lists have not grown. I don’t know, perhaps opposition forces have
their methods of checking. We hand out our campaign materials in
all places based on the lists of local residents. It is not so;
the families haven’t grown on the lists, but there are many closed
doors. We will follow and will surely make statements, if there is
any voting in the polling place on behalf of any closed door, if we
notice that the resident is not there, is not in the country, the
door is closed, but someone has voted on his behalf,” Ms. Bisharyan
told Ms. Bisharyan had also received news of election
bribery, but she is not concerned yet, because, “In some neighborhoods,
there is talk that heads of condominiums have collected passport data,
have drawn lists to hand out election bribes. This is just talk, we
haven’t actually come across such cases, but we call on the residents
not to be included in such lists. Although it is obvious already that
election bribes don’t influence the residents; they readily accept,
but as readily vote for the one they want. If someone has additional
money, doesn’t pay taxes, has collected money by certain means and
hands out to the people, let the people either say no, or if they
are attracted, let them make the right decision.” Talking about the
fact that officials and neighborhood tough guys had impeded the
work of journalists and representatives of opposition forces and
had subjected them to violence in recent days, Ms. Bisharyan said:
“With regard to their saying that there are repressions, attacks on
this or that person, I must say that it is a little exaggerated; a
separate incident has happened, I don’t deny it. But it is not like
they are pressuring someone, because he is a member of this or that
party…. There are neighborhood tough guys who have undertaken a
task of being more Catholic than the Pope and they say all the time,
‘This mountain is mine, this tree is mine, this neighborhood is mine,
this hallway is mine,’ this exists and happens to everyone. However,
we would like those people to whom such a thing happens to quickly
respond, let the mass media go, film, disgrace and ask them why they
restrict people’s rights. Yes, there are neighborhood princes who
want to take such steps and they turn the local residents against
themselves and do the opposite.” In response to our question whether
the neighborhood princes she had mentioned were members of any party
and why they took such steps, Ms. Bisharyan said that we were asking
a provocative question.

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© 1998 – 2013 Aravot – News from Armenia

RAFFI HOVHANNISYAN’S CIVILIZED MANNER ALMOST COMPLETELY UNDERMINED THE BRUTE FORCE METHOD OF OPPOSITIONISTS, M. HAYRAPETYAN SAYS

April 29 2013

Mikayel Hayrapetyan, the leader of the Conservative Party of Armenia,
had stated on one occasion that only Paruyr Hayrikyan and Raffi
Hovhannisyan had earned the moral right of leading the opposition in
the city council election and had gone into detail: “The others who
take opposition attitude, but didn’t venture to participate in the
presidential election only two months ago are worse, in my opinion,
than the party that has usurped power and carry out only one mission,
not to allow Mr. Hovhannisyan to win 37% again.”
inquired of Mr. Hayrapetyan what grounds he had to express such an
opinion, considering the fact that it was stated that given the
participation of the other opposition forces in the city council
election, the Heritage Party had to prove the genuineness of its 37%
result. He replied: “Firstly, since Raffi Hovhannisyan has taken on
the role of the opposition leader on the Armenian ‘political stage,’
opposition forces are compelled to neutralize Raffi Hovhannisyan’s
37% and prove to society that it was because they didn’t participate
in the presidential election. Secondly, decreasing that 37% is
partly in Serzh Sargsyan’s interests; he will try to increase his
approval rating by that. However, the situation is very delicate;
it is possible that if that 37% is substantially decreased, the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), the Prosperous Armenia Party
(PAP), and the Armenian National Congress (ANC) whose appetite and
harsh methods of struggle have stood the test of time will cause an
unnecessary headache for the government.” Mr. Hayrapetyan had also
stated that regardless of “how many votes the government will take
away from Hello, Yerevan through ballot rigging and how many votes the
obsolete and homegrown oppositionists will seize from Hello, Yerevan,
doing yet another service to the Establishment,” Raffi Hovhannisyan’s
civilized attitude bid to become a rule of the game. We asked M.

Hayrapetyan to explain to us why he thought that R. Hovhannisyan’s
civilized attitude bid to become a rule of the game. In this regard,
our interlocutor said: “Mr. Hovhannisyan’s civilized manner has almost
completely undermined the brute method of almost all opposition
forces of the Third Republic in the eyes of society. It has become
clear to society that the government can deploy tanks against the most
uncompromising struggle, fire, kill. Therefore, the way out is not the
uncompromisingness of the struggle at all; the result is the same,
Vazgen Manukyan’s, Stepan Demirchyan’s, and Levon Ter-Petrossian’s
struggles on the one hand and Raffi Hovhannisyan’s struggle on the
other. So a change of power in Armenia is not possible either through
elections or through disturbances similar to an uprising. In this
case, society prefers peaceful protests, which leads to the same
failure, but the cosmetic advantages of which are obvious. Firstly
there are no victims; secondly, something like a revolution of the
mind is carried out, which can lead to success one day, reaching the
necessary condition. The current oppositionists also realize this
public sentiment and are compelled to change their 20-year-old way
of struggle; otherwise, they will become completely marginalized. We
should be thankful firstly to the late Karen Demirchyan for that
and secondly to Raffi Hovhannisyan who have shown a unique talent of
thinking a few steps ahead, not causing serious clashes, since even in
case of ‘100 percent victory,’ the government will not give in. There
are two solutions to this: the first is a coup d’etat; the second is
tectonic movement of geopolitical poles. The first one has been tried
and has ended in a disaster, and the second one is not visible yet.”

Tatev HARUTYUNYAN

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© 1998 – 2013 Aravot – News from Armenia

FROM APRIL 9 TO ‘NEW ARMENIA’: HOVANNISIAN DEFENDS HIS INTEGRITY IN POST-ELECTION STANDOFF, LOOKS FORWARD TO OPPOSITION VICTORY

POLITICS | 30.04.13 | 11:05

Photolure

By SIRANUYSH GEVORGYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

Former presidential candidate Raffi Hovannisian, summarizing the
results of his struggle in the wake of the disputed election, has
expressed a view that the current administration will not last for
another five-year term. The Heritage Party leader, however, believes
that people’s immediate assistance as well as opposition unity and
sufficient financial resources are needed for the opposition’s victory
to be secured.

Hovannisian, who officially finished second in the February 18
presidential ballot, continues to claim that he was robbed of victory
and that illegitimate authorities were formed in Armenia as a result
of the fraudulent vote.

During a press conference on Monday Hovannisian mainly spoke about
the situation that has been formed in Armenia after April 9, the day
when he and his supporters took an oath to work for the establishment
of a ‘New Armenia’, as well as answered criticism and gave certain
clarifications regarding the events of that day.

On April 9, the day which also saw the inauguration of President Serzh
Sargsyan for the second consecutive five-year term, the opposition led
by Hovannisian attempted to stage a march along Baghramyan Avenue,
where the Presidential Palace is located, but the protest effort
was halted by the police. Despite minor injuries suffered by some
demonstrators and security personnel in brief clashes there were no
victims on that day. Eventually, Hovannisian, accompanied by Chief of
Police Vladimir Gasparyan, led a large group of the Baghramyan Avenue
protesters towards Tsitsernakaberd, the final destination of the march,
via an alternative route. Then at the hill-top Genocide Memorial
Hovannisian and Gasparyan prayed together in front of the people.

Hovannisian called that step, for which he has been heavily criticized
by rival opposition groups, a salvation rather than an attempt to
avoid responsibility.

“I think that if I had led [the people] to any other direction on
April 9 the next day we would have had a tragic Armenia. I wasn’t
ready to send hundreds of messages of condolence after April 9.

Decentralization of pockets of tension on April 9 was a salvation,”
he said.

Hovannisian reiterated that it is impossible to achieve a power
change within just one day: “There was an expectation among some
people that within an hour or by just one public rally everything
would be changed. If I made an impression with anyone that we could
achieve a power change within just one day, then it was my mistake.”

Commenting on the decision by the hard-line opposition movement,
Sardarabad, to hold its own rallies in Yerevan and Gyumri, Hovannisian
said that he would not have a ‘tit-for-tat’ answer for that.

“I have met [Sardarabad senior member] Jirayr Sefilian several
times and urged him to take part in a joint struggle, and now he
has gathered with his friends. If he can do what I could not, I will
welcome it. Jirayr Sefilyan is a value for me, and next to him there
are people who are of a different level. It is not I who should judge.

We’ll see the real situation in Yerevan on May 5 [when the municipal
elections are due] and decide whether we go to the May 9 rally together
or separately,” he said.

The Heritage Party leader also said that an upheaval was necessary
to achieve a change in Armenia.

“Is such an upheaval necessary for us to come to our senses and move
ahead in building a normal state? I think perhaps subconsciously or
not that is necessary… But when I now follow the attitudes, I am not
sure that even an upheaval will result in any essential change in the
situation unless the material resources of the people, the opposition
figures and others are consolidated within one space and time for
the common cause. I think an upheaval is necessary,” said Hovannisian.

After completing a weeklong campaign of indoor meetings in the regions,
beginning on Monday Hovannisian switched to the election campaign in
Yerevan where the Heritage Party, as part of the Hello Yerevan bloc,
is vying for seats in the 65-member City Council against six other
parties. The 53-year-old U.S.-born politician is campaigning the
way he did three months ago ahead of the presidential election –
going from place to place, greeting people in the streets, etc.

Hovannisian gave assurances that as compared to what his opposition
team members were in the February election, they are now more organized
and would better protect their votes.

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION BLOC DEMANDS FROM CEC TO REMOVE RULING PARTY FROM ELECTION RACE

April 30, 2013 | 13:12

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s opposition Heritage Party-led “Barev [Hello],
Yerevan” bloc member Daniel Ionesyan submitted reports to the
Central Electoral Commission (CEC), with respect to numerous election
violations that were committed on April 26 and on Monday.

Although most of these violations were committed by the ruling
Republican Party (RPA), there also are violations that were committed
by the non-government Prosperous Armenia Party, the interim coalition
government’s junior partner Orinats Yerkir (Rule of Law) Party,
the Police, regional halls, and by several other agencies, “Barev,
Yerevan” Headquarters informs.

“Based on the fact that the number and extent of the Republican Party’s
violations are such that they inevitably will impact the [capital city
Yerevan Council] elections on [Sunday,] May 5, the ‘Barev, Yerevan’
member demands from CEC to remove RPA from the election race, by
way of the procedure set forth in the Election Code,” the aforesaid
headquarters’ statement reads.

To note, the CEC will start examining the respective petitions on
Tuesday at 5pm.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am