Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KYRGYZSTAN CONGRATULATES SERGE SARGSYAN

armradio.am
06.03.2008 16:14

The President of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiyev
congratulated RA Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan on his victory in the
presidential elections. The message says, in part

"Dear Serge Azatovich,

Accept my sincere congratulations on the occasion of your election
to the post of the President of Armenia.

I’m sure that your activity in this high state position will promote
the further reinforcement and development of Armenia and will stand
out for new achievement for the sake of future of the Armenian people.

Kyrgyzstan has been and remains a reliable friend of Armenia and is
ready to make every effort for the development of cooperation between
the two countries for the benefit of our peoples.

Expressing our readiness to work with you in the direction of
development of bilateral relations, I wish success to you in your
high state position and peace and prosperity to the friendly Armenian
people."

MATTHEW BRYZA: THERE IS NO NEED TO FROZEN THE NEGOTIATIONS ON THE SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT

Azeri Press Agency
March 4 2008
Azerbaijan

Baku. Ulviyya Aliyeva-APA. "I will visit Armenia on March 6 and take
stance on current developments there.

Priority is a restoration of public order in Armenia at present.

Therefore, my Armenia visit aims to discuss these issues," Matthew
Bryza, Deputy Assistant US Secretary of State, OSCE MG Co-Chair told
journalists, APA reports.

Mr. Bryza noted that there was no need to frozen the negotiations on
the settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

"If Armenian President Robert Kocharian says so, it is his own
opinion," he said. Mr. Bryza considers that the talks will be restored
as soon as the situation in Armenia stabilizes.

POLICE DIDN’T USE WEAPONS TO STOP DISORDERS IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.03.2008 17:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Policemen did not use weapons to stop disorders in
Yerevan. They used rubber batons and shields to rebuff the illegal
movement, RA police first deputy chief, lieutenant general Ararat
Makhtesyan said.

"Initially, the authorities did not intend to use force but there
was no other way out, since the situation got out of control. On
February 29, we received an alert on distribution of weapons among
the opposition rally participants. The attempt to carry out a search
came across a severe resistance and policemen could nothing but use
force," he said.

"After the demonstrators took streets toward the French Embassy,
police held talks with opposition leaders Levon Zurabyan and Nikol
Pashinyan to lead their supporters to the ground at Matenadaran.

However, some time later, the protesters were ordered not to
move. Pashinyan pushed them to enter battle with the police. As result,
several policemen were wounded," Makhtesyan said.

PRIME MINISTER MET PETER SEMNEBY

Panorama.am
14:24 04/03/2008

RA Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan received a delegation led by EU
Special Representative in South Caucasus Peter Semneby, which comprised
Head of EC Mission in Armenia Raul Lutzenberger, political advisers to
the EU Special Representative in South Caucasus Andrei Dydenko and Rasa
Ostrauskaite, as well as French Ambassador to Armenia Serge Smesov.

The parties spoke of post-election developments in Armenia. In
particular, they have touched upon the unlicensed rally-caused recent
unrest in the capital leading to increased tensions in the country
and reviewed possible ways out of the situation. According to the EU
Special Representative, all sides must assume responsibility for the
current situation in order not to deepen the social gap and resolve
the issue through political dialog. "We want to bring countries in
South Caucasus closer to the European Union and are prepared to do
our utmost toward this end," -Peter Semneby said.

Serzh Sargsyan stressed that he has strong determination and deems
that the instigators of mass disorders – those having committed
criminal offences – must be punished. He reiterated his willingness
of cooperation as already stated during his speech in the Republic
Square and mentioned that talks are underway with opposition forces,
with some positive results having been obtained already to be made
public on the days to come. "We stand ready to cooperation and open
dialog with all those who wish for Armenia’s development and its
citizens’ prosperity, our country’s stability and strengthening," –
RA President-elect, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan said.

UNITED NATIONS Press Release
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

Armine Halajyan (Mrs.)
Officer-in-charge / Information Officer
UN Department of Public Information
Yerevan Office (Armenia)
Tel.: (374 10) 560 212
Fax/Tel.: (374 10) 561 406
Mobile: (374 91) 20 37 25

BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, March 3, 2008

ARMENIA’S POLITICAL VIOLENCE HAS BAN KI-MOON `DEEPLY CONCERNED’

The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the violent clashes
between police forces and demonstrators in Armenia over the weekend.

It is his hope that these events, during which eight people died, will
be thoroughly investigated.

The Secretary-General calls on all parties to exercise full restraint
and to find a way out of the current crisis. He also urges the Armenian
authorities to take all necessary steps to ensure a return to normalcy,
including through a speedy lifting of the state of emergency.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour issued a statement
yesterday and expressed particular concern about reports of the use of
force against peaceful demonstrators and the detention of opposition
protestors. She called upon the authorities to exercise the utmost
restraint and ensure that due process is followed.

Kosovo is Sui Generis Case: Heads of UN and OSCE Missions in Kosovo
01.03.08 11:25

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
March 1 2008

Azerbaijan, Baku, 29 February / corr. TrendNews K. Ramazanova/ UN
(United Nations) and OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe) believes the Kosovo case is sui generis and that it cannot
be a precedent for the solution of other conflicts.

"Kosovo is a sui generis case and cannot set a precedent," Joachim
Rucker, the special representative of the UN General Secretary in
Kosovo said to TrendNews via electronic mail from Kosovo

Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia on 17
February. US and several EU countries recognized its independence.

Russia called the unilateral declaration of Kosovo as contradicting
international law. The majority of CIS countries including Georgia
and Azerbaijan support Russia’s position.

"Kosovo cannot be a precedent for the other conflicts including
Nagorno-Karabakh," Rucker said.

Tim Guldimann, the head of the OSCE mission also said that Kosovo is a
sui generis issue and therefore there is a need to view it separately
from other issues.

"The Mission of OSCE has a neutral status and therefore did not have
a position in the status process for Kosovo," Tim Guldimann said to
TrendNews via electronic mail from Kosovo on 29 February.

ARMENIA: AT LEAST 2 DEAD IN YEREVAN VIOLENCE, AS KOCHARIAN DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY
3/01/08

EurasiaNet, NY
March 1 2008

After riot police failed to disperse an anti-government rally in the
Armenian capital of Yerevan, President Robert Kocharian resorted to
declaring a state of emergency. The president issued declaration
as security forces and supporters of presidential candidate Levon
Ter-Petrosian waged running street battles that involved shots fired
and Molotov cocktails tossed. Military armored personnel carriers
were also seen taking up positions in the capital.

Ter-Petrosian supporters had been staging a permanent protest
in central Yerevan, demanding that the results of the February 19
presidential election be nullified. Ter-Petrosian finished a distant
second to Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, a close Kocharian political
ally, according to the official results. But Ter-Petrosian and his
backers insist that the government engaged in widespread fraud to
ensure Sarkisian’s election.

The trigger for unrest on March 1 was a pre-dawn attempt by security
forces to break up the permanent protest. Ter-Petrosian supporters
initially fell back, but quickly regrouped, despite the fact that
Ter-Petrosian was placed under house arrest and a number of his aides
were detained. Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian disputed the notion
that Ter-Petrosian was under arrest. Speaking to journalists, Oskanian
instead portrayed Ter-Petrosian as being under state protection.

Toward the evening of March 1, thousands of anti-government protesters
had reassembled in downtown Yerevan, forming barricades with busses
and other vehicles. A few hours later, the center of the city was
engulfed in violence. Security troops fired shots into the air,
sending red tracers streaming over the cityscape. However, according
to some eyewitnesses, some shots also were aimed at the crowd. In
response, Ter-Petrosian supporters from behind barricades lobbed
Molotov cocktails in the direction of security forces.

According to sources at Emergency Hospital No. 3, at least two people
– one civilian and one member of the security forces – are confirmed
to have been killed amid the violence. There are also reports of
numerous wounded.

Kocharian’s state of emergency order will be in effect for at least 20
days. Under the state media outlets are prohibited from publishing news
other than official government communiques. A presidential statement
justified the declaration of a state of emergency "to prevent a threat
to constitutional order."

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT UNDECIDED ABOUT FUTURE

ARKA
Feb 29 2008

YERVAN, February 29. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharyan has not
yet made a decision on his further activities after leaving the
presidential post.

"I am young and full of energy, but I do not know what I am going to
do after leaving the presidential post. At my latest meeting with
Russian President Vladimir Putin, he asked me what I was going to
do. I answered then that I intended to have a little rest," Kocharyan
said at his meeting with students of Yerevan State University.

According to him, after a three-month rest, he may feel he needs his
daily routine, which was the case when he was President.

"But, after a three-month rest, I will not understand how I was able
to live in such a tempo for ten years," Kocharyan said.

Robert Kocharyan has been Armenia’s President since 1998. His term
of presidency expires on April 9, 2008.

ARONIAN PLAYS DRAW WITH SHIROV IN MORLEIA-LINARES TOURNAMENT

AZG Armenian Daily
01/03/2008

Armenian chessmaster Levon Aronian and Alexei Shirov, Spain, finished
the game draw in just 18 moves of an English Opening in the fifth
round of the Morelia-Linares Grandmasters chess tournament in Mexico.

Viswanathan Anand, India, beat Peter Leko,Hungary, to register his
third successive win. The victory on last Wednesday also made him
the sole leader after five rounds of the category 21 tournament,
which is played in two legs, in Mexico and Linares in Spain.

The world champion has now won all three games with black while with
white he has lost one and drawn another. Now Anand is in the lead
with 3.5 points and Levon Aronian is in second place with three.

The other result came from young Magnus Karlsen of Norway who beat
Veselin Topalov. Karlsen also won with the blacks as Topalov lost
his second game in a row.

Radjabov and Ivanchuk drew in 38 moves of a Sicilian Paulsen, Leko
was defeated by Anand and Topalov by Karlsen.

ACCORDING TO LEVON TER-PETROSIAN, U.S. "DOES NOT BELIEVE" ELECTIONS HELD IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Feb 29 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 29, NOYAN TAPAN. Today Serge Sargsian and Robert
Kocharian disclosed their important agent – Artur Baghdasarian and thus
drew a distinct line between the robber state and the people. Member
of L. Ter-Petrosian’s central headquarters Nikol Pashinian made this
statement at the February 29 rally in Freedom Square, adding that
now an inflow of "Orinats Yerkir" party members to Freedom Square
will begin. According to him, on the election day the authorities
committed election rigging both for S. Sargsian and A. Baghdasarian.

L. Ter-Petrosian considered the statements of the U.S. State
Department and the U.S. representative to the OSCE about the
presidential elections in Armenia as manifestation of a serious
approach. In his words, it shows that "the U.S. does not believe
these elections". According to him, so far European structures have
not displayed such seriousness and the European observers do not
understand correctly their mission. "They consider what is considered
as immoral in their countries to be moral here. They apply double
standards concerning us," L. Ter-Petrosian said.

An excerpt from the statement of the U.S. respresentative to the OSCE
was read at the rally. According to it, the February 19 elections
are quite far from being ideal, a number of gross violations were
committed, and a suspiciously high turn-out of voters was registered in
some regions. The statement positively assesses the peaceful holding
of demonstrations, considering it as a serious achievement in terms
of democratization.