Author: Tvankchian Parkev

Synthesis, CA
May 13 2005

System of a Down

It’s the 21st century; at this very moment men are walking on the
moon, people take phone calls while on the toilet, a rocket-powered
jetpack propelled me to work this morning, and my cat has an e-mail
address. The unfortunate crapfest that was rap metal has passed.
The future is now and System of A Down’s Serj Tankian’s hip-hop
informed delivery and hand gestures appeal to that new generation of
music consumers, raised on hip-hop videos, mash-ups and iPods.
But it’s the crushing `chugga chug waaaaa’s they come for, this odd
collection of misfits: kids that should find punk, the guy playing
junior varsity football when he’s a senior, fleece-vested
35-year-olds that are still `cool,’ museum-quality heshers with
broken-in leathers, comic book store owners, flag-waving Armenians
and the round girls in scant Hot Topic skirts.
The Fillmore show, according to the bootleg shirts hawked outside,
was `Sould Out.’ Reliable sources (in this case a beer breathed,
A-Shirt wearing, blurry wizard tattoo-having, scraggly goatee dude in
line in front of me) told this reporter the tickets, available only
from the Fillmore box office, sold out as fast as the Fillmore could
move the line. Some System faithfuls dropped upwards of $200 to see
their Armenian rock deities.
System of A Down, on a week-long mini-tour warming up for the release
of Mesmerize on May 17th, powered through their Fillmore show, rarely
stopping to chat during their 90-minute set. Being a warm-up show,
System kept the production values lean. With the exception of a
strobe light rig blasting into the audience, System relied on the
Fillmore’s stock lighting rig.
They debuted a mere three new songs in a 24-song set of sweaty
time-signature changing metal, the most notable being the catchy and
political `BYOB.’ Tankian’s warm chestnut voice is back, and he
maintains his tradition of politically colored lyrics, like
`Everybody is going to the party/Have a real good time/Dancing in the
desert/Blowing up the sunshine.’ This ain’t about Burning Man. I know
this because at the end of the song, guitarist Daron Malakian screams
in chipmunk-monster voice `Why don’t presidents fight the war?/Why do
they always send the poor?’
System of a Down specializes in a kind of thundering dirge-rhythm
that compels A-shirt wearers to slow-walk the pit’s perimeter,
filling their burning chests with humid, secondhand pot smoke laden
air, feeling beer-soaked blood thump in their temples, and then
erupting into a mass of damp slamming bodies when the strobe lights
start blasting.
I don’t care who’s on stage, it’s always invigorating to see a giant
roomful of fists pump in the air, or feel the second story dance
floor flex under 1200 pogo-ing bodies.
If I were a mean, old, intellectually superior rock critic guy, I’d
say System of a Down is like Primus or Mr. Bungle for retards. I
might also mention, to let you know that I have the most refined
taste, I don’t like Primus or Mr. Bungle. But that’s not me. I love
everyone and everything. So check it: System of a Down live, if
that’s your bag, delivers; and the three new songs they played at the
Fillmore won’t disappoint an ardent System fan.
– Words and Photos by Pete Geniella ()

A1plus

| 16:18:29 | 13-05-2005 | Politics |

SADOYAN TO CREATE GROUPS FOR THE ANTI-PROPAGANDA OF THE REFERENDUM

Arshak Sadoyan considers the draft constitution of the coalition represented
in the NA traitorous. According to him, the representatives of the
authorities are for the following time forcefully dictating their will to
the people. During the following press-conference Mr. Sadoyan announced that
the complex political situation created in Armenia makes him take drastic
measures.

The bloc of the National democrats with Mr. Sadoyan at the head is going to
create headquarters in all the regions of Armenia and to realize active
propaganda in people. According to Mr. Sadoyan, the draft constitution of
the coalition was a new imitation, as with this draft the President is given
new authorizations, `The draft was published in the press, it was kept
secret from the people, and during the referendum the people will simply not
know what the new draft constitution is’.

Mr. Sadoyan informed that he is ready to cooperate with all the parties who
think the same way and thinks that the only mistake of the opposition was
that they were passive during the elections of the new draft, `The
opposition thought that the coalition draft will be adopted whatever it
might be, and of course they turned out to be right’. According to Mr.
Sadoyan, during the referendum the people must unanimously say `no’ to the
authority of Robert Kocharyan, `And before it all the political powers with
common sense must carry out work so as the results of the referendum will
express the will of the people’.

Zaman Online, Turkey
May 13 2005

Erdogan: We will not Walk into Trap of Alleged Genocide
By Budapest
Published: Friday 13, 2005
zaman.com

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan has said the Armenian
genocide allegations are a trap prepared against Turkey. Erdogan is
currently in Hungary for official talks, including a meeting with his
Hungarian counterpart Ferenc Gyurcdsany.

Erdogan answered a question of whether or not the Armenian Genocide
allegations would affect Turkey’s European Union (EU) membership
process in a press conference after the meeting by saying, “The issue
of the alleged Armenian Genocide is not among the Copenhagen
Criteria,” and he added that there is no such condition at the
moment. Erdogan referred to the countries which had passed
legislation recognizing the Armenian Genocide law and said: “I could
also bring a genocide committed in another country to my agenda and
we could make this law in our parliament. We could also judge the
countries that have recognized the alleged Armenian Genocide, but the
trap set for Turkey is an unethical one. Turkey will not walk into
this trap.”

AZG Armenian Daily #086, 13/05/2005

Neighbors

U.S. IMPARTED GEORGIA WITH MISSION TO ‘EXPORT’ ‘COLORFUL REVOLUTIONS’

Saakashvili: ‘Aliyev Is No Fanatic. He Won’t Order to Break up Opposition
Rallies, You’ll See’

The US President called Georgia not only “beacon of liberty” in the region,
but also directly hinted at Georgia’s “mission to export colorful
revolutions” to other countries of the region.

George Bush and Mikhail Saakashvili stated about spreading “the rose
revolution” in other parts of the world till in the February of 2004.
According to a press release by the White House after the meeting of George
Bush and Mikheil Saakashvili, Bush said: “The President and I discussed the
opportunities for spreading ‘rose revolution’ in other parts of the world.”

On May 10, the leaders of both countries made the probability to spread the
Georgian scenario in the region and in the world more obvious. One could
have the impression that Bush will try to end the totalitarian regime with
the help of this very scenario.

“Good changes take place from Baghdad to Beirut and Bishkek,” Bush said. He
added that Georgia was the first country in the post-Soviet region where
“the rose revolution” took place.

Bush said that the probable revolution can take place in the region that
stretches from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, to the Persian Gulf and
much farther.

Saakashvili, encouraged by the words of Bush, even named a certain state,
Byelorussia, where the revolution should take place. “I’d like to say
something. We all are responsible for spreading democracy in the world,
beginning from Byelorussia, where the people deserve freedom. We stand by
the Ukrainian people and we will be by the side of all the nations beginning
from the North Korea and Cuba. This is our suggestion to you, Mr.
President,” Saakashvili said his speech.

Georgian President made obvious incorrect statements not only about
Byelorussia but also about his direct neighbors. Mediamax informed that
Saakashvili said in the interview to Le Mond that “Ilham Aliyev realizes the
importance of making reforms in his country. Ilham Aliyev is no fanatic. You
will see, he will not order to break up the opposition rally any more, as he
did two years ago.”

Today, the world press tries to find out in which country the next
“colorful” revolution will take place. Such publications exert obvious
psychological and political pressure over these countries. When “the rose
revolution” took place, they were speaking about Ukraine. Afterwards, they
began speaking about “the tulips” in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan, the Middle East
oasis of democracy received blood, violence and robbery together with “the
tulips.”

Is it now Aliyev’s turn, as parliamentary elections are envisaged to take
place in Azerbaijan in 2005? Anyway, they speak more about Azerbaijan in
Georgia. The Georgian press states that the young opposition members
supported the Azeri young men in learning how to seize the power.

It’s not important where the next revolution will take place. But it is
obvious that the US is quite certain about the territory of CIS. Besides,
the American are carrying out democratic “bloodless” revolutions, as they
say, in the Middle and Near East countries. We got the impression after the
speech of Bush that he gave Saakashvili a serious part in carrying out that
mission.

By Tatoul Hakobian in Tbilisi

Armenpress

265 ARMENIAN CITIZENS ON INTERPOL’S LIST OF WANTED PERSONS

YEREVAN, MAY 11, ARMENPRESS: Some 265 Armenian citizens are wanted by
Interpol, Vartan Yeghiazarian, the chief of Interpol Armenian bureau, told a
news conference today. He said Interpol’s official website has information
on 13 of them.
Among the wanted persons several are women, accused of pimping. He also
said the Armenian bureau revealed last year 69 stolen cars brought to
Armenian from other countries. The number of such cars revealed since 1996
is 351.
Yeghiazarian said the Yerevan bureau cooperates actively with some
countries, the United Arab Emirates, the main destination of Armenian
prostitutes and European countries. Yeghiazarian also said Interpol has
failed so far to track down a former interior minister of Armenia, Vano
Siradeghian, who is wanted by Interpol.
Yeghiazarian said the Interpol bureau is also trying to track down 36
artifacts which are of great cultural value.
He said a special attention is paid to terrorism, trafficking and money
laundering activities..

Newsweek
May 11 2005

Inhumanity to Jews

There are many reasons I hate discussing the Holocaust. To be forced
to defend its truth less than 70 years after it occurred is
spiritually nauseating.

WEB-EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY
By Marc Gellman
Newsweek

I rarely speak about or write about the Holocaust. I don’t defend my
reticence, but I have my reasons. Mainly I don’t like the way the
Holocaust is never just remembered and mourned, but so often
manipulated and used.

I don’t like the way the Holocaust is used by some Jews as the
paradigm of Christian attitudes toward the Jewish people. They
actually believe that Christians go to bed thinking of new ways to
kill us, and some of them have told me straight out that my very
public friendship with a priest just deludes Jews into thinking that
something has changed.

I don’t like the way the Holocaust is used to try to strengthen
Jewish identity. The Jewish theologian Emil Fackenheim once
suggested that in addition to the 613 commandments given by God to
the Jewish people, a 614th commandment ought to be added: `Do not
grant Hitler any posthumous victories.’ I despise that idea. I am
Jewish because my mother is Jewish, and, more importantly, because I
believe Judaism is loving, just, joyous, hopeful and true. I am not
Jewish, and I did not teach my children or my students to be Jewish,
just to spite Hitler.

I do not like the way the Holocaust is used either to defend or to
attack Israel’s right to exist. Obviously those who want to kill
Israel must first kill the memories and the truth of the Holocaust,
which produces so much sympathy for Israel. Many do not know that the
new prime minister of the Palestinians, Mahmoud Abbas, wrote a
Holocaust-denying doctoral thesis. The engine of the Holocaust-denial
industry is not old fashioned anti-Semitism but modern anti-Zionism.
To be forced to defend the truth of the Holocaust less than 70 years
after it occurred is spiritually nauseating. It is also degrading
and demeaning to all supporters of Israel to be forced to connect the
Holocaust in any way to Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.
The Jewish people had and have a right to create and defend a Jewish
state, not because the world felt sorry for us after the Holocaust.
The state of Israel is not a condolence card from a guilt-ridden
world. Israel is the free and millennia-old expression of the Jewish
people’s ties to that land and a manifestation of the national
aspirations and self-determination that are the right of every
people, including the Palestinian people when and if they finally
decide to love Palestine more than they hate Israel.

I don’t like the way the word Holocaust has been used to describe
every instance of oppression that has ever existed. In this way, this
attack on the Jews is universalized to the point that its distinctly
and uniquely Jewish elements evaporate. I will not withhold a single
tear of compassion for every act of human cruelty. I do not want to
deny in any way that in the same concentration camps where 6 million
Jews were murdered, 5 million Christians and others were also
murdered. However, the camps were not built to exterminate the
others, they were built to exterminate Jews. It was only the excess
capacity of the killing machine that allowed non-Jews to be caught in
its maws. I reject the false choice of either demeaning the suffering
of non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust and other genocides or
pretending that the Holocaust was about man’s inhumanity to man and
not man’s inhumanity to Jews. I mourn for the murder of each and
every innocent person of any faith and of no faith who perished in
what Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel has called the Kingdom of Night,
or in other nights and other kingdoms. However, I will not accept,
and I do not believe, that the Holocaust was the same, either in size
or intent, as the Turkish slaughter of the Armenians, the janjaweed
slaughter of the Muslims of Darfur, the Hutu slaughter of the Tutsis
of Rwanda, the Serb slaughter of the Bosnian Muslims or, yes, this is
suggested, the AIDS pandemic. The Holocaust was a calculated attempt
to kill all the Jews in the world, and it very nearly succeeded.

And finally I don’t like the way people get impatient or frustrated
with what they see as a kind of Jewish obsession with the Holocaust.
These people have no idea of the sheer scope of the killing and the
depth of the wound. Let me say this simply. One out of every three
Jews who was alive in 1933 had been murdered by 1945. One out of
three. Imagine if one out of three Americans were murdered in four
years. That would be roughly 90 million Americans dead. We were
devastated by the death of 3,000 on 9/11; we were torn apart by the
death of 50,000 in Vietnam. Imagine if 90 million Americans were
murdered, and then imagine if less than 70 years later some foreign
diplomat chastised Americans for still being obsessed with their
murder. Or imagine if 333 million Chinese were murdered, or 400
million Muslims, or 200 million Hindus were murdered; or if 2 billion
people on earth were murdered. Could any other culture or could the
world recover from the death of one out of three in five years? In
1933, there were about 18 million Jews in the world. In 1945 there
were 12 million Jews in the world, and today, 60 years after the end
of World War II, there are still just 12 million Jews in the world.
One out of every three people on earth is Christian. One out of every
three Jews on earth is dead.

So these are all the reasons I hate writing about the Holocaust.
However, on this 60th-anniversary remembrance of the end of Kingdom
of Night, here is a story I can write about:

Two fathers met last week in Manhattan at their daughter’s Jewish
nursery school and discovered that their own fathers had both come
from the same village in Ukraine. They then discovered that both
their fathers had been loaded onto the same boxcar leading to the
same concentration camp on the same day. They then discovered that
one of their fathers escaped by ripping out a board over the window
and jumping out. He joined up with some partisans, and somehow
survived the war. They then discovered that before he jumped, he had
lifted up a younger, shorter boy and pushed him out of the boxcar
before him. That boy also wandered the forests of Ukraine and also
came to America after the war. Both fathers had recently died in New
York, and had no idea that their sons were sending their
granddaughters to the same nursery school. They did not know that
the little girls would have a play date in Manhattan because of what
happened in a boxcar in Ukraine some 63 years ago. That little hole
in that box car was big enough to have room for a play date and a
future. I love that story not because it explains anything or
justifies anything or is a compensation for anything. I love the
story because there is a Hebrew song I love called “Am Yisrael Hai”,
`The Jewish People Live.’ I love the story because it helps me
believe that the song is not merely a dream.

from So these are all the reasons I hate writing about the Holocaust.
However, on this 60th-anniversary remembrance of the end of Kingdom
of Night, here is a story I can write about:

Two fathers met last week in Manhattan at their daughter’s Jewish
nursery school and discovered that their own fathers had both come
from the same village in Ukraine. They then discovered that both
their fathers had been loaded onto the same boxcar leading to the
same concentration camp on the same day. They then discovered that
one of their fathers escaped by ripping out a board over the window
and jumping out. He joined up with some partisans, and somehow
survived the war. They then discovered that before he jumped, he had
lifted up a younger, shorter boy and pushed him out of the boxcar
before him. That boy also wandered the forests of Ukraine and also
came to America after the war. Both fathers had recently died in New
York, and had no idea that their sons were sending their
granddaughters to the same nursery school. They did not know that
the little girls would have a play date in Manhattan because of what
happened in a boxcar in Ukraine some 63 years ago. That little hole
in that box car was big enough to have room for a play date and a
future. I love that story not because it explains anything or
justifies anything or is a compensation for anything. I love the
story because there is a Hebrew song I love called “Am Yisrael Hai”,
`The Jewish People Live.’ I love the story because it helps me
believe that the song is not merely a dream.

from So these are all the reasons I hate writing about the Holocaust.
However, on this 60th-anniversary remembrance of the end of Kingdom
of Night, here is a story I can write about:

Two fathers met last week in Manhattan at their daughter’s Jewish
nursery school and discovered that their own fathers had both come
from the same village in Ukraine. They then discovered that both
their fathers had been loaded onto the same boxcar leading to the
same concentration camp on the same day. They then discovered that
one of their fathers escaped by ripping out a board over the window
and jumping out. He joined up with some partisans, and somehow
survived the war. They then discovered that before he jumped, he had
lifted up a younger, shorter boy and pushed him out of the boxcar
before him. That boy also wandered the forests of Ukraine and also
came to America after the war. Both fathers had recently died in New
York, and had no idea that their sons were sending their
granddaughters to the same nursery school. They did not know that
the little girls would have a play date in Manhattan because of what
happened in a boxcar in Ukraine some 63 years ago. That little hole
in that box car was big enough to have room for a play date and a
future. I love that story not because it explains anything or
justifies anything or is a compensation for anything. I love the
story because there is a Hebrew song I love called “Am Yisrael Hai”,
`The Jewish People Live.’ I love the story because it helps me
believe that the song is not merely a dream.

So these are all the reasons I hate writing about the Holocaust.
However, on this 60th-anniversary remembrance of the end of Kingdom
of Night, here is a story I can write about:

Two fathers met last week in Manhattan at their daughter’s Jewish
nursery school and discovered that their own fathers had both come
from the same village in Ukraine. They then discovered that both
their fathers had been loaded onto the same boxcar leading to the
same concentration camp on the same day. They then discovered that
one of their fathers escaped by ripping out a board over the window
and jumping out. He joined up with some partisans, and somehow
survived the war. They then discovered that before he jumped, he had
lifted up a younger, shorter boy and pushed him out of the boxcar
before him. That boy also wandered the forests of Ukraine and also
came to America after the war. Both fathers had recently died in New
York, and had no idea that their sons were sending their
granddaughters to the same nursery school. They did not know that
the little girls would have a play date in Manhattan because of what
happened in a boxcar in Ukraine some 63 years ago. That little hole
in that box car was big enough to have room for a play date and a
future. I love that story not because it explains anything or
justifies anything or is a compensation for anything. I love the
story because there is a Hebrew song I love called “Am Yisrael Hai”,
`The Jewish People Live.’ I love the story because it helps me
believe that the song is not merely a dream.

So these are all the reasons I hate writing about the Holocaust.
However, on this 60th-anniversary remembrance of the end of Kingdom
of Night, here is a story I can write about:

Two fathers met last week in Manhattan at their daughter’s Jewish
nursery school and discovered that their own fathers had both come
from the same village in Ukraine. They then discovered that both
their fathers had been loaded onto the same boxcar leading to the
same concentration camp on the same day. They then discovered that
one of their fathers escaped by ripping out a board over the window
and jumping out. He joined up with some partisans, and somehow
survived the war. They then discovered that before he jumped, he had
lifted up a younger, shorter boy and pushed him out of the boxcar
before him. That boy also wandered the forests of Ukraine and also
came to America after the war. Both fathers had recently died in New
York, and had no idea that their sons were sending their
granddaughters to the same nursery school. They did not know that
the little girls would have a play date in Manhattan because of what
happened in a boxcar in Ukraine some 63 years ago. That little hole
in that box car was big enough to have room for a play date and a
future. I love that story not because it explains anything or
justifies anything or is a compensation for anything. I love the
story because there is a Hebrew song I love called “Am Yisrael Hai”,
`The Jewish People Live.’ I love the story because it helps me
believe that the song is not merely a dream.

from

Armenian general blames Azerbaijan for tension on Karabakh front

Arminfo
9 May 05

YEREVAN

The Armenian army is ready to tackle the tasks facing it, Chief of the
General Staff Col-Gen Mikael Arutyunyan has said.

Mikael Arutyunyan confirmed increased tension on the contact line
between the Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces this year and
stressed that this was the consequence of the Azerbaijani leadership’s
bellicose statements. Both sides have incurred losses in exchanges of
fire, he said.

“There are several killed and wounded from our side. But their number
does not correspond to the Azerbaijani side’s reports which increase
the number of casualties tenfold,” the general noted, adding that the
Azerbaijani side had suffered more losses.

“There are many killed from the Azerbaijani side. The Armenian side
has this information. Therefore I would advise the Azerbaijani
leadership not to make bellicose statements since they automatically
affect the officers and soldiers on the front line and create
tension,” Arutyunyan noted, expressing the hope that Baku would
reconsider its position and stop whipping up bellicose hysteria.

Meanwhile, he noted that if Azerbaijan resumes hostilities, it will
lose the war.

“I know the military capability of both Armenia and Azerbaijan, and I
am sure that they will lose. Moreover, they will lose not one fight,
but vast stretches of land and many people,” Mikael Arutyunyan said.

Los Angeles Daily News
May 9 2005

Effort gathers memories of mass killings in Turkey

Nauksh Boghossian

LOS ANGELES – Samuel Kadorian shakes his head in frustration,
sheepishly shrugs his shoulders and mutters “old age, old age,” when
he can’t remember the maiden name of his beloved wife, Mary.

But sitting in his Sherman Oaks apartment, the 98-year-old vividly
recalls a horrific memory from 1915, when he was just 8, and
Armenians were rounded up in Turkey: A baby wouldn’t stop crying, he
said, so one Turkish soldier threw the infant up into the air and
another caught the child on his bayonet.

Those memories will never be erased, said Kadorian, one of the last
survivors of what is known as the Armenian Genocide – the organized
killing of 1.5 million Armenians in Ottoman Turkey beginning in 1915.
advertisement

“I can’t take it out,” said the frail man, pointing to his head. “I
may forgive them, but forget – never, never, never.”

For nearly 40 years, UCLA professor Richard Hovannisian has overseen
a project – the largest oral history project in the Armenian
community – to interview survivors and record stories like
Kadorian’s.

Students in his 10-week Oral History course have interviewed 10
survivors, recording their memories on audio cassette tapes.

Just before the 90th anniversary this year of the mass killings,
commemorated on April 24, the 72-year-old professor reached a
landmark: He digitized all 800 interviews conducted by his students
over the last four decades.

Of the hundreds of people his students interviewed, Hovannisian
believes no more than 25 are still alive.

“This is an important contribution to the preservation of history and
the understanding of what occurred to the Armenian people under the
cover of World War I,” he said. “It’s important especially in view of
denial of genocide by the Turkish government. Fortunately, some
Turkish scholars are now challenging the state, insisting there was
ethnic cleansing.”

The Turkish government maintains there was no organized, systematic
killing of Armenians, arguing that those slain were casualties of
war.

Recent communication between the prime minister of Turkey and the
president of Armenia have opened the door to dialogue between the two
governments in an effort to improve relations and begin researching
historical archives.

“Has Professor Hovannisian interviewed families or descendants of any
of the Turkish or Muslim families killed by Armenians?” said Engin
Ansay, consul general of Turkey in Los Angeles. “But I don’t want to
engage in a game of one-upmanship. That is not my intent.

“I strongly believe a dialogue is essential and also an understanding
between Armenian Diasporans and Turkish-Americans.”

Life’s work

The project has been a large part of Hovannisian’s life’s work. The
shelves in his office are stacked with books on genocide and there
are boxes and boxes of cassettes, organized alphabetically —
“Seropian-Stepanian,” “Kizikian-Mandroian.”

“It all started when we realized the last generation of Armenians
born in the historic homeland is fast disappearing and taking with
them invaluable information,” he said.

In addition to providing a historical record of the atrocities, the
interviews have sociological value, offering a glimpse into Armenian
life, customs and rituals prior to 1915.

“They have a very idyllic and romanticized collective memory of life
before the calamity. In relative terms they think back on their
childhood of a protective extended family and excitement getting
prepared for holidays,” Hovannisian said. “By comparison, life
(before the killings) was great.”

The stories, while each unique, collectively reveal common truths,
Hovannisian said.

Families were very quickly separated from the fathers, who were
killed immediately. Women and children were put on death marches
through the deserts of Syria.

For every survivor there was a story of a Turk or a Muslim who tried
to intervene. And when people 400 miles apart have the same stories,
it helps show it was an organized, premeditated operation against the
Armenian people in the Turkish empire.

Students are now transcribing and translating the interviews in an
expensive and time-consuming process. The ultimate goal is to
collaborate with others who have video interviews of survivors
throughout the world and to make them all available for research and
to the public via mediums like the Internet.

Compared with the Shoah Foundation, which since 1994 has compiled
120,000 hours of video on 52,000 Holocaust survivors in 56 countries
and in 32 languages, Hovannisian said their efforts are “amateurish”
mainly due to a lack of financial resources.

The Shoah Foundation’s work has cost about $100 million — $40
million of which was provided by director Steven Spielberg, said
Douglas Greenberg, president and CEO of the foundation.

Priceless work

Hovannisian’s work is invaluable both in honoring the generation that
suffered and in supporting scholarship and research on the subject,
Greenberg said.

“Anything is better than nothing. The challenge is for us to work
together because the problem is not an Armenian problem or a Jewish
problem or a Cambodian problem. It’s a human problem,” he said.

“The day is going to come where there will be no survivors alive from
any genocide and once they’re gone, their memory of the experience
will leave with them if not for these interviews.”

Kadorian’s father was shot by the Turks and his two younger sisters
and brother died of starvation. His mother survived and Kadorian
lived because he hid under a pile of bodies, and forced himself not
to cry so the Turks would not find him.

The atrocities he experienced at such a young age has taught him a
simple lesson — be nice to people and treat them with respect.

“They say you should say these stories so such things don’t happen
again. But I’m sorry to say, things like killing, dying, it’s going
to continue until doomsday,” he said.

“Why, why can’t people get along with each other and be nice to each
other? We don’t learn and when something like this happens, we say
that’s them, the heck with them.

“But if it’s them today, tomorrow it’ll be us.”

MPs urge to elaborate on ‘Prague talks’

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
May 7 2005

Baku, May 6, AssA-Irada — MPs have demanded that the ‘Prague talks’
on the settlement of the Upper Garabagh conflict be elaborated.

Mais Safarli told a session of the parliament on Friday that according
to some sources, the new plan on the conflict resolution, which was
discussed during the negotiations, contradicts Azerbaijan’s national
interests.

“Under the plan, Armenians will liberate several districts around
Upper Garabagh, but will also acquire the right to hold a referendum
to determine the status of Upper Garabagh in a few years.”

Safarli noted that holding a nationwide poll in Upper Garabagh
contradicts the Azerbaijani Constitution, as it does not allow
conducting referendums in any region of the country. “The fact that
Azerbaijanis who come from Garabagh became refugees makes it impossible
to hold a referendum,” he said.

MP Alimammad Nuriyev said that although the Prague talks are
confidential, explanations should be provided to parliament members
with regard to the status envisioned for Upper Garabagh, peacekeeping
forces to be deployed in the conflict zone and the possible referendum.

Elman Mammadov, former Mayor of Khojaly District, currently occupied
by Armenia, said that first of all, stability should be maintained
in the country to liberate Upper Garabagh.

The conflict settlement will take another 10 years if tensions in
the country exacerbate, he said.

Mammadov called on opposition parties to take Azerbaijan’s national
interests as a priority of their activity and to avoid provocations
from outside forces.

“It should be taken into account that staging ‘velvet revolutions’
in Azerbaijan may cause new woes for the country.”*

DRAFT CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA:PART 1 DRAFT

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| 11:49:58 | 07-05-2005 | Politics | DRAFT AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION |

02.05.2005

CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

The Armenian People, recognizing as a basis the fundamental principles of
Armenian statehood and the national aspirations engraved in the Declaration
of Independence of Armenia, having fulfilled the sacred message of its
freedom-loving ancestors for the restoration of the sovereign state,
committed to the strengthening and prosperity of the fatherland, in order to
ensure the freedom, general well being and civic harmony of future
generations, declaring their faithfulness to universal values, hereby adopts
the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia.

CHAPTER 1.

THE FOUNDATIONS OF CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER

Article 1.

The Republic of Armenia is a sovereign, democratic and social state, based
on the rule of law.

Article 2.

In the Republic of Armenia power is vested in the people.

The people exercise its power through free elections and referenda, as well
as through state and local self-government bodies and officials provided by
the Constitution.

The usurpation of power by any organization or individual constitutes a
crime.

Article 3. Human being, his fundamental rights and freedoms as an ultimate
value

1. The human being, his or her dignity and fundamental rights and freedoms
are an ultimate value.

2. The main task of the state shall be the ensuring of the implementation of
the fundamental human rights and freedoms. The fundamental human and civil
rights and freedoms shall bind the public authorities as directly applicable
law.

3. The fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms shall be protected in
accordance with the norms and principles of international law.

Article 4. Principles of suffrage

The elections of the National Assembly, President of the Republic and the
self-government bodies of the communities, as well as referendum, shall be
held based on the right to universal, equal, free and direct suffrage by
secret ballot.

Article 5. Political order

1. Political pluralism and multipartyism shall be the basis for the
political order of the Republic of Armenia.

2. No ideology may be recognized as state or mandatory.

3. The parties shall be formed and act freely. They shall contribute to the
formation, expression and implementation of the political will of the
people.

4. Equal conditions for free activity shall be guaranteed for the parties.

Article 6. Principle of the separation of the powers

State power shall be exercised based on the principle of the separation of
the legislative, executive and judicial powers in accordance with the
Constitution and laws.

Article 7. Hierarchy of legal norms and principle of legality

1. The Constitution shall have supreme legal force and its norms shall be
applicable directly. Laws must comply with the Constitution. Other legal
acts must comply with the Constitution and laws.

2. Universally recognized norms and principles of international law shall
have supremacy over the laws. If international treaties on human rights and
freedoms ratified by the National Assembly stipulate norms other than
stipulated by laws then the norms of treaties shall be applied, save where
the laws comprise more favourable norms.

3. State and local self-government bodies and officials shall be competent
to perform only such acts, for which they are authorized by the Constitution
and laws.

4. State and local self-government bodies and officials shall act in
accordance with the Constitution and laws.

5. The bodies authorized by the Constitution may adopt normative legal acts
on the basis of the Constitution and laws and for the purpose of the
ensuring the implementation of the Constitution and laws. The law shall
predetermine the meaning and content of the given normative legal act. The
relevant normative legal act shall contain a reference to its legal basis.

6. Laws and other normative legal acts shall enter into force only after
their official promulgation.

Article 8. Economic order

Freedom of economic activity and the economic competition shall be the basis
of the economic order of the Republic of Armenia.

Article 9. Local self-government

Local self-government shall be guaranteed as one of the foundations of the
democracy.

Article 10. Basic principles of foreign policy and linkages with Diaspora

1. The foreign policy of the Republic of Armenia shall be conducted in
accordance with the norms and principles of international law, with the aim
of establishing good neighbourly and mutually beneficial relations with all
states.

2. The Republic of Armenia shall run a policy for the developing and
strengthening of comprehensive linkages with the Diaspora, the main
objective of which is the preservation of the Armenian identity.

CHAPTER 2.

STATE LANGUAGE, SYMBOLS AND CAPITAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

Article 11. The state language of the Republic of Armenia

The Armenian language is the official language of the Republic of Armenia.

Article 12. Symbols of the Republic of Armenia

1. The national colours of the Republic of Armenia are red, blue and orange
with equal horizontal stripes.

2. The coat of arms and the national anthem of the Republic of Armenia shall
be determined by law.

Article 13. The Capital of the Republic of Armenia

The capital of the Republic of Armenia is Yerevan.

CHAPTER 3.

FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

Article 14. Human dignity

The dignity of the person, as a source of his or her rights and freedoms, is
inviolable. The state is obliged to respect and protect it.

Article 15. Right to life

1. Everyone has the right to life.

2. No one shall be condemned to the death penalty or executed.

Article 16. Right to integrity of the persons

1. Everyone has the right to respect for his or her physical and mental
integrity.

2. No one may be subjected to scientific, including medical,
experimentations against his or her will and against his or her will and
without his or her consent. The person shall be informed on the probable
consequences of such experimentations in advance.

3. In the fields of medicine and biology, the following must be respected in
particular:

1) the prohibition of eugenic practices, in particular those aiming at the
selection of persons;

2) the prohibition on making the human body and its parts as such a source
of financial gain;

3) the prohibition of the reproductive cloning of human beings.

Article 17. Prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment

1. No one shall be subjected to torture or to other inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.

2. The corporeal punishments are prohibited.

Article 18. Equality before the law

Everyone is equal before the law.

Article 19. Non-discrimination

Any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or
social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or
any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth,
disability, age or other personal and social circumstances shall be
prohibited.

Article 20. Equality between women and men

Men and women are legally equal.

Article 21. Right to act free

1. A human being is free to do anything not prohibited by the Constitution
and the laws corresponding to it.

2. The exercise of human rights and freedoms shall not violate the rights
and freedoms of the other persons.

Article 22. Right to liberty and security

1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person.

2. The person may be deprived of his or her liberty only in accordance with
the procedure prescribed by law and in the following cases, if:

1) he has been condemned to imprisonment by a Court sentence;

2) he is arrested or detained because of non-compliance with the order of a
Court or in order to secure the fulfilment of an obligation prescribed by
the law;

3) the person is arrested or detained on suspicion of having committed a
crime, or in order to prevent the commission of a crime or his or her
fleeing;

4) the minor is arrested or detained for the purpose of the educational
supervision or for bringing him before the competent authority;

5) a person is arrested or detained for the reason of representing danger to
himself or surroundings;

6) it is necessary to prevent the unlawful entry of a person into the
Republic of Armenia, to expel him from the Republic or extradite him to
another state.

3. The arrested person shall be immediately informed in a language
understandable to him or her about the grounds of his or her arrest and at
least 24 hours later, also the written substantiation of the arrest shall be
provided to him or her. The family or the persons mentioned by the arrested
shall be immediately informed about the arrest.

4. The person may not be arrested more than 48 hours. The arrested has the
right to appeal the decision of his or her arrest, which the Court shall
examine immediately.

5. A person may be detained only by the Court decision. The person may not
be under the detention in pre-trial process for the period not exceeding 6
months. In cases stipulated by law the term of the detention in pre-trial
process may be prolonged by a decision of the Court composed of several
judges.

Article 23. Right to integrity of private and family life

1. Everyone has the right to integrity of his private and family life,
honour and good reputation.

2. Restrictions of these rights shall be allowed only in cases stipulated by
law if that is necessary for the purpose of prevention or detection of
crimes.

Article 24. Right to inviolability of home

1. Everyone has the right to inviolability of the home. It is prohibited to
enter or search the home against the will of the person.

2. In the cases and procedure prescribed by law, the authorized bodies may,
without the decision of the Court and against the will of the residents,
without witnesses, enter the home and carry out a search, if it is necessary
to capture the offender, as well as to protect the other persons or their
property. The Court shall decide the appropriateness of entering the home or
searching it in cases and in an order prescribed by law.

3. The home may be searched only by the Court decision in an order
prescribed by the law.

4. Everyone has the right to be present at the search of his or her home,
which shall be conducted in the presence of at least 2 witnesses.

Article 25. Right to inviolability of correspondence

1. Everyone has the right to inviolability of the confidentiality of
correspondence, telephone conversations, mail, telegram and other
communications.

2. Restrictions of this right shall be allowed only by Court decision in
cases stipulated by law, if that is necessary for the defence of state
security, the prevention or detection of severe crimes.

Article 26. Right to protection of personal data

1. Everyone has the right to the protection of personal data concerning him
or her. The collection, maintenance, use and dissemination of information
about him or her without the person’s consent shall be prohibited. The use
of information relating to the person for purposes contravening the aims of
their collection is prohibited. Everyone has the right to become acquainted
with the data concerning him or her available in the state and local
self-government bodies.

2. This right may be limited only by law, if it is necessary for the
protection of an overriding public interest.

3. Everyone may demand correction of non-verified information and
elimination of the illegally received information about him or her.

Article 27. Right to marry and right to found a family. Rights and
obligations of the parents

1. Men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry and found a
family according to their free will.

2. The family as a unit of a man and woman shall enjoy the special
protection and patronage of the state. Dismissal for a reason connected with
maternity is prohibited. Everyone has the right to paid maternity leave and
parental leave following the birth or adoption of a child.

3. The care and upbringing of children are the right and duty of parents.
Children have the right to freely express their opinion, which shall be
taken into account in cases concerning them, accounting for the child’s age
and degree of his or her maturity.

4. The restriction of parental rights or their deprivation shall take place
only in cases stipulated by law, by Court decision.

Article 28. Right to free movement

1. Everyone legally residing in the territory of the Republic Armenia has
the right to freedom of movement, choice of residence and to leave the
Republic.

2. Every citizen and everyone legally residing in the Republic of Armenia
have the right to enter the Republic of Armenia.

3. The right to free movement may be restricted only by law, if it is
necessary for the purpose of the protection of state security, public order,
prevention or detection of crimes, protection of health or morality or
protection of the rights and freedoms of the other persons.

4. Those territories, the entry of which is forbidden or limited, shall be
prescribed by law.

Article 29. Freedom of expression and information

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include
the freedom to hold his own opinions, as well as to receive and impart
information and ideas through any medium of information without interference
by state and local self-government authorities and regardless of state
frontiers.

2. The freedom of the press, radio, TV and other mass media means shall be
guaranteed. The diversity of informative, educational, cultural and
entertainment programs, the reflection of the opinions existing in the
society in the public TV and radio shall be guaranteed.

3. The right to freedom of expression may be restricted only by law, if it
is necessary for the protection of state security, morality or the rights
and freedoms of the others.

Article 30. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
This right includes freedom to change his or her religion or belief and
freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private,
to manifest his or her religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice
and observance.

2. The exercise of this right may be restricted only by law, if it is
necessary for the protection of health, morality or the rights and freedoms
of others.

3. Every citizen who refuses military service involving armed combat on
grounds of conscience or belief shall be assigned to alternative service.

Article 31. Freedom of associations

1. Everyone has the right to create associations with other persons,
including the right to form trade unions for the purpose of maintenance and
improvement of the working and economic conditions and also the right to
join them.

2. No one can be forced to join any association.

3. The activity of associations may be suspended or prohibited only by Court
decision.

Article 32. Freedom of Assembly

1. Everyone has the right without prior notification to participate in
peaceful assemblies and hold them. In cases stipulated by law the peaceful
assemblies shall be held based on the notification submitted during a
reasonable time.

2. The exercise of this right may be limited only in the cases stipulated by
law, if that is necessary for the preventing mass disorder and crimes,
protection of the health, morality or rights and freedoms of others.

3. The holding of peaceful assemblies in covered buildings shall be free.

Article 33. The right to preservation and development of national
minorities’ traditions, religion, language and culture

1. Everyone has the right to preserve his or her national and ethnic
identity.

2. The persons belonging to national minorities have the right to
preservation and development of their traditions, religion, language and
culture.

Article 34. Right to asylum. Prohibition of expulsion or extradition

1. Persons persecuted on political grounds have the right to asylum in an
order prescribed by law.

2. No one may be expelled or extradited to a foreign state if in that case
there is a serious threat that the given person would be subjected to death
penalty, torture, or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

3. The citizens of the Republic of Armenia may be extradited to a foreign
state only in cases stipulated by the international treaty of the Republic
of Armenia.

Article 35. Right to citizenship of the Republic of Armenia

1. The child whose 2 parents are the citizens of the Republic of Armenia,
has the right to Armenian citizenship. Every child with one parent, who is a
citizen of the Republic of Armenia, has the right to citizenship of the
Republic of Armenia. Everyone of Armenian ethnicity has the right to
citizenship of the Republic of Armenia from the moment of residing in the
Republic of Armenia. The other grounds and the procedure of the acquisition
of the citizenship of Republic of Armenia shall be prescribed by law.

2. A citizen of the Republic of Armenia may not be deprived of citizenship.

3. The grounds and procedure for the recovery and termination of Armenian
citizenship shall be prescribed by law.

Article 36. Right to vote

1. The citizens of the Republic of Armenia having attained the age of 18 on
the day of the election or referendum have the right to vote, and the right
to participate in referendums. Foreigners and stateless persons permanently
residing in the Republic of Armenia and having attained the age of 18 have
also the right to vote during the elections of the local self-government
bodies and the right to participate in local referendum.

2. Persons found to be legally incapable by a Court ruling as well as those
persons condemned by a final Court sentence to imprisonment and serving a
sentence, shall not have the right to vote or stand as a candidate or to
participate in referendum.

Article 37. Right to create and join a party

1. Every citizen has the right to create a party with other citizens and to
join any party.

2. The judge and the member of the Constitutional Court may not be a member
of a party. The right to create and join a party of the servants of forced
arms, national security, police and procuracy may be limited by law.

3. The parties shall submit annual reports on their sources of finances and
expenses.

4. The objectives and activity of the parties may not contradict the
Constitution and laws, nor may their structure and practice contradict the
principles of democracy.

5. The activity of the parties may be suspended or prohibited by the
decision of the Constitutional Court.

Article 38. Eligibility for public office

1. Every citizen is eligible for any public office according to his or her
qualifications and professional ability. The citizens are eligible for
public office on a competitive basis, except for the cases stipulated by
law.

2. Public servants serve the whole people. They are obliged to perform their
duties in an impartial and politically neutral manner, based on exclusively
professional considerations.

Article 39. Right to information

1. The citizens have the right to information on the activities of the state
and local self-government bodies and the officials, including the right to
become acquainted with documents.

2. This right may be restricted only by law, if it is necessary for the
protection of the state security or rights and freedoms of the others.

Article 40. Right to good administration

1. Every person has the right to have his or her affairs handled fairly and
within a reasonable time by state and local self-government bodies and
officials.

2. This right, particularly, includes the right of every person to have
access to his or her file, while respecting the legitimate interests of
confidentiality and of professional and business secrecy, as well as obliges
the state and local self-government bodies and the officials to hear him or
her before the adoption of any individual act which involves a burden and to
give reasons for the adopted act.

Article 41. Right to apply to the Defender of Human Rights

Everyone has the right to apply individually or jointly with others to the
Defender of Human Rights in case of the violation of his or her rights by
state and local self-government bodies and officials.

Article 42. Right to petition

1. Everyone has individually or jointly with others the right to petition
the state and local self-government bodies and officials.

2. The state and local self-government bodies and officials are obliged in
due time to give an argued reply to petitions, and in cases of necessity to
undertake corresponding measures.

Article 43. Right to property and inheritance

1. Everyone has the right to own, use, dispose of and bequeath his or her
lawfully acquired possessions. The use of property may be restricted by law
insofar as is necessary for the protection of the general interests.

2. No one may be deprived of his or her possessions, except in the public
interest and in the cases and under the conditions provided for by law,
subject to advance and equivalent compensation.

3. The right of acquisition of land ownership of foreigners and stateless
persons may be restricted by law.

4. Intellectual property shall be protected.

Article 44. Occupational freedom. Prohibition of forced labour

1. Everyone has the right to free choice of work.

2. Everyone has the right of access to a free placement service.

3. No one may be unjustified dismissed. The grounds for dismissal shall be
prescribed by law.

4. It is prohibited to engage the persons not having attained the age of 16
in permanent work.

5. Forced work is prohibited.

Article 45. Freedom to conduct a business

1. Everyone has the right to engage in economic activity not prohibited by
law, including the entrepreneurial activity.

2. Abuse of monopoly or dominant position in the market and bad-faith
competition are prohibited.

3. The restriction of the competition, forms of possible monopolies and
their permitted sizes may be prescribed by law.

Article 46. Fair and just working conditions

1. Every worker has the right to working conditions which respect his or her
health, safety and dignity. Every worker has the right to restriction of
maximum working hours, to daily and weekly rest periods and to an annual
period of paid leave. The volume of these rights shall be prescribed by law.

2. Minors having a secondary education, but not having attained the age of
18, shall have the right to working conditions consistent with their age,
devoid of economic exploitation as well as not impeding their security,
health, physical, psychic, moral and social development and upbringing, the
terms of the implementation of which shall be prescribed by law.

3. Workers or their representatives must, at the appropriate levels, be
guaranteed information on the financial and economic state of their
enterprise and consultation before the adoption of the decisions essentially
affecting their interests in good time.

4. Every worker has the right to minimal remuneration stipulated by law.

Article 47. Right to strike

1. Workers have the right to strike for the protection of their economic,
social and working interests.

2. This right may be restricted only by law, if that is necessary for the
protection of state security or the rights and freedoms of the others.

Article 48. Right to social security

1. Everyone has the right to social security in the cases such as maternity,
having many children, illness, industrial accidents, dependency, loss of an
income earner, old age, unemployment and in the other cases of loss of
employment.

2. The extent and the forms of social security shall be prescribed by law.

Article 49. Right to health care

1. Everyone has the right to benefit from medical aid and service under the
conditions prescribed by law.

2. Everyone has the right to benefit from basic medical aid and services
free of charge. The list and the procedure of the services shall be
prescribed by law.

3. In the cases stipulated by law the medical aid and service presented to
several groups of citizens is free of charge

Article 50. Right to information on the state of the nature and environment,
the quality of food and household goods

Everyone has the right to receive the information on the state of the nature
and environment, the quality of food and household goods.

Article 51. Right to education

1. Everyone has the right to education. Secondary education shall be
mandatory. The minimal duration of the secondary education shall be 10
years. The secondary education shall be free in the state educational
institutions.

2. Every citizen has the right to receive higher and other professional
secondary education in state educational institutions on a competitive
basis.

3. The higher educational institutions have the right to self-government
within the scopes of the law.

Article 52. Right to creation and academic freedom

Everyone is entitled to freedom of literary, artistic, scientific, technical
creation. Academic freedom shall be respected.

Article 53. Recourse to Courts

1. Everyone is entitled to defend in Court the rights and freedoms engraved
in the Constitution and the laws.

2. Everyone has the right to apply for international protection of his or
her rights and freedoms, according to the procedure prescribed by the
international treaties of the Republic of Armenia if all internal legal
means of protection are finished.

Article 54. Right to a fair trial

1. Everyone has the right to public hearing of his or her case within a
reasonable and fair time by the Court.

2. The trial or its part may be held in closed sitting by the Court decision
if it is necessary for the interests of the protection of private life of
parties, public order or state security.

3. The Court act solving the case in essence shall be pronounced publicly.
It may be pronounced in closed Court sitting if that concerns the interests
of minors, matrimonial disputes or child guardianship.

Article 55. Right to have a defender

1. Everyone at his or her own choice has the right to have a defender from
the moment of arrest, detention or presentation of an accusation against him
or her. Everyone who is arrested, detained or presented an accusation must
immediately be informed on the right to have a defender at his or her own
choice and the right to refuse to give any testimony.

2. Every witness has the right to be examined at the presence of his or her
advocate.

Article 56. Presumption of innocence

1. One accused of a crime is considered innocent, as long as his guilt is
not proven by the Court sentence that has taken legal effect.

2. The accused is not obliged to prove his or her innocence. The suspicions
not proven are interpreted in favour of the accused.

Article 57. Other judicial guarantees

1. No one shall be obligated to testify against himself, his or her spouse
and close relatives.

2. It is prohibited to use evidence obtained in violation of the law.

3. Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following rights:

1) to be informed promptly in a language which he understands and in
details, of the nature and cause of the accusation against him;

2) to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his or her
defence;

3) in cases stipulated by law as well as if he has no possibility to protect
his or her rights and freedoms, to receive guaranteed free of charge and
qualified advocacy assistance;

4) to examine the witnesses against him or her;

5) to have the free assistance of an interpreter if he or she cannot
understand the Armenian language.

Article 58. No liability without law. No deprivation of liberty in cases of
administrative liability or failure to fulfil contractual obligation

1. The human being may not be condemned in no other way than by the law in
affect at the moment of the committing the crime.

2. The severity of means of liability must be proportionate to the criminal
offence. The failure to fulfil the contractual obligation, as well as the
administrative liability may not lead to the deprivation of the liberty of a
human being.

3. Laws defining or increasing punishments for the action shall not have
retroactive force. Laws defining or increasing a liability, as well as laws
and other legal acts that worsen the legal status of a person shall not have
retroactive force.

4. Laws abolishing or mitigating punishment for the action shall have
retroactive force. Legal acts that improve the legal status of a person,
remove or mitigate his or her liability shall have retroactive force, if
that is provided by those acts.

Article 59. Right not to be punished twice

1. No one shall be punished again in criminal proceedings for an offence for
which he or she has already been finally acquitted or convicted in
accordance with the law.

2. The provisions of the first part of this article shall not prevent the
reopening of the case in accordance with the law if there is evidence of new
or newly discovered facts or if there has been a fundamental defect in the
previous proceedings, which could affect the outcome of the case.

Article 60. Right to appeal in criminal matters

Every convicted of a criminal offence by Court and every injured person has
the right to have the Court sentence reviewed issued in relation to his or
her case.

Article 61. Right to request a pardon and mitigation of the punishment

Every convicted person has the right to request a pardon or mitigation of
the assigned punishment.

Article 62. Right to apply to the Constitutional Court

Everyone has the right to apply to the Constitutional Court, if all the
other judicial means for the protection of his or her fundamental rights
have been exhausted and if he or she considers that the law or other
normative legal act lying at the basis of the judicial act contradicts the
Constitution.

Article 63. Right to compensation

Everyone has the right to compensation for damage caused by the illegal,
also in cases, prescribed by law, legal decisions, actions or inaction of
the state and local self government authorities and officials while
realizing their powers. The sizes of the compensation shall be prescribed by
law.

Article 64. Other rights and freedoms

The fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms shall not exclude the
other rights and freedoms prescribed by laws and international treaties.

Article 65. Fundamental rights and freedoms of legal persons

The fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms shall apply to legal
persons to the extent that those fundamental rights and freedoms permit.

Article 66. Temporary restriction of the fundamental rights and freedoms

The fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms, except for those
prescribed in articles 14-23, 25, 26, 27, part 1 of article 30, 33, 35, 38,
40-43, part 1 of article 49, 53-62 of the Constitution, may be temporarily
restricted during a state of emergency or martial law in the cases and
procedure prescribed by law only insofar as it is subject to the situation.

Article 67. Aims of the restrictions, broadening of the fundamental rights
and freedoms and the procedure of their implementation

1. In cases stipulated by the constitution the law may provide only such
restrictions of fundamental human and civil rights, which pursue a purpose
corresponding to the Constitution and are apt, necessary and moderate to
achieve that purpose.

2. The restrictions of the fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms
may not exceed the restrictions prescribed by the international treaties of
the Republic of Armenia.

3. In case of necessity the law may broaden the several fundamental rights
and freedoms. In case of necessity the law may define the procedure of
implementation of several fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms.

Article 68. Inviolability of the fundamental human and civil rights and
freedoms

The meaning and essence of the provisions fixed in this chapter on the
fundamental rights of the human and citizen shall be inviolable.

CHAPTER 4.

BASIC HUMAN AND CIVIL DUTIES

Article 69. Duty to respect the Constitution and the laws, others’ rights,
freedoms and dignity

1. Everyone shall uphold the Constitution and the laws, and respect the
rights and freedoms of others.

2. The exercise of rights and freedoms shall not serve toward the violent
overthrow of the Constitutional order, for the instigation of national,
racial, or religious hatred or for the incitement to violence and war.

Article 70. Duty to pay taxes, duties and other mandatory payments

Everyone is obliged, in the procedure and the amount prescribed by law, to
pay taxes and duties and make other mandatory payments.

Article 71. Duty to participate in the defence of the Republic of Armenia

Every citizen is obliged to participate in the defence of the Republic of
Armenia in an order prescribed by law.

Article 72. Duty to preserve the environment

Everyone is obliged to preserve the environment and shall be liable in the
manner prescribed by law for the damage caused to it.

CHAPTER 5.

BASIC TASKS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE STATE

IN THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND NATURE PROTECTION SPHERES

Article 73. Basic tasks of the state in the social, cultural and nature
protection spheres

The basic tasks of the state in the social, cultural and nature protection
spheres are:

1) to support the employment for the population and the improvement of
working conditions;

2) to foster housing construction;

3) to support preservation of the health of the population, to create
conditions for effective and affordable medical service for the population;

4) development of physical training and sports;

5) to support development of free of charge higher education;

6) to support development of science and culture;

7) to ensure the preservation and reproduction of an environment safe for
the life and health of people, to implement measures to preserve nature and
the environment from harmful effects, to ensure the rational utilization and
reproduction of the natural resources;

8) to ensure the protection of the interests of the consumers, foster the
improvement of the quality of the goods, services and works;

9) to promote the protection of Armenian historical and cultural values
located in other countries, and shall support the development of Armenian
educational and cultural life within the framework of principles and norms
of international law;

10) to provide for each person free access to national and universal values.

Article 74. Obligations of the state in economic, social and cultural
spheres

1. The state is obliged, within the scope of its possibilities to undertake
necessary measurements for the fulfilment of the purposes prescribed in the
Article 73. The Government shall submit annual reports to the National
Assembly, and the Community leaders – to the Community Council of Elders on
the fulfilment of the undertaken measurements.

2. The state is obliged to preserve the historical and cultural monuments,
as well as other cultural values.

Article 75. Obligatory teaching of fundamentals of the Constitution

The state is obliged to ensure the teaching of the fundamentals of the
Constitution at the secondary educational institutions.

CHAPTER 6.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Article 76. Functions, powers and acts of the National Assembly

1. Legislative power in the Republic of Armenia shall be exercised by the
National Assembly.

2. The National Assembly shall exercise control over the executive power,
adopt the State Budget and perform other functions and powers prescribed by
the Constitutions and laws.

3. The National Assembly shall operate in accordance with its Rules of
Procedure.

4. National Assembly shall adopt decisions in cases stipulated by the
Constitution and laws.

5. The National Assembly may adopt statements and messages of no normative
essence in cases stipulated by its Rules of Procedure.

6. The decisions, statements and messages shall be signed and promulgated by
the President of the National Assembly.

Article 77. Composition and the order of the election of the National
Assembly

1. The National Assembly shall be composed of 101 Deputies.

2. The Deputies shall be elected on the basis of proportional electoral
system.

3. The procedure for election of the National Assembly shall be prescribed
by law.

Article 78. Term of office of the National Assembly

1. The National Assembly is elected for a term of 4 years. Its term of
office shall begin at the moment when newly-elected National Assembly
assembles for its first sitting. The term of office of the National Assembly
shall expire at the moment of opening of the first sitting of the newly
elected National Assembly.

2. The regular election of the National Assembly shall be held 50 days prior
to the expiration of the term of office of the National Assembly.

3. The election of the National Assembly shall not be held during a state of
emergency or martial law. After the state of emergency or martial law is
abolished the election of the National Assembly shall be held during not
soon, than 40 and not late than 60 days.

Article 79. Shortening the term of office of the National Assembly

1. The term of office of the National Assembly may be shortened in cases
stipulated in the Constitution.

2. The National Assembly after the shortening of its term of office shall
continue realization of its powers until the first sitting of newly-elected
National Assembly.

3. After the shortening of its term of office the National Assembly shall
not have the right to express a vote of no confidence against the
Government, to form Government, to initiate the procedure of the removing of
the President of the Republic, to remove at its own initiative the
Prosecutor General, the chairman of the Audit Chamber, the Defender of the
human rights, the members of the TV and Radio commission and the chairman of
the Central Bank.

4. The extraordinary elections of the National Assembly shall be held during
not soon than 30 and not late than 40 days after the shortening of the term
of office of the National Assembly. After the extraordinary election the
newly elected National Assembly sitting shall be convened on the tenth day
after the promulgation of the election results.

Article 80. Requirements concerning the Deputy

Any person having attained the age of 25 on the day of the election, having
a citizenship of the Republic of Armenia and permanently residing in the
Republic of Armenia for the last 5 years, and having the right to vote, may
be elected a Deputy of the National Assembly.

Article 81. Incompatibility

A Deputy may not hold any other office or carry out any other work, except
for scientific, educational and creative work.

Article 82. Payment of the Deputy and the guaranties of his activity

The payment of the Deputy and the guaranties of his or her activity shall be
prescribed by law.

Article 83. Prohibition of imperative mandate

Deputy represents the whole nation. He or she shall not be bound by any
compulsory mandate and shall be guided only by his or her convictions.

Article 84. Immunity of the Deputy

1. A Deputy may not be prosecuted or held liable at any time for actions
arising from his or her status, including voting, as well as his or her
opinion expressed in the National Assembly, if it is not slanderous or
defamatory.

2. A Deputy may not be arrested, detained or subject to any other
restriction of liberty without the consent of the National Assembly, with
the exception of the moment of committing a crime. The President of the
National Assembly is informed about that immediately.

Article 85. Cessation and termination of powers of a Deputy

1. The powers of the Deputy shall cease in cases if the term of office of
the National Assembly is over, the Deputy loses the citizenship of the
Republic of Armenia, is condemned to imprisonment by legally effective Court
sentence, is found to be legally incapable or having limited capacity or
unknown absentee or dead by a legally effective Court ruling, as well as in
case of resignation.

2. The powers of the Deputy may be terminated in case if the provisions of
the Article 81 of the Constitution are breached, the Deputy fails to take
part in at least half of the voting during the regular session without
respectful reasons, by the majority vote of the total number of Deputies.

Article 86. Regular sessions and sittings of the National Assembly

1. Regular sessions of the National Assembly shall be convened from the 1st
of February to the 30th June and from the 1st of September to 30th of
December.

2. The sittings of the National Assembly shall be convened each 2 weeks from
Monday until Wednesday or the Thursday.

Article 87. The extraordinary session and sitting of the National Assembly

1. The President of the National Assembly shall convene an extraordinary
session, upon the demand of at least one quarter of the total number of
Deputies or the Government.

2. The President of the National Assembly shall convene an extraordinary
sitting upon the demand of at least one fifth of the total number of
Deputies or the Government.

3. In case of a state of emergency or martial law an extraordinary sitting
of the National Assembly shall be convened by right.

Article 88. Publicity of sitting of the National Assembly

1. The sittings of the National Assembly shall be public. They shall be
broadcast by public radio. Upon the demand of at least one third of the
total number of the Deputies the sittings of the National Assembly shall be
broadcast by public TV.

2. Upon the proposal of at least one fifth of the total number of Deputies
or the Government closed door sittings may be convened by the National
Assembly by the vote of two thirds of its total number of Deputies.

Article 89. Adoption of the laws, decisions, statements and messages of the
National Assembly

The laws, and decisions, statements and messages of the National Assembly
shall be adopted by the majority vote of the Deputies present at a given
sitting, if more than half of the total number of Deputies has participated
in the voting, with the exception of cases stipulated by the Constitution.

Article 90. President of the National Assembly, his Deputies and the Council
of the National Assembly

1. The National Assembly shall elect a President and his 2 Deputies from its
composition and for the full term of its office.

2. For organizing the works of the National Assembly shall be formed a
Council of the National Assembly composed of the President of the National
Assembly, his or her deputies, one representative from each faction and
chairmen of standing committees.

Article 91. Standing Committees

1. The National Assembly shall create standing committees for the discussion
and preparation of the matters relating to its jurisdiction, as well as for
the parliamentary control on behalf of the National Assembly.

2. In the standing committees seats shall be appropriated to the factions of
the Deputies according to the proportion of their number.

3. The positions of the chairmen of the standing committees shall be
distributed between the factions of the Deputies by the proportion of their
number.

4. Upon the demand of one third of the total number of the members of a
standing committee executive power and local self-government bodies and
officials, are obliged to submit necessary documents and information to the
committee and assist the works of the committee.

5. A standing committee, by the majority vote of the total number of its
members, has the right to require the participation of ministers and other
officials dealing with the issue in its sittings.

Article 92. Temporary committees

1. Temporary committees may be established by the decision of the National
Assembly for the preliminary discussion of draft laws and other matters and
submitting conclusions or information to the National Assembly.

2. The provisions concerning the standing committees shall be applicable
accordingly in relation to the temporary committees.

Article 93. Investigative Committees

1. Upon the demand of at least one quarter of the total number of Deputies,
an investigative committee is established for the purpose of clarifying
facts of public interest.

2. The investigative committee shall be composed of at least one
representative from each of the factions and the party submitting the
demand.

3. The investigative committee shall, upon the demand of the party
submitting the demand in the public sittings or at least one fifth of the
total number of its members, collect necessary information. In case of
necessity the closed sittings may be held.

4. The provisions stipulated for the standing committees shall be applicable
in regard to the investigative committee correspondingly.

Article 94. Right to initiate laws

The right to initiate laws rests with the Deputies and the Government, as
well as at least 20.000 citizens having the right to vote.

Article 95. Discussion of the initiative

1. The legislative initiative must be discussed in the sitting of the
National Assembly within not late than 6 months.

2. If pursuant to the conclusion of the Government the draft law decreases
the state incomes or increases the state expenses, the National Assembly may
adopt that draft law upon the demand of the government only by the majority
of the total number of Deputies.

Article 96. Confidence to Government

1. The Government may during the regular session bring up the issue of a
vote of confidence to the Government in connection with adoption of the
draft law represented by it or other matters. If the National Assembly does
not adopt that draft and does not elect a new Prime minister within 14 days,
the President of the Republic shall immediately shorten the term of office
of the National Assembly. If during the prescribed period the National
Assembly elects a new Prime Minister, the new Government shall be formed in
an order prescribed in the second part of the Article 130 of the
Constitution.

2. The Government may not bring up the issue of a vote of confidence to the
Government more than once during the same session.

Article 97. State budget

1. The National Assembly shall adopt the State Budget upon its presentation
by the Government.

2. The Government shall submit the draft of the State Budget to the National
Assembly for discussion at least 90 days before the start of the new fiscal
year.

3. If the State Budget is not adopted, then before the approval of the state
budget of the given year, the expenditures of the new fiscal year shall be
incurred in the same proportions as in the previous year’s budget.

Article 98. Participation of the Prime Minister and Ministers in the
sittings of National Assembly

1. The Prime Minister shall be obligated to participate in the sittings of
the National Assembly upon the demand of the one third of the total number
of Deputies. The ministers, heads of the independent Commissions, the
chairman of the Central Bank and Prosecutor General dealing with the issue
shall be obligated to participate in the National Assembly’s sittings upon
the demand of at least one fifth of the total number of Deputies.

2. Members of the Government and their deputies shall have the right to
participate in the sittings of the National Assembly and make out of turn
speeches in relation to their matters.

Article 99. Oral and written questions of the Deputies

1. During the regular session for at least one sitting of the National
Assembly each week the members of the Government shall answer oral questions
raised by Deputies.

2. Deputies shall have the right to address written questions to the members
of the Government. The members of the Government shall answer those
questions within 14 days. The answers to the written questions shall not be
read in the sitting of the National Assembly.

Article 100. Interpellation

1. The fractions of the National Assembly may apply with one written
interpellation to the Government during each session. The Prime Minister and
the Ministers shall answer the interpellation during the regular session
within not late than 30 days after the receipt of the interpellation, and if
the regular session has already closed – during the first sitting of the
next session.

2. The Answers to the interpellations shall be submitted during the sitting
of the National Assembly. Upon the proposal of at least one fifth of total
number of the Deputies the interpellation is discussed. If in the result of
the discussion the draft decision is submitted on the no confidence to the
Government, then the provisions of the Article 102 shall be applied.