Author: Tvankchian Parkev

PRESS RELEASE
Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) – Yerevan Office
53-55 Pavstos Buzand Street, 0010
Yerevan, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Inessa Grigoryan
Tel: (+374 10) 522076; 562068
Fax: (+374 10) 522076
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

Children of Armenia Fund – New York Office
162 Fifth Avenue, Suite 900,
New York, NY 10010, USA
Contact: Samantha Wagar
Tel: 212 – 994 – 8234
Fax: 212 – 994 – 8299
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

The New Community Center of Karakert

How did community life change with the opening of the Community Center?

March 5, 2008, Karakert, Armavir District ¾ On January 7, 2008 the
Community Center of Karakert opened its doors to the local residents as
well as to the neighboring communities of the Model Cluster. The
complete renovation of the building was made possible through COAF’s
partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and
United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Upon
completion of the renovation, COAF fully equipped and refurnished the
Center, while working with the local municipality in developing the
program and services needed by the community and necessary for a
sustainable operation. This remote village of Karakert, once famous for
its national champions in martial arts, now has the opportunity to
regain its renown in sports and cultural activities.

Perj Khachatryan, the current director of the Community Center, states
that "Until recently, the desire to have a place for events and social
gatherings was but a dream. Today, we are all thrilled to have this
building where we can get together for games, events or simply to
socialize. Our children are so happy to come here for dance lessons or
to train in martial arts. They are lucky to have this opportunity. I
must confess that we are fortunate that our village was first in COAF’s
rural development project. We have put our lives back together in such
a short time and can now enjoy an active community life."

Indeed, the village center is testimony to the active life in Karakert.
The renovated Community Center stands in the heart of the village
center, connected to the village Health Clinic via a completely new
public park built by COAF in partnership with a local entrepreneur and
with the generous donation by Shen-Concern CJSC. The Public Park and
Café cover an area of 1,665 sq. m., landscaped to include a pond,
benches and tables, and rustic lighting that accentuates the rural
setting. The Community Center covers a usable area of 1,600 sq. m.
allotted to the community library, Internet/computer room, gymnasium,
performance hall/movie theater with a capacity of 320, an exhibition
hall, and two games rooms. The Center also serves as home for the local
NGO, Women Supporting Community, where the members come together for
meetings or other non-profit ventures.

In the words of Dr. Aida Muradyan, President of the local NGO, Women
Supporting Community, "Our organization finally has a home, where we can
come together and implement our plan of activities for 2008. Our
members are very enthusiastic with this room, which the management of
the Community Center has allocated to us. We plan to cover part of the
expenses through the proceeds of our fundraising activities."

A visitor to the Center will immediately notice the posted community
announcements about classes in Internet search, computer software, and
English language. Other announcements include titles of movies to be
shown in the theater, practice hours of the dance group and schedule of
classes in martial arts.

Romik Manukyan, a fifteen-year-old avid player of draughts and chess at
the Community Center expressed his enthusiasm. "Hours spent here fly by
so quickly that we often forget that we have to go home." Another young
man, Armen Nersisyan, enjoys playing table tennis and says "It’s such an
exciting experience to be playing games here, in our own village,
without being driven to get to the city to find a place where we can
play. Now, we are eager to come to the Community Center in the
afternoon as soon as we are done with school and our daily routine. And
more … we are thrilled that we can also organize contests among
competing pairs and celebrate the best players amongst us."

Arthur Adamyan, 18 years of age, will soon be called for military
service, but he is looking forward to his return in two years. He says
"Most of all, I will miss the time spent in this Community Center with
my friends. This center is the perfect place for socializing, which we
all did not have for such a long time."

# # # #

NORAYR BAKHTAMIAN TAKES 4th PLACE IN EUROPE CHAMPIONSHIP

Noyan Tapan
March 3, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 3, NOYAN TAPAN. The Shooting Europe Championship
finished on March 2 in the city of Winterthur, Switzerland. Norayr
Bakhtamian in the distance of 10 meters (pistol) gained 583 points
and took the 4th place in the competition among 68 participants. Ani
Arakelian (gun) took the 58th place among 70 participants with
390 points.

The Armenian shooting national team in Yerevan will prepare for the
Preolympic Week tournament to be held on April 10-21 in Beijing by
the program of the world cup tournament’s next tour.

SERZH SARGSYAN: OUR COMPATRIOTS FELL VICTIM TO BLIND HATRED OF SOME INDIVIDUALS

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.03.2008 14:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia’s Prime Minister and President-elect Serzh
Sargsyan delivered the following addressed the nation:

"Dear Compatriots, In consequence of the recent events, our people
suffered great losses. There are casualties among policemen, who
performed their duty, and among protects, who fell under the influence
of a group of people. Hundreds of civilians suffered from illegal
acts of the radical opposition.

Leaders of the co-called ‘movement’ made targets of their own
supporters and policemen to suit their own ends. The initiators of
disorders must answer for their deeds before the law, history and
generations.

With pain, I conceive that our compatriots fell victim to blind hatred
of some individuals.

I share your grief and wish you courage and strength to overcome this
tragedy," the RA government’s press office reported.

PRESIDENT KOCHARIAN VISITS MILITARY HOSPITAL TO INQUIRE ABOUT WOUNDED SECURITY OFFICERS

ARMENPRESS
March 2, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 2, ARMENPRESS: President Robert Kocharian and health
minister Harutyun Kushkian visited a military hospital in a Yerevan
suburb today to inquire about the condition of several interior troops
and police officers who received bullet wounds and injuries in the
March 1 clashes with opposition in Yerevan.

The president was also accompanied by police chief Hayk Harutyunian
and some other officials. Robert Kocharian went from one hospital
ward to another and spoke to officers and servicemen.

Hospital chief, Arthur Petrosian, said they admitted 33 wounded
officers and servicemen on March 1 until 8.30 pm and 27 others after
9 pm. He said all were interior troops.

He said 11 received bullet wounds, eight were hospitalized with heavy
symptoms of gas poisoning, 2 received knife wounds. Seven servicemen
went to their quarters after receiving first medical aid and 11 others
were operated on. The chief of the hospital said their condition is
satisfactory now.

ARMENIA CLAMPS DOWN AFTER A DEADLY PROTEST
By Sabrina Tavernise

International Herald Tribune
March 3 2008
France

YEREVAN, Armenia: Tanks blocked central streets in the capital of this
tiny mountain country Sunday, a day after the Armenian authorities
clashed with demonstrators in a violent confrontation that left at
least eight dead and more than 130 wounded.

The government imposed a state of emergency here Saturday, and for
the first day since a contested Feb. 19 presidential election, the
streets and central squares in this ancient capital city were empty
of the crowds that had become a daily fixture.

Levon Ter-Petrossian, the opposition leader who has led the crowds,
and whose failed candidacy was the reason for the protests, told
journalists in his three-story house on Sunday that he would not
encourage his supporters to defy the curfew and gather.

"Losing the square means losing the connection to the people," said
Ter-Petrossian. "Now they have taken this away from us."

Television stations, totally controlled by his opponents, Prime
Minister Serge Sargsyan and President Robert Kocharian, have virtually
ignored the rallies, which often numbered in the tens of thousands,
and protesters said attending them was the only way to get news.

While some organizations condemned the violence – including the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, which dispatched a special envoy to
Yerevan on Sunday – the reasons behind it remained unclear on Sunday.

Protesters had begun tearing up bricks from the sidewalks, parking
city buses as roadblocks and assembling gasoline bombs for much of the
afternoon on Saturday, and it was clear to most in the crowd that a
fight was brewing. A group of protesters set fire to a police vehicle
after it bumped into a woman, and when a fire truck arrived to put
out the blaze, someone threw a rock and shattered its windshield.

Ter-Petrossian blamed the government for the violence, saying it had
sent provocateurs into the crowd.

"It’s their people," said Ter-Petrossian. "All the pogroms were
carried out by them."

According to the rules of martial law, local journalists are barred
from disseminating any information that is given by a source other
than the government. Shortly after 6 a.m., two soldiers accompanied
a cameraman from Armenian state television as he filmed shots of the
aftermath. CNN segments about Armenia were clipped from television
programming.

Despite opposition to the government, Ter-Petrossian said that he
accepted the state’s casualty count – which included seven protesters
and one security officer – and that was not gathering information to
compile one of his own.

City workers swept shards of glass and towed burned carcasses of cars
off of central streets, still slick from gasoline fires, as passers-by
came to gape at the damage.

The tensions started with the presidential election on Feb. 19,
the fifth since this landlocked country in the Caucasus Mountains
gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Sargsyan, a
political insider and the prime minister, ran against Ter-Petrossian,
an academic who was the country’s first elected president.

Term limits barred Kocharian, from running.

While Ter-Petrossian offered an aggressive campaign, the rest of the
election conformed completely to the old Soviet standards.

Votes were bought. Television coverage was embarrassingly skewed.

Big men in large cars bossed vote counters. As a result, the party
in power stayed in power, with 52 percent of the vote.

Tucked between Azerbaijan and Turkey, two sworn enemies, and without
any natural resources, Armenia has to rely on outside help to survive.

Its government usually allows more dissent than most. Journalists
rarely disappear and turn up dead.

Which is why the actions of the police officers on Saturday – and
the elections last month, whose results have still not been fully
recognized by the United States – were so jarring.

>From the beginning, there were disturbing signs about the presidential
election.

The OSCE, which deployed 333 observers, concluded that 16 percent of
the count was "bad" or "very bad."

At one polling station, a quarter of all ballots were declared
invalid. In another, all but one of 1,449 voters in a set of polling
stations were for Sargsyan.

"I told the government that the probability of this is as high as
the birth of a dog with five legs," said Geert Ahrens, head of the
organization’s Election Observation Mission here.

"We won the election," Ter-Petrossian said Thursday.

He added that he had received 65 percent of the vote, a figure that
Ahrens said was "not grounded in any factual evidence."

Ter-Petrossian’s aides, however, refer to him as "the president."

Eight killed in Armenia protests over presidential vote results

11:21 | 02/ 03/ 2008

YEREVAN, March 2 (RIA Novosti) – Eight people were killed in the
Armenian capital in Saturday’s clashes between police and protesters
unhappy with recent presidential election results, police said on
Sunday referring to the Health Ministry.

"The Prosecutor General’s Office is investigating the circumstances of
those people’s death. The number of those injured is being verified,"
police said.

Armenian riot police used tear gas and electric stun guns to
disperse thousands of supporters of President Levon Ter-Petrosyan
who was defeated by Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan in the February
19 vote. Sarkisyan gained 52.8% of the vote against the incumbent’s
21.5%. Protesters said the polls were rigged.

The president declared a state of emergency late on Saturday over
violence.

Georgian President expressed support to the people and the authorities of Armenia

March 2, 2008

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian President Robert Kocharian held a phone
talk today with the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.

As the Spokesman of the Armenian President Viktor Soghomonian told
Mediamax today, the Georgian President was interested in the situation
in Armenia after yesterday’s unrest, initiated by the supporters of
the opposition.

"The Georgian President expressed his support to the people and the
authorities of Armenia", Viktor Soghomonian informed.

DETENTION CHOSEN AS PREVENTIVE PUNISHMENT TOWARDS ARAM KARAPETIAN

Noyan Tapan
Feb 29 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 29, NOYAN TAPAN. Aram Karapetian, the Head of
the Nor Zhamanakner (New Times) party, is detained and is in the
"Yerevan Kentron" penitentiary office. As Aravot (Morning) daily
reports, Aram Karapetian is charged with Point 1 Part 2 Article 333
of the RA Criminal Code: to consciously give false information to
law enforcement bodies.

As a result of a long examination in the Court of First Instance of
the Kentron and Nork Marash communities, our petition, as well as that
of the body implementing the criminal pursuit were heard. A rather
serious discussion was held, as a result of which, the court agreed
to the petition of the inspector: to apply detention as preventive
punishment," Haroutiun Baghdasarian, the defender of the interests of
Aram Karapetian said, adding that they have applied to the RA Court
of Criminal Cases, appealing the given decision.

Aram Karapetian was put under arrest on February 24. The investigation
is being conducted by the National Security Service.

LEVON TER-PETROSYAN SINGLES OUT RUSSIA

Lragir
18:22:19 – 28/02/2008

Addressing February 28 the participants of the popular movement
who gathered at the Square of Freedom on the eighth day, the first
president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan spoke about the attitude
of the world toward the movement and said he would like to single
out Russia.

According to Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Russia has a very serious position
among the great powers. According to Ter-Petrosyan, Russia is facing
a dilemma which has occurred on the basis of the activities, analyses
and conclusions of the Russian strategic analytical centers. According
to Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the dilemma is the following: either Russia
protects the regime in Armenia and loses the trust of the Armenian
people, which will be a major loss for Russia, or Russia supports
the Armenian people and the Armenian democratic process and thereby
acquires a highly valuable strategic partner.

Levon Ter-Petrosyan reminded that Russia has the experience of Ukraine
and Georgia, and is now conducting a very serious and up-to-date
international policy. "I believe that Russia will make the right
decision," Levon Ter-Petrosyan stated.

ARMENIAN POLICE DISPROVED INFORMATION ABOUT SEARCH OF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE OPPOSITION HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK DAILY

arminfo
2008-02-28 12:20:00

ArmInfo. Press-service of the Armenian Police disproved information
of some mass media about search of editor-in-chief of the opposition
Haykakan Zhamanak daily Nikol Pashinyan. To recall, Pashinyan is
candidate for president Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s supporter and since 20
February has been actively holding the rally at Liberty Square.