A1 Plus | 16:01:28 | 05-04-2004 | Politics |
POLICE AUTHORITIES TAKE PREVENTIVE STEPS
Haykakan Zhamanak daily newspaper’s correspondent and photojournalist Hayk
Gevorgyan was taken in custody on Monday after he tried to photograph roads
blocked by the police.
He was released later.
—
A1 Plus | 20:30:16 | 05-04-2004 | Social |
MINISTER’S SON CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED HOMICIDE
Urban Planning Minister Ara Aramyan’s son Hayk Aramyan was arrested on
Monday. He is charged with one count of attempted homicide and one of
illegal gun possession.
Investigation is launched into the accident happened on March 12 in cafe
Triumph, in which five were injured.
Two of the cafe personnel – Karen Hovakimyan and Arthur Gevorgyan- are
wanted in connection with the accident. They are still at large.
—
A1 Plus | 20:05:36 | 05-04-2004 | Politics |
A GUY INJURED AT TODAY’S RALLY
A 17 year-old resident of Haghardzin village was slightly injured with knife
at today’s rally. He said he had been stabbed in the head while trying to
help photo-reporters to resist violence committed against them.
Witnesses say the group of instigators vented their anger at reporters when
they were shooting the offenders’ attack on a woman, Geghamyan supporter,
which condemned egg-throwers.
—
A1 Plus | 18:12:28 | 05-04-2004 | Politics |
DATE FOR NATIONWIDE RALLY ALREADY SET
On Monday, opposition leaders and MPs Stepan Demirchyan and Artashes
Geghamyan, speaking at a joint news conference in parliament announced a
nationwide rally should be held on April 9 at 16:00 in Liberty Square.{BR}
They said dozens of opposition activists including women were arrested.
Artashes Geghamyan also said his meeting with people scheduled for today
will be held despite any obstacles.
The only way to break the deadlock reached is to come to agreement on
confidence referendum, he said.
—
A1 Plus | 22:17:27 | 05-04-2004 | Politics |
ASPAREZ CLUB’S STATEMENT
Journalists’ Club Asparez came up with a statement on Monday condemning
violence committed by unidentified men against reporters.
What happened today proved that pressure can be put on freedom of speech
with impunity. Those whose direct duty is keep order encourage violence
perpetrators by turning blind eye to the illegalities being committed by
them, the statement says.
The statement contains strong condemnation of violence committed against
media representatives.
—
Thousands gather at protest in Armenian capital, call for bigger rally Friday
AP Worldstream
Apr 05, 2004
An estimated 8,000 opposition demonstrators gathered for a rally in
the center of the Armenian capital on Monday, and one of the protest’s
leaders said an even larger demonstration to take place Friday.
“A change of power is unavoidable,” Artashes Gegamian, leader of the
National Unity bloc, told the gathering. “Massive acts of protest will
begin April 9.”
Armenia is gripped by an array of dissatisfactions _ from poverty to
the unresolved status of the ethnic Armenian enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan _ which were aggravated by widespread
complaints that last year’s presidential and parliamentary elections
were fraudulent.
Unidentified youths smashed video and still cameras of several
journalists at the rally.
Some women at the rally circulated among police, giving them
carnations in an apparent echo of the roses given by protesters to
police in neighboring Georgia during last year’s massive
demonstrations that forced President Eduard Shevardnadze to resign.
Armenian party accuses authorities of opposition crackdown
Arminfo
3 Apr 04
YEREVAN
The Armenian authorities have begun repressing opposition activists,
the opposition Anrapetutyun Party has said in a statement.
On 28 May the authorities spent a lot of effort to thwart the
opposition’s rally in Gyumri where the law-enforcement bodies resorted
to various forms of provocation, the statement said. “As expected, the
personnel of the law-enforcement bodies were not brought to
responsibility over disrupting public order, only members of the
opposition were.”
The statement said that nine members of the opposition Justice bloc
had been arrested and five of them – Karen Markaryan, Gamlet
Lazarian, Tigran Ter-Yesayan, Ararat Petrosyan and Ashot Zakaryan –
were now facing criminal charges of hooliganism.
[Passage omitted: flats of relatives of opposition activists searched,
police summons other opposition members]
Armenian minister’s son detained over alleged shootout
Noyan Tapan news agency
5 Apr 04
YEREVAN
Hayk Aramyan, son of Minister of Town Planning Ara Aramyan, has been
detained on charges of involvement in an exchange of fire at a cafe in
Yerevan.
The press service of the Prosecutor-General’s Office has told an
Arminfo correspondent that he was detained under three Articles of the
Armenian Criminal Code: Articles 34-104 (attempt on life), 235
(illegal possession of weapons) and 258 (hooliganism). Aramyan is the
only one of those involved to be detained so far.
It should be noted that the shoot-out was committed at the cafe
Triumph in the evening on 12 March. As a result of the incident, five
people were injured.
[Passage omitted: minor details]
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili, who was on a visit to Yerevan, were in a cafe next to
Triumph, when the incident happened.
Armenian opposition rally pledges to change power
Interfax news agency, Moscow
5 Apr 04
YEREVAN
A rally organized by Armenia’s opposition National Unity party was
held in Yerevan on Monday [5 April], an Interfax correspondent
reports.
The organizers claimed the rally had brought together about 10,000
protesters. The police said, however, that the number of demonstrators
was less than 2,000.
National Unity leader Artashes Gegamyan said that a change in
government is inevitable and imminent in Armenia.
Unidentified assailants broke several photo and video cameras being
used by the Armenian media, and eggs and fire-crackers were thrown at
demonstrators from the windows of neighbouring buildings.
The rally was protected by police.
The organizers announced that the temporarily-united opposition
organizations, the Justice coalition and the National Unity party,
will hold a national rally on Yerevan’s Freedom Square on 9 April.
The opposition leaders said that demonstrations and acts of
disobedience will be staged in April which, they said, will lead to a
change in government.
[Passage omitted: known details of arrests]
Text of Dashnaks’ call for Armenian authorities, opposition to begin dialogue
Yerkir web site, Yerevan
5 Apr 04
One of the parties in the Armenian coalition government has called on
the authorities and opposition to begin dialogue. The Armenian
Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun said in a statement on 5
April that the country was on the verge of open conflict. It blamed
the situation on “the opposition’s intolerant and extreme position of
political disobedience through non-recognition of the authorities’
legitimacy, on one hand, and the authorities’ reluctance to fully
engage the opposition in the key issues of the country on the
other”. The Dashnaks said that dialogue should lead to agreement on
real reforms, primarily on an election system that meets international
standards, constitutional reform to enhance democracy and a
comprehensive fight against corruption, the black economy and the clan
system. The following is the text of the report in English, as
published by Armenian newspaper Yerkir web site on 5 April;
subheadings inserted editorially:
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun held a news
conference on Monday [5 April] and issued a statement over the
political developments in Armenia. The following is the full text of
the statement.
Authorities and opposition to blame for current tension
The political tension in the republic approaches to the dangerous line
of open confrontation. The further escalation of the situation may
result in destabilization of the country, distort the image of the
state and stop the normal pace of the country’s development. Public
resentment resulting from socio-economic problems are politically
exploited with an aim to reach a political crisis and swift change of
power.
The tactics of creating political turmoil and environment of
intolerance produces unacceptable internal political relations.
The opposition’s intolerant and extreme position of political
disobedience through non-recognition of the authorities’ legitimacy on
one hand, and the authorities’ reluctance to fully engage the
opposition in the key issues of the country on the other hand, lie in
the heart of the current political tension.
The real reasons for the existing resentment are low efficiency of
solving the problems and hard social conditions. The Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF) completely recognizes and acknowledges
its share of responsibility in this issue.
Political agreement needed
Today, we are in front of the imperative to prevent possible
confrontation, and the best way is to reach a political agreement. The
agreement should be based on awareness and readiness to jointly solve
the fundamental issues of the people. Any agreement will be possible
if only there is a will to ensure the opposition’s engagement in
solving the issues and meeting each other halfway.
Taking into account the complexity of the relations in the internal
political life, as well as the degree of the divergence of positions,
we are offering a mechanism of reaching an agreement.
To discuss the possibility of reaching such an agreement, there should
be a dialogue without pursuing demands that are unacceptable for the
other side. Steps that would divide the society into friends and
enemies, and actions leading to clashes should be avoided.
A dialogue would be fruitful if the following principles are kept:
the dialogue should be legally based on the Armenian Constitution and
laws;
the actions of the sides should be strictly within the laws and
constitutional order;
both sides should moderate their positions;
There should be no winners and losers in the dialogue: either we all
win and ensure rapid and stable development of the country, or we all
lose and face devastating consequences of civil clash.
The intention to ensure real and guaranteed reforms in the country and
in people’s life should be the subject of the agreement. Following
priority issues should be included in the agreement:
an election system entirely meeting international standards should be
formed;
constitutional reforms to enhance democratic mechanisms should be
implemented;
a comprehensive fight against corruption, black economy and clan
system should be carried out.
To guarantee the efficiency of implementing the agreement, the
opposition’s participation should be ensured. It can be in form of the
opposition’s inclusion in the Security Council, in fight against
corruption, as well as making it possible to adopt constitutional and
election reforms through consensus, and other options and solutions
depending on the degree of the agreement.
It is necessary to use the remaining time efficiently for voluntary
concessions. Otherwise, the entire responsibility for future
confrontation will be laid on the side that missed the chance of
agreement. Further developments will force the political forces to
make concessions, anyway.
The political coalition should become the one in charge and the
guarantor of the dialogue and agreement.
The ARF strictly condemns any actions that might push the country to
unpredictable external and internal consequences, and firmly stands in
the positions of maintaining the law and constitutional order; it is
ready to back any constructive initiatives in favour of guaranteed
political reforms and political reconciliation.