Category: News

Armenian rural heads condemn attempts to “artificially add fuel” to tension
Noyan Tapan news agency
7 Apr 04
YEREVAN
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan met the heads of more than 20
Armenian rural communities on 7 April. The meeting condemned attempts
to artificially add fuel to the internal political tension.
Noyan Tapan learnt from the presidential press service that the heads
of the rural communities had assured Kocharyan that they would
continue to implement his stable development programmes.

Armenian speaker’s bid to reduce tension failed – opposition
Mediamax news agency
8 Apr 04
YEREVAN
The dialogue between the Armenian opposition and the authorities will
become possible only in case if the latter consents to a referendum on
confidence in the authorities, Armenian National Party and Justice
block leader Stepan Demirchyan said in Yerevan today.
National Unity Party leader Artashes Gegamyan said that the political
consultations held between the opposition representatives and the
Armenian National Assembly speaker Artur Bagdasaryan had produced no
results as the opposition’s proposals were rejected, Mediamax reports.
Armenian National Assembly speaker Bagdasaryan announced on 7 April
that he was going to held political consultations to reduce political
tension in the country.

Armenian prosecutor says journalist attackers to be punished
Mediamax news agency
8 Apr 04
YEREVAN
The persons who attacked the journalists during the rally in Yerevan
on 5 April will be revealed and called to account in accordance with
the law. Armenian Prosecutor-General Agvan Ovsepyan said this at a
meeting with ombudsman Larisa Alaverdyan today, Mediamax was told by
the press service of the Armenian Prosecutor-General’s Office.
During the meeting, Ovsepyan and Alaverdyan discussed the latest
internal political developments. The Armenian Prosecutor-General said
that “the persons enjoying their separate rights must not break the
law and address the rallies and call for the seizure of power through
violence and change in the constitutional order”

Armenian opposition confirms intention to hold banned rally

AP Online
Apr 08, 2004

Opposition parties said they will ignore a ban by authorities and hold
a major rally in the Armenian capital on Friday.
“By banning public events, harassing journalists and unlawfully
detaining people, all the regime is doing is proving that is
illegitimate and weak,” said Albert Bazeyan, one of the leaders of the
opposition Justice party.
Nearly 8,000 demonstrators rallied in the center of Yerevan on Monday
seeking the ouster of President Robert Kocharian.
Opposition leaders have promised an even bigger demonstration for
Friday, although the city has banned the gathering.
More than 100 participants in Monday’s rally reportedly have been
detained and many sentenced up to a week in jail. State Obdusman
Larisa Alaverdyan has appealed to the president to stop the arrests.
Kocharian won a second term in presidential elections a year ago that
sparked mass protests, including nearly daily demonstrations between
the first round of voting in February 2003 and the runoff in early
March.
Opposition groups alleged widespread violations in both rounds of the
election, which was followed by a parliamentary ballot in which the
pro-government party won the most votes.
In April, Armenia’s Constitutional Court confirmed the results of the
presidential vote but suggested that a referendum be held within a
year to gauge the public’s confidence in the nation’s
leaders. Opposition leaders have pressed for the plebiscite.

Armenian MP set free after seven hours’ questioning at prosecutor’s office
Noyan Tapan news agency
8 Apr 04

YEREVAN
The secretary of the Justice faction in the Armenian parliament,
Viktor Dallakyan, who was summoned to the Armenian
Prosecutor-General’s Office in the morning of 8 April, left the office
only at about 1900 [1400 gmt] the same day.
Dallakyan himself told a Noyan Tapan correspondent that at 1000 [0500
gmt] the same day he arrived at the capital’s police department as a
victim. From there he was forcibly taken to the Prosecutor-General’s
Office and questioned between 1100 and 1800 [0600 and 1300 gmt] in
connection with a criminal case against the Justice bloc.
At 1700 [1200 gmt] the head of the OSCE Yerevan office, Vladimir
Pryakhin, and Armenian Prosecutor-General Agvan Ovsepyan visited
Dallakyan who was being questioned. Pryakhin hoped that Dallakyan
would spend the night at home. Ovsepyan replied that this depended on
the investigator.
Dallakyan will be summoned to the Prosecutor-General’s Office on 9
April [date of an opposition rally] as well. The investigator,
however, promises to finish questioning within an hour.
Dallakyan said that immediately after coming to the
Prosecutor-General’s Office he had telephoned Armenian Speaker Artur
Bagdasaryan and told him about the situation. The latter yesterday [7
April] called for a dialogue with the opposition.
While Dallakyan was being questioned, a group of voters from Lori
gathered outside the Prosecutor-General’s Office and demanded that
their deputy be released. According to some reports, Dallakyan could
have been arrested for 72 hours, if Pryakhin did not intervene.

Armenian police vow to act “within mandate” at 9 April opposition demo
Noyan Tapan news agency
8 Apr 04

YEREVAN
The police will act within the mandate established by the law to
guarantee public security during the 9 April rally in Yerevan, the
press secretary of the Armenian police, Sayat Shirinyan, has told a
Noyan Tapan correspondent.
Asked whether the police had been instructed, as had been the case
before, to intervene only in the last minute, Shirinyan said that the
police would act depending on the situation and within its mandate.
Asked whether journalists’ security would be guaranteed, Shirinyan
said that public security would be guaranteed for everybody –
journalists, scientists etc.
Shirinyan said that papers on violence against journalists at the 5
April rally had already been prepared and that criminal proceedings
would be instituted in the near future.

Armenian speaker set to launch political dialogue with opposition
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
7 Apr 04

[Presenter] The speaker of the National Assembly, Artur Bagdasaryan,
intends to hold political dialogue with the opposition in order to
reduce political tension in Armenia. He returned from Italy early in
the morning and made a serious statement in the afternoon. Artur
Bagdasaryan intends to start consultations with the opposition and
coalition forces from tomorrow on and search for ways of getting out
of the political crisis.
[Correspondent over video of news conference] The speaker of the
Armenian National Assembly said that he will do everything possible to
reduce the political tension in the country. The speaker will hold
meetings with the authorities and opposition members from 8 April. He
expressed the hope that the talks will be successful.
[Artur Bagdasaryan, caption] Under the law it is my responsibility and
right to hold political consultations in Armenia. And this is what I
am planning to do. We shall discuss a format of the meetings with our
colleagues. This can be in the format of political consultations or
separate talks during which we shall discuss the domestic political
situation. We shall try to reach agreement. We shall not allow the
situation to get worse.
[Correspondent] The domestic political situation was discussed also
during the Armenian National Assembly delegation’s visit to
Italy. According to the Italians, the visit marked the beginning of a
new stage in Armenian-Italian relations. The speaker of the National
Assembly also described the visit as productive.
[Artur Bagdasaryan] This visit confirmed three main directions. First,
the development of bilateral relations, second the development and
deepening of European integration and third the strengthening of
political cooperation in international organizations.
[Correspondent] Apart from the signing of the two agreements on
interparliamentary cooperation it was agreed during the visit that
Armenia will receive 1m dollars to develop the health sphere and 1.5m
dollars to develop agriculture. Regional hospitals will get the best
European medical equipment and ambulances. Except for this,
Armenian-Italian business forums will be held in July-September and
finally an Italian culture centre and an Italian House will be opened
in Yerevan. All this will help promote cultural and business
relations.
Nune Aleksanyan, “Aylur”.

39 per cent are for power change and 43 are against
Azg, Yerevan
7 Apr 04

By Ruzan Pogosyan
Some people, who are tired of the domestic political rows, are on
principle refusing to discuss political issues, but others do not want
to miss a chance of expressing their views as absolute
truths. Unfortunately an atmosphere of intolerance has passed from the
political field to the public one with people insulting each other.
The Armenian sociological research centre has recently conducted a
public opinion poll on the people’s attitude to the domestic political
situation. Its results were presented by the director of the centre,
Gevorg Pogosyan, at a meeting on “Domestic political developments in
Armenia” at Congress Hotel yesterday.
Representatives of some political parties took part in the meeting,
but there was no-one from the opposition. According to Mr Pogosyan,
public opinion polls help us reach conclusions about the participation
of different layers of society in the society-power and
society-opposition relations. He explained the current domestic
political situation by the process and results of the presidential and
parliamentary elections. The situation in the country is such that the
political forces seem to be aiming to extend the pre-election and
post-election periods.
The results of the poll show that society thinks there is no need for
new elections. The most recent public opinion poll was held on 28
March. It turned out that 60 to 65 per cent of those polled are not
interested in any political developments or speculation.
Asked whether they would like the power to be changed, 39 per cent of
those surveyed gave a positive answer, noting that under the
circumstances the power change is required and is very
important. Another 43 per cent opposed the idea and 17 per cent were
undecided.
Pogosyan said that there is an internal diplomatic crisis in the
country. He was referring to the failure of the three political forces
of the coalition to cooperate. Although it was announced that the
coalition is united but its political forces seem to be fighting for
increasing their spheres of influence. That proves the existence of
certain inner problems within the coalition.
The same can be said about the opposition which until recently could
not agree on the leader or common ideas. So on the one hand we have
the coalition which is not united, and on the other hand we have the
opposition which is also not united. But the most terrible are
relations between the authorities and the opposition. In fact there is
an atmosphere of absolute intolerance in Armenia, where one can only
dream about dialogue between the authorities and opposition.

CIS security chief arrives in Armenia
ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow
8 Apr 04
YEREVAN
The secretary-general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO), Maj-Gen Nikolay Bordyuzha, arrived in Yerevan on Thursday [8
April] for talks with Armenian leaders on the situation in the region,
key security problems and prospects for the creation of a collective
security system.
“This is a planned trip to prepare a June session of the Collective
Security Treaty Organization, including sessions of the councils of
foreign ministers, defence ministers and the committee of secretaries
of the security councils,” Bordyuzha told ITAR-TASS upon arrival in
Yerevan.
[Passage omitted: on Bordyuzha’s previous visits]

Council of Europe head, Azeri leader discuss Karabakh
ANS TV, Baku
8 Apr 04

[Presenter] The Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict and the problem of
refugees were the main topics discussed by Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev and Council of Europe Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer today.
[Correspondent] At the meeting with Council of Europe
Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer, President Ilham Aliyev said that
since the country became a member of this organization, a number of
reforms had been conducted, laws had been adopted and also major work
had been done in the human rights sphere. The head of state said that
the Nagornyy Karabakh problem would be discussed at the organization’s
political council.
[Aliyev] We hope that when this issue is discussed at the plenary
session, the issue will be given an objective political assessment.
[Correspondent] Council of Europe Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer
explained the reasons for his visit to Azerbaijan, which were to learn
how the country’s commitments were being fulfilled and also to discuss
issues concerning the frozen conflict.
[Schwimmer, in English with Azeri voice-over] I met refugees
today. After the meeting with them, I understood that the Karabakh
problem was not a frozen conflict for them.
[Correspondent] Schwimmer promised that the Council of Europe would
help refugees and called on the sides to begin a dialogue.
Afat Telmanqizi and Ali Ahmadov, ANS.