Massis Weekly Online
MassisWeekly.com
VOLUME 26, NO. 48 (1248)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 6, 2007

– S.D.H.P. Central Committee Message for New Year?s Day
– The Message of the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II on New Year?s Eve
– Armenia: 2006 At Glance
– In Light of New Realities:
ACNIS Looks at Political Prospects for 2007

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– S.D.H.P. Central Committee Message for New Year?s Day

Yet another year became history, the whole world prepares to meet the
New Year.
During the passing year, the world continued to witness the clash of
civilizations
and its destructive consequences, resulting in further deepening of the divide
among nations.
The worsening situation in Iraq, the crisis in the Middle East,
poverty, pandemics, civil wars and the recurring threat of global
terrorism represented the main challenges for nations. Unfortunately,
the major players on the world stage were unable to resolve many of
these issues satisfactorily.
For the Armenian people, the passing year represented a chain of
national concerns, with its links stretching from the Diaspora to
Artsakh and Armenia. The Diaspora, clinging to its roots and fighting
for international recognition of the Armenian Genocide was equally
interested in matters concerning Artsakh and Armenia.
The ongoing political, economical and social injustices in Armenia
adversely impacted our national awareness.
In Armenia, the upcoming year promises to be pivotal for the political
processes that are meant to bring fundamental changes in the lives of
the people. All attention will be focused on the upcoming
parliamentary elections. These elections should be a reflection of the
aspirations and the free will of the citizens of the Republic of
Armenia, through the election of their preferred candidates.
The reversal of regression in the application of democratic principles
and the adherence to international standards in the political
processes are crucial for the future of Armenia. Beyond the election
of individuals or parties, the identity of the country will be
determined. What kind of country will the people build? A country of
confrontation or cooperation? Of economical injustice or equity? Of
corruption or integrity? Of impunity or justice? Will we have a
country that embraces its citizens or facilitates emigration?
For the national interests of Armenia, it is not hard to guess the
correct choices. The authorities ought to recognize the seriousness of
the situation with all the ramifications and act accordingly.
In 2007, we mark the 120th anniversary of the establishment of the
first Armenian political-revolutionary party; Social Democratic
Hunchakian Party. In the upcoming 12 months, this grand jubilee will
be celebrated throughout Armenia and the Diaspora.
On this New Year?s Day occasion, we wish you and your family good
health, and success. Let 2007 be a year of achievements and victories
for all Armenians and let it bring peace and prosperity to the world.

S.D.H.P
Central Committee
December 31, 2006

– The Message of the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II on New Year?s Eve

Dear pious people,

From the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin we greet you who are in
Armenia and Diaspora blessing you with Father?s love.
We are on the threshold of the New Year when we throw a glance back to
the passing year hoping for the better in the future.
At this moment we deliver our prayer of gratitude to the Lord for
granting us with the opportunity of creating our life in peace and
moving forward towards new achievements on the welfare of our sacred
motherland.
We passed the year 2006 with the hope for joint and prosperous future
for all Armenians. With the help of God we overcame all the
difficulties and temptations, we achieved great summits and we must
still pass a long way towards the welfare we have dreamed for many
centuries and we must spare no efforts to make that dream come true.
The successes we registered in Armenia and Diaspora became possible
through the joint and hard efforts, as well as deep and sincere love
of our people towards the Motherland. With great inspiration we
celebrated the 15th jubilee of the Independence of Armenia and
Artsakh. The ? Armenia-Diaspora? Conference was held in our
Motherland, the festive events were held in Russia and France devoted
to Armenia, series of serious and constructive plans and projects were
brought to life. The people of Atrsakh held the Referendum of Nagorno
Karabakh with deep belief and confidence.
The year 2006 was also significant for our Church. Many reconstructed
and newly built churches opened their doors before all Armenians in
and abroad. The cooperation with Sister Churches was also efficient
aimed at establishing peace and love among the peoples of the world.
Glory to the Lord, who endowed us with hope and belief for the best.
The new Year is coming so let us take and create only the best, the
pleasant and perfect and make the life as nice as possible with the
help and the good will of our Father.
At this sacred moment of New Year eve we deliver our prayer to the God
for our compatriots spread all over the world and to the soldiers
serving in the Armenian Army. We deliver the prayer for the sick and
prey to God to bestow them with health and patience.
Dearest religious and pious compatriots, Let the belief be stable and
powerful in our hearts, and let all our activities be brought to life
successfully for God?s sake and for the sake of our Motherland and
Saint Chrch. God bless us, our country and the world and let the New
Year be a year of happiness, prosperity and joy.

Happy New Year!

– Armenia: 2006 At Glance

The year 2006 was quite eventful for Armenia, even if it saw no
elections and political upheavals. Below are the top ten developments
which the RFE/RL Armenian Service believes have dominated the public
agenda in the past twelve months.

1. The crash on May 3 of an Armenian airliner off the Russian Black
Sea coast. All 113 people on board the Airbus A-320 were killed in
what was the worst air disaster in Armenia?s history.
2. The ouster on May 12 of then parliament speaker Artur
Baghdasarian?s Orinats Yerkir party from the governing coalition.
3. The official disclosure in June of the international mediators?
most recent plan to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
4. The announcement on July 18 of Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian?s
affiliation with the governing Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). The
move was widely construed as a confirmation of Sarkisian?s intention
to contest the next presidential election due in 2008.
5. The emergence and rapid expansion throughout the year of a new
political party led by Gagik Tsarukian, the most influential of
Armenia?s government connected tycoons. The Prosperous Armenia party
is now tipped to make a strong showing in the forthcoming
parliamentary elections.
6. The year saw more street protests by residents of Yerevan that were
forcibly evicted from their homes as a result of the ongoing massive
redevelopment in the city center. The evictions were declared
unconstitutional by Armenia?s Constitutional Court.
7. A further strengthening of the national currency, the dram, that
triggered fresh opposition allegations about exchange rate
manipulation. One U.S. dollar is now worth roughly 360 drams. It
traded at about 460 drams at the beginning of 2006.
8. An apparent rise in anti-Russian sentiment fuelled by continued
racially motivated killings of Armenians in Russia.
9. The year saw a number of high profile cultural events such as
Armenia?s first-ever participation in the Eurovision song contest, an
open-air concert given by Charles Aznavour and other famous French
singers, and the annual Golden Apricot film festival in Yerevan.
10. The Armenian team?s victory in the 2006 world Chess Olympiad.

– In Light of New Realities:
ACNIS Looks at Political Prospects for 2007

So as thoroughly to discuss, against the backdrop of the ongoing
Mountainous Karabagh negotiations and new geopolitical changes, and
present an expert viewpoint on the likely political events of the
coming year, the Armenian Center for National and International
Studies (ACNIS) convened a policy roundtable entitled ?Forecasting
Political Developments in 2007.?
ACNIS senior analyst Hovsep Khurshudian greeted the audience with
opening remarks. ?I believe we will soon become the eyewitnesses to
significant events, and this is already being sensed,? he said.
In his address with respect to the correlation between domestic
political occurrences and the Mountainous Karabagh negotiations
process, ACNIS director of research Stepan Safarian noted that those
events had become a captive to the aforesaid process. In his view, the
negotiation process, which took on unprecedented import in 2006?the
year for the ?window of opportunities??resulted in such an ?evolution?
in the positions of the authorities of Armenia and Azerbaijan that
anticipating any public support would be considered naive. ?Should
presidents Kocharian and Aliyev sign under any accord, they would face
serious political consequences at home, whereas the internal and
external resources in terms of moving forward and reaching a final
agreement are now depleted,? he stressed.
According to Safarian, this situation equally increases the likelihood
and uncertainty of a series of political developments in Armenia: 1)
In case an agreement was put into effect regarding the Mountainous
Karabagh issue, the ruling powers would get a virtually unhindered
chance to reproduce themselves; 2) if no agreement were reached, the
ruling clique, despite its apparent internal strength, would lose its
regime; and 3) in line with a ?conjoined? scenario, both internal and
external forces, in order not to lose their
power completely, would engineer the next palace coup.
In his turn, chairman of the Union of Political Scientists of Armenia
and MP Hmayak Hovhannisian deliberated on the geopolitical aspects of
the developments that are likely to take place in the country. In
Hovhannisian?s assessment, that numerous Armenian political figures
are seeking out foreign backers is not promising.
?This does not trigger at all the interest of important geopolitical
centers toward the politicians who have great ambitions; on the
contrary, this causes a negative societal attitude, and substantially
hurts the image of those politicians who look abroad for ?approval,??
Hovhannisian noted.
With regard to the Mountainous Karabagh negotiations process, the
political scientist asserted that the existing settlement proposal is
unacceptable for Armenia?s authorities not for fear of weakening their
positions, but so they would not be cursed for all eternity by the
subsequent generations. ?If the Robert Kocharian-Serge Sargsian duo
sign the agreement on the principles for the regulation of the
Mountainous Karabagh conflict, they will unquestionably remain in
power, and the idea of the postponed referendum is a sure guarantee
for the reproduction of the incumbent regime,? Hovhannisian maintained.
The next speaker, director Gagik Ter-Harutiunian of the Noravank
Foundation, focused on the probable global changes and their possible
impact on Armenia. He expressed a conviction that against the
background of the military technological potential and the politico
military capabilities of the superpowers, at least four or five power
centers are presently being formed in the world, and this, in
Ter-Harutiunian?s view, poses a significant challenge to Armenia?s
foreign policy agenda. This means that when making externally-related
decisions, we ?should not go along with just one country?
and consequently forget or disregard others. ?The precept of
complementarity is conceivably justifiable for small nations, and all
that remains is simply to make advantageous use of it,?
Ter-Harutiunian concluded.
The participants in the ensuing discussion included deputy chairman
Edward Antinian of the Liberal Progressive Party; ACNIS director of
administration Karapet Kalenchian; analyst Alvard Barkhudarian; Anahit
Bayandur from the Armenian Committee of the Helsinki Citizens?
Assembly; civic activist Alexander Butayev; Ruzan Khachaturian from
the People?s Party; Artak Poghosian from the Republican Party; and
several others.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress