Author: Chakhmakhchian Vatche

PARLIAMENT ACCEPTS DEPUTY SPEAKER’S RESIGNATION

ARMENPRESS
Feb 28, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 28, ARMENPRESS: Armenian National Assembly
(parliament) has accepted today the resignation of a deputy speaker,
Vahan Hovhanesian from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.

Announcing the news speaker Tigran Torosian said Hovhanesian filed his
resignation on February 25 and did not take it back within the next
three days and under the parliament’s regulation it is deemed accepted.

Earlier Vahan Hovhanesian cited his poor showing in the February 19
presidential election as the motive of his resignation. He received a
little over 6 percent of the vote. In a written statement he described
the February 19 vote deeply flawed, marred with widespread vote buying,
violence and ballot-stuffing.

Parliament speaker Torosian said today nomination of a new candidate
for the vacancy will take some time. In a reference to the ARF
announcements that it would like to end cooperation with the ruling
coalition, Torosian said if a party wants to quit the government it
must declare it in clear-cut words, and not in the form of suggestion.

ANAHIT BAKHSHIAN: "TO CONTINUE THIS WAY WILL MEAN TO CAST DOUBT ON EXISTENCE OF NATION ON THIS LAND"

Noyan Tapan
Feb 27, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, NOYAN TAPAN. The presidential elections,
post-election developments, and the home political strained situation
were the main subject of the deputies’ announcements at the February
26 last sitting of the RA National Assembly. Part of those who made
speeches expressed anxiety in connection with possible confrontation
of 2 parts of people who are in opposite poles.

Anahit Bakhshian, a member of the Zharangutiun (Heritage) faction,
the widow of NA Vice-Speaker, founding-member of RPA Juri Bakhshian,
who was fallen a prey to the October 27 terrorist act in 1999,
in particular, said: "If Yura were alive today, then he, with his
political decision, would call his RPA member colleagues to agree to
conduct a political dialogue, to listen to our citizens who express
their will through a peaceful rally and who are resolutely standing
in Liberty Square for several days, to sit with the opposition around
a negotiations table and not to strain the 2 parts of people through
different squares. He would say: let us encourage to live and act in
the interests of our statehood with our civil behaviour."

The deputy also said that today’s reality is sad and dangerous,
there exists only the blind mania to achieve the final purpose through
violence, force, there is no political will of dialogue, which should
be showed by the ruling administration. According to A. Bakhshian,
as a result no one wins, both those who voted for the authorities
and the opposition lose because the state loses its good name and
becomes weak. "To continue in this way means not only to completely
bury democracy in our country, to increase migration, to lose the
state’s good name, but also to cast doubt on the existence of the
nation in this land," announced A. Bakhshian.

ARMENIAN POLICE DETAIN MORE ACTIVISTS AS GOV’T, OPPOSITION SUPPORTERS HOLD DUELING RALLIES

The Associated Press
February 26, 2008

YEREVAN, Armenia: Armenian police detained more opposition activists
Tuesday and pro-government and opposition forces staged dueling
rallies as tensions remained high over the disputed results of last
week’s presidential election.

Outgoing President Robert Kocharian, meanwhile, warned that authorities
were losing patience with the continuing protests.

Officials said Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian won the vote outright,
but supporters of opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian have
rejected that result and have tried to stage round-the-clock
demonstrations in an effort to force a new vote.

Hundreds of protesters have been staying overnight in tents on a
central square in Yerevan. On Tuesday, in the largest such gathering
to date, tens of thousands rallied in one section of the city calling
on election authorities to annul the Feb. 19 vote and to release
detained activists.

"For my first order, I award Serge Sarkisian a military cross of
honor," Ter-Petrosian told the roaring crowd. "Thanks to him, the
number of people coming to our meetings has doubled — people left
his meeting to come to ours."

Today in Europe Global seed vault opens in NorwaySerbs protest
Kosovo’s independence in tense northSarkozy says he shouldn’t have
lost his cool On another square just a few hundred meters (yards)
away, as many as 100,000 people gathered in support of Sarkisian,
who said he was prepared for discussions with opposition leaders,
but also warned of potential violence.

"Now is not the time to gather stones; just the opposite, it is the
time to throw off the stones from our shoulders and look to the future
with optimism," he said.

Police officials and opposition groups said Tuesday that more people,
including several activists, were detained on various charges, but it
was unclear precisely how many. A total of 10 people, many of them
opposition supporters, were in city jails on Tuesday and at least
half had been charged with public disorder and similar charges.

Three opposition activists were released late Tuesday.

Tensions are mounting as pressure grows on the government in the
poor Caucasus nation to dispel any doubts about the vote and keep
the protests from gaining momentum. Western election observers have
said there were concerns about the vote count, but issued a generally
positive assessment.

On Monday, a businessman and leading backer of Ter-Petrosian
was detained by police and they said guns, knives, bulletproof
vests and ammunition were seized from a three-car convoy that a
pro-Ter-Petrosian lawmaker was driving in. Authorities have also
arrested two Ter-Petrosian supporters who held high-level posts when
he was Armenia’s president in the 1990s.

In an interview with state television, Kocharian signaled that the
government was running out of patience with the demonstrators.

"I ask: is there a limit to our patience? How many more days will
this continue?" he said. "It’s time for people to calm down, come to
their senses."

Also Tuesday. the ex-Soviet republic’s top security agency issued
a statement saying opposition supporters were plotting to seize a
television broadcast tower — a charge immediately denied.

"It’s another political attempt of psychological pressure. There
is nothing to comment on," said Arman Musinian, a spokesman for
Ter-Petrosian.

The standoff has raised concerns about stability in the volatile,
strategic country at the junction of the energy-rich Caspian Sea
region and southern Europe, with Iran and Russia — which has close
ties and maintains a military base in Armenia — nearby.

The Australian (Australia)
February 23, 2008 Saturday
2 – All-round First Edition

Round-the-clock rallies over `shameful’ Armenian election

Correspondents in Yerevan, Armenia

ARMENIAN opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian has called on tens of
thousands of supporters to keep up mass protests against presidential
election results.

Crowds of up to 25,000 demonstrated on Freedom Square in the capital,
Yerevan, against results from Tuesday’s polls that gave Prime
Minister Serzh Sarkisian victory.

As night fell on Thursday, the crowd thinned but some 10,000 remained
and demonstrators set up a handful of tents for a round-the-clock
protest.

In sub-zero temperatures, demonstrators danced in circles accompanied
by traditional Armenian music, while others distributed hot pies.

“Starting from this moment, our protests will not end,” opposition
activist Nikol Pashenian told the crowd. “Freedom Square will be the
centre of our protests until the authorities leave.”

Mr Ter-Petrosian told the protesters that two deputy defence
ministers were in talks with senior military officials to ensure the
safety of the crowd.

“They will not let the army be used against the people,” Mr
Ter-Petrosian said. “All of the leaders of the military are united
with the people.”

He called on university students to boycott classes and join
protests.

But Mr Sarkisian pointed to an international appraisal of the vote as
“mostly” in line with international standards and described the
protests as “blackmail” and a “provocation”.

“I’m sure they will fail … If they are not capable of winning an
election we are not to blame for that,” he said.

Asked whether the authorities would use force against the protesters,
he said: “It’s difficult to say immediately … The law enforcement
agencies will decide on the proper course.”

“We are obliged to respect the rights of the people. If they don’t
disturb anyone they are free to do so … But if they disturb others,
the law enforcement agencies will take action according to the law.”

Mr Ter-Petrosian said the demonstrations would avoid violence. “It’s
a peaceful, cheerful meeting,” he said. “There will be no disorder
and we will not break the law”.

Official results gave 52.9per cent of the vote to Mr Sarkisian, the
choice of President Robert Kocharian, who is obliged to step down
after his second term. Mr Ter-Petrosian trailed with 21.5per cent.

Mr Ter-Petrosian has described the conduct of the election as
“shameful,” alleging that dozens of his activists were beaten on
election day and that ballot stuffing, multiple voting and voter
intimidation were widespread.

Observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in
Europe described the election as “mostly” in line with
international standards. The US State Department said it was
“concerned” at reports of problems in the count.

Mr Kocharian handpicked the Prime Minister to succeed him after Mr
Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia swept parliamentary polls
last May.

Together they have been credited with ensuring relative stability and
strong growth. But critics accuse the Government of tolerating
widespread corruption and cracking down on opponents.

Analysts predict Mr Sarkisian will follow Mr Kocharian’s policies,
pursuing close ties with Moscow and a hawkish stance in relations
with neighbouring Azerbaijan and Turkey. They have cut diplomatic
ties and sealed their borders with Armenia over its support for
Armenian separatists in the rebel Azerbaijani region of Nagorny
Karabakh.

Ankara is also angered by Yerevan’s campaign to have the World War
I-era mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire recognised as
genocide.

But on Thursday Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul sent congratulations
to Mr Sarkisian and called for a normalisation of ties.

Mediamax Agency, Armenia
Feb. 25, 2008

Armenian banks are well capitalized and profitable, but the financial
sector lacks diversification, the EBRD report reads

Yerevan, February 25 /Mediamax/. The banking sector of Armenia is
fully privatized and has undergone primary consolidation, which was
followed by increase in mid-2005 of the requirements as to the
sufficiency of the capital’.

Mediamax reports that this is stated in the report of the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on the process of
transition for 2007.

`In January of 2006, consolidation of the banking and non-banking
control within the framework of the Central Bank of Armenia took
place, and today such control covers 400 insurance companies, credit
organizations, broker companies and exchange points.

This assisted the increase of prudential standards for non-banking
financial mediators and led to revocation of a few licenses. In 2006,
a system of insurance of deposits was implemented, and the banks
passed on to the International standards of financial accounting.

On the whole, the banks are well capitalized, are liquid and
profitable, and the quality of credit portfolios remains relatively
high. At the same time, the financial sector lacks diversification,
and the non-banking financial sector remains small.

The growth speeds for private crediting increased, especially
concerning consumer and mortgage credits, however, the total share of
the credit activity in the economy still makes less than 10% from the
GDP’, the report notes.

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Feb 20 2008

Ambassador: Japan says it is important Nagorno-Karabakh problem
should be solved within the internationally approved border based on
the principle of territorial integrity ¨C EXCLUSIVE

[ 20 Feb 2008 13:24 ]

Baku. Lachin Sultanova-APA. Ambassador of Japan to Azerbaijan
Masamitsu Oki interviewed by APA

– Is Japan satisfied with the existing political, economic and
humanitarian relations between Azerbaijan and Japan?

– Now the relations between Azerbaijan and Japan are excellent in the
various fields. The Joint statement announced in March 2006, on the
occasion of the visit of the President H.E. Ilham Aliyev, indicated
direction of the bilateral relations. Economic Relations have been
enhanced. High-level visits were carried out. There have also been
political dialogues. I would like to promote these excellent
relations even better. So not only in economic and political
relations, I would like to broaden the scope of relations in culture,
sports, tourism and environment.

– Azerbaijan¡¯s state officials have visited Japan two times. Are
there any high level visits expected from Japan to Azerbaijan as
well?

– Last year in August, Ms. Midori Matsushima, Parliamentary Secretary
of Foreign Affairs visited Azerbaijan and had fruitful meetings with
high rank officials.

I would like to promote this kind of high level official visits in
the future.

– There have been held two meetings under Japan-GUAM format, in
addition there was organized a seminar in Japan for energy
specialists from GUAM member countries. In what way will this
cooperation be continued?

Is Japan going to get a status of observer in GUAM?

– Japan is now studying the possibilities to cooperate with GUAM in
the various fields, including energy saving, environmental issues,
tourism and so on. In this connection I think programs for the man
Resource Development are most important.

Regarding the observer status, it seems to me that the scheme
¡°GUAM£«Japan¡&#xB 1; is something more than the observer status.

– What is the official stance of Tokyo regarding Nagorno Karabakh
conflict and the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan¡¯s territory
by Armenia?

– 1. The position of the Japanese Government is that it is important
that Nagorno-Karabakh problem should be solved within the
internationally approved border based on the principle of territorial
integrity.

2. Meanwhile, Japan has implemented assistance to improve the life of
IDPs from Nagorno-Karabakh.

– What issues will be given the priority to at the 5th meeting of
Azerbaijan-Japan Joint Economic Committee that is going to be held in
Tokyo?

– First of all, I would like to touch upon the nature of this
committee.

This is a joint meeting between Japan-Azerbaijan Economic Committee
and Azerbaijan-Japan Economic Committee. Japan-Azerbaijan Economic
Committee is composed of Japanese private companies only, whereas the
member of Azerbaijan-Japan Economic Committee is basically made up of
officials in Ministries of Azeri Government and State Companies such
as SOCAR and Azerenergy. In this sense this is a very unique
committee, and the basic position of our Government is to provide
supplementary support to the smooth activity of Joint Economic
Committee. Taking this position into account, I understand that the
priority agenda item of the next Committee in Tokyo is to materialize
the momentum of the last Committee that was held in Baku in November
2006 after five years¡¯ interval. The second day of the Committee is
reserved mainly for the bilateral business talks between Japanese
private companies and relevant Azeri Ministries and State Companies.
I hope each participant will make the best use of this opportunity to
enhance actual joint projects.

– Are Japan¡¯s oil companies satisfied with their participation in
Azerbaijan¡¯s oil projects? Do they plan to extend the scope of their
activity in Azerbaijan?

– As far as I know, it seems that two Japanese companies
participating in ACG oil field project, INPEX and ITOCHU, highly
appreciate the current performance of the project. In addition,
whenever Japanese companies take an interest in doing business
further in oil sector in Azerbaijan, the Embassy is always ready to
support these companies.

– In what stage is the construction project of the second steam gas
power station unit in ¡°Shimal¡±?

– I have been informed by Japan Bank for International Cooperation
that it is in the middle of tendering process. I hope that the winner
of the tender will soon be announced by Azerenergy, and the
construction of the second unit of ¡°Shimal¡± gas combined cycle
plant will be started accordingly.

– Azerbaijan plans to establish special economic and innovation zones
in future. What assistance can Japan provide to Azerbaijan?

– I think that Azerbaijan can be very attractive market for Japanese
companies, because of its 8 million populations and fast growing
economy.

The Government of Japan has various schemes to assist the foreign
direct investment and trade activities by Japanese companies such as
development finance, export and investment insurance, introduction of
credit lines and so forth. These schemes can also be applicable for
the case that Japanese companies are interested in participating in
the special economic and innovation zones which is going to be
introduced in Azerbaijan in future.

– What are the perspectives of extending the cooperation in
agricultural area? Will the agricultural facilities also be brought
>From Japan to Azerbaijan in the future?

– Japan has implemented its assistance to the agriculture sector in
Azerbaijan chiefly through ¡°Grant Assistance to Underprivileged
Farmers (2KR)¡±.

So far this assistance has been provided for seven times and the
total amount of funds disbursed is approximately 21 million U.S.
dollars. The agricultural machinery procured through this assistance
is 212 tractors, 232 combine harvesters, 354 ploughs and so forth.
According to the statistics, the amount of crops produced in
Azerbaijan since Japan started its assistance has become twice as
much as before. Moreover, Japan provided food assistance through the
World Food Programme for six times, and the total scale of these
projects amounted to 4.6 million U.S. dollars.

Throughout this cooperation, mostly wheat flours are procured and
allocated to the Internal Displaced Persons from Nagorno-Karabakh
region. Apart from these schemes, it is also possible to mobilize our
funds through ¡°Grassroots and Human Security Grant Assistance
Programme¡± to comparatively small projects proposed by
Non-Governmental Organizations, Local municipalities and Academic
institutes.

The Embassy is always ready to accept any proposal in this field, and
the project would be implemented when it is regarded as a feasible
one.

– Japan provides assistance to Azerbaijan¡¯s education and social
spheres, provides grant assistance. Are there plans of realization of
any new projects in this area as well?

¨C 1. Japan has implemented its economic cooperation in various
fields. For instance, more than half of Japan¡¯s small scale grant
assistance is designated for education sector such as the
construction of school buildings. In addition, Japan also assists the
rehabilitation of primary health care centres in rural areas as well
as formulating the bigger project in health sector such as the
Project for Improvement of Medical Equipment for Maternal and Child
Hospitals implemented which amounted to 4.3 million U. S. Dollars.

2. Japan attaches an importance to keeping the balance of the
assistance to accelerate the economic growth of Azerbaijan and the
assistance to alleviate the difficulties of socially vulnerable
people. Our ¡°Grassroots and Human Security Grant Assistance
Programme¡± is especially effective in targeting small scale
projects.

3. Japan is willing to assist Azerbaijan in future as well, whenever
there is a feasible project.

– Do Azerbaijani students study in Japan? Japanese is taught in Baku
State University. Is Azerbaijani also taught in Japan?

– £±£® I know that so far 20 students have studied in Japan whom our
Embassy sent to Japan as Japanese Government Scholarship Students.
Which are 10 master degree students, 5 undergraduate students, and 5
Japanese language studies students. In the master degree the fields
of study are medicine, education, mechanical engineering, dentistry
and economy etc. And there are a few Azeri students who are studying
in Japan at his/her own expense.

£²£®Japan has sent a Japanese teacher to Baku State University.
He told me that his students are eager to study Japanese language, at
the same time they were also very interested in Japanese people as
well.

So, we have a Japanese language conversation club once a month at our
Embassy. They can enjoy conversation with Japanese residents in Baku.

£³£®I heard a few private language schools have lessons of
Azerbaijani language in Japan.

– Are there plans of holding any events or exhibitions in the area of
culture?

– Last year, we had a number of activities such as demonstration of
Japanese tea ceremony, exhibition of Japanese dolls, Japanese speech
contest and so on.

I would like to continue those exhibitions and other cultural
activities.

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Feb 20 2008

Election of Serzh Sarkisian will not influence Nagorno Karabakh
negotiations – political scientists

[ 20 Feb 2008 18:27 ]

Views of Azerbaijani political scientists and head of Nagorno
Karabakh’s Azerbaijani community on Serzh Sarkisian’s election as
Armenian president

Baku. Lachin Sultanova-APA. According to the initial results, Serzh
Sarkisian has won the presidential elections in Armenia. APA learned
the opinions of political scientists and head of Nagorno Karabakh’s
Azerbaijani community in connection with the influence of the
election of the new president in Armenia on Nagorno Karabakh
negotiations. According to political scientist Rasim Musabayov, if
Serzh Sarkisian has won, it means that the team will be the same,
policy will not change.

`The previous course – Russia’s forepost will continue. Sarkisian is
inside the Nagorno Karabakh talks, he is well-informed about it, so
there will be no pause. There is very little probability that the
negotiations will produce results,’ he said.

Ilgar Mammadov recommends awaiting the end of the process, the
statement of OSCE observation mission. He told APA that it is
difficult to say something basing on the initial results. Comparing
Serzh Sarkisian and the other candidate Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the
political scientist said the main difference between them is that
Ter-Petrosyan declared he would make changes in the strategy of
negotiations, but Sarkisian did not do it.

`But it does not mean if Sarkisian wins, he will not decide to change
the strategy of negotiations depending on the situation. He can
change the strategy of negotiations. Sarkisian may make fundamental,
big and small changes to Kocharian’s strategy,’ he said.
`I have said Serzh Sarkisian will win. Russia organizes the election
in Armenia, since it is a part of Russia, and the results of these
elections do not reflect the will of Armenian people,’ political
scientist Vafa Guluzade told APA. According to him, Armenian people
want the peace issue to be solved soon.

`So, if the people were allowed, they would elect Levon
Ter-Petrosyan. But As Moscow does not want Karabakh conflict to be
solved, it elected its marionette – Serzh Sarkisian,’ he said.
Vafa Guluzade underlined that Sarkisian had no authority in Armenia
and the elections had been rigged. He also underlined that
Sarkisian’s presidency would not have influence on the process of
negotiations.

Chief of Public Union `Nagorno Karabakh’s Azerbaijani Community’,
head of Shusha region executive power Nizami Bahmanov told APA that
it was known beforehand that Sarkisian would win. Bahmanov also added
that Armenian leadership had no say in Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict,
no matter who would win the elections.

`Russia and Armenian lobby have their say, all Armenia is under this
influence. What can Armenian president do, if international
organizations and the world community demonstrate strictness,
persistence and resoluteness? The community does not believe that
Serzh Sarkisian, who directly led the battles in Nagorno Karabakh,
will recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity unambiguously and
provide conditions for Azerbaijanis to return,’ he said.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb. 22, 2008

Records show Santoro killed while under police surveillance

Records that recently came to light as part of another murder case
have shown that an Italian priest shot dead by a teenager two years
ago in Turkey was in fact under police surveillance when the murder
occurred.

Father Andrea Santoro was killed on Feb. 5, 2006, in his church in
the northern Black Sea port city of Trabzon.
The piece of information that the priest was actually being monitored
by the police was recently revealed by records that went into the
file of Yasin Hayal, whose trial is pending as the prime inciter of
the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in 2007. Dink
was shot dead outside his office in January of 2007 by an
ultra-nationalist teenager, who is also from Trabzon.

According to police records in Hayal’s file, the Trabzon police
applied to a court in Erzurum for a warrant to monitor Santoro’s
phone conversations, on Nov. 8, 2006, three months before the murder
of Santoro.

The Trabzon police cited suspicions that Santoro might be carrying
out "separatist activities to revive the state of Pontus" —
established in the region along the eastern coast of the Black Sea
and an autonomous state until the 13th century — as the reason for
its request for a wiretapping order. However, the phone conversations
of Santoro were not the only ones the Trabzon police were interested
in. On the same day, the police requested permission from the court
to monitor the phone conversations of none other than Hayal and
another man named Hasan Deveci. The two were suspected of having
Salafi-Wahhabi leanings, according to the police request. The request
letter also said the police had reason to believe Hayal and Deveci
had contacts with other groups that have "radical ideas." Although
the two requests were made separately, on the day the court received
the requests a single warrant was issued authorizing the police to
monitor the calls of both Hayal and Santoro.

Starting Nov. 8, 2005, the police monitored each phone conversation
that Hayal and Santoro had every day for three months. The warrant
was due to expire on Feb. 8, 2006, three days after Santoro was
killed.

The investigation so far has not revealed whether there was a
particular reason for the police to request a phone monitoring
warrant from the court on the same day, such as a link between the
radical extremist circles that Hayal was involved in and the priest.

The 16-year-old who killed Santoro was initially sentenced to life,
which was then commuted to 20 years in prison due to the
perpetrator’s legal status as a minor.

It has not yet been established whether Hayal has any links with
Santoro’s killer.

However, Trabzon Police Chief Feridun Boz said they had uncovered no
connections between Hayal and the Santoro murder, in a statement he
made to the Doðan News Agency. Boz denied having any information on
how Hayal’s phone had come to be tapped.

22.02.2008

Today’s Zaman with wires Ýstanbul

EX-PROSECUTOR WHO JOINED OPPOSITION DETAINED IN ARMENIA; POSTELECTION PROTEST PERSISTS
By Avet Demourian

Associated Press
Feb 24, 2008

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Thousands of opposition supporters protested
in Armenia’s capital Sunday, demanding a rerun of the disputed
presidential vote and denouncing the detention of several allies in
their confrontation with the government.

More than 20,000 people protested for a fifth day in a central
square where the opposition has maintained a round-the-clock vigil,
and hundreds broke away to march through the streets in the early
evening. A tough warning from the outgoing president raised concerns
that police could seek to disperse the demonstrators.

Supporters of opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian claim Tuesday’s
election was rigged and are demanding a new vote. The government
says Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian won the presidency fairly and
has urged the protesters to disperse.

The standoff has raised concerns about potential violence in a poor
and volatile country that is strategically located at the junction of
the energy-rich Caspian Sea region and southern Europe, with Russia
and Iran nearby.

Announcing final election results Sunday that were in line with a
preliminary count, Central Election Commission chief Garegin Azarian
said Sarkisian, Kocharian’s favored successor, received nearly 53
percent of the vote in the nation of 3.2 million — enough to win
outright and avoid a runoff.

He said Ter-Petrosian won 21.5 percent. The opposition claims that
Ter-Petrosian won but that the vote was marred by vote-buying,
ballot-stuffing and violence.

A few officials have joined the opposition since the vote.

One of them, former Deputy Prosecutor General Gagik Dzhangirian,
was detained along with his brother and another man late Saturday,
police spokesman Sayat Shirinian said. An exchange of gunfire erupted
when officers blocked a highway to search the car they were traveling
in, Shirinian said.

Dzhangirian’s brother and two police officers were injured, police
said.

Kocharian on Saturday dismissed several Armenian diplomats who
expressed support for the opposition, including the ambassadors to
Italy and Kyrgyzstan and a deputy foreign minister.

Police also said a former tax collection agency chief during
Ter-Petrosian’s presidency, Smbat Aivazian, was detained with two other
people Sunday by police who found a pistol and truncheons in their car.

Ter-Petrosian’s campaign office said Aram Karpetian, leader of the
opposition New Times party and a vocal government critic, was detained
and his bodyguards were beaten by security forces in Yerevan on Sunday
afternoon. Government officials had no immediate comment.

Member of United Labour Party Council Tamara Gevorkyan supported Levon
Ter-Petrosyan

2008-02-23 16:43:00

ArmInfo. Member of United Labour Party Council Tamara Gevorkyan made a
speech at many thousand strong rally of the candidate for president
Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters and said she also supports him. She
also added that the leadership of the United Labour Party initiated
secret voting and had adopted a decision to support Serzh Sarkisyan but
many activists of the party openly told their leaders they are going to
support Ter-Petrosyan and are for immediate disposal of the incumbent
authorities of Armenia.

To note, procession of women-supporters of Levon Ter-Petrosyan towards
the building of Public TV and Radio Company Council has started. They
are going to had over demands of the oppositionists to the leadership
of the Council, among which is "to stop immediately discrediting of the
candidate for president Levon Ter-Petrosyan and giving TV air to them .
They are shouting anti-governmental slogans.