Author: Samvel Nahapetian

Not On American Soil: Responding To The Beating Of Americans By Erdogan’s Security Personnel

Samvel Nahapetian
Huffington Post
June 8 2017




06/07/2017 11:00 am ET 
David L. Phillips, Contributor Director, Program on Peace-building and Rights, Institute for the Study of Human Rights, Columbia University 

Members of President Tayyip Erdogan’s security detail beat up protesters in Washington, DC on May 16, 2017. Eleven people were injured and two hospitalized.

The Sub-committee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats of the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on May 25 to consider “Violence Outside the Turkish Ambassador’s Residence.” Chairman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) said at the hearing: “The attack by members of President Erdogan’s security detail on peaceful protesters earlier this month was offensive and showed a deep disrespect for the United States and the values we cherish. Those responsible should be punished as the law allows and I call on our own authorities to make sure such a situation is never again allowed to occur.”

Rohrabacher called Erdogan an “Islamo-fascist” who is an “enemy of the United States and an enemy of his own people.” According to Rohrabacher, “Political violence and suppression came to characterize Turkey at home and abroad.”

Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced H. Res. 354 condemning Turkey’s actions. The Resolution indicted “Turkish officials blatantly suppressed the First Amendment rights of United States citizens, and multiple armed Turkish security officials beat, kicked, and choked unarmed demonstrators.”

Outrage was bipartisan. Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY), House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) joined Royce in introducing H. Res. 354, and issued a joint statement: “Last week’s unprovoked attack on peaceful protesters by Turkish security forces on American soil must not go unanswered…those responsible must face justice.” Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) called the violence “indefensible.”

With strong support from Congressman Rohrabacher and others, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H. Res. 354 on June 6, condemning Turkey. It recommends that those who “directed, oversaw, or participated in efforts by Turkish security forces to illegally suppress peaceful protests on May 16, 2017, should be charged and prosecuted under United States law.”

Can we identify the perpetrators? The New York Times published a frame-by-frame analysis of the incident.

It reported, “Ten of the men who attacked the protesters appear to be part of the formal security detail. They are dressed in dark suits, and they wore an in-ear radio receiver, Turkish breast pins and identification cards. At least four of the men carried guns.”

Another man displayed an “identity card showing Turkey’s presidential seal, suggesting he is a member of Erdogan’s delegation.”

Six of the attackers “wore outfits resembling uniforms worn by Turkish guards. Two of these men were carrying guns.”

According to The New York Times, “Three men charged the protesters. One man knocked two women to the ground, and another man repeatedly punched Lucy Usoyan, a protester, as she lay on the ground.”

Video of the incident shows Erdogan arriving at the Turkish ambassador’s residence in his motorcade. Erdogan’s adviser leans into the window of the car and has a conversation with Erdogan. According to a witness, “The order came from Erdogan to his adviser to the head of the security detail ― attack, attack.” During the brutalization, Erdogan steps out of his vehicle and dispassionately surveys the scene.

The United States should demand that Erdogan issue a public apology, as well as a written apology to each of the victims. Turkey should pay reparations to those attacked. The US State Department should request a waiver of immunity of Turkish security officials involved in the incident, enabling their extradition to the United States and prosecution.

If these steps are not taken, the US should take punitive measures.

The movements of Ambassador Serdar Kilic should be restricted to 100 feet of the Turkish ambassador’s residence. If Turkey does not cooperate with the investigation, Kilic should be evicted from the United States.

Investigators should identify and prosecute Turkish-Americans who participated in the melee, in addition to prosecuting members of Erdogan’s security detail.

A Congressional resolution should prohibit the sale of debt by the Turkish government to American banks. The resolution should also call on US banks holding Turkish debt to accelerate demands for repayment.

US agencies should find out where Erdogan keeps his money outside of Turkey and take steps to freeze his assets, pending civil suits by the victims.

The US should suspend the sale of small arms and other weapons to Turkey.

The Congress should expand assistance to civil society and independent media within Turkey.

The American people have a right to know the full details of what happened. The DC Metropolitan Police should publish the results of its investigation, and release intercepted communications of Turkish security involved in the assault.

I know Lucy and some of the other victims personally. While attacking protesters is routine in Turkey, impunity for Turkish security officers must not be tolerated in the United States. The incident is a repeat of what happened last year outside the Brookings Institution.

The victims of violence outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence welcome bipartisan support for H. Res. 354. Now they demand action and accountability.

David L. Phillips is Director of the Program on Peace-building and Rights at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights. He served as a Senior Adviser and Foreign Affairs Expert at the US Department of State. His recent book is An Uncertain Ally: Turkey Under Erdogan’s Dictatorship.


Chess: Levon Aronian Norway Chess R1 game ends in a draw

Samvel Nahapetian
PanArmenian
June 6 2017
June 7, 2017 – 12:12 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The round 1 match between Armenia's Levon Aronian and Fabiano Caruana of the United States ended in a draw at the Altibox Norway Chess tournament.

Hikaru Nakamura (U.S.) was the only winner on Tuesday, June 6, defeating Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri.

Magnus Carlsen vs Wesley So, Vladimir Kramnik vs Sergey Karjakin, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Viswanathan Anand all ended in draws.

The first six rounds of the tournament are held in the Norwegian town of Stavanger.

Sports: SKN Sugar Boyz Prep For Armenia, Georgia Matches In Europe

Samvel Nahapetian
WINN FM
June 3 2017


SKN Sugar Boyz Prep For Armenia, Georgia Matches In Europe

     

Written by LK Hewlett
                    

St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN); The St. Kitts and Nevis national senior men’s football team the Sugar Boyz is presently in Europe preparing for two important matches.

The Sugar Boyz, #89 in the FIFA World Ranking, will face #68-ranked Armenia on Sunday, June 4th, then on Wednesday, June 7th they come up against Georgia. Georgia is ranked #122.

Thrizen Leader of the St. Pauls United football club will captain the 20-member squad for the European tour.  Ten of the players are based in the United Kingdom- Romaine Sawyers, Lois Maynard, Jason St Juste, Jacob Hazel, Harrison Panayiotou, Michael Nottingham, Omari Sterling, Theo Wharton, Nathan Lescott, and Zephaniah Thomas.

Raheem Somersall is based in the USA, Gerard Williams in Trinidad, Justin Springer in Canada and Tishan Hanley in the Philippines.

The locally based players are Jamal Jeffers of the St. Paul's United FC, Errol O'loughlin of the Conaree FC, Carlos Bertie from the Cayon FC, and Kimaree Rogers and G'Vaune Amory of the Village Superstars.

The coaching staff is led by Head Coach Jacques Passy, and he is accompanied by Assistant Coach Jeffrey Hazel, Team Manager Keithly Pemberton, and other supporting staff.

Team Manager Pemberton spoke to WINN FM from Armenia on Thursday night (June 2). He said the team was settling in and awaiting the arrival of some of the players from St. Kitts who had been delayed.

“The rest of the team is in training and they are expecting a tough battle versus Armenia and Georgia because they are not easy teams. Georgia beat Spain last year, in Spain; I think that’s the first team to beat Spain at home in five years.

“The guys have assured me however that they’re up for the challenge so we’re asking that the whole of St. Kitts and Nevis be behind us for these two games.”  

SKNFA President Anthony Johnson said the FA continues to invest in the development of football in the federation, and sending the national team to Europe was costly, but worthwhile.

“That comes at a great cost to the Association but we believe it is important to expose our players not just to the traditional Caribbean or CONCACAF environment but different environments that perhaps are more challenging, and so we are very pleased that our national team will be undertaking this tour of Europe.” 

The two matches will be played at 12 midday local time and will be streamed lived via the following:

http://www.timesoccer.com/video/armenia-vs-st-kitts-nevis-live-streaming-highlights.html   

Film: I Vow To Keep The Promise. I Am Joining The Movement.

Samvel Nahapetian
Huffington Post
May 18 2017
05/18/2017 11:19 pm ET |

Nuri Kino, Contributor Independent investigative multi-award-winning reporter, filmmaker, author, Middle East and human rights analyst

In the summer of 2005, Swedish documentary producer Håkan Berthas and I travelled to Turabdin (worshippers mountain) in southeast Turkey. We were there to shoot a TV-series about Assyriska, a Swedish based football team, and had devoted one of the episodes to the killing of Christians that was carried out by the Turkish Ottomans during World War I. We were staying closeby in Midyat, the city where I was born, when someone quietly informed us that a Kurdish family had occupied an Assyrian/Syriac family’s house and taken control of their vineyard in the village of Aynward. This little village would prove to be rich with a dark history relating to the Christian genocide at the turn of the century.

Once in Aynward, it didn’t take long for the village’s dark turbulent past to boil over to the present day. Things got heated as soon as we had arrived, Guns were pointed directly at us and at a man from the family that was claiming their houses and lands had been occupied. An older woman ran up to us and screamed in our faces “we should have exterminated you while we had the chance, this is our village now!”

When things calmed down, Håkan and I went to the Syriac-Orthodox church in the village where the priest showed us a grave of a martyr who died during the genocide. The village of Aynward sits high on a hill, many Assyrian/Syriacs fled there during the Ottoman led massacres that targeted Midyat and its surrounding villages. This hero had left his family behind, knowing full well the inevitability of his being killed. He took a chance with his life in order to save as many of his innocent people as he could. He was a trained engineer and when he heard that there was not a single bullet left to protect his people against the Muslim troops closing in on Aynward, he took action. The village women were organized and tasked with collecting anything made of iron, he then helped the men organize a small workshop where they could melt the iron and cast bullets to use against the advancing hordes. Back in the graveyard of the village he would not recognize today, the old dusty forgotten stones marking his grave, did not do justice to his story; they belied the bravery and strength this man had shown in the face of hatred and evil against his people. His story stuck with me, it followed me everywhere on that trip, constantly being retold in my mind.

When I returned to Sweden I received a shock. That man that had been referred to as “the hero” in Aynward was related to me. He was my beloved grandmother Meyyo’s father, he was maternal great-grandfather, Sha’e Gundoro-Kino, from the Melkemir tribe. I was stunned and inspired to devote a year researching his remarkable history. A few years earlier I had produced a movie about the Christian genocide at the hands of the Ottomans and had collected a lot of material, including interviews with around fifty genocide survivors.

Ever since I was a child I have dreamed of seeing our history, our trauma, the history of our persecution become a big Hollywood movie. That movie is now here.

Last Wednesday I spoke to Eric Esrailian, the producer of the movie The Promise. He is a medical doctor; why did he enter the film industry? “I have not made a movie, I followed a mission given to me by my mentor, Kirk Krekorian. When he first spoke to me about what at that time was a very secret movie project, I felt very honoured, but also very nervous. I had never produced a movie before, and certainly not one about a genocide that has been silenced. ”While Esrailian passionately spoke about the production of the movie, that many have reached out, telling him how The Promise have changed their lives, how they now understand what their grandparents went through, it suddenly hits me that he has an Armenian sounding last name. I have aunts that are married to Armenians. I interrupted him and asked him if he perhaps has a personal relation to the genocide.

Bam. His family’s faith is being rolled up, in many ways very similar to mine. Places. Occurrences. Massacres.

Our families were just a few miles apart when they were slaughtered. In the movie, The Promise there is a scene with an Armenian choir. Esrailian’s relatives were part of that choir. The movie is entirely financed by billionaire Kirk Krekorian who is mainly known for building the world’s biggest hotel in Las Vegas and for owning the movie company Metro-Goldwyn Mayer in the past. He passed away in 2015 and sadly will not be able to see his beloved project The Promise premiere in cinemas worldwide.

“The movie is of course a reminder about the genocide in 1915, but it is also a work that should remind us about all crimes committed against humanity and our duty to stop them”, says Esrailian.

Esrailian has now gotten big Hollywood names such as Christian Bale, Oscar Isaak, Ryan Gosling, Jennifer Lopez, Cher och George Clooney on board and to post videos on social media with the title ”I vow to keep the promise.”

On the anniversary of the 1915 massacre of millions of Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac, Armenian, and Greek people, U.S. President Donald Trump joined his predecessors in failing to recognize the historic suffering as Genocide. The organization I am part of, A Demand For Action’s executive director Steve Oshana shared his analysis on the continuation of the denial policy with the Huffington Post.

“The use of the genocide label mattersfor a range of reasons, including because it helps the ongoing court battles of families trying to win back stolen property and could deter further human rights abuses by Turkey’s increasingly authoritarian government”.

Huffpost describes A Demand For Action (ADFA) like this. ”His organization was at the center of the fight to make Congress and the Obama administration acknowledge the so-called Islamic State’s assault on minority groups, notably Christians and Yazidis, as a genocide.”

In Sweden, where I live, our parliament has recognized the genocide committed by the Turks on the Armenian, Assyrian/Syriac/Chaldean and Greek minorities during World War I. The Social democratic party promised in the latest election that they too would recognize the genocide. But in the party’s congress this year, things had changed. They already had reached government power and now simply did not stand by their promise. There is another genocide happening as we speak, the same minorities are being targeted, history is repeating itself, and yet both the Swedish government and parliament are choosing to turn their heads, and close their eyes to it, and to not recognize the genocide for what it was and what it still is, a blatant slaughter, a murder on a massive scale, a targeting of people based on their ethnicity and their religion, if this was, and still is, not genocide, then what is?

I vow to keep the promise. I am joining the movement. So do all others in A Demand For Action (ADFA), we vow to keep the promise.

*Babilona Khosravi from Sweden and Evette Haddad from Canada also contributed to this report


ANKARA: What really happened outside Turkey’s US Embassy?

Samvel Nahapetian 
Anadolu Agency (AA)
 Saturday


What really happened outside Turkey's US Embassy?


By Safvan Allahverdi

WASHINGTON

Supporters in the United States of the terrorist organization PKK -- a
group which has killed over 1,200 people in Turkey since July 2015 --
triggered the melee and fight outside Turkey's Washington Embassy
building during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to the country
on May 16.

I was covering Erdogan's visit, so I was able to witness and observe
what happened outside the embassy building.

During Erdogan's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at around
12.30 p.m. local time (1630GMT), PKK supporters, as well as some
protesters carrying Armenian flags, started shouting slogans against
Turkey and Erdogan at Lafayette Square park, just north of the White
House.

A group of Turkish citizens, who were also there to support Erdogan
and Turkey, started to respond to the group's verbal harassment.

As the altercation started, Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police and
U.S. Secret Service Agents were also around. Turkish citizens were
moved from the area by the police, but the PKK sympathizers stayed
where they were. The Turkish citizens objected to this.

After hearing the objections, police sent PKK supporters off to a far
corner of the park across from the embassy. They also cordoned off the
area with police tape. The police did the same to the Turkish
citizens, sending them off to an area where there was a direct line of
sight to the White House.

Both groups shouted slogans and afterwards dispersed without incident.

Melee outside the Turkish embassy

It was known that President Erdogan would arrive at the Turkish
Embassy at around 4 p.m. local time. PKK sympathizers gathered at the
park next to the building half an hour earlier.

The supporters of the terrorist group, around 20 people, were carrying
posters of Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK's jailed head, as well as jailed
Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) head Selahattin Demirtas, and flags of
the YPG, the armed Syrian offshoot of the PKK/PYD.

While shouting anti-Erdogan slogans, the group started to swear and
insult Turks, who were just across the road. Turkish citizens
responded with their own slogans.

As minutes went by, the group escalated the intensity of their
swearing and insults against Erdogan and the Turkey supporters.

The protesting group had a permit to gather in front of the White
House, but when they gathered outside the Turkish Embassy, they gave
the police no notice.

We knew that no permit was needed to gather outside the embassy. But
the practice in the U.S. was to inform the police department so that
they could take necessary safety measures. We were worried about their
gathering with no notice, if they were planning to make a scene.

The PKK supporters made a great effort to make Turkish citizens lose
control through their insults and swearing. We saw that the Turkish
group was provoked by PKK sympathizers moving into the middle of the
road with megaphones.

The first fight broke out when supporters of the terrorist group threw
water bottles at Turkish citizens, triggering a 10-15 second fistfight
in the middle of the road.

Only two police officers interceded in the fight, and it was clear the
police were not ready for such a scene. Besides, there were only
around 10 police officers outside the embassy.

Police unresponsive to citizens' injuries

Also stepping into the fight, a Turkish citizen named Alp Kenan Dereci
was severely injured when a PKK supporter hit him in the head with a
megaphone.

His face was covered in blood. An ambulance came over and Dereci was
taken to a hospital.

People who saw Dereci had been hit with a megaphone repeatedly told
the police chief at the scene what happened and who hit him.

They told the police chief that it was not just a punch, but an
attempted injury. The people also said that the attacker should be
arrested or the situation could escalate.

But the police chief said he would not do such a thing, which
triggered a bigger altercation because the attacker, who was not
arrested, continued with his swearing and insults.

As we later learned, the attacker was named Kasim Kurd, and he was
being sought by both federal agents and the D.C. metropolitan police.

Police did not heed the warnings and complaints of Turkish citizens,
but instead forced the Turkish supporters back onto the sidewalk.

PKK supporters meters from Erdogan

The police barricaded Turkish citizens after the first altercation,
but not the PKK supporters.

With no obstacles to block them, the terrorist group backers got very
close to the Turkey supporters and shouted slogans and threw water
bottles.

The PKK supporters, who kept a greater distance during Erdogan's White
House visit, outside the embassy were able to get within 15-20 meters
of him.

Due to the fanaticism of the terrorist group, we were also worried
about our own safety.

When Erdogan arrived at the embassy building, protesters continued
their grave insults, so some Turkish citizens and the head of the
president's security detail stepped in.

After security interceded, the group dispersed.

Meanwhile, the U.S. media, instead of covering the moments that
triggered the situation as a whole, chose to show only the last
moments, and so created the impression that Turkey supporters caused
the altercation and the terror group supporters were the victims.

Russia to supply Belarus, Armenia and Kazakhstan with advanced copters, air defense systems in 2017

Samvel Nahapetian 
Photo: Sputnik/ Alexey Filippov

 

Dmitry Shugaev, the head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), stated that Russia will continue defense products supplies to Belarus, Armenia and Kazakhstan in 2017, reports. 

Russia plans to supply its partners within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) with new weapons systems in 2017, including helicopters, air defense systems and armored vehicles, Dmitry Shugaev, the head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), told Sputnik Sunday.

“In 2017, Russia will continue defense products supplies in accordance with the mentioned above treaties [Russian defense cooperation agreements with Belarus, Armenia and Kazakhstan]. This, first of all, includes aviation equipment, in particular, helicopters, air defense systems and armored vehicles,” Shugaev said.

Besides, the CSTO may implement a plan in the coming years prescribing arming its rapid response forces with weapons on a free of charge basis, according to Acting Secretary General of CSTO Valery Semerikov.

“The plan prescribing what types of military equipment and products and when should be delivered to a specific state was prepared and nearly coordinated with all states, and it was expected to take effect in 2015-2016. However, due to such troubles as crisis, sanctions and others, we took the decision to halt the implementation of this plan, but only regarding non-repayable supplies,” Semerikov told reporters adding that the full resumption of the plan’s implementation is possible in 2018-2019.

Russia would take the biggest share of financial burden in implementation of this plan, Semerikov added.

The CSTO alliance was established on the basis of the Collective Security Treaty, signed by Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member states on May 15, 1992. The bloc comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.

Business opportunities and hydropower part of U.S.-sponsored renewable energy conference in Armenia

Samvel Nahapetian
 HydroWorld
 
 
Business opportunities and hydropower part of U.S.-sponsored renewable energy conference in Armenia
 
YEREVAN, Armenia
05/18/2017
By Gregory B. Poindexter
Associate Editor
 
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Richard Mills Jr., and Armenian Deputy Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources, Hayk Harutyunyan, spoke about the potential benefits of renewable energy production for Armenia, including hydropower, during a renewable energy conference on May 17 at the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia.
 
The embassy said the one-day conference was designed to strengthen the increasing commercial ties between the U.S. and Armenia by introducing leading U.S. companies to Armenian energy sector operators, allowing the American companies to showcase the latest technological advances in the field.
 
Seven U.S. companies – Honeywell Building Solutions, Honeywell Smart Energy, MacLean Power Systems, First Solar Power Solutions, Caterpillar, General Electric and Contour Global – sent representatives to the conference to share their experiences and to learn about business opportunities in Armenia, according to the embassy.
 
Arka News Agency reported that during the conference Harutyunyan said hydropower plants in Armenia have the potential to produce 40% of the country’s overall volume of the share of electricity.
 
According to information from the ministry, construction of small hydropower plants in Armenia is a leading course of action towards development of the renewable energy sector and securing energy independence in Armenia.
 
[Native Advertisement]
 
The majority of designed, under construction or operational small hydropower plants in the country are derivational stations [run-of-river stations] on natural water flows.
 
As of the Jan. 1, according to the number of licenses the ministry has issued, 39 additional small hydro plants are under construction with a total combined installed capacity projected at about 74 MW, annually providing about 260 million kWh.
 
The conference was held in partnership with the ministry and ContourGlobal LP.
 
New York-based ContourGlobal finalized a US$180 million plan to acquire the 405-MW Vorotan hydroelectric power cascade in June 2015 after more than a year of deliberations with the Armenian government. The deal was reported to be the largest ever U.S. investment into Armenia.
 
ContourGlobal LP has hydropower plants located in Armenia and Brazil, that have a total installed combined capacity of 441 MW.
 
The one-day program also featured presentations by International Finance Corp., German Development Bank KfW, Ameria Bank, Switzerland-based Meeco Group, and Armenian government officials.
 

Gevorg Kostanyan dismissed from the post of Adviser to President

Samvel Nahapetian

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has signed a decree, dismissing Gevorg Kostanyan from the post of Adviser to President.

According to Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan’s decision, Kostanyan has also been relieved of the duties of Armenia’s representative to the European Court of Human Rights.

Gevorg Kostanyan has been elected to the National Assembly, which is set to hold its first session Thursday.

Liisa Ansala: Further democratic consolidation needed in Yerevan also outside the polling stations

Samvel Nahapetian

A 10 member electoral assessment team from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe – headed by Liisa Ansala (Finland, ILDG) and including two representatives from the EU Committee of the Regions – concluded yesterday its mission to observe the elections to the Council of Elders of Yerevan which were held on Sunday in the Armenian capital. During this vote, held on the basis of the amended 2016 Electoral Code, Voter Authentication Devices (VADs) were in use for the second time, after the Parliamentary elections of 2 April, which allowed the Congress delegation to assess the implementation of both the new legal framework and the new electronic system to identify voters and prevent fraud.

On Election Day, four Congress’ teams visited some 100 polling stations in the different administrative districts of Yerevan(Kentron, Nork-Marash, Avan, Qanaqer-Zeyt’un, Nor-Nork’, Erebuni, Nubarashen, Malatia-Sebastia, Schengavit’, Davt’ashen, Achapnyak and Arabkir) where the VADs (which contained electronic copy of the voters’ lists and provided for the electronic registration, the printing of a voting pass and the scanning of the fingerprints) were functioning smoothly throughout the whole voting procedure. In addition to the VADs, web cameras were installed in all polling stations in order to prevent electoral fraud, notably multiple voting and family voting, and to ensure transparency during the opening of the polling stations and the counting of the ballots at the end of the E-Day. The amended Electoral Code provides also for the publication of the signed voters lists after the elections, since the accuracy of the voters’ lists and voter impersonation were among the long-standing challenges of the electoral management in Armenia.

In addition to the new technologies, the Congress observers were able to assess the quality of the election administration at the level of the Precinct Election Commissions (PECs) whose members, including the IT specialists in charge of processing the VADs, all received training by the Central Election Commission which was overall positively evaluated. In general, the Election Day was calm and orderly in Yerevan, with the exception of some incidents which were reported to the Congress’ members and include also allegations of vote-buying and double-voting.

“The amended Electoral Code and the new technical measures have certainly improved the situation inside the polling stations. However, there is further democratic consolidation needed also outside. As it was the case during the 2 April Parliamentary elections, also during the Yerevan elections our delegation heard allegations of vote-buying and bribes as a systemic problem in Armenia. In addition, there is the issue of pressure on public service employees and misuse of administrative resources. In the majority of places visited by our observers on Sunday there were groups of people loitering around outside the polling stations creating an overall atmosphere of controlled voting. This is also relevant with regard to the busses bringing groups of voters to polling stations which we have observed. All these issues need to be taken seriously by the authorities in order to increase the trust in elections and in the administration in general”, stated Congress’ Vice-President Liisa Ansala.

“The fact that on Sunday only some 40 percent of the voters participated in the Yerevan elections is an alarming sign and shows the high level of political apathy and mistrust in the political system. The improved electoral framework and the new technologies to prevent fraud on E-Day are very welcome by the Congress and have increased transparency. Nonetheless, much more needs to be done to address the root cause of apathy and frustration about politics in Armenia”, Liisa Ansala concluded.

Further to the electoral assessment mission of the Congress, a report will be prepared and discussed at the next meeting of the Monitoring Committee on 27 June 2017 in Kharkiv (Ukraine).

Accusations of Armenia’s failure to reach extension of OSCE Office mandate ‘void’ – MFA

Samvel Nahapetian

 

 

 

Armenia has always been interested in the extension of mandate of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tighran Balayan said in comments to .

The remarks come after accusations of failure to prevent the closure of the Office in Armenia.

“Those who declare that Armenia, namely the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have not taken steps to ensure the extension of the mandate, do not understand the processes taking place within the OSCE,” Balayan said.

Second, he said, “they are not aware of the statements made by the current Austrian and the previous German chairmanships of the OSCE and the European Union.”

The Spokesman said the accusations are “void and have nothing to do with reality.” “Armenia has been declaring until the last moment that it’s interested in the extension of the mandate of the OSCE Office in Yerevan and continuation of its activity in the country,” Tigran Balayan stated.