Author: Topchian Jane

Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia
Feb 21 2008

Armenian opposition says army on side

>From correspondents in Yerevan, Armenia

February 22, 2008 04:31am

ARMENIAN opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian overnight called on
tens of thousands of supporters to keep up mass protests against
presidential election results, promising that the army was on his
side.

Around 25,000 people demonstrated on Freedom Square in the capital
Yerevan against results from Wednesday’s polls that gave Prime
Minister Serzh Sarkisian victory. Activists set up a handful of tents
for a 24 hour protest.

"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."

Addressing the crowd, Mr Ter-Petrosian said 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
tomorrow.

Protesters braving sub-zero temperature chanted "Victory, Victory!"
"Fight to the End!" and "Levon! Levon! Levon!"

By early evening the numbers had fallen to around 10,000, an AFP
reporter said.

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

He demanded a new election.

Observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation 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 hand-picked the prime minister to succeed him after Mr
Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia swept parliamentary polls
last May. After two five-year terms, Mr Kocharian was
constitutionally barred from running again.

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.

The latter two 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 has also been angered by Yerevan’s campaign to have the World
War I-era mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire recognised
as genocide.

Mr Ter-Petrosian has called for a more conciliatory approach with
Azerbaijan and Turkey, saying the government has left Armenia
isolated.

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

At the opposition rally, Ter-Petrosian associate Mr Pashenian hinted
the opposition could use more aggressive methods to make its point.

"Our actions will be peaceful as long as all legal methods have not
been exhausted," Mr Pashenian told the crowd. "Be prepared for all
scenarios."

CONFERENCE IN LOS ANGELES DEDICATED TO MUSA LER AND KESAB

AZG Armenian Daily
23/02/2008

By the initiative of UCLA Armenian Institution’s Department of Armenian
History 17th conference of scientific series "Towns and provinces of
historical Armenia" will be held from February 29 to March 1.

Researchers of different institutions of Armenia, Holland, Great
Britain, Syria, France and USA will participate in the conference.

The opening ceremony will take place in the Galachian Hall of the
West Diocese of Armenian Apostolic Church.

The welcome speech will be delivered by the Head of the Department of
Armenian History of the mentioned university Pr. Richard Hovhannesian.

Then Hakob Cholakian (Aleppo), author of a three-volume book about
Kesab, will deliver his speech.

Scientific worker of Armenian Academy of Sciences, Doctor Verdzine
Svazian, Armenologist Izabel Seda Mavian will speak of Musa Ler
folklore and the incidents of Kesab from 1909-1947.

The next day’s scientific speeches will be delivered in English
(Dr. Shushan Patti, London, Seda Altugh, Holland, Hakob Cholakian,
Hakob Panosian, Dr. Hrayr Atikian, Sona Zeytlian, Los Angeles, Agha
Soghomonian, Hrant Khachatrian and Vahram Shemasian).

RA PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDER: DESPITE VIOLATIONS DURING VOTING AND CALCULATION OF VOTES, SERZH SARGSYAN HAD ADVANTAGE AGAINST LEVON TER-PETROSYAN

arminfo
2008-02-22 13:37:00

ArmInfo. RA presidential contender Arman Melikyan thinks that,
despite violations during voting and calculation of votes, Serzh
Sargsyan had an advantage against Levon Ter-Petrosyan, A. Melikyan
said at today’s press-conference in "Tesaket" club.

"Undoubtedly, there were cases of violence and abuse, nevertheless,
I have become aware from the sources I trust, that Serzh Sargsyan
had an advantage against L. Ter- Petrosyan. However, based on the
data available, I cannot claim whether this advantage was enough for
victory in the first round.

However, there was an advantage", A. Melikyan said.

To recall, RA presidential contender Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters
accuse the authorities of falsification of February 19 presidential
election results, in the first round of which RA PM Serzh Sargsyan
gained a victory.

SOUTHERN GEORGIA IN BLOCKADE

Panorama.am
16:48 22/02/2008

28 villages in Ninotsminda region, Georgia are in a blockade because
of the bad weather, snowstorm and wind. It is the second day those
villages remained without electricity and telephone. Because of the
snowstorm and strong winds it is impossible to work on the roads and
to repair the telephone lines.

The situation is even worst in Adjaria region and Shida Cartly
and Imerety, The snow is 3 meters high, and it is the third day
responsible bodies try to clean the roads and provide the regions
with telephone lines.

Note that the Georgian government asked Armenian government to help
and to improve the created situation.

SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC-HNCHAKIAN PARTY CLAIMS FROM CENTRAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION TO AFFIRM VICTORY OF LEVON TER-PETROSIAN IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

Noyan Tapan
Feb 22, 2008

LOS ANGELES, FEBRUARY 22, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Social
Democratic-Hnchakian Party is claiming from the RA Central Electoral
Commission to affirm the victory of Levon Ter-Petrosian "as a president
elected by the nation" in the February 19 presidential elections. This
is said in the message of the U.S. central administration of the
party sent from Los Angeles on February 22.

As it is maentioned in the statement, Armenians living abroad condemn
"the attempts for implementing a regular revolution through robbing the
votes of the people" and are sure that those steps will fail. "We warn
the authorities of Armenia to keep away from any kind of adventurous
steps for using acts of violence against peaceful people," is mentioned
in the statement.

The Social Democratic-Hnchakian Party expressed "its complete support
to the national movement started in Armenia in this struggle being
conducted for freedom and justice."

SEVERAL THOUSAND STRONG MEETING OF OPPOSITION STARTED IN YEREVAN

arminfo
2008-02-20 14:20:00

ArmInfo. A several thousand strong meeting of the opposition started
in Yerevan, in front of the Matenadaran building.

The meeting has been organized by supporters of the first President of
Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who claim that the victory at the election
was taken off their candidate. Thousands of people participate in the
meeting, they have already shut off one of the main avenues of Yerevan,
Mesrop Mashtots Avenue. The number of the meeting participants keeps
on growing.

The Police does not yet hinder holding of the meeting.

MEETING WITH STALIN
Henry Hairapetyan The Demo Newspaper

KarabakhOpen
20-02-2008 11:36:07

In the previous issue of the Demo we wrote about 115-year-old Nubar
Mesrop Aghabekyan who died in the Russian city of Novorossiysk.

Nubar had 14 children. Her family lived in the Karabakh village of
Avetaranots. Nubar was an energetic woman and led the large family
with success. However, an accident was about to ruin her family.

One day her husband Mirza carried something from the neighboring
village on the back of the donkey. He reached home, tied the donkey
and started to unload. The neighbors decided to play a trick on
him. They put the issue of the newspaper Communist on the donkey’s
head and started chanting: "Read, jackass, read."

They stood around and laughed while the donkey "read" the newspaper.

However, the joke turned into a tragedy. Stalin’s portrait was on
the front page of the newspaper.

Although it was 1946, in a few days Mirza was invited somewhere
everyone knew where. The poor man was tried and sent to the prison
of Astrakhan for many years.

What could Nubar do? How could she support a family of 14? She appealed
to everywhere but in vain. And finally she decided to go to Moscow,
meet Stalin and tell him about her problems. She asked her relatives
to take care of her children and went to Moscow with the help of Kuka
from the village of Sarushen.

The next problem was to meet Stalin. She wrote a number of letters
but then she decided to meet the leader personally. "Surveillance"
began to find out when Stalin arrives at the Kremlin, when he leaves,
and in what car. The Armenian woman did a desperate thing – she
waited until the motorcade was near and rushed in front of one of
the cars. Stalin got out of the car and received her on the spot.

Nubar told that she had complained to the leader in Armenian. What
happened next? Till the sunset Nubar took the plane to Astrakhan and
fetched her beloved husband home to Karabakh.

They live there for some time and in the 1950’s they move to Baku
and live there until the beginning of the movement and leave for
Novorossiysk.

The family of the Armenian refugees got a warm welcome there. The
city hall gave them land, built a big house, provided them with
fertilizers. The mayor helped them bring nurslings of grapes, apricots,
peaches from Armenia and plant an orchard.

This is the Odyssey of long liver Nubar Aghabekyan: Kars-Karabakh-Baku-
Novorossiysk. Her 14 children also had a lot of children who are now
living in different parts of the world.

Nubar Aghabekyan died at the age of 115 in 2005. The city hall
organized the funeral and erected a memorial arrow on her grave.

Nubar’s things, including the golden belt weighing 2.8 kg, a lot of
silver jewelry and old clothes are displayed at the museum of the city.

International monitoring missions intend to announce preliminary results of
monitoring of presidential election in Armenia on February 20

2008-02-19 13:25:00

ArmInfo. The international observer missions intend to announce the
preliminary results of the monitoring of the presidential election
in Armenia on February 20, expert of ODIHR/OSCE monitoring mission
Ivan Godarski told ArmInfo.

The international monitoring mission includes missions of the Bureau
for Democratic Institutes and Human Rights of OSCE, OSCE PA, PACE and
the European Parliament. Vice Chairman of OSCE PA Ann-Marie Lizin,
Head of PACE delegation John Prescott, Head of the delegation of
the European Parliament Mari-Ann Isler Beguin, as well as Head of
ODIHR long-term mission, ambassador H. Arens. The final report of the
monitoring mission will expectedly announced two month later after
the election.

Serzh Sargsyan: We won’t let some people try to discredit presidential
election

2008-02-17 16:55:00

ArmInfo. "We won’t let some people try to discredit the presidential
election", Armenian Prime Minister, Leader of the Republican Party of
Armenia (RPA), a presidential candidate, Serzh Sargsyan said at a rally
in Yerevan, Sunday.

"We’ll gain victory and this will be the victory of each citizen of
Armenia and Diaspora", Sargsyan said. He stressed it is not a secret
that there are numerous unsettled problems in Armenia – poverty,
unemployment, corruption, etc. "We realize how difficult these problems
are and we know the ways to their solution", he noted. "We are the only
political force on the Armenian political arena to solve the state’s
problems without serious political distresses. We have a will and
opportunities for this, as well as a large army of supporters and
today’s multi-thousand rally proves this", Sargsyan said. He added that
they do not overestimate their strength the way the participants of
Armenian ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosyan did on Feb 16. "We have
invited you, the majority, here to let you make sure finally that they
have nothing to do in power", Sargsyan said.

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Feb 15 2008

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister meets OSCE MG co-chair Bernard Fassier

[ 15 Feb 2008 12:46 ]

Baku. Tamara Grigoryeva-APA. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister paying a
working visit to Paris held an unofficial meeting with OSCE Minsk
Group co-chair Bernard Fassier, Bernard Fassier’s office told APA

Though there are presidential elections in the two countries, Mr.
Fassier appreciated that the talks continues on the settlement of
Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov and Bernard Fassier will meet today again. The settlement
of Nagorno Karabakh conflict is intended to be discussed at the
meeting.