Who is Azerbaijan trying to assure in high alertness of his army?

20.06.2007
PanARMENIAN.Net

“Armed forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan are rather equipped and trained to settle the Karabakh problem by power of arms. We only need president’s order for it. However, not all possibilities of peaceful solution are expired yet. We think the peace method is the best variant to liberate occupied territories,” Spokesman for the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan Eldar Sabiroglu stated, commenting on statements made by local public figures that it is necessary to forcefully settle the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

The Spokesman for the Azeri Defense Ministry called groundless some analytical reports in foreign press, according to which the army of Azerbaijan is weak and is not ready to fulfill successful military operations. “Those statements carry political hidden motives and do not reflect the reality. Our army is equipped with modern armaments, it has a high level of military discipline and moral spirit of servicemen,” he underlined, “Novosti-Armenia” reports.

During debates held in the Johns Hopkins University, Washington, senior associate at the American Foreign Policy Council Wayne Merry described Azerbaijan’s constant threats to start blitzkrieg as unreal. “Nagorno Karabakh is a natural stronghold, which was consolidated by the Armenian army. Even the U.S. army will face hardships in case of attacking it,” the expert said. “The Armenian Armed Forces excel their rival several times. It’s not a secret that Armenia has an army while Azerbaijan has ‘armed forces’ only,” Merry said. In his opinion, in case of resumption of war Azerbaijan will hope for human resources while Armenia will rely on armament and efficiency. Armenians will defend Karabakh while Azerbaijan will have to conquer it, what is unreal, he added. Taking into account these factors Merry considers that Azerbaijan will never succeed in settling the Nagorno Karabakh conflict by force. According to him, Baku’s military rhetoric constitutes a threat of war.

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May 28: Day of First Republic of Armenia

28.05.2007
PanARMENIAN.Net

On May 28 Armenia marks the Day of the First Republic.

Having defeated the Turkish army in Sardarapat May 26 the Armenian troops succeeded in stopping the Turkish intervention in the Transcaucasus and rescue Armenia from complete elimination. The Armenian Republic was proclaimed the Armenian National Council May 28, 1918 in Tiflis after the decline of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic.

May 29 the western and eastern bureaus of ARF Dashnaktsutyun appointed Hovhannes Kajaznuni the first-ever Prime Minister of independent Armenia with Yerevan as capital. The last Prime Minister was Simon Vratsyan.

The Republic of Armenia had existed for two years in all. December 2, 1920, the troops of the 11th Red Army entered Yerevan and the republic became soviet.

In 1991 the Armenian SSR proclaimed independence and the parliament announced May 28 a legal holiday.

A monument to Sardarapat battle heroes was inaugurated in 1968.

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Armenian court sanctions ex-foreign minister's arrest

10/ 05/ 2007

YEREVAN, May 10 (RIA Novosti) - A court in Yerevan sanctioned Thursday the arrest of a former Armenian foreign minister who was detained May 8 and is facing money laundering charges.

Alexander Arzumanyan and the country's former deputy defense minister Vaan Shirkhanyan, founders of the public organization, Civil Disobedience Movement, had agreed with Levon Markos, a Russian national, who has been wanted for financial fraud since 2005, to transfer and launder money in April. It was established that on April 27 the three offenders transferred $180,000 to nine front parties through a bank in Yerevan.

Last Saturday investigators found foreign currency in the two former politician's flats, including $55,400 in cash in Arzumanyan's apartment. An investigation is underway.

Arzumanyan was Armenia's foreign minister from November 1996 through February 1998, and Shirkhanyan held the post of deputy defense minister from 1994 through 1999.

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Armenia and Karabakh mark V-Day and Shoushi Liberation Day on May 9

09.05.2007
PanARMENIAN.Net

On May 9 Armenia marks the V-Day and the Day of Yerkrapah (Union of Volunteers of the Karabakh war). In connection with these holidays a number of events will be held in the republic. Particularly events of placing wreaths in “Yerablur” pantheon and Victory Park, as well as attending to the “Mother Armenia” museum are scheduled, Defense Ministry Spokesman colonel Seyran Shahsuvaryan told the PanARMENIAN.Net. Participants of events with a minute of silence will honor the memory of those who perished their lives during battles, after which a military parade will be held. A concert will be organized in the Republic Square, which will be concluded by fireworks.

On May 9 Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh mark not only as V-Day in the World War II, but also as Shoushi Liberation Day, as well as the foundation day of the NKR Defense Army.

On May 9 in the Revival Square of Stepanakert a military parade of NKR Defense Army will be held. After it the Armenian delegation at the head of President Robert Kocharian together with NKR leadership and President Arkadi Ghukassian will visit the Memorial Complex of Stepanakert. They will place wreaths to the monument in memory of those who died during the war. An event of placing flowers to the tank-monument that first attacked Shoushi will be organized in Shoushi. In the center of Shoushi officials will also lay flowers to the monument of Vazgen Sargsyan, military leader and Prime Minister of Armenia, who was killed during Armenian National Assembly’s session in 1999.

Besides the Center of Crafts will be opened in Shoushi. Also a photo exhibition entitled “Shoushi with Children’s eyes” will be held. Participants of events will attend the St. Kazanchetsost Church of Shoushi. The “Shoushi Revival” Fund will organize a number of events in Shoushi. Particularly it is going to open a movie theater in the town and conduct the “Golden Apricot” film festival. In the evening of May 8 video projection and presentation of the new general layout, as well as the new coat of arms and Fund’s plans for reconstructing the town will be shown on the walls of Shoushi fortress. In the evening President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Arkadi Ghukassian will held a reception. At the end a holiday concert with participation of local and invited singers will be organized in the Revival Square of Stepanakert. A mass firework will conclude the concert.

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Armenian Opposition Condemns Ex-Minister’s Arrest

Tuesday 8, May 2007
Armenialiberty
By Astghik Bedevian

The article below shows how democracy can be manipulated by those in power. If democracy is manipulated then it is no longer a democracy except on paper.

Armenia’s leading opposition groups condemned on Tuesday the overnight arrest of one of the two prominent government critics accused of being illegally financed by a Russian businessman allegedly plotting regime change in the country.

Former Foreign Minister Aleksandr Arzumanian was taken into custody late Monday two days after officers of the National Security Service (NSS) found and confiscated $55,400 in his Yerevan apartment. The NSS says the cash was part of a $180,000 payment allegedly wired to Arzumanian and another former government minister, Vahan Shirkhanian, by Levon Markos, a Russian citizen of Armenian descent who is at odds with the authorities in Yerevan.

NSS investigators on Tuesday again interrogated Shirkhanian but refrained from detaining him. Shirkhanian, who was Armenia’ de facto deputy prime minister in 1999-2000, told RFE/RL afterwards the he refused to answer any questions from them. “The interrogation was very short,” he said. “I went there as a witness [in the case] and came away as a witness.”

The NSS searched Shirkhanian’s apartment and confiscated $28,000 on Saturday. In a statement on Monday, the Armenian successor to the Soviet KGB said he and Arzumanian received the sums after meeting Markos in Moscow late last month. Neither men has been formally charged yet under an article of the Armenian Criminal Code that deals with attempts to “legalize revenues obtained by criminal means.”

Both oppositionists have admitted visiting the Russian capital recently but denied meeting Markos or receiving any cash from him. Arzumanian insists that the confiscated cash was earned by himself, while Shirkhanian claims to have received $80,000 from Moscow-based “friends” to organize his daughter’s wedding party and rent office space for a non-governmental organization headed by him.

Markos fled Armenia in 2005 to avoid prosecution on what he and his friends consider trumped-up fraud charges. The NSS statement said he is “pursuing some goals in the pre-election period” but did not specify whether that has any connection with a “civil resistance movement” launched by Arzumanian and Shirkhanian late last year.

According to Karapet Rubinian, another movement leader and prominent representative of Armenia’s former leadership, the NSS told Arzumanian that he is arrested because of refusing to show up for fresh questioning on Monday and for talking to the media. Rubinian claimed that the arrest is illegal and unjustified.

“This political persecution has nothing to do with the [May 12 parliamentary] elections,” Rubinian told journalists. “The authorities have already distributed parliament seats. Their main worry is post-election processes.”

He was speaking after an emergency meeting of top representatives of the country’s main opposition forces, including the Orinats Yerkir, Zharangutyun, Hanrapetutyun, and People’s parties. They are expected to issue a joint statement demanding that the authorities immediately release Arzumanian and punish those who have initiated the “illegal actions” against the former foreign minister.

“The society must not let them do what they want,” said Vazgen Manukian of the National Democratic Union (AZhM). “Today they caught Alik [Arzumanian,] tomorrow they will catch others.”

“Such actions will happen as long as power in Armenia can not be changed by means of elections,” agreed Raffi Hovannisian, the Zharangutyun leader and another former foreign minister. “Aleksandr Arzumanian’s case is not a separate incident. It’s a challenge. The action taken against him mirrors the pettiness of Armenia’s rulers.”

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ARMENIAN SECURITY SERVICES SUSPECTED OF SPYING ON OPPOSITION LEADER

Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Eurasia Daily Monitor
By Emil Danielyan

Armenia’s intensifying parliamentary election campaign has been jolted by a scandal over the secret recording of a recent confidential meeting between a top opposition leader and a Yerevan-based Western diplomat. Details of that conversation have been controversially disclosed by a pro-establishment newspaper, in what is widely seen as a government effort to discredit Artur Baghdasarian, the former parliament speaker whose Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) party is a major opposition contender in the May 12 elections.

Baghdasarian’s meeting with the number two figure at the British Embassy in Armenia, held at a popular Yerevan restaurant last February, reportedly focused on the authorities’ handling of the upcoming vote. The Russian-language paper, Golos Armenii, claims to have received audio of that conversation from unknown individuals, publishing much of its purported transcript on April 21 and April 26. The disclosed content of the conversation was hardly sensational, with Baghdasarian reportedly urging the European Union to express serious concern at what he described as government plans to rig the elections. He reportedly stated that they can already be considered fraudulent because the government is seriously restricting opposition access to the electronic media and intimidating and bribing voters.

The diplomat was quoted as responding that the EU is unlikely to do that at the moment because the Armenian leadership is very careful and canny in trying to retain control over the country’s next parliament. “I suppose that they are smarter and wiser than we are … There has to be some blatant violation in order for the EU to come up with such a statement,” he said, according to Golos Armenii. The diplomat was also said to have complained that of all major EU states having diplomatic missions in Yerevan, only Britain and Germany seriously care about Armenia’s democratization.

Orinats Yerkir and its leader swiftly denounced the secret recording, illegal under Armenian law, saying that it is part of a “well-prepared smear campaign” waged by the ruling regime against the party. They argued that the newspaper report did not expose anything new or extraordinary as Baghdasarian has repeatedly stressed in his public pronouncements the need for Armenia to finally have an election recognized as free and fair by the West. The British Embassy also condemned the recording as “dishonest and deplorable.” In an April 26 statement, the embassy said British diplomats regularly meet with a wide range of Armenian politicians in order to have “as complete and objective a view as possible of the political process.” That is a “normal and accepted practice of any embassy anywhere in the world,” it said. Both the embassy and Baghdasarian charged that the content of the conversation in question was distorted but did not elaborate.

Golos Armenii and other supporters of President Robert Kocharian directed their fury at Baghdasarian, saying that he behaved dishonestly and unpatriotically by seeking EU criticism of his country months before election day. Kocharian went further, accusing his former protégé of committing high treason on April 27. “For me, this is a real manifestation of treason,” he told students at Yerevan State University. “That manifestation is all the more ugly given that it was done at his own initiative.” Baghdasarian’s response to the attack was equally strongly worded. “The traitors,” he told reporters, “are those who rig elections and disgrace the fatherland.”

The bitter exchange was quite a change from the relationship that existed between the two men before Orinats Yerkir was forced to quit Armenia’s governing coalition one year ago. Kocharian had gone to great lengths to ensure that Baghdasarian would be elected parliament speaker after Orinats Yerkir finished second in the last general elections, held in May 2003. That fuelled speculation that Kocharian could handpick Baghdasarian, now 38, as his successor after completing his second and final term in office in early 2008. Their personal rapport subsequently deteriorated due to Orinats Yerkir’s growing criticism of the government (in which it was represented) and conciliatory line on the Armenian opposition.

The populist party, which has a pro-Western foreign policy agenda, is now thought to be one of the country’s most popular opposition groups. The latest attempt to discredit it suggests that Kocharian and Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian are worried about its possible strong showing in next week’s polls. Yet the disclosure of Baghdasarian’s meeting with the British diplomat is unlikely to seriously affect the ambitious ex-speaker’s popularity rating, not least because few Armenians buy into state propaganda. Instead, it increases the possibility of Orinats Yerkir’s involvement in post-election street protests planned by other, more radical opposition forces.

The scandal has also cast a fresh spotlight on the role of the National Security Service (NSS), the Armenian successor to the KGB, in political processes in the country. The feared security agency marks the anniversaries of the establishment of Bolshevik Russia’s VChK secret police as a professional holiday, and its function of political policing has been increasingly obvious in recent years. Kocharian’s office, for example, revealed last December the existence of a hitherto unknown NSS division charged with protecting “constitutional order.” Many Armenian politicians, journalists and other government critics have long suspected that their phones are illegally wiretapped by the NSS. Few of them doubt that NSS agents secretly recorded Baghdasarian’s meeting. Kocharian sought to disprove this dominant view, saying that another opposition leader, Aram Karapetian, got hold of audio of the conversation before Golos Armenii. The radical oppositionist, who was interrogated by the NSS on April 25, believes that the ex-KGB deliberately sent the recording to his office to deflect suspicions about its involvement.

In any case, the whole affair is a serious cause for concern for local commentators, human rights activists and probably Yerevan-based Western diplomats. As the pro-opposition newspaper Zhamanak Yerevan editorialized on April 26, “Nobody can now be sure that there are no ‘bugs’ planted in their apartment, that their phone conversations are not wire-tapped, that their every step is not watched.”

(Haykakan Zhamanak, April 28; RFE/RL Armenia Report, April 27, April 23; Golos Armenii, April 21, April 26; Statement by the British embassy, April 26; Zhamanak Yerevan, April 26)

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Top General Set To Become New Defense Minister

Tuesday 24, April 2007
Armenia Liberty
By Astghik Bedevian

President Robert Kocharian was poised to appoint Colonel-General Mikael Harutiunian, the longtime chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff, as Armenia’s new defense on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, who held the key post until being named to head the ruling cabinet, told RFE/RL in the morning that a corresponding presidential decree will be signed and made public later in the day.

Kocharian’s office made no such announcements as of 7 pm Yerevan time. Major presidential decisions are often publicized just minutes before the main news program of state television, which airs at 9 pm local time.

Harutiunian effectively confirmed his impending appointment as he spoke with RFE/RL during a morning visit to the genocide memorial in Yerevan. Asked whether he plans any changes in the military, he said, “The army is a structure that always needs change. But if everyone is doing a good job, why should you change anything?”

Harutiunian has already performed defense minister’s duties since Sarkisian replaced the late Prime Minister Andranik Markarian on April 4. The 61-year-old general served in the Soviet armed forces before moving to Armenia and joining its newly formed army in 1992, at the height of the war with Azerbaijan. He was appointed as chief of army staff and first deputy defense minister by then President Levon Ter-Petrosian two years later.

Kocharian was widely expected to appoint Harutiunian on the last day of a 20-day constitutional deadline for the formation of Sarkisian’s de facto caretaker cabinet, which has to step down right after the May 12 parliamentary elections. He re-appointed earlier this month all other government ministers, who resigned following Markarian’s sudden death on March 25.

Few observers believe that Harutiunian will be re-appointed as minister in the event of the Sarkisian-led Republican Party’s victory in the elections. Armenian press reports have said Seyran Ohanian, commander of Nagorno-Karabakh’s army, and former Deputy Defense Minister Artur Aghabekian are more likely to get the job.

Aghabekian resigned from his post and was discharged from the Armed Forces in February to contest the elections as a candidate of another governing party, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). The move fueled speculation that Sarkisian will pick Aghabekian as the next defense minister in exchange for a Dashnaktsutyun endorsement of his anticipated presidential bid.

“We congratulate and wish [Harutiunian] success, but continue to believe that Artur Aghabekian would make the best defense minister,” Hrant Markarian, a top Dashnaktsutyun leader, told RFE/RL. “I think they don’t find it appropriate to give [the post] to Dashnaktsutyun in the pre-election period.”

Markarian said Aghabekian will “likely” become minister after the elections, but insisted that his party has not cut any power-sharing deals with Kocharian and Sarkisian yet.

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Karabakh: U.S. State Department “revised” its mistake in annual report of human rights

20.04.2007
PanARMENIAN.Net

The U.S. Department of State has revised the mistaken assertion, within the Armenia section of its recently released annual human rights report, that, “Armenia continues to occupy the Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno Karabakh and seven surrounding Azerbaijani territories,” the PanARMENIAN.Net was told in the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The amended language, released this week, has been posted on the Department's website. It reads as follows: “Armenian forces occupy large portions of Azerbaijan territory adjacent to Nagorno Karabakh. Armenian officials maintain that they “do not occupy” Nagorno Karabakh itself.” The Azerbaijan section, which included nearly identical language, has yet to be revised.

“We take note of the fact that the State Department has responded to our concern that the report’s mischaracterization of Nagorno Karabakh’s status would be detrimental to the U.S. government’s role as an impartial mediator of the Minsk Group negotiations. We remain concerned that the amended text continues to fall short of accurately describing the situation, as well as by the fact that the Azerbaijan section of the report continues to make incorrect assertions, thus making its text inconsistent with the State Department’s own revision of the Armenia section,” ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian said.

ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian, in an April 3, 2007 letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, expressed concerns that, “such statements fundamentally misrepresent the well-documented reality in the region, contradict the Department’s previous human rights reports, and undermine the credibility of the United States as an impartial arbiter destined to a leadership role in the OSCE Minsk Group peace process.” “These unprecedented assertions are both factually inaccurate and counter-productive to our government’s aim of reaching a durable resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. To say that Nagorno Karabakh is an Azerbaijani territory and that Armenia occupies Nagorno Karabakh and other territories is to ignore the very fundamentals of this conflict. These statements only serve to send the wrong message to the Azerbaijani side and further complicate the peace negotiations,” Ken Hachikian said.

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IT for Decision 2007: Information Technology should speed up CEC results

Issue #15 (235), April 13, 2007
ArmeniaNow
By Sara Khojoyan
ArmeniaNow reporter

An automated system to be introduced in Armenia for the first time in the upcoming parliamentary elections will enable the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) to work more effectively and transparently.

Modern technology will make collecting election data a matter of minutes.

The “Elections” system tested at the CEC on April 12 is designed to ensure the automation of the electoral process, including the stages of preparations, organization and holding.

The novelty will enable electoral districts connected to the computer network to transfer to the CEC and receive any information or data in a quick manner.

At present, 28 of the 41 electoral districts are already switched to the network. The remaining 13 will connect to the network before May 12. The system will enable the CEC to monitor online what is happening in the computer of one electoral district or another.

“Elections” has been created through a state budget funding of 78 million drams (about $220,000) and through channels provided by ArmenTel. Software solutions for the project have been made available by the Yerevan Scientific-Research Institute of Mathematical Machines.

“The preparation of the program began still in 2005 when a task was set to create a system for a quick transfer of vote results from electoral districts,” CEC Chairman Garegin Azaryan said.

According to CEC officials, in the previous elections electoral districts waited for protocols to arrive from their respective polling precincts (whose number was 1,923 countrywide).

Thereafter, all protocols were transported to the CEC where the final summary of results was done.

The introduction of the system, according to the CEC members, will provide an opportunity to work at an incomparably faster pace.

At the time of the testing the document required by the CEC arrived at its destination within two minutes.

“The connection between the electoral districts will make it possible to learn about the voting in all regions on an hourly basis,” CEC Computer Department Head Yelena Ayvazyan said.

Due to the new system, as soon as any protocol with result summary arrives at the electoral district from a polling station, results will be entered into a network and simultaneously will appear on the screen installed at the CEC.

Simultaneously, the system will re-summarize the results and will show the dynamics in the change of results.

Additionally, the system will enable television companies and online publication to show live or upload on the website the data immediately as they get them from the CEC.

“If the data coming from electoral districts through the automated ‘Elections’ system are shown on television live, then we won’t have something new to say every three hours, since if we do we will be repeating what a television audience has already seen due to this system,” Azaryan said.

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Blasts Hit Offices Of Armenian Pro-Presidential Party

YEREVAN, April 12, 2007 (RFE/RL) --- Two explosions ripped through the offices of the pro-presidential Prosperous Armenia party early this morning in Yerevan, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported.

No one was injured in the blasts, which caused damage to two of the party's offices in the north of the Armenian capital.

"We think that this provocation was aimed at creating a tense political situation," Prosperous Armenia spokesman Baghdasar Mherian told RFE/RL. "Prosperous Armenia declares that it is against extremists and calls on everyone to conduct its political battle in a civilized way."

Mherian said the party has not been receiving any threats.

Armenian President Robert Kocharian ordered law enforcement agencies to swiftly investigate the incident.

Prosperous Armenia was founded in 2005 by wealthy businessman Gagik Tsarukian and backs the president.

It is tipped to be the leading challenger to the ruling Republican Party in the May parliamentary elections.

Tensions between the two rival parties have increased in recent days, with scuffles reported between campaigning activists.

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SERGEY IVANOV: ARMENIA IS RUSSIA'S STRATEGIC PARTNER

"If you ask my personal view, I can answer since I am familiar very well with the matter - I have often visited Armenia in last six or seven years of my work at defense ministerial post. I think Armenia is our strategic partner. This is gauged not only by military and political interest", he said.

Ivanov also stressed that Russia and Armenia have been tied by common culture for centuries.

YEREVAN, April 11. /ARKA/. Armenia is Russia's strategic partner, Russian First Deputy PM Sergey Ivanov said Wednesday answering journalists' question whether Armenia is Russia's strategic partner or stronghold.

"If you ask my personal view, I can answer since I am familiar very well with the matter - I have often visited Armenia in last six or seven years of my work at defense ministerial post. I think Armenia is our strategic partner. This is gauged not only by military and political interest", he said.

Ivanov also stressed that Russia and Armenia have been tied by common culture for centuries.

Speaking about military cooperation, he said that Russia has a military base in Armenia. In his words, the troops deployed in Armenia feel themselves comfortable here and secure both Russian and Armenian interests.

Ivanov said that the military base presence here is not directed against other states, but "ensure our joint security, since we are CSTO members".

He said Armenia and Russia are partners and allies and pointed out Russian Defense Ministry's school in Armenia as convincing evidence of that.

In his words, he together with Armenian Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan visited the school today.

Ivanov expressed gratitude to Armenian leadership and to Serge Sargsyan personally for their care of the school.

He thinks the school is in very good state and Russian military and their families feel themselves comfortable here.

Ivanov also pointed out that besides military cooperation there are also economic and cultural ties and Russian language is a factor making these ties closer.

The Armenian Prime Minister, in his turn, said that the statement about "stronghold" a mere misunderstanding.

"Somebody wanted to take advantage from this and the man who said that wanted to say something good, but said the first thing that came to his mind", Sargsyan said.

Russia's State Duma Speaker Boris Grizlov said during his visit to Armenia in December 2004 that "Armenia is Russia's stronghold in South Caucasus". M.V.-0--

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Will Armenia turn orange?

11/ 04/ 2007
RIA Novosti

MOSCOW. (Political analyst Nikolai Vavilkin for RIA Novosti) - This year will be one of the most important in Armenia's post-Soviet independent history.

With the parliamentary election set for May 2007 and the presidential election for March 2008, this South Caucasian republic is in for 12 months of intense election battles.

The winner of the presidential race could be determined by the parliamentary election. Under the 2005 constitution, the party that wins control of parliament will nominate the prime minister and the speaker, and will have an opportunity to fight for the presidency in 2008.

Presidential elections in all former Soviet republics carry the risk of political upheavals. There has not been a change of power at all in some of them, including Kazakhstan and other Central Asian republics. But elections in Ukraine and Georgia were accompanied by upheavals later called "orange" or "color" revolutions, with public clashes, turbulent demonstrations, and a transfer of power to a new, less legitimate government.

When election results are contested in a former Soviet republic, the West, represented by state and supra-national democratic institutions, usually denounces the excessive use of administrative resources by the ruling party. Partly with that as a justification, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the European Union, the administrations of the United States and EU countries, and other Western agencies invariably take the side of the force that contests the election results.

The pro-government political parties in Armenia appear to have the strongest positions now. Many believe that they will share victory in the parliamentary elections and therefore posts in the government and the leadership of the new parliament. This is quite likely because the current Armenian opposition parties are dependent on their leaders, and the general public knows very little, if anything, about their programs.

The forces that rely on Western political and social values and development paths stand apart from the other opposition parties. One of them is the party of the former speaker of parliament, Artur Bagdasaryan. Another is the movement led by Raffi Ovannisyan, former minister of foreign affairs and a U.S. national who has become an Armenian citizen.

Inspired by the example of neighboring countries, the new pro-Western forces in Armenia attend all meetings of international organizations, tirelessly proclaim their commitment to European values, and complain that Armenia is so far not up to the European mark.

European organizations give such figures a pat on the back and try to involve them in their activities. Some of these figures have earned quite a reputation, while others are staying in the shadows, and their involvement in the work of foreign organizations has so far remained unnoticed by the Armenian, let alone Russian, public.

Shavarsh Kocharyan, a deputy in the Armenian parliament, was on the Armenian delegation to PACE for several years and was removed in 2006. This, however, has not stopped him from maintaining, and possibly strengthening, his ties with that influential European body. Since leaving, Kocharyan has been invited to Strasbourg three times, attending PACE meetings on trips paid for by the organization.

The heads of the Council of Europe's observer missions at elections are traditionally appointed by one of the CE parties on a rotating basis. When the head of a mission for the Armenian elections was selected, it was the turn of the European Democrats, a party dominated by ethnic Russians. Many expected that the post would be given to a Russian, but the PACE Bureau changed the rules of the game, and the post was given to Leo Platvoet of the Netherlands.

A change in Armenia's policy, or a political destabilization of the republic, could undermine Russia's influence in the region, which largely depends on its alliance with Armenia. Therefore, Russia needs Armenia to remain stable and stick to the same policies after the parliamentary and presidential elections. It will also benefit if the forces wishing to strengthen the alliance with Russia remain at the country's helm.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

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French and German colleagues congratulated S. Sargsyan

07.04.2007
PanARMENIAN.Net

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has sent a message of congratulations to Serzh Sargsyan on his appointment as the Prime Minister of Armenia, the RA Government Press Office reports. Dominique de Villepin’s message in particular says, “ I congratulate you on your appointment as the Prime Minister of Armenia. I am sure you will strengthen the work of your predecessor and continue to direct Armenia through the way of economic and political reforms with the same determination.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also has sent a message of congratulations. The message says, “Dear Mr. Prime Minister, I congratulate you on your appointment in this higher post from the bottom of my heart and wish you all the best and success. I am sure Armenia will continue reforms in democracy, formation of jural state and strengthening market economy. The German government will assist Armenia in this way as much as possible.”

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Analysis: “Pro-Russian” PM? Look again at Sargsyan’s record

April 07, 2007
ArmeniaNow
By Aris Ghazinyan
ArmeniaNow reporter

Thus, Armenia’s [then] defense minister practically for the first time since 1995 stated that not only Russia and the OCST, but also the United States and NATO were guarantors of Armenia’s security.

The appointment of Defense Minister Serzh Sargsyan as prime minister is taken in the context of the new strengthening of his position on the internal political stage and is regarded against the backdrop of his presumed nomination for president.
In this connection, some analysts tend to believe that Sargsyan’s stronger position means simultaneous strengthening of Russian influence in Armenia. In reality, though not everything is that unequivocal.

The new Prime Minister is not so unequivocally “pro-Russian”

No doubt, for a long time Sargsyan has been perceived as a ‘pro-Russian’ politician, and to date he co-chairs the Russian-Armenian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation. Furthermore, the post of the defense minister, in its turn, implies closer cooperation with Moscow regardless of who the minister is. Russian military presence in the territory of independent Armenia is sanctioned by the Interstate Treaty “On the Russian Military Base in Armenia” signed in 1995. It was also stated then that Armenian-Russian relations had acquired a nature of long-term strategic partnership.

This circumstance apparently gives some politicians and experts grounds to perceive Sargsyan’s figure as ‘pro-Russian’. Meanwhile, much has changed in this domain especially since 2003. At that time – three years into Sargsyan’s post as MOD – official Yerevan made a decision to send its military contingent to Kosovo, which for the first time caused Moscow concern.

At NATO’s Istanbul summit in 2004 the region of the South Caucasus was included among priority zones for the North-Atlantic alliance. Remarkably, immediately after that, in the same year, Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan made a decision setting up an interdepartmental commission to coordinate the process of the implementation of the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO. Moreover, in April 2004, Armenia’s Ministry of Defense made a decision to dispatch a small military contingent to Iraq, which provoked overt indignation in Moscow. The parliament of Armenia voted in favor of that decision in December of that year.

On June 9-10, 2005, Sargsyan, who was also the Secretary of the President-attached National Security Council, met with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Brussels and on behalf of the republic’s President Robert Kocharyan handed over to him a “Document of Presentation” of IPAP. It was then that the work on the development of Armenia’s National Security Strategy began.

During the period of the existence of independent statehood official Yerevan repeatedly came up with strategic settings, but no corresponding document was adopted by Armenian authorities. It was only after IPAP with NATO was submitted and approved in 2005 that joint work with the Alliance on the development of a national security strategy and a military doctrine began. It is this plan that promises to become the basis for the program of reforming Armenia’s armed forces by 2015.

A three-day seminar entitled “Security in the South Caucasus” began in Yerevan on October 6, 2005. The event was held as part of the Rose-Roth program of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly jointly with the National Assembly of Armenia. In this respect, the report presented by Serzh Sargsyan on October 7 should be considered as basic.

“In order to have a system of stable security Armenia is being actively involved in different security systems. Today, Armenia is cooperating within the frameworks of the Organization of the Collective Security Treaty (OCST) and NATO, which promotes the establishment of possibilities for interaction of the country’s armed forces on different international military standards. Therefore, the guarantee of Armenia’s ensured security is both the Armenian-Russian military alliance on a bilateral basis and within the framework of the OCST, and the development of cooperation with NATO structures and the United States.”

Thus, Armenia’s [then] defense minister practically for the first time since 1995 stated that not only Russia and the OCST, but also the United States and NATO were guarantors of Armenia’s security.

Thus, it is not quite correct to speak of Serzh Sargsyan as of an unambiguously ‘pro-Russian’ figure on the threshold of parliamentary and later presidential elections in Armenia. Moreover, the chronicle of the recent years shows that it is he who is one of the most consistent expressers of the interest of the United States and NATO in Armenia.

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Russian prime minister: Serzh Sargsyan is proponent of Armenian-Russian relations’ further development

04/06/2007
Regnum

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov congratulated Serzh Sargsyan on his appointment as Armenian Prime Minister.

As REGNUM is told at the Armenian government press office, Mikhail Fradkov noted in his letter that the newly appointed Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan is a proponent of further development of the Armenian-Russian relations. “We hope that your effective activity aimed at development of the Russian-Armenian relations will be continued on the post of the Armenian prime minister,” the letter says.

On the case of appointing Serzh Sargsyan as prime minister, he was congratulated by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. “The European Commission expects continuation of the harmonic partnership with Armenia. It is still a big challenge in the foreign policy to continue effort for peaceful Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, and the Commission is ready to assist Armenia and the OSCE MG in this issue,” a letter from Jose Manuel Barroso says.

Permanent news address: www.regnum.ru/english/809044.html
18:57

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Sarkisian Poised To Be Named Armenian PM

Tuesday 3, April 2007
Armenia Liberty
By Irina Hovannisian

President Robert Kocharian looked set on Tuesday to appoint Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian as Armenia’s new prime minister after the latter was formally nominated for the post by his governing Republican Party (HHK).

The HHK’s board unanimously approved the nomination at a meeting late on Monday. A party spokesman said the next day that a presidential decree naming Sarkisian prime minister as a forgone conclusion.

The official, Eduard Sharmazanov, pointed to an agreement reportedly reached by Kocharian and leaders of the HHK and two other parties represented in his government the day after the May 25 death of Prime Minister Andranik Markarian. “On March 26 President Kocharian held a meeting with representatives of the political majority, during which it was decided that the Republican Party will continue to control post of prime minister and that its board will nominate a relevant candidacy,” he said.

“The Republican Party has a number of ministers in the government, but I believe the most suitable person for this post is Serzh Sarkisian,” Tigran Torosian, the parliament speaker and a senior HHK member, told reporters after the board meeting. Sarkisian’s candidacy is also supported by the two other governing parties, he said.

Kocharian’s consultations with his top political allies coincided with the collective resignation of Armenia’s entire cabinet of ministers. Under the Armenian constitution, Kocharian must pick Markarian’s replacement on Wednesday at the latest.

Some observers he is trying to delay the appointment as much as possible in order to make sure that it is not discussed and approved by Armenia’s outgoing and largely moribund parliament. The constitution gives the newly appointed prime minister 20 days to form a cabinet, which will have another 20 days to submit its program to the National Assembly. That means the current assembly will be unable to debate and vote on that program before the May 12 parliamentary elections.

The new premier and his cabinet must step down immediately after the elections in any case.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

ARMENIA: POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY FOLLOWS PREMIER’S DEATH

3/26/07
Eurasianet
By Marianna Grigoryan

The sudden death of Prime Minister Andranik Markarian on March 25 from heart failure has sparked considerable political unease in Armenia, with residents expressing concern over what implications it could have for parliamentary elections just a month and a half away.

"We have lost a statesman, a colleague, a friend who headed the government for nearly seven years in the 15-and-a-half year history of our independence, and those seven years have been the best years of our state," President Robert Kocharian told cabinet members on March 26, local media outlets reported.

As dictated by the Constitution, the Armenian government resigned on March 26, to be reformed under a new premier. A new prime minister will be appointed within 10 days and a new government will be set up within 20 days. President Kocharian has asked ministers to continue their work until then and directed that Markarian’s funeral be held on March 28, which has been designated as an official day of mourning.

Already speculation has begun about who will likely succeed the 55-year-old Markarian, Armenia’s longest serving prime minister and president of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA). Most observers see Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, arguably the former cabinet’s most influential member, as the frontrunner for the post. The defense minister, who served as chairman of the board of the ruling Republican Party, was named the party’s acting chairman following Markarian’s death.

In a March 26 statement, Armen Rustamian, a representative of the Supreme Council of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Party, a fellow member of Armenia’s ruling coalition with the Republican Party, affirmed that his party would support Sarkisian for prime minister, the Regnum news agency reported.

"According to the 2003 agreement, the prime minister’s portfolio belongs to the RPA, and for this reason the head of the government must be a representative of the Republican Party," Rustamian said, in reference to the coalition formed following Armenia’s last parliamentary elections. "If the government decides to nominate Serzh Sarkisian for this post, then the ARF will support this candidacy."

Inside Republican Party headquarters, the atmosphere has been tense since Markarian’s death was announced. Flowers surround a photograph of the late prime minister placed in the center of the party’s office. In a televised speech to party members, Parliament Speaker and Republican Party Deputy Chairman Tigran Torosian called Markarian’s death "a huge loss for all of us."

"He was not only a great political figure and statesman, but also a person who was always ready to listen even to his opponent, even to an ordinary person, a passerby, a man who was always the embodiment of tolerance and care for people," Torosian said.

In comments to the government, Kocharian, who has no official party affiliation, appeared to echo those concerns. Markarian, he told cabinet members, "left us at a very crucial time, and as the authorities, we must provide the correct solutions for finding a way to get out of the current situation."

Particular attention has already begun to focus on how the appointment of Markarian’s successor will influence relations between the Republican Party and the increasingly popular Prosperous Armenia party, already cited as the frontrunner for the May 12 parliamentary vote in some public opinion polls. Opposition and pro-government political parties, however, have refrained from official comments on the matter.

Ordinary Yerevan residents, however, are split in their opinions. "I think Markarian’s death will cause big disturbances in the upcoming elections," commented 66-year-old pensioner Hakob Muradian. Other city residents disputed that view, saying that the event will bring no changes in the near future.

A computer engineer by education, Markarian, a longtime Republican Party member, was named prime minister in May 2000, just months after the October 1999 assassination of Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian, Parliamentary Speaker Karen Demirchian and several other senior officials.

Prime Minister Markarian, who suffered from obesity and was a smoker, died from cardiac failure at his Yerevan apartment on March 25, at about 1.20 pm local time, according to official reports.

A close friend of the late prime minister, who asked to remain anonymous, told EurasiaNet that Markarian’s health conditions had been deteriorating for the past several days. According to the source, a high fever, elevated blood pressure and a general sense of ill health had already prompted Markarian to cancel an earlier scheduled trip to France.

Editor’s Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a reporter for the Armenianow.com weekly in Yerevan.

Posted March 26, 2007 © Eurasianet
http://www.eurasianet.org

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SERGE SARGSYAN TO TAKE UP THE POST

26 March, 2007
A1+

The photo of the Prime Minster is hanged in wreaths in the central part. Eduard Sharmazanov, representative of the RPA, informed us that the party’s board convened a sitting yesterday evening with the participation of Serge Sargsyan, head of the board.

Under the RPA’s statute, the chairman of the board takes up the post of the chairman of the party in case the latter is absent under certain conditions.

Mr. Sharmazanov claims they have already experienced suchlike situation; after the death of the party’s first chairman Ashot Navasardyan the head of the party’s board took up the office.

Thus, there is no point in convening a sitting in the nearest future.

The death of the leader of RPA will not result in great tremors during the May 12 elections.

“We may only counter certain technical problems during the parliamentary elections,” assures Eduard Sharmazanov.

Sukias Avetisyan, member of the RPA and NA deputy, says, “We must assemble and realize the programs Andranik Margaryan left unfinished as they are of great importance.”

As for the upcoming elections, Mr. Avetisyan claims that the party hasn’t considered the matter yet.

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Armenian Cabinet resigns after PM death

26.03.2007

YEREVAN, March 26 (Itar-Tass) - The Armenian government has sent in its resignation following the death of Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan on Sunday. The new prime minister will be appointed in ten days, one of the ministers told.

The minister said it had been announced at an emergency Cabinet session, chaired by President Robert Kocharyan. Under the Armenian Constitution, the Cabinet resigns after the death of the prime minister.

Under the Constitution, after the president accepts the resignation, Cabinet members continue performing their duties until the new Cabinet is formed.

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Unlike Turkey, Armenia does not seek to lecture American lawmakers

07.03.2007 12:38

YEREVAN (YERKIR) - Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met with U.S. Assistant Undersecretary of State and U.S. Minsk Group Co-Chair Matthew Bryza, PanARMENIAN.Net reported, citng Foreign Ministry Press Office.

They discussed issues concerning the upcoming meeting between Armenian and Azeri FMs in Geneva on March 14 in the framework of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process.

At the meeting with the co-chairs of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, Minister Oskanian outlined the broad U.S.-Armenia agenda, and ways in which Congress can play a role.

During the meeting, the Armenian Genocide issue was also discussed. In referring to the pending Genocide reaffirmation resolution, the Minister explained, “The Armenian government, in contrast to the leadership in Ankara, does not seek to lecture elected American officials on this core human rights issue.

Sadly, the Turkish government continues to export its policy of genocide denial, seeking to impose upon the U.S. and other nations the very intolerance that inspired Section 301 and led to the murder of journalist Hrant Dink. This should not be tolerated by any individual or any country. The Armenian government has faith in the American democratic process and respects the integrity of U.S. Congressional decision-making.”

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.