Armenian News -
YEREVAN, Armenia: Armenia's president on Monday lifted some of the restrictions imposed after police cracked down on protests following last month's presidential election.
President Robert Kocharian's order allows political parties to resume some activities, though a ban on mass gatherings and harsh controls on the media remained in place.
The government had declared a 20-day state of emergency on March 1 after clashes between protesters and police left eight people dead and dozens injured.
On Saturday, the Constitutional Court rejected opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian's appeal of the results from the Feb. 19 election.
Officials say it was won by the man Kocharian endorsed: Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian.
THE STATE OF EMERGENCY MITIGATED
armradio.am
10.03.2008 15:30
As it is known on March 1st RA President Robert Kocharyan signed a
decree on declaring a state of emergency in Yerevan in compliance
with Articles 55.14 and 117.6 of RA Constitution.
Today President Kocharyan signed a decree on implementing amendments
in the decree dated March 1, 2008. RA President's Spokesman Viktor
Soghomonyan presented the decree to mass media representatives today.
The Spokesman noted that taking into consideration that no violation
of the state of emergency has been registered in Yerevan, noting the
stabilization of the domestic political situation, having the objective
to ensure the soon return of the country and the population to normal
life, RA President Robert Kocharyan signed a decree on abolishing
parts 6 and 7 of the 4th point of the decree, which provided for
Temporary interruption of activities of parties and other public
organizations, which hinder the elimination of the conditions that
served as a basis for imposing the state of emergency;
Extradition of violators of the legal regime of the state of emergency
who do not reside in the given area
Viktor Soghomonayn noted also that specialists at RA President's Office
are working in the direction of finding other legal solutions to the
provision of the decree on emergency on restriction of mass media
activity, which will enable to mitigate the level of restrictions.
MORE OPPOSITION LEADERS ARRESTED
Radio Liberty
March 10 2008
Czech Republic
Two more close associates of former President Levon Ter-Petrosian
were arrested on Monday as the Armenian authorities continued their
unprecedented crackdown on the opposition resulting from last month's
disputed presidential election. A senior U.S. diplomat, meanwhile,
warned them against jailing the opposition leader as well.
The latest detainees are Aleksandr Arzumanian, a former foreign
minister and Ter-Petrosian's election campaign manager, and Ararat
Zurabian, chairman of the former ruling Armenian Pan-National Movement
(HHSh). Their lawyer, Hovik Arsenian, said they are likely to be
charged with seeking to "usurp power" in the wake of the February
19 election.
Arsenian spoke to RFE/RL by phone from the headquarters of Armenia's
National Security Service (NSS) where his clients were interrogated
and kept in custody as of late evening. He dismissed as baseless and
politically motivated the criminal cases brought against these and
other prominent opposition politicians close to Ter-Petrosian.
Arzumanian's and Zurabian's detention raised to at least 86 the number
of Ter-Petrosian supporters jailed in the past two weeks.
Among them are two opposition members of parliament. Two other
parliamentarians stripped of their immunity from prosecution have
gone into hiding.
According to a spokeswoman for the Office of the Prosecutor-General,
Sona Truzian, 73 oppositionists have already been formally charged with
plotting a coup d'etat, organizing and participating in "mass riots"
and other grave crimes. The charges mainly stem from the March 1 deadly
clashes in Yerevan between riot police and thousands of opposition
supporters demanding a re-run of what they see as a rigged election.
"The political orientation of these individuals doesn't matter to
the investigating body," Truzian said, referring to the detainees.
"Investigators are bringing accusations against those people who
organized and took part in mass riots and other events aimed at
undermining constitutional order."
The crackdown, which is not confined to Yerevan, is not letting up
despite the international community's growing calls for the lifting
of the state of emergency in the capital and a dialogue between the
Armenian authorities and the Ter-Petrosian-led opposition.
"We don't believe that further crackdown, further arrests, are the
right way to go," Kurt Volker, the U.S. acting assistant secretary of
state, for European and Eurasian Affairs, told RFE/RL from Washington
on Monday. "We think that what needs to be done is to move toward
lifting the state of emergency, assuring freedom of the media, assuring
the freedom of assembly, assuring the operation of political parties,
so that Armenia can walk back from this political crisis."
Also expressing concern at the wave of arrests was Joseph Pennington,
the U.S. charge d'affaires in Yerevan. "We have made clear to the
Armenian authorities that while we certainly recognize the right and
the obligation of the authorities to arrest and prosecute those who
were involved directly in violent activities last weekend, there is
a distinction that needs to be made between those people on the one
hand and those who may have expressed views that were bothersome to
the authorities," Pennington told RFE/RL.
"We strongly discourage those kinds of arrests that could be
interpreted as political arrests and think that would not contribute
to stability and reduction in tensions," he said.
Pennington also warned that the authorities will only heighten the
post-election tensions in Armenia if they follow through on their
threats to arrest and prosecute Ter-Petrosian. "We do not think that is
a step that would help to ease the situation here," he said. "We don't
think it would be the right way. We don't think it would useful. We
think it would probably increase tensions more than anything else."
President Robert Kocharian said last week that "many in Armenia"
believe that Ter-Petrosian too should be punished for the violent
standoff that left at least seven protesters and one police officer
dead. Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian likewise did not rule out the
possibility of the ex-president's arrest, saying that the opposition
actions were "managed from one center."
Justice Minister Gevorg Danielian told the AFP news agency on Monday
that law-enforcment authorities "already have sufficient evidence"
to prosecute Ter-Petrosian. "The investigation will show which exact
charges will be brought against him," Danielian said. "He has crossed
from the political sphere to the criminal sphere."
Ter-Petrosian has been under effective house arrest since the violent
break-up earlier on March 1 of his supporters' non-stop sit-in in
Yerevan's Liberty Square.
YEREVAN MUNICIPALITY DAMAGES IN MARCH 1-2 RIOT AMOUNT TO $223,000
ARMENPRESS
March 10, 2008
YEREVAN, MARCH 10, ARMENPRESS: Authorities in Yerevan have calculated
the volume of damage to public-owned buildings, property and other
assets in March 1-2 unrest at 69 million Drams ($222,500).
A deputy Yerevan mayor, Kamo Areyan, said today the municipality has
ordered swift repair of six trolley-buses that were burnt during the
March 1-2 unrest. According to him, the damages sustained to police
cars will be assessed by the latter.
The deputy mayor said the repair and reconstruction will be funded
by the Yerevan municipality and part of funds will come from Kentron
district's coffers. He said this will be carried out concurrently
with routine spring clean-up and improvement works and is supposed
to be over by mid-April.
He said damages to the musicality building were completely recovered.
ARMENIA 89TH AMONG 130 COUNTRIES IN WORLD COMPETITIVENESS IN TOURISM
banker.am
04.03.2008
This is a 15-point reduction as compared to the level of 2007,
"Economy and Values" research center reported.
According to the report, Armenia is on the fifth line among CIS
countries leaving ahead only Russia (64th), Georgia (72nd), Ukraine
(77th) and Azerbaijan (79th).
Among positive factors in the tourism field of Armenia are
sanitary conditions, security of tourists, price competition and
friendly treatment of tourists. Among the shortcomings the report
is particularly mentioning visa regime with the countries where
most of tourists come from, ecology problems, internal transport
infrastructure, availability of hotel rooms and training of personnel.
According to the report, Switzerland is the most competitive country
in tourism followed by Austria and Germany. Among other competitive
countries are Chad, Lesotho and Burundi. Three aspects have been
considered in developing the world competitiveness index - regulation
of tourism field; business sphere and infrastructure; human, cultural
and natural resources.
According to Armenia's National Statistical Service, 510,287 tourists
visited Armenia in January-December 2007, which is a 33.5% increase
against 2006.
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