Armenian News
U.S. Threatens To Freeze Aid To Armenia
The United States has expressed concern about the Armenian government's continuing post-election crackdown on the opposition and threatened to suspend its multimillion-dollar economic assistance to Armenia.
"We continue to follow with concern the current situation in Armenia," aspokesman for the White House, Tony Fratto, told reporters on Thursday. He pointed to the imposition of a state of emergency in Yerevan and mass arrests of opposition activists following the March 1 clashes between security forces and opposition supporters protesting against the official results of last month's disputed presidential election.
"The government of Armenia needs to uphold the rule of law, lift the state of emergency and restore press freedoms. We urge a political dialogue between the government and opposition to resolve the situation quickly," Fratto said, according to AFP news agency.
Reuters quoted the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as telling a congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday that the emergency rule made it necessary to freeze some of the U.S. aid programs in Armenia. She did not elaborate.
Rice apparently referred to $235.6 million in aid which Washington has promised allocate to Armenia under its Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) program designed to promote political and economic reforms around the world. U.S. officials have repeatedly said that the sum's
disbursement is conditional on democratic reform and improved governance in Armenia.
In a Tuesday letter to President Robert Kocharian, the head of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), John Danilovich, warned that the U.S. government agency managing the scheme could `suspend or terminate' the five-year aid package due to the dramatic post-election developments in Armenia.
`MCC is reviewing operational aspects of its ongoing work in Armenia in light of these events, including the suspension of media freedoms and the imposition of a state of emergency, and is closely monitoring the situation with U.S. Government and donor colleagues,' Danilovich wrote.
He said MCC needs to be certain that `our programs operate in a
democratic environment.'
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian acknowledged on Thursday that continued U.S. assistance to Armenia is now at serious risk. `It all depends on how the United States evaluates things, on how quickly we can get out of this situation,' he said.
`Right now we are facing a dilemma: the country's stability and the people's security versus democratic values, liberties, civil rights,' Oskanian told a news conference. `The president of the republic is facing this dilemma.'
`The situation is not clear-cut. He has to balance things, and that's not an easy task. The longer this balancing act lasts, the more the public will suffer,' he said.
Prime Minister and President-elect Serzh Sarkisian appears to be more sanguine in that regard, though. He chaired on Wednesday, the day after Danilovich's letter to Kocharian, a meeting of the governing board of an Armenian government agency overseeing the use of MCA funds, which are
due to be spent on upgrading the country's battered irrigation networks and rural roads.
A statement by Sarkisian's press office said the government received about $11.3 million in MCA funding as of last December and expects to get the next installment of the promised aid, also worth $11.3 million, in the second quarter of this year.
The aid package is essential for the success of the Sarkisian government's efforts to reduce widespread rural poverty. According to Armenian and U.S. officials, the resulting infrastructure projects, if implemented, will benefit 75 percent of the country's million-strong rural population.
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The European Union reiterated late Wednesday its calls for the Armenian authorities to lift the state of emergency in Yerevan, release all political prisoners and agree to an `independent investigation' into the country's deadly post-election unrest.
The government of Slovenia, holder of the EU's rotating presidency, also said on behalf of the block that it is `particularly concerned' about continuing arrests of supporters of opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian. `The Presidency calls again upon the Armenian authorities to release citizens detained in connection with their political activities and to refrain from further arrests of opposition leaders,' it said in a statement.
`The Presidency reiterates its recommendation to conduct an independent investigation of the events of 1 March and what led to them,' the statement said. In a further indication of EU distrust in the authorities' ongoing investigation into those events, it welcomed a March 2 report by Armenia's human rights Ombudsman Armen Harutiunian that questioned the use of force against thousands of Ter-Petrosian supporters demanding a re-run of last month's disputed presidential election.
The statement also renewed the EU's calls for the Armenian government and the Ter-Petrosian-led opposition to embark on `political dialogue based on mutual understanding and trust.'
Ter-Petrosian has repeatedly said that he is ready to start such dialogue so long as the authorities accept EU recommendations contained in a similar statement issued by the Slovenian presidency last week. The government's position those recommendations remains unclear.
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Reflections on the recent tragedy in Yerevan
Much has been said and yet not said about the recent presidential election in Armenia.
Protagonists of both sides try to point fingers towards their respective opponents for the tragedy that occurred on March 1, 2008 in the streets of Yerevan resulting in 8 people dead and many wounded. The authorities are in no retreat at all, but in damage control by misinforming the public; at least one leader of the opposition is widening the scope of demands calling for an “international” investigation of what transpired.
Individuals, organisations and church leaders are all in unison in trying to call for sobriety, and underlining the potential of further deterioration that could compromise the security and unity of Armenia itself. Diasporan Armenians are engaged in this process at least by voicing their opinions.
Probably we as a nation (the term loosely used) should not be surprised of what was to come. It was written on the wall and unfortunately we did not have the guts to intervene before it was too late. Hindsight is right it is said, but foresight is much in need specially now.
Blaming this or that faction diverts us from the path that will lead us out of the impasse. The present primary leader of the opposition and the oligarchs ruling the country were in many ways cut from the same cloth. The elections of 1995 were a foretaste of what to come and the present authorities had their first lessons of how to exercise fraudulent and rigged elections then; subsequent occasions served to refine the practice in violation of human rights and deepening the roots of authoritarianism in a fragile country that can survive only and only through the participation of the majority of its people in the process of governance. Unfortunately that was not meant to be and people felt disenfranchised and disempowered
Compared to countries of similar size and emerging from a system of state capitalism on a grand scale, Armenia to its credit registered favorable economic growth. However, the beneficiary was the small elite of oligarchs and kleptocrats. Time and again in subtle and not so subtle ways authorities were cautioned of potential dangers, but they chose to ignore well intentioned advice. Instead they continued their insatiable appetite for more by amassing new fortunes and leaving the vast majority of people to its own skills in poverty. The disparity that ensued bloated the ranks of frustrated people who would express themselves in whatever way whenever an opportunity arose.
Well intentioned Diasporan organizations and individuals since the earthquake and subsequently lent a helping hand in many ways. Caught in fervor of romantic patriotism people prayed, hoped and wished that a new democratic Armenia would evolve - a country that respects human rights and is respected in the international arena. Over the years many intricately laced relations developed. In the course anomalies were noticed. At times some were very critical of how Armenia as a society was shaping. Yet despite that effort overall Diaspora was timid in drawing the line in the sand, forcefully making clear where it stands and what its expectations were. In a sense by being a reluctant bystander it de facto sanctioned ongoing violations of human rights and looting of the bounty.
It’s deplorable to notice that people who were minor partners in the present regime are now talking about introducing changes that would ameliorate the situation in future. They knew very well what was wrong prior to this recent tragedy. They were enjoying having ministers. Where were they prior to this tragedy? Why did they not introduce legislation to prevent what was to come? Now they accept the status quo and extend an olive branch to the authorities. That is pure and simple jockeying to secure positrons in a future government.
Equally deplorable are statements by a person in the government who had earned the respect of many in Armenia and Diaspora. Prior to the elections he made allegations that a particular opposition leader would do anything to get to power. What about the present regime? Isn’t it using all its might, including firing on its own people to remain in power? Why is he remaining silent? Is it a service to secure a position in the next government? Does he buy the Chief Prosecutor’s spokesperson’s denying any shots had been fired by the police?
Over years much has been said about outside interferences and influences in the internal affairs of Armenia. Now, that factor is being twisted in so many ways in order to silence opponents, dissidents and confound the understanding of what’s going on. All what’s left is to declare that so and so has committed treason and is a traitor. It’s an advantage of any authoritarian regime to pull out this or that document from the past and present to the public out of context to prove its point. The regime already had discredited itself in so many ways and its integrity was tarnished prior to the elections that now such measures will fall on deaf ears of many.
Speaking of outside interference, it’s a touchy subject and hard to document. All what can be done by an outside amateur observer is to glean from certain facts and make an educated guess at best. Why a country as small as Armenia boasts of having the largest USA embassy in the CIS countries? Why Armenia needs such a vast land ceded to a foreign jurisdiction, when it processes only a handful of visa applications and other matters in a day? Wasn’t it during this regime that the embassy was built? What’s its purpose?
If history has any advice to us it is resisting outside infiltrations as best as we can. The call for an investigation by international bodies is at best an ill advised measure. It will further intensify and confound the present tense atmosphere and the security of Armenia.
After all said and done it is the responsibility of any country’s government to restore normalcy and it’s an inescapable part of that obligation to take responsibility for whatever crisis. Blaming the opposition is not the route and will lead nowhere. Earnest cooperation is the only venue as long as it is not understood as co-optation.
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Ever since independence, Armenia's main asset has been its internal
stability. And every external and internal force has threatened to
destabilize the country to get its agenda promoted. At every such
crisis, brinkmanship has played a role, until sober heads have
prevailed to avert a catastrophe. In the aftermath of the February 19
presidential election, those sober heads were not around to be found
and the catastrophe took place with unforeseen consequences for long
time to come. Indeed Kocharian's government and opposition leader
Levon Ter-Petrossian were at loggerheads, expecting the other party
to blink, which was not to happen. At this time, a government-imposed
state of emergency has turned into an internal siege for Armenia's
population, while an external siege is being configured by outside
forces, unfortunately aided by internal desperate voices. A
tremendous amount of damage has already been caused by the loss of
human lives, but that is only the beginning in a rapidly
deteriorating crisis.
As anticipated, Azerbaijan has raised the ante by attacking the
Armenian positions in the Martakert region of Karabagh, certainly
encouraged and emboldened by the internal turmoil in Armenia. This is
a loss of wills across the lines of the ceasefire, and a more
dangerous escalation of hostilities may be in the offing, if the war
planners in Baku determine that the Armenian government is too weak
to retaliate to a major onslaught.
While countries, like Azerbaijan, can get away with murder, because
of the oil factor or strategic advantage, Western powers are quick to
admonish Armenia with impunity, at the first sign of any infraction.
And that may have long-term political and economic impact on the
country. The chorus of external condemnations has already begun, with
a spark from none other than the former president and recently-
defeated presidential candidate, Levon Ter Petrossian. Indeed, on
March 5, an op-ed article signed by the first president appeared in
the Washington Post and subsequently circulated in the news media. Of
course, no one would like to see a state of emergency imposed in
Armenia, crippling the normal course of life, but Ter Petrossian
himself must be the last one to complain about it, since in 1990 he
was the one who ordered armored cars to crush the demonstrations,
following rigged elections. If his actions were justified at that
time, what other alternative was left to the present government to
calm the situation?
But what is more dangerous is to invite foreign governments to
interfere in the internal situation of the country and use their
leverage to warn the government against its antidemocratic actions.
Besides the political pressures, the most effective ways for the
regional or world powers is to use their economic leverage, on which
hinges Armenia's lifeline and the future.
The European Union has many grants, but the most significant aid
comes from the US through its annual aid package, which is already
dwindling from year to year. But what is most dangerous is the
Millennium Challenge project, which is contingent upon Armenia's
democratic process and economic reform. That is the most effective
weapon in the arsenal of the Bush administration, which is
significantly delaying to recognize the election results and
congratulate the new president.
Ter-Petrossian blames the West for "the deafening silence," all the
while criticizing the OSCE observers for approving the election
results. He further appeals to the US government by asking a
particular action. "What do the people of Armenia expect from the
West, and the United States in particular? At the very least, we
expect a strong and unequivocal condemnation of the violence that
occurred on March 1… This condemnation should accompany a
sternwarning…
Ter-Petrossian'
one try to applaud the emergency role. But what is very serious is to
appeal to outside forces, which are looking for any pretext to
tighten the noose around Armenia and strangulate it economically. The
US and Russia have a confrontational posture in the Southern Caucasus
and the Cold War era is returning to that region. Armenia's cordial
ties with Russia and economic relations with Iran are not looked upon
favorably in Washington, despite the assurances that the US
administration "understands" the underlying causes of those
relations. When push comes to shove, Armenia's lobbying power in the
US may easily be overrun.
Two days later, Ter-Petrossian'
nasty editorial on March 7, in the New York Times, under the
heading "Dark Days in Armenia." It is significant to note that
Turkey's brutal war against the Kurdish minority, which has caused
40,000 deaths has not yet deserved that kind of characterization in
the editorial columns of the Times.
The Times editorial specifically addresses the most vulnerable aspect
of the US-Armenian relations: "Armenia, embroiled in a lengthy
standoff with neighboring Azerbaijan, is relatively isolated in its
own region and especially values its great relations with the United
States," according to the editorial. It then talks about inviting the
Bush administration to hit where it hurts most: "the main
responsibility lies with Armenia's government leaders, and it is to
them that the White House must address its protests." And of course
we know the nature of these "protests;" to deny beleaguered Armenia
economic help. The continuation of the crisis is to no one's
advantage and it will damage Armenia irreparably, which had just
begun to give signals of economic recovery.
The crisis can only be resolved internally by engaging opposing
domestic groups. Any outside interference may only further exacerbate
the already tense situation and lead nowhere.
In addition to media orchestration, rallies are being organized on
the West Coast to amplify the media furor and to damage Armenia's
standing in the political arena. The protests are mainly organized by
expatriates, driven mostly by the guilt feeling of having abandoned
the homeland. The same masses of expatriates were vehemently against
Ter- Petrossian, when he was in power.
It is time to sober up to stop undermining the foundations of
Armenia's statehood and denying its population direly needed economic
recovery. Armenians seem to be their worst enemies.
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By Edmond Azadian, The Armenian Mirror-Spectator Weekly, Published By
Adl Eastern District Committee Of Usa And Canada
Arrests and heavy media restrictions pile pressure on Armenian opposition.
By IWPR reporters in Armenia
The Armenian authorities have strengthened their grip on the country, with the media operating under severe restrictions, dozens of anti-government activists in custody, and opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian seeing his challenge to the recent presidential election result rejected by the constitutional court.
The outgoing president, Robert Kocharian, said on March 12 that the situation was now sufficiently under control to allow him to ease some of the restrictions imposed by the 20-day state of emergency he ordered following bloodshed on the streets of Yerevan on March 1, in which eight people were reported killed.
After a blanket ban on all news apart from that issued by the government, Kocharian said the authorities would now tolerate all media information that was not deemed to be "false or provocative".
Ter-Petrosian, a former president of Armenia, failed to convince the constitutional court that the election result naming current prime minister Serzh Sarkisian as president should be overturned.
The main argument among several that Ter-Petrosian brought in justification of his appeal was that Sarkisian did not step down from his executive post for the duration of the election campaign, and also that the backing he received from his ally Kocharian was unfair.
In a statement to judges, Ter-Petrosian also cited provisions in the Armenian constitution which say a presidential poll cannot take place at a time when a state of emergency is in force, and that elections do not count as formally over until all legal complaints have been heard by the courts.
In a March 8 ruling, the constitutional court upheld the electoral commission's decision to declare Sarkisian president. Judges did accept the opposition's claims that violations occurred during the election and passed some of the evidence for this on to the prosecutor's office, but they said this was not enough to call the entire poll into question.
Ter-Petrosian has vowed to continue his fight. Artak Zeinalian, who acts for him, told IWPR that the opposition leader would file a petition to the European Court of Human Rights, ECHR, arguing that voters' rights had been violated and that the constitutional court should not have reviewed his appeal as long as the state of emergency was in force.
Legal expert Hrair Tovmasian said claims of Armenian electoral violations had been taken to the ECHR, but the constitutional court's ruling was final.
The opposition continues to be under severe pressure, with dozens of activists now in custody. According to the prosecutor's office, 84 people have been detained so far, while the opposition puts the figure at more than 100.
On March 10, the police arrested the head of Ter-Petrosian's campaign headquarters, former foreign minister Alexander Arzumanian, and also the chairman of his Armenian National Movement's board, Ararat Zurabian. Both men may be charged with trying to "usurp power".
The police say they are searching for two parliamentarians, Khachatur Sukiasian and Sasun Mikaelian, and the editor of the Haikakan Zhamanak newspaper, Nikol Pashinian, and have asked the public for information on their whereabouts.
Earlier, parliament stripped Sukiasian and Mikaelian and two other members of their immunity. The others, Hakob Hakobian and Miasnik Malkhasian, were arrested immediately.
The opposition received a small boost from a statement of concern by United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza, who visited Yerevan and told the Associated Press, "The violence really was deplorable. It seems clear that the reaction by the government was harsh and brutal."
Ter-Petrosian's own fate now hangs in the balance. Justice minister Gevorg Danielian told Agence France Press, "Today the law-enforcement bodies have enough evidence to launch a criminal investigation regarding Levon Ter-Petrosian. The investigation will determine what charges will be presented against him. He has moved from the political field to the criminal one."
US charge d'affaires Joseph Pennington warned against such a move, saying, "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."
One aspect of the state of emergency that has especially shocked Armenia has been a virtual media blackout of anything except official news - a situation that may be eased a little on March 13, according to President Kocharian.
In a statement issued on March 12, 14 media organisations expressed their alarm at the situation.
"Our constitutional right to disseminate and receive information has been violated; the universally-acknowledged principles of freedom of speech and press freedom have been infringed; the media are sustaining financial losses; censorship is being carried out in Armenia; and our country has found itself subject to a complete information blockade," said the statement.
The state-of-emergency rules said the media were restricted to official information when it came to matters of state and domestic politics.
This halted the publication of both newspapers and websites that provided independent and opposition viewpoints. The websites of Radio Liberty in Armenian, www.azatuyun.am, and the pro-opposition television company A1+, www.a1plus.am, were effectively closed. Access to Youtube, which had been airing home-made videos of the March 1 violence, was also restricted for more than ten days.
According to the Armenian Internet Society, which issues domain names ending in ".am", a list of out-of-favour websites has been issued by the national security service.
David Sandukhchian, director of the Centre for Information Law and Society, said that the security service had been exceeding its powers.
"You can draw an analogy between the internet as a means of communication and a printing press as a means of media production," said Sandukhchian. "Basically the national security service has shut the printing press and blocked media access to it, irrespective of what it is producing."
Armenians keen to get non-official news have been finding ways round the news blockade.
"My friends have taught me how to bypass the providers and read the news on Radio Liberty via proxy servers," said Maria, a journalism student. "Now I can get information one way or another."
Anti-government newspapers are not coming out. Haik Gevorkian, the acting editor of Haikakan Zhamanak, said that the printers were refusing to publish his paper.
"We've sent a written request to the national security service asking for an explanation of what official information was," Gevorkian told IWPR. "For example, is a statement by the Heritage opposition parliamentary fraction official or not? We didn't get an answer."
Gevorkian said that he and his colleagues were studying their legal options.
The editor of the Aravot newspaper, Aram Abrahamian, said that he had received a visit from a national security official.
"I told him we wanted to print a small item in the paper saying we didn't want to publish one-sided official information so we'd leave some pages empty," said Abrahamian. "The officer said that a publication of a paper with empty pages would inflame the situation."
Anna Israelian, a journalist with Aravot, said that she was receiving calls from the relatives of detainees or politicians with new information but that she felt a "strong sense of powerlessness" because there was nothing she could do with the information.
The state of emergency formally applies only to Yerevan but in practice the media is also being restricted outside the capital.
The director of one regional television company said the heads of TV stations in the country's second and third cities, Gyumri and Vanadzor, had been summoned to a meeting by national broadcasting boss Grigor Amalian and instructed to broadcast only official information.
Nune Sarkisian, Armenia director of the media development organisation Internews, said self-censorship was also now widespread.
"The state is definitely abusing the state of emergency," she said. "The whole broadcasting operation has turned into a propaganda machine."
Independent analyst Stepan Grigorian said public resentment at the authorities' behaviour was high, and protests were likely to continue once the state of emergency was lifted, with some risk of renewed violence.
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