Armenian News

RFE/RL Report
Armenia Marks Independence Act Anniversary
23.08.2010
Hasmik Smbatian

Armenia on Monday celebrated the 20th anniversary of adopting a
declaration of independence that marked the beginning of its formal
secession from the crumbling Soviet Union.

The declaration passed on August 23, 1990 by the Supreme Council of
Armenia, the then the Soviet republic's first post-Communist
legislature, declared Armenia's desire to seek an independent
statehood and followed similar declarations passed by the legislatures
of the Soviet Baltic republics of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.

It took another 13 months for the Armenians to complete the process of
their independence from Moscow in a formal referendum in September
1991 that was held amid so-called `independence parades' by then
Soviet republics. The Soviet Union ceased to exist at the end of that
year and the sovereignty and independence of its former 15 republics,
including Armenia, was recognized by the international community
shortly.

In his congratulatory message on the day, Armenian President Serzh
Sarkisian described August 23, 1990 as `one of the milestone episodes
of our modern history' and said it signified `the point in time when
the dreams of the people of Armenia and the entire Armenian nation
began to turn into reality, a moment that symbolized our
centuries-long yearn for independence.'

`The past two decades have made it clear that the adoption of the
Declaration was timely and appropriate, that the objectives and ideas
enshrined in the Declaration are viable and continue to be called to
life through the joint efforts of all segments of the Armenian
nation,' Sarkisian said. `It was not easy to turn our intents into
reality; nevertheless, we have remained true to our principles and
values. We did not succumb to hardships and did not diverge from the
road toward political freedom and responsibility to master our own
destiny.'

Aram Manukian, the youngest of Supreme Council members back in 1990
who read out the text of the Declaration, also describes it as `the
best document in the history of our people' and remembers that day as
`an hour of triumph'. `Nations live through such moments vary
rarely. I am proud to have been part of it and feel great
responsibility,' Manukian told RFE/RL's Armenian service.

`No one has yet criticized it [the 1990 Declaration of
Independence]. Nobody has the courage, knowledge or reasons to cast a
shadow on this document, which is full of romanticism, realism and
political literacy, as well as will, dream and desire that indeed was
collective back then. In this sense this document is perfect,' added
Manukian, a full namesake of a founder of the short-lived first
independent Armenian republic at the beginning of the 20th century.

Manukian, who is a senior member of independent Armenia's first
president Levon Ter-Petrosian's Armenian National Congress opposition
alliance, however, sees some serious losses that Armenia has suffered.

`We have taken the way of losing independence in the past ten years,'
he said. `All the international treaties, all documents, all
resolutions passed on Armenia are a loss for Armenia. It is also a
loss that the guys who struggled for independence are now in
prisons. This is a disgrace.'

The 20th anniversary of Armenia's Declaration of Independence comes
only there days after Armenia signed a deal with Russia extending the
lease of a Russian military base stationed in the northwestern town of
Gyumri till 2044 and upgrading its mission.

Some opposition and public circles in Armenia have criticized the
deal, describing the amendments to the 1995 treaty with Russia as a
sign of Armenia further losing its sovereignty to Moscow, which
already keeps a tight grip on the South Caucasus country's economy.

Local opposition parties also claim that successive governments in
Armenia have failed to honor most of the provisions of the 1990
document or have deviated from them.

Hovsep Khurshudian, a spokesman for the opposition Zharangutyun
(Heritage) party, maintained that only three out of a dozen points of
the Declaration have actually been translated into action during these
years.

`The rest remain on paper. Unfortunately, such distortions have
happened because of all the three governments that Armenia has had
since 1991. And today we suffer the consequences of the lust for
power, financial gain and other shortcomings of certain leaders,' he
added.

Armen Rustamian, a leader of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutyun), also attached great significance to the 1990
Declaration of Independence, but said that the subsequent years have
shown that `we often deviated from the general logic of the
Declaration.'

`A national state path of developing the country in fact should have
been built on that Declaration. And our main discontent toady is that
that path has seen deviations during these 20 years,' Rustamian said
in an RFE/RL interview.

Ordinary citizens approached by RFE/RL also spoke of the Declaration's
significance, at the same time noting some omissions made by the
government.

`We've seen some great progress during these 20 years. Still, there is
much to be done,' said only middle-aged man.

One elderly resident in Yerevan called it important that two decades
after declaring independence Armenians still have an independent
homeland. `To be free and independent is good to everyone. We would
have a great country if people's living standards improved,' he added.


RFE/RL Report
Armenian Military Reports Another Deadly Shooting
24.08.2010

The Armenian military confirmed on Tuesday reports of yet another
non-combat shooting within its ranks that left one soldier dead.

In a written statement, Armenia’s Defense Ministry said Sergeant Arsen
Chobanian, 26, was shot dead by a fellow serviceman last week at an
army outpost guarding an unspecified section of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border. It said the suspected shooter, Harutiun
Vartanian, was arrested and charged with premeditated murder.

“A criminal investigation into the case is continuing,” the statement
added. It gave no further details, saying only that the two soldiers
are natives of the northeastern Tavush region bordering western
Azerbaijan.

According to Armenian media reports they served in an army corps
stationed in Tavush on a contractual basis.

The military unit was already rocked late last month by the mysterious
shooting of Lieutenant Artak Nazarian. His relatives believe that the
30-year-old was killed by fellow servicemen.

Military investigators insist, however, that Nazarian committed
suicide after being badly ill-treated by a deputy commander of his
battalion and three soldiers. All four men are now under arrest
pending investigation.

Nazarian was found dead the day before another officer and five
soldiers serving at an army unit in Nagorno-Karabakh were shot dead in
still unclear circumstances. Military investigators say one of those
soldiers went on a shooting spree and killed himself after a bitter
dispute with the officer.

The deadly incidents cast a renewed spotlight on chronic abuse,
corruption and mismanagement within Armenia’s Armed Forces. Eight
senior and mid-level officers were dismissed and more than a dozen
others demoted as a result.

Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian discussed the deaths at an emergency
meeting with the top army brass and senior Defense Ministry officials
earlier this month. He ordered them to “meticulously analyze what
happened” and “take steps to strengthen discipline in the troops.”


Armenians mustn’t participate in Turkish show on Akhtamar Island
August 25, 2010 - 13:54 AMT 08:54 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net -

Professor Ruben Safrastyan, director of Oriental Studies Institute at
Armenian National Academy of Sciences, believes that Armenians mustn’t
participate in Turkish show on Akhtamar island, while Turks pursue
Genocide denial policy, with thousands of landmarks of Armenian
history lying in ruins.

“During the liturgy, a movie will be filmed ‘showing Armenians’
gratitude to Turkish government for the opportunity to serve annual
masses at St. Cross church’. As a descendant of Van inhabitants, I
find it unacceptable to participate in the event where a cross, to be
put on top of a dome, will be taken off the next day,” Safrastyan
emphasized in a conversation with a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

The holy mass, to be served for the fist time in 95 years on the
island of Akhtamar was rescheduled for September 19, instead of
September 12, a date set for national referendum on constitutional
amendments in Turkey.


Armenia is the 3rd in league table for risky surfing
August 25, 2010 - 13:43 AMT 08:43 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net -

The Caucasus region, with web surfers in Turkey, Russia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan is the most likely to be hit by a malicious computer attack
or virus while online, according to Internet Security company AVG.

The data taken from 144 countries, involving over 100 million PCs,
enabled AVG to look at the incidence of security threats.

Turkey leads the league table for risky surfing, with antivirus
software having to step in to protect on average, one in 10 users of
the Internet. Web users in Russia (1 in 15 were hit), Armenia (1 in
24), and Azerbaijan (1 in 39) also suffer high rates of attacks.

At the other end of the scale, some of the world’s safest surfers can
be found in Japan and Taiwan, while seven of the 10 safest countries
in which to surf the Internet are in Africa. As a continent, South
America was ‘safest’, and North America riskiest.

“Internet users in Turkey, Russia, the Caucasus and South-east Asia
show disproportionately higher rates of being attacked than the global
average of 1 in 73. There are a number of reasons for this,” AVG
spokesperson, Roger Thomson pointed out.

“Some of it may be down to a tendency to access semilegal or illegal
download sites, while some of it probably is down to being less
cautious when it comes to sharing links and files online. Another
factor is the popularity of Internet cafes and people generally
sharing computers,” AVG spokesperson explained.

AVG Technologies is a global leader in security software, protecting
more than 110 million consumers and small business computer users in
167 countries.

Headquartered in Amsterdam, AVG is the fourth largest vendor of
anti-virus software and employs close to 500 people worldwide with
corporate offices in the US, the UK, the Netherlands, the Czech
Republic, and Germany.

AVG has nearly two decades of experience in combating cyber crime and
operates one of the world’s most advanced laboratories for detecting,
pre-empting and combating web-borne threats from around the globe for
both businesses and home customers.