Armenian News

IWPR Report

TWO MAIN CANDIDATES SQUARE UP FOR KARABAKH ELECTION

Decorated Karabakh war veteran seen as main challenger to incumbent.

By Karine Ohanyan

Nagorny Karabakh’s president Bako Sahakyan is running for a second

term in July, in an election that looks to be a real contest, even

if differences on key policy issues are more about nuances than

complete disagreement.

Before he was elected in 2007, Sahakyan was interior minister in

1997-2001, and the national security minister.

His most serious rival in the July 19 ballot is Vitaly Balasanyan,

who earned the highest military decoration during the war with

Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, which left an Armenian administration

in control of Nagorny Karabakh. Balasanyan served as deputy defence

minister and chairman of the war veterans’ organisation before

becoming a member of parliament.

There are two other candidates – Arkady Soghomonyan, an agricultural

specialist, and unemployed Valery Khachatryan – but the pundits

doubt either of them has much of a chance. Neither has spoken to

the press, and their phones go unanswered.

In contrast, Balasanyan is already campaigning via his Facebook

page, using a social networking site that proved very influential

in the recent parliamentary election in Armenia.

He told IWPR that under Karabakh’s laws, he is not technically

allowed to campaign until June 19, but he is updating his page

every day with his thoughts and photographs.

“I launched the page with the aim of engaging more actively,”

Balasanyan wrote in a recent post. “I’m going to put down my

thoughts and ideas and see how readers react. I think virtual

conversations will be productive.”

Diana Movsesyan, a graduate of Artsakh State University – the

main institute of higher education in Karabakh – has already

clicked “like”on Balasanyan’s Facebook page.

“I am convinced that Balasanyan’s candidacy gives us a chance

to hold a different kind of election in Karabakh. I want it to

be democratic, without pressure or anything,” she said. “I hope

that state institutions don’t exploit their power [in favour of

the incumbent] ahead of the election. I hope this election changes

the atmosphere in the country, and I hope that afterwards,

Karabakh will regain its ‘partly free’ rating from Freedom House.”

In its report for this year, the Washington-based civil liberties

watchdog organisation Freedom House rated Karabakh as “not free”,

a deterioration from the “partly free” ranking it held until 2009.

In the same listing, Armenia is described as “partly free” and

Azerbaijan as “not free”.

In previous elections in Karabakh, voters’ choices have been

blunted by the fact that candidates generally adopt almost

identical positions on key issues like security, the aspiration

for international recognition, and pledges to improve living

standards.

The Karabakh war ended with a ceasefire in 1994, but no lasting

peace agreement has been signed, and protracted negotiations led

by France, Russia and the United States have not succeeded in

persuading the Karabakh Armenians to give up their independence

claim, the Azerbaijani government to recognise that independence,

or the two sides to reach a compromise deal.

Armenian and Azerbaijani troops still face each other along the

fortified “line of control” around Nagorny Karabakh, and shooting

incidents are frequent.

International groups like the Organisation for Security and

Cooperation in Europe do not send monitors to Karabakh to check

on the fairness of its elections, and candidates in previous

polls have complained that incumbents have drawn on state

resources to assist their campaigns.

Sahakyan, who won 85 per cent of the vote first time round in

2007, has pledged to pursue his current social and economic

reforms if he gets another term.

As president, Sahakyan has naturally worked closely with

officials from Armenia, although that state has not recognised

Karabakh as independent.

Balasanyan said he did not think Armenia would formally back

the incumbent president.

“They are obliged to support any decision that the people of

Nagorny Karabakh take,” he said.

Masis Mayilyan, who ran for the presidency in 2007 and now

heads of the Civic Council for Foreign Policy and Security,

said he hoped this election would open up politics.

“The forthcoming election… gives politicians the chance to

redress the mistakes that occurred ahead of the 2007

[presidential] and 2010 parliamentary elections. Those elections

led to Karabakh having a unipolar political arena and parliament,

and the independent press was wiped out,” he said. “If the

Dashnaktsutyun party supports Vitaly Balasanyan, a parliamentarian

and member of that party, then the country wins even if he’s

unsuccessful, since Dashnaktsutyun will be an opposition party

in parliament.”

Masis, who gained 12 per cent of the vote in 2007, has endorsed

Balasanyan, who has presented some new ideas about how to work

towards a deal at the peace talks.

Karabakh is excluded from the negotiations, in which Azerbaijan

and Armenia are the only state parties.

“The main thing I am unhappy about is Sahakyan’s foreign policy.

He isn’t doing enough to shift Karabakh from being the object of

the talks to being a subject,” Balasanyan said.

“I will fight to secure the return of Karabakh to the negotiating

table as an equal participant, and I will work to ensure the

swiftest possible signing of an inter-state agreement [between

Karabakh and Armenia] assigning Armenia official status as

guarantor of our security.”

AZERBAIJANI ARMED FORCES OPENED FIRE TOWARDS

THE STRONGHOLDS OF KOTI VILLAGE, ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS

6 June, 2012

YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS: Azeri side once again violated the

ceasefire regime in the north-eastern part of the contact line between

Armenian and Azerbaijan on June 6 night.

Information and Public Relations department of the Ministry of

Defense informed Armenpress Azerbaijani forces opened fire towards

the strongholds of Koti village in Armenia' s Tavush province, none

of Armenian troops were injured.

Azerbaijani Armed Forces took attempt at infiltrating the border on

June 3- 4 night. Due to the vigilance of the Armenian servicemen, and

the measures taken the group was discovered and causing the losses

the enemy drew back. The attack by the Azeri side resulted in the

death of Armenian servicemen Hrach Sargsyan, Zohrab Balabekyan and

Karen Davtyan. There were many wounded.

Another Azerbaijani diversion operation was prevented on June 4-5

night. Azeri side suffered. The shelling during the day did not stop

towards the Armenian positions.

Karine Ohanyan is a reporter for Armedia Online.

RFE/RL Report

Armenian Lawyers To Go On Strike Against High Court

Hovannes Shoghikian

06.06.2012

More than one hundred lawyers plan to go on an unprecedented one-day

strike next Monday in protest against what they see as arbitrary

decisions routinely made by Armenia's Court of Cassation.

In a statement publicized on Wednesday, they specifically objected to

the court's refusal to even consider the vast majority of appeals

lodged by defense attorneys and litigants in civil cases.

`Ordinary citizens cannot understand why one appeal was accepted for

consideration but another one wasn't. That's impossible to

understand,' one of the protesting lawyers, Hayk Alumian, told

RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

Alumian claimed that the Court of Cassation has thrown out, without a

ruling, as much as 99 percent of appeals since the entry into force in

2007 of an `ambiguous' law that gave it greater discretionary

authority. `The Court of Appeals has created a judicial practice very

beneficial for it, deepening that ambiguity,' he said. `It is now

operating in a completely arbitrary manner.'

The Court of Cassation, which is the highest body of criminal and

civil justice in Armenia, declined to immediately comment on the

planned protest. A spokesman said it will comment later this week.

The court already faced last year embarrassing street protests by

lawyers after its chairman, Arman Mkrtumian, engineered the

controversial sacking of a Yerevan judge who granted bail to a

criminal suspect contrary to prosecutors' wishes.

The judge, Samvel Mnatsakanian, was dismissed by President Serzh

Sarkisian in July 2011 upon the recommendation of the Justice Council,

a state body overseeing Armenian courts. The council is headed by

Mkrtumian.

Mnatsakanian decried a lack of judicial independence in the country

after the sacking. He claimed that many judges are primarily concerned

with not upsetting high-level state authorities and the Court of

Cassation in particular, rather than enforcing laws.

BIOLOGICAL FAMILIES STARTED TO RETURN THEIR CHILDREN

FROM ORPHANAGES MORE FREQUENTLY IN ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS

7 June, 2012

YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS: Restructuring of orphanage "Zatik" is

favorable for the returning of the children to their families. About

this Armenpress was informed from chief specialist from Ministry of

Labor and Social affairs of Armenia Karine Khachatryan. "Until the

2013 the orphanage will not work and will continue its functions of

Day Care Center" said Khachatryan.

She mentioned that if in 2010 40 children were returned to their

biological families, then last year that rate had been 42. Such trend

is observed especially in the orphanage of Nor Nork in case of children

under one year old.

The cases of giving children to orphanage are rather different -

social conditions, illness of the child or the parent.

"In case of being absence from the country the parent has the right

to leave the child under state care and after the return the child

can return to the family. There are 1-2 cases when from specialized

orphanages children return to family" noticed the specialist.

Khachatryan reported the orphanage does great work with parents,

talk with them. Children of ten years old and more already heave

their opinions and each child seeks to have family even not biological.

She informed about the process of returning the child to family. When

conditions of the family become better parents apply to municipality

which studies the conditions: there must be normal moral and social

conditions. Based on all those facts municipality gives inference

according to which the child can be returned to family. But only the

wish of the parent to return the child is not enough because in case

of absence of correspond inference the child is not returned to family.

In Armenia there are 7 state orphanages, 2 of which are specialized.

760 children live in orphanages, the majority - 510 children are from

specialized orphanages.

KOTAYK DIOCESE - RESTAURANT AT KECHARIS MONASTERY

TO BE DISMANTLED

Ani Hovhannisyan

hetq

16:19, June 6, 2012

Yesterday, the Armenian Apostolic Church Diocese of Kotayk issued a

press statement that construction of a restaurant adjacent to the

Kecharis Monastery had been halted and that the eatery was in the

process of being dismantled.

The Diocese said it was spreading the news in the hope that this would

put an end to the complaints received from people who were arguing

that the Church should not allow such a disgrace in the first place.

Readers will remember that Davit Ghazinyan,who owns the company

constructing the restaurant, got the architectural plans approved in

just one day last year.

The work had started without a work permit from the local Tzaghkadzor

municipality.

The architectural blueprint hadn't been approved by the Ministry of

Culture's Cultural Monuments Preservation Agency.

It also turned out that Catholicos Garegin II was aware of the

restaurant construction and that the church wasn't opposed to it.

Hetq got in touch with Tzaghkadzor Mayor Garoun Mirzoyan who verified

that all construction material was being removed from the site.

We tried to pose some questions to Kotayk Primate Archbishop Karamyan

and Etchmiadzin Public Affairs Director Father Vahram Melikyan.

We were told that a clergy meeting was underway and that no one was

available to speak to us.

Father Melikyan promised to get back to us after the meeting ended.

RFE/RL Report

Armenian Inflation Continues To Fall

Tigran Avetisian

07.06.2012

Consumer prices in Armenia fell further this spring, putting the

authorities in a stronger position to meet their inflation target for

2012, according to official statistics released on Thursday.

The National Statistical Service (NSS) recorded a year-on-year

inflation rate of just 0.5 percent in May, sharply down from 3 percent

in February and 4.7 percent in December. Finance Minister Vache

Gabrielian cited the `quite low' figure during a cabinet meeting

chaired by Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian.

The Armenian government's target rate for this year is 4 percent

(±1.5 percentage points).

The NSS data shows that inflation eased significantly in May because

of a 1.3 percent drop in the consumer price index. The average price

of foodstuffs was down by 2.4 percent from the April level. A seasonal

rise in agricultural production appears to be the main factor behind

that decrease.

`I don't think that this seasonal deflation is the right criterion to

describe the economy,' Ara Galoyan, an economic analyst, told RFE/RL's

Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). He also called into question the

credibility of the official inflation figure, saying that the actual

cost of life in the country is probably higher than what the NSS

figures indicate.

Galoyan predicted that inflation will rise again already this month

because of the renewed depreciation of the Armenian dram.

The national currency has lost more than 4 percent of its nominal

value against the U.S. dollar in the last few weeks. This should push

up the cost of key imported foodstuffs such as wheat and sugar.

Sent by A Topalian