Armenian News - THE UN RESOLUTION IN AZERBAIJAN
Anorak.co.uk (satire)
http://www.anorak.co.uk/twitterings/182110.html
March 17 2008
UK
THE Croydonian notes: Azerbaijan has persuaded the UN to pass a
resolution "reaffirm[ing] Azerbaijan's territorial integrity,
expressing support for that country's internationally recognized
borders and demanding the immediate withdrawal of all Armenian forces
from all occupied territories there".
Given recent events in Serbia / Kosovo, it is intriguing to note
that some countries are quite happy to dismember Serbia in pursuit
of self-determination for Albanians but will not extend the same
principle to the Armenians of Artsakh. So, here are the states which
have recognised Kosova but have also signed the Azeri motion:
Afghanistan Bangladesh Kuwait Malaysia Morocco Pakistan Saudi Arabia
Senegal Serbia Turkey
Meanwhile, all credit to the unlikely list of refuseniks: Angola,
Armenia, France, India, Russian Federation, United States, Vanuatu.
Our man in NY abstained.
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Noyan Tapan
March 17, 2008
YEREVAN, MARCH 17, NOYAN TAPAN. "There have been no violations of the
regime of the state of emergency, we are satisfied with the extent of
public perception, and at the moment the president of the RA has no
intention to extend the state of emergency," the spokesman for the RA
president Victor Soghomonian stated at the March 17 press conference.
According to him, in the March 1 decree on declaring a state of
emergency, the Armenian president stipulated "what may be done"
in the information sphere, while in the March 13 decree he clearly
outlined "what may not be done". In the words of V. Soghomonian,
"during this period statements have been made that the freedom
of speech is endangered in Armenia, and some foreign high-ranking
officials also spoke about it. We cannot understand this commotion
for a number of reasons. First, it is obvious to everyone that it does
not mean putting an end to the freedom of speech, which is impossible,
but the matter concerns some temporary restrictions for security of the
people. The state of emergency was imposed for this purpose, and the
restrictions are aimed at stabilizing the situation in the country." V.
Soghomonian said that the "calls from abroad to eliminate something
apparently temporary are at least strange."
He gave a few examples of violation of the March 13 presidential
decree's provision banning "dissemination of obvioulsy false
and destabilizing information on state and internal political
issues". These violations of local opposition papers were discovered
by the RA National Security Service (NSS) in the newspapers seized
in a printing house. "Let them tell this lie but after March 21,"
V. Soghomonian said, adding that "NSS employees allowed to print
these newspapers after removing false information from the given
issues. There was refusal." According to V. Soghomonian, this refusal
makes one assume that they refuse in order to make such statements
later and to give foreigners an opportunity to make similar statements.
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Washington Post
March 17 2008
Moving Forward In Armenia
Armenia's reputation as a stable, democratic country in a troubled
region has taken a battering recently. Although international
observers gave an overall positive rating to the conduct of last
month's presidential election, opposition forces took to the streets,
seeking to overturn the people's will. Riots and armed demonstrations
left more than 100 injured. Tragically, seven protesters and one
police officer died.
Public faith in our economy and political institutions has been
undermined. Simply put, we had a competitive election. Dragging this
crisis on, literally through the streets, only hurts Armenia. For
almost a decade -- since then-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan resigned --
our country has avoided civil uproars and armed violence, allowing for
a period of internationally recognized democratic and socioeconomic
progress.
But after he lost his bid to reclaim the presidency in February,
Ter-Petrosyan resorted to a dangerous and profoundly undemocratic
form of populism. He radicalized a part of the opposition and guided
it into a standoff with the state, which led to the March 1 riots
in which armed demonstrators confronted police. It was clear to
all moderate political forces -- pro-government or supporters of
the opposition -- that declaring a state of emergency was the only
possible option to protect our citizens. We have until Thursday,
when the state of emergency is lifted, to find political solutions
and ensure that Armenia does not slide back into chaos.
The two of us were competitors in the presidential election. But we
are united in our desire to end the current crisis and put Armenia
back on track. Cooperation is the way forward.
The political alliance we have created, between the president-elect
and the Rule of Law Party, is an effort to do things democratically
and through compromise. Between us, we represent 70 percent of the
votes of the Armenian people. This is a serious and solid mandate. On
this basis, we will pursue ambitious but realistic reforms that will
strengthen our democracy and our nation's socioeconomic progress. In
this moment of crisis, we have agreed to assume responsibility for
joint governance.
This form of government has not been imposed upon Armenia; we have
chosen it as the best way forward. This new, grand coalition will
guarantee that the people's will is reflected.
We insist, however, that continued progress is possible only through
dialogue and reform. Violence has no place in democracy. Therefore,
we ask those who are still promoting instability on the streets
to join us in political dialogue and to help us guide our country
toward prosperity.
Armenia faces a series of external challenges that we hope to
address. First among them is the long-standing conflict over who
should control the Nagorno-Karabakh region between our country and
Azerbaijan; second is the normalization of relations with Turkey.
Only a government with wide popular support, not one created through
street violence, can successfully resolve these problems. We will also
continue to ask the international community to recognize the Armenian
genocide, though this issue should not prevent us from moving forward.
We do not assume that all of our country's ills will be solved through
a coalition government. And we will certainly address the expectations
of the several thousands of voters who are dissatisfied; we must do
so to build consensus. But we must also recognize the expectations
of the many more thousands of voters who chose the government that
is in power. We will do our utmost to restore public trust in the
electoral process and to unite the nation again.
Our priority is to run a transparent government and have a clear
agenda, which we will announce. We will fight corruption head-on. We
are confident that with the world's help, reason and responsibility
will regain the upper hand in Armenia. We have no time to waste --
there is a lot of work to do. Despite recent events, our country is
still moving forward. The international community has everything to
gain through supporting a stable, transparent and elected government
in Armenia.
Serzh Sargsyan, prime minister of Armenia, is chairman of the
Republican Party. He is the country's president-elect. Arthur
Baghdasaryan, a former speaker of Armenia's parliament, represented the
opposition Orinats Yekir (Rule of Law) Party in the February election;
he placed third.
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Radio Liberty
March 17 2008
Czech Republic
Former President Levon Ter-Petrosian and his opposition allies
remaining at large have met to discuss their further steps, saying
that they will continue to strive for regime change in Armenia by
"legal and democratic means."
Ter-Petrosian's office said participants of the weekend meeting,
apparently the first since the violent post-election unrest in Yerevan,
"reaffirmed their determination to fight against the kleptocratic
system."
"All leaders of the [pro-Ter-Petrosian opposition] parties noted
that the public is determined to get rid of the current authorities
by legal and democratic means," it said in a short statement. No
further details were reported.
Ter-Petrosian said last week that he will continue to challenge the
official results of Armenia's disputed presidential election and plans
to resume demonstrations in the capital after the lifting of the state
of emergency expected. His representatives had already notified the
Yerevan mayor's office of their intention to hold a rally on March 21,
the day after the anticipated end of emergency rule.
However, municipal authorities banned the planned gathering, saying
that it would pose a "serious threat to the life and health of
citizens." In a written statement, an aide to Mayor Yervand Zakharian
also argued that the last opposition rally held on March 1 was marred
by deadly clashes between Ter-Petrosian supporters and riot police.
More than one hundred opposition leaders and activists have been
arrested on charges mainly stemming from those clashes which the
Armenian authorities call a coup attempt. Dozens of others have
gone into hiding. Many of the detained and fugitive oppositionists
are senior members of opposition parties supporting Ter-Petrosian,
notably the Armenian Pan-National Movement (HHSh) and Hanrapetutyun
(Republic). According to Ter-Petrosian's office, most members of the
two parties' governing boards are now in jail or on the run.
An office spokesman, Armen Khachatrian, told RFE/RL on Monday that
dozens of other, less known, opposition activists in Yerevan and
other parts of the country have been taken to police stations in
recent days. He said police officers are trying to force them to give
incriminating testimony against opposition leaders and to promise
not to participate in further Ter-Petrosian rallies. He said the
interrogations are illegal because none of the activists received
written summonses from the police and other law-enforcement agencies.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian and his ally Artur
Baghdasarian, who finished third in the February 19 election,
on Monday again defended the use of force against Ter-Petrosian
supporters and blamed the former president for the resulting
casualties. "He radicalized a part of the opposition and guided it
into a standoff with the state, which led to the March 1 riots in
which armed demonstrators confronted police," they said in a joint
article published by "The Washington Post."
"Despite recent events, our country is still moving forward," wrote
Sarkisian and Baghdasarian. "The international community has everything
to gain through supporting a stable, transparent and elected government
in Armenia."
However, the Zharangutyun party of Raffi Hovannisian, the only
opposition group represented in Armenia's parliament, had a completely
different take on the post-election situation in the country, saying
that "the schism between the Armenian people and its government
continues to expand." In a statement, Zharangutyun, which endorsed
Ter-Petrosian's presidential bid, said that the presidential ballot
was fraudulent and that Armenians had a legitimate right to dispute
its official results in the streets. It said the March 1 bloodshed
resulted from the break-up of non-stop protests in Yerevan's Liberty
Square staged by the Ter-Petrosian camp.
"The unconscionability displayed on February 19 and the brutality
used to protect it on March 1 remain unresolved issues," said
the statement. "No state of emergency, accompanied as it is by an
aggressive, one-sided 'public information' vertical which deepens
the public divide rather than healing it, will succeed in securing
the collective amnesia of state and society."
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