Published since 07.2002
Published on May 09, 2008
NO PLACE FOR PACE: THREE WEEKS ON, NO MOVEMENT ON FOLLOWING COE RESOLUTION
- Twenty days have past since the adoption of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Resolution 1609 in Strasbourg, calling for release of prisoners and other stipulations to bring more democratic conditions to Armenia’s unsettled political climate. Oppositionists insists the requirements of the resolution are neither fulfilled nor even the repressions against supporters of their movement stopped. Comprised of 14 points, the resolution underlines among other requirements “The persons, detained on seemingly artificial and politically motivated charges or who did not personally commit any violent acts or serious offences in connection with them should be urgently released.” The former president and opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan has particularly pointed to these very requirements of the resolution as a precondition for a dialogue [with the authorities]. Ter-Petrosyan, who stated at the Second Pan-National Congress last week he does not neglect “the circumstance that [the regime] is a political factor, and is ready for dialogue if the authorities fulfill the PACE resolution requirements and release imprisoned friends,” despite he does not recognize “the legitimacy of the regime that has seized the power”. The authorities in their turn call for a dialogue without preconditions; as Eduard Sharmazanov, the press secretary of the ruling Republican Party says: “the leaders of the opposition submit ultimatums instead of a dialogue.” And Tigran Torosyan, the Chairman of the National Assembly, who qualified the resolution “quite strict”, questions the possibility for a dialogue. “One shouldn’t forget the resolution also mentions the opposition should recognize the February 19th election results. But what dialogue there can be with those who violate laws, do not accept the decisions of various structures in Armenia that serve grounds for dialogue including the Constitutional Court?” asks the speaker of the parliament. On May 6th the National Assembly formed a special task group for the solution of the problems indicated in the resolution. But the group included neither any of the extra-parliamentary oppositional forces, nor even Heritage, the only oppositional parliamentary faction. Earlier this week the coalition appeared with a statement welcoming the creation of the task group that will be “coordinating the fulfillment of the resolution [requirements]”, but expressed “regret the leader of the Heritage Party Raffi Hovannisian has refused to participate in the works of the group.” Anahit Bahkshyan of the Heritage faction says this is an “obvious lie”: “This is another step to isolate the opposition. We have not refused, but have offered the candidacy of Stepan Safaryan, member of the [party] council, because Hovannisian won’t be in the country within the mentioned period, but the authorities have refused the offer,” says Bakhshyan questioning the efficiency of the group’s future performance: “They have entrusted the future reforms in our country to this group, but it’s like entrusting the lambs to the wolf.” Former deputy Stepan Demirchyan also questions the fulfillment of the resolution requirements. “We have the bitter experience of 2004, when the international community also posed requirements, but many of them are not fulfilled yet.” While the working group deliberates, dozens remain imprisoned, including more than 20 Karabakh veterans who celebrated the May 8 “Freedom Fighters” Day in prisons. The data provided by the press secretary of the Prosecutor General’s Office as of May 6th say there are 58 accused people detained, 28 more are accused but are not in jail, they are free with a document signed forbidding them to leave the country, mainly charged with provoking and organizing mass disorders with the purpose of seizing the state power by violation of the Constitutional order as well as use of force against the representatives of authorities have been subjected to other precautionary measures. The Prosecutor’s Office says 47 criminal cases have been sent to court. The data at Ter-Petrosyan’s office are different, however. Armen Khachatryan, office coordinator for legal issues says there are 92 arrested and 11 people already serve punishment in prison. “Our figures are higher because we include people arrested both after March 1 and in the pre-election period,” Khachatryan explains. The heaviest verdict has been made in regard to Harutyun Urutyan, the head of Ter-Petrosyan’s headquarters in Maralik, who has been sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment for impeding the works of the election commission on the day of voting. By comparison Eduard Aghajanyan, who had “obviously faked” (according to the court verdict) the voting results in favor of Serzh Sargsyan for 314 in precinct 9/31 in Yerevan has been sentenced to only 2 years in jail. 6 more people have been put to 1-2 years of probation that Mikayel Baghdasaryan, chairman of the public observer group of penitentiary institutions of the Ministry of Justice characterizes as a forced step. “Charges are frequently so ungrounded and unproved that the court has no choice but to put the accused on probation,” says Baghdasaryan. He says they have data 114 accused have been arrested and he has personally visited 70 of them. “In many cases the investigator has not even visited them during a month and many of them simply don’t know why they are there and why their arrest is prolonged all the time,” Baghdasaryan told ArmeniaNow.
- Gayane Abrahamyan
Headlines for May 09, 2008
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Gayane Abrahamyan 38
The opposition movement led by former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan held a congress in a closely packed conference hall in the Government Building Friday. More than a thousand people had gathered outside ...SEEKING REPATRIATION: FOUR ARMENIANS STILL IN AZERI CAPTIVITY AFTER GOING ASTRAY NEAR BORDER
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Each year an Armenian village in Kotayk province turns into a mix of belief, joy and fair. People stand in line to go down into the small room dug in the ground where there is a sanctuary with an image ...FAITH AND HOPE: CENTER IN KAPAN HELPS DISABLED CHILDREN COME OUT OF HOMES
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By court decision Vanadzor resident Davit Petrosyan will spend the next two and half years in prison for avoiding alternative military service. The Vanadzor (Lori province) court of general authority ...BOOK PUBLISHING UNDER CORRUPTION: KARABAKH OFFICIALS YEARN FOR WRITER’S FAME
Naira HayrumyanBook publishing has recently become one of the most controversial issues speculated upon in Karabakh, where corruption has penetrated even into the modest enterprise. The thing is that some Karabakhi ...FOOD FOR THOUGHT: OPPOSITIONIST ANALYST HAS CAREER AS HUNGER STRIKER
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The “Gegham Mnatsakanyan Residential House”, a historic and cultural monument, built in 1898 at Koghbatsi 22 may be dismantled to cede space to the historic and cultural district (which is designed on ...MOVEMENT: NKR ISSUE SEES RENEWED ATTENTION AS MFA GETS ACQUAINTED
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An obvious boost in attention to the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh has been observed in Armenia in recent months. Never before has Stepanakert been visited by Armenia’s parliament speaker and foreign minister ...NO PLACE FOR PACE: THREE WEEKS ON, NO MOVEMENT ON FOLLOWING COE RESOLUTION
Gayane AbrahamyanTwenty days have past since the adoption of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Resolution 1609 in Strasbourg, calling for release of prisoners and other stipulations to bring more ...
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Today in Armenian history- 1847 Summit Meeting of the representatives of the Transcaucasian Armenian community.
- 1847 With the participation of the gentry and commoners, the National, Ecclesiastic, and Supreme Council is created in Constantinople. It is the first step towards the creation of the "Constitution".
- 1859 A Committee, consisting of 5 clergymen and 14 laymen, is struck in Constantinople to write the "Constitution". The Chariman was Rusinian.
- 1945 End of World War Two (known as the "Great Patriotic War" in the USSR).
- 1964 Death of Vahan Totomyants, professor and public figure.
- 1992 Shooshee (Artsakh) is liberated after 71 years of occupation by Azeri Turks.
- 1994 Protocol negotiated in the Artsakh War and signed in Bishkek (Kirgizstan) by the parliamentary speakers of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Artsakh as mediated by Presidents Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan. This was the first recognition of Artsakhs distinctiveness as a political and territorial entity in the negotiations. Azerbaijan occupied 750 sq. km. (15%) of Artsakhs territory, while Artsakh occupied 7059 sq. km. (8%) of territory considered to have traditionally been possessed by Azerbaijan.
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