SARGSYAN ABIDES BY PACE DEMANDS, SEES NO DIALOGUE WITH TER-PETROSYAN
President Serzh Sargsyan on Monday said Armenia was on track to comply with two resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), but stressed that managing all required reforms by “a deadline” was a lesser concern. “If we fail to fulfill some provision by January, I don’t think it will be the end of the world,” Sargsyan said during his first press conference as head of state, giving assurances that the requirements laid out in PACE Resolutions 1609 and 1620 concerning the state of democracy in Armenia will be translated into action also because of all them are incorporated in the government’s program. Reflecting on the internal political situation, Sargsyan said that public perceptions of dialogue was “a little incorrect”. “When I say dialogue, I mean a dialogue with the people, I mean a dialogue inside society, I mean a dialogue in the state-society format, and not a dialogue between the president of the republic and some individual,” he explained. “What is it that we should have a dialogue about? If people’s [opposition’s] demand and goal is to achieve pre-term elections, what should we have a dialogue about? Is it about when to hold these elections? I am already tired of elections,” Sargsyan added. The opposition led by former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan has repeatedly demanded the release of whom they consider to be political prisoners as a precondition for starting a political dialogue. During one of the opposition rallies, Ter-Petrosyan even demanded a release of political prisoners “by one phone call overnight.” But Sargsyan considers Ter-Petrosyan’s demand unacceptable. “As for whether it is possible to achieve the release of dozens of people with one phone call, then I am not used to working like this and it is a very bad temptation. Because getting dozens of people released with one phone call also implies the possibility of imprisoning dozens of people with one phone call.” Moreover, the president said that some of the people arrested in connection with the March 1-2 events are being released, also due to his active efforts. Earlier, the PACE voiced its position according to which people arrested over their alleged roles in the post-election violence should not be convicted under Criminal Code articles 225 and 300 (mass disorder and incitement to mass disorder; and usurpation of power, respectively) unless there is strong evidence showing they personally committed or organized acts of violence. Nevertheless, according to Sargsyan, one cannot ignore the fact that mass disturbances took place and it is wrong to show too much leniency towards their organizers and perpetrators. But at the same time he added: “I positively evaluate the attitude of prosecutors and courts that show a mild approach to people whose guilt is not great.” President Sargsyan also answered the question about his relations with his predecessor Robert Kocharyan. Answering the speculation that it is Kocharyan who continues to govern the country, Sargsyan said: “Managing a state is not managing a business where it is possible to appoint a CEO and retain ownership rights and continue to head this business. But in making decisions, of course, I do consult with Kocharyan as well as with my coalition partners and specialists. This is my style of work. But I am solely responsible for my decisions.” Sargsyan denied having “serious disagreements” with the former president. Commenting on Kocharyan’s disagreement with his step to invite Turkish President Abdullah Gul to Yerevan, Sargsyan said: “I think that Kocharyan’s statement did not contain any criticism whatsoever. Simply, President Kocharyan expressed his disagreement over my concrete step. We weren’t of the same opinion on all issues in the past either.”
- Sara Khojoyan
HURDLE RACE: OPPOSITION SET TO “NEGOTIATE” ANOTHER RALLY BAN
Sara Khojoyan
Armenia’s opposition has again signaled its readiness to defy the ban on its planned rally and press ahead with the protest action slated for August 1. Arman Musinyan, the spokesman for opposition leader ...SARGSYAN ABIDES BY PACE DEMANDS, SEES NO DIALOGUE WITH TER-PETROSYAN
Sara KhojoyanPresident Serzh Sargsyan on Monday said Armenia was on track to comply with two resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), but stressed that managing all required reforms ...NO SENSATION: YEREVAN ADMITS “CLANDESTINE” CONTACTS WITH TURKEY
Sara Khojoyan
President Serzh Sargsyan has downplayed the “sensational nature” of recent Turkish media reports about “secret negotiations” between diplomatic channels of Armenia and Turkey, saying that despite the ...CALL FOR RESTRAINT: MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS CAUTION AGAINST MAXIMALISM ON THE GROUND
Suren MusayelyanInternational negotiators from the United States, France and Russia have urged all parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict “to refrain from maximalist initiatives” that they implied might hinder their ...HITTING BACK: OPPOSITION ACCUSES AUTHORITIES OF DISREGARDING PACE DEMANDS
Sara Khojoyan
Armenia’s opposition has claimed that the authorities have taken no step over the past month for returning Armenia to the democratic path as demanded by Europe, saying that this failure makes their continued ...SPORT: ARMENIAN OLYMPIANS HEADING FOR BEIJING IN HOPE OF MEDALS
Suren Musayelyan
Olympics Armenia’s sport boss gave a stern warning to more than two dozen athletes and their coaches “to deliver or have only themselves to blame” at the upcoming Olympic Games in China. “During these ...EMBEDDED: ARMENIANOW REPORTER SPENDS A NIGHT IN OPPOSITION’S COMPANY ON NORTHERN AVENUE
Sara Khojoyan
They stay awake all night long seated on the steps of posh shops in Yerevan’s newly built pedestrian-only boulevard. To get warm on cool July nights they get themselves covered in blankets and try to ...BEHIND BARS FOR BELIEF: JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES FEEL PERSECUTED DESPITE ALTERNATIVE SERVICE LAW
Vahan Ishkhanyan
Sixty-six young men between 18 and 24 serve their sentence in the Erebuni penitentiary institution for refusal to obey military orders. The men are Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose religious convictions do ...HITHER AND THITHER: KARABAKH POLITICIANS REPLACE EACH OTHER IN WHAT THE PRESIDENT CALLS PERSONNEL POLICY
Naira Hayrumyan
Personnel policy is considered to be one of the weak points of the current Karabakh authorities. A number of experts share the same opinion that the newly-elected authorities do want to carry out reforms, ...PLANTING A FUTURE: ATP BUILDS FOUNDATION FOR SELF-SUSTAINING FORESTS
Arpi Harutyunyan
Beginning next year the seedling nursery of the Armenian Tree Project located in the village of Margahovit, Lori province, about 120 kilometers from Yerevan, will provide 1 million trees every year. ...PUNISHMENT OR PERSECUTION?: ARMY SOLDIER SAYS HE UNDERGOES HARASSMENT
Naira BulghadaryanKaren Hovsepyan, a Vanadzor resident, has just six more months left in the army, but says he can’t stay there any more because of beatings and insults. The 19-year-old serves in the military unit of ...DISORDERS IN MENTAL TREATMENT: VANADZOR CLINIC PATIENTS CLAIM BAD TREATMENT
Naira BulghadaryanPatients of the Vanadzor neurological and psychiatric clinic have complained to rights activist organization on cases of beatings and tortures against them in the institution. During meetings with the ...EARTHQUAKE LEGACY: DECAYING BUILDINGS THREAT TO LIFE OF RESIDENTS
Ani Hakobyan
The large family of Militonyans lives in a deteriorating building at Isahakyan 9 in Gyumri for more than 20 years. Despite the family tries to carefully conceal the mildewed green walls lacking plaster, ...DISAPPEARING PROFESSION: “LAST MOHICAN” OF THE COPPER INDUSTRY CAN BE FOUND IN ECHMIADZIN
Crafts in Armenia have always been highly esteemed and have appeared in the last names like Hatsagortsyan [baker], Brutyan [potter], Darbinyan [blacksmith] and have survived centuries… But the development ...PROGRESS?: PACE STILL CONCERNED OVER LACK OF ANSWERS REGARDING ITS RESOLUTIONS
Marianna Grigoryan
As authorities again ban an opposition rally in downtown Yerevan to contradict their own declared “political will” to return the country to the democratic path, international organizations continue to ...TIME OUT: HERITAGE DELAYS DECISION ON JOINING NEW OPPOSITION ALLIANCE
Sara Khojoyan
Armenia’s leading opposition party has decided to abstain yet from participating in an emerging alliance of political forces initiated by first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan for waging further struggle. ...PROBE OR PRETENSE: INVESTIGATION OF MARCH 1 CONTINUES BUT WITH NO OPPOSITION COMMISSION MEMBER
Gayane Mkrtchyan
Several weeks have passed since a parliamentary ad hoc commission was tasked with a probe into the March 1 events. Nearly four months after the dark day, the commission continues its work without participation ...TALKS AND SPECULATIONS: PRESIDENT SARGSYAN’S INVITATION FOR FOOTBALL SPARKS INTRIGUE
Aris Ghazinyan
On June 23 President Serzh Sargsyan for the first time voiced his personal readiness to invite his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul to the Armenian capital for enjoying a football match between the two ...BY THE BOOK: VOLUME CHRONICLES ACHIEVEMENTS OF KOCHARYAN ERA, REBUKED BY HIS PREDECESSOR
Marianna Grigoryan 1
According to official indicators, economic growth in the Republic of Armenia totaled 13.7 percent, the average annual inflation in 2000-2007 was the lowest among the Commonwealth of Independent States ...
NEW SPEAKER, OLD SYSTEM: ABRAHAMYAN STEPS INTO SECOND-HIGHEST POST AMID DISCONTENT ABOUT THE PROCESS
Gayane MkrtchyanAT LEAST NOBODY DIED: WIDESPREAD ABUSE IN YEREVAN LOCAL ELECTIONS AS GYUMRI MAYORAL CONTEST APPROACHES
Gayane AbrahamyanNEW ELECTION LAWS MAY ENCOURAGE ELECTION FRAUD, NOT LIMIT IT
Sara Khojoyan
SPORT: ARMENIAN OLYMPIANS HEADING FOR BEIJING IN HOPE OF MEDALS
Suren MusayelyanTALL ORDER: OPPOSITION WANTS TO “TAKE EX-PRESIDENT TO THE HAGUE”
Gayane Mkrtchyan
NO SENSATION: YEREVAN ADMITS “CLANDESTINE” CONTACTS WITH TURKEY
Sara KhojoyanCOURTING ‘HERITAGE’: TER-PETROSYAN, PRIME MINISTER WOO PARLIAMENT’S SOLE OPPOSITION PARTY
Gayane MkrtchyanSARGSYAN ABIDES BY PACE DEMANDS, SEES NO DIALOGUE WITH TER-PETROSYAN
Sara KhojoyanHITTING BACK: OPPOSITION ACCUSES AUTHORITIES OF DISREGARDING PACE DEMANDS
Sara KhojoyanLIBERATED BUT NOT REBUILT: SHUSHI NEEDS $MILLIONS TO RECLAIM NATIONAL GLORY
Aris GhazinyanARMENIANS AND ANTI-SEMITISM: CRITICISM, NOT SLANDER, NEEDED IN ISSUE OVER “CATACLYSMIC” WORD
BY THE BOOK: VOLUME CHRONICLES ACHIEVEMENTS OF KOCHARYAN ERA, REBUKED BY HIS PREDECESSOR
Marianna GrigoryanUNNATURAL CONCERNS: ARMENIA’S ENVIRONMENT STILL UNDER SIEGE
Arpi Harutyunyan
- 1826 Start of the two-month defence of Fort Shooshee.
- 1897 Assault of Khanasor against the Mazriks.
- 1922 Stepan Tsaghikian, Petros Ter-Poghosian and Artashes Gevorgian execute Jemal Pasha in front of the Cheka building. He was one of the three leaders of the Turkish Government that organized and implemented the Armenian Genocide.
- 1922 Petros Ter Poghosian and Artashes Gevorgian executed the Turkish Minister of the Navy, Jemal in Tbilisi. He was one of the three leaders of the Turkish Government that organized the Armenian Genocide.
- 1928 Maxim Gorky (author) visits Soviet Armenia.
- 1930 The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR makes elementary education compulsory.
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