Elections

[nairi]

Never mind.

 

[ March 03, 2003, 05:10 PM: Message edited by: nairi ]

[MosJan]

see his a nice guy:)

http://armenianow.com/2003/specialedition/march03/001.jpg

[MosJan]

In the Name of the Father

http://armenianow.com/2003/february28/picoftheweek/001s.jpg

At Wednesday's rally in support of Stepan Demirchyan, one demonstrator on a terrace at the Institute of Manuscripts expressed his support with a historic campaign poster from another Demirchyan era: "Trust Karen Demirchyan".

[MosJan]

axer iy jorovurd sa Demirjyan@ Karen chi / sa Stepanikna -

Stepaninkn ur yerkir "karavareln" ur~~~ Hayyyy Huyyyy

 

MJ meka Qocharyana linelu k@tesnes !!!

 

ok let's make a deal MJ jan

[MJ]

You probably mean Kocharyan is going to declare that he has won? No question about it. However, how long do you think it will require for him to submit his resignation?

 

No deal. This is only the beginning. "Baykar, Baykar Minchev Verch!"

[MosJan]

ehh Martyin yete espes nayes Hayatsani rekavarneri 99.9% hima pati tek petqa gndakahareyinq - Opozitsyai mej shat kaskatseli demqer kan - yes qez sa hima em asum - sranq lav chen mer yerkri hamar - nayi heto chases Mos@ chasets !!! merq@ qo viz@.

[MJ]

Ov?

 

Ham el mi meghk avel mi meghk bakas... Yes mievnuinn e drakht chem gnalu...

[MosJan]

Martin Arachin@ du - yerkrord@ Sadoyan@ - yerord@ Sarksyan@ ( iys mek@ voch miyayn Kaskatseli iyl nayev Molorvats e) yev mi xumb - minj Qocharyanakan Haytni Bussnesmaner! vor gortsaraner@ ktor ktor parskastan tsaxetsin - lav eli du sranst hreshtaki ter es @endunum - srants mej bavakanin agresiv mardiq kan vro qocharyanits el vat en...

 

Mj ari Qar@ peshitst tap tur Rubikin @entri prtsnenq, mnatsats bolor@ hamadziyn en.

[MJ]

Im inchi vra es kaskadzum, MosJan? Erbavanits?

 

"Mnatstats bolere" ovker en?

[nairi]

Never mind.

 

[ March 03, 2003, 05:09 PM: Message edited by: nairi ]

[MJ]

So that to consider replying to you or disagreeing with you to belong to the category of decency, I have to at least take a brat like you a little bit serious.

 

As far as the deleting of materials that I have posted here are concerned, I don't delete things per your request.

[ARR]

http://www.asbarez.com/cartoons/2003/03mar1.gif

Stephanie is afraid to debate about politics with Rob.

[Sasun]

I think sarcasm should have its limits. What is the point of the above picture presenting Demirchian as a woman?

 

Demirchian if elected may turn out to be a good president but we don't know that, the chances of that likelihood are low. The fact that his plans are unknown and his experience non existent does not necessarily mean a bad thing. It just means a high level of risk. So he maybe very good or very bad, more likely bad given the suspicious revanchist members in his camp.

 

Normally we build our expectations based on past data. Since there is no past data on Demirchian, there are no specific and rational expectations.

There is a lot of data on Kocharian, so we know for sure what to expect. If Kocharian is elected we will have about the same for another 5 years.

 

Under these assuptions, voting for Demirchian means a high-risk gamble into an unknown system. Voting for Kocharian means a low-risk choice of a known pattern of limited progress: stability and security, good foreign policy, limited democracy, robust but unfair economic growth based on a clan system and little if any progress in human rights.

 

It depends of a voter's risk-preference, provided they think rather than follow emotions: risk lovers will vote for Demirchian, risk-avert people will vote for Kocharian. As to people driven by emotions, some will vote for Kocharian, some for Demirchian based on irrational expectations, in other words hopes and dreams.

[ARR]

http://www.angelfire.com/oz/mypage/sheep1.jpg

[ARR]

FIRST-EVER PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE HELD

 

YEREVAN (Armenpress/Reuters/Yerkir/NoyanTapan/RFE/RL)—Sixty thousand people converged in Armenia's capital Yerevan on Monday in support of incumbent Robert Kocharian as election campaigning drew to a close two days before the final round of a presidential race.

 

"We need a victory to give us the opportunity to work effectively in future. Free, democratic and transparent elections must be the main component of our victory. Unfortunately, there are forces that try to damage the stability in the country and I, personally having greatly contributed into the process of establishment of stability, cannot remain indifferent towards these efforts," said Kocharian.

 

Speaking about Armenia's sustainable development, he stressed there remain problems. "The emergence of sustainable development signifies an opportunity to solve these problems. There are many negative factors against which we must struggle together. We have much work to do and this work must be done together. We must continue restoration of industry, modernization of agriculture, support of small and medium business development."

 

Kocharian expressed gratitude for the opportunity to have struggled for the independence of his country and to have served his nation.

 

PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

 

Although as late as on Monday Demirchian's press secretary insisted that Demirchian refused to debate Robert Kocharian on Public Television, stating "no official invitation was sent to Stepan Demirchian of the People's Party headquarters in the second round of the election," and complaining about the conditions set by Armenian Public TV, "you realize that it is not a debate, it is a joint news conference of the candidates, which is absurd; we insist on a one-on-one debate," a presidential debate nevertheless took place with reporters from five independent TV stations and one from public TV, each posing one question to be addressed by both candidates.

 

The first-ever presidential debate for Armenia took place late Monday evening local time and ended just 15 minutes before midnight. Questions addressed agricultural development, working with international institutions, constitutional reforms, foreign policy, and internal social-economic problems.

 

The incumbent Kocharian, armed with five years of presidential experience and a clear platform, succeeded in addressing issues head on by providing detailed answers. Demirchian, in the meantime often became flustered, provided generalizations, rehashed Kocharian responses and even dismissed questions with an occasional "anyhow."

 

Demirchian lashed out at the state-run Armenian Public Television and other pro-Kocharian media for their "ferocious" coverage of his presidential campaign, that he said was full of "slander and lies."

 

He avoided detailed answers to questions about his socioeconomic platform, repeatedly stressing that only a "legitimately elected president" can address problems facing Armenia. He went on to denounce Kocharian for recent days' arrests of more than a hundred opposition activists, most of them his election proxies.

 

Kocharian countered by saying that he has always been tolerant of dissent and that some of Demirchian's opposition allies called for a "violent overthrow of constitutional order" during the campaign rallies.

 

When asked about constitutional reforms, Demirchian insisted that the Constitution must be adhered to strictly. Kocharian rebutted asking whether Demirchian is aware of a series of legislation that must be passed in order to meet requirements Armenian held before the European Union, and whether parliamentary elections would be held in May. Demirchian responded by first criticizing the government for not abiding by the Constitution and added that Armenia should not at once transition to a parliamentary form of government.

 

Kocharian added that three fundamental issues are either absent from his opponent's program or are addressed with generalizations: constitutional reforms, recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and the process of Mountainous Karabagh's conflict resolution.

[Azat]

Outside Eye: A non-Armenian's view of life in his adopted home

 

By John Hughes

Editor Before reacting to any other words on this page, please hear these:

 

Criticism of the current President of Armenia should not be read as a de-facto endorsement of his opponent.

 

Robert Kocharyan has a track record. In my opinion, primarily in the areas of human rights and rule of law, it is a record deserving harsh criticism. And, yes, I know about his success in improving the economy by 12 percent. But 12 percent of nothing is still nothing for many people whose lives have been made worse while a few, primarily Kocharyan cronies, have been made better over the past five years.

 

Still, he at least has a record, something to be judged by.

 

Stepan Demirchyan has a name. In my opinion, it is a name that no longer has relevance unless the son intends to resurrect the Soviet Union under which his powerful father flourished and, at least in nostalgia's revised history, gained adoration.

 

If a government administration could be built on spite, I've no doubt Demirchyan could establish a strong one. As I write this, his supporters have again gathered to shout their claim on the Presidency. But voters in Armenia at least deserve to know what he'd do with the Presidency if Demirchyan in fact gained it.

 

It's hard to imagination, for example, Demirchyan representing Armenia in a meeting of foreign diplomats and expecting to advance the national cause using "I am my father's son" as international policy.

 

It is hard, in fact, to place him in the role of diplomat at all, considering his apparent unease and halting manner of public speaking - so obvious even someone who doesn't speak Armenian can notice.

 

"None of the Above", then, becomes a legitimate contender, and here voters are actually offered that choice on their ballots.

 

Having clarified that . . .

 

I don't need to remind you that I am an outsider here, so forgive me if I'm too dense to understand the Armenian Justice System. If the President or the Prime Minister or the Minister of Justice or the Catholicos himself cares to explain, I stand eager to be enlightened.

 

A lot of arrests have been made here in the past several days, and I'm reminded of the situation about this time last year when a criminal case was being tried.

 

A court found Aghamal "Kuku" Harutyunyan, one of President Kocharyan's bodyguards, guilty of negligent manslaughter after Poghos Poghosyan was beaten to death at Poplovak café.

 

Kuku (and the nickname implies what you think it does) was sentenced to exactly zero days in prison. Did not do a single day of time, not a minute in fact. And, his year of suspended sentence having passed, I'm told that he is now in charge of a department in one of Yerevan's police stations.

 

A citizen was killed, a court ruled, and the killer was merely told to go to his room and behave himself until Daddy says it's okay to come out.

 

By contrast: Over the past several days at least 155 citizens have been arrested and 86 of them put in jail for up to 15 days because they behaved as "hooligans".

 

And if you are thinking that these people were arrested on the spot, perhaps for throwing bottles or invading government property or making threats, know that the arrests were commonly made days later at the "hooligans" homes. And, by the way, turns out that many of the ones tracked down by hard-working crime specialists hold staff positions in the campaign of the President's runoff opponent.

 

Let me belabor the point to add this:

 

On a September night at Poplovak, a member of the President's security staff killed a man in a bathroom of a café that holds about 200, with one entry, bordered on one side by water, and covered from above by another café. And, police could not find anybody who saw anything.

 

Yet out of crowds, estimated at up to about 40,000, spread over a half-mile or so in the wide open, Armenia's crack squad of police is able to pinpoint individual violations and duly protect the citizenry from the pressing threat of political word-slinging.

 

The sentence for manslaughter: No days. For name-calling: 15. Seems fair doesn't it?

 

www.armenianow.com

[MosJan]

dranq Hayastani vochxarner chen dranq importni en achqis yerevum voch meki vra DMAK chka !!! mez cheq karror xapel !!! menq DMAKOV vochxarner enq uzzum !!! pahanjum enq !!!

 

lseq isk yete HAykakan vocgxarner chen - ba vorr teriits en ??? inch otar vochxar e vro portsum e ognel Demirjyanin ??? um shahern e pashtpanum na ???

 

Menq patasxaner enq uzzum !! pahanjum Hima !!! yev DMAKOV VOCHXAR...

[axel]

The whole discourse of the opposition consists in demonizing their opponent. I do not see anything positive in such an attitude as far as Armenia's democracy is concerned. On the contrary, this attitude fosters distrust and distrust is incompatible with democracy. Those who manipulate public opinion and who use media campaigns to discredit a program with gratuitous accusations on their opponent are anti-democrats. Real democrats should fight on the field of ideas not on that of personality.

 

Independent (ie opposition) news agencies are rather silent about yesterday's debate. True, Demirtchyan did not say much and that is no surprise, he doesn't have much of a political program (and that is a euphemism), his only argument actually boils down to "I am not Kotcharian".

 

Does the "I am not Kotcharian" four-word program guarantee Armenia's future and independence? I for one would say such a "vision" is rather short-sighted.

[MJ]

MosJan,

 

Yes "dzer Nairi" boghoke kam "chboghoke" indz inchkanuv e hetakrkrum? Isk kez?

[MosJan]

Sireli Nairi JAn - hima qo problem@ MJ het e te n@ra articlneri vor vertsvats en Grungits ???

yev yerkrord du Grungi het inch kap unes ??? tnoren ??? himnadir ??? t@xtakits ??? -

[nairi]

Vala Mosjan, kartsum em aveli shut MJn im het problem uni

 

Yes vochmek karevor kap chunem vochvoku het. Yes aveli shut groongi masin ei mtatsum. Would they think it's ok that practically all of their articles are being posted on a public forum?

 

I assumed that you guys have permission from groong and the original source, especially after seeing two threads literally bombarded with their articles. I wasn't expecting a reply from MJ regarding this, but when he did, it would've have been nice if he could've simply said: "Ayo, Nairi jan, iravunk unenk" instead of turning around and insulting me.

[MosJan]

MJ jan mer Nairin inch "article" masin e boroqum ???

[nairi]

Mosjan, I sent you a PM.

 

As for boghokel, the only reason I raised my voice was because MJ had posted A LOT of Groong articles in a row. Mek, yerkoo hat, fine, I wouldn't said a word, but not 10-15 in a row. Once again though, it is not my problem if you guys have permission.

[ARR]

http://www.angelfire.com/oz/mypage/pr17.jpg

 

To read Mr. Kocharian's program visit the following link: http://www.robertkocharian.am

 

[ March 04, 2003, 03:30 PM: Message edited by: ARR ]

[MJ]

See the update below.

 

[ March 05, 2003, 07:50 AM: Message edited by: MJ ]