Elections

[Harut]

Soviet Union

[MosJan]

Stepan Demirchyan – 28.3%, Robert Kocharian –49.8%. To remind, the number of people participated in voting is 1 mln 464 thousands 95. The chairman of the CEC Artak Sahradyan announcing the voting results stated that the second round of presidential elections will take place within the timeframe stipulated by the Law. The two candidates who received the majority of popular votes – Robert Kocharian and Stepan Demirchyan will continue their electoral struggle on March 5th.

[MJ]

From personal correspondence:

 

Barev Martin

 

Kartciqs shat erkar klini, usti asem qez te inch e katarvum ajstex.

 

Goxovurdy arden hinavorapes zzvel u hognel e ajs anishxanutjunic, aveli tcisht HH ishxanutjuny uzurpacia aratc ajlandakneric, ev qani wor yntrutjunnerov ajs ajlandaknerin poxelu ev erkrum karg u kanon hastatelu u mardavari aprelu het woroshaki hujser er kapel, apa bavakanin metc tapov gnac yntrutjan, sakajn ishxanutjunnery woronq vaxuc tqac unen goxovurd ev erkir haskacutjunneri vra, apa pordzecin xexatjurel yntrutjunnery kentronakan yntrakan handznagoxovum pastery xexatjurelv. De goxovurdn el mitingic heto mi hzor erti gnac, wory arden isk patrast er bunti veratcelun, ajd gamanak ishxanutjunnery vaxecan u et kangnecin, te ibr henc nor (ajsinqn 1 or heto) ekec tvjalnerov ampopecin u asacin wor 2-rd tur e linelu, ev qocharjany havaqel e 49.8%, isk s.Demertcjany 28%. Irakanum Demertcjany havaqel er 50%-ic avelin ev yst eutjan ancatc er, isk qocharjany erevi haziv 4 kam 5-rd texum liner.

Amen depum Martin gam mer goxovurdy hstakoren cujc tvec, wor hamberutjan bagaky arden lcvel e, ev hima na arden kpordzi ter kangnel ir erkrin ev ir iskakan goxovrdavarakan ishxanutjuy kpordzi stextcel.

 

Tesnenq hetagajum incher kkatarven. Amen depqum vitcaky husadrox e.

 

xxxxx

[sen_Vahan]

"Irakanum Demertcjany havaqel er 50%-ic avelin ev yst eutjan ancatc er, isk qocharjany erevi haziv 4 kam 5-rd texum liner."

 

Irakanutyun@ mekn e, bayz hazar u mi kartsik: Vortegiz ays mard@ giti, vor Demirchyan@ 50% er havakel? Ba ed "European controllers" inchov en zbagvats, vor senz baner en katarvum?

[MosJan]

yes chem havatum vor Demirjian@ 50% e havaqel

 

vorqan vro qocharyan@ kertsiqner yev xarrdaxutyun anel karror iynqan yev mi ban el aveli Demirjyan@ yev ir @enkerner@! chnayats vro voch mekn el chem havatum - chem el havaknum voch mekin!!!

[MJ]

Today, I have asked my friends, who are not representing Demirchyan's campaign what is the basis of allegations that "Demirchyan's camp has also committed falsifications in elections."

 

They responded to me that they have had presence in 75% of the electoral precincts, and have no such observation. They also said that this allegation has been put forward by Kocharyan in a Press Conference. A representative of my friends' press team has asked Kocharyan, then, "Isn't it the obligation of your government to not allow such falsifications in the elections? Why have you allowed it?"

Kocharyan has answered, "Because we are very tolerant towards our opposition."

 

If I was not tired tonight, I would have opened a thread devoted to this "masterpiece" of Kocharyan in the Humor Section.

[Accelerated]

LMAO - Kocharian is one funny clown!

[ARR]

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

 

Who is Demirchian? Can anyone tell me how he qualifies for presidency?

[Sasun]

Don't you see how nice hair (or heir) he has?

[MJ]

Media program says Armenia "failed the test" during campaign and election coverage

By Julia Hakobyan and John Hughes, ArmeniaNow reporters

 

Armenia Now

28 February 2003

 

Internews, a United States government-sponsored media development

program is calling upon Armenian journalists to "arm themselves

with courage and objectivity for these last difficult days of the

electoral campaign".

 

At a news conference today in Internews' Yerevan headquarters, Chief

of Party William M. Canter and managing director Nouneh Sarkissian

told journalists their agency is troubled by episodes of intimidation,

physical attacks and destruction of recording equipment inflicted on

the media during the Presidential Election.

 

"These incidents are a serious setback to the progress of civil society

in Armenia," Canter said. "I'm deeply concerned that the development

of a free, unbiased and objective media is being gravely hindered."

 

Veteran Armenian journalist Sarkissian called last week's Presidential

elections "a step back" for democratic principles, saying that the

efforts of journalists were more restricted this election than in

previous ones.

 

"Every time when we switched the channels we could only find biased

information and to feel a sense of shame," Sarkissian said. "We got

confused realizing that the reality is not being reflected in an

adequate way."

 

An Internews statement was released to about 40 journalists attending

the press conference in which the agency calls elections a "test of

the mass media's professionalism . . . Armenian media, broadcasters

in particular, did not pass the test in February 2003."

 

While critical of the media performance Sarkissian said the purpose

of the meeting was not to accuse journalists, but to find ways to

improve their performance.

 

"Our mission in Armenia is to strengthen independent media and work

to allow all journalists an editorial environment that encourages

the professional, objective and honest dissemination of information,"

Canter said.

 

Much of the hour-long meeting centered on one of Internews' own

television programs.

 

Each week Internews produces "Ditak" (Spyglass) a 20-minute news

program that focuses on one topic from what project assistant Tatevik

Oganesyan called "an eyeglass, a magnifying glass, then a microscope".

 

Part of Internews presence in Armenia is to produce "Ditak" and

distribute to 23 stations throughout the country. Last week's program

focused on alleged election fraud and included video interviews of

voters' accusations, including one group complaining that they were

offered up to 10,000 drams (about $17) each for their votes, but then

were not paid.

 

Internews says it has agreements with all 23 stations to air "Ditak"

each week. But last Sunday, Shant, generally considered to present

pro-government programming, refused to air the program.

 

Internews producer Armen Sargsyan says his program was the 66th

edition of "Ditak" produced since November 2001 and is the first

Shant has refused to broadcast.

 

Artur Yezekyan, Director of Shant TV company told ArmeniaNow his

company refused to air the program because it was slanted.

 

"The program from its beginning to the end was biased and partial,"

says Yezekyan. "There were presented only one-sided comments without

referring to the other side."

 

In other election-related news:

 

More campaign-related arrests were reported today. In the Shengavit

district at least three people are being detained for 15 days.

 

Head of the Regional Council of Shengavit, Edik Madatyan, who was

arrested February 22 as part of the police enforcement of illegal

public demonstration, had to be taken to hospital with a bleeding

stomach ulcer.

 

Russian television channel NTV, which broadcasts in Armenia, went

off the air as it was broadcasting coverage of anti-government

demonstrations Wednesday night. The National Commission of Radio and

TV says the channel is having transmission problems with its Armenian

feed. The channel has been dark since Wednesday, but is expected to

be restored.

 

Wednesday, the Opposition announced it would hold a campaign rally

Saturday at the Institute of Manuscripts. Yesterday, the Dashnakstutyun

Party ("Dashnaks"), one of the oldest parties in Armenia and supporters

of President Robert Kocharyan, announced a counter-demonstration for

the time at the same place.

 

But today, Aghvan Vardanyan, head of the Dashnak Party in Parliament,

told ArmeniaNow that together with other parties supporting Kocharyan,

a decision would be made tonight on whether to hold concurrent rallies.

 

Yesterday Kocharyan visited various campaign headquarters. Today

both he and his opponent, Stepan Demirchyan, went to Tsitsernakaberd

monument to pay honor to those who died 15 years ago during pogroms

in Sumgait, Azerbaijan which was the flashpoint of the war in Artsax.

 

Former Prime Minister and would-be Presidential candidate Raffi

Hovhannisian appeared in court today, asking that his citizenship

status be reconsidered. The U.S.-born Hovhanissian, was granted

Armenian citizenship in 2001, but has argued that he was illegally

denied citizenship when he first applied in 1991.

 

Earlier this month a court ruled Hovhannisian ineligible to stand

for President, as he did not meet the 10-year citizenship requirement.

 

A court is expected to rule on his latest motion in a week.

 

(ArmeniaNow reporters Zhanna Alexanyan and Vahan Ishkhanyan contributed

to this report.)

 

---

http://www.armenianow.com/2003/specialedit...ion/february28/

 

P.S. Based on the criterion above, I don't understand how does Kocharyan qualify for citizenship of Armenia? - MJ

[MJ]

08:33:59 Saturday, 01 March 2003 ( politics )

HRAYR TOVMASSYAN: 300 THOUSAND VOTES FALSIFIED

Following president Kocharyan’s advice, lawyer Hrayr Tovmassyan equipped himself with pen and paper and embarked on counting. “2 million 290 thousand people in Armenia are eligible to vote. 30% of them left the country. It means hardly 1million 600 thousand of them were in Armenia at the time of voting. As a rule, even in highly developed countries, no more than 70 or 75 percent of population goes to vote. Let’s imagine that Armenia is indeed the most developed country of the world. Even then, no more than 1 million 200 thousand could participate in the election. Doesn’t it seems strange that Central Election Commission says 1million 500 thousand people voted on February 19? It is obvious that 300 thousand votes are falsified and is clear for whom”, he said.

Mr. Tovmassyan is convinced that there is not a single polling station in Armenia where election irregularities didn’t take place. According to the evidence he possesses, in one of polling stations, a ballot box was stuffed with 1000 of falsified ballots at once and no clean ballots remained in that polling station by 16:00.

 

07:34:09 Saturday, 01 March 2003 ( politics )

LAWYER ASHOT SARGSSYAN SAYS 112 FACTS OF ELECTION IRREGULARITIES PRESENTED TO ELECTORAL COMMISSION ON TIME

Today, before meeting with electorate, presidential candidate Stepan Demirchyan’s campaigners presented irrefutable evidence of the election illegalities taking place in the first round of the elections.

Incumbent president Robert Kocharyan keeps insisting that Central Electoral Commission received only 50 complaints about the fraud committed during the first round.

Lawyer Ashot Sargssyan, Stepan Demirchyan’s proxy, says he himself submitted 84 complaints about election irregularities to the commission on February 19. In his words many proxies failed in filing motions to the commission on time because they wern’t aware of the law, under which the deadline of complaints submission is 14:00 of the next day after voting.

Ashot Sargssyan says, 112 motions were filed on time, however, the prosecution office keeps silence about this. The lawyer also reminded that Central Electoral Commission itself violated Electoral Code by announcing the second round before releasing final results of the first round vote.

 

http://www.a1plus.am/eng/

[ARR]

WILL ARMENIANS GET RID OF LUST FOR POWER?

 

Armenians suffer from two diseases- the one is the so-called Yerevan disease, which is virtually impossible to cure and the second is the lust for power, which develops into intolerance and permissiveness. If only an insignificant portion of Armenians is prone to the first diseases, the majority of us seem to suffer from the second one, which is perhaps our biggest tragedy.

 

Armenians are a nation with a 5,000 years-long history record, but they have failed to get rid of their barbarity and civilized struggle is not for us. Our enemies used to say: “give weapons to Armenians and they will eliminate each other.” What we are witnessing today is very much like that. We have divided into camps and show no signs of reconciliation. Some political forces have turned the overwhelming majority of people into a toy for pursuing their narrow interests.

 

We have failed to realize what we want. Today we praise one and are ready to stone him tomorrow. We talk about high ideas but think only about our own benefits.

 

What is going on in today’s Armenia? Lust for power has made us blind, and we are full of hatred towards one another and are not any longer able to tell the bad from the good. Who are those people who are sowing discord and intolerance among us? They are accomplished and non-accomplished politicians, people keen on taking revenge and who would stop at nothing reach their goals. I, as one of many more mortals, cannot understand what Vazgen Manukian, a former prime minister, then a defense minister and head of a political party, wants.

 

Having all power levers at one time he did not justify the people’s expectations and went into hiding from responsibility. In 1996 he took them to assault the parliament and abandoned them at the most crucial moment, leaving them face to face with their own army. Many innocent people were arrested but Manukian and other leaders like he emerged clean.

 

The then regime stopped at anything to retain its power, they will not stop at anything now to take revenge. Who are the leaders of today’s opposition? Men who were raised in Diaspora, those who fled Armenia in 1992 to avoid ordeals that the rest of us sustained, a man who is trying to capitalize on his late father’s name. The people have not forgotten this and will tell you “No” on March 5.

 

By Zarik Khachatrian

http://www.azg.am

[ARR]

THIRD PART OF ARRESTED ARE CRIMINALS

 

78 participants of street disorders are arrested for 15 days.

 

Permanent representative of Armenia in the Secretariat of the Council of Europe, Christian Ter-Stepanyan has received from the Foreign Ministry an instruction to present to the PACE Chairman Peter Schider detailed information about the persons who underwent administrative punishment during the last week. We'll remind that for participation in illegal actions during the unsanctioned demonstrations 78 persons were arrested for 15 days.

 

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On Wednesday Scider applied to the Armenian opposition urging to refrain from illegal actions and to respect the constitutional order in the country. The spread document reads also that The Council of Europe expects from the Armenian government that is releases the arrested activists of the opposition. ''The authorities should do their best to calm down the tension, but without undertaking radical measures for maintaining the public order,'' the statement published on the official site of the PACE reads.

 

At present totally 134 people underwent administrative punishment. 56 of them were penalized with a sum equal to 2,5 USD. The persons accused of hooliganism, disorders, have all the necessary conditions to defend themselves - those who are not able to hire a lawyer, have the opportunity to have him free of charge. It has been revealed that every third arrested has earlier been convicted for different crimes, such as murders, robbery, rape, money falsification, illegal maintenance of arms... The criminal elements are being used for destabilization of the situation in the country. These persons can hardly follow certain ideas. So, speaking about the release of the oppositional figures, Mr. Schider was probably being based on unchecked information.

 

The opposition continues to provoke the authorities by holding unsanctioned mass actions frequently accompanied by disorders. During the demonstrations the hooligans were raiding the regional electoral headquarters of Robert Kocharian, were threatening the owners of the shops were photos of Robert Kocharian were placed. Deciding to carry out unsanctioned demonstrations, heads of Stepan Demirchyan's electoral headquarters do not care about preventing the possible illegal acts of their supporters. This means that they share the responsibility with those who want to destabilize the situation in the country through the actions of the opposition.

 

- "PanARMENIAN News" analytical department

http://www.panarmenian.net/

[ARR]

MISTERIES OF PRE-ELECTION ARYTHMETICS

 

Some oppositional leaders do not know how to add and multiply.

 

Final results of the first round of Presidential elections publicized on February 25 by the Central Electoral Commission, as expected, do not differ from the preliminary results announced the day after the elections. According to the precise, rechecked data, Robert Kocharian has got 6300 and Stepan Demirchyan - 1100 votes less than announced on February 20.

 

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ This means that in the percentage quotation the incumbent President had got 49,48% (earlier it was 49,8), and the opposition leader – 28,22 (earlier 28,3). The 3rd candidate received 3 thousand new votes as a result of the check. So, he has 17,66%. The indicators of other candidates have very few changes. The opposition does not trust both the preliminary and the final results. They have their own figures which sometimes contradict not only each other but also the logic. Let's compare some of them.

 

At the meeting organized by the electoral headquarters of Stepan Demirchyan, they continue to say that the leader of the People’s party has got 70% of the votes on February 19. At the same time, another oppositional leader, Paruyr Hayrikyan, agreeing wit the supporters of Demirchyan that there were falsifications during the elections, says that if the elections were fair, it would be Artashes Geghamyan to participate in the second round together with Robert Kocharian. So, this means that in this case we have to deal with some 200% instead of 100. Mathematicians will not forgive us.

 

Let’s concentrate on information of a headquarter of one of the oppositional candidates. Ashot Sargsyan, a member of Demirchyan’s electoral headquarter, said that Robert Kocharian, “who has lost the elections”, has got 42%and not 49. But in this case, if we add 42 to 70, forgetting about the votes of other candidates, we will have 135 percent in total.

 

Moreover, second secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party Sanatruk Sahakyan said on February 20 that the incumbent president is only the third. This complicates the situation much more and increases the total sum up to 160%. Such things do not exist in the modern science. Grigor Harutyunya, the head of the electoral headquarter of Stepan Demirchyan, also sure of the victory of his leader, said while speaking about the organized falsifications that in reality the number of voters was by 300 thousand less than announced. He supposed that those 300 thousand ballot papers were falsified in favor of Kocharian. Let’s suppose this. But in this case Harutyunyan contradicts himself. Because if we take 300 thousand from the votes got by the incumbent President, it will in any case appear that Kocharian has got more than Demirchyan.

 

We shall note that even before the day of voting some candidates started to have problems with mathematics. If we believe the internet-site of the A1+ TV Company, in the end of January Arshak Sadoyan, commenting the dirty technologies of sociological studies ordered by the authorities, said that the opposition has carried out its own research which confirmed that Robert Kocharian is the 8th with 18%. If the rating of the incumbent President brings him to the 8th position, it should be assumed that the 7 political figures who left him behind had more supporters at that moment. It means that the leader of the renovated national-democrats believes in the possibility that in total the percentage of the rating of all the candidates can be equal to 145.

 

It’s strange, because some supporters of Stepan Demirchyan have master’s and even Ph degree in mathematical sciences...

 

- "PanARMENIAN News" analytical department

http://www.panarmenian.net

[ARR]

Who would not want Artsax to be part of Armenia?(except Azeries)

It is unfortunate that Artsax conflict is not solved yet and it is not legally one of the marzes of Armenia. If it had been, the elections would have been over in the first round. Kocharian was short of some 3,000 to 5,000 votes to actually win in the first round. The current population of NKR is 150,000. Let’s suppose 75,000 people, that is the half of the population are of voting age. There is no doubt in my mind that Artsakh would have voted at least like Syunik marz where Kocharian received about 70% of votes. So even if the other 30% would have given their votes to Demirchian, Kocharian would have received an additional of 30,000 votes that is 70% of 75,000 minus 30% of 75,000. Given the overall total of votes in the country, 30,000 votes would have delivered the President in the first run.

[MJ]

AUTHORITIES RELEASE SOME OPPOSITIONISTS AMID FRESH PROTESTS

 

By Emil Danielyan

 

The Armenian authorities began on Saturday releasing dozens of jailed supporters of presidential candidate Stepan Demirchian amid continuing opposition rallies and international criticism.

 

The Justice Ministry told RFE/RL that 48 persons sentenced to up to 15 days in jail by courts of first instance were set free by late evening after an appeal to the authorities made by the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin II. More than 10,000 people, meanwhile, demonstrated outside the ministry building in central Yerevan to demand the release of all detainees.

 

The unsanctioned march through the city center followed yet another anti-government rally held by 13 opposition parties supporting Demirchian’s bid for the Armenian presidency. Addressing the crowd, Demirchian demanded an end to “political persecutions” of his proxies and punishment for “fraudsters” which he claims robbed him of victory in last week’s first round of the presidential election. He accused incumbent President Robert Kocharian of seeking the backing of unnamed “thugs” ahead of the March 5 run-off.

 

More than 150 people, most of them affiliated with Demirchian’s People’s Party of Armenia (HZhK), have been detained over the past week for allegedly committing unspecified “hooligan acts” during the anti-Kocharian demonstrations in Yerevan. At least 86 detainees got short jail sentences in trials held behind the closed doors. The others were fined and set free.

 

The arrests have been denounced by local and international human rights groups as well as the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The OSCE’s current chairman-in-office, Dutch Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, said bluntly in a statement on Friday that the oppositionists were jailed “because of their involvement in non-violent campaign activities” and urged official Yerevan to honor its OSCE commitments.

 

The New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch issued harsher criticism, accusing Kocharian of “disabling” the opposition ahead of the run-off.

 

The Justice Ministry spokesman, Ara Saghatelian, insisted that the Armenian Review Court began ordering the release of the opposition activists primarily in response to Catholicos Garegin’s call for clemency on “humanitarian grounds.” He also claimed all of the released activists admitted their guilt in written statements.

 

Speaking at the rally earlier in the day, opposition leaders put the number of their freed supporters at less than 20. Albert Bazeyan of the Hanrapetutyun (Republic) party called them “heroes.”

 

The authorities, however, say many of them have a prior criminal record and have published some of their names and pictures in the pro-Kocharian media in recent days. But according to the opposition leaders, none of those men has any connection with the Demirchian campaign.

 

In an interview with RFE/RL, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian admitted that the mounting criticism damages the country’s democratic credentials and said the authorities should stop the crackdown.

 

Demirchian, meanwhile, again sounded supremely confident of his victory. “I was asked today whether we are doomed to go into the second round. I am replying that I am doomed to win,” he declared, prompting “Demirchian! Demirchian!” chants.

 

“I want to warn for the last time all those who intend to resort to fraud and violence. You would be strictly punished,” he added.

 

His top allies shared his optimism. “Robert Kocharian’s days in office are numbered,” claimed Shavarsh Kocharian of the opposition National Democratic Party. “We have already won,” agreed another Hanrapetutyun leader, Aram Sarkisian. “The whole civilized world has already accepted that victory.”

 

Kocharian and his loyalists are equally confident that they will win.

 

The gathering, held in front of a famous museum of ancient Armenian manuscripts, went ahead despite a permission granted by the city authorities to the pro-Kocharian Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) party to rally its supporters in the same venue at about the same time. But Dashnaktsutyun called off its planned action in an apparent bid to avoid an unpredictable confrontation with opposition supporters.

 

Bazeyan claimed though that the nationalist party was not sure that it will pull a large crowd. “Let them come tomorrow and hold their rally. We’ll see how many people will gather,” he said.

 

Tens of thousands of people have attended the Demirchian rallies in the capital over the past two weeks. Earlier on Saturday, the HZhK leader campaigned in the northern city of Vanadzor. Correspondents accompanying him said several thousand people turned out for his rally there.

 

 

 

http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeniarepor...11D953DE7BB.ASP

 

HAYK BABUKHANYAN THINKS KOCHARYAN DOOMED TO DEFEAT

Current situation in the republic poses a threat to the opposition activists’ lives, MP Hayk Babukhanyan, deputy chair of “Constitutional Right” union, said today speaking in Azdak Club adding that even mass arrests don’t frighten them but fill them with determination instead.

In his words, the union possesses tremendous evidence of election illegalities and fraud.

Babukhanyan condemned the Defence Ministry statement saying it is unacceptable to involve armed forces into home policy.

He also blamed state-run Public Television for its failure in fulfilling its functions.

The lawmaker expressed his negative judgement about Dashnaktsutyun party’s stance saying it won’t help the party to win public respect.

Babukhanyan urged Robert Kocharyan to resign and stand for election merely as a presidential candidate. In his opinion, Kocharyan will lose the election even if his voters come for voting in tanks.

 

http://www.a1plus.am/eng/

[MJ]

ARF WRITING ONE OF BLACKEST CHAPTERS OF ITS HISTORY NOW: HAIK BABUKHANIAN

 

MARCH 1. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), which is

supporting Robert Kocharian, is writing one of the blackest chapters

of its history now, the Vice-chairman of the Constitutional Right Union

(CRU), Parliament member Haik Babukhanian told a press conference.

 

Commenting on the harsh statements addressed to the CRU by the ARF

Board member Vahan Hovhannissian, Babukhanian called them "showing

fists after the fight, as the other ARF member Kim Balayan ingloriously

lost the TV debate with the CRU member Hrant Khachatrian. "We supported

the ARF when the ANM started persecuting them in mid-90s, but today the

ARF rank-and-file members feel ashamed for their leaders,"Babukhanian

said, pointing out that a political party having a century-old history

must not form its policy only because its members have posts, markets

and shops.

 

Commenting on the accusations of cooperation with the Armenian National

Movement (ANM) brought against Stepan Demirchian, Babukhanian stressed

that such accusations can be brought by the one that struggle against

the ANM. Robert Kocharian has made his political career exclusively

due to the ANM, and it is he that failed the condemnation of the

former ruling party for its crimes, and both the Government and the

President entourage include numerous ANM members, so the accusations

brought against Stepan Demirchian are just absurd, Babukhanian said.

 

From Groong

[MJ]

Government Based on Lies

 

On February 26, the first Commander of the Karabagh Army Arkadi Karapetian

also was participating in the rally in front of the Matenadaran.

 

Q: Aren't you afraid of being arrested for taking part in the rally?

 

A: I am used to it, and I'm with my people. Why should I be afraid?

 

Q: But they say this is a crowd of alcoholics and drug addicts, don't they?

 

A: You don't believe what they say. I love and respect my people very much.

We are an intelligent nation. Our people will reach their final goal, which

is the truth, in their own manner. They do not have to come here and

protest. I believe in our people. I saw them in 1988, 1990 and 1992, in 1996

and 1998 and I see them now. They did everything in the right manner at the

right moment. Our people do not accept drug addicts and there are no such

people here.

 

Q: Our candidate is accused of not having served in the army. What do you

think about it?

 

A: To tell the truth I would like him to have served in the army. But it is

very good that the candidate chosen by the people understands what the

people, the state and statehood mean. Let us not forget that during Soviet

times the students of the Yerevan Engineering Institute were not serving in

the army. There was a military chair in the institute and it was enough.

Thus it is not really a fault of his.

 

Q: How will this quest end?

 

A: Let everybody not forget that we struggled against the USSR in 1988 and

won. It collapsed, because it was based on lies. Today everything is based

on lies in our country, and the people are struggling against this. I am a

realist and I have to note that most people voted not just for Stepan

Demirchian but against Robert Kocharian. They are tired of this regime. And

if thieves, alcoholics and homeless people came to this meeting, and if

there were thousands of them, we would have to stop everything and leave

this country.

 

Melania Barseghian

 

ORRAN Daily"

Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 17:04:13 -0800 (PST)

 

From Groong

[ARR]

http://angelfire.lycos.com/oz/mypage/dem1.jpg

 

What is son of Demrichian afraid of? Though questions?

 

KOCHARIAN, DEMIRCHIAN MAY HOLD TELEVISION DEBATES

 

The Armenian Public Television has been advertising a proposed television debate between Robert Kocharian and Stepan Demirchian, set for next Monday, March 3, two days before the run-off between the two presidential candidates. Kocharian last week renewed his offer to hold the debate on any of the country’s television channels. Demirchian at first agreed to hold a debate, but more recently conditioned it on release of his supporters and punishment of several officials campaigning for Kocharian. Demirchian has so far refused to give televised interviews. His campaign chief Grigor Harutiunian and other supporters have spoken in his place. The debate is expected to cover major domestic and foreign policy challenges facing the country.

 

[ March 01, 2003, 06:54 PM: Message edited by: ARR ]

[joseph parikian]

yet to hear one negative coment about the other candidates.

my freinds from what i am reading i am geting the impretion that Cocharian is a very bad candidate and the rest are the good guys .

we have one devil running against 8 angels send from heaven , please correct me if im wrong .

[MJ]

Review & Outlook - 03/03/2003

From: Armenian News Network

Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 0:09:15 PST

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

OPPOSITION RALLIES CONTINUE UNABATED

 

By David Petrosyan

 

March 3, 2003

 

The events after the first round of the presidential elections in

Armenia are developing impetuously, with each of the opposed sides

playing their political game.

 

As was expected, all opposition candidates (except Artashes

Geghamian) and 13 political parties entering the "16" coalition set up

last August rallied around Stepan Demirchian, who passed to the

runoff. Consolidation of political, human, financial and other

resources took place, which is manifested in the multi-thousand

rallies in Yerevan. Changes in the tactics of conducting political

campaign also become outlined.

 

Taking into account the highly limited term assigned for the whole

campaign the opposition brings its actions to the following:

 

- it demands acknowledgment of mass falsifications committed in

the first round of voting and punishment of those guilty, revision of

the results of the first round and satisfaction of the opposition

complaints lodged with the Central Electoral Commission. Naturally, a

question arises: how far are the claims of Demirchian and his

supporters motivated? The answer to this question was given by one of

the OSCE observers in a private conversation with one of my colleagues.

The foreign diplomat thinks that the number of violations is extremely

high. In his opinion, they constitute at least 30% of the total number

of votes cast by voters for candidates, of which 10% during the voting

process and 20% during the subsequent vote counting;

 

- it demands creation of normal conditions for the holding of the

second round of the presidential elections, which, on the whole,

corresponds to the demand of the international community. These

demands are brought to: resignation of a number of top officials who

organized and patronized falsifications, discontinued political

persecutions of the opposition, etc.

 

All these demands were not accepted by the incumbent president,

though they were submitted by Demirchian supporters in written form

already on February 26.

 

At the same time, President Kocharian and his team are re-grouping

their ranks and changing their tactics. In particular:

 

- the manager of the president's campaign headquarters, Defense

Minister Serge Sargsian will be engaged only in issues of mobilizing

the management of the "administrative resource" for the second round

of the voting, and issues of agitation and ideology are completely

entrusted to the leadership of ARF-Dashnaktsutiun. Thus, one can state

that in the event of Robert Kocharian's retaining his presidential

chair, the influence of Serge Sargsian in the future political system

will be decreased to a certain degree, and the influence of

ARF-Dashnaktsutiun, on the contrary, will increase;

 

- the stake in the runoff will be made on: ARF-Dashnaktsutiun's

support; local administrative structures; information terror against

Demirchian and his supporters through fully controlled electronic mass

media; forceful pressure on the part of law-enforcement bodies and

criminal structures; mobile groupings controlled by a number of local

oligarchs; mobile force groups of "Haghtanak"/"Victory" party

reminiscent of groups of storm-troopers;

 

- out of subtle political moves we'll single out the final

winning-over of the presidential candidate Artashes Geghamian, who

refused to support both Stepan Demirchian and Robert Kocharian in the

second round, demanding that the elections be invalidated. Without

disputing Geghamian's position in its form, we'll mention that in

essence it fairly suits the incumbent president. We are sure that in

the near future, in the event of his re-election, Robert Kocharian

will "reward" Artashes Geghamian. We'll have to be patient to see

what concrete form the political materialization of this process

takes. We do not exclude either that the February 22 meeting of

Artashes Geghamian and ARF-Dashnaktsutiun Bureau member Vahan

Hovhannissian was only one of the external manifestations of the

political deal yet to be clinched. We mentioned the possibility of

such a drift of events with Geghamian's participation in our articles

published as far back as last September.

 

We think that in the current situation, when the conditions of

holding free, fair, democratic and transparent elections have failed

to improve and, on the contrary, have become worse by far as compared

to the first round, the opposition may urge its supporters to boycott

the second round of the elections. There are ample reasons for this,

and these reasons will be taken with understanding both by voters and

the international community. Let's single out only some of them:

 

- the refusal of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) to satisfy

the complaint of the opposition and the absolutely astounding

statement by Kocharian that he was against unsealing packages with

ballot papers at polling precincts for their verification at the

urging of the opposition as in that case it could prove that the

runoff would not be needed are the evidence that in reality the

electoral process in the country is administered not by the CEC, but

by one of the candidates (namely, the incumbent president). Even the

leaders of countries with totalitarian regimes try to avoid such frank

statements;

 

- mass arrests on obviously trumped-up charges of functionaries of

the People's Party (headquarters managers, proxies, and others) and

other Demirchian supporters who actively resisted mass riggings during

the first round considerably decrease the possibilities of the

opposition to control the course of the vote in the runoff. There is

also another aspect regarding mass arrests of Demirchian supporters,

which shocks the international community - all trials of people

charged with administrative violations were conducted without defense

lawyers;

 

- the statement of the Board of the RA Ministry of Defense of

February 22 in which the actions of the opposition are characterized

as disturbance of the internal political balance in the state and in

which an appeal to the opponents of the incumbent president to stop

"... anti-constitutional and non-conformist actions" is voiced, can be

characterized as anti-constitutional and contradicting to the Law "On

Defense". It is not incumbent on Armenia's armed forces to perform

the function of establishing constitutional order, they are not the

guarantor of the Constitution (whose guarantor is the President) and

do not have the right to meddle in the internal political processes

(unlike, for example, in Turkey). The above-mentioned statement is the

proof of the direct interference of the army in the internal political

process, which runs counter to a number of articles of the Electoral

Code;

 

- the arson of the Demirchian campaign headquarters on February

26-27 overnight is an action of unconcealed terror against the

opponents of the incumbent president and very precisely reflects the

situation emerging in the country;

 

- the bans on holding rallies and marches of protest, limitation

of movement of citizens all over the country (the blocking of

transport communications at the approaches to Yerevan on the days of

opposition rallies by police is implied) are violation not only of the

Constitution, but also of a number of provisions of the international

conventions ratified by the Parliament and signed by the president of

Armenia, including during the country's joining the Council of Europe.

 

In case of the opposition's boycotting the elections, the very

procedure of elections will become a mere formality and, naturally,

Robert Kocharian will be proclaimed the country's president. It is

another thing that the level of his legitimacy will be extremely low,

as the whole world has already fixed that after the February 19

elections the incumbent president does not have the support of 50% of

the real electorate. This very circumstance will be taken into account

by all the countries of the world, business circles and the Diaspora

in determining their policies towards Armenia and its leadership.

 

If the opposition participates in the second round, which is

unlikely to be different from the first round under the circumstances,

then there is a high likelihood that the elections may be recognized

as falling short of the OSCE standards with all the ensuing

consequences.

 

 

"The Noyan Tapan Highlights" N8, March, 2003

[nairi]

MJ, I assume you have Groong's permission to post all their articles here. However, I don't see much point in you doing so. Any "serious" Armenian reads this material where it belongs, i.e. on the web or in their mailbox. Surely you can discuss the content without posting the articles here. By doing this you would also be "wasting" less space here.

[MJ]

I think your assumptions are not important nor is your “vision.”

 

Any outstanding issues with Groong would be resolved between Groong, Movses and me.

 

The article posted above does not need comments.

 

The issue of "wasted space" would be resolved between Movses and me. However, you are welcome to contribute in that issue by not wasting space.

 

I am always flattered to receive “attention” form “serious” readers.

[nairi]

Then why post it on a public discussion forum?

 

Ahhh, whatever.

 

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

[MJ]

Just Bizzare.