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16 The Armenian Reporter | April 4, 2009 Armenia Coup charges against jailed opposition dropped by Karine Kalantarian YEREVAN (RFE/RL) – An Armenian judge on Wednesday ended the controversial collective trial of seven opposition figures arrested following last year’s post-election clashes in Yerevan after prosecutors dropped coup charges leveled against them. The new twist in the so-called “Case of the Seven” resulted from the newly enacted amendments to Articles 225 and 300 of the Armenian Criminal Code used against the prominent supporters of opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian. The articles deal with provocation of street violence and “usurpation of state authority by force” respectively. One of the amendments passed by the Armenian parliament on March 18 divided Article 300 into three sections detailing various forms of power usurpation and toughening punishment for some of them. Citing the amendments, the chief trial prosecutor, Koryun Piloyan, said during a chaotic court session on Wednesday that the defendants, among them three parliament deputies and a former foreign minister, will now face no accusations stemming from Article 300 but must continue to be tried for organizing the March 1, 2008 “mass disturbances” in Yerevan. Two of them, Miasnik Malkhasian and Sasun Mikaelian, also remain accused of resisting police and illegally possessing weapons respectively, said Piloyan. The prosecutor’s speech was drowned out by furious shouts from defendants. Sasun Mikaelian’s case will be sent to Kotayk regional court, while the others will be heard at Yerevan’s Central and Nork Marash district courts, presided over by different judges. Judge Mnatsakan Martirosian will be presiding over Alexander Arzumanian’s and Suren Sirunyan’s case. Presently, it is not clear, which courts will be examining the remaining cases. This means that their trials will be prolonged because the presiding judges will have to become acquainted with their cases. The judge in the case, Mnatsakan Martirosian, responded by ruling that the seven oppositionists should stand fresh and separate trials for orchestrating the vicious clashes between Ter-Petrosian supporters and security forces that left ten people dead and more than 200 others injured. Justifying the surprise decision, Martirosian cited the complexity of the case involving about 400 witnesses and “victims” as well as the need to speed up judicial proceedings. With the riot charge punishable by between four to ten years in prison under the amended Article 225, Martirosian declined to free the defendants pending further trial. It is therefore unlikely that any of them will be set free before this month’s session of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) which is due to discuss Yerevan’s compliance with its January resolution on Armenia. The resolution deplored the continuing imprisonment of dozens of Armenian opposition members. Still, the Strasbourg-based assembly backed down on its threats to suspend the voting rights of its Armenian members, citing the Armenian authorities’ pledge to amend the Criminal Code. It interpreted the pledge as an indication that the authorities will finally free all oppositionists jailed on “seemingly artificial or politically motivated charges.” Meanwhile, the defense lawyers in the trial criticized Martirosian’s decision and said they will likely appeal against it. “The court made a decision that took both the defense lawyers and prosecutors by surprise,” one of them, Melanya Arustamian, told RFE/RL. “They have split up the case because it was having too much public resonance,” said Vartuhi Elbakian. According to another attorney, Hovik Abrahamian, the judge Turkey signals that it might open the border Ankara’s blockade of Armenia officially began 16 years ago News analysis by Tatul Hakobyan YEREVAN – One of the most talked about issues in Yerevan today is Armenian-Turkish relations. More specifically the two components of that relationship: (1) Will Turkey finally lift the blockade of Armenia In other words will it open the border (2) Will Barack Obama in his message to the Armenian people on April 24 use the word “genocide” as he had promised during his election campaign. Mr. Obama, along with Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have in the past supported Armenian Genocide resolutions. It is expected that the president of the United States will be visiting Ankara and Istanbul April 5-7. Mr. Obama’s visit to Turkey will be his first European visit. (He will also visit Great Britain, France, and the Czech Republic.) The visit will be his first to a Moslem-majority country. Mr. Obama has decided to go to Turkey, which illustrates the importance of the U.S.-Turkey relationship and the role Turkey plays for the United States in the Black Sea, the Middle East, and Europe. The overriding opinion of politicians and analysts in Armenia is that if Turkey doesn’t open the border with Armenia – or at least one of the check points – before April 24, then Mr. Obama will honor his pledge and be the first U.S. president since 1981 to say the word “genocide.” Statements have been published in the Turkish press which say that there is a possibility that Turkey will open the border before April 24. Abdullah Gül and Serge Sargsian in Yerevan. Photo: Photolure. An anniversary Exactly 16 years earlier, on April 4, 1993, in solidarity with Baku, the Turkish government decided to close the border with Armenia and announced that as long as Karabakh forces had not left the region of Kelbajar, the borders would remain closed. By December 1991 Ankara had recognized the independence of the three Caucasus countries. However, while it established diplomatic relations with Georgia and Azerbaijan, Ankara refused to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia, stating that Armenia had territorial claims on Turkey. Turkish authorities referred to Armenia’s declaration of independence in 1990 – where there are no direct territorial claims, however. Until April 1993, the two Armenia-Turkey check-points, the Kars-Gyumri railroad, and the land crossing at Alijan-Markara were open, even though there were no diplomatic relations between the two countries. After the events at Kelbajar, Turkey closed the border. That does not Journalists following the court proceedings. Photo: Photolure. necessarily mean, however, that the Turkish authorities adopted a hostile policy against Armenia in the name of or for the sake of Azerbaijan. We should not discount that Turkey was looking for an excuse to close its border with Armenia, and it would have been hard pressed to find a better opportunity than the Karabakh conflict. By placing Armenia in a blockade, Turkey satisfied the wishes of Azerbaijan, its ally, on the one hand, and on the other hand, it found new ways to place pressure on Armenia, citing the unresolved issue of Karabakh. The leaders of the newly independent Armenia, especially those who were negotiating with Turkey, insist that until in the spring of 1993, the two countries were very close to establishing diplomatic relations; there was even a draft report based upon which diplomatic relations would be established. Two months before the events at Kelbajar, on January 31, 1993, Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel met with Gerard Libaridian, advisor to the Armenian president, and special negotiator Davit Shahnazarian. During that meeting, Mr. Demirel promised that Armenia would continue to receive Turkish wheat. Armenia, blockaded by its neighbors, was receiving Turkish wheat during those very difficult years, a reality that was causing Azerbaijan discomfort. Mr. Demirel assured Mr. Libaridian and Mr. Shahnazarian that Armenia would receive the promised 100,000 tons of wheat and recommended continuing bilateral talks for the establishment of diplomatic relations until they saw if a cease fire could really be put into place in Karabakh. When Karabakh forces entered Kelbajar in the end of March, Turkey’s reaction was swift. On April 2, Turkey closed the border and two days later passed a government decision about the blockade of Armenia. Instead of 100,000 tons of wheat, Armenia received 52,000 tons. Some in Armenia believe that if Turkey doesn’t open the border with Armenia before April 24, then Mr. Obama will honor his pledge and say the word “genocide.” dealt a serious blow to government claims that the deadly unrest in Yerevan was the result of an opposition conspiracy to seize power by violent means. He said the implication is that there was never a concerted opposition effort to trigger the worst street violence in Armenia’s history. “The court has proved that … the whole thing is a fabrication,” claimed Arsenian. As a result of the judge’s decision, the relatives of the 10 victims of the March 1 clashes have been excluded from the criminal court proceedings. “We don’t know what will happen. Who should we apply to Where shall we go Will there be a new investigation This is not clear to us,” Sarkis Kloyan, the father of Gor Kloyan, one of the 10 victims told RFE/RL. “But we have our own initiative and we will apply to the courts to hold responsible four police officers for applying special methods of the Chermukha-7.” During the events of March 1, three people were killed because of the Chermukha-7 (tear gas gun), they were Tigran Khachatryan, 23; Gor Kloyan, 29; Armen Farmanyan, 35. f Copyright (c) 2009 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org If Turkey puts an end to its blockade of Armenia, this will be seen as the success of the Armenian authorities. However, what is important is what Turkey is demanding in return for opening the border. If that price is expensive, then the opening of the border could be meaningless. It appears that the authorities are no longer focusing on the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Neither President Serge Sargsian nor Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian – in contrast to their predecessors Robert Kocharian and Vartan Oskanian, are touching upon or stressing the theme of the Armenian Genocide in international forums. And Turkey, in turn, is no longer stressing or placing the Karabakh conflict on its agenda of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations as it once did. Is no longer stressing the recognition of the Armenian Genocide a satisfactory concession for Turkey to put an end to its blockade It is difficult to say because the details of the Armenian-Turkish negotiations are being kept secret. It is even difficult to say whether or not there is even a proposal that the two sides are working on, or if Armenia and Turkey are simply negotiating for the sake of negotiating. There is a sentiment in Yerevan, which is not so far-fetched, that the final result of the negotiations is not what is important for Ankara, but only the negotiations themselves. In other words, Turkey simply wants to overcome Mr. Obama’s and April 24th’s danger. Turkey today is using threatening words and blackmail, saying that if the “Genocide” word is uttered, then that will strike a heavy blow against Armenian-Turkish bilateral talks and the registered successes. The Armenian side is not responding to all of this. It is simply remaining silent, perhaps thinking that a breakthrough in Armenian- Turkish relations is imminent, and every indiscreet statement could strike a bitter blow to Armenian- Turkish bilateral talks. Certainly, by opening the borders Turkey is not doing us a great favor. It is simply putting an end to 16 years of a continual hostile policy. Internationally, placing a neighbor in a blockade is considered to be aggression, in other words, Turkey, for the last 16 years has realized a policy of “peaceful” aggression against Armenia. f
The Armenian Reporter | April 4, 2009 17 Armenia From Armenia, in brief Germany’s Minister of State in Armenia Minister of State at the German Federal Foreign Office Gernot Erler and the head of the German- South Caucasian parliamentary group of the German Bundestag Steffen Reiche were in Armenia for a working visit March 29-30. During their visit to the country, they met with President Serge Sargsian, Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian, Foreign Affairs Minister Edward Nalbandian, Speaker of the National Assembly Hovik Abrahamian and other high ranking officials. Armenpress reports that President Sargsian told the German officials that Armenia is grateful for the assistance Germany has provided since independence, as it is the second donor country as well as one of the biggest trade partners. The president went on to say that Armenia is very interested in deepening and strengthening ties with Germany. The sides discussed the domestic political situation, the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict, emerging Armenian-Turkish relations, bilateral trade, the EU’s Eastern Partnership Initiative, as well as other issues of importance. PACE Monitoring Commission welcomes amendments in country’s criminal code The Monitoring Commission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), during its session in Valencia welcomed amendments to articles 225 and 300 to Armenia’s Criminal Code, Armenpress reports. David Harutyunyan. David Harutyunyan, head of the Armenian delegation to PACE said that taking into consideration that the changes in the articles are in force but have yet to be implemented said, “The further implementation of the law will Gernot Erler (l.) and Edward Nalbandian. Photos: Photolure. continue to be under the limelight of the monitoring commission.” The law will be implemented by the April session of PACE, when the monitoring commission will once again refer to the issue. Berdashen village in Karabakh to have new water-supply system Financed by the Hayastan All-Armenia Fund’s Argentinean affiliate and the government of Karabakh, the village of Berdashen in the region of Martuni will have a new water-supply system, worth 210 million AMD (about $555,000 US). Berdashen’s water-supply system was built in the 1960s and was for a very long time in a state of disrepair. The pump station was renovated, cancer-causing asbestos pipes were replaced with plastic ones, and a 3.6-kilometer pipeline was built, already supplying Berdashen with water. The next phase of the initiative, the building of the internal waterdistribution network, is underway. When this leg of the project is completed by autumn 2009, all 1,500 residents of Berdashen will receive a regular supply of water, Armepress reports. Armenian-Swedish business forum held in Yerevan Infrastructure, energy, information technologies, environmental protection are some of the topics discussed at the Armenian-Swedish business forum held in Yerevan on April 2. Participants also discussed programs by the IMF, the investment climate in the country, relations between Armenia and the European Union. Armenia’s minister of economy, Swiss deputy minister of trade, deputy foreign minister of Armenia, deputy minister of energy and natural resources of Armenia and other officials took part in the forum, Arminfo reported. Byurakan Observatory at the center of scientific tourism Hayk Harutyunyan, director of the Byurakan Observatory told representatives of big tourism agencies operating in Armenia gathered in Byurakan that the observatory should be at the center of scientific tourism to Armenia. The director said that the region which includes Oshakan, the churches of the Ashtarak region, the summer residence of the Catholicos, the Fortress of Amberd, Karahunj (Armenia’s stone henge), Metsamor, and Aghdz would be an ideal center for tourism. UNESCO has declared 2009 as the year of International Astrology with the goal to present astrology to all spheres of society. The goal here is to promote and encourage tourists interested in astrology to visit the Byurakan Observatory, which thanks to renowned scientist Viktor Hambardzumian became one of the centers devoted to the study of astrology. World Autism Day marked in Yerevan for the first time The number of people suffering from autism is growing in Armenia and official statistics do not reflect their real numbers since children afflicted with this syndrome are often times living completed isolated from the public. A conference dedicated to shedding light on this issue and raising awareness was held at the UN Yerevan office on April 2. Nani Oskanian. Nani Oskanian, chair of Children Health Care was on hand and said, “We are concerned about the future of children with this syndrome. We need to look for ways of identifying children with autism and help integrate them in society.” According to Arminfo, Ms. Okanian went on to say that they are working in three directions to deal with autism. First it is important to have in place tools for early diagnosis and treatment; secondly raise awareness and thirdly to initiate research in this sphere. “I should say with regret, that our society is not ready to discuss such problems,” she said. Deputy Health Minister Tatul Hakobyan said that the health ministry is paying special attention to the rising cases of autism in the country. Nearly 60,000 Armenians annually leave for Russia as seasonal workers Armenpress reports that due to the global financial crisis, the number of Armenians going to Russia as seasonal workers will most likely decrease. The reason being the reduction of available employment in Russia. Gagik Yeganian, head of Armenia’s Migration Agency said that even longterm migrants may possible return, primarily from Russia for the same reasons. With less people traveling to Russia to work and more migrants returning, the pressure on the system in Armenia will deepen. According to Mr. Yeganian it will not be possible to reintegrate these returning workers into the economy however their agency is taking certain steps to help smooth the situation. For example, they are considering providing seeds or dairy cattle to migrants from the villages so that they can at the very least, manage to have some form of income. Children’s book cover. A week of celebrating children’s books kicks off Under the auspices of the Armenian Writers’ Union, a week celebrating children’s and young adult novels kicked off in the city of Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city. Levon Ananian, head of the Writers’ Union told reporters that a prize for the year’s best children’s book will be awarded. Children’s book writers will visit schools throughout the country, where they will have an opportunity to meet with students and present their books. Mr. Ananian notes that today there are many good children’s writers who have written high quality books. “We should be able to deliver the book from the publisher to the reader,” he told Armenpress. f Byurakan Observatory.
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