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Elections in Armenia

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  • Re: Presidential elections 2008 in Armenia

    On a related note to the above article

    OUR GOOD NEIGHBOURS AND MASSACRES OF ARMENIANS IN BAKU
    By Armen Manvelian

    18/01/2008
    AZG Armenian Daily

    These days, when everybody is engaged in pre-electoral processes,
    very few people will remember the event that took place in the January
    of 1990 in Baku. I believe, today it's especially important to write
    about the massacres of Armenians in the Soviet Azerbaijan, as due to
    the short memory peculiar for the Armenians we start talking about
    our so-called "good neighbor" and discuss the possibility of peaceful
    co-existence. This topic becomes especially urgent within the context
    of the political speeches of some presidential candidates that discuss
    the possibility of peaceful co-existence with the Turks and are sure
    that we need to make only a couple of territorial concessions to
    achieve that peace. Due to the shortage of our memory and to the fact
    that we can never learn lessons from our history, our people faced
    massacres for several times in the course of their history. In the
    very Baku, only in the XX century, Armenians were massacred for three
    times, but still, many of the Armenian public figures feel happy,
    when visiting Baku or holding days of Azerbaijan in Yerevan.

    Anyway, it's worth reminding that for the first time massacres of
    Armenians in Baku took place in the February of 1905. The tsar's
    secret police armed the gangs of Tatars (this way Azeries were called
    before 1918) and ordered them to attack the Armenian districts of
    Baku. According to some data, as a result of the clashes, 300 people
    were killed, 200 Armenians and 100 Tatars. More brutal massacres took
    place in 1918, when Baku was under the control of the Turkish power,
    actually. The Azeri Tatars were initially armed by the order of Turkish
    Nury Pasha, then by the order of the British military commandment in
    the region.

    Notwithstanding this sad and notorious history of Baku, many Armenians
    used to live in this city already in the times of the Soviet power. It
    was quite obvious that the Armenians would become the target for the
    Caucasusian Tatars who later become Azeries, as soon as the first
    clash between Armenians and Azeries occurred. Unfortunately, even
    the massacres in Kirovabad and Sumgait didn't teach any lesson to
    the Armenians, who continued living in the so called "international"
    Baku. Just as it was during the massacres in Sumgait, all the brutal
    actions in Baku were organized with the cruel exactness peculiar to
    only Turkish murderers. The leaders of the people's front in Baku began
    yelling out anti-Armenian slogans like "Baku without Armenians!" during
    the large scale rallies in the city, after which the Azeri murderers
    began attacking the apartments and houses of the Armenian residents
    of Baku. Many of the Armenian families could escape the massacre
    in "Shaxxx" cinema that was under military control. But the Soviet
    soldiers gave no helping hand to the Armenian families urging their
    help. The commandment would explain its apathy by the fact that they
    had received no relevant order from above. As a result of the three day
    massacres about 150 Armenians were killed according to the official
    data (though we know not about the actual data on the massacre). The
    Soviet Armed forces entered the city and began acting only after the
    crowds of the Azeri murderers began attacking the state buildings in
    an attempt to get rid of the Soviet power in Baku.

    Later, Mikhail Gorbachev brought this very explanation to their
    actions, stating that they ordered the Soviet Armed Forces to enter
    the city, as they wanted to save the Soviet power in there. In fact,
    the massacres of the Armenian residents of Baku were no important
    reason for the Soviet government of the time to send Armed Forces to
    the capital of Azerbaijan to save the people murdered.

    In the days of the massacres of Armenians in Baku, the USSR Government
    adopted a decision announcing "emergency situation in NKAR and some of
    other regions." In particular, the emergency situation was announced
    in Nagorno Karabakh, as well as in its neighboring Aghdam, Lachin,
    Mirbashir, Kelbajar, Jibrail, Fizouli and Ghubatlu, later in Shahumian
    regions. While in Baku, the emergency situation was announced only
    on January 19, when, in fact, the massacres of the Armenians finished
    and there was not a single Armenian resident left in the Azeri capital.

    The Armenian residents of Baku were transported from Baku to
    Krasnovodsk (Turkmenistan, now Turkmenbashi), where from they were
    flying to Armenia. Later, when Heidar Aliev became the leader
    of Nakhijevan, he pointed out the names of the organizers of
    "the black January" in the interview to the American writer Thomas
    Golts. According to him, "the massacres were organized by the National
    Committees of Defense in Moscow and Baku, as well as by all of the
    Azeri authorities. They all were involved in the January 12, 13 and 14
    massacres of the Armenians in Baku. All of the actions were schemed
    by Moscow, and the Azeri authorities, namely, Abdurahman Vezirov and
    Ayaz Mutalibov, participated in their implementation."

    Anyway, dwelling on the massacres of Armenians in Baku in 1990,
    it's worth mentioning that not only the Turks, but we, Armenians
    also were guilty in them. Our unhealthy desire to see a friend in
    an enemy very frequently leads us to dangerous serenity that helps
    organizing and implementing massacres of Armenians, and, moreover,
    remains unpunished after that. The initiators and the murderers of
    the massacres of Armenians in 1990 in Baku are unpunished till now.

    Taking into account these facts, we can learn the following lesson
    which says that we can establish friendly relations with our Turk
    "neighbors," only if we have efficient army and the liberated
    territories preserved to us.




    RA MFA: ILHAM ALIYEV DESPERATE



    PanARMENIAN.Net
    18.01.2008 14:12 GMT+04:00

    /PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Judging from the volume and tone of comments
    from Azerbaijan's President, there is a clear sense of desperation
    in Azerbaijan. After all, on all fronts, without any exception,
    Azerbaijan is either behind the international standard or going
    against prevailing international trends," Armenian Foreign Ministry's
    Spokesman Vladimir Karapetian said when commenting on Azeri President
    ilham Aliyev's statement that positions of Armenia and Azerbaijan at
    the international arena are incomparable.

    "First, there is panic with regard to the international community's
    increasing understanding with regard to issues of self-determination,"
    Mr Karapetian said.

    "Second, on economic and social issues, Azerbaijan's rankings are
    problematic. In an unfortunate coincidence for him, the President's
    comments about their economic strength and their statebuilding
    achievements came on the heels of three different reputable indices
    which demonstrate that there is reason for the panic, and that the
    President's comments are simply aimed at misleading his public,"
    he said adding that The Heritage Foundation Wall Street Journal's
    Economic Freedom Index has Armenia at 28th, near the top, while
    Azerbaijan is 107 out of 162 countries rated.

    "In the Freedom House rankings of the democratic standings of states,
    Armenia is considered Partly Free, while Azerbaijan remains Not Free,
    as in years past. The Foreign Policy Index of Failed States, in a
    study of 177 countries, Armenia places 50 places above Azerbaijan.

    "There is hardly an international index, including those of Human
    rights and Freedom of Speech, where Azerbaijan's ranking even
    approaches Armenia's.

    Furthermore, according to World Bank data, despite Azerbaijan's
    enormous resources, they have barely caught up with Armenia's per
    capita income.

    "Finally, with all their rhetoric on military strength, experts predict
    that, at this rate of growth and military buildup, Azerbaijan will
    require 10-15 years to begin to challenge Armenia's armed forces.

    Given all this, these baseless Azerbaijani statements simply offer
    their own population false information thus diverting them from the
    real challenges that they face," Mr Karapetian said.

    http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg217287.html

    Comment


    • Re: Presidential elections 2008 in Armenia

      Regarding the above article: RA MFA: ILHAM ALIYEV DESPERATE

      Great read! It exemplifies the real confidence of the current Armenian Government and shows why this type of governance should remain.

      Comment


      • Re: Presidential elections 2008 in Armenia

        Originally posted by crusader1492 View Post
        Regarding the above article: RA MFA: ILHAM ALIYEV DESPERATE Great read! It exemplifies the real confidence of the current Armenian Government and shows why this type of governance should remain.
        I agree, enker. Yet, a significant portion of the Armenian population today hates this administration so much that they are willing to see a disgusting traitor like Ter Petrosian come back to power. This clearly shows us why the Armenian nation is 'not' ready for democracy. The attempt to practice democracy in a nation like Armenia can ultimately prove suicidal. What we need is institutionalized nationalism in the country, with a strongmen ruling over the ever troublesome masses. I am actually looking forward to see some "western oriented" heads being split open on the streets of Yerevan next month...
        Մեր ժողովուրդն արանց հայրենասիրութեան այն է, ինչ որ մի մարմին' առանց հոգու:

        Նժդեհ


        Please visit me at my Heralding the Rise of Russia blog: http://theriseofrussia.blogspot.com/

        Comment


        • Re: Presidential elections 2008 in Armenia

          Originally posted by Armenian View Post
          I agree, enker. Yet, a significant portion of the Armenian population today hates this administration so much that they are willing to see a disgusting traitor like Ter Petrosian come back to power. This clearly shows us why the Armenian nation is 'not' ready for democracy. The attempt to practice democracy in a nation like Armenia can ultimately prove suicidal. What we need is institutionalized nationalism in the country, with a strongmen ruling over the ever troublesome masses. I am actually looking forward to see some "western oriented" heads being split open on the streets of Yerevan next month...
          It's a shame that some Armenians have their heads up their "vorer" concerning the folly of "democracy" at this point in time in Armenia's history.

          Thankfully, I am under the impression that most of these Armenians come from the diaspora and therefore are unable to concretely effect the election. Also, most of these diaspora Armenians types do not have the heart to go toe to toe with Sarkissian supportes who are willing to "split heads" if nessesary.
          It is unfortunate that it may come to this, but the stakes are too high...a few cracked skulls of useful idiot instigators (and subsequent negative press in the west) is a small price to pay for the continued survival of Armenia.

          Comment


          • Re: Presidential elections 2008 in Armenia

            Originally posted by crusader1492 View Post
            It's a shame that some Armenians have their heads up their "vorer" concerning the folly of "democracy" at this point in time in Armenia's history.
            Well, I disagree. When you say that they have their "heads up their [asses]" you are insinuating that they have a "head" to begin with. In my opinion, the general population does not have a head, so to speak.

            Thankfully, I am under the impression that most of these Armenians come from the diaspora and therefore are unable to concretely effect the election. Also, most of these diaspora Armenians types do not have the heart to go toe to toe with Sarkissian supportes who are willing to "split heads" if nessesary.
            I am sad to say, the most venomous and irrational hate, the most vociferous hate rhetoric, that I have seen and heard against the ruling administration in Yerevan and Artsakhtsis have come from Armenians from Armenia and not Armenian diasporans.

            It is unfortunate that it may come to this, but the stakes are too high...a few cracked skulls of useful idiot instigators (and subsequent negative press in the west) is a small price to pay for the continued survival of Armenia.
            But why "unfortunate"? It is 'essential' that a few heads get smashed on the streets of Yerevan. They need to set an example. This reminds me of a comment I heard Putin make some time ago. When asked about government-public relations, he more-or-less said: Go and live your life, enjoy yourself, do whatever you want, buy whatever you want, but just leave politics for us to handle. Armenians are a difficult bunch to rule over, we need a patriotic strongman if we want a prosperous and stable nation.
            Մեր ժողովուրդն արանց հայրենասիրութեան այն է, ինչ որ մի մարմին' առանց հոգու:

            Նժդեհ


            Please visit me at my Heralding the Rise of Russia blog: http://theriseofrussia.blogspot.com/

            Comment


            • Re: Presidential elections 2008 in Armenia

              U.S. Drops Plans For First-Ever Exit Poll In Armenia



              The United States has abandoned plans to sponsor a first-ever exit poll in Armenia in the face of serious opposition misgivings about the objectivity of public opinion surveys already conducted with U.S. funding.

              The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) offered to finance and organize such a poll as part of their efforts to contribute to the freedom and fairness of next month’s Armenian presidential election. Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian welcomed the idea at an early December meeting with Joseph Pennington, the U.S. charge d’affaires. However, Sarkisian’s main election challengers have been far more skeptical about its positive impact on the integrity of the electoral process. Specifically, they object to the Americans’ reliance on the Armenian Sociological Association, a polling organization reputed to be close to the government. The ASA has done the crucial fieldwork for an ongoing series of U.S.-funded opinion polls on a wide range of issues of interest to Armenians. The election-related results of those polls, nominally conducted by a Lithuanian branch of the U.S. Gallup Organization, have given Sarkisian a big lead over the other major presidential candidates. The latter, citing the ASA’s involvement in the process, have rejected the polling data as fraudulent. Their campaign managers made it clear late last month that they will not consider the planned exit poll trustworthy if it is conducted in the same format. They said the poll will be objective only if Gallup avoids dealing with any of the Armenian polling organizations. In a statement on Friday, the U.S. Embassy implied that the opposition objections were a major reason why it decided to cancel the project. “We continue to think that, in principle, exit polling can be a useful instrument for enhancing the transparency and credibility of elections,” the embassy said. “In this particular case, however, given the limited preparation time remaining prior to the February 19 election and the questions raised from various parts of the political spectrum, we decided it would be wiser not to go forward with a project that faced implementation problems and risked becoming an unhelpful distraction in the Armenian political debate.” The statement also cited Gallup’s failure to resolve “all of the detailed procedural questions in a way that was fully satisfactory to all sides.”

              Source: http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeni...E6D0894A18.ASP
              Մեր ժողովուրդն արանց հայրենասիրութեան այն է, ինչ որ մի մարմին' առանց հոգու:

              Նժդեհ


              Please visit me at my Heralding the Rise of Russia blog: http://theriseofrussia.blogspot.com/

              Comment


              • Re: Presidential elections 2008 in Armenia

                Originally posted by Armenian View Post

                I am sad to say, the most venomous and irrational hate, the most vociferous hate rhetoric, that I have seen and heard against the ruling administration in Yerevan and Artsakhtsis have come from Armenians from Armenia and not Armenian diasporans.
                Is this vociferous crowd of any significance? They at least have to be a minority seeing as Serge Sarkissian has the most support in the country. The question is how big (or small) is this minority?

                Comment


                • Re: Presidential elections 2008 in Armenia

                  Originally posted by Armenian View Post

                  But why "unfortunate"? It is 'essential' that a few heads get smashed on the streets of Yerevan. They need to set an example. This reminds me of a comment I heard Putin make some time ago. When asked about government-public relations, he more-or-less said: Go and live your life, enjoy yourself, do whatever you want, buy whatever you want, but just leave politics for us to handle. Armenians are a difficult bunch to rule over, we need a patriotic strongman if we want a prosperous and stable nation.
                  I said "unfortunate" because I wish that all Armenian citizens were unified so it wouldn't come to this...but you are right, that is just sentimental utopian talk.

                  Let the smashing commence.

                  Comment


                  • Re: Presidential elections 2008 in Armenia

                    More confidence from the Kocharian adminisration.

                    ----------

                    Armenian army ready to rebuff any Azeri aggression
                    18.01.2008 18:01 GMT+04:00
                    /PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian army is ready to rebuff any Azerbaijani aggression, RA Defense Minister Mikael Harutyunyan told reporters today.

                    “Ilham Aliyev will have to account for his irresponsible statements. If Azerbaijan wants 2 more million refugees, it will get them in case it resumes war in Karabakh,” the Minister said.

                    A couple of days ago Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said that “war with Armenia is not over yet.” “Armenia did not win the war. Only the first part of war was completed,” Aliyev said and added, “Nagorno Karabakh will never be independent and this position is supported by the international mediators.”

                    Comment


                    • Re: Presidential elections 2008 in Armenia

                      and more confidence...

                      KOCHARIAN HINTS AT FIRST-ROUND SARKISIAN WIN


                      By Emil Danielyan and Ruzanna Stepanian

                      President Robert Kocharian indicated on Friday that he expects Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian to win outright in the first round of Armenia’s upcoming presidential election, saying that a run-off vote is not “in the people’s interests.”

                      Kocharian said the likelihood of a one-round vote is “fairly high,” citing opinion polls giving Sarkisian a huge lead over his challengers.

                      “Some political forces take that very painfully,” he said in televised remarks. “Because when a candidate wins in the first round he is accountable to the people for his promises and programs. If [the election involves] two rounds, there is political horse-trading in between those rounds over whom to support. But that has nothing to do with the interests of the people, at issue are the interests of political forces.”

                      “I myself twice won elections in two rounds and know that [in such cases] promises to the people are complemented by obligations to political forces,” added Kocharian. “It is desirable that the next president do not be bound by such obligations.”

                      The remarks came as a further indication that Armenia’s leadership aiming for a first-round Sarkisian victory in the tightly contested presidential race. Several senior members of the governing Republican Party (HHK) have already predicted that the prime minister will poll more than 50 percent of the vote needed for securing such a win.

                      “In my subjective view, if developments continue like this, Serzh Sarkisian will win in the first round with a big margin,” Eduard Sharmazanov, the HHK and Sarkisian campaign spokesman, reiterated on Friday.

                      “There are many reasons why Mr. Sarkisian will win in the first round,” said Sharmazanov. “We will talk about that during the election campaign.”

                      Surveys conducted by government-connected pollsters so far have given Sarkisian 30-35 percent support, not enough to avoid a run-off with one of the eight other candidates. Sarkisian’s three main challengers have dismissed those polls as fraudulent and insist that the election will not end on February 19 if it is free and fair.

                      Allies of one of those candidates, Levon Ter-Petrosian, have even claimed that the former Armenian president himself could score a first-found victory. A self-confident Ter-Petrosian declared last week that he has “already won” the presidency.

                      “If Levon Ter-Petrosian thinks so, I congratulate him,” scoffed Kocharian.

                      The outgoing president also reaffirmed his administration’s stated commitment to ensuring that the upcoming ballot is free and fair, saying that it has already sorted out the country’s notoriously inaccurate voter lists. He stressed at the same time that it is Armenia’s leading political parties controlling the majority of election commission seats that will be primarily responsible for the proper conduct of the vote.

                      Comment

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