RFE/RL Armenia Report - 12/08/2008

Monday, 8 December, 2008

Armenia Remembers Devastating 1988 Earthquake

By Satenik Vantsian in Gyumri and Karine Simonian in Vanadzor

Armenia marked on Sunday the 20th anniversary of a catastrophic
earthquake that killed about 25,000 people and devastated much of its
two northern regions that have still not been completely rebuilt.

President Serzh Sarkisian reiterated his administration’s pledge to
finish the protracted reconstruction by 2013 as he led official
commercial ceremonies in Gyumri, the country’s second largest city
hit hard by the disaster. This and other ceremonies were attended by
former government officials and construction and rescue workers from
the across the former Soviet Union who had helped the small South
Caucasus republic cope with its devastating consequences.

Armenians also received messages of sympathy from the presidents of
Russia and the United States on the occasion. `On this solemn
anniversary we are reminded of the strong bonds between America and
Armenia and the resilience of the Armenian people,’ President George
W. Bush said in his written address. `They rose from this tragedy and
have reclaimed a bright future of hope and opportunity.’

Sarkisian opened a new memorial to the earthquake’s victims in
Gyumri’s central square after attending a special church service
presided over by Catholicos Garegin II, head of the Armenian
Apostolic Church. The mass, broadcast live by national television,
involved a minute of silence observed at 11:41 a.m — the exact time
the quake struck on December 7, 1988.

Unveiling the monument, Sarkisian thanked the international community
for its large-scale assistance that began pouring into then Soviet
Armenia just hours after the calamity. "Twenty years ago, all peoples
rallied to our side, despite the Cold War, ideological differences
and different political views," Sarkisian said. "From the first days,
our people felt like the whole world was with us."

Nikolay Ryzhkov, a former Soviet prime minister who personally
coordinated the rescue and reconstruction efforts, also delivered a
speech, reading out a message from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
"We bow our heads before the memory of the thousands of victims of
this natural disaster,’ Medvedev said. `We remember with deep respect
and gratitude today the courage of the rescuers who answered the call
for help."

That help was badly needed by as many as 500,000 people whose homes,
built in apparent violation of seismic safety standards, were
destroyed by two powerful tremors that rocked much of Armenia’s
territory 20 years ago. The Ryzhkov-led Soviet government pledged to
rebuild them in two years. Dozens of construction companies from
across the Soviet Union were assigned to the earthquake zone in the
following months.

However, the massive reconstruction effort fizzled out with the
subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union. Independent Armenia’s
successive governments were too cash-strapped to complete it. The
reconstruction gained fresh momentum in the early 2000s when
thousands of new houses and apartments were built in the economically
depressed area with the financial assistance of U.S.-Armenian
billionaire Kirk Kerkorian. Nonetheless, as many as 7,000 families in
the quake-hit Shirak and Lori regions still lack permanent housing,
huddling in metal and wooden shacks devoid of basic amenities.

`We still live in a shack, and there are no jobs here,’ one elderly
woman told RFE/RL as she stood outside the Gyumri cathedral along
with several dozen other local residents hoping to hand letters to
Sarkisian. `They [government officials] visit nice streets here and
think that Gyumri is 100 percent rebuilt,’ she complained. `Let them
go into the nearby neighborhoods, talk to people.’

`We feel neglected, humiliated,’ said another woman. `My son works in
Russia and doesn’t want to return home. Why? Because he hates our
shack.’

`Within a few years we will manage to overcome all consequences of
the disaster,’ Sarkisian said in his speech. `When I say completely I
mean that there will be no families left homeless as a result of the
earthquake and the improving life will return to normal.’ `We have
promised this and we will deliver,’ he added.

Parliament speaker Hovik Abrahamian reaffirmed this pledge as he led
commemoration ceremonies in Lori’s capital Vanadzor attended by
Georgia’s last Communist-era leader, Jumber Patiashvili, and builders
and rescuers from Russia and Ukraine who had worked in the earthquake
zone in 1988-1990. `The government’s three-year program envisages 71
billion drams ($230 million) worth of construction [in the earthquake
zone,]‘ Abrahamian said.

According to Urban Development Minister Vartan Vartanian, large-scale
construction in the area will start next year and end by 2013. `All
the preparatory work has already been done,’ he told RFE/RL in
Vanadzor. `Most of the [construction] tenders have already been held,
and construction work will get underway in 2009.’

Former President Robert Kocharian similarly pledged to rebuild the
disaster zone during his ten-year tenure. Incidentally, Kocharian
also attended the Gyumri ceremonies with Sarkisian and Garegin.
Unlike the current president, he stopped to talk to local residents
and hear their grievances. Some of them complained that they are
still homeless 20 years after the tragedy.

`I am not in office anymore but will do all can, as second president,
to help [Gyumri,]‘ Kocharian told journalists afterward. `There is a
new president, a new government that are also determined to continue
the job.’

(Photolur photo)

`Repentant’ Oppositionists Pardoned By Sarkisian

By Hovannes Shoghikian

Three opposition supporters imprisoned for their participation in
post-election anti-government demonstrations in Yerevan have been
pardoned by President Serzh Sarkisian and set free after confessing
to controversial accusations leveled against them.

Eduard Ashughian, Arman Markarian and Artur Nazanian were among more
than 100 supporters and associates of opposition Levon Ter-Petrosian
arrested in the wake of last February’s disputed presidential
election. They were subsequently sentenced to between three and three-
and-a-half years in prison for taking part in `mass disturbances’ and
resisting police officers. The charges stemmed from the March 1
deadly clashes in Yerevan between security forces and thousands of
opposition protesters.

Arsen Babayan, a spokesman for a Justice Ministry department managing
Armenia’s prison, told RFE/RL on Monday that the three men were let
go on Friday after admitting their guilt and asking Sarkisian for an
amnesty.

Sarkisian’s press secretary, Samvel Farmanian, said the president
granted the requests because of their repentance, lack of prior
criminal records and `family circumstances.’ `The president of the
republic has always been ready to consider amnesty requests,’ he said
in a statement.

In an interview with RFE/RL, Ashughian said he was offered to appeal
to Sarkisian last week by the chief of Yerevan’s Nubarashen prison
where he was serving a three-year prison sentence. He said although
he accepted his guilt in a letter to the president he will continue
to participate in rallies staged by the Ter-Petrosian-led opposition.

Ashughian already pleaded guilty to the accusations brought against
him during his trial earlier this year. He said on Monday that he did
so in the hope of avoiding imprisonment. `I confessed on the first
day [of the trial,]‘ he said. `But they fooled me, so to speak. The
investigator had told me that I won’t go to prison if I plead guilty.’

Meanwhile, Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress (HAK) compared
Sarkisian’s actions to `the Soviet totalitarian regime’s behavior’
and accused the authorities of exploiting the plight of opposition
detainees. In a weekend statement, the HAK claimed that government
`emissaries’ have been visiting many `political prisoners’ and trying
to convince them to renounce further political activities in exchange
for freedom. The opposition alliance said the Sarkisian
administration is thereby trying to prevent the Council of Europe
from imposing sanctions against Armenia.

The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) has given
Yerevan until next January to free individuals jailed on `seemingly
artificial or politically motivated charges’ or face embarrassing
sanctions. Visiting Yerevan last month, Thomas Hammarberg, the
Strasbourg-based organization’s human rights commissioner, said the
Armenian government has still not complied with relevant provisions
of the PACE’s April and June resolutions on Armenia.

The authorities have so far left no indications that they are ready
to release most of some 70 oppositionists remaining in prison. They
are currently pressing ahead with preparations for the collective
trial of seven of the most prominent detainees, including three
parliament deputies and Ter-Petrosian’s election campaign manager.
They stand accused of organizing the March 1 riots as part of Ter-
Petrosian’s alleged coup plot. The opposition strongly denies the
government claims.

(Photolur photo: Opposition supporters rally in Yerevan on March 1.)

Opposition Sticks To Rally Moratorium

By Astghik Bedevian

Armenia’s main opposition alliance has no plans yet to resume street
protests in Yerevan and continues to believe that international
efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have reached the
final stage, a close associate of its top leader, Levon Ter-
Petrosian, said on Monday.

Ter-Petrosian and his Armenian National Congress (HAK) announced on
October 17 that they are suspending their year-long campaign of anti-
government rallies for `two or three months’ because of what he
described as an impending resolution of the Karabakh conflict. He
said continued opposition pressure could force President Serzh
Sarkisian to make greater concessions to Azerbaijan.

Aram Sarkisian (no relation), who leads one of about two dozen
opposition parties aligned in the HAK, insisted that the Karabakh
negotiating process is now at its `most active phase,’ even though
Armenia and Azerbaijan have still not signed any peace accords. `It
would be wrong to talk about resuming demonstrations during this
really active phase,’ Sarkisian told RFE/RL. The HAK does not want to
weaken the Armenian president’s hand in these circumstances and will
only hold an indoor conference on December 19, he said.

`I don’t care if Serzh Sarkisian stays in power for several more or
less months,’ said Sarkisian.
`If there is a need to give [the authorities] additional time to
achieve a pro-Armenian solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, I
will definitely be in favor of that,’ he added.

The outspoken leader of the Hanrapetutyun (Republic) party claimed at
the same time that President Sarkisian is not interested in a
Karabakh settlement and is only `stalling for time.’ The remark
seemed to contradict Ter-Petrosian’s October 17 claim that the
Armenian leader would go as far as to `put up Karabakh for sale’ in
return for securing the West’s unwavering support for his rule.

(Photolur photo)

Government Signals More Concessions To Protesting Cabbies

By Tigran Avetisian

The Armenian government on Monday signaled its readiness to make more
concessions to hundreds of taxi drivers that again flooded Yerevan’s
main square with their cars in protest against stricter licensing and
taxation rules imposed on them.

Under the new requirements approved by the government in March 2007,
taxi companies and independent cab drivers have to install electronic
fee meters and pay an annual state duty of 200,000 drams ($650) for
each of their cars in addition to regular revenue tax. More
importantly, they will be banned from using vehicles manufactured
more than 10 years ago.

The measure sparked angry protests from hundreds of mainly self-
employed cabbies in July last year. Then Prime Minister Serzh
Sarkisian was forced to delay its enforcement until after the
February 2008 presidential election.

The protests resumed late last month as the reprieve given by
Sarkisian was about to expire. The government failed to satisfy them
when it decided to cut the licensing fee to just 25,000 drams last week.

Hundreds of drivers again parked their cars outside the prime
minister’s office in Yerevan’s Republic Square on Monday to keep up
their pressure on the government. `If our demands are not met today,
we are ready to go on a hunger strike,’ one of them told RFE/RL. `Or
else, our children will go hungry.’

Gevorg Dosturian, one of the organizers of the action, said after
ensuing negotiations with senior government officials that the
authorities agreed not enforce the new rules until January 15 and
further discuss the matter with the protesting drivers in the
meantime. Dosturian said the government is ready to simplify taxation
procedures for individual cabbies.

It is not clear if the government is ready to extend the age limit
for the cabs. Transport Minister Gurgen Sargsian ruled this out last
week.

The taxi business has had a huge expansion in Armenia in the past
several years, creating thousands of new jobs and catering for a
growing clientele. The government says efforts to regulate the
business more tightly will complicate tax evasion and improve
passenger safety.

But critics say the measure will force most small taxi firms and self-
employed drivers dominating the sector and ensuring tight competition
there out of business. They claim that it will only benefit large
carriers that are owned by wealthy businesspeople and can afford
buying new cars.

(Photolur photo)

PRESS REVIEW

(Saturday, December 6)

`Western-style democracy can not exist in our country,’ writes
`Hayots Ashkhar.’ `Otherwise, we would rip each other apart. That is
why our democracy can only be like school self-governance.
Schoolchildren are allowed, for example, to maintain order during
class breaks. But it is the principle who has to solve the issue of
school repairs.’ `As long as a system of real political competition
is absent in our country we will turn to the mighty forces of this
world to protect ourselves against arbitrary practices,’ adds the pro-
government paper. `Some will succeed in doing that. But the majority
[of the population] will remain little human beings of no
significance to the authorities who can be harassed with impunity.’

`Zhamanak Yerevan’ says that government operatives are visiting
imprisoned opposition supporters in jail these days and urging them
to ask President Serzh Sarkisian to grant them an amnesty. `This
action by the authorities has a dual purpose,’ says the pro-
opposition paper. `First, to reward and free the several [jailed]
individuals that have no links with the opposition and were implanted
by the ruling regime to organize the March 1 looting [of several
Yerevan shops] and discredit the opposition. Second, to try to clinch
amnesty requests from some arrested oppositionists. In the end, they
will present this to the Council of Europe and say, `See, so many
people have been set free in the March 1 case and all of them
requested an amnesty from His Excellency Serzh Sarkisian.’

`Haykakan Zhamanak’ claims that some Armenian government factions are
pressing Sarkisian to free the arrested oppositionists because they
feel that the existence of political prisoners in the country is
reducing their political clout. `After all, the establishment of
dictatorship presupposes the concentration of all [power] levers in
the hands of one person or group,’ says the opposition daily. `And
this means that over time the coalition logic of [the formation of]
the authorities could be undermined.’

`The oligarchs are categorically against the release of political
prisoners,’ disagrees `Chorrord Ishkhanutyun.’ `That is
understandable. They don’t care about political issues and are guided
only by economic interests and criminal norms.’ The paper claims the
oligarchs want to get their hands on business assets of opposition-
linked entrepreneurs such as Khachatur Sukiasian. Another reason for
their stance, it says, is that some of the government-linked tycoons
played a part in the March 1 suppression of the post-election
opposition protests in Yerevan.

`Kapital’ reports that the Russian military plans to set up special
`mountain detachments’ within its troops stationed not only in Russia
but Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Armenia and Tajikistan. The paper says
those units will be trained to conduct `combat operations in
mountainous areas.’

(Aghasi Yenokian)

Reprinted on ANN/Groong with permission from RFE/RL
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