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| April 5 |
Officials of the non-governmental
organization (NGO) "Cooperation and Democracy" announce
that they will establish on-line coverage of the parliamentary elections
with the launch of a new web-site on April 25th. The NGO is funded
by the United Nations Development Program and other donors and aims
to provide fair coverage of the elections, with equal coverage and
access to all parties and candidates in an objective manner.
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| April 6 |
Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF) leader Vahan Hovannisian, announces that the ARF
is planning to file a lawsuit against former-President Levon Ter Petrosian
for slander. The slander charge centers on the former-president's
suspension of the ARF in December 1994 and his vehement accusations
charging the ARF and its leadership with plotting acts of terrorism,
political murder, and other assorted crimes against the state. The
charges were proven false in two separate trials and the ascension
of President Kocharian led to the release of the ARF political prisoners
and the end of the state ban on the party in February 1998. |
| April 7 |
Canadian Transport Minister
David Collonate, meeting with his Armenian counterpart Yervant Zakarian
in Yerevan, announces that Canada will assist in the privatization
of the state-owned Armenian Airlines and will offer technical expertise
in future privatization efforts focusing on the national transport
sector. Zakarian adds that a tentative agreement has been reached
for the leasing of several mid-size commercial jet aircraft from Canada
to replace the deteriorating Soviet-era Armenian commercial fleet.
Armenian presidential foreign policy advisor Aram Sarkisian states
that Armenia is considering submitting new and revised proposals for
resolving the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. Armenia's position is based
on Azerbaijan's continued rejection of the latest peace proposal advocated
by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
which is leading the international mediation effort to seek a negotiated
solution to the Karabagh issue. Both Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh
accepted the OSCE proposal.
According to the head regional administrator, Robert Aidinian, the
Shahumyan region has kept pace with other regions in Karabagh in economic
and infrastructure development despite having been significantly destroyed
during the war with Azerbaijan. According to Aidinian, land has been
privatized, much of which is being used for agricultural purposes,
electric and telephone service has been provided throughout the region,
and satellite communication was established to broadcast Armenian
National TV programs. |
| April 8 |
Officials of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) confirm recent press
reports that the planned regional tour by OSCE chairman Knut Vollebaek
has been postponed. OSCE officials report that Frank Lambach, the
German ambassador to the OSCE's working group on Nagorno Karabagh,
the so-called "Minsk Group," will visit Armenia and Azerbaijan
in early May. The postponement of the Vollebaek visit, with no new
definitive date, is blamed on the increasing demands on the OSCE leadership
by the crisis in Kosovo. Lambach will instead attempt to restart the
stalled OSCE mediation talks on the Nagorno Karabagh conflict during
meetings with Armenian, Azerbaijani and Karabagh government officials. |
| April 9 |
Italian Deputy Foreign
Minister Valentino Martinelli meets with President Kocharian and other
senior government officials to discuss bilateral relations and review
details of the planned visit by the Pope to Armenia. The Italian official
also states that the Nagorno Karabagh conflict should not be an impediment
to Armenia's eventual full membership in the Council of Europe or
its integration into European institutions and structures.
Baroness Caroline Cox, a member of the British House of Lords, arrives
in Stepanakert leading a delegation of the Christian Solidarity International.
The delegation meets with Prime Minister Jirair Poghosyan to discuss
plans for implementing assistance programs to improve socio-economic
conditions and the educational sector. The delegation also arrives
with $500,000 worth of medical equipment donated by a group of doctors
who visited Nagorno Karabagh last year. |
| April 12-13 |
Prime Minister Armen Darbinian,
in a speech before parliament, sharply criticizes the opposition's
attempt to overturn the price increases for electricity imposed in
January. The prime minister accuses "forces supporting the former
authorities" (the Ter Petrosian government) of seeking to weaken
his government's economic program in order to gain a political advantage
prior to the parliamentary elections. The next day, the parliament
narrowly rejects the opposition's second attempt at introducing a
25 percent reduction in electricity prices. |
| April 14 |
Prime Minister Darbinian
states that he expects only minor changes to the cabinet following
the parliamentary elections scheduled for late May. The prime minister
refuses to comment on rumors that even if the newly-formed "Miasnutyun"
alliance garners a majority in the new parliament, his position as
prime minister is tenuous. The Miasnutyun group comprises former Soviet-era
Communist Party leader Karen Demirchian and his "People's Party
of Armenia" (HzhK) in an electoral alliance with Defense Minister
Vazgen Sarkisian.
President Arkady Gukasyan meets with visiting French and Armenian
medical experts to discuss the proposed project of technical cooperation
in Nagorno Karabagh's health sector. The visiting experts also announce
a new assistance program for the maternity hospitals of Stepanakert
and Mardakert. |
| April 15 |
Two intoxicated Russian
border guards, on leave from their border post near the northern city
of Kumri, open fire on the city streets. The indiscriminate shooting,
using assault weapons stolen from their post, kills two people and
injures nine before the two soldiers are seized by police. Russian
Ambassador to Armenia Anatolii Dryukov issues a formal apology for
the tragic events and pledges a thorough investigation of the incident.
Two political parties announce the establishment of new party branches
in Nagorno Karabagh. The new Nagorno Karabagh chapters of the Social
Democrat Hnchakian Party (SDHK), led by Karabagh parliamentarian Arkady
Soghomonian, and the liberal Ramkavar Azatakan Party (RAK), headed
by parliamentary foreign affairs committee chairman Boris Aroushanian,
plan on fielding candidates for the Karabagh parliament next year
and will establish local party offices throughout Nagorno Karabagh.
To date, the only registered political parties in Karabagh have been
the Armenian Communist Party and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF). |
| April 17 |
Participating in a discussion
moderated by Radio Free Europe journalists, former assistant to President
Ter Petrosian, Karapet Rubinian and Kocharian's Chief of Staff, Aleksan
Harutiunian, differ over reviewing the performance of the Kocharian
government during its first year in office. According to Rubinian,
the first year of the Kocharian presidency has led to a growing state
of international isolation, to a "monopolization" of the
economy, and is marked by a serious lack of political reform. Harutiunian
counters that the government's first year has effectively overcome
political tension and has built a foundation for true economic prosperity.
A delegation of international weapons inspectors from Turkey, Belgium
and the United Kingdom, conclude inspections at the Russian military
base in the northern Armenian city of Kumri. The inspectors certify
that the weapons deployed in Armenia are well within the limits on
arms and weaponry imposed by the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe
(CFE) Treaty.
Armenian military police arrest an Armenian private after he shoots
two fellow servicemen and wounds six others in a military barracks
in the town of Vayots Dzor. Amid several reports of hazing, poor training
and living conditions and last year's similar shooting within the
Armenian armed forces, various government officials call for a thorough
investigation into conditions in the military.
A delegation dispatched by the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) arrives in Nagorno Karabagh to monitor the situation
along the Karabagh borders with Azerbaijan and to assess the stability
of the informal cease-fire in effect in the region since May 1994.
A contest among young musicians, dancers, and singers begins in Stepanakert.
The contest, which is being organized by the SOS Armenie and Amadeus
international organizations, includes contestants aged 7-18. The winners
for each competition, to be judged by teachers and professionals,
will be awarded t-shirts, medals, and cash prizes ranging from $100
to $450. |
| April 20 |
Armenian officials announce
that the visit to Armenia by Pope John Paul II is now confirmed for
July 2-4 in accordance with the 1700th anniversary of the adoption
of Christianity as Armenia's official state religion. Armenia was
the first country to formally adopt Christianity as its state religion.
Nagorno Karabagh foreign ministry officials deny reports alleging
secret Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations over the possible return
of areas of Azerbaijan held by Karabagh forces in exchange for Azerbaijan's
lifting of its blockade of Armenian and Nagorno Karabagh. The foreign
ministry statement says that such a withdrawal from the five Azerbaijani
districts bordering Nagorno Karabagh will only occur as part of a
comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict.
The Nagorno Karabagh foreign ministry issues a statement criticizing
Azerbaijan for ignoring the recent request by the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) calling on all parties to
refrain from making inflammatory remarks and urging restraint in all
public statements regarding the Karabagh conflict. The statement adds
a call for Azerbaijan to "stop the propaganda of nationalism
and xenophobia" and appeals to Baku to return to the peace talks
mediated by the OSCE.
A ceremony is held in Stepanakert marking the establishment of a physics
and mathematics branch of the Yerevan State University in Nagorno
Karabagh. The project was financed mostly by significant collections
and donations made in the Diaspora Armenian communities of Canada,
Argentina and France. |
| April 21 |
Presidents Kocharian and
Gukasyan meet in Yerevan to discuss issues relating to finding a settlement
to the Karabagh conflict. The meeting occurs prior to Kocharian's
leaving for the U.S. for the NATO Summit, where he will take part
in a meeting with President Aliyev that is being facilitated by U.S.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. |
| April 22 |
The chairman of the Armenian
Union of Traders, Makich Demirian, states that the union intends to
file a lawsuit against the Kocharian government for mandating the
use of cash registers in the market place. The union is specifically
targeting the government's introduction of new regulations late last
year stipulating that all firms occupying more than thirty square
meters must record their sales by computerized cash registers by February
1999. The new regulation is the latest attempt by the government to
improve tax collection. |
| April 23-27 |
President Kocharian arrives
in Washington DC to participate in the 50th Anniversary NATO Summit,
as Armenia is a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program. While
in Washington, Kocharian participates in a meeting organized by Secretary
of State Madeleine Albright with Presidents Aliyev and Shevardnadze.
The presidents discuss issues of regional security and possible cooperation,
as well as a U.S. proposal to establish a trilateral program of removing
the land mines in the region. Officials from the OSCE, the European
Union, and Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cetin also join the talks.
Kocharian also meets with several Congressional and Administration
officials, as well as with representatives of major Armenian Diaspora
organizations in preparation for a September Diaspora conference in
Yerevan. |
| April 24 |
Hundreds of thousands of
Armenians gather at the Genocide Memorial outside of Yerevan to commemorate
the anniversary of the start of the 1915 Genocide of 1.5 million Armenians
by Ottoman Turkey. Several leading Turkish intellectuals and scholars
also call on the Turkish government to recognize the Armenian Genocide
and release a petition signed by over 10,000 Turks calling on the
Turkish parliament to recognize this tragic chapter of their history.
Similar commemorations and demonstrations are held throughout the
world. |
| April 26-27 |
Formal political campaigning
for the parliamentary elections of May 30th begins as the Central
Election Commission (CEC) officially registers 21 political parties
and blocs and certifies their candidate lists. The new 131-seat parliament
will consist of 56 seats allocated by a proportional system and 75
seats according to single candidate constituencies. More than 800
candidates have been certified to contest the seats. Based on the
new law, the CEC formally resigns and is immediately replaced by a
13-seat commission chaired by Artak Sahradian and consisting of three
members appointed by the government and remaining ten seats representing
the five political parties and blocs that garnered the highest number
of petition signatures and the five political parties or groups comprising
the current parliament. |
| April 26 |
The All-Armenia Fund has
announced a new fund-raising drive to collect money to build a 169
kilometer road connecting the northern and southern sectors of Karabagh.
An 80 kilometer road connecting Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh was recently
completed. However, years of neglect from the governments in Baku
and the recent war have left Karabagh with a poor internal transportation
infrastructure. |
| April 28 |
The Armenian parliament
ratifies last December's agreement with Russia for a $20.6 million
loan to help operate the Medzamor nuclear power plant. The five-year
loan, which comes due in 2003, will be used for the purchase of Russian
nuclear fuel, essential to the operation of the plant which supplies
35 percent of the country's electricity needs. The Armenian government
has pledged to close the controversial plant by 2004 despite recent
assurances by Medzamor officials that the facility can continue to
operate safely for at least another 16 years.
Environment Minister Gevorg Vartanian reveals a new program aimed
at improving the ecological crisis posed by the declining water table
of Lake Sevan and the diminished fish stocks. The plan calls for a
20 percent annual reduction in the use of the lake for hydro-electricity,
provides for the completion of the Vorotan tunnel to divert a nearby
river into the lake, and will introduce a ban on all fishing in the
lake after mid-June. |
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