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| October 1 |
An Armenian governmental delegation
led by Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian participates in the latest
session of the Armenia-European Union (EU) Coordinating Council. The
Brussels meeting ends with a series of new agreements for the creation
of new mechanisms for broader EU engagement and political consultation.
Foreign Minister Oskanian briefs EU officials on the current status
of Armenia's dialogue with Azerbaijan and the state of the mediation
effort over the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. Oskanian also meets with
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and EU External Relations Commissioner
Chris Patton. |
| October 1 |
The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
releases the second and thirds tranches of a $26 million poverty
reduction loan package. Although the loan package was initially suspended
in late 2001 after the Kocharian government failed to meet a promised
level of tax collection, IMF officials explain that the Armenian economy
has posted rapid growth and low inflation, and adding that tax revenues
have increased by 14 percent in the first six months of the year,
over the same level for 2001. |
October
1 - 4 |
According to news reports this week,
Karabakh peace process mediators from France, Russia and the United
States are still unaware of the content of the four-hour negotiations
between Presidents Heydar Aliyev and Robert Kocharian in the town
of Sadarak last August. In a verbatim transcript published by an official
Azerbaijani newspaper this week, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister
Viacheslav Trubnikov was quoted as telling Aliyev that "Sadarak
talks remain a mystery for us." He asked Aliyev to "lift the curtain
of secrecy." But Aliyev said that both he and Kocharian had agreed
to keep the conversation secret, apparently even from the mediators.
Aliyev also told the mediators that "if they wanted his continued
cooperation" they should no longer refer to the Paris Principles,
"leaving them to history." The principles were reportedly developed
during high-level talks last year which included French President
Jacques Chirac and Secretary of State Colin Powell. Armenia's former
National Security Director (1993-94) and member of the opposition
Socialist Armenia Union Eduard Simoniants this week blasted the Kocharian
government's acceptance of the Principles. Citing "confidential sources,"
he claimed that the agreements, from which Azerbaijan had backed away,
did not provide Karabakh with sufficient security guarantees and endangered
the strategically important Armenian district of Meghri. Faced with
continued opposition speculation on the latter issue, Armenian leaders
have repeatedly insisted that Armenian control over Meghri is not
negotiable.
Referring to the Sadarak talks, Aliyev mentioned that Kocharian again
dismissed out-of-hand the long-standing Azerbaijani proposal to open
a railroad to Armenia in exchange for withdrawal of the Karabakh forces
from the four districts south of NKR. Responding to Aliyev's remarks,
the Armenian President's spokesman Vahe Gabrielian said the proposal
was not on the agenda in Sadarak, although Aliyev had alluded to it.
He reaffirmed the Armenian position that "the conflict has to be settled
in a packaged manner," with a withdrawal possible only after NKR's
status and security guarantees are settled.
In another indication of the Armenian side's commitment to an eventual
withdrawal, Kocharian said last week that Armenian forces would pull
back from an Azerbaijani section of the road in Armenia's northeast,
following construction of a bypass route. Similarly, NKR authorities
with the help of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, are now building
a North-South highway as an alternative to the roads passing via the
Aghdam district. Azerbaijan, on the other hand, has indicated its
willingness to withdraw from the Armenian enclave of Artsvashen and
the areas of northern Karabakh it now occupies.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) issued
a resolution last week praising Armenia for the "undeniable efforts"
its government directs towards achieving a peace settlement between
Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani delegation lead Ilham
Aliyev's efforts to insert language in the resolution condemning Armenia
were rejected. |
October
1 - 4 |
American officials have promised not
to insist on the simultaneous accession of Armenia and Azerbaijan
to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Armenia's Finance Minister
Vardan Khachatrian said this week. Khachatrian, who led a government
delegation to last week's session of the U.S.-Armenia Task Force meeting,
expressed hope that Armenia will finally join the organization in
December. Armenia's accession talks with the WTO have gone on for
six years, with the anticipated admission repeatedly postponed. On
the other hand, Azerbaijan has only just begun preliminary talks with
WTO. Armenia's accession to another international body, the Council
of Europe, was reportedly delayed due to American insistence that
the two countries join at the same time.
The Task Force also discussed bilateral trade and continued U.S. assistance
to Armenia. The Armenian officials suggested that aid should continue
to be channeled to housing and education programs. Although, some
funds will support irrigation and environmental projects, as well
as the Commission for Economic Competition and the Civil Service Council.
In addition, the sides discussed problems in the communications sector
related to the Armentel monopoly and the recent privatization of Armenia's
electricity grid.
While in Washington, members of the Armenian delegation met with senior
officials at the National Security Council and the State Department
to discuss bilateral issues and the situation in the Middle East.
They also met with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund
representatives to discuss continued assistance for Armenia's economic
recovery. Trade and Economic Development Minister Karen Chshmaritian
participated in the Made in Armenia Expo, organized by Armenian-American
Chamber of Commerce and the Armenian Development Agency in Glendale,
CA. The event featured numerous Armenian companies looking to export
their products to the United States. |
October
1 - 4 |
Armenia will receive $26 million in
loans to cover a portion of its budget deficit this year, thanks to
improvements in revenue collection, officials at the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) said this week. The loans, part of the IMF's $91
million three-year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility, were released
with the international organization noting "positive developments"
in the Armenian economy. IMF's deputy managing director Eduardo Aninat
praised the government for the ongoing reform of the bureaucracy,
taxation and public utilities and welcomed Armenia's strong macroeconomic
indices and "sound monetary and exchange rate policies." During the
first three quarters of 2002, the government's revenue collection
grew by 14 percent over last year and another 13 percent increase
is envisaged in 2003.
The improved tax performance has already helped reduce Armenia's reliance
on external borrowing. Delay in the World Bank's disbursal of $40
million in loans will not lead to significant cuts in expenditure
this year, according to Finance Minister Vardan Khachatrian. He also
said that the government has already repaid about $16 million in earlier
budgetary arrears. |
October
1 - 4 |
Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze
announced this week the end of the "active phase of the anti-criminal
and anti-terrorist operation" in the country's remote Pankisi Gorge.
In the last few years the area bordering on Chechnya has emerged as
a base for anti-Russian Chechen guerillas and some of their militant
Islamic backers. The area also became known as a hideout for criminal
groups engaged in kidnapping and trafficking. Two weeks ago Russia's
President Vladimir Putin threatened unilateral military action against
the rebels should the Georgian government take measures of its own.
Georgian officials now claim they have cleared all Chechen forces
out of Pankisi following a month-long deployment of security forces
to the area. In fact, even Russian sources confirm that most Chechens
have left the area. Some of them engaged Russian forces as they tried
to cross back into Chechnya. It is not clear, however, where most
of the Chechen forces, estimated to be in the thousands, went.
Georgian officials denied reports that the Chechen commander Ruslan
Gelayev has arrived in the province of Javakheti to negotiate safe
passage for his troops into Turkey. Just as these reports surfaced,
Georgia's State Security Minister Valery Khaburdzania arrived in Yerevan
this week for what appeared to be urgent talks with his Armenian colleagues.
Following the visit, Georgian authorities detained one of Javakheti's
Armenian leaders.
Speaking this week in Yerevan, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said
that the Armenian government was watching developments in Georgia
closely. He accused unnamed "external forces" of trying to further
destabilize the situation in Georgia and to sow discord between Armenians
and Georgians. He said that while Armenia would prefer that the Russian
military base remain in the Javakheti province to deter Turkey, it
will continue to refrain from interfering in the issue.
The European Union (EU) warned that it would suspend assistance to
Georgia if its government does not take measures to stop recurring
kidnappings of EU citizens. Kidnapping of a British banker in the
presence of Georgian police four months ago has been linked to "criminal
elements" who have used the Pankisi Gorge, as their base of operations.
Meanwhile, unknown assailants robbed twenty Armenian citizens as they
traveled through Georgian territory last weekend. |
October
1 - 4 |
The United States government initiated
a policy review on Ukraine and its President Leonid Kuchma, ordering
a suspension of $54 million in aid, after determining that Kuchma
authorized a sale of Kolchuga radars to Iraq more than two years ago.
A radar transfer, which the Ukrainian government vehemently denies,
could improve Iraqi defenses against U.S. aircraft. Meanwhile, the
Azerbaijani Defense Ministry denied last week that it was in possession
of the system and hence could have transferred it to Iraq as was suggested
by Ukraine's National Security Advisor Yevhen Marchuk. |
October
3 - 4 |
In a meeting with officials of the
Council of Europe, President Robert Kocharian pledges that Armenia
will uphold its obligation to abolish the death penalty unconditionally
and completely by June 2003. A large number of Parliamentarians, including
Deputy Parliamentary Chairman Tigran Torosian, reject this promise,
however, adding that they will fight to maintain a legal exception
to the ban on capital punishment in order to execute the five gunmen
standing trial for the murder of several senior leaders during the
October 1999 attack on Parliament. |
October
3 - 4 |
Speaking at a Yerevan press conference,
former National Security department chief Eduard Simoniants offers
a detailed overview of the so-called Paris Principles which serves
as the basis of negotiations directed by the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). According to Simoniants, the Paris
principles were agreed upon by both the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents
during their March 2001 meeting brokered by French President Jacques
Chirac. Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian strongly refutes Simoniants'
version, stating that the details are wildly inaccurate. |
October
4 - 11 |
Incumbent President Robert Kocharian,
who is facing re-election early next year, this week received a long-anticipiated
endorsement from Prime Minister Andranik Margarian, who also leads
the influential Republican Party (HHK). Meanwhile, Kocharian's main
challenger, parliament member Artashes Geghamian pledged at his National
Accord Party (AMK) congress that he will not "back down" from the
election process and will "go to the end," making an alliance with
other opposition parties even more unlikely. A rival opposition leader,
People's Party chairman Stepan Demirchian and his allies left the
AMK event before Geghamian finished his speech.
A recent survey conducted by the Logos polling firm among 600 Yerevan
residents showed that up to a third of them have decided not to vote
in the elections at all or vote "against all." The poll results show
that out of those who will participate over 39 percent would vote
for Kocharian. The four leading opposition politicians are ranked
as follows: Geghamian - 13 percent, Demirchian - 12 percent, former
Foreign Minister (1991-2) Raffi Hovannisian - 9 percent and National
Democratic Union (AZhM) leader and former Prime Minister (1990-1)
Vazgen Manoukian - 5 percent. Ex-President Levon Ter-Petrossian (1991-8)
ranks seventh with 2.5 percent.
The survey also shows the composition of Kocharian's backing among
the supporters of various political parties. Thus, even if the following
party's leaders run along with Kocharian, the incumbent would receive
70 percent from the Decent Future Party (formed in 1999 and led by
Professor Ludmila Harutiunian), 44 percent from the Country of Law
Party, 40 percent from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, 25 percent
from the Self-Determination Union, 20 percent from the Communist Party
and 17 percent among non-party voters.
Meanwhile, the opposition parties decided this week to postpone a
joint public rally until after the October 20 local elections. Only
a small number of their representatives will contest the elections,
however. In Yerevan's Kentron community the opposition groups will
back the incumbent Ararat Zurabian, who is a senior member of the
former ruling Armenian Pan-National Movement (HHSh) challenged by
a pro-government businessman Gagik Beglarian. Another incumbent backed
by the opposition is the non-partisan mayor of Kapan Gagik Atajanian.
In Armenia's second largest city, Gyumri, former Interior Minister
and senior member of the Socialist Armenia Union Levon Galstian will
challenge the incumbent pro-presidential mayor Vardan Ghoukasian.
Most other local government positions are contested by different pro-presidential
parties and non-partisan candidates. |
October
4 - 11 |
Nagorno Karabakh President Arkady
Ghoukasian restructured his government this week, reappointing Prime
Minister Anushavan Danielian and most of his cabinet, while replacing
a key minister and merging two government agencies. Former Foreign
Minister Naira Melkumian (1997-2002) is now replaced by Ashot Ghoulian.
She will continue to work as Advisor to the NKR President. Ghoulian
is a veteran of the Karabakh Foreign Ministry, serving as Deputy Foreign
Minister between 1998 and 2001 and then as a senior official in the
pro-presidential Democratic Artsakh Union. The President also merged
the Ministry of Economic Development with the Ministry of Construction,
and the Ministry of Education and Science with the Ministry of Culture,
while elevating two cabinet members to Deputy Prime Minister rank.
Composition of the restructured government is below:
Prime Minister Anushavan Danielian
Government Chief of Staff Suren Grigorian
Deputy Premier, Infrastructure Development Minister Vacant
Deputy Premier, Agriculture Minister Beniamin Bakhshian
Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian
Education and Culture Minister Armen Sargsian
Finance Minister Spartak Tevosian
Foreign Minister Ashot Ghoulian
Health Minister Zoya Lazarian
Interior Minister Armen Isagoulov
Social Affairs Minister Lenston Ghoulian
Justice Director Robert Hairapetian
National Security Director Bakur Sahakian
Taxation Director Hakob Ghahramanian |
October
4 - 11 |
A former Armenian government official
and senior member of the Armenian Pan-National Movement (HHSh) argued
this week that introduction of dual citizenship would lead to increased
"interference" on the part of foreign states and harm Armenia's national
security. David Shahnazarian, who held several senior position in
the administration of Levon Ter-Petrossian, also claimed that "the
international practice has no precedent of naturalization on ethnic
basis." Dual citizenship is expressly banned under the current Constitution
adopted in 1995. President Robert Kocharian has pledged to attempt
to remove the ban as part of his 1998 election platform. But plans
for a popular referendum on this and other proposed constitutional
changes have been delayed due to disagreements between the government
and parliamentary opposition.
Chairman of the National Democratic Party (AZhK) Shavarsh Kocharian,
who earlier this year led opposition efforts to delay the referendum,
said this week that he supports introduction of dual citizenship.
A proposal that AZhK's Kocharian plans to submit for discussion in
parliament would give every ethnic Armenian a right to acquire Armenian
citizenship as soon he or she arrives in the country. However, persons
holding dual citizenship without permanently residing in Armenia would
not have the right to vote or be elected. Another opposition politician
Arshak Sadoyan argued that Armenia should finally become a state for
all Armenians, but HHSh's Shahnazarian insisted that creation of a
legal base for dual citizenship would be impossible. |
October
4 - 11 |
Two recently-established private Armenian
airlines announced plans to begin new flights to European capitals
after leasing several Airbus A-320 aircraft. The Armenian International
Airways (AIA), jointly established by local businessmen Gagik Tsarukian,
Hrair Hakobian and Levon Baghdasarian, intends to lease three Airbus
aircraft by 2003 for flights to Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. Another
A-320 was leased by ArmAvia, a private company owned by Mikhail Baghdasarov,
which has operated flights to Russia and Turkey since last year. ArmAvia
will add a flight to Europe after acquiring another Airbus plane later
this year.
Meanwhile, a newly appointed director of the state-owned Armenian
Airlines (AAL) Arsen Avetisian denied earlier reports that the company,
which has run up debts between $19 and $24 million, plans to file
for bankruptcy. AAL was forced to suspend flights to most European
cities earlier this year, after technical problems with its sole Western-made
aircraft. (Noise restrictions in Europe ban most of the Soviet-made
aircraft from flying there). He said the state carrier will cooperate
with private Armenian airlines to try to overcome its current troubles. |
October
4 - 11 |
The Azerbaijani mass media are once
again inundated with reports aiming to stir militaristic emotions
among the mostly apathetic population to take "revenge" on Armenians
and claiming that another war was imminent. The country's President
Heydar Aliyev dismissed the reports as "propaganda," adding that "war
is not something you can start today." Aliyev even questioned who
may have initiated the campaign, while also ordering the creation
of a special public fund to support the Armed Forces. Pro-Aliyev parliament
members were first to contribute their own money to the fund, which
is held by the International Bank of Azerbaijan, said to be indirectly
controlled by the President's son, Ilham. According to independent
opinion polls, the overwhelming majority of Azerbaijanis remain opposed
to a new war.
Analyzing earlier similar campaigns, experts from the Turan news agencies
concluded that "most likely, it is [Aliyev] who has ordered the manipulation
of mass media, public organizations and political forces to launch
another campaign of militaristic psychosis and speculations on patriotism."
They claim that this campaign aims to divert domestic and international
attention from the recently falsified constitutional referendum and
prevent the consolidation of opposition forces. Last weekend, all
major Azerbaijani opposition groups rallied tens of thousands of people
calling on Aliyev to resign.
Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani government cracked down on purported organizers
of a massive walk-out from the country's military academy. Press reports
said that over sixty cadets have reportedly been expelled and sent
to frontline units as privates. The walk-out, which involved nearly
all of the 2,500 cadets at the academy, was staged in protest of mistreatment
and humiliation they suffered at the hands of officers. |
| October 4 |
On the final visit of a regional tour
that included meetings in Azerbaijan and Georgia, French Foreign Ministry
Secretary Renaud Muselier meets in Yerevan with senior Armenian government
officials. Discussions were mainly on bilateral relations and the
French role in the mediation effort seeking a negotiated resolution
to the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. |
| October 6 |
President Kocharian holds a ninety-minute
meeting with Azerbaijani President Geidar Aliyev during the summit
meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Moldova.
President Kocharian notes that the talks were useful and
states that there is a sincere desire to find a solution
to the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. The meeting is the latest
in a series of private sessions between the two leaders. The
next meeting is set to coincide for the November meeting of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Prague. |
October
8 - 10 |
Prime Minister Andranik Markarian
announces that the Republican Party of Armenia, which he leads, will
officially support incumbent President Kocharian in his reelection
bid in the February 2003 contest. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF) is also holding talks with several leading political parties
in an effort to ensure that the approaching local, Parliamentary and
Presidential elections are open and democratic. |
| October 10 |
President Kocharian meets with visiting
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma in Yerevan and discusses plans to
expand bilateral economic, political, and military relations. The
two leaders sign four new agreements on bilateral cooperation, including
one protocol allowing Armenian military officers to attend Ukrainian
military academies. The level of Armenian trade with Ukraine rose
to $38.5 million last year, and is estimated to increase by almost
30 percent for this year. |
October
12 - 15 |
Accompanied by his wife, former Russian
President Boris Yeltsin arrives in Yerevan for a six-day visit to
Armenia. On October 15th, Yeltsin meets with former President Levon
Ter Petrosian after touring a Russian border guard post along the
Armenian border with Turkey. Although the meeting with Ter Petrosian
fuels speculation over the former President's intentions to return
to politics, the former Russian President adds that the meeting should
not be misconstrued as an endorsement of Ter Petrosian. Seeking to
end the issue, Yeltsin officially endorses incumbent President Kocharian
two days later. |
| October 15 |
President Kocharian meets with senior
government Ministers and regional officials to instruct them to refrain
from any assistance to political candidates or parties prior to the
October 20th local elections. The President is seeking to ensure that
the local elections are free and fair and conducted in an open manner
without any negative reflection on his government. |
| October 15 |
Representatives of sixteen political
opposition parties reach agreement on a common platform to guide the
sole candidate that they are hoping to put forth to run against the
President in the February 2003 elections. The 22-point document promises
to introduce rapid and serious economic improvement and issues a general
foreign policy recommendation calling for the deepening of the allied
relationship with Russia while maintaining Armenia's integration into
the European structures. |
| October 16 |
President Kocharian and senior officials
meet with visiting Russian Parliamentarian Nikolai Ryzhkov, the co-chairman
of the Russian Parliament's committee overseeing cooperation with
the Armenian Parliament. Armenian Trade and Economic Development Minister
Karen Chshmaritian expresses appreciation for the close relationship
with the Russian government and reports that Russia is Armenia's largest
trading partner, with an increase in bilateral trade to $56.6 million
so far this year. |
October
11 - 18 |
Armenia's economic expansion continues
at a record pace, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) up 11 percent
in the first three quarters of the year, the National Statistics Service
reports. Increased production and export of manufactured goods accounts
for much of the growth. Compared to last year, from January-September
2002 Armenia exported 46 percent more products, with jewelry and apparel
comprising much of the exports. The official statistics also show
income up 12.5 percent and unemployment down 8 percent.
The annual review of the Armenian economy, issued by the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) last week called Armenia's economic prospects
"favorable." The report noted a significant decline in unemployment
and poverty between 1998 and 2002. One of Armenia's leading lenders
also welcomed "the authorities' success in keeping inflation low and
the exchange rate stable, improving the external current account balance,
and creating environment conducive to an increase in real incomes
and rapid output growth." But the IMF remained concerned over lower
than expected growth in revenue collection, budgetary arrears and
a fragile banking system. |
October
11 - 18 |
A senior Georgian official promised
this week to prevent illegal border crossings by Chechen rebels from
Georgia into Russia. He also denied that Chechens have relocated towards
the Turkish border. Commander of the Georgian border guards Valery
Chkheidze and his Russian counterpart Konstantin Totsky signed an
agreement on border security during a Commonwealth of Independent
States' (CIS) meeting this week in Yerevan.
The agreement comes after a month of tension, when Russian leaders
threatened to take unilateral action in Georgia unless it clears Chechen
forces from its remote Pankisi Gorge. Georgians claim they have done
just that, but only about a dozen wounded Chechen rebels were actually
captured, with five of them extradited to Russia. An agreement became
possible after a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Eduard
Shevardnadze last week and amid United States' calls on both sides
to conduct joint operations in Pankisi.
U.S. officials have recognized that Chechen forces based in Georgia
are tied to radical Islamist groups such as Al Qaida and initiated
a $64 million program to build up the Georgian military. During talks
earlier this month with U.S. and Turkish military officials, Georgians
requested additional funding to purchase air defense equipment from
Ukraine. According to reports, which have been denied by Russia, Russian
aircraft have repeatedly bombed parts of Georgia, Pankisi in particular,
which it suspected of having Chechen bases.
Meanwhile, efforts to rid Pankisi of Chechen forces have resulted
in increased tension in the breakaway Republic of South Ossetia and
the Armenian-populated province of Javakheti. Comments by Shevardnadze
that the current "anti-criminal operation" in Pankisi should be extended
to Ossetia led to partial mobilization of reservists and suspension
of Georgian-Ossetian law-enforcement contacts and much of bilateral
trade. Reports from Javakheti insisted that some of the Chechens from
Pankisi were in the province and that the Russian forces in the provincial
capital of Akhalkalaki have been put on high alert in anticipation
of a possible attack. |
October
11 - 18 |
Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev
expressed dissatisfaction this week with the amount of American assistance
to his country. Speaking with General Joseph Ralston, chief of the
U.S. European Command and NATO Allied Forces in Europe, Aliyev said
that Azerbaijan felt few changes since last year's waiver of Section
907 of the Freedom Support Act. Introduced in 1992 the measure limited
U.S. assistance to the government of Azerbaijan until it lifts its
blockade against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. A high-ranking Azerbaijani
military source claimed that Ralston's visit was related to developments
in Iraq.
Ralston's daylong trip followed a longer visit by the U.S.-Turkish
military delegation led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Mira
Ricardel and Turkish General Staff's Chief of Planning Nusret Tasdeler.
The U.S. and Turkish officials pledged to jointly boost Azerbaijan's
security, holding consultations with Azerbaijani officials responsible
for military education and equipment procurement and maintenance.
The U.S. has already allocated $4.4 million to strengthen Azerbaijan's
maritime and air defenses. Last week, U.S. officials reported that
an additional $1 million will fund an Azerbaijani platoon that is
expected to join Turkish peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan (which
are also funded by the United States).
Meanwhile, President Aliyev's son and reported would-be successor
Ilham will pay an unofficial visit to Washington next week. Azerbaijani
press reports suggest that Ilham Aliyev will try to mend ties with
U.S. officials amid growing criticism of Aliyev's authoritarian record. |
October
18 - 25 |
Close to one million Armenian citizens
went to the polls last Sunday to elect their mayors, community heads
and members of local councils in more than 650 constituencies throughout
the country, the Central Election Commission (CEC) reported this week.
The 46 percent turnout at this election is a significant improvement
over the 28 percent participation in the last local elections in October
1999. Campaign and voting proceeded without any serious incidents.
There were only five official complaints made to the CEC. Elections
in two rural communities will be re-run.
Over 1,000 representatives from ten Armenian NGOs and dozens of foreign
observers, including a team from the Council of Europe's Congress
of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) observed the election.
Head of the European monitoring group, British parliamentarian Christopher
Newbury expressed "complete satisfaction" at the handling of the elections,
finding them to be well-organized and noting the improved accuracy
of voters' lists. The CLRAE will issue a final report on elections
in mid-November. The organization deemed the last local elections
in Armenia "free and fair."
Preliminary election results show a strong performance by the ruling
Republican Party (HHK), which fielded by far the largest number of
candidates on all levels. Out of some 120 other political parties
registered in Armenia, only 18 participated in the poll. None of them,
however, could rival HHK's victory in 30 municipal and 170 rural communities.
The pro-presidential Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) Party and the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation came in a distant second and third,
each with victories in several dozen communities. The largely pro-government
People's Deputy parliamentary group led by businessman Karen Karapetian
said its candidates won in two communities, and over a hundred of
them were elected to councils.
The People's Party topped all of Armenia's opposition parties, winning
in five communities and placing some one hundred of its members on
local councils. Several opposition representatives alleged that HHK
and other pro-government parties engaged in "vote buying" and other
fraud. But other opposition politicians believed the vote testified
to the weakness of the opposition parties, most of whom decided to
preserve their "war chests" until next year's presidential and parliamentary
elections.
Most political observers noted that the outcome of local elections
testifies to the growing influence of Prime Minister Andranik Margarian
who heads the HHK. Margarian has now emerged as President Robert Kocharian's
most important political ally. Kocharian is expected to run for reelection
in less than four months.
A brief description of some of the key local government electoral
contests follows:
In Gyumri, the incumbent non-partisan Mayor Vardan Ghoukasian won
handily collecting 72 percent (nearly 30,000 votes) against two challengers:
Socialist Armenia Union's Levon Galstian and a former member of the
Republican Party Martin Zulfumian, who received under 12 percent each.
Candidates from the pro-government Armenian Revolutionary Federation
and opposition National Accord Party withdrew from the race. Turnout
was estimated at about one-third of all voters.
In Vanadzor, Armenia's third largest town, incumbent Republican Samvel
Darbinian defeated Andranik Ghoukasian of the Communist Party by a
comfortable margin of 23,000 to 8,000 votes. Turnout was at 40 percent.
In Yerevan's central Kentron community pro-government non-partisan
businessman Gagik Beglarian with close to 22,000 votes defeated the
two-term incumbent Ararat Zurabian of the former ruling Armenian Pan-National
Movement with over 10,000 supporters. Turnout was at over 42 percent.
In another large Yerevan community, Arabkir, non-partisan former city
official Levon Harutiunian (over 10,000 votes) prevailed over businessman
Hovhannes Shahinian (over 8,000 votes) and incumbent, former People's
Party member Feliks Yailoyan (over 7,000 votes).
With over 7,000 votes in Kapan, Republican Armen Karapetian overcame
incumbent Gagik Atajanian (nearly 5,500 votes), who was backed by
several opposition parties. Turnout was at about 57 percent.
In another important victory for the Republicans, Hrachia Abgarian
defeated the incumbent Mayor of Echmiadzin Yervand Aghvanian by over
1,000 votes with a 63 percent turnout. Aghvanian, himself a former
Republican, has in recent months emerged as a strong critic of Prime
Minister Margarian. |
October
18 - 25 |
A group of an estimated 50 Islamic
radicals from Chechnya took over a Moscow theater Wednesday evening,
taking some 700 spectators hostage. The standoff at the theater continues
at press time and at least two hostages are said to have already been
killed by the terrorists, who are threatening to kill the rest, unless
Russian forces begin withdrawing from Chechnya. President Robert Kocharian
sent a message to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin roundly condemning
the act of terrorism and offering support.
Several Armenian parliamentarians, who also condemned the attack,
and an Armenian organization in Moscow expressed concern that the
act of terrorism may result in Armenians being targeted along with
other ethnic groups from the Caucasus. Over the past year, Armenians
living in Russia have faced a growing number of incidents, including
discrimination, beatings and acts of vandalism. The Governor of Russia's
southern Krasnodar province Aleksandr Tkachev was in Yerevan this
week to reassure Armenian leaders of his intentions to put an end
to recurrent anti-Armenian outbursts. Krasnodar's Armenian community
is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands, many of whom are
refugees from Azerbaijan and immigrants from Armenia. |
October
22 |
Independent journalist Mark Grigorian
is wounded in a grenade attack by an unknown assailant on a Yerevan
street. The attack on Grigorian is under investigation by the Interior
Ministry, but police are hindered by a lack of witnesses and limited
evidence. Grigorian, a popular journalist, is the co- director
of the Caucasus Media Institute. |
October
20 -22 |
With overall voter turnout only estimated
at 46 percent, the Republican Party of Armenia wins a landslide victory
in the country's local elections, securing 30 of the 37 mayors of
larger towns and cities. The pro-government Law-Based State party
won in four towns and 48 villages. The three Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF) candidates for town mayors lose their races, but
the party wins a number of smaller towns and villages. The former
ruling Armenian National Movement (ANM) joins the National Democratic
Union and the Communist Party in denouncing the authorities for influencing
and disrupting the local election. |
| October 25 |
Thousands of Yerevan residents attend
a special ceremony marking the third anniversary of the attack on
the Parliament and the subsequent assassination of several senior
political figures. |
October
30 - 31 |
The Armenian Parliament votes to approve
the 2003 state budget, although the implementation of the budget is
contingent on meeting a 13 percent increase in tax collection.
The 2003 budget comprises expenditures of 334 billion drams ($580
million) and projects revenues at only 287 billion drams. The
budget deficit would be 2.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
but only if the government meets its target for tax revenue.
The budget forecasts a 7.2 percent rate of growth in GDP and an annual
inflation rate of below 3%. |
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