Protestors & Police Clash in Istanbul on May 1st

For the first time in some 30 years protesting trade unions and other socialist forces tried to enter Istanbul's Taksim Square to stage their annual May1st demonstration.

This year the demo's organizers decided not to try to force their way to the Square but riots did break out nevertheless between riot shock-troops of the government and protesters.

Officials set up barricades in and around the square, where May Day celebrations have been banned since 1977, when unknown gunmen opened fire on demonstrators, killing 37 people - most of who died in the resultant stampede. Does this sound just a bit familiar???

SURPRISINGLY THROUGHOUT THE MELEE - NO ONE WAS KILLED!!!!!

Now let's rewind the clock to the night of March 1st in Yerevan - 10 Killed

It seems that the Turkish Lawyers' Union has called on the Ankara Police Chief to resign for the heavy-handed approach of his forces. Now we know that a similar organization, at least in name, exists here in Armenia. Have they made a similar demand regarding those responsible for the events and deaths of March 1st??

When will those responsible be held accountable for their actions?????

DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH!!!!

" The elections I observed in Armenia were the worst I have seen so far."

Election Secrets Revealed: Crying foul over chicanery at Armenia's polls and the honeyed tones of European diplomacy.

by Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin and Matyas Eorsi; 22 April 2008

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has threatened to suspend Armenia’s voting rights in the body unless it makes considerable progress toward democratic and judicial reforms by PACE’s June session. PACE sent observers to witness Armenia’s presidential election in February. It declared the voting to be “mostly in line with the country’s international commitments, although further improvements are necessary to address remaining challenges.” John Prescott, a former British deputy prime minister who headed the delegation, said, “While we noted improvements in the framework for these elections, problems with its implementation, especially during the vote count, in some cases undermined the trust of the people.” Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin, a parliamentarian from Sweden who was part of the Armenia mission, considered that an understatement. She delivered her speech during PACE’s 14 April session.

I have been in this parliamentary assembly since January 2007 and I have observed elections in four countries: Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and Armenia. The elections I observed in Armenia were the worst I have seen so far. The opening of the polling stations and the proceedings on the day were not too bad, but the counting in the polling station that I chose to visit was a disaster. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The number of voters who had voted and who had been marked on the list of voters was not counted, unused ballot papers were not destroyed and the protocol in which the results were to be entered had already been signed by members of the election committee.

CLICK for full text of the speech

Two Catholicoses Visit President Sargsyan

On April 21 Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, visited President Serzh Sarkissian.

Oh, if only I was a fly on the wall....

I can only imagine what, if anything, was discussed of a substantive nature. Or was it all a big PR event for some much needed support for the new president.

Did the two church leaders actually express their support for Sargsyan without any reservation?

Should we really care????

Council of Europe to Armenia - Clean Up Your Act!!!

Yesterday, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe passed a fairly scathing report regarding the political state of affairs in Armenia, touching on the recent presidential elections and the restrictions in place regarding legal political dissent. A number of demands were put on the regime in Yerevan that must be immediately implemented, otherwise Armenia would be denied the right to vote at the next PACE session in June.

Kommersant, a leading Russian online news source, has an interesting article regarding the resolution and some of the backroom negotiations involved.

CLICK HERE

Nune Yesayan - Please Shut Up !!!

Artists are citizens too and thus have the right, like the rest of us, to express their personal opinions on a wide range of issues, politics included.

However, the rantings of Nune Yesayan regarding the events of March 1st border on the idiotic and are repulsive, to say the least.

Yesterday, she comfortably stated that those who died that night "were in the wrong place and only have themselves to blame for their deaths." (Basically - they got what they deserved) I wonder, how do people like her sleep at night???

She then went on to praise Serzh Sargsyan for helping her out with a personal matter (money) when he was Defense Minister. The rest of her comments are too far-out to include here.

So Nune - please stick to dancing and singing on stage.

You do more harm than good when you do otherwise.

Bill To "Amend" Controversial Article 301 Sent to Turkish Parliament

In a much needed respite from the sorry state of politcal affairs in Armenia we would like to inform our readers that the Turkish Parliament will be debating a bill to amend Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.

Briefly, in addition to a few symbolic changes in the lexicon of the article, the Turkish Parliament will be debating whether or not to take away the mandate to file a lawsuit under the article from the president and give it to the Ministry of Justice.

The European Union has been calling on Turkey to amend Article 301, which has been the basis for charges against Turkish writers and journalists such as Hrant Dink, Elif Safak, and Orhan Pamuk. That provision makes denigrating Turkish identity or insulting the country’s institutions a crime punishable by up to three years in prison.

Doesn't seem like the bill intends to strip Article 301 of its teeth to go after dissidents in Turkey not towing the regime's line. In Turkey you get charged with "insulting the Turkish nation" while here in Armenia you get charged with "fomenting mass public havoc" and "seeking to usurp state power". Here, they lock you up and throw away the key. In Turkey, you can get shot for expressing your ideas. That doesn't happen in Armenia.... Oops, I spoke a bit prematurely.

Human Rights Watch States - Sargsyan Should Restore Rights !

On April 8th the influential organization Human Rights Watch published a report covering the present political situation in Armenia on the eve of the inaguration of Serzh Sargsyan as the country's new president.

In the report Holly Hunter, Executive Director of the organization's Europe and Central Asia Division, declared that,

" Armenia’s new president has a chance to start with a clean slate. This is an opportunity to restore Armenia’s tarnished image, and Sargsian should not miss it."

The Executive Director goes on to state that,

“The new Armenian leader is facing serious challenges,” said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “He should take decisive steps to investigate the excessive use of police force and lift restrictions on freedom of assembly.”

To read the complete report CLICK HERE: