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EurasiaNet, NY
Feb 8 2008
ARMENIA: TER-PETROSIAN FILES SUIT THAT COULD POSTPONE PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION
Marianna Grigoryan 2/08/08
Amid assurances from President Robert Kocharian that Armenia's
upcoming presidential poll will meet international standards, leading
opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian, alleging unfair campaign
conditions, has filed a complaint that could lead to a postponement
of the February 19 election.
On February 7, Ter-Petrosian lodged the petition with the
Constitutional Court, Armenia's highest court. In it, he asks the
high court to recognize that his election campaign faces
"insurmountable obstacles." Under Article 90 of Armenia's Election
Code, such "obstacles," if recognized by the Court, can trigger a
two-week postponement of the presidential election.
At the end of that period, if the hindrances have been addressed, the
election would take place immediately. If it is decided that they
have not been addressed, the election would be held 40 days after the
end of the two-week postponement period.
The Constitutional Court will consider Ter-Petrosian's application on
February 11, a source within the Court told EurasiaNet.
"[P]residential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian's pre-election
headquarters undertook all measures possible under the laws of the
Republic of Armenia to preclude violations of the law carried out
against the presidential candidate or to remove their consequences.
However, those initiatives did not yield any positive result," the
application submitted to the Constitutional Court reads.
The campaign claims that alleged government propaganda against
Ter-Petrosian, who resigned as president in 1998, has made it
impossible for the ex-president to have a fair chance at running for
national office. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Ter-Petrosian's resignation a decade ago was sparked by a
disagreement with senior officials over the Nagorno-Karabakh peace
process. Among the top leaders who opposed him back then were
then-prime minister Robert Kocharian and then-interior minister Serzh
Sarkisian, who is current prime minister and the government's
candidate for president.
"There is total anti-campaigning going on against Levon Ter-Petrosian
on television channels, which impedes our activities," Arman
Musinian, a spokesperson for Ter-Petrosian's campaign, told
EurasiaNet. The campaign singles out public television in particular
for biased coverage, but indicates that attempts have also been made
to derail the ex-president's rallies. [For additional information see
the Eurasia Insight archive].
"Besides the anti-campaigning, the authorities are doing everything
in this period to create obstacles for us, and for this very reason
we have applied to the Constitutional Court," Musinian said.
The first interim report from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights election observation mission cited overwhelmingly negative
coverage of Ter-Petrosian, Armenia's first post-Soviet president.
Local monitoring groups have reached similar conclusions.
While government officials have issued repeated assurances that the
election campaign is going relatively smoothly and comes close to
meeting "international standards," opposition leaders have frequently
complained about alleged cases of violence that they attribute to the
government.
On February 3, Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) Party leader and
presidential candidate Artur Baghdasarian declared at a rally in
Yerevan that he had received a death threat. A police investigation
is ongoing.
Pro-government media, however, have hinted that the claim is a
publicity stunt. Although he reportedly received the threat on
February 2, Baghdasarian did not visit the police until February 7,
noted Hayots Ashkharh. "This means Baghdasarian has absolutely no
problems connected with his personal security, as he announced at the
rally," said commentary published by the newspaper. "Or, he is really
determined to sacrifice his life for the sake of Armenia and does not
want that the police interfere in this."
Baghdasarian has since accepted protection from the National Security
Service.
Meanwhile, during a February 6 rally for Ter-Petrosian in the eastern
town of Artashat, in Armenia's Ararat region, several young men
hurled stones and pieces of ice in the direction of the former
president. A scuffle between rally participants and the young men -
termed "hooligans" by Ter-Petrosian -- broke out, injuring the
candidate's deputy security chief. Campaign members have said that he
was hospitalized.
Ter-Petrosian's campaign blamed the government for the incident and,
personally, on Deputy Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian and his
brother, parliamentarian Jonik Abrahamian, who are both from nearby
Artashat. The town is widely assumed to be an Abrahamian political
stronghold.
In response, the police have claimed that Ter-Petrosian and his
supporters "voiced personal insults and discrediting words against
certain officials."
"Three citizens participating in the rally demanded that the obscene
and offensive expressions be put to an end," an official statement
claims. It goes on to allege that "four or five young people from
among the supporters of the event organizers dragged, threw on the
ground and hit those who made the remarks, inflicting bodily injuries
on them."
A criminal case has been started in connection with the incident and
a police investigation is reportedly ongoing. The OSCE/ODIHR election
observation mission will be conducting its own inquiry as well,
according to mission head, Amb. Geert Ahrens of Germany.
Not surprisingly, opposition and government supporters are
diametrically opposed over who is responsible for the clash. "Those
are shows that the authorities from time to time organize to
discredit Levon Ter-Petrosian on public television," commented
opposition journalist Nikol Pashinian, a senior Ter-Petrosian ally.
"In reality, we are carrying out our campaign in an atmosphere of
terror created by the authorities."
Pashinian also holds the government responsible for a reported
assault on a Ter-Petrosian heckler in the town of Talin - an incident
cited by Ter-Petrosian opponents to underline the former president's
supposed low tolerance for criticism.
Local government officials routinely intervene, Pashinian continued.
At a rally in Charentsavan, a town near Lake Sevan in eastern
Armenia, the town's mayor stood near the demonstration and ordered
people not to attend it, Pashinian alleged.
"We get very warm receptions everywhere, with special ceremonies,
with horses, offerings, presents, and it is clear that [Prime
Minister and rival presidential candidate] Serzh Sarkisian does not
like all this," Pashinian said.
Orinats Yerkir Party spokeswoman Susanna Abrahamian - no relation to
the deputy prime minister -- also claims that voters are afraid to
act freely during the campaign.
"In several cases during our campaign meetings people do not manage
to get to the place because of government intervention and
intimidation," Abrahamian claimed. "Despite that, things fortunately
have not gone as far as fistfights in our campaign." Orinats Yerkir
and Ter-Petrosian have reportedly recently held talks about forming
an alliance of some sort. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight
archive].
Pro-administration officials, however, claim that the opposition
itself is staging the incidents. "One [player] is stirring up
everything, and that instigator is the opposition, which has created
a situation with such stories to make it appear that there is
pressure on them," alleged ruling Republican Party of Armenia
parliamentarian Rafik Petrosian. "We have stated many times that we
have sufficient strength and resources to cruise to an easy victory
in the election. And the opposition needs an excuse for their
[coming] defeat."
At a February 7 rally in the city of Vanadzor, Prime Minister
Sarkisian attributed the "mud slinging" to opposition candidates
"losing their conscience."
Editor's Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a reporter for the
ArmeniaNow.com weekly in Yerevan.
Feb 8 2008
ARMENIA: TER-PETROSIAN FILES SUIT THAT COULD POSTPONE PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION
Marianna Grigoryan 2/08/08
Amid assurances from President Robert Kocharian that Armenia's
upcoming presidential poll will meet international standards, leading
opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian, alleging unfair campaign
conditions, has filed a complaint that could lead to a postponement
of the February 19 election.
On February 7, Ter-Petrosian lodged the petition with the
Constitutional Court, Armenia's highest court. In it, he asks the
high court to recognize that his election campaign faces
"insurmountable obstacles." Under Article 90 of Armenia's Election
Code, such "obstacles," if recognized by the Court, can trigger a
two-week postponement of the presidential election.
At the end of that period, if the hindrances have been addressed, the
election would take place immediately. If it is decided that they
have not been addressed, the election would be held 40 days after the
end of the two-week postponement period.
The Constitutional Court will consider Ter-Petrosian's application on
February 11, a source within the Court told EurasiaNet.
"[P]residential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian's pre-election
headquarters undertook all measures possible under the laws of the
Republic of Armenia to preclude violations of the law carried out
against the presidential candidate or to remove their consequences.
However, those initiatives did not yield any positive result," the
application submitted to the Constitutional Court reads.
The campaign claims that alleged government propaganda against
Ter-Petrosian, who resigned as president in 1998, has made it
impossible for the ex-president to have a fair chance at running for
national office. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Ter-Petrosian's resignation a decade ago was sparked by a
disagreement with senior officials over the Nagorno-Karabakh peace
process. Among the top leaders who opposed him back then were
then-prime minister Robert Kocharian and then-interior minister Serzh
Sarkisian, who is current prime minister and the government's
candidate for president.
"There is total anti-campaigning going on against Levon Ter-Petrosian
on television channels, which impedes our activities," Arman
Musinian, a spokesperson for Ter-Petrosian's campaign, told
EurasiaNet. The campaign singles out public television in particular
for biased coverage, but indicates that attempts have also been made
to derail the ex-president's rallies. [For additional information see
the Eurasia Insight archive].
"Besides the anti-campaigning, the authorities are doing everything
in this period to create obstacles for us, and for this very reason
we have applied to the Constitutional Court," Musinian said.
The first interim report from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights election observation mission cited overwhelmingly negative
coverage of Ter-Petrosian, Armenia's first post-Soviet president.
Local monitoring groups have reached similar conclusions.
While government officials have issued repeated assurances that the
election campaign is going relatively smoothly and comes close to
meeting "international standards," opposition leaders have frequently
complained about alleged cases of violence that they attribute to the
government.
On February 3, Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) Party leader and
presidential candidate Artur Baghdasarian declared at a rally in
Yerevan that he had received a death threat. A police investigation
is ongoing.
Pro-government media, however, have hinted that the claim is a
publicity stunt. Although he reportedly received the threat on
February 2, Baghdasarian did not visit the police until February 7,
noted Hayots Ashkharh. "This means Baghdasarian has absolutely no
problems connected with his personal security, as he announced at the
rally," said commentary published by the newspaper. "Or, he is really
determined to sacrifice his life for the sake of Armenia and does not
want that the police interfere in this."
Baghdasarian has since accepted protection from the National Security
Service.
Meanwhile, during a February 6 rally for Ter-Petrosian in the eastern
town of Artashat, in Armenia's Ararat region, several young men
hurled stones and pieces of ice in the direction of the former
president. A scuffle between rally participants and the young men -
termed "hooligans" by Ter-Petrosian -- broke out, injuring the
candidate's deputy security chief. Campaign members have said that he
was hospitalized.
Ter-Petrosian's campaign blamed the government for the incident and,
personally, on Deputy Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian and his
brother, parliamentarian Jonik Abrahamian, who are both from nearby
Artashat. The town is widely assumed to be an Abrahamian political
stronghold.
In response, the police have claimed that Ter-Petrosian and his
supporters "voiced personal insults and discrediting words against
certain officials."
"Three citizens participating in the rally demanded that the obscene
and offensive expressions be put to an end," an official statement
claims. It goes on to allege that "four or five young people from
among the supporters of the event organizers dragged, threw on the
ground and hit those who made the remarks, inflicting bodily injuries
on them."
A criminal case has been started in connection with the incident and
a police investigation is reportedly ongoing. The OSCE/ODIHR election
observation mission will be conducting its own inquiry as well,
according to mission head, Amb. Geert Ahrens of Germany.
Not surprisingly, opposition and government supporters are
diametrically opposed over who is responsible for the clash. "Those
are shows that the authorities from time to time organize to
discredit Levon Ter-Petrosian on public television," commented
opposition journalist Nikol Pashinian, a senior Ter-Petrosian ally.
"In reality, we are carrying out our campaign in an atmosphere of
terror created by the authorities."
Pashinian also holds the government responsible for a reported
assault on a Ter-Petrosian heckler in the town of Talin - an incident
cited by Ter-Petrosian opponents to underline the former president's
supposed low tolerance for criticism.
Local government officials routinely intervene, Pashinian continued.
At a rally in Charentsavan, a town near Lake Sevan in eastern
Armenia, the town's mayor stood near the demonstration and ordered
people not to attend it, Pashinian alleged.
"We get very warm receptions everywhere, with special ceremonies,
with horses, offerings, presents, and it is clear that [Prime
Minister and rival presidential candidate] Serzh Sarkisian does not
like all this," Pashinian said.
Orinats Yerkir Party spokeswoman Susanna Abrahamian - no relation to
the deputy prime minister -- also claims that voters are afraid to
act freely during the campaign.
"In several cases during our campaign meetings people do not manage
to get to the place because of government intervention and
intimidation," Abrahamian claimed. "Despite that, things fortunately
have not gone as far as fistfights in our campaign." Orinats Yerkir
and Ter-Petrosian have reportedly recently held talks about forming
an alliance of some sort. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight
archive].
Pro-administration officials, however, claim that the opposition
itself is staging the incidents. "One [player] is stirring up
everything, and that instigator is the opposition, which has created
a situation with such stories to make it appear that there is
pressure on them," alleged ruling Republican Party of Armenia
parliamentarian Rafik Petrosian. "We have stated many times that we
have sufficient strength and resources to cruise to an easy victory
in the election. And the opposition needs an excuse for their
[coming] defeat."
At a February 7 rally in the city of Vanadzor, Prime Minister
Sarkisian attributed the "mud slinging" to opposition candidates
"losing their conscience."
Editor's Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a reporter for the
ArmeniaNow.com weekly in Yerevan.