Karabakh Agreement Signed

This just in!

At Sunday's talks hosted at Meiendorf Castle, the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed "to speed up further moves in the negotiating process" over Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in a statement.

The two country's foreign ministers would work with Russia, the US and France, co-chairmen of the Minsk Group of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which is seeking a diplomatic solution to the conflict, he added.

Sounds like a waste of time to me, unless one side gives up. We all know it won't be Azerbaijan and we all know that Serzh has indicated that he would trade or willingly give up some lands altogether.

Probably a non-event, but we'll see.

Source: BBC News

And the Votes Are In

Election day came and went. Conclusions?

The ruling Republican Party of Prime Minister Serzh Sarksyan won almost 33% of the vote, officials said. Prosperous Armenia, a comparatively new political party led by former world arm wrestling champion Gagik Tsarukian, won 14.7%.

European observers said the vote largely met international standards, but that some more work was needed. Opposition groups said Saturday's vote was falsified and have called for mass demonstrations in the capital, Yerevan.

The BBC's Matthew Collin, in Yerevan, said the results were a resounding victory for pro-government forces. A spokesman for the Law-Governed Country Party, Tigran Mkrtchyan, said the results were "grossly falsified".

I don't think anyone expected anything other than this. The Big-2 fixed the election, just as everyone knew they were going to. Did they mess with the ballots? Maybe, maybe not - but they certainly bribed a large number of the population with scholarships, seeds, food, money, and so on.

I think the words "vote" and "Armenia" should be prohibited from being in the same sentence, especially with the results of this election.

Source: BBC News

Serge Sargsyan, Armenia's New Prime Minister

Following the death of Andranik Margaryan, a new Prime Minister has been named for Armenia.

Sarkisian will hold office for slightly more than a month, until the elections, when the constitution requires him to give up the post. If the Republican Party wins at the polls, he could again be reappointed to the job.

May God help us all.

Source: EurasiaNet

Fewer Die Serving in Armenian Army

It's pretty sad when one reports happily on a decrease in deaths in the Armenian Army. The Armenian Army is a horrible place to spend two years of your young life: I think many would prefer an American prison, instead. Regardless, some families circumvent the mandatory service requirements by spending thousands of U.S. dollars to bribe the right people and keep their sons out of the Army. Since the average Armenian makes a couple of hundred dollars a month, these huge sums put families in large debts.

In 2006 the rate of death in the army declined, 33 cases were reported against 47 in 2005, said Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan today in a news conference. “However, 33 is not the finish line and we must make efforts to reduce deaths in the army,” Serge Sargsyan says.

He said these 33 deaths had different causes, including killings, shooting by the enemy, etc. Besides, the minister of defense said it should be taken into account that over 40 thousand 18-year-old boys serve in the army, the majority have weapon and serve in the border installations.

“I do not think that you will find a community which will have better indexes," Serge Sargsyan said.

Hey Serge, try telling that to the grieving mother who lost her only son to your ineptly-run Army. I think you will impress her with the index numbers!

Source: Lragir