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	<title>Armenian Revolutionary Federation - Dashnaktsutyun</title>
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	<link>http://www.arfd.info</link>
	<description>The official English language site of the ARF-Dashnaktsutyun (Armenian socialist party)</description>
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		<title>Hovhannisyan: Abstention Is Like Voting For The Regime</title>
		<link>http://www.arfd.info/2012/02/03/hovhannisyan-abstention-is-like-voting-for-the-regime/</link>
		<comments>http://www.arfd.info/2012/02/03/hovhannisyan-abstention-is-like-voting-for-the-regime/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:34:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Armenia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[In Politics]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.arfd.info/?p=2669</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today during a meeting with the Press, the Head of ARF-D Parliamentary Faction and Chairman of the Armenian delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Vahan Hovhannisyan referred to Euronest’s latest session and to the work done by the Armenian Delegation. As far as the forthcoming parliamentary elections is concerned Hovhannisyan told the Press that ARF-D like any other political party, wants to secure as many seats as possible. He also said that if ARF-D’s proposition to pass to a 100% proportional electoral system is rejected then the Party will probably nominate its candidates or support candidates of the opposition parties in at least the major single-seat constituencies. Hovhannisyan urged the people to exercise their right to vote no matter if they are frustrated or have no confidence in the results, consider themselves extraordinary intelligent or feel exhausted because as he said &#8220;abstention is like voting for the regime&#8221;.]]></description>
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		<title>ARF-D Participates in Socialist International’s Council in Costa Rica</title>
		<link>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/31/arf-d-participates-in-socialist-internationals-council-in-costa-rica/</link>
		<comments>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/31/arf-d-participates-in-socialist-internationals-council-in-costa-rica/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:23:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[International Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.arfd.info/?p=2641</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Council of the Socialist International met in San José, Costa Rica, on January 23-24, hosted by the National Liberation Party (PLN), bringing together more than 170 leaders and delegates from 60 social democratic, labor and socialist parties from around the world. Among them was Mario Nalbandian, ARF-D Bureau Member and Co-chair of the Socialist International Committee for the CIS, the Caucasus and the Black Sea countries. The Council’s agenda included the current financial crisis and climate change, key questions in the concerns of the global social democratic movement today as well as the strengthening of the Socialist International, as the organization approaches its XXIV Congress this year. As stated in the SI’s press release “following the conclusion of a constructive debate on the global economy, a resolution of the Council was adopted unanimously, outlining the priorities of the organization at this juncture and in the medium to long-term, to redress the world economy in line with the objectives of recovering real growth, increasing employment, achieving stability and overcoming the sovereign debt crisis and its harmful effects in the rest of the economy. The document argues in favor of the redesign of global financial institutions, the effective regulation of the [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Hovhannesyan: Armenia&#8217;s Ecology, Highly Important For ARF-D</title>
		<link>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/30/hovhannesyan-armenias-ecology-highly-important-for-arf-d/</link>
		<comments>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/30/hovhannesyan-armenias-ecology-highly-important-for-arf-d/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:28:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Armenia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[In Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Policy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.arfd.info/?p=2656</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A January 25 Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) declaration condemned mining projects in Armenia that disregard the rights of citizens. Among the 44 signatories, 2 are representatives from Armenia: Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) MP Armen Rustamyan and Heritage Party MP Zaruhi Postanjyan. The statement accused the Armenian government of “violating its international obligations, such as Article 1 of the Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights, the Aarhus Convention, as well as Armenian legislation, by considering the agricultural lands of community and private ownership as being under the public supreme interest, against the will of their owners and the general public, [and] forcefully tak[ing] those lands from their owners, chang[ing] their purpose and turn[ing] thousands of hectares over to mining, including the Teghut mine.” “The ARF faction in parliament many times addressed the government with demands to improve the eco situation and is going to soon organize public hearings on that topic,” ARF Bureau member and ARF parliamentary bloc chairman Vahan Hovhannesyan told the Armenian Weekly. “The ecology of Armenia is one of the most important issues for our party. Our policy on it will be included in our electoral platform.” “The ARF has always supported [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Prosperous Armenia Party Joins ARF-D And Heritage In Holding Parliamentary Hearings Call</title>
		<link>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/26/prosperous-armenia-party-joins-arf-d-and-heritage-in-holding-parliamentary-hearings-call/</link>
		<comments>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/26/prosperous-armenia-party-joins-arf-d-and-heritage-in-holding-parliamentary-hearings-call/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:47:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Armenia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[In Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.arfd.info/?p=2631</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[According to www.lragir.am the Parliamentary Faction of the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) which is part of the coalition government joined today its ARF-D and Heritage (Zharangutyun) opposition parties’ counterparts in calling for parliamentary hearings to discuss the passing to a 100% proportional electoral system. The three factions applied in written, to the Chairman of the Parliament as well as to the Chairman of the State and Legal Affairs Standing Committee of the Parliament.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Galstyan: It&#8217;s Responsibility Time For The Political Majority</title>
		<link>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/25/galstyan-its-responsibility-time-for-the-political-majority/</link>
		<comments>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/25/galstyan-its-responsibility-time-for-the-political-majority/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:27:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Armenia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[In Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.arfd.info/?p=2622</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In her article of January 23 on www.zham.am ARF-D Member of Parliament Lilit Galstyan referring to ARF-D and Heritage parties’ joint forum about the 100% proportional electoral system stressed the fact that in the present political agenda there is one issue uniting parliamentary or extra-parliamentary opposition parties. For reasons that are clearly obvious, the current electoral system is being supported only by the republicans. They only aim at reproducing themselves and emerging to power. “Today’s political majority is responsible for the people fleeing the country, feeling their rights and dignity are not protected” writes Galstyan. “Political will, nothing more” is needed against the technicalities and legalistic arguments of the republicans. “For the time being, we will benefit from the statutes of the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure provisioning extraordinary debate. It’s the best interest of the state and of the people of Armenia that’s on our mind and not any partisan ambitions” concluded the ARF-D MP.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/25/galstyan-its-responsibility-time-for-the-political-majority/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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		<title>ARF-D And Heritage Co-host A Forum About The 100% Proportional System</title>
		<link>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/20/arf-d-and-heritage-co-host-a-forum-about-the-100-proportional-system/</link>
		<comments>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/20/arf-d-and-heritage-co-host-a-forum-about-the-100-proportional-system/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:50:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Democracy & Human Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.arfd.info/?p=2605</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[“If the main political forces agree in principle to pass to a 100% proportional electoral system why not do that now? Why is it that ARP (Armenia’s Republican Party) doesn’t take that step now? The single-constituency system has served on one hand as a tool for the authorities to reproduce themselves and on the other as a means to keep the opposition out… This is as if we are about to run the 131-meter track and we are asking everyone to share the same starting line but the authorities are saying that they have to be 41 meters ahead. This is an unfair competition” said ARF-D Member of Parliament Armen Rustamyan referring to the 131 parliamentary and 41 single-seat constituency seats during a forum that took place in Erebouni hotel, today and was co-hosted by the ARF-D and Heritage (Zharangutyun) parties. Representatives from Armenia’s Republican Party (HHK), the Armenian National Congress (HAK), the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), the Rule of Law Party (OEK) and the Liberal Democrats were also present at the meeting. “I found very amusing the PACE opposition to pass to a 100% proportional system” commented Prosperous Armenia Party’s MP Naira Zourapyan, “I’ve been also amused by the [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>ARF-D: Subject-To-Demolition Residences Should Be Free Of Taxes</title>
		<link>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/18/arf-d-subject-to-demolition-residences-should-be-freed-of-taxes/</link>
		<comments>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/18/arf-d-subject-to-demolition-residences-should-be-freed-of-taxes/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:53:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Armenia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[In Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Labour & Social Welfare]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.arfd.info/?p=2595</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Although the government’s negative opinion will be confirmed on the January 19 session by the Ministry of Territorial Administration www.news.am reports that ARF-D Parliamentary Faction’s law amendment on exempting the 3rd and 4th category subject-to-demolishion residences from the property taxation has been turned down. ARF-D Members of Parliament Ara Nranyan, Artashes Shahbazyan and Artsvik Minasyan joined by Gohar Enokyan Prosperous Armenia Party’s MP, said that people in those residences not only live in conditions of insecurity that lack basic living standards moreover they are in no position of putting a mortgage over them. According to www.news.am there is no tax for 4th category subject-to-demolishion residences in the government’s decision but a 0.5 has been defined for the 3rd category leaving total tax-exemption jurisdiction to community administration. The government didn’t exclude the granting of financial support to those residents.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/18/arf-d-subject-to-demolition-residences-should-be-freed-of-taxes/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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		<title>ARF-Dashnaktsutyun and Heritage Furious With Council Of Europe Official</title>
		<link>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/16/arf-dashnaktsutyun-and-heritage-furious-with-council-of-europe-official/</link>
		<comments>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/16/arf-dashnaktsutyun-and-heritage-furious-with-council-of-europe-official/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:51:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Democracy & Human Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.arfd.info/?p=2577</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Leaders of the two opposition parties represented in Armenia’s parliament accused on Monday a top representative of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) of blatant pro-government bias after meeting him to discuss the political situation in the country. Senior parliamentarians from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun and the Heritage (Zharangutyun) party said that John Prescott, a PACE co-rapporteur on Armenia, rudely brushed aside their concerns about the forthcoming parliamentary elections and human rights abuses. Prescott arrived in Yerevan to discuss ongoing preparations for the elections scheduled for May and assess the Armenian authorities’ compliance with a PACE resolution adopted last October. The resolution urged the authorities to hold “genuinely democratic parliamentary elections,” reform the law-enforcement and judicial systems and create a “pluralist media environment.” It said this is essential for preventing a repeat of the deadly 2008 street violence in Yerevan. Prescott, who served as Britain’s deputy prime minister from 1997-2007, was due to travel to Armenia together with Axel Fischer, the other PACE co-rapporteur. But Fischer cancelled trip at the last minute, citing health reasons. The British parliamentarian began the fact-finding visit with a meeting with members of the Armenian parliamentary delegation at the PACE. One of them, Dashnaktsutyun’s [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Minasyan: Regime Change, The Only Way To Abolish Monopolies</title>
		<link>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/14/minasyan-regime-change-the-only-way-to-abolish-monopolies/</link>
		<comments>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/14/minasyan-regime-change-the-only-way-to-abolish-monopolies/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:23:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Armenia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economics & Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[In Politics]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.arfd.info/?p=2590</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On January 13, representatives from the Armenian National Congress, the Liberal Democrats and ARF-D parties participated in a meeting with the Press, co-organized by the Armenian Center of Political and International Studies and the US Institute for Democracy that was held at the Congress hotel. According to www.azatutyun.am ARF-D Member of Parliament Artsvik Minasyan pointed out that the close ties between the business and political worlds can bring on devastating sideffects to Armenia. We are facing up a situation where obstacles have been artificially put to limit access in the market starting from customs and finishing with the engagement of the financial and administrative levers of the Armenian economy stressing that their transformation into a political system makes them quite dangerous. “It is no coincidence that the ruling political force is constantly thinking of staying in power and doesn’t consider that a regime-change might take place. This is yet another expression of monopoly, of our country’s very problem” concluded Minasyan.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>The two parliamentary opposition parties once again unite for election bill</title>
		<link>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/13/2573/</link>
		<comments>http://www.arfd.info/2012/01/13/2573/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:21:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Democracy & Human Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.arfd.info/?p=2573</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today, the Parliamentary Factions of the Heritage (Zharangutyun) and Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun parties took a joint initiative and circulated a proposition-package on amending the &#8216;Electoral Code&#8217;, the &#8216;National Assembly Regulations&#8217;, &#8216;The Law on the Constitutional Court&#8217; aiming to pass from the current mixed election system to a 100% proportional system. The proposition is supported and welcomed by the Armenian National Congress (HAK), “The Liberal Democrats” (ADK), the “U-Turn” party (Shrjadarts), “The People’s Party” (Zhoghovrtdagan), Armenia’s Democratic Liberal Party (HRAK), The National Democratic Party (AZK), Armenia’s Workers’ Socialist Party (HASK), The United Labor Party (MAK), Armenia’s Democratic Parties, numerous political and civilian groups and intellectuals. On 4 August 2010, on the threshold of the “Electoral Code” elaborations, ARF-D and Heritage in regard to the primary points that were submitted to change, came jointly forward with 10 propositions – including the passing to a proportional election system – which were also sent to the European Commission of Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) in order to get an expert opinion. Along with other propositions the one about passing to a proportional election system was presented on 26 May 2011 as well during the discussions of the newly approved Electoral Code. Representatives of the [...]]]></description>
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