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ARMENIA PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL SHOT AND WOUNDED
http://www.tallmadgeexpress.com/ap%20international/2013/02/02/armenia-presidential-hopeful-shot-and-wounded
AVET DEMOURIAN Associated Press Published: February 2, 2013 11:14AM
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) -- A fringe candidate for the Armenian
presidency was recovering from surgery Friday after being shot in the
chest by an unidentified gunman, officials said. Paruir Airikian was
reported in stable condition as police searched for the shooter, while
the speaker of Parliament suggested the election could be delayed.
Airikian, an also-ran in three previous presidential elections, was
shot outside his house in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, just before
midnight. A neighbor who heard gunshots and cries for help called the
police.
Another presidential candidate who visited Airikian in hospital told
Armenian TV that that the assailant first shot him in the back.
Airikian then started struggling with the attacker, who fled.
Airikian, a former dissident who spent 17 years in Soviet prisons, is
one of eight candidates in the Feb. 18 presidential vote, which
incumbent Serge Sarkisian is expected to easily win despite the
nation's economic problems. Recent opinion surveys show Airikian
getting just over 1 percent of the vote.
Yerevan Clinical Hospital's chief doctor, Ara Minasian, said that the
63-year-old Airikian was being treated for a single gunshot wound and
remained in stable condition. Doctors later performed a surgery to
remove a bullet that got stuck in his shoulder.
Eduard Sharmazanov, a deputy speaker of Parliament, said the attack on
Airikian was a "provocation against democratic, free and transparent
elections." Education Minister Armen Ashotian, who is deputy chief of
the ruling Republican Party, described it as an "attempt to
destabilize the situation in the country and compromise the vote."
Armenian parliament speaker Ovik Abramian, who visited Airikian at the
hospital, said the assault could be an attempt to thwart the election.
He said the vote could be postponed if Airikian's condition prevents
him from taking part, but the nation's election chief refused to
comment on the possibility.
Armenia's constitution requires the vote to be postponed for two weeks
if one of the candidates is unable to take part due to circumstances
beyond his control. It envisages a further 40-day delay if the problem
isn't solved.
The Armenian president has broad executive powers, and the campaign
for the job has been marked by much tension. Airikian, a Soviet-era
dissident, briefly joined a hunger strike by another candidate over
procedural issues related to the vote.
This landlocked, overwhelmingly Christian nation of 3 million has
faced severe economic challenges caused by the closing of its borders
with Turkey and Azerbaijan because of a territorial conflict.
The Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and some adjacent territory
has been under the control of Armenian troops and local ethnic
Armenian forces since a six-year war ended with a truce in 1994. But
international efforts to mediate a settlement have brought no result.
Armenia's politics have been tense and often mired in violence. In
1999, six gunmen burst into Parliament and killed the prime minister,
speaker and six other officials and lawmakers. Nine people were
wounded. The attackers said they were driven by a desire to save the
country from economic collapse and official corruption. They were
sentenced to life in prison and one later committed suicide.
Airikian was a dissident during Soviet times. He was first arrested
when he was 20, and spent 17 years in prison, according to his party.
In 1987 after Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev launched his liberal
reforms, Airikian created the National Self-Determination Party. When
the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted next year, he
accused the Soviet authorities of stirring up violence and was evicted
from the country.
Airikian soon returned to his homeland and took senior positions in
Armenia's parliament and government in the 1990s.
http://www.tallmadgeexpress.com/ap%20international/2013/02/02/armenia-presidential-hopeful-shot-and-wounded
AVET DEMOURIAN Associated Press Published: February 2, 2013 11:14AM
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) -- A fringe candidate for the Armenian
presidency was recovering from surgery Friday after being shot in the
chest by an unidentified gunman, officials said. Paruir Airikian was
reported in stable condition as police searched for the shooter, while
the speaker of Parliament suggested the election could be delayed.
Airikian, an also-ran in three previous presidential elections, was
shot outside his house in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, just before
midnight. A neighbor who heard gunshots and cries for help called the
police.
Another presidential candidate who visited Airikian in hospital told
Armenian TV that that the assailant first shot him in the back.
Airikian then started struggling with the attacker, who fled.
Airikian, a former dissident who spent 17 years in Soviet prisons, is
one of eight candidates in the Feb. 18 presidential vote, which
incumbent Serge Sarkisian is expected to easily win despite the
nation's economic problems. Recent opinion surveys show Airikian
getting just over 1 percent of the vote.
Yerevan Clinical Hospital's chief doctor, Ara Minasian, said that the
63-year-old Airikian was being treated for a single gunshot wound and
remained in stable condition. Doctors later performed a surgery to
remove a bullet that got stuck in his shoulder.
Eduard Sharmazanov, a deputy speaker of Parliament, said the attack on
Airikian was a "provocation against democratic, free and transparent
elections." Education Minister Armen Ashotian, who is deputy chief of
the ruling Republican Party, described it as an "attempt to
destabilize the situation in the country and compromise the vote."
Armenian parliament speaker Ovik Abramian, who visited Airikian at the
hospital, said the assault could be an attempt to thwart the election.
He said the vote could be postponed if Airikian's condition prevents
him from taking part, but the nation's election chief refused to
comment on the possibility.
Armenia's constitution requires the vote to be postponed for two weeks
if one of the candidates is unable to take part due to circumstances
beyond his control. It envisages a further 40-day delay if the problem
isn't solved.
The Armenian president has broad executive powers, and the campaign
for the job has been marked by much tension. Airikian, a Soviet-era
dissident, briefly joined a hunger strike by another candidate over
procedural issues related to the vote.
This landlocked, overwhelmingly Christian nation of 3 million has
faced severe economic challenges caused by the closing of its borders
with Turkey and Azerbaijan because of a territorial conflict.
The Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and some adjacent territory
has been under the control of Armenian troops and local ethnic
Armenian forces since a six-year war ended with a truce in 1994. But
international efforts to mediate a settlement have brought no result.
Armenia's politics have been tense and often mired in violence. In
1999, six gunmen burst into Parliament and killed the prime minister,
speaker and six other officials and lawmakers. Nine people were
wounded. The attackers said they were driven by a desire to save the
country from economic collapse and official corruption. They were
sentenced to life in prison and one later committed suicide.
Airikian was a dissident during Soviet times. He was first arrested
when he was 20, and spent 17 years in prison, according to his party.
In 1987 after Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev launched his liberal
reforms, Airikian created the National Self-Determination Party. When
the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted next year, he
accused the Soviet authorities of stirring up violence and was evicted
from the country.
Airikian soon returned to his homeland and took senior positions in
Armenia's parliament and government in the 1990s.