Month: February 2012

COMPANY TO BUILD INFRASTRUCTURES FOR ARMENIA’S FIRST FREE ECONOMIC ZONE

news.am
February 11, 2012 | 03:36

YEREVAN. – The Sitronics Armenia Company will build infrastructures
for Armenia’s first free economic zone (FEZ), the Company’s General
Director Armen Khachatryan told Armenian News-NEWS.am. He added
that close to ten-million euros are planned to be invested for FEZ’s
creation and administration.

To note, by the Armenian government’s decision on February 2, Sitronics
Armenia received the status of FEZ administrator.

In June 2011, Armenia’s Parliament had passed the law on free economic
zones, pursuant to which the companies operating inside these zones
will be exempt of the value added tax, income tax, and property tax for
exports. Aside from the FEZs under Sitronics Armenia’s administration,
two more are planned to be created at Zvartnots International Airport,
and Gyumri city’s Technopark.

Sitronics Armenia is a sister enterprise of the Russian Sitronics
Concern, and it is a leading corporation in the domain of
telecommunication solutions, Information Technology, and
microelectronic products.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN PLANT DEVELOPS TECHNOLOGY OF DIGITAL STONE PRESSING MACHINES

news.am
February 11, 2012 | 06:48

YEREVAN. – Armenian Mars Company developed technology of digital
stone pressing machines. As the director of the company told the
reporter of Armenian News-NEWS.am, the machines are already in mass
production. It is planned to produce 20-30 machines in 2012. One
machine costs $100,000.

“We presented the machine during an industrial exhibition in Germany.

Such technologies already exist but we try to be competitive,” he said.

FRENCH MP HOPES INTERESTED PARTIES NOT TO PRESS CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ISSUE

news.am
February 11, 2012 | 01:47

PARIS. – French Socialist MP Francois Pupponi released a communique,
where he turned to some MPs and Senators who have appealed to the
Constitutional Council against the bill criminalizing denial of the
genocides, including the Armenian Genocide.

“I am deeply sorry that 77 Senators and 65 MPs decided to appeal to
the Council against the bill. There are several reasons: first of all,
many victims. Our responsibility is not to kill them again. Second,
for their relatives, so that their inheritors could fully be integrated
in our state.

Finally, I believe that the interested parties will not influence
or hinder the Council to consider the constituency of the bill in
a calm and impartial condition,” the statement reads, Nouvelles
d`Armenie reports.

ARMENIA “SUFFERS” FROM FORBES – NEWSPAPER

news.am
February 11, 2012 | 09:45

YEREVAN. – Last year the Forbes Magazine published the rating chart
of the world’s worst economies, and in it Armenia was in second spot,
only behind Madagascar, Apaga weekly writes.

“In response to that publication, the country’s [Armenia’s] numerous
statesmen quickly criticized the Magazine’s data. Then everyone
began to forget about this publication, especially since this was
‘convenient’ for many. The qualitative full value of Forbes’ rating
chart leaves a feeling of equivocalness, [and] the given publication
seems to ‘smell’ the scent of oil which is extracted not too far away.

Had Armenia’s economy been on another qualitative level, no one would
have dared to send our country to the world’s ‘economic garbage.’ The
world already has all the grounds to laugh at us, especially when we,
on the level of senior officials, attempt to prove that we are not
dashing down the abyss, as Forbes has unjustifiably written, but
rather we are just approaching the edge of that abyss,” Apaga writes.

PORNOGRAPHIC WEBSITES ARE ALLOWED IN ARMENIA? – NEWSPAPER

news.am
February 11, 2012 | 09:00

YEREVAN. – Pursuant to Armenia’s law, the posting of pornographic
content in Armenia’s websites are prohibited and are punishable,
Aravot daily writes.

“In all normal countries, the filtering method functions to
specifically keep minors away from pornographic websites. [But] The
filtering method does not yet function in Armenia, [and] there is a
‘hotline’ [number] which operates in case of discovering pornographic
websites. [But] When dialing this number, ‘the subscriber’s telephone
is not connected to the station’ response is heard. We can assume
that either the calls on pornographic websites have increased and the
hotline has become very ‘hot,’ or this telephone number was not used
by anyone,” Aravot writes.

From: Baghdasarian

GENOCIDE BILL AUTHOR OFFERS TO RENEW ATTEMPTS IF MOTION IS REJECTED

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 9, 2012 – 15:04 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The author of the bill criminalizing the Armenian
Genocide denial, Valerie Boyer offers to renew attempts if the draft
law gets rejected.

“I didn’t except such an acute reaction from some senators. The bill
reaffirms such global values as freedom, equality and fraternity,”
Boyer said in an interview with Nouvelles d’Armenie magazine.

“Media doesn’t seem to be interested in the issue as they keep
disclosing the opposing forces of the bill,” French MP said, dwelling
on media coverage of the Genocide bill.

Boyer is likely to contact President’s administration in event the
French Constitutional Council declares the bill unconstitutional.

Earlier, French President Nicolas Sarkozy reiterated his position,
calling on Turkey to face its history.

On January 23, the French Senate passed the bill criminalizing the
Armenian Genocide. If signed into law, the bill will impose a 45,000
euro fine and a year in prison for anyone in France who denies this
crime against humanity committed by the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey reacted furiously when the Senate approved the law, which
threatens with jail anyone in France who denies that the 1915 massacre
of Armenians by Ottoman Turk forces amounted to Genocide. Ankara
has already halted political and military cooperation with France
and was threatening to cut off economic and cultural ties if the law
took effect.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESIDENT’S PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO NOW ASSUME CASE OF PROTESTING HOMEOWNERS

epress.am
02.09.2012

Meeting on Wednesday with three of the protesting homeowners who
agreed to move into new apartments that were then resold to third
parties was Permanent Representative of the President to the National
Assembly Garnik Isaghulyan, who promised to deal with their case,
one of the homeowners, Sona Maghakyan, informed Epress.am

Recall, Heritage Party MP Anahit Bakhshyan, as promised earlier,
raised the matter in parliament, after which Isaghulyan, instructed by
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, began dealing with the issue. Until
then, the finance ministry’s chief advisor, Hayk Davtyan, was dealing
with the case.

The homeowners were again protesting outside the government building
today. After the regular Thursday government meeting, Bakhshyan
approached the protestors and said she raised the issue again in
parliament yesterday and appealed to justice minister Hrayr Tovmasyan
in writing, so that he meet with the protestors and listen to their
concerns.

Though the minister hasn’t yet respond to the letter, Bakhshyan said
that, according to the law, on the basis of a deputy’s intervention,
he has to organize a meeting soon.

Recall, in 2006, the residents (whose apartments on Aram, Buzand,
Yekmalyan and Saryan streets were recognized as public priority
interest) agreed to leave their homes on the condition that they
would be given apartments in new buildings to be constructed on the
same site. For this they signed an agreement with a developer by the
name of Gagik Papoyan, but the residents still haven’t received their
new apartments – in fact, the units have been resold to third parties.

Late last year, Armenia’s Special Investigation Service (SIS) launched
a criminal case against Papoyan, but he cannot be found. The homeowners
say the SIS informed them that that the case could take months as
hundreds of people have to be questioned in connection with the case.

CHILDISH GAMES IN THE PARLIAMENT

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 16:01:09 – 09/02/2012

According to journalists, the Parliament of Armenia is becoming
a caricature. Today, it again lacked quorum and the MPs voted for
them and for their colleagues. The Parliament’s leadership did not
pay attention to the opposition MP Larisa Alaverdyan’s complaints in
this connection.

Today was the last session of this convocation. The newly-appointed
Speaker is reluctant to end it ignominiously. One “ignominious” step
has already been done – the law on the limitation of cash operations
failed. But there are a bunch of other laws which need to be adopted.

No time for formality. You can re-vote, vote for others and provoke.

What and whom the parliament’s leadership is proving? Why do they
need these childish games? It is evident that the current convocation
has exhausted in terms of time and morality. In a couple of months,
it will be a shame to remember the current level of MPs.

Apparently, Samvel Nikoyan wants to prove that he managed to adopt
many laws during his short tenure and cooperated very well with the
government. But, honestly, this is not the best election argument. It
would be better to acknowledge your mistakes and apologize. Maybe,
you will be forgiven.

ARMENIAN GODDESS STATUE SHOULD HAVE ARMENIAN PASSPORT

news.am
February 09, 2012 | 15:29

YEREVAN. – The head and hands of the Armenia Goddess Anahit are
presented in the Hellenic section of the British Museum.

Board Secretary of the opposition Heritage Party Karine Hakobyan
considers the fact that the statue is exhibited in the Hellenic
section alarming.

“The statue is not presented as an example of the Armenian art,”
she said at a press conference on Thursday..

She offers not to bring the statue to Armenia but to raise the
question of granting it an Armenian passport. Member of the opposition
party said it is necessary to establish a legislative environment
to guarantee protection of cultural and historic monuments both in
Armenia and foreign countries.

TURKISH JOURNALIST: EGEMEN BAGIS REMARKS ON GENOCIDE “PROVOCATIVE”

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 9, 2012 – 15:45 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Turkish journalist Kadri Gursel dubbed recent remarks
of Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis on Armenian Genocide as
“hasty and provocative.”

“Bagis picked a wrong place and time to refer to Genocide,
considering the fact that his statement is punishable according to
Swiss legislation,” the journalist said.

“Daring Swiss authorities to arrest him, Bagis discredited himself as
a politician. The Minister should have thought of how Turkish policy
line, exhibited by his behaviour, might impress French Constitutional
Council which is to decide on the outcome of the Genocide bill,”
Milliyet quoted the journalist as saying.

A Zurich prosecutor launched an investigation into remarks by Egemen
Bagis, Turkey’s EU affairs minister and chief EU negotiator, after
he said in Zurich that there was no Armenian Genocide and that Swiss
authorities could arrest him if they wanted to.

Zurich State Prosecutor Christine Braunschweig was quoted by the daily
as having said: “Last week we received a petition about this issue,
informing us that Mr. Bagis violated the anti-racism Article 261 of the
Swiss Penal Code. Our prosecutor’s office has taken this allegation
seriously and launched an investigation. We will investigate whether
Egemen Bagis uttered words denying the Armenian Genocide as asserted
in the petition. We will also see if he has diplomatic immunity. At
the end of this, we will press charges against him if there indeed
is a violation and if he cannot benefit from diplomatic immunity.”

On January 23, the French Senate passed the bill criminalizing the
Armenian Genocide. If signed into law, the bill will impose a 45,000
euro fine and a year in prison for anyone in France who denies this
crime against humanity committed by the Ottoman Empire.