Month: September 2013

10 Bulgarian footballers who play outside to arrive in Armenia with
national squad

September 28, 2013 | 14:02

The coaching staff of the Bulgarian national football team has decided
as to how many of their footballers who play outside will arrive in
Armenia to take part in the 2014 World Cup qualifier match against the
host nation.

As a result, ten Bulgarian footballers who play outside will travel to
Armenia as part of the Bulgarian national squad, Sportal.bg reports.

To note, the Armenia-Bulgaria match will take place on October 11, in
Armenia’s capital city Yerevan.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

Karabakh people are building their land with justice and democracy

September 28, 2013 | 15:38

YEREVAN. – The people of Nagorno-Karabakh are building their future
based on justice and democracy, Baroness Caroline Cox told reporters
in Yerevan.

`I have great admiration for the people of Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh]
both the way they defended their land in the historic struggle, and
the way they are now building their land with justice and democracy.
Karabakh has beautiful new buildings. I always say Armenians can make
beauty from the ashes of destruction. And you can see it in Artsakh.’

On Saturday Baroness Cox participated in the opening of a monument to
the Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan who was killed by Ramil Safarov.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

Will Armenia Get Rid of FSB Agents?

The Russian mass media lament that Ukraine is going to dismiss the
potential agents of the Russian FSB from its Security Service.
Afterwards the Security Service of Ukraine will undergo reforms to
comply with the EU standards. The National Security and Defense
Council has finalized the concept of the Security Service of Ukraine,
the Forbes wrote.

The Russian mass media note that thousands of people will be dismissed
from the security service and the ministry of internal affairs. It
means that there are about this many potential agents of the Russian
FSB in Ukraine. Apparently, Yanukovich wants to uproot Russian
imperialism, and the roots are the special agents, open or undercover.

In Georgia the process of cutting from the Russian empire became
officially irreversible after the government declared lustration and
removed the Soviet KGB agents from the government. However, Ukraine
has gone far ahead to the modern FSB of Russia.

The bill on lustration put forth a few years ago was not given due
consideration. What is the point of considering this when the Russian
FSB guards the Armenian border under an international agreement? How
can Armenia lustrate FSB agents when Russia is officially the
guarantor of security of Armenia? Lustration was meaningless because
the Armenian National Security Service, as some experts say, is
directly supervised by the Russian FSB, while the heads of our special
services receive their pension from Russia.

Apparently, declining the services of the Russian FSB and its border
guard service was one of the stipulations of Armenia’s European
integration which is now obsolete. It is possible that the stipulation
was not for a short term but was mandatory so Russia accelerated
Armenia’s membership to the Customs Union.

However, the problem is not Europe but the independence of Armenia.
Armenia cannot be even partly independence when the special services
of another state are guarding its border.

These special services feel like home. They can stop the car of the
member of Armenian parliament in broad daylight, at 30 km from the
border and ask where she is going. They are free to allow or prevent
anyone from entering Armenia. They can do whether they want, and
nobody will say anything because this is the zone of FSB influence.

The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine has announces that in case Russia takes
steps against Ukraine’s European integration, the United States and
the EU will rebuff. However, they should first take preventive actions
and dismiss the FSB’s agents.

Naira Hayrumyan
16:13 28/09/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

Police: transition to biometric passports to start in 2014 all over Armenia

YEREVAN, September 28. /ARKA/. The process of replacement of usual
passport with biometric ones will start on January 1, 2014, in all the
provinces of Armenia, Vardan Bichakhyan, chief of the police
department’s passport and visa unit, says in a video statement posted
on the police’s official website.

Starting from 1 June, 2012, residents of Yerevan, Gyumri and Vanadzor
who want have such passports may do it. According to the police’s
decision, the process of elimination of old passports will start on
January 1, 2014.

In his statement, Bichakhyan said that old passports will remain valid
until their validity term is expired.
The introduction of biometric passport came as part of the European
Neighborhood program – they will help Armenian citizens to travel
abroad and will facilitate visa obtaining procedure for traveling to
European countries.

The new system will leave no room for forging documents and will bar
undesirable persons from crossing Armenia’s border. Biometric
passports are valid for five years and ID cards for 10 years.

All the citizens of Armenia at age higher than 16 will get
identification cards and passports will be given to those citizens who
want them. In addition to personal data and a photo, there will be
fingerprints in a new passport. An ID card will contain also the
electronic signature in addition to personal data and a photo. —0—
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Armenia’s government expects next year’s GDP to expand by 5.2%

YEREVAN, September 28. / ARKA /. Armenia’s government expects next
year’s GDP to grow by 5.2%, Finance Minister David Sargsyan said
today, adding that this figure is projected by the draft budget for
2014.

“The nominal GDP is expected to reach 4.723,700 trillion drams,” he
said Saturday during an extraordinary session of the government,
convened to discuss the draft budget.

In comments on these numbers Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said this
means the government will have to work very hard next year because of
a string of factors that may have a negative impact on Armenia’s
economy.

According to him, the first factor is the anticipated economic
slowdown in developed countries. `In particular, the IMF has revised
downward its outlook for Russia’s GDP,’ he said.

On September 24 the International Monetary Fund slashed its growth
forecast for Russia for 2013 and 2014 for the third time this year,
urging the government to pursue structural reforms and improve the
investment climate in order to boost growth. The IMF said it saw the
economy growing at 1.5% this year and 3% in 2014, held back by weak
investment and low demand for its exports. In June, the Fund cut its
outlook for 2013 to 2.5%, after an earlier cut in April to 3.4% from
3.7%. In April, the Fund saw Russia’s economy growth in 2014 at 3.8%.
The IMF outlook for this year is even more pessimistic than that of
the Russian government, which sees 2013 growth at 1.8%, down from the
3.6% forecast at the start of the year.

Another factor, according to Sarkisian, is the downward trend in the
amount of private investment, which makes the government improve the
business climate and distribute the tax burden evenly.
The total amount of foreign investment in the real sector of the
economy in the first six months in 2013 slashed by 35 percent to $293
million from the year before.

“The peculiarity of the next year’s budget is that we do not increase
the tax burden. The ratio of taxes to GDP each year increased by 0.3,
0.4 pp. We decided not to increase this ratio this year to avoid
excessive pressure on the business,’ he said.

“It is also clear that a membership in the Customs Union will create a
new environment for businesses and we must do everything possible to
make this transition gradual,” he said. -0-
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Public sector salaries to surge by 40 percent from next July

YEREVAN, September 28. / ARKA /. Pensions in Armenia will rise by 15
percent from January 1, 2014 and the public sector salaries will grow
by 40 percent from next July, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said
today after the extraordinary Cabinet session.

Head of government staff Vache Gabrielyan presented a draft law “On
wages,” which envisages introduction of the pay scale. According to
him, the bill provides for adjustment of public sector salaries with
the level of the minimum wage.

According to official statistics, the average nominal public sector
wage in July 2013 stood at 127,200 drams, an increase of 8% compared
to the same period last year.

Labor and social affairs minister Artem Asatryan presented a new
procedure for calculating pensions in 2014. He said the size of an
average labor pension will increase by 15%. However, more than
111,900 retirees will see their pensions rise by 25 %, 93,000 senior
citizens’ pensions will rise by 20% and only a small group of
pensioners, whose pensions are more than 70,000 drams will see them
grow by 3 %.

Asatryan also added that the minimum pension in Armenia in 2014 will
be 18,200 drams.
According to official statistics, the average pension at the end of
2012 was 29,689 drams. ($ 1 – 405.86 drams). -0-

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Gourgen Margaryan’s spirit will never die: Caroline Cox

15:54, 28 September, 2013

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. “Your heroes are true heroes,”
member of the British House of Lords Caroline Cox stated this
addressing the people of Armenia and Artsakh at the opening of the
monument dedicated to Armenian Officer murdered with an axe while
asleep by an Azerbaijani assassin Ramil Safarov. Among other things
Baroness Cox noted that she shares the grief of Gourgen Margaryan’s
family and that she was shacked to know that Armenian officer was
murdered while asleep. As reports “Armenpress” among other things
Baroness Cox underscored: “I am a mother myself and I could not help
my tears when I learnt the way Your son was murdered. I was even more
shocked to know that the assassin was proclaimed a hero in
Azerbaijan. I am very worried about the future of Azerbaijan and the
way they educate their children, when they consider a murderer to be a
hero.”

The monument dedicated to the memory of the axe-murdered Armenian
officer Gourgen Margaryan was opened in Yerevan. The monument was
erected in the park nearby the 52 Leningradyan Street. Gourgen
Margaryan’s relatives, representatives of the Ministry of Defense of
the Republic of Armenia, Deputies of the National Assembly of the
Republic of Armenia, and other higher officials attended the opening
ceremony of the aforesaid monument held on September 28.

Azerbaijani assassin Ramil Safarov, who axe-murdered Armenian officer
Gurgen Margaryan while sleeping with 16 blows, when they were
participating in NATO English Language Courses in the capital of
Hungary on February 19, 2004 in Budapest, was sentenced to life
imprisonment without right to be pardoned for 30 years. On August 31,
2012 Safarov was extradited from Hungary to Azerbaijan and was
pardoned by the President Ilham Aliyev. The murderer was advanced to
major, provided with an apartment and given title of “national hero”
and compensated for the 8 years of the imprisonment in Hungary.
Armenia suspended diplomatic relations with Hungary. The extradition,
pardoning and release of Safarov were condemned by many countries and
authoritative organizations of the world.

Armenian newsprint paper imported from Russia and Finland

14:46, 28 September, 2013

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS: The volumes of the newsprint paper
imported to the Republic of Armenia during the
first six months of 2013 have decreased by about 17% in comparison
with the same period of the previous year and made
422,5 tons. According to the data provided by the State Revenue
Committee of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, during
the first six months of 2012 our country imported 507,3 tons of
newsprint paper. As reported by Armenpress, the total customs
value of the newsprint paper imported to Armenia during the first six
months of 2013 made $342,800.

About 86% of the newsprint paper imported to Armenia during the first
six months of 2013 was from the Russian Federation (364,8
tons) and about 13% from Finland (55,6 tons).

`If it goes like this, Gyumri will definitely become Putinograd.’
Vahan Tumasyan

September 28 2013

It has been a few days since the inhabitants of Russian dwelling place
Petushok, Gyumri, or the same as the 8th district (Gyumri people call
it Vosmoy garadok) receive a note from the Russian 102nd military base
responsible persons saying to immediately leave their apartments
within 10 days. Yesterday, over the Gala TV, utterly surprised
inhabitants were expressing their outrage with regard to this fact,
emphasizing that they did not get their flats from the air, but they
have family members working in the Russia 102nd military base.
According to their information, there are deported to expand the
Russian military base for recruitment of new Russian servicemen. The
matter is about non-privatized apartments, in which the Armenian
families have spent a lot of money; they had applied for privatization
on time but they were rejected. However, the inhabitants facing the
danger of becoming homeless were angry about the fact that the
Russians treat them as they want on the Armenian ground. Aravot.am
asked for the opinion regarding this issue from Vahan Tumasyan,
President of `Shirak Center’ NGO, which is engaged in the issues of
Gyumri homeless. `I still told a year ago that so many people will
migrate from Gyumri that just as many people will be left as needed to
serve the Russian military base, making it work,’- reminded Vahan
Tumasyan in the beginning of the conversation. To our observation
whether the Armenians serving for the Russian military base are
actullay moved out of their apartments, the head of the NGO said,- `If
I’m not mistaken, in 1991, when the contract was signed, then several
new contracts were re-signed, the Armenian side should have taken into
account the risks, that some monetary compensation to the border
troops was to be expected, as well as who was going to solve the
issues of housing and domestic with regard to recruitment of Russian
troops, and so on. They must have understood that they would encounter
such challenges, and now the Customs Union and so on … Of course, it
is sad, that there is a huge army of homeless in Gyumri, and we are
adding the number of homeless families in the city year-after-year,
this definitely will have a grave consequences: it will increase the
migration from the city, will increase the poverty. Of course, the
matter over there is a little different, if I’m not mistaken, this
district was originally built and envisaged for the Russian military
officers, later Armenians were also living there, resale took place.
But, before that, Armenian families who were serving in the Russian
military base, were living there and they all had Russian citizenship.
The sad part is that we refused many to get apartments because they
had Russian citizenship, and the Russian side moves out its citizens
from, naturally, service apartments, if the apartments were
privatized, nothing could have happened. To note that many of those
citizens of Armenia were much more dedicated to Russia than the
original Russians who live in the RF. What can you do, it is their own
property,’- said Vahan Tumasyan. In response to the question whether
it is possible that one day Gyumri will be again renamed to
Alexandrapol due to the fact of increasing the number of Russians and
such mastering pose of the Russians, our interlocutor said, `I want to
approach this issue optimistically, and hope that a normal solution
will be found, but if you jokingly approach to what said, then why we
should call Gyumri with the female name of old tsars, Alexandrapol,
instead of renaming with the name of the modern one, Putinograd. Not
until the knife reaches the bone, we understand that you can not live
with the status of a vassal, if our authorities keep with the
Armenian-Russian relations as such, definitely our city will become
Putinograd, but I am sure that we will not allow it,’ said our
interlocutor.

Nune AREVSHATYAN
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Zardusht Alizadeh. `I would compare South Caucasus with circus.’

September 28 2013

On September 27, after the public hearings held in Georgian Tekali
village of Marneuli region, the famous Azerbaijani political scientist
Zardusht Alizadeh, in an interview with us, referring to the situation
in the South Caucasus, said, `I would compare the situation in the
South Caucasus with circus. There is a Russian circus director and
Azerbaijani trainers, Armenian and Georgian leaders, who have methods
of training. Should they have trained, we would not have felt bad.
Their methods are of training and not educating. The educate humanity,
patience, tolerance, hard work, honesty in people, and we instill
hatred, intolerance, negligence. I think that our trainers under the
distinct supervision of the with circus director turn our wonderful,
wonderful region into vulgarity, and circus. And we wish our people to
live normal, with normal feelings. Of course, Russia still rules the
events taking place in South Caucasus, but Russia should seriously
think about the change of its role because such role, the role of
incendiary, supervisor, and activator led to the collapse of the
Soviet Union. Now, we see that these dangerous developments in
Russia’s territory, in North Caucasus, the bandit underground, terror,
global turmoil, massive corruption.’

Voskan SARGSYAN
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