Month: September 2013

ARMENIE
L’Arménie pourrait doubler ses exportations de diamants en 2015

L’Arménie pourrait doubler ses exportations de diamants de 79 millions
de dollars en 2012 à 150 millions de dollars en 2015 selon Armen
Yeganian, chef du Département de la politique industrielle au
ministère de l’Economie.

Selon ce dernier la croissance annuelle des exportations de diamants
sera de 14,7% dans le meilleur des cas, 7,2% dans le cas modéré et
0,3% dans le pire des cas.

L’Arménie achète des diamants bruts principalement de Russie et de
Belgique puis le pays exporte ses diamants taillés.

dimanche 22 septembre 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

REVUE DE PRESSE
Les services de renseignement turcs désormais centralisés

La Turquie vient de se doter d’un Centre de coordination des services
de renseignement (MIKM) qui réunifiera la plupart des officines
affectées à la sécurité. De récentes affaires avaient souligné la
nécessité pour l’Etat turc de mieux coordonner l’action de ses
services de renseignement.

Le Centre turc de coordination des services de renseignement (MIKM)
vient d’être créé, au moment où les services de renseignement
nationaux (MIT) sont vivement critiqués pour avoir obtenu de façon
illégale des informations privées sur certains citoyens turcs. Chargé
de coordonner l’ensemble des unités de sécurité en Turquie, le MIKM
rassemble les services de renseignements de la police, de la
gendarmerie et le MIT. Les informations recueillies à travers le pays
seront désormais transmises au MIKM, établi dans les bureaux du MIT à
Ankara. Sous la direction du sous-secrétaire du MIT, Hakan Fidan, le
MIKM devra procéder à l’évaluation finale des informations reçues. Le
centre sera chargé d’enquêter sur les problèmes liés au terrorisme, au
crime organisé, aux gangs ainsi qu’aux activités subversives et
séparatistes en Turquie.

Une coordination nécessaire…

Outre les représentants du département de la police nationale, du
commandement général de la gendarmerie (JGK) et du MIT, l’Etat-major
de l’armée est également représenté dans le MIKM. Selon certains
rapports circulant dans les médias turcs, il est primordial que les
services de renseignement et l’Etat-major soient coordonnées, afin
d’éviter qu’une affaire comme celle d’Uludere ne se reproduise. Pour
rappel, le 28 décembre 2011, des avions militaires avaient tué 34
contrebandiers dans une frappe aérienne à Uludere, au sud-est de la
Turquie. L’armée avait alors déclaré qu’il s’agissait d’une erreur et
que les contrebandiers tués avaient été confondus avec des membres du
Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK). L’Etat-major avait été
accusé d’avoir mené cette opération contre des civils kurdes qui
résidaient à Uludere. Les frappes avaient été déclenchées malgré un
avertissement du Commandement des forces aériennes affirmant que le
groupe en question qui passait la frontière entre la Syrie et la
Turquie était composé de contrebandiers et non de membres du PKK. Un
rapport a été rendu public après avoir été présenté en avril dernier à
une commission parlementaire formée pour enquêter sur l’incident
d’Uludere.

pour lire la suite cliquer sur le lien

dimanche 22 septembre 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

Prosperous Armenia Party leader was absent from ceremony marking 22nd
anniversary of Armenia’s Independence

12:11 – 22.09.13

Representatives of the political wing of the Prosperous Armenia Party
(PAP) – PAP Chairman Gagik Tsarukyan, Secretary of the PAP
parliamentary group Naira Zohrabyan, Vartan Oskanian and Vahe
Hovhannisyan – were not present at the solemn ceremony on the occasion
of the 22ndanniversary of Armenia’s independence.

On the other hand, the PAP group members Gurgen Arsenyan, Bazmaser
Arakelyan, Martun Grigoryan were present at the ceremony.
According to the information at Tert.am’s disposal, the PAP chairman
is not in Armenia.

Armenian News – Tert.am

When Head of State Writes Down His Memoires

Interview with Dr. Haik Martirosyan, University of Sorbonne (New York)

How can Armenia regain its credit in Europe?

Faith and confidence are usually not found in politics or they play a
secondary role. Pragmatism prevails. Obviously, both the EU and its
representative, Commissioner Fule, were shocked by Armenia’s U-turn.
Nevertheless, the commissioner’s words also hint at awareness of the
reasons of the U-turn. So, the problem of loss of confidence is
secondary. Official Yerevan was willing to sign the Association
Agreement but failed to. Obviously, Fule’s criticism was addressed to
another country, not official Yerevan. As to restoring faith and
confidence, it is really hard to do. It is hard to tell what other
U-turns should be expected from Armenia. We are living in an extremely
uncertain and unstable time with ongoing political and historical
revisions on a global level. The behavior of such a country as Armenia
could be determined by the situation in place. In order to have
confidence and faith the EU ought to have displayed earlier and deeper
interest in Armenia and been more active in fostering domestic and
economic reforms.

Was Serzh Sargsyan’s move determined by pressure with regards to the NKR issue?

This question will be officially answered on the day when the head of
state writes down his memoires and publishes them. Meanwhile, Fule did
not have to make such blunt statements. His interview with Radio
Liberty was the most sincere, emotional and non-diplomatic interview I
have ever seen, and it speaks a lot. The unofficial yet factual answer
does not need the president’s confession and the commissioner’s
sincerity. Yes, it is hard to imagine another reason apart from
Karabakh. It is Armenia’s Achilles’ heel, and the big players of the
region know where it is.

What are the possible implications of Armenia’s membership to the Customs Union?

I don’t think we will have an economic progress. I also don’t think
that such standards will be extended to us that would give us a boost
to a higher level of quality. Even the founders of the union lack such
standards. I also don’t think that Armenian products will be
competitive. The market may be flooded with exported goods which will
jeopardize competitiveness of local production. On the other hand,
some monopolies may be shattered or eliminated. We’ll see.

Fule says they will not give up on Armenia. In your opinion, in what
format will they continue to work with Armenia?

What Fule is saying can be from diplomacy where the uttered word means
the opposite. Either the EU will turn its face from Armenia or will
come up with more attractive proposals. Since Armenia might be
punished severely by the key member state of the Customs Union for
refusal to join the Customs Union equivocally, it is not difficult to
suppose that Europe will need to stop fostering hopes relating to
Armenia. This situation may change suddenly but it is already
determined by circumstances that are hard to predict.

23:54 21/09/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

From: Baghdasarian

Armenia Is Trump Card Against Russia

So, there are obvious signs that the resolution on the
Armenia-Russia-EU `conflict’ has been made, the scenario of the
`conflict’ will be used 100% and even more.

It would be ingenuous to think that it could have been otherwise,
considering the political ambitions of the European Union and the
established mechanism of having decisions on certain, including
regional issues agreed with the United States.

Expectations that Armenia would be forgotten did not come true, and
this should be acknowledged. Although emotions overwhelmed the
corridors on Schuman Roundabout, decisions are not made by officials
but politicians, and the Western community has understood that it has
received an interesting trump card in the games with Russia and
Eastern Europe.

In Armenia they will most probably focus on different objectives
relating not only to Russia but also Turkey. In addition, it should be
noted that these scenarios had been worked out earlier and should have
been implemented after the signing of the Agreement on November 29.
Hence, there are no new scenarios, there are only new schedules and
order of actions.

Apart from pragmatic motives relating to the geopolitical blockade of
Armenia, not just pressure, there are issues relating to the image and
authority of the European Union. It is possible that in Armenia hardly
anyone noticed but Russia has declared a political war to the European
Union, and one can remember a similar situation after the war in
Yugoslavia.

Besides, the West must demonstrate to Ukraine that it can assert its
position and do it quite rapidly and quite convincingly. Armenia is
not Ukraine, and demonstration of continuity of the policy does not
require big funds.

In the meantime, on `September 3′ the understanding of the reality in
the South Caucasus played a big role. Over the years of talks with the
European Union Armenia never dared to take initiatives for
consideration of `compensatory technologies’ in the area of defense;
the EU and NATO did not take a step towards enabling Armenia’s
national security. It was kept in mind that such steps could lead to a
confrontation with Russia, and they preferred to bypass Armenia
delicately but the counter-partner was too large to be able to bypass
during the first attempt.

In this situation one can already announce about a plural fact: over
the past year up to the last few weeks European politicians,
functionaries and experts repetitively and cautiously asked, `To what
extent is the Armenian government determined to sign the `Agreement’?’
These and other delicate details are evidence that the West was not
confident that the project would succeed because Russia was expected
to react.

However, what matters more was not Russia’s expected `breakthrough’
but Armenia’s uncertainty over the level of tolerance of risks. One
way or another, further development of relations between Armenia and
the Western community, if it ever takes place, will incorporate
elements of security. Therefore, it is time to cooperate with NATO
first, not with the European Union, or in a different format…

Who will be dealing with iteration on Armenia’s path towards the West?
Is the Armenian government considered suitable for cooperation and
further dialogue or is it already used material?

The Western community has a rule to block and ignore not states and
nations but concrete politicians or political groups, as well as their
functionaries. If the current government makes up its mind to thwart
Moscow’s decision on Armenia’s membership to this absurd, this will be
to its political credit despite November 3 because the West gets an
incredible card in such an attractive game.

This could be predicted because the West needs to resolve the problem
here and now, not in the visible future. At the same time, the
positions of Europe and the U.S. cannot affect sponsors of pro-Russian
politics in Armenia. It may not be related to business and bank
deposits, as well as issuance of visa to them and their service
functionaries. Their names and positions are known well.

However, despite the current intentions of the West, it would be more
desirable to mark time. For the time being, it is hard to understand.
It will take time to sober up from the promises of the Customs Union.
Besides, Moscow simply can’t help its endless foolishness and
coarseness, continuing a discussion which seemed to be over. It is
necessary to squeeze everything out of this dreadful situation. The
Russians are doing it themselves.

Igor Muradyan
23:15 21/09/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

Changing Armenia: the 12-cent dilemma

by Mihran Aroian

Published: Sunday September 22, 2013

Activists agitate against the fare increase. Mihran Aroian

Related Articles

In Armenia, more – and higher paid – jobs is the answer

We have all heard stories of corruption in Armenia. We read stories of
election irregularities and how humanitarian aid ends up in the wrong
pockets. My involvement with the Armenian government is limited. Aside
from obtaining a travel visa, I have no real experience. It was what
the government did not do that impressed me this summer.

The government allowed people to protest. I saw people protesting in
Armenia who I would not have expected to see. I did not see these
protests last summer. It was all quite civil, but people were
protesting for what they believed were injustices. Retired pilots,
veterans of the Karabagh war, and average citizens were protesting the
rise in bus fares. They were all-out protesting to bring about change.
When a government allows its citizens to criticize what they see as
wrong in society, that is a very positive step in the right direction.

It would have been very easy for the government to close down these
protests or not allow them to happen in the first place, but they did
allow them and they continued. They allowed the average citizen to
voice their discontent. This shows both a restraint by the government
with an attitude toward change. And, one of the protests actually did
bring about change!

The summer of 2013 was my second summer working in Armenia. In my
business ethics class, students asked if it was ethical for them to
pay the recent 50% increase in the local bus fare. The price had
changed from 100 dram to 150 dram-an increase of 12 cents. Although I
did not think of this as an ethical issue, my students were very vocal
in their disagreement. I told them that if the price for the fare was
posted on the bus and that they were informed of the new price, that
it was unethical to not pay the higher price. They had a choice, pay
the higher fee or don’t take the bus.

The bigger question was did the bus operators have the right to add a
50% increase? In a free enterprise system, the answer is yes. But to
some degree, this was seen as a tax on the poor. If you depend on the
bus to go to work and earn $250 per month, is it ethical to add yet
another “tax” onto the citizens?

Over the course of the next few days, the population in Yerevan
protested. Natural gas prices had just increased by 20%, as had the
cost of electricity. For the month of June, I spent under $10 for
electricity, gas, and water. For the month of July, these same
services tripled in cost-and I spent few waking hours in the apartment
each day. How were those cost increases absorbed for families with
limited incomes?

The increase in bus fare was simply the last straw for Yerevan
residents. The youth took to the streets. At major bus stops, they
told the riders to pay only the old fare to the bus drivers. If
everyone held firm, their thinking was that they would succeed.

If you kept up with this summer’s news, you already know that the fare
increase was reversed. Could this be the start of a new way for people
to gain some level of control? Could true democracy be just around the
corner?

I am impressed that Armenian citizens were allowed to protest. Sure,
police were often found at these protest sites, but they were there to
ensure that nobody was hurt. They were not interfering. Why would the
government allow people to protest? Perhaps the government knows that
Armenia must change if it is to survive. Perhaps the government
recognizes that the people want change.

Every Friday from 10am until noon, a group of retired airplane pilots
are allowed to hold a protest in front of the Presidential Palace.
Technically, they protest across the street but still in front of the
Palace. For two hours, they hold up their signs and talk to passers-by
to tell them their stories. The police who watch over them generally
mind their own business, but one particular week things got a little
testy, and the police argued with the protesting pilots. Perhaps
having an American present changes the dynamics of the situation. I
don’t know.

I was told by a policeman that entry-level police officers in Armenia
do not receive a salary until they reach a certain rank. One cannot
help but wonder if this lack of salary encourages unethical behavior
in young policemen. Does this have an impact on their professional
behavior as they move up in rank? I reminded these policemen that if
things do not change, they could find themselves on the same protest
line in 30 years, asking the government why they, too, have not
received the retirement benefits they were promised.

The Yerevan Opera House was a favorite protest site for Karabagh
freedom fighters. These brave veterans also were promised benefits.
The signs they held expressed a jarring though interesting message
that set the tone for their protest. With high unemployment, high
taxes, increasing energy costs, and increasing concerns for the
future, Armenians clearly want change. How much more will the people
endure before they demand change? Actually, quite a lot of endurance.
As Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence “…and
accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed
to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by
abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” On the path of
least resistance, we will endure a lot of hardship before we demand
change.

The Karabagh veterans held protest signs saying, “Turkey removed 1.5
million Armenians, but the Armenian Government has removed 2 million
Armenians.” With a poor economy and high corruption, the general
belief is that some 2 million Armenians have left Armenia. The “brain
drain” of Armenia has been going on for decades. Unless Armenia grows
strong, will there be anyone left in Armenia a decade from now?

Still, I am impressed that the Armenian Government lets this sort of
protest proceed. It is important for the citizens of Armenia to voice
their concerns. It is also just as important for Armenians in the
diaspora to support the committed citizens of Armenia.

From: A. Papazian

Shishkert: A shining light in a `lost’ land

FEATURES | 22.09.13 | 22:35

NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow

By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

The horizon holds abundant forest and blue skies. A gorge, like a
wedge, divides the forest into two parts. Similar-looking redish tufa
houses can be spotted on one side. In the settlement embraced by the
woods like an island in the sea, serenity reigns with the undisputable
authority of a monarch. Knocks on the door remain unanswered – no one
to hear them – no adults, no children, no cheerful screams of
excitement in the yards. Only the river flowing in the depth of the
gorge, some stray dog barks every now and then, and the buzz of bees
challenge the otherwise solid silence…

In the distance one can spot beekeepers, wearing all white clothes and
special net masks to fence from stings. I stand far from them and have
to shout my questions, then strain my hearing to catch the answer:
`They made it so that this village vanished from the map, but I will
continue living here, proving that the village exists. And I am
Lavrenty Grigoryan, 68 years of age.’

On my way to the village, our group of reporters was taking pictures
and placing on Facebook right away, with a comment that we were in
Shishkert, however the Google maps would automatically change it to
Azerbaijan, regarding our post erroneous. Perhaps that is the reason
why Shishkert, indeed cannot be found on the map of Armenia, or maybe
because the name of the village derives from Turkish `sis’ meaning
`six’.

The beekeeper’s story repeats the life tale of hundreds of Armenians,
with just different names and residence addresses: their children have
left, his wife and he remained at their home and will continue
staying. He says they have no community and that they got merged with
the neighbor Tsav community, 12 kilometers away from Shishkert. To the
question where the other residents of the village are, Lavrenty says
with a smile: `Search and you might find.’

Shishert is a village with a rich historic past, vague present and no
future prospects. Locks on abandoned houses are the most common site
here. But it is hard to lock the hearts of those 18 residents
stubbornly refusing to leave their homes. The only child here is
two-year-old Hayk. The village has no shops and no school. A bumpy
dirt road leads to the settlement. As if to compensate, people here
are of strong will, rich in heart, fighters by nature. They survive
due to livestock breeding and field work. The climatic conditions are
quite favorable for animal husbandry, which the Soviet Union took into
consideration in choosing the direction of development.

`This is a splendid village, 50 km from Kapan, the farthest by
location. There are six villages from Kapan till here and ours was the
best – it was the remotest and the biggest, with pastures, haylofts,
developed sheep breeding. We had 12,000 heads of sheep during the
Soviet times, and more than 150 households, with no less than three
children in each family,’ recalls mathematician Ishkhan Galstyan, who
at his time moved to Shishkert from Yerevan.
Wrinkles on his face turn deeper when speaking about losing the village.

`Back during the tenure of Nadir shah people of this village were
driven away to Persia [modern day Iran], but they came back, recovered
the settlement. Last time it happened in 1800s, and now the village is
destroyed in broad daylight,’ he says, putting out another cigarette
in the ashtray.

He lives alone. His sons have left the village, and a while ago his
wife passed away. He leads me to the basement to show the accurate
rows of books he has read and keeps with great care. When seeing me
off he apologizes for having talked too much and says: `For days there
is no one to talk to.’

Shishkert is under the supervision of Tsav village head. For shopping
they again have to go to Tsav.

`The village had over a hundred households, and over the recent years
some 18 or 19 families used to live in the newly-built houses, but
they, too, have left. There is no school, so partly they leave because
of that, others to find jobs. Slowly there is almost nobody left, no
village. It’s only this few of us,’ says Hmayak Galstyan from
Shishkert.

The five families live like one. Day or night, they come to one
another’s help and say their home is Shishkert.

Among the members of the five families 60-year-old Valya Balayan is
the most stubborn. She has married-off her daughters, but keeps living
here together with her husband and three sons. She won’t let her
children leave for Kapan or Yerevan, or abroad.

`I won’t let them leave… why would I send them to Russia leaving our
land and water. They now force foreigners to leave Russia. Let Serzh
(President Sargsyan) do something, look after our youth, I will wed
them, they’ll have families, children, a school would open, a shop
would open, why leave when they can live in their homeland? If they
move to Russia, who is going to work our land, protect our border, if
something happens now, won’t my three sons be the first to go?’ says
Valya with both pride and frustration.

Rebelling against the idea of moving to Tsav, she says her home is here.

Years have emptied the village, but the five lights scattering the
obscurity of the night, lighting an uncertain future for 18 residents
prove that there can be heroes outside a battlefield or on the border.

EX-CONGRESSMAN IN PR ACTIVITIES FOR TURKISH-OCCUPIED NORTHERN CYPRUS

By Kevin McCauley – Former Brooklyn/Staten Island Congressman Mike
McMahon is handling public affairs/government relations duties for the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the occupied section of Cyprus.

The Democrat is working as lead on a $200K, one-year contract won by
Herrick Feinstein in New York.

According to HF’s contract, Team McMahon is to arrange Congressional
visits to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a state recognized
only by Turkey, and promote a positive image for it in the media.

Tea Party-backed Republican Michael Grimm defeated McMahon, a former
member of the House Foreign Affairs committee, in 2010.

McMahon also handled the development, and construction of Turkey’s
expanded consulate in New York, across from the United Nations’
General Assembly building. (OD)

International community and Azerbaijan speak different languages: Armenian MFA

11:44, 21 September, 2013

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS: The Minister of Foreign Affairs of
the Republic of Armenia Edward Nalbandyan performed a speech on the
foreign policy on September 20 at the International Relations
Institute of Rome. As Armenpress was reported by the Department for
Press, Information and Public Relations of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Armenia, Edward Nalbandyan, touching upon the Azerbaijan’s
hatred towards Armenians, the militants statements and the threats to
begin war, stated: `Even today, a year after the extradition of the
Azerbaijani assassin Ramil Safarov and the condemnation of that step
by the international organizations, the Azerbaijani authorities
express their uncertainty concerning the position of the international
community, oppose to it and say that they did right. What did they
expect? That the international community would applause for that awful
step? The authorities of that country state that the thing they had
done was the right thing. It is shameful that a head of a state could
consider the heroification of a murderer the right thing’.

`The international community and Azerbaijan speak different languages
and that is the reason the political gap between them gets deeper’, –
emphasized the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
Edward Nalbandyan.

On February 19 2004 in Budapest the Azerbaijani assassin Ramil
Safarov, who axe-murdered the Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan while
sleeping with 16 blows, when they were participating in the NATO
English Language Courses in the capital of Hungary, 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
mayor, provided with an apartment and given «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.

© 2009 ARMENPRESS.am

Customs Union membership will impact Armenia’s ordinary citizen:
Belarusian Ambassador

11:36, 21 September, 2013

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS: The relations between the Republic
of Armenia and Belarus are actively developing. The Armenpress
correspondent talked to the Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of Belarus to the Republic of Armenia Stepan
Sukharenko about the bilateral commercial and economic relations and
the possible impact of the Armenia’s membership in the Customs Union
on the indicators.

– Mr. Ambassador, the volumes of the trade turnover between Armenia
and Belarus does not exceed $30 million. Are you satisfied with the
current level of the bilateral commercial and economic relations?

– I think, nobody is satisfied with them, especially after the world
crisis. Concerning the Armenian-Belarusian commercial and economic
relations, I should say that they are developing quite actively but
still do not reach the high level of the political dialogue between
our countries and our presidents. Today we are actively developing and
hope that in the nearest future we could improve the commercial and
economic relations.

– Will the membership of Armenia in the Customs Union contribute to
the improvement of the Armenian-Belarusian commercial and economic
indicators?

– Certainly, yes. Undoubtedly, all this will be beneficial for the
economy of Armenia. Today the economists estimate a growth of the GDP
of Armenia by 5-7% due to the joining the Customs Union. Surely it
will have its impact not only in general but also on the ordinary
citizen of the Republic of Armenia in particular. (THE FULL INTERVIEW
IS AVAILABLE IN ARMENIAN)

Interviewed by Hakob Vardanyan

© 2009 ARMENPRESS.am