Month: September 2013

ON THE OCCASION OF ARMENIA’S INDEPENDENCE DAY

US Fed News
September 19, 2013 Thursday 12:13 PM EST

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 — The U.S. Department of State issued the
following transcript of remarks by the U.S. Secretary of State:

On behalf of President Obama Enhanced Coverage LinkingPresident Obama
-Search using:Biographies Plus NewsNews, Most Recent 60 Daysand the
American people, I extend my warmest wishes to the people of Armenia
as you celebrate your Independence Day on September 21.

The United States and Armenia have a strong relationship based on
historic ties and mutual respect. I am proud and grateful for the
enduring friendship of many in the Armenian community. As someone
who for three decades represented Massachusetts, which boasts one
of the largest populations of Armenians outside of Armenia, I have
special firsthand knowledge of the contributions that you have made
to America’s culture, democracy and economic vitality.

Today our two countries are working together on a dynamic bilateral
and regional agenda. Through forums such as the U.S.-Armenia Economic
Task Force, we look forward to further strengthening the economic
and commercial bonds between our peoples.

I wish all Armenians a joyful and prosperous Independence Day, with
peace and happiness in the coming year.

MOODY’S LOWERS ARMENIA’S FOREIGN-CURRENCY BOND CEILING AFTER BOND SALE

Wall Street Journal
Sept 20 2013

By Michael Calia

Moody’s Investors Service lowered its foreign-currency bond ceiling on
Armenia, citing the country’s low institutional strength and limited
financial and trade openness.

Now the highest rating that can be assigned to a domestic issuer
in foreign currency in Armenia is Ba1, down from Baa3, the ratings
firm said.

Moody’s said its foreign-currency bond ceiling assesses the
probability that a defaulting government would adopt a moratorium on
foreign-currency debt repayments of domestic issuers.

The move comes a day after Armenia sold a $750 million, seven-year
bond to price at a yield of 6.25%, attracting $3.25 billion in orders,
according to The Wall Street Journal. It was the country’s first
dollar bond.

Moody’s said it would likely reassess Armenia’s bond ceilings if the
country’s debt rating were to change.

Moody’s in August raised its outlook on Armenia’s junk-level ratings
to stable, citing the nation’s efforts to cut deficits as well as its
continued access to external funding sources on favorable terms. The
firm at the time also reaffirmed Armenia’s Ba2 rating, two levels
into junk territory.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HENRIKH MKHYTARIAN IS FOLLOWING IN THE FAMILY FOOTSTEPS

The National, UAE
Sept 20 2013

Jonathan Wilson

Sooner or later, Borussia Dortmund’s bubble will burst. No side
can keep on slugging it out with a team whose wage bill is double
their own.

But, for now, that bubble remains intact. Dortmund lost Mario Gotze
to Bayern Munich, their biggest domestic rivals, in the summer, and
they have been without Lukasz Piszczek and Ilkay Gundogan through
injury, and yet they look stronger than ever, sitting proudly atop
the Bundesliga with five wins out of five before today’s clash with
struggling Nuremberg.

Wednesday’s Champions League loss to Napoli was a setback, but that
campaign will be back on track if they can beat Marseille at home on
October 1. No club has such a fine recent record of transfer activity
as Dortmund and this summer, once again, they made the right deals
for the right players at the right time.

Pierre-Emerich Aubemayang joined for £11.4 million (Dh67.2m) and has
already scored five goals in five Bundesliga games, while Henrikh
Mkhytarian, probably already the finest footballer from Armenia,
was signed for £24.2m from Shakhtar Donetsk. Both are 24, just coming
into the peak of their careers.

The greater pressure was on Mkhitaryan, partly because of the size
of his fee, and partly because he is the more direct replacement for
Gotze, who was sold to Bayern for £32.5m. He has taken to his new team,
though, with his familiar enthusiasm, his passion stoked, perhaps,
by being made to room with Kevin Grosskreutz, the season-ticket-holder
who became a first-teamer and taught Mkhitaryan 20 Dortmund chants.

His coach at Shakhtar, Mircea Lucescu, has spoken glowingly about his
intelligence on the pitch and his devotion to self-improvement off it.

Mkhitaryan is one of those rarest of footballers: a hugely gifted
player who genuinely loves the game.

Mkhitaryan was born into football. His father, Hamlet, was a respected
centre-forward for Ararat Yerevan, Armenia’s most successful
club in Soviet times, in the late 1980s. He had a brief stint at
Kotayk Abovian, and in 1989, a few months after Henrik’s birth,
he was transferred to the French club ASOA Valence, where he spent
five years before a move to Issy, picking up two caps for the newly
independent Armenia.

Even then, the younger Mkhitaryan’s love for football was clear. “When
I was a child, I used to watch my father playing football, and I
always wanted to follow him to training,” he said. “When he didn’t
take me with him, I stayed next to the door, crying.

“I always wanted to become a football player, and I thank my parents,
as they helped me so much to realise this dream. They always supported
me on my path.”

Much of that support has had to come from his mother. The Mkhitaryans
returned to Yerevan in 1995, and a year later, when Henrikh was seven,
his father died from a brain tumour. Football, though, remained
a major part of the family’s life. Henrikh’s mother works for the
Armenian Football Federation, while his sister, Monica, is employed
at Uefa headquarters in Switzerland.

With no Armenian enjoying a higher profile than Mkhitaryan, he is aware
that he has greater responsibility than most players, acting almost
as an icebreaker for the whole of the nation’s football, cutting a
path for others to follow. “I want Armenian children to realise they
don’t have to stop in the Armenian league, thinking that they’re not
able to achieve anything more,” he said. “Every person has to keep
in mind that they can grow up and reach the top, no matter where they
are born, whether it’s in Russia, in Ukraine, in Europe.

“They’ve still got the opportunity to show their talent and the
culture of their people.”

Dortmund, with their progressive, attacking approach, are probably
the perfect showcase for Mkhitaryan. He said in the summer that he
wanted to join because he loved the way they play, which is about
the strongest endorsement possible from a player of his fitness
level. The loss of Gotze, which seemed so crippling at the time,
may actually have made them stronger.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARARAT ARMENIAN BRANDY, OUR DRINK OF THE WEEK!

OC Weekly, CA
Sept 20 2013

By Dave Lieberman

Armenians have been making wine for so long that there’s serious
scholarly debate whether they were the first winemakers in the world.

Let’s put it this way: they were pressing and fermenting grapes while
my northern European ancestors were still figuring out that pointy
things kill animals and long before the great Mesoamerican empires
discovered the miracle of getting the nutrients out of corn.

It’s no surprise, then, that when the secrets of distillation swept
the globe, some of that Armenian wine turned into brandy, which,
given the technology of the time, was sealed up in wooden casks to
keep for later, lending it a dark color and a warm, rich, spicy taste
imparted by the wood.

There used to be many brandy makers; when Armenia was joined to the
Soviet Union, the Yerevan Brandy Company was given a monopoly, and its
Ararat brands were the only brands of Armenian brandy for many years.

There’s a (probably apocryphal) story that Josef Stalin gave Winston
Churchill a bottle of Armenian brandy that was so good that Churchill
ordered several cases. Regardless, the fact is that “cognac” is
the country’s most well-known export, and it’s only increased since
Yerevan Brandy Company was purchased by Pernod-Ricard in 1998.

Speaking of Pernod-Ricard, the French get a little nettled when they
see labels that say Cognac on bottles that don’t come from Cognac,
so in the interests of international harmony, the Armenian government
decided pretty much unilaterally that the Armenian product would be
called arbun, which is supposed to be a play on words for the Armenian
word for “drunk” (which I don’t buy–“drunk” in Armenian is harbats).

If you call it arbun, no Armenian will have the least clue what you
mean–they still call it kanyak, French hand-wringing nothwithstanding.

Drunk neat, Akhtamar (the 10-year brandy) has a softer edge than
Cognac, but a much more floral, rich, herbaceous taste. This is
something you can put in a snifter and serve to your guests after
dinner, then make them guess what they’re drinking.

If you’re going to mix it (in which case you may want to buy a younger
brandy), adjust the sweetness of your cocktail down a bit; for example,
don’t sugar the rim of a Sidecar made with Armenian brandy, and add
an extra dash or two of pungent bitters to your Old Fashioned.

This will account for the natural sweetness of the brandy. Don’t stop
there, though–with bitters on top of the meringue a la Pisco sour, it
makes a wonderful sour; add it to wine to make an outstanding sangria.

Brandy is one of the next big things, now that we’re at full saturation
on vodka, American whiskey, and tequila. As demand rises, there’ll be
a renaissance in Armenian brandies; get ahead of the curve and pick
up a bottle of this at Hi-Time Wine so you know what to compare the
newcomers to.

PASADENA APPROVES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MEMORIAL PARK

Lasentinel
Sept 20 2013

Published on Friday, 20 September 2013 20:53

Former Mayor Bill Paparian Leads Crusade

In a packed chamber that spilled over into the hallway and a viewing
room downstairs, the Pasadena City Council voted unanimously on
recently to install an Armenian Genocide Memorial at Memorial Park.

The majority of the 36 people who submitted comment cards to present
before the council spoke favorably about the project as it was
proposed. Ninety-three others in attendance who chose not to speak
signed a petition of support, joining the 1,010 other community
members who had signed an earlier petition in support of the project.

The project’s expected completion date is April 24, 2015 to mark the
100th anniversary of the genocide, in which more than 1.5 million
Armenians are said to have died under the Ottoman Turks.

Many people have no idea of the significance of April 24 because the
Turkish and U.S. governments deny that genocide occurred.

However, Former Pasadena police chief Barney Melekian, who is also
on the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee, said that the
Armenian genocide was the first act of extermination in the 21st
century with significant evidence that it was the training ground
for the Holocaust that followed less than 25 years later.

“Thousands of Armenians came to Pasadena to rebuild their shattered
lives. They grew and prospered and raised their families to help make
this city what it is today. It seems imperative that all of Pasadena
learn about this event and remember that the unthinkable can happen,”
Melekian said.

Pasadena has a unique relationship with the Armenian American
community, having issued an annual proclamation commemorating the
genocide for more than 30 years as well as amending affirmative action
codes to make Armenians a protected class.

Pasadena also has a sister city in Armenia. Armenian Americans have
lived in the city since its inception, today totaling more than 20,000
according to church polls.

“I think an Armenian Genocide Memorial is vital to this community. I
think it will provide a tremendous education value on something
that is inextricably tied up in Pasadena as well as the world,”
Councilmember Terry Tornek said.

Councilmembers Tournek, Jacque Robinson and Margaret McAustin had
several questions including whether Memorial Park would have enough
room for the thousands who could come for the remembrance of the
genocide that is observed every year in Pasadena.

They also expressed concern about needing to revise the policy
detailing the approval process for future memorials.

“The greater good prevailed and nothing’s ever perfect but I think
it’s appropriate in the Memorial park,” Vice Mayor Jacque Robinson
said, who had the strongest reservations about the location.

Several military veterans expressed their concern that the Armenian
Genocide Memorial may overshadow the park that in their opinion should
be reserved for American casualties.

“If this memorial is as successful as I think we hope it is, I fear
it will come at the cost of changing the meaning of Memorial Park. The
memorial is fantastic, I think it merits its own park,” veteran David
Alexander said.

There were 36 speakers, but no one spoke negatively of the elegant
and beautiful design by Art Center College of Design student Catherine
Menard whose design was chosen in a contest with 17 submissions.

The memorial will feature a carved-stone basin of water straddled by a
tripod arrangement of three columns leaning into one another, where a
single drop of water will fall from highest point every three seconds.

Each will represent one life lost during the Armenian Genocide,
falling from the structure that was the instrument of death.

“It’s not just a tripod, the scaffold represents where the leaders of
our nation were hung by the Ottoman Turkish government at the outset
of the genocide,” PASAGMC board member and former Pasadena Mayor Bill
Paparian said.

Paparian along with Melekian and former state Assemblyman Anthony
Portantino were part of the Armenian group of leaders who came forward
to submit an application for the memorial in May of 2012. The PASAGMC
has already raised $40,000 to build the memorial and will also be
the caretakers once the project has been implemented.

EBRD: ARMENIA’S ACCESSION TO THE CUSTOMS UNION WILL BENEFIT THE COUNTRY’S ECONOMY

Belarusian Telegraph Agency, Belarus
Sept 20 2013

20.09.2013 15:12

YEREVAN, 20 September (BelTA-Armenpress) – Armenia’s accession to the
Customs Union will lead to lower gas prices and benefit the country’s
economy in general, EBRD regional director for Caucasus, Moldova and
Belarus Bruno Balvanera told a press conference, BelTA has learnt.

The official stressed that the gas prices in the Customs Union
are lower than in other countries. “The only thing we know is that
Armenia will benefit in what regards gas prices. It will have its
positive impact on the country’s economy and inflation rates,” the
EBRD representative said.

According to Bruno Balvanera, the Customs Union countries, Russia,
Kazakhstan and Belarus, are also EBRD members. With this, he added
it was too early to talk about other advantages or disadvantages of
Armenia’s membership in the Customs Union for the country’s economy.

As it has been reported before, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan,
after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 3 September,
voiced Armenia’s decision to join the Customs Union as well as the
country’s readiness to take up necessary steps, including in the
establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union in the future.

At the joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin,
President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan stressed that Armenia’s decision
to join the Customs Union does not mean rejection of dialogue with
European organizations.

Head of the Armenian Presidential Administration Vigen Sargsyan
announced on 4 September that the signing of the agreement remains
on Armenia’s agenda.

From: A. Papazian

MINSK REGION BUILDS UP COMMODITY TURNOVER WITH ARMENIA

Bel TeleRadio, Belarus
Sept 20 2013

The foreign partners expressed interest in cooperation with the
Minsk Region, in particular, in agricultural products, snow handling
equipment and heavy-duty dump trucks. The new agreement was signed
during the visit of the delegation of the Minsk Region to Armenia. It
is planned to increase the existing export volume by the end of this
year. In 10 years, the commodity turnover between the two countries
increased by 5 times and amounted to over USD 9 million.

The new aspects of cooperation will be discussed during the return
visit of the delegation of Armenia to the Minsk Region. Governor Boris
Batura addressed an official invitation to the foreign colleagues
earlier.

PROTESTERS UNDER ATTACK IN ARMENIA

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #702
Sept 20 2013

International outcry at assaults on demonstrators in the capital.

By Anna Muradyan – Caucasus

International human rights groups have raised concerns about attacks
on demonstrators in the Armenian capital Yerevan, following a summer
of protests.

The latest incident happened on the evening of September 5, following
a demonstration against President Serzh Sargsyan’s decision to enter
the Moscow-led Customs Union.

Late in the evening, a group of men got out of a jeep and attacked
Haykak Arshamyan, an analyst with the Yerevan Press Club, and
Suren Saghatelyan, from the anti-corruption group Transparency
International, who had attended the protest. Arshamyan’s nose was
broken, and Saghatelyan sustained a head injury.

Prosecutors are yet to open a criminal case. Although it is not
clear who the assailants were, video footage of uniformed police also
beating protesters has appeared on the internet. Karen Andreasyan,
Armenia’s official human rights ombudsman, sent a letter to the head
of the city police to demand an explanation.

“From studying the videos widely shown in the media, there are
questions about the legality of the actions of individual police
officers in relation to some citizens,” the letter said.

Police chief Vladimir Gasparyan has not yet responded. But his deputy
Valery Osipyan was in no mood to apologise, insisting that police had
acted entirely within the law by detaining some demonstrators for a
short period and then releasing them.

“If anything, they have been too moderate,” he said. “Only citizens
who broke the law were detained, or those who did not obey the lawful
demands made by the police. In future, the police will perhaps adopt
more severe actions, and will follow the letter of the law.”

The United States embassy urged the government to find and punish
those responsible for the attacks, as did international human rights
organisations.

Andrey Sorokin, head of the Yerevan office of the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, issued a statement two days after
the attack, saying, “I am concerned about the reported violation of
the right to peaceful assembly, harassment, and undue pressure on
the demonstrators during street protests in Yerevan. Cases of direct
intimidation and physical attacks against civic activists such as
those perpetrated on September 5… are highly regrettable.”

Denis Krivosheev, deputy director for Europe and Central Asia at
the international human rights group Amnesty International, said,
“The Armenian authorities have committed to ensure that activists can
carry out their work without interference, obstacles, discrimination
or fear of retaliation. To honour this commitment means only one
thing in this particular case, that the attack on the two activists
is investigated impartially and effectively and the perpetrators are
found and brought to justice.”

The September 5 demonstration was part of a wave of protests in
Yerevan, which has rarely seen anything like it.

They began after July 25, when Mayor Taron Margaryan announced higher
fares for public transport. Most travellers ignored the announcement
and continued paying 100 drams (25 US cents), rather than the new
fare of 150 drams. That forced Margaryan to cancel the increase five
days later.

This victory inspired protesters to come out against other unpopular
government decisions. On August 24, two separate protests began, one
on Komitas Avenue demanding a halt to construction of a new building,
and the other outside city hall, where protesters called for the
resignation of senior public transport officials.

On Komitas Avenue, protesters blocked traffic by lying on the tarmac
until police officers eventually dragged them away. Police detained
40 people, holding them for three hours.

That evening, three people were badly beaten, and another 15
demonstrators were slightly injured after clashes with police.

Prosecutors launched criminal proceedings against one of those at
the Komitas Avenue demonstration, Argishti Kiviryan, a coordinator
at news outlet Armenia Today. Police filed an action accusing him of
using force against officers. Kiviryan was left concussed after he
was beaten by police.

Justice Minister Hrayr Tovmasyan said no police force anywhere in the
world would have tolerated protesters blocking a street and refusing
to move.

“In that sense, the police’s actions were entirely legal,” he said.

Anna Muradyan is a reporter for

MYASOMOLPROM TO SIGN DEALER CONTRACT WITH ARMENIA

Belarusian Telegraph Agency, Belarus
Sept 20 2013

20.09.2013 16:43

MINSK, 20 September (BelTA) – Minoblmyasomolprom – management company
of Myasomolprom Holding Company has plans to sign a dealer contract
to deliver meat and dairy products to Armenia, head of the economy
committee of the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee Dmitry Pavlovich told
reporters reviewing the official visit of the Minsk Oblast delegation
led by Minsk Oblast Governor Boris Batura to Armenia, BelTA has learnt.

“In the next two weeks a dealer contract will be signed with the
trading house Ar-Be to supply our meat and dairy products there,”
Dmitry Pavlovich said. The sale of products via the Armenia-Belarus
trading house Ar-Be in Yerevan will allow resolving some issues
associated with product delivery.

Meat and dairy products dominate Minsk Oblast exports to Armenia.

Other important exports include mining dump trucks, spare parts and
medicines. Besides, Minoblmyasomolprom has plans to make juices from
Belarusian fruit in Armenia.

The mutual export will be expanded by supplies of Belarusian road
construction machinery to Armenia, as this Caucasian country needs
snow clearing vehicles.

During the visit to Armenia the Minsk Oblast delegation visited Vayots
Dzor Province and Syunik Province of Armenia. Minsk Oblast Governor
Boris Batura invited Armenian counterparts to visit Minsk Oblast in
October-November 2013; the official invitation has already been sent.

The parties believe that interregional cooperation will help promote
bilateral trade and investments and facilitate the implementation of
joint projects.

In 2012, the trade between Minsk Oblast and Armenia made up $9.2
million, up by 68.6% compared to the previous year. The export rose
by 72.3% to $9 million, the import shrank by 12% down to $0.2 million.

This year the trade has lost the momentum. In January-July it was
estimated at $2.3 million, or 46.8% as against the same period last
year. The export amounted to $2.2 million (45.2%). The import expanded
by 3.1% up to $100,000. The reduction of export is attributed to the
absence of deliveries of BelAZ dump trucks to Armenia.

By the end of the year BelAZ will ship four mining dump trucks
estimated at $5 million to Armenia. Dmitry Pavlovich emphasized that
over the last 10 years since 2002, the trade between Minsk Oblast
and Armenia expanded five times, from $1.8 million to $9.2 million.

The major local exporters include BelAZ, Minoblmyasomolprom, and
Borisov Pharmaceutical Plant. Other exporters include Inteco-Master
(Dzerzhinsk District), Magol (Borisov), Coswick (Minsk District).

ARMENIA: A GO-SLOW INVESTIGATION OF ACTIVIST ATTACKS?

EurasiaNet.org
Sept 20 2013

September 20, 2013 – 10:39am, by Gayane Abrahamyan

Heated differences of opinion are nothing new in the South Caucasus,
but when they come with sluggish police investigations into violence
against protesters, locals expect answers. So far, in Armenia, there
have been none.

Over the past month, civil activists speaking out against Armenia’s
surprise September 3 decision to join the Russia-led Customs Union
and against past plans for a public transportation fare hike have
suffered attacks in the capital, Yerevan, that left them with numerous
injuries. One of the attacked, Haykak Arshamian, a 42-year-old project
coordinator at the Yerevan Press Club who took part in September 4
protests against the Customs Union, claims that the Yerevan rally,
attended by hundreds, “alarmed” the Armenian government and “this is
the consequence.”

“This is a warning message not only to me, but to all those who
might attempt certain activities and object to the new stage of
Armenian-Russian relations, which have brought to nothing the efforts
of building economic relations with Europe,” he told Asbarez.am.

Arshamian suffered rib fractures and heavy injuries to his jaw and
facial tissue from a September 5 attack by male youths dressed in
black. Another protester, 43-year-old Suren Saghatelian, a board member
of the Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center and project
manager for the Christian charity World Vision Armenia, received a
head injury and a nose fracture, for which he had to undergo surgery.

Officials have offered no official comments on the violence against
the Customs-Union protesters. The police launched a preliminary
investigation, but filed criminal cases only nine days later. The
action came the day after a September 12 statement from the US embassy
condemning the assaults.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have expressed deep
concern that “the attacks appear to be a concerted effort to intimidate
the protestors, prevent them from exercising their rights to freedom
of assembly and expression, and send a chilling message to others.”

The decision to sign onto the Customs Union, a proposed trade bloc
made up of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, jeopardized Armenia’s
plans for closer ties with the European Union, and, to many locals,
was an unwelcome reminder of the country’s dependence – in military
and economic matters – on Russia. Aside from its strategic presence
in Armenia’s mining, telecommunications and transportation sectors,
the gas-rich country, a prime destination for Armenian labor migrants,
holds a 49-year lease on a base near the northern city of Gyumri,
and also supplies most of Armenia’s energy.

But the violence has not been limited to the Customs Union. In late
August, five protesters who had opposed plans for a hike in Yerevan’s
public transportation fares also were assaulted in Yerevan.

Protesters in June staged a citywide boycott that forced a reversal
on the fare policy, and summoned worries about further unrest against
the government.

To date, progress has been made in only two of the five cases
concerning the transportation activists, one of which involved a US
citizen, Babken Ter-Grigorian. Exactly two days after the embassy
statement, the alleged assailants, according to the police report,
turned themselves in and admitted their guilt.

Anti-Customs-Union activist Arshamian believes those who assaulted
him also could be identified, by looking at footage from surveillance
cameras, which scan the area where the attack took place. But he
doubts the cameras will be consulted.

“The dynamics of such cases show that they never get solved,” he
told 1in.am.