Month: February 2015

RUSSIANS ARE KEEPING OUR BORDER THAT IS WHY THEY CAUGHT GYUMRI MURDER SUSPECT

15:00 / 03.02.2015

Member of the ruling Republican party Sukias Avetisyan speaking about
why the suspect in the murder of the Armenian family in Gyumri was
caught by Russians and is kept there, said, “Russians are keeping
our borders, how can we say what Russians are doing here?”

Leader of Armenia’s Democratic Party Aram Sargsyan said that the
Armenian law enforcers should have done everything to catch him as
they had all the opportunities of doing it. “He was walking a whole
day long and reached the border and our law enforcers could not find
him,” he stressed.

Speaking about the Pan-Armenian Declaration on Armenian Genocide
centennial, Sargsyan said that it is a special document and for the
first time it presents such judgments which have never been voiced
officially before. “Of course, we welcome it. Because as a party we
have always backed the demand of the Armenian Cause and today the
issue is to make this document a document of joint actions, it will
be the best result. If we manage to implement Armenian Cause it will
be good,” he said.

Sukias Avetisyan in his turn stressed that the way the declaration was
presented was very influential. “Each Armenian in any country of the
world must be guided by it as for us all it is important to implement
the centennial events at our best and not allow anyone impede it,”
Avetisyan said.

BRITISH PRIEST CALLS TO COMMEMORATE THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

16:48, 04 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

“We must not forget Armenia’s suffering,” Alexander Lucie-Smith,
a Catholic priest, doctor of moral theology, writes in the Catholic
Herald. The article reads:

Earlyrly February is a good time, liturgically speaking. On Monday we
celebrated the lovely feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the
Temple, when candles were blessed, marking the fortieth day since
Christmas, and on Tuesday we celebrated St Blaise, when throats
were blessed.

St Blaise is one of those saints of which we know very little, even
though his is a famous cult. As is the case with so many early martyrs,
legends sprang up and accounts were written down many centuries later,
which have no historical value. But we can be sure that Blaise was a
bishop and a martyr and lived in what is now called Sivas in Turkey,
but in which those days was called Sebastea in Armenia.

Once Armenia covered much more territory than that presently covered by
the former Soviet Republic in the Caucasus. A look at a map placesSivas
in the middle of modern Turkey, but up to a hundred years ago the town
still had a flourishing Armenian and Greek Christian population. Then
came the fateful day: April 24 1915. It was on this day that the
Ottoman government began to arrest and deport Armenians who had been
living in Anatolia from time immemorial. This organised campaign of
arrest, deportation, massacre and extermination led to the deaths
of between one million and one and a half million Armenians. It is
for this reason that visitors to Turkey today will find plenty of
Armenian history but no actual Armenian people, or at least very few.

The Armenian genocide is commemorated all over the world, but not in
Turkey and not much in Britain, which studiously avoids mentioning
the genocide in order not to jeopardise relations with Turkey. This
is a pity, to put it mildly, as it is hard to see how any nations –
ours or the Turks – can flourish when we deny truth.

St Blaise, ever popular throughout the Catholic Church, is the
only Armenian saint in the Universal Calendar. He is the solitary
representative of his culture, but what a culture! The nation of St
Blaise is the oldest Christian nation, having been converted to Christ
by St Gregory the Illuminator in 301, before the time of Constantine.

Moreover, Armenia has arguably produced more martyrs than anywhere
else, given that the victims of the genocide were killed in odium
of the Christian faith. Right now we are rightly concerned by ISIS’s
cruelty; let us not forget the Armenians of 100 years ago.

Adolf Hitler’s view of the Armenian genocide is worth recalling,
and his reference to it, made in August 1939, worth quoting:

Our strength is our quickness and our brutality. Genghis Khan had
millions of women and children hunted down and killed, deliberately
and with a gay heart. History sees in him only the great founder of
States. What the weak Western European civilization alleges about
me does not matter. I have given the order – and will have everyone
shot who utters but one word of criticism – that the aim of this war
does not consist in reaching certain designated [geographical] lines,
but in the enemies’ physical elimination. Thus, for the time being
only in the east, I put ready my Death’s Head units, with the order to
kill without pity or mercy all men, women, and children of the Polish
race or language. Only thus will we gain the living space that we
need. Who still talks nowadays of the extermination of the Armenians?

Who indeed? That is why we need to talk about Armenia and remember
them this April. Put the date of that hundredth anniversary in your
diary now.

Alexander Lucie-Smith is a Catholic priest, doctor of moral theology
and consulting editor of The Catholic Herald.

VIRGINIA TECH HELPS WORKFORCE IN ARMENIA TRANSITION TO MARKET ECONOMY

18:05, 04 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Virginia Tech has won a $2.5 million federal contract to help Armenia
improve the competitiveness of its agricultural workforce.

Those who will benefit from the work are college students in Yerevan,
the capital, who are studying to assume leadership roles in the food
and agribusiness sector.

The five-year program, Innovate-Armenia, is funded by the U.S. Agency
for International Development. The work will take place at the
International Center of Agribusiness Research and Education, which
is affiliated with the Armenian National Agrarian University.

“Armenia, situated in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia, is emerging
from decades as a command economy,” said Tom Hammett, director of
a related program that oversees the work. “The grant is designed to
give young people skills that will make them competitive in the new,
market-based economy.”

The curriculum will cover food safety, food production, and food
processing, and will also offer training in business, economics,
marketing, and management.

“A big part of our work will be to provide students the opportunity to
construct a skillset that is required in a free market economy,” said
Angela Neilan, program manager for the venture. Along with the hard
skills, soft skills – defined as traits relating to one’s emotional
IQ, as well as communication ability, teamwork, and professionalism –
are needed as well. “A participatory system means people also assume
responsibility for the challenges,” Neilan said.

Program activities include:

designing a business plan for the center to increase revenue, building
ties with local farmers and agribusiness producers throughout Armenia,
organizing a summer camp for American college students, and helping to
build a wine academy — a venture that could also help develop tourism.

“Our charge is to make the program self-sustaining,” said Hammett,
who directs Innovation for Agricultural Training and Education,
a larger program of which Innovate-Armenia is a part.

Virginia Tech will lead the program, partnering with three other
universities: Penn State, the University of Florida, and Tuskegee
University.

ARMENIA’S MEMBERSHIP IN EEU HAS NOT AFFECTED RELATIONS WITH THE EU: FRENCH AMB.

17:57, 04 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

The terrorist attacks in France earlier this year targeted not only
France, but also the freedom of speech and expression, the dearest
things to us, French Ambassador to Armenia Jean-Francois Charpentier
told reporters in Yerevan.

“The threat of radical expressions on the religious ground is urgent
in France today, and this makes the authorities raise security
not only inside France, but also beyond its borders. We attach more
importance to the maintenance of democratic values than we ever did,”
the Ambassador said.

Speaking about French-Armenian relations, Amb. Charpentier said: “We
should use all possible tools for the development of trade relations.”

He said the French Carrefour supermarket will probably open in Yerevan
in March 2015.

The Ambassador said Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic
Union has not affected the Armenia-EU relations.

The French Ambassador confirmed Francois Hollande will visit Armenia
on April 24 for the 100thanniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

ARMENIAN CENTRAL BANK’S REQUIREMENT ABOUT 6-FOLD GROWTH OF THE BANKS’ TOTAL CAPITAL IS TOO TOUGH, MP SAYS

by Arthur Yernjakyan

Wednesday, February 4, 15:43

The Armenian Central Bank’s requirement about the six- fold growth
of the total capital of the banks will result in enlargement and
monopolization by means of an administrative instrument, not market
mechanisms, Mikayel Melkumyan, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary
Commission for Economy, MP from the Prosperous Armenia Party, at
today’s press conference in Yerevan.

He said that the CB makes the bank increase their total capital from
the current 5 bln AMD to 30 bln AMD and at the moment only three banks
meet that standard. He did not name the small banks, which may close
or merge with other banks.

The MP said that the CB’s requirement is very tough. In developed
European states such as Luxembourg, Germany, Norway or Sweden, where
the GDP income per capita makes up $30-50 thsd, the Regulator’s
requirement to the banks is $6-12 mln only, whereas in Armenia it
is $737 mln. “There are 21 banks in Armenia today. Why hasn’t the
number risen or dropped over the past 6-7 years? The free market
should determine the number of the banks”, he said.

In the meantime, the MP thinks that the CB made that decision to
reduce the risk of non-performing assets on the balance sheets of the
banks. “The CB wants to enlarge the banks to reduce the unattractive
assets in the total capital of the banks and to enhance the efficiency
of their activities”, he said.

According to the CB’s requirement, starting 1 Jan 2017 the minimum
total capital of Armenia’s commercial banks should grow to 30 bln
AMD versus the current 5 bln AMD. Such a decision was taken at the
CB Board’s session on 30 Dec 2014. The amendment is dictated by the
need to merge and enlarge the banks to enhance the Armenian banking
system’s efficiency and to resist various economic shocks.

To note, at the moment there are 21 banks in Armenia and the aggregate
total capital of the banking system amounted to $1.029 bln at the
yearend of 2014. The commercial banks’ profit has dropped by 35%
over year and totaled $57.2 mln.

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT PROTESTS AGAINST ARMENIAN CONTROL CHAMBER CHAIRMAN’S BEHAVIOR

by Ashot Safaryan

Wednesday, February 4, 15:41

The parliamentary opposition protests against the behavior of the
Armenian Control Chamber Chairman Ishkhan Zakaryan, who refused to
personally present the Control Chamber’s report to the Parliament
and has sent the deputy chairman to the session.

At the National Assembly’s session, Head of the Armenian National
Congress (ANC) Faction Levon Zurabyan pointed out that following the
scandalous disclosures by the Control Chamber in 2012-213, Ishkhan
Zakaryan no longer attends the Parliament to present the Control
Chamber’s report despite the numerous demands of the parliamentarians.

Zurabyan also asked Seyran Avagyan, Deputy Chairman of the Control
Chamber, to leave the Parliament because according to the legislation,
the report is to be presented by the Chairman, not the Deputy
Chairman. Zurabyan also noted that if Zakaryan cannot personally attend
the session today, the parliamentarians “will patiently wait for him”.

Speaker of the Parliament Galust Sahakyan, in turn, said that he does
not want to boycott Avagyan’s speech. He added that like any other
official, Ishkhan Zakaryan has the right to go on vacation.

For his part, ANC parliamentarian Gagik Jhangiryan read out an extract
from the law, which says that it is the chairman of the Control Chamber
that shall present the report to the Parliament. “If the Parliament
ignores its own law, what do we demand from other structures? Ishkhan
Zakaryan should have presented the results of last year’s report, as
well as the results of numerous cases of abuse. What do we do now? Who
will answer the numerous questions of the Parliament?” said Jhangiryan.

Speaker Sahakyan said that Avagyan will also be able to give exhaustive
answers to all the questions of the MPs.

To note, since 2012 Zakaryan’s work style has changed. Previously he
regularly imported the media of the disclosures by the Control Chamber
and each of such reports was full of scandalous data. After 2012 he
gave up that work style and some experts say that either he does not
simply want to cast a shadow on the RPA’s election campaign with his
loud disclosures or he has been warned not to make such statements.

If Zakaryan kept that effort, the Government of Armenia and all the
ministries and officials would be qualified as thieves.

From: Baghdasarian

RUSSIA ALLOCATES OVER $5 MILLION FOR ARMENIA’S AGRICULTURE UNDER UNDP PROGRAM

YEREVAN, February 4. /ARKA/. Russia’s government has allocated over $5
million under the UNDP program for development of rural communities
in Armenia in 2015-2019, Russia’s foreign ministry reported today at
its official website.

The project implies particular measures to be taken in Tavush province
for ensure development, increase income from framing, reduce poverty
and improve living conditions here. It targets 62,000 beneficiaries.

the ministry says in its report.

OPPOSITION PARTY CALLS FOR RE-REGISTRATION OF USD LOANS AS LOANS IN ARMENIAN CURRENCY

YEREVAN, February 4. / ARKA /. An Armenian opposition party – the
Country of Law- is going to introduce a bill on re-registration of
USD consumer loans as loans in the national currency.

The secretary of its parliamentary faction, Mher Shahgeldyan, told
reporters today that the bill will be submitted to the parliament in
the near future. He said if passed it would save thousands of fellow
citizens from becoming insolvent.

He said the banks must do so as part of their corporate social
responsibility, ‘because it is a global trend today.’

He said the bill had been discussed with experts who described it as
positive, but no discussions were held yet with the banks.

“We’re going to take into account the Russian experience as well,
and also similar bills originated by parliaments Latin America and
Central Europe, ‘ he added.

By the end of December 2014, the aggregate amount of Armenian banks’
lending stood at a little over 2 trillion drams, of which the
equivalent of about 1.4 billion drams were loans in US dollars. ($
1-476,64 drams). -0-

OPPOSITION LAWMAKER INQUIRES ABOUT GYUMRI MASSACRE SUSPECT (VIDEO)

18:55 | February 4,2015 | Politics

Opposition lawmaker Nikol Pashinyan today spoke about the marked
increase in ceasefire violations along the Line of Contact and the
subsequent legal processes.

Then he referred to the murder of the seven-member Avetisyan family
in Armenia’s Gyumri city, which was allegedly committed by Valeri
Permyakov, a soldier serving at Russian military base 102 stationed
in Gyumri. Pashinyan focused on Permyakov’s actions, including his
attempt to cross Armenia’s border with Turkey. The lawmaker stressed
that Permyakov is viewed as a trespasser in the criminal case.

“If a trespasser is arrested on the border, a protocol is drawn up
immediately and his things are confiscated as a rule. Then he is
handed over to the law enforcement authorities of the given country.

As you know Permyakov was transported to Russian 102nd military base.

He was not handed over to Armenian law enforcement agencies. Why don’t
our government agencies ensure the enforcement of law?” said Pashinyan.

Then he said that Armenian Prosecutor-General Gevorg Kostanyan has
already submitted a formal request to his Russian counterpart, Yury
Chayka, saying that the high-profile case should be transferred to
Armenian jurisdiction.

“Why should we ask them to transfer the case to Armenia? Investigative
authorities in Armenia have said repeatedly that they are conducting
the investigation. Our government should demand the handover of the
Russian soldier to Armenian custody,” said Pashinyan.

Minister of Justice Hovhannes Manukyan said relevant authorities have
already given explanations on the issue, and the government does not
consider it appropriate to report additional information on the matter
for several reasons.

“We are concerned about undue interventions into the investigation,
those including political speeches and statements. The government
reaffirms its commitment to finding a solution that will fair and
consistent with public perceptions,” said the minister.

Permyakov has been kept under arrest at the Gyumri-based Russian
military base ever since being arrested, for the murder of a
seven-member family in Gyumri – Seryozha Avetisyan, his wife Hasmik,
daughter Aida, son Armen, daughter-in-law Araksya, two-year-old
granddaughter Hasmik and 6-month-old baby boy Seryozha, who died of
his stab injuries a week later.

THERE ARE NOT THIRD-CLASS PERSONS: GRIEVANCES CONTINUE IN PARLIAMENT

18:03 | February 4,2015 | Politics

During today’s question-and-answer session, opposition lawmaker
Lyudmila Sargsyan addressed a question to Minister of Health Armen
Muradyan.

However, it turned out that Minister Muradyan did not participate
in the session and none of his deputies had come to replace him. “We
have already witnessed an unacceptable phenomenon today when Chairman
of the Control Chamber Ishkan Zakaryan did not turn up to present the
report of the Chamber which was eventually presented by a third-class
person. Isn’t this a breach of the Constitution?” she said. Then
she continued her question, “The Chamber’s suggests that they have
detected 72 cases of violation in the healthcare sector. Besides,
it says that over AMD 50 million has been allocated to patients
diagnosed with tuberculosis. Have the offenders been made accountable?”

“There are not third-class persons. As the minister is not here,
you can address your question in a written form,” said Parliament
Speaker Galust Sahakyan.