Month: February 2015

EXPERT: ARMENIAN ENTREPRENEURS SHOULD HAVE RIGHT TO CHOOSE TAX-PAYMENT SCHEME CONVENIENT TO THEM

YEREVAN, February 2. /ARKA/. Armenian entrepreneurs should have a right
to choose a tax-payment scheme convenient to them, Vazgen Safaryan,
chairman of the Union of Domestic Commodity Producers of Armenia,
said Saturday at a news conference.

On October 1, 23014, amendments to the turnover tax law took force. In
accordance with the amended law, economic entities now have their
tax rates downed to 1% from 3.5%.

The amended law also stipulates the necessity of particular paperwork
along with facilitated procedure for monitoring compliance with
this requirement.

Small and medium entrepreneurs were initially unhappy about this
paperwork requirement and they staged protests outside the government
and parliament buildings demanding to give them an opportunity to
choose between paying taxes at a higher rate, as before, but without
preferences or paying lower taxes and enjoying these preferences but
with mandatory paperwork.

Safaryan thinks that the government should give a choice to
entrepreneurs and to support small and medium businesses, since 60,000
to 70,000 people in the country are employed here.

he said.

Safaryan said that the union has many times sent letters to
the government asking it to lower tax rate for small and medium
entrepreneurs, but without imposing obligatory paperwork on them.

he added. –0—–

GERMAN-LANGUAGE WEBSITE ABOUT THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE LAUNCHED –

YEREVAN, February 2. /ARKA/. A German-language website has been
launched about the 1915 genocide of Armenians –

The new website offers various information on the genocide, including
videos and archive documents, and tells about the Armenian community
of Germany and its efforts to achieve acknowledgment of the genocide
by Germany.

News from all over the world on the genocide problem, including on
Perincek’s case, is posted on the website created by the committee
for Armenian genocide centennial measures in Germany.

The target audience of the resource is the German speaking population
of Europe. The site has also a feedback option.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Wednesday heard an appeal
filed by Switzerland against Turkey’s Workers’ Party chairman Dogu
Perincek, who was convicted earlier by a Swiss court of denying the
Armenian genocide. Armenia was represented in Strasbourg by human
rights lawyer Amal Clooney and Geoffrey Robertson. The Strasbourg
court will announce its ruling on the case at a later date.

Perincek had earlier won an appeal at the European court against the
Swiss court decision to convict him of having branded the Armenian
genocide an “international lie” during a series of speeches in
Switzerland in 2007. The ECHR said in its December 17, 2013, decision
that the politician had exercised his “right to free speech.”

The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the twentieth century.

According to Armenian and many other historians, up to 1.5 million
Armenians were killed starting in 1915 in a systematic campaign by
the government of Turkey. Turkey has been denying it for decades.

The Armenian genocide was recognized by tens of countries. The first
was Uruguay that did so in 1965. Other nations are Russia, France,
Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden,
Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Venezuela, Argentina,
42 U.S. states.

It was recognized also by the Vatican, the European Parliament, the
World Council of Churches and other international organizations. -0-

EXPERT: ARMENIA SHOULD GET INVOLVED IN RUSSIA’S ANTI-CRISIS PROGRAM

YEREVAN, February 2. /ARKA/. Armenia should get involved in the
implementation of Russia’s anti-crisis program, Ashot Tavadyan,
head of the department of economic and mathematical methods of the
Armenian State University of Economics, said on Saturday.

“It is necessary to support exporters for that, to develop small and
mid-scale businesses, subsidize those loans taken for production of
exports as well as to help socially unprotected categories of people,”
he said.

In his words, Armenia has no any anti-crisis program, and the
government should work out it.

“The first step has already been done – duties of large exporters of
manufactured goods have already been lowered, and the central bank
is taking appropriate steps – it has increased its refinancing rate
to 9.5%,” Tavadyan said. —0—–

EEU MEMBERSHIP RIGHT DIRECTION FOR ARMENIA’S ECONOMY, EXPERT CLAIMS

YEREVAN, February 2. /ARKA/. Armenia’s accession to the EEU is a step
in the right direction for economic development, head of Armenia’s
Union of Local Manufacturers Vazgen Safaryan told reporters on
Saturday.

Currently 23% of Armenia’s foreign trade is with Russia, and the
opportunity of free movement of goods, services and labor will help
increase sales in Russia, according to Safaryan.

The expert stressed the importance of Armenia’s industrial integration,
through joint efforts with Russia that also needs to restructure
its industry.

The second aspect, according to Safaryan, is agriculture, as Armenia
has the chance to increase its fruit sales in Russia that restricted
agricultural imports from Europe.

He said Armenia’s ministry of agriculture is planning to export about
100,000 tons of agricultural products to Russia this year, as compared
to about 60,000 tons per year in 2013 and 2014. If taken, this niche
may help Armenia develop its agriculture, according to the expert.

Armenia became a full-fledged member of Russia-led Eurasian Economic
Union (EEU) on January 2, 2015. -0–

ZARGEZUR PLANT TO PAY TREATMENT COSTS FOR 13 PEOPLE DIAGNOSED WITH HEPATITIS C

YEREVAN, February 2. /ARKA/. Zangezur cooper-molybdenum combine will
meet all the costs of treatment of 13 people diagnosed with hepatitis
C in Kajaran, says the press report.

Some patients of Kajaran municipal hospital were diagnosed with
hepatitis C in the beginning of January.

A special ministry of health commission was set up then for a check of
instrument sterility and the measures to prevent spread of infectious
diseases in the hospital. A criminal case was instituted.

Ninety-five of 192 patients operated in Kajaran medical center were
examined and 13 of them were diagnosed with hepatitis C, including
seven with acute hepatitis C. All these patients are under medical
control and their condition has improved.

The ministry of health asked the remaining patients to apply to
medical institutions for examination by the end of February.

The press office of the combine said on Friday five of thirteen
citizens diagnosed with hepatitis C are its employees.

As the disease treatment requires serious expenditures and is not
covered by the medical insurance, the management of the plant talked
to the main stockholder, Cronimet Mining AG, and to the ministry
of health, and decided to cover the cost of treatments of its five
employees, according to the report.

At the same time, as a socially responsible company, the plant is
willing to shoulder the cost of treatment of the other eight patients.

Zangezur Copper- Molybdenum Combine operates the largest copper
and molybdenum deposit in the country. The company’s shareholders
are German “Croniment Mining” ( 60%), Pure Iron Plant OJSC (15%),
“Armenian Molybdenum Production” Ltd. (12.5%), “Zangezur Mining” Ltd.

(12.5%). –0–

FOUR ARMENIAN SOLDIERS CHARGED WITH MURDER OF FELLOW SERVICEMAN

12:40 | February 2,2015 | Official

Four servicemen in Armenia have been charged with the murder of fellow
soldier Haykaz Barseghyan, who was found on January 29 hanging from
a rope attached to the horizontal bar in the gym of a training unit
in Yerevan.

Vache Sahakyan, Movses Azaryan, Gnel Tevosyan and Norik Sahakyan,
soldiers of the same military unit, are charged under Article 104.2
of the Criminal Code (murder by a group of people or by an organized
group, out of hooliganism), Investigative Committee of Armenia reports.

Barseghyan, 20, was found hanged in the territory of the Vazgen
Sargsyan Military Institute.

From: Baghdasarian

BERDZOR BEATING: ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES MUM ABOUT POLICE CRACKDOWN ON ARMENIAN HARDLINERS IN KARABAKH

News | 02.02.15 | 16:57

Igor Muradyan (left)

GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

related news

ANC on Berdzor incident: Regime sees only salvation in intimidation
of public

By Monday afternoon, two days after the events in Nagorno-Karabakh,
during which the local police forcefully blocked access to a group
of radical opposition members to the republic, neither Armenian nor
NK officials have reacted to the incident.

On January 31 members of the Founding Parliament, considered as
radical opposition seeking a regime change in Armenia, tried to enter
Karabakh on around four dozen cars full of around 120 people in order
to realize a political actions there latter. However, the progress of
their automobile march was halted by the Karabakh police and some of
the participants, former Shushi special detachment commander Zhirayr
Sefilyan, political analyst Igor Muradyan and other freedom fighters
were beaten up.

At a press conference on Monday Karabakh Committee member Igor Muradyan
said that he is returning his Mesrop Mashtots medal granted by the
Nagorno-Karabakh National Assembly in 2003, saying that the reasons
for returning the medal are very deep and based on principle, and
that the incident was just an occasion for that.

The incident has elicited wide public debate, however officials in
the two countries refrain from addressing the matter. Deputy chief of
presidential staff in Karabakh David Babayan, regarding the incident,
told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Monday that, most probably, the
Founding Parliament members provoked the police. According to Babayan,
what happened is an exceptional case, however, he added, the Founding
Parliament’s initiative had long received negative reactions in NK,
and they were urged to refrain from the initiative, however the calls
fell on deaf ears.

On Monday, during the opening of the spring session of the Armenian
Parliament, opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan suggested creating a
representative delegation of Armenian MPs which will immediately
leave for Stepanakert and discuss the Berdzor incident with their
Karabakhi counterparts, as well as the methods to be implemented for
neutralizing its negative consequences.

Armen Rustamyan, an Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) faction
member said that they also condemn the incident and added that
disproprotionate force was used against the march participants, and
that the ARF sees the latter as victims, however, they also condemn
the fact that the Founding Parliament members went to another country
to realize a political protest. Besides, the ARF does not approve of
the Founding Parliament trying to realize a protest with a political
subtext right before April 24, the day when Armenians around the
world and in Armenia will mark the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide.

In response to these statements, Parliament Speaker Galust Sahakyan
said that he will try to discuss the issue with his Karabakhi
counterpart.

“I think that state officials are dealing with the case, I will try to
analyze the information and respond to your statements,” Sahakyan said.

The NA Deputy Chairman, ruling Republican Party spokesperson Eduard
Sharmazanov in relation to the incident told reporters that nobody
should take internal misunderstandings, ideas and fight to Artsakh.

The Karabakh-based Movement 88 Party, however, strictly condemned
the incident, saying that entire responsibilities for it lies with
the government.

Armenian Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan, meanwhile, turned to his
Karabakh counterpart Yuri Hayrapetyan, saying that “considering that
the incident happened on the territory of NK, we have no competence
to interfere in the investigation, therefore I ask you to study the
details of the incident within your competence and restore the rights
of the citizens.”

YELLOW OR WHITE?: TAXI SERVICE OWNERS COMPLAIN ABOUT FREQUENTLY CHANGING LICENSING LAWS

NEWS | 02.02.15 | 14:03

Alina Nikoghosyan
ArmeniaNow intern

Starting from December 25, 2014 yellow taxi license plates have
again been replaced by white plates, a process not welcomed by all
in the sphere.

“The cause for the change was the objective of simplifying the process
of receiving licenses for the private sector at least. Law-abiding
citizens had received licenses according to the old law, but there
were some who organized protests, certainly the law was not perfect
before, it is not today, either,” Vahagn Sahakyan, head of the branch
union of Armenia’s Taxi Service Employers, told reporters Monday.

According to Sahakyan, the situation with having both yellow and white
license plates created problems during the crossing of the Armenian
border, but later agreement was reached with Georgia that settled
the issue and yellow license plates in Armenia were also considered
legal in the neighboring state.

As for the state demands, the head of the union added” “State demands
mostly include questions regarding taxi car furnishing, as well as
speedometers, documents confirming their exactness and external and
internal decoration items.”

Lyova Avetisyan, owner of the Bravo+ taxi service, thinks that the
new law is good for individuals from every point of view, but not
for organizations.

“If the cost of the license for individuals is 12,000AMD (about $25),
for us it remains the same, 30,000 AMD, because every car is registered
and that car will pay for the license,” Avetisyan said.

Field specialists said that having yellow license plates is correct,
because there has been created trust among people toward taxis with
yellow license plates.

MASTER PROGRAMMES IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TARTU 2015/2016

Lragir.am
Society – 02 February 2015, 15:53

The Institute of Government and Politics at the University of Tartu
(Estonia) is pleased to announce its call for applications to three
MA programmes taught exclusively in English:

Democracy and Governance ()

International Relations and Regional Studies ()

Baltic Sea Region Studies ()

Scholarships and tuition fee waivers are available on a competitive
basis for all three programmes. The most qualified and motivated
students will not have to pay any tuition fees and some may receive
scholarships to cover also living expenses.

Why should an Armenian study in Tartu, Estonia?

Armenia has historical connections with Estonia: Khachatur Abovyan
studied at the University of Tartu in 1830-36.

Estonia is the most successful reformer among former Soviet republics
and can thus be considered a role-model for Armenia.

Estonia offers very good education at all levels. The University of
Tartu belongs to the TOP 3% of the world’s best universities (Times
Higher Education World University Rankings 2013-14). In 2011, the
University of Tartu was also named as one of the “Eastern Europe’s
most promising candidates to achieve world-class status”.

A degree from Estonia is great value for money: you will receive a
high-quality European education at an affordable cost.,

Estonia is safe, clean and dynamic. It has a modern infrastructure,
such as e-government and free WiFi almost everywhere.

We welcome applications from all disciplines and backgrounds. All
programmes combine comprehensive academic knowledge with training in
core competences, preparing you for a career in the public as well
as private sector or academia.

Begin building a great career and open yourself up to new experiences –
apply now!

Application deadline: April 16, 2015 Information
about the programmes and the application process:

Contact us: Maili Vilson, Student Coordinator, [email protected]

Also, feel free to contact Armenian “student ambassadors” at the
University of Tartu to inquire about what life is like in Tartu:

From: A. Papazian

JAVAKHETI ARMENIANS HAVE PROBLEMS WITH GEORGIAN CITIZENSHIP

February 2, 2015 12:42
EXCLUSIVE

Photo: Arnold Stepanyan

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Armenians living in Javakheti are massively deprived
of Georgian citizenship in case they hold another citizenship –
Russian or Armenian.

“Rezonansi” newspaper reported this today, Mediamax’s correspondent
reports from Tbilisi.

Head of “Multinational Georgia” NGO Arnold Stepanyan confirmed that
over the past 5 months, the process involved “2-3 thousand citizens
of Armenian descent”.

According to him, it extremely complicates their lives as after they
are deprived of Georgian citizenship they don’t have the right to
stay in the country for 90 days in a row.

At the same time, Arnold Stepanyan noted that the local authorities
recently started considering the emerging problems and issuing
temporary stay permissions to those who don’t have Georgian
citizenship. He noted that the mass deprivation of Georgian citizenship
of Javakheti Armenians creates “additional risks” in the region.

“We’re dealing with nonprofessionalism or sabotage within the
authorities”, conceded Arnold Stepanyan.

Meanwhile, Georgian Ministry of Justice told the newspaper that
the information on mass deprivation of citizenship of Armenians was
not true.

However, the leader of Free Georgia Party Kakha Kukava who had
studied the issue confirmed to “Rezonansi” that Javakheti Armenians
were massively deprived of Georgian citizenship. The politician said
that he informed the central authorities about it but they hadn’t
responded yet.

“It is a sensitive issue and cautious approaches need to be taken. We
need to carry out explanatory work with the people and tell them they
can choose which citizenship to have to avoid provocations in future”,
political scientist Soso Tsintsadze said.

– See more at: