Author: Andres-Papazian

ARMENIA, GEORGIA TO DISCUSS IN BATUMI HOW TO ATTRACT INVESTMENT, DEVELOP TOURISM

epress.am
11.10.2011

The next meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic
Cooperation between Armenia and Georgia will take place in Batumi
from No. 18~V19. During the meeting, officials will focus on the
development of trade between the two states, ways to attract investment
and tourism, as well as matters that were discussed during Georgian
Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Vera Kobalia~Rs recent
visit to Armenia, reports Novosti Gruzya (Georgia).

Georgia~Rs economic ministry noted that Armenia is one of Georgia~Rs
main trade partners. Georgia has a trade surplus with Armenia as
exports exceed imports and this trend is growing every year. Last
year, exports to Armenia increased by 80%. Investments from Armenia,
however, are far behind this positive indicator: between 2003~V2011,
only $2.4 million USD was invested.

According to Georgia~Rs National Statistical Service, the trade
turnover between Georgia and Armenia in 2010 amounted to $205 million
926.4 thousand USD. Of these, $159 million 709.1 thousand were exports
and $46 million 217.4 thousand were imports.

From: A. Papazian

DEAD BRANCH MUST BE CUT OFF
JAMES HAKOBYAN

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 12:25:35 – 10/11/2011

“Business should consistently get separated from the state system
and the power. Instead, the state should go on fully respecting and
ensuring the interests of each citizen and businessman,” said Serzh
Sargsyan on November 9, attending the opening of the session of the
union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Armenia.

Serzh Sargsyan has dwelt on an important issue. It is not a secret
that business and government are fused in Armenia. And it is not a
secret that this is one of the main sources of corruption in Armenia.

But how will business be separated from government? Will it happen
willfully or will the Constitution and laws be enforced? The
businessmen will hardly agree to give away their power as it is one
of the guarantees for profitable and secure business in Armenia.

Consequently, in order to make a businessman give away power, th
mechanism of protection of property should be enacted in Armenia,
ensuring equal oppoerunities for everyone. This is the job of
the authorities which must ensure that the tax service avoids
discrimination between any two companies if one of them belongs
to a businessmen close to the government, and the other to another
businessman who is not so close with the authorities.

But this is still too little because the authorities should also
address the issue through investigation aimed to find out whether a
Member of Parliament who claims being the proprietor without holding
an executive post in his business, nevertheless, directly runs it.

The point is that there is no other way besides investigation, because
even if holding an executive position is banned even for proprietors,
everyone will register their business by the name of someone else
and will go on using their business for their power.

Consequently, the solution will be to carry out an investigation to
reveal the fusion of government and business. If this work is done,
legislative amendments will make sense, otherwise, all the steps will
be meaningless even under the most rigid law, and bypassing ways will
be found by all means.

Is the government ready to carry out an investigation and reveal
the corruption mechanisms and unconstitutional practice by the
business-government fusion?

If it is, Serzh Sargsyan does not need to announce that business
should get separated, he just needs to warn that if the business does
not separate itself, it will be forced to.

But such a statement is hardly possible. And the reason is not the
fact that Serzh Sargsyan supports evolutionary solutions. Evolution,
revolution and radicalism are not opposite concepts. Both the
revolution and radical turnovers can be evolutionary.

It may turn out, however, that Serzh Sargsyan needs to be the first
to separate from business. Maybe, this is the reason why he avoids
posing the issue so clearly and specifically and prefers nice rhetoric.

The total fusion of business and government ensures the shaded deals
and unconstitutional existence of the Armenian authorities. This fact
rules out any radical step by Serzh Sargsyan in separating business
and government. The saying is he will not cut the tree on which he
is sitting.

We come up to a deadlock since, on the one hand, the government
understands it can’t cut the tree. On the other hand, it sees the
branch is dead and it is already dangerous to sit on it.

Under such conditions, Serzh Sargsyan seems to be trying to convince
those sitting with him on the dry branch to change the branch and
sit on the one which is lower.

But he will not succeed if he goes on convincing them because in
order to be convinced and understand the situation, intellect and
knowledge is necessary, while a considerable part of business fused
with government has none of it.

Consequently, either he has to force them to get off that branch or to
leave them there and move to another healthier branch himself. At this
moment Serzh Sargsyan fails on both. Or, he just does not want. But,
there is no third version.

The hope that those on the lower branch will protect the higher branch
for the latter not to break and for those on it not to fall on the
lower branch is irrelevant because those above have so much annoyed
those below that they will not have the strength, at least for their
security, to protect those on the dying branch.

From: A. Papazian

‘JULIET WAS ARMENIAN FROM TBILISI, ROMEO WAS MINGRELIAN OF GEORGIA’…

epress.am
11.10.2011

“Juliet was an Armenian from Tbilisi, Romeo was Mingrelian [a
subethnic group of Georgians] – and here you have the saddest story
in the world,” very convincingly joked a taxi driver by the name of
Marlen. “Of course, their parents would never allow them to marry…

nationality is like an aircraft: it has to be preserved and
developed.” The conversation with the taxi driver was cited by
Moskovsky Komsomolets correspondent Aslizhan Orshogdugova, who
addressed mixed marriages and their impact on societal developments
in his article.

“It turned out that Marlen, who was of a respectable age and Armenian
by ethnicity, has been married for already 40 years to woman not
of his ethnicity. Children, grandchildren – it seems that it’s a
happy marriage. However, for the younger generation brides and grooms
‘will search only among their own,’ the driver confidently stated. I
didn’t argue… First, it seemed that his statement was based on
bitter experience. Second, I agreed with him in many ways. And in my
current intolerant environment, I would sign under every word.

“Criticize or don’t criticize the Soviet Union, but those times
were a ‘vacuum’ [that is, filled with positive energy]. Either the
shortcomings in society were well-disguised or people truly lived
by right principles, were capable of respect. The language, culture,
customs and traditions of others were respected by all. They didn’t
touch upon the national question, but if they did, it was done
without insulting or cursing and all this without bloodshed. With
regard to mixed marriages, they were a fairly frequent occurrence,
quite common and not at all shameful.

“In the former Soviet Union, by the end of the 80s, nearly one in six
families was comprised of individuals of various ethnicities. It’s
clear that this is quite a significant layer of society, largely
influencing the development of important processes in society:
demographic, ethnic, social and so on. Evidence suggests that in the
Soviet era, the number of ethnically mixed families grew. In 1959,
it was 5.2 million or 10.2% of all marriages in the country, while in
1979, it was 9.9 million or 14.9%, and in 1989, 12.8 million or 17.5%.

“Today, mixed marriages are somewhat tolerable for some, but for
others, they are a world of endless possibilities and promising
prospects,” writes the Moscow-based reporter.

From: A. Papazian

ZARAKOLU EST UN éCRIVAIN DE VALEUR

Source/Lien : Hurriyet Daily News
Publié le : 10-11-2011

Info Collectif VAN – – “Le ministre de la culture
et du tourisme, Ertugrul Gunay, a loué un éditeur célèbre qui
a été arrêté mardi dernier pour des liens présumés avec une
organisation interdite. ” Zarakolu est un écrivain et un éditeur
de valeur ” a dit Gunay aux reporters lorsqu’on lui a demandé sa
réaction suite a l’arrestation de Ragıp Zarakolu”. Le Collectif
VAN vous propose la traduction de cet article en anglais, paru dans
le quotidien turc Hurriyet Daily News le 2 novembre 2011.

Légende photo : le ministre de la culture et du tourisme, Gunay.AA
photo

Le ministre de la culture fait l’éloge de l’éditeur arrêté

Le ministre de la culture et du tourisme, Ertugrul Gunay, déclare que
les raisons derrière la décision de la Cour prise a l’encontre de
l’écrivain et éditeur Zarakolu, qui a été arrêté mardi dernier
a Istanbul pour son engagement présumé avec le KCK, (Union des
communautés kurdes), ainsi que la professeure BuÅ~_ra Ersanlı et
42 autres suspects, devraient être rendues publiques.

Le ministre de la culture et du tourisme Ertugrul Gunay a loué un
éditeur célèbre qui a été arrêté mardi dernier pour des liens
présumés avec une organisation interdite.

” Zarakolu est un écrivain et un éditeur de valeur ” a dit
Gunay aux reporters lorsqu’on lui a demandé sa réaction suite a
l’arrestation de Ragıp Zarakolu.

Zarakolu, de même que la professeure BuÅ~_ra Ersanlı et 42 autres
suspects, a été arrêté a Istanbul mardi dernier pour son engagement
présumé avec le parti interdit KCK, la présumée branche civile
du Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan (PKK).

” Je le connais depuis l’école. Bien sÔr, je ne connais pas la
raison de son arrestation. Franchement, j’aimerais le savoir, car je
n’ai jamais entendu dire qu’il était lié a des actes de violence,
quels qu’ils soient, jusqu’a ce jour ”, a dit Gunay.

Lors de son audience mardi dernier, Zarakolu a dit que toutes
les accusations dirigées contre lui concernaient ses activités
intellectuelles.

” Mes actions sont destinées a la présentation de mes propres
contributions visant a trouver une solution a un problème qui dure
depuis des années. Ã~@ cet effet, je suis aussi invité ce soir
a une réunion internationale, dont l’hôte sera le ministre de la
culture et du tourisme ”, a déclaré Zarakolu.

Le procureur a interrogé Zarakolu, qui a été arrêté de nombreuses
fois auparavant, sur sa participation a l’Académie politique du
Parti pour la paix et la démocratie (BDP) le 13 juin 2010, dans le
quartier Umraniye d’Istanbul. Le BDP se concentre principalement sur
la question kurde.

Zarakolu est le président du Comité pour la liberté de publier
de l’Union des éditeurs, et il a recu de nombreux Prix prestigieux
liés a la liberté d’expression.

” Ces documents comprennent divers projets de livres. Mes activités
qui sont le sujet des accusations sont des activités entièrement
intellectuelles ”, a déclaré Zarakolu au sujet des documents qui
ont été saisis dans son appartement par des huissiers.

” Un éditeur et écrivain de valeur. Quelles sont les allégations
au sujet de notre ami ? De même que le peuple, nous avons le droit
de savoir ”, a dit Gunay.

Entre-temps, Gursel Tekin, député et leader du principal parti
d’opposition, le Parti républicain du peuple (CHP), a également
dénoncé l’arrestation de Zarakolu, alors qu’il répondait aux
questions d’un journaliste a Ankara.

” Nous ne savons pas jusqu’où ira une telle conduite illégale, ni
qui elle frappera demain ”, a dit Tekin. ” Des organisations du CHP
avaient élevé des objections quand des intellectuels avaient été
regroupés dans le cadre des procès Ergenekon. Certains étaient
incapables de comprendre la situation, mais maintenant j’espère
qu’ils comprendront. Le problème les a rattrapés eux aussi. ”

©Traduction de l’anglais C.Gardon pour le Collectif VAN – 10 novembre
2011 –

From: A. Papazian

UNE LIAISON FERROVIAIRE POUR L’AEROPORT DE ZVARTNOTS
Stephane

armenews.com
jeudi 10 novembre 2011

Le gouvernement armenien a approuve un schema de liaison entre la
zone de libre-echange et le centre international de logistique a
proximite de l’aeroport Zvartnots.

Le programme est estime a 40 millions de dollars.

Le ministre des Transports et des telecommunications Manuk Vardanyan a
declare que l’objectif premier est de construire un centre logistique.

Selon ses propos l’etude de faisabilite est actuellement en cours. Le
centre sera inclus dans le centre international de logistique du
programme TRACECA dans le futur.

“Le deuxième objectif est de construire un chemin de fer pour
ameliorer a la fois le transport des passagers et du fret” a declare
le ministre. “En particulier, la voie ferree de 3,7 km, qui est en
exploitation actuellement sera portee a 7,5 kilomètres.”

Il a dit que les coûts preliminaires de ce projet sont de 5 millions
de dollars.

Le troisième objectif est la construction d’une nouvelle route
contournant Argavand et Parakar près de l’aeroport. Cette route
reliera l’aeroport a la route nationale existante et l’autoroute
Nord-Sud qui est en construction actuellement.

Le concept d’une zone de libre echange a l’aeroport de Zvartnots a
ete approuve par le gouvernement en 2008.

From: A. Papazian

WELCOME TO ARMENIA: YEREVAN GETS READY TO HOST JUNIOR EUROVISION
By Gohar Abrahamyan

ArmeniaNow
10.11.11 | 16:02

The preparatory works for the Junior Eurovision International Song
Contest 2011 to be held in Yerevan in December continue, and the video
clip of Armenia’s representative 12-year-old Dalita who will perform
‘Welcome to Armenia’ has been posted on the Internet since Wednesday.

Last year the representative of Armenia won in the Junior Eurovision,
however unlike (Senior) Eurovision International Song Contest, the
Junior Eurovision usually does not take place in the winner country
(whereas in case of Eurovision, it is usually held in the country, the
representative of which won the previous year), but rather in a country
which has submitted a winning bid and meets certain requirements.

Armenia submitted a bid and was chosen as host for the December 2-3
competition, at Karen Demirchyan Hall.

Gohar Gasparyan, head of the Armenian delegation in Junior Eurovision
says that Yerevan is preparing for the Junior Eurovision 2011 with
big steps, becoming a “Eurovision City.”

Currently the stage is being constructed along with other preparations
to “combine Armenian and European innovations” Gasparyan says.

This year, representatives (10-15-year-old children) from14 countries
participate in the contest. Turkey and Azerbaijan did not submit
entries.

Tickets for Junior Eurovision 2011 have been on sale since October 26,
at price from 9-55 Euros (about $12-74).

From: A. Papazian

UKRAINE READY TO FACILITATE NEGOTIATION PROCESS ON KARABAKH: PARLIAMENT SPEAKER

epress.am
11.10.2011

Ukraine supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan and is in favor of a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict only through peaceful means, based on the principles and norms
of international law, said Chair of Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council)
of Ukraine Volodymyr Mykhailovych Lytvyn at a meeting with the Chair
of Azerbaijan’s Parliament (Milli ME~Yclis) Ogtay Asadov.

Continuing, Lytvyn said that Ukraine is ready to facilitate the
negotiation process to resolve the protracted conflict within the
framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, particularly as Ukraine prepares
to assume presidency of the OSCE in 2013.

From: A. Papazian

PRIME MINISTER HANDS AWARDS TO HEADS OF BEST COMMUNITIES

ARMENPRESS
NOVEMBER 10, 2011
YEREVAN

Within the framework of the 15th anniversary of establishment of
local self-governmental bodies an award-giving ceremony took place
in Matenadaran November 10. At the event present were Prime Minister
of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan, governors, heads of communities.

The awards to the winners in the nomination of best head of community
were handed personally by the Prime Minister.

The best urban community in 2011 was declared the town of Artik,
Shirak province and the best rural community is Mkhchyan village of
the Armenian province of Ararat.

“Best Cultural Urban Community” has been declared the town of Gyumri
and the winner of the “Best coverage of Community Life” nomination
became “Hetq”. Last year the winner in this nomination was Armenpress
news agency.

Deputy territorial administration minister Vache Terteryan said “Best
Community of the Year” prize-giving ceremony is annual and is being
organized from 2006. According to him, the goal of the event is to
make the activity of communities more transparent and public as well
as form healthy competition promoting the increase of the activity
of local self governmental bodies.

From: A. Papazian

RAUL DE LUZENBERGER ANNOUNCES START OF WAR FOR EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
November 10, 2011 – 11:38 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The head of Delegation of the European Union to
Armenia announced the start of a war for fulfilment of proposals in
the framework of the Eastern Partnership initiative.

At the conference titled ~SEastern Partnership: National and European
Developments~T, ambassador Raul de Luzenberger stressed a positive
dynamics in the process of European integration, specifically noting
reforms in Armenia~Rs trade and legal sectors.

The ambassador suggested Armenia closely follows the developments
of eurozone crisis to gain invaluable experience that might be used
in future.

He also positively assessed current situation with regional relations.

From: A. Papazian

L’ENTRETIEN DU PRESIDENT DU PARTI ” ARMENIE PROSPERE ”
Stephane

armenews.com
mardi 8 novembre 2011

Les quotidiens du 1.11 rapportent l’entretien du President du parti ”
Armenie prospère “, Gaguik Tsaroukian, a l’agence news.am, dans lequel,
il a mis tous les point sur les ” i ” et mis fin aux speculations
de la presse sur des dissensions entre sa force politique et le
parti Republicain. Il relève que les ambitions de son parti sont
très logiques, a savoir maintenir le nombre des sièges au sein de
l’AN et tenter d’en obtenir plus. Il est aussi très logique, d’après
lui, que le parti Republicain tente egalement de maintenir ce qu’il
a actuellement et d’obtenir plus. M. Tsaroukian fait reference au
memorandum signe par les forces de la coalition en fevrier dernier et
note qu’il reste attache aux objectifs qui y sont mentionnes visant le
renforcement du rôle de la coalition dans la vie politique armenienne.

Les commentateurs rappellent que par ce memorandum, les forces de la
coalition s’engageaient a soutenir la candidature de Serge Sarkissian
aux elections de 2013. Selon 168 Jam, bien que M. Tsaroukian n’ait pas
directement dit qu’il soutiendrait la candidature de Serge Sarkissian,
sa reference au memorandum de fevrier 2011 signifie qu’il a l’intention
de s’y conformer.

Ambassade de France en Armenie

Service de presse

From: A. Papazian