Author: Andres-Papazian

Opposition Armenia: Amendments to the Law On Funded Pension passed
with gross violation of the Law on the Parliament’s Regulations

by Nana Martirosyan

Saturday, June 21, 14:06

The Parliamentary opposition urges the parliament majority, namely the
Republican Party Faction, to observe the Parliament’s Regulations.
Speaking at the extraordinary meeting of the Parliament on 21 June, MP
Aghvan Vardanyan (ARFD Party), said the amendments to the Law On
Funded Pension have been passed with gross violation of the Law on the
Parliament’s Regulations.

Vardanyan claims that some Republican parliamentarians openly voted on
the bill instead of their absent colleagues.
Head of the RPA Faction Vahram Baghdasaryan said, in turn, that the
Parliament secured the quorum at the current meeting and asked the
opposition not to make “allegations.”

Head of the Armenian National Congress Faction Levon Zurabyan said the
Republican Party grossly violates the regulations and asked for a
20-minute break. However, Speaker Galuyst Sahakyan refused to break
the meeting.

A member of Prosperous Armenia Party Vartan Oskanian, in turn, said
that the Parliament pushes through a law that is opposed by 80% of the
population. He also demanded a 20-minute break.

°19AEF0-F92B-11E3-82EC0EB7C0D21663

From: A. Papazian

FOOTBALL
Serge Sarkissian suit avec attention la Coupe du Monde de football

Le président arménien Serge Sarkissian est un supporter de l’équipe
d’Arménie de football. Mais pour la Coupe du Monde, ses équipes
préférées sont l’Allemagne et le Brésil. Lors d’un entretien à la
Télévision publique arménienne, Serge Sarkissian a affirmé qu’il
suivait avec attention les rencontres de la Coupe du Monde. > a confié le
président arménien. Il a également affirmé qu’il aimait voir les buts
et dit >. Serge Sarkissian a
également avoué qu’il aimerait voir l’Allemagne devenir championne du
monde afin de permettre aux supporters de l’Arménie de justifier leur
défaite en match amical (6-1) face à l’Allemagne…

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 21 juin 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

France -Turquie
Recep Tayyip Erdogan reçu à l’Elysée

La Syrie et l’Irak ont été au centre des discussions entre le Premier
ministre turc et le président français hier à l’Elysée. Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, qui est pressenti pour être le candidat de son parti
conservateur à l’élection présidentielle des 10 et 24 août,
rencontrera aujourd’hui la communauté turque de Lyon. Sa visite fait
grincer des dents : l’opposition turque et les communautés arménienne
et kurde ont prévu de manifester.

Copyright (c) 2014 euronews

Video, lien plus bas

samedi 21 juin 2014,
Jean Eckian (c)armenews.com

D´autres informations disponibles : sur Euronews.com

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIE
Arménie : Le boom du secteur des technologies et de l’information
modifient les perspectives économiques

Après presque deux décennies de croissance rapide, l’industrie des
technologies et de l’information d’Arménie devient une histoire
économique rare de succès pour ce petit pays coincé du Sud-Caucase.

Orientée vers les exportations, le secteur des technologies et de
l’information (IT) a augmenté en moyenne de 22 pour cent par an au
cours de la période 2008-2013, beaucoup plus rapide que n’importe quel
autre domaine économique, selon les données du gouvernement. Avec une
puissance combinée de près de 380 Millions de $, près de 400
entreprises du sectuer IT opérant en Arménie ont représenté 3,8 pour
cent du produit intérieur brut de l’année dernière de près de 10
milliards de dollars. Le secteur emploie actuellement plus de 10 000
programmeurs et ingénieurs en logiciel – un chiffre comparable à
l’effectif total de l’industrie minière arménienne , la plus
importante source de recettes d’exportation.

Pourtant, selon le ministère de l’Economie, plus de la moitié de ces
entreprises de haute technologie ont vu le jour depuis 2007. > a déclaré Yeva
Hyusian, la directrice du centre de l’Innovation Microsoft d’Arménie
(MICA).

Une douzaine d’entreprises relativement grandes, la plupart d’entre
elles des filiales des poids lourds américaines de la haute
technologie, dominent le secteur. La filiale arménienne de Synopsys
Inc., l’un des concepteurs de puces les plus importants au monde,
emploie aujourd’hui plus de 500 ingénieurs, ce qui en fait la plus
grande entreprise du secteur. D’autres géants américains des logiciels
avec une présence arménienne comprennent National Instruments, Mentor
Graphics et VM Ware.

L’Arménie a également fait sa marque sur la scène mondiale du secteur
IT par les talents de chez nous comme Artavazd Mehrabian, 40 ans,
développeur de PicsArt, l’une des applications mobile de photo édition
la plus populaire au monde. Un autre démarrage arménien soutenu par un
partenaire américain devrait publier bientôt une plate-forme vocale de
présentation, Voiceboard, conçu comme une alternative au logiciel
Powerpoint omniprésent.

Pendant ce temps, une joint-venture américano-arménien prévoit de
commencer la fabrication de tablettes arménienne plus tard cette
année.

Jusqu’à présent, les problèmes de longue date de l’Arménie avec la
corruption, le manque de concurrence et la fermeture des frontières
avec l’Azerbaïdjan voisin et la Turquie ont eu peu d’incidence sur la
croissance rapide du secteur. Cela conduit certains experts à conclure
que l’industrie de la connaissance représente le meilleur espoir
économique pour l’avenir.

Une partie de la raison pourrait résider dans le passé.

Pendant l’ère soviétique, l’Arménie était la maison de dizaines
d’entreprises qui ont produit environ un tiers de l’équipement
microélectronique utilisé par l’industrie de la défense soviétique. Le
défunt Institut de recherche des machines mathématiques d’Erevan, qui
a conçu l’un des premiers systèmes informatiques soviétiques en 1959,
comptait à lui tout seul environ 10 000 employés dans les années 1980.

L’effondrement soviétique a sonné le glas de cette industrie de
l’État, mais de solides compétences de ses spécialistes et des
revendications salariales modestes ont offert un terrain fertile pour
un nouveau secteur technologie qui a émergé après que l’Arménie ait
retrouvé son indépendance. Une dizaine de sociétés américaines de
logiciels appartenant pour la plupart par les Arméniens de la diaspora
en grande partie ont conduit la tendance.

Une telle entreprise, Synergy Systems International, basé à Vienne en
Virginie, s’est installé à Erevan en 1999. >.

De nouveaux et de meilleurs moyens de formation sont encore
nécessaires : le problème numéro un du secteur arménien en ce moment
est la mauvaise qualité de l’enseignement dans les universités
sous-financées de l’Arménie. Peu de diplômés des universités et des
instituts arméniens sont suffisamment formés pour rejoindre les
entreprises établies sans subir une formation supplémentaire qualifié,
disent les dirigeants de l’industrie. Le manque de diplômés qualifiés
s’est traduit par environ 2000 offres d’emploi dans le secteur IT, un
phénomène très inhabituel pour un pays en proie à des taux de chômage
estimé officieusement avec deux chiffres.

Des dirigeants de l’industrie affirment que, faute d’amélioration des
normes de l’éducation cela pourrait affecter la croissance du secteur
à long terme. Le gouvernement a maintes fois promis d’aborder la
question. Comme une étape dans cette direction, en 2013, il a inauguré
un laboratoire de 6,2 millions de dollars de l’art informatique,
principalement financé par l’Agence américaine pour le développement
international et la société américaine National Instruments, à
l’Université d’ingénierie d’Arménie.

Le secteur privé prend également des mesures. Synopsys, en utilisant
ses propres programmes et installations techniques, parraine une
chaire de sciences informatiques à l’Université d’ingénierie
d’Arménie. Synergie recrute de nouveaux employés parmi les étudiants
universitaires prenant ses cours d’informatiques raccourcis.

Malgré les lacunes, les fonctionnaires sont optimistes. Le taux annuel
moyen de croissance du secteur de 22 pour cent devrait > a prédit Naira Nikoghosian,
responsable du département chargé de l’information au ministère de
l’économie.

Emil Danielyan

Eurasianet.org

samedi 21 juin 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

LEVON ZURABYAN: THE AUTHORITIES CANNOT ANY MORE FORCE ODIOUS DECISIONS THROUGH IN THE PARLIAMENT WITHOUT ANY OBSTACLE

by Ashot Safaryan

Friday, June 20, 09:59

The opposition has managed to break the situation when the authorities
used to force any odious decision in the parliament without any
obstacle, the head of the Armenian National Congress parliamentary
faction, Levon Zurabyan, told Arminfo correspondent.

To recall, on 18 June the non-coalition parliamentary factions – ANC,
PAP, Heritage, ARFD and Orinats Yerkir refused to register themselves
and torpedoed opening of the extraordinary session of the parliament.

The ruling RPA did not manage to gather 66 deputies for quorum.

Zurabyan said that the incident is a sign of the growing influence
of the opposition. “This is evidence of the consolidation process
between the non-power parliamentary forces that started two years
ago and today gives results. Until recently the authorities had
an absolutely controlled parliament, ready at any moment to adopt
any bills of the government. There was no discussion and pluralism
of viewpoints. We have managed to break the situation. Today the
opposition is consolidated as never before, it uses effective ways
of fight and all the available levers to overcome personalism of the
authorities. The latter are less confident in their actions. I think
that pressing by the opposition will go on growing”, – Zurabyan said.

He also added that the key purpose of the “four” is creation
of a wide public consolidation against the incumbent power and
attraction of great masses of population in this protest.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN AND GEORGIAN OFFICIALS DID NOT DISCUSS OPENING OF ABKHAZIAN RAILWAY SO FAR

by Tatevik Shahunyan

Friday, June 20, 10:57

Armenian and Georgian officials did not discuss opening of the
Abkhazian railway at their meeting in Tbilisi, Minister of Economy and
Sustainable Development of Georgia Georgy Kvirikashvili and Foreign
Minister of Georgia Maya Panjikidze told reporters, Thursday.

Kvirikashvili said that issue is complicate both technically and
politically. Maya Panjikidze, in turn, said that no a single word was
said about the Abkhazian railway at the 1.5-hour long meeting of the
Armenian and Georgian delegations, InterpressNews said.

Earlier, today, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan told Rustavi-2
TV that Armenia seeks restoration of direct railway communication
linking Georgia and Russia via the territory of Abkhazia, but is no
‘serious talk’ on that topic so far. “However, we want that railway
to function. It is of vital importance for us,” Serzh Sargsyan said.

Nevertheless, the president said, opening of the railway does not
depend on Armenia and Russia only. “It depends also on other countries,
therefore we are actively working on the issue,” he said.

Earlier, on Wednesday, Georgia’s State Minister for Reconciliation
and Civil Equality Paata Zakareishvili commented on the statement by
Vladimir Yakunin who urged more specific efforts on opening of the
railway communication via Abkhazia and Georgia to Armenia.

Zakareishvili said that the issue is not discussed so far, though
it may become a subject for discussion in future between Georgia
and Russia, particularly, between Georgian Prime Minister’s Special
Representative for the relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze and
Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Grigory Karasin.

According to the study “Rehabilitation of the railways in the South
Caucasus” issued by the International Alert British NGO, the potential
costs of rehabilitating the South Caucasus railways, in particular
the Sochi-Sukhum/i-Tbilisi-Yerevan railway, will totaled $277.5 mln,
which can be returned in 100 years no sooner. Restoration of the
190km section Psou-Inguri will cost $251 million. The Inguri-Zugdigi
section will cost $26.5 million dollars. The section from Zugdigi to
Tbilisi and farther to Yerevan needs no repair. It is noteworthy that
Abkhazian experts estimate rehabilitation of the railway at $350-$400
million. Meanwhile, Georgian experts claim that the project will cost
some $73 million.

From: A. Papazian

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: GEOPOLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF AZERBAIJAN IS BLOWN OUT OF PROPORTION

number of targeted public relations stunts have attempted to present
Azerbaijan as a model partner for the West. However, Azerbaijan’s
allegiance to the Western international order is dubious, especially
when it comes to democratic norms, rule of law, and respect for human
rights, reads the article published in American on-line paper The
Christian Science Monitor.

The authors note that with the recent developments happening in
and around Ukraine, Svante E. Cornell’s June 10 op-ed “Why America
must step up its role in resolving Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict”
attempts to compare the Nagorno Karabakh conflict with Crimea. This
attempted comparison disregards important historical, geographic,
legal, and political differences that exist between the two conflicts.

The article reads that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has deep
historical and legal roots with various junctures along the way. The
most recent phase of the conflict began in February of 1988, when the
citizens of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic and Nagorno Karabakh
Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) began peaceful demonstrations to once again
petition the Soviet authorities in Moscow for re-unification of NKAO
with the Armenian SSR. Tensions rose rapidly after the anti-Armenian
pogroms in the Azerbaijani cities. Tensions spilled eventually turned
into a full-scale war that lasted until 1994.

Moscow’s role (both under the USSR and the Russian Federation) in
the Artsakh conflict mediation is usually overemphasized. At the same
time, the genuine desire of the people of Artsakh Republic (Nagorno
Karabakh) to live in a state and society of their own choosing is
often disregarded.

“During the Artsakh-Azerbaijan war, Baku recruited Afghan mujahideen
and Chechen insurgents to fight on its side, many of whom would end up
in Russia’s North Caucasus region in pursuit of jihad, thus presenting
a direct national security threat to Russia. Given its geographic
proximity and Russia’s ownproblems in its North Caucasus region,
Moscow could not and cannot disregard the Artsakh peace process,”
the article reads.

The US has also been active in the mediation process of the Artsakh
conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship.

One notable example was the US-organized talks in Key West in the
summer of 2001, which was the closest the parties had ever come
to reaching a peace deal since the ceasefire agreement seven years
earlier.

In recent times, experienced analysts of the South Caucasus and
government officials, such as Richard Kauzlarich, Thomas De Waal,
Eric Rubin, and others have criticized Azerbaijan’s faulty human
rights track record, its attempt to lead on both the West and Russia,
and its waning importance as a US ally.

The article also reads that recent examples of Baku’s crackdown
on critics both foreign and domestic include criticism of the US
ambassador to Baku, Richard Morningstar and criticism of OSCE Minsk
Group US co-chairman James Warlick.

“Human Right Watch periodically reports on egregious arrests of
bloggers and journalists, including the recent airport detainment of
prominent human rights defender Leyla Yunus and her husband. Another
example is the extradition of Rauf Mirkadirov,” The Christian Science
Monitor writes.

Another factor that presents a challenge to the premise that Azerbaijan
is a reliable Western ally is its recent major arms acquisitions from
Russia, valued at $4 billion.

“The geopolitical significance of the country is blown out of
proportion. For instance its gas supplies to Europe are negligible in
the larger picture (only 2 percent of EU demand) and could not replace
Russia’s volumes. And within the context of improving relations between
the West and Iran, Azerbaijan’s role will likely shrink further. The
US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the recent shale gas revolution,
and the general pivot to Asia add additional reasons why the South
Caucasus will lose its strategic significance for the US and the West
in general.

According to the authors the U.S. could convince to remove the
snipers from the line of contact (to which Azerbaijan do not agree)
which would be a positive step forward. Reinstatement of the Artsakh
Republic representation at the negotiations table is also imperative,
as no durable peace is possible without the involvement of the people
affected the most.

“The US needs to play an active role in the mediation process, together
with the other co-chair countries. But a final agreement to end the
Artsakh conflict cannot be imposed from the outside and needs to be
reached by the three parties themselves exclusively through peaceful
means,” the author concludes.

From: A. Papazian

JAMESTOWN FOUNDATION HOSTS DISCUSSION ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
June 18 2014

18 June 2014, 17:48 (GMT+05:00)
By Sara Rajabova

The Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was mulled at a
roundtable discussion at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace.

The Jamestown Foundation hosted the roundtable discussion titled
“Russia-Ukraine Conflict. Western Policies. Repercussions for Moldova
and the South Caucasus”, AzerTag news agency reported.

The event -consisted of two panels- was opened with remarks by the
Director of Programs for the Balkans, Caucasus & Central Asia at the
Jamestown Foundation, Margarita Assenova.

Alongside with the discussion on situation in Ukraine, the speakers
also concentrated on the situation in South Caucasus.

Senior Fellow at American Foreign Policy Council, Professor Stephen
Blank provided the participants with details about the conflicts in
the region, namely the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, which emerged in
1988 over Armenia’s claims against Azerbaijan.

He said during a recent gathering of the Eurasian Union, Armenia was
introduced with terms required to enter the union. Based on the terms,
Armenia has to work with its internationally recognized borders, that
are the borders without the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan
occupied by Armenian armed forces.

Blank called on the U.S. administration to focus its efforts on
conflict resolution and commitment to the peaceful settlement mediated
by the United States.

In his presentation, the Political Officer at the Azerbaijani embassy,
Natig Bakhishov noted that it has been more than two decades of
continuing occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenian forces
which caused the exodus of more than 650 thousand IDPs, and yet there
has been no settlement reached so far.

As far as the Ukrainian crisis and other conflicts are concerned,
Bakhishov underlined Azerbaijan recognized territorial integrity of all
sovereign states in the region, adding, this position was reflected
in Azerbaijan’s recent ‘YES’ vote on the resolution in support of
territorial integrity of Ukraine during the UN GA meeting on March
27, 2014.

Noting that Armenia voted against the resolution, he called on the
international community to express its position on inviolability of
state borders, territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and international
law, as a whole, as it is doing with conflicts in Ukraine and Georgia.

Bakhishov listed a number of international documents, including the
four UNSC resolutions on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, condemning the
occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenian armed forces.

As a response to the comments by counselor of Embassy of Armenia about
the “military rhetoric” of Azerbaijan and “self-determination rights”
of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, Bakhishov said though Azerbaijan
is fully committed to the peaceful settlement of the conflict, the
military option to restore the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan
is not ruled out.

He also talked about the killing of 613 Azerbaijani civilians in
Khojaly by Armenian armed forces in early 1990s.

In his response, Professor Blank added that according to the official
policy of the United States, presented by Ambassador James Warlick,
co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group from the United States on May
7, 2014, the sides have to agree about the final legal status of
Nagorno-Karabakh region in a “mutually agreed and legally binding
referendum in the future.”

Professor Blank also noted that until now there has been no
“self-determination” for people and the regions adjacent to the
former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) are still under the
occupation of Armenia.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally
recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent
regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus
neighbor that caused a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing
efforts by U.S., Russian and French mediators have been largely
fruitless so far.

As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000
Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are reported missing and almost
100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.

The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian
withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been
enforced to this day.

From: A. Papazian

ANOTHER SCANDAL AT THE SEMINAR OF THE NATO PA

Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijan
June 17, 2014 Tuesday

Baku/17.06.14/Turan: Azerbaijan proposes to exclude Armenia from the
NATO PA. The proposal was made by the First Vice-Speaker of Azerbaijani
Parliament Ziyafet Askerov June 17, speaking at the 86th Rose Roth
seminar of NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Baku.

Addressing the participants of the event – representatives of Armenia,
Askerov accused them of trying to disrupt the seminar.

“The Armenian delegation is engaged in provocations here. Under the
guise that they raise questions, representatives of Armenia in their
speeches hit on Azerbaijan,” said Askerov. At the same time he called
Armenia terrorist state.

“Armenia is a terrorist state that occupied 20% of Azerbaijan’s
territory and committed more than 30 terrorist acts on the territory of
Azerbaijan. Therefore, we believe it is necessary to exclude Armenia
from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly,” said the Vice-speaker.

He further noted that the policy of terror in Armenia is carried out
at the state level.

Their public policy is based on Armenian terrorism. The head of Armenia
Serge Sargsyan is a terrorist, and the terrorist Robert Kocharian
was there before. Why do not you talk about the Khojaly genocide?

The father of Tevan Poghosyan taking part in this event (Zhirair
Poghosyan, the so-called “prime minister” of Nagorno-Karabakh
in 1998-1999) is also a terrorist who participated in the ethnic
cleansing and war crimes committed in Nagorno-Karabakh. It was proved
by investigations carried out by the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan.

And the day is near when your father will be held accountable,”
Askerov said, referring to Poghosyan.

In response Poghosyan said he was proud of his father for that, as
“he loved his homeland.” He further stated that the last time when
the Armenian delegation participated in the event in Baku, Armenia
was called “fascist” and “now – a terrorist.”

Poghosyan also said that the war was fought with Karabakh “and to
solve it Azerbaijan should talk with Karabakh, not Armenia.”

After this a skirmish involved Azerbaijani MP Siyavush Novruzov,
saying that 90,000 Armenians of Karabakh could not win the war with
the country with a population of 8.5 million. Armenia and Russia
actively helped them. He recalled the active participation of the
366th regiment of the Russian army in the capture of Khojaly and
other Azerbaijani settlements.

Thereafter, the representative of Lithuania urged the Azerbaijani
and Armenian delegations to use the event for recrimination, urging
the parties to a constructive dialogue. She also recalled that from
the current situation and the unresolved conflict “the third great
country” has more to gain. -06c-

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA’S ABRAHAMYAN: UNIFIED TAX CODE “IMPETUS” FOR INCREASED INVESTMENT

CisTran Finance
June 19 2014

June 19, 2014 6:30 AM
By Lisa Barron

Hovik Abrahamyan

Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan attended an international
conference on the development of a unified tax code for Armenia
earlier this week.

The event was co-hosted by the Ministry of Finance and the U.S. Agency
for International Development Tax Reform Program, which is designed
to reduce the tax burden in Armenia and boost its competitiveness.

“Some three weeks ago the National Assembly approved the program of
the new government, which seeks to continuously improve our country’s
business and investment climate, including the tax environment,”
Abrahamyan said. “In this regard, the development and enforcement
of the tax code in line with the best international practices will
be a strong impetus for further improvement of Armenia’s business
environment and increased investment attractiveness.”

Abrahamyan said he was hopeful the tax code will improve Armenia’s
image as a reliable partner among its foreign partners and promote
export-oriented, knowledge-based and non-raw material industries. He
also said the new tax code should help to combat the black market.

“We look forward to having a stronger tax base, increased revenue,
especially through more accurate and stricter taxation of major
businesses that will enable the government to implement more ambitious,
comprehensive and consistent programs in the social, healthcare,
environmental, urban development and other areas,” Abrahamyan said.

The conference was attended by government officials, foreign
ambassadors accredited in Armenia, representatives from international
organizations, members of the business community and civil society,
as well as tax experts.

From: A. Papazian