Author: Andres-Papazian

ARMENIAN MEN’S CHESS TEAM TO PARTICIPATE IN 2 CHAMPIONSHIPS

January 23, 2013 – 21:06 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian men’s chess team will participate in
European and World championships in 2013, head coach said.

As Arshak Petrsoyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, the team will
conduct its final practice session before the championships.

European team championships are due November 7-18 in Warsaw, world
championships scheduled for Dec 1-11 in Antalya.

“Team championships are much more difficult than the individual ones.

I think our players will manage to regain their abilities in two weeks’
interval,” he said.

From: A. Papazian

YURA MOVSISYAN UNDERGOES MEDICAL CHECKUP AT NEW RUSSIAN CLUB

NEWS.am Sport
January 23

Russia’s FC Spartak Moscow players underwent a medical checkup on
Wednesday at the Russian capital. The physicians examined eleven
Spartak players, including Armenian national football team and
Spartak’s newly acquired forward, Yura Movsisyan, who had trained
with the club on Tuesday.

The other players will undergo their medical examinations on Thursday,
and the club will head to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday,
Sovsport.ru reports.

To note, FC Spartak Moscow’s first training camp will be held from
Friday to February 6, during which the team will play test matches
against FC Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan, and Al Dhafra of Abu Dhabi, UAE.

From: A. Papazian

ROZA TSARUKYAN’S SACRAL PHRASE
Haik Aramyan

17:26 23/01/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

The Armenian government refers to the latest tax reform as
revolutionary. The latest pack of tax amendments was introduced to the
parliament almost secretly and it was adopted and signed hastily. The
entire process took several days, almost a revolutionary period.

The new tax pack is revolutionary indeed. Having returned to work
after the holiday season the Armenian SMEs found themselves on the
verge of bankruptcy. Dentists, travel agents, real estate and other
spheres have already protested against the amendments.

These people are the real revolutionary contingent unlike other layers
of the Armenian population. These people earn their living through
business. These layers are active, knowledgeable, demanding, unlike
those who live on remittances and watch soap operas.

Why did the parliamentary opposition which vowed to support SMEs fail
to oppose to the latest tax amendments? Earlier a draft law had been
voted down by Gagik Tsarukyan and other oligarch MPs according to
which transactions above 3,000,000 drams could not be made in cash.

They did so because thereby they were able to continue to avoid taxes
and preserve their monopolies. It touched their personal interests.

Certainly, they do not care for these amendments because thanks to
them the tax burden again falls from their shoulders to the shoulders
of SMEs. As to the non-oligarchic parliamentary opposition, they are
also under the influence and guidance of the oligarchs.

Serzh Sargsyan’s government failed or was reluctant – it does not
matter – to establish tax equity which is one of the key principles of
liberal democratic states. The feudalist dictatorship continued, where
aristocracy and church did not pay taxes. The main income of this
state came from excise and customs fees, as well as poll tax charged
from the third class. Trade was regulated through capitulations,
resulting in the formation of monopolies.

This form of state is perfectly established in Armenia. The oligarchy
has replaced the aristocracy, the church is in its place. The whole
tax burden lies heavily on the third class. The oligarchy pays
indirect taxes which are also eventually paid by common people. Direct
taxes – income and profit tax – paid by the oligarchy are
insignificant.

This circumstance is related to the electoral process. The key factor
of rigging elections is the lack of equality before law. And the most
important factor is the tax policy.

Usually, in normal countries the governments try to boost the tax
revenues in the GDP. It is the main tool for strengthening the state
and promoting democracy. However, the Armenian authorities have
conducted the opposite policy. A group of big businesses have been
exempt from taxes. They pay something to cover budget gaps. They also
form the black budget which is spent on the neutralization of the
demands of the society on electoral and other rights.

Transition from feudalist to democratic states in Europe was marked by
political and social upheavals. A change of government is impossible
in a feudalist state but palace coups, such as in Armenia in 1998 and
2008. The only way of transition is a revolution, peaceful or based on
a compromise.

Ahead of the French revolution the royal court tried to reconstruct
the tax system to save the country. However, the aristocracy opposed
because it was reluctant to pay taxes and lose its privileges. The
efforts of the court were futile, and the revolution took place which
hanged both the royal court and the aristocracy.

History shows that tax avoidance and privileges enjoyed by the
selected ones cause the biggest social indignation and revolutions.

The new tax package of the Armenian government causes a real
revolutionary situation in Armenia. In fact, the Armenian aristocracy
refused an equitable tax system leaving the tax burden on SMEs, the
embryo of the Armenian bourgeoisie.

One can remember Roza Tsarukyan’s almost sacral phrase when she was
asked why his son, the oligarch Gagik Tsarukyan avoids taxes. She said
should he pay taxes for others to gamble this money in casinos?

Aristocracy also opposed to the court – why should we pay taxes to
ensure the lavish life of the court?

From: A. Papazian

HOW CAN ARMENIA’S OPPOSITIONAL PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ACHIEVE SUCCESS? – ANALYST EXPLAINS

news.am
January 23, 2013 | 11:41

YEREVAN. – The political situation at the onset of the 2013
presidential election in Armenia is different in many ways and
it contains new elements as compared to the starting phase of the
previous elections. Armenian Center for National and International
Studies analyst Edgar Vardanyan stated this during a press conference
on Wednesday.

He noted that Armenia was undemocratic before the tenure of the ruling
Republican Party’s presidential candidate-and incumbent President-Serzh
Sargsyan, and it remains undemocratic during Sargsyan’s term in office.

“Serzh Sargsyan selected the tactic of ‘soft’ manipulative policy
to secure his reproduction [to power], and he is inclined to use
the administrative resources,” Vardanyan said, and stressed that
Sargsyan and his team have created a “lightweight” image for the
other presidential contenders.

“[But] regardless of the election course, there is a chance in Armenia
for the forming of a new political situation because when people
start thinking about how to change the situation, they ultimately
achieve it, especially when they meet an impasse,” the analyst said.

Edgar Vardanyan noted that if Armenia’s oppositional presidential
candidates wish to achieve success in the forthcoming election, they
need to contribute to the formation of a powerful democratic movement.

And if such movement were to be formed, it will be possible to beat
the regime. In this case, as per the analyst, the concept of “against
the regime” could become the uniting factor for the body politic.

From: A. Papazian

U. S. TO DIRECT EFFORTS TO RECORD PROGRESS IN NAGORNO KARABAKH NEGOTIATIONS

13:28, 23 January, 2013

YEREVAN, JANAURY 23, ARMENPRESS. The Ambassador of the United States
of America to Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar stated that the United
States will spare no effort to record progress in the negotiations
for the regulation of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. As reports
“Armenpress” the ambassador stated this in a conversation with “Trend”.

Among other things the Ambassador of the United States of America to
Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar underscored: “The regulation of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict is to the interests of the whole sides. As
to the activity of the United States within the OSCE Minsk Group,
we shall continue to direct our efforts and do everything to make
progress in the negotiations.”

From: A. Papazian

SLAVIC STATES SURRENDER TO TURKEY
Igor Muradyan

14:07 21/01/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

Dismissal of recognition of genocide is a sign of capitulation

Orthodox Slavic states posture as prostitutes as they capitulate to
Turkey. Besides economic interests Russia still expects Turkey to
leave the United States and NATO.

Other Orthodox Slavic nations do not care about Turkey-related
politics. They care for financial interests. As of today, Russia,
Poland and Slovakia have recognized the Armenian genocide in 1915.

Bulgaria which seemed reliable in this aspect is not only indifferent
but also aggressive to this issue.

With two big and influential political parties of this country, VMRO
and ATAKA, fighting for the recognition of the genocide, the parliament
of Bulgaria has outrageously dismissed this resolution. Two Bulgarian
communities, including the city of Varna which is the second by the
number of population, have also dismissed their earlier resolutions.

The “pro-Turkish party” which has a considerable representation to
the parliament and is, actually, an ethnic and criminal corporation
under Turkey’s aegis, is not the sole reason. The Bulgarian class
also matters.

I used to tell my friends, representatives of different Bulgarian
political parties that Bulgaria is consistently becoming Turkey’s
vassal, and this country is swallowing Bulgaria. Sometimes, it seemed
exaggerated but now it is understood that Turkey controls Bulgaria’s
policy more strongly after Bulgaria’s accession to the EU and NATO.

The Bulgarian patriotic parties blame the liberal and leftist parties
which are sent into panic by allegations of nationalism.

During one of my visits to Sofia there was a football match going
between Turkey and Germany. On the next day it became known that a
group of cab service drivers supported the Turkish team because “their
employer was a Turk, and they were thankful to him for their jobs”.

What does Bulgaria look like now? It is a highly apolitical mass
of people who are hysterically craving for a piece of bread and are
absolutely indifferent to the destiny of their homeland. Once a proud
country, Bulgaria is a communicating courtyard with all its attributes.

Yesterday an incident was reported during the congress of the
“pro-Turkish party”. A young Bulgarian threatened the party leader
Dogan with a gas gun. Then Bulgaria had the honor to see how Turks
kicked the Bulgarian.

The future of a country which denies the Armenian genocide is
capitulation to Turkey. Who will save Bulgaria? The Russia forces will
not come to their rescue. They can hardly protect their own borders.

However, Bulgaria cannot be handed over, so if official EU hands over
Bulgaria and the Balkans to the Turks, certain forces in Europe,
as well as in the United States and the Near East will resist the
occupation of Bulgaria and the Balkans by Turkey. Otherwise, the
offensive on Vienna will repeat.

Bulgaria must evoke its ideals of the national liberation war,
especially that only memories have been left of its armed forces. Who
will catalyze these vectors?

From: A. Papazian

“THE STEPANAKERT AIRPORT WILL OPERATE”, SAYS HEAD OF NKR CIVIL AVIATION DEPARTMENT

ARMINFO
Monday, January 21, 11:32

“The Stepanakert Airport must be put into operation and we will make
flights despite anything. We are civil aviation and we work to ensure
the people’s right of free movement stipulated by the International
Law,” says Dmitry Atbashyan, Head of the NKR Civil Aviation Department,
commenting on the Azerbaijani Government’s decision to hit the Armenian
planes flying from Nagorno Karabakh.

ArmInfo’s correspondent to Stepanakert cites Dmitry Atbashyan as
saying: “Azerbaijan is well aware that our stance is in harmony with
the International Law and we can make it to reckon with the given
fact with help of the international organizations.”

Atbashyan said that the Stepanakert Airport is ready for exploitation.

It is equipped in line with the up-to- date requirements and has
highly qualified staff and personnel. The airport has a certificate of
compliance with the international standards. However, Atbashyan did
not announce the date of the first flight. Earlier Prime Minister of
NKR Ara Haroutiunyan said that technical flights will be launched at
the Stepanakert Airport shortly and will continue for several months.

In Nov 2012 Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) Foreign Minister Karen
Mirzoyan sent a letter to the United Nations General Assembly and
Security Council in which he called on the international organization
to assist in the operation of the Stepanakert Airport. Below is the
text of the letter obtained from Artsakh Foreign Ministry.

The operation of the Stepanakert airport is the sovereign right of the
NKR and pursues solely civilian and humanitarian objectives, including
the realization of such a basic human right as freedom of movement.

Freedom of movement of the civilian population of the NKR alongside
with other human rights outlined in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and other core international bodies have already been
continuously and vehemently undermined by the ongoing Azerbaijani
blockade. This stance of Azerbaijan is a clear manifestation of its
recklesst disregard for human rights and fundamental freedoms as
a continuation of its policy of collective punishment of civilian
population.

The threats of Azerbaijan to shoot down civil aircrafts in particular,
violates the provisions of the Chicago Convention on International
Civil Aviation and runs counter to the commitments undertaken in the
framework of the negotiation process mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group
Co-Chair states, to reject any threat or use of force against civil
aircraft, pursue the matter through diplomatic steps, and refrain
from politicizing the issue.

Such threats, along with the statements on the highest level declaring
all Armenians of the world as enemy number one of Azerbaijan are
a vivid example of the long-established anti-Armenian hysteria
and xenophobia of the Azeri state policy. The pardon and nationwide
glorification of Ramil Safarov, Azerbaijani officer, who was convicted
to the life imprisonment in Hungary for perpetuating brutal hate crime,
a manslaughter, is the most shocking yet just recent manifestation
of this policy. In this context, my Government considers the steps
taken by the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in particular
declarations on undertaking “all necessary measures” in order to
prevent the functioning of the Stepanakert Airport along with previous
threats to shoot down civil planes as irresponsible and politically
charged actions.

From: A. Papazian

FORMER DEFENCE MINISTER: THE NATO’S IPAP CANNOT BE AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY FOR ARMENIA

ARMINFO
Monday, January 21, 12:56

The programme on partner relations between Armenia and NATO within
the frames of Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) signed
in December 2005, cannot be an alternative to Collective Security
Treaty for Armenia, former defence minister of Armenia, Vagarshak
Harutyunyan, said at the roundtable “Euro-Atlantic community and
problems of Armenia” held at the Eurasian Studies Institute.

“According to IPAP, the aid to Armenia is just of the theoretical
nature. At the same time, within the frames of this programme, in
fact using its own funds Armenia supports the peacekeeping brigade,
directing it to the regions where the NATO operations are held. It
also has been implementing the obligations on democratizing of the
country, that has nothing in common to the security problems. I also
think that several points of IPAP are inadmissible for Armenia, in
particular, Armenia’s conventional disengagement and establishment
of civilian positions, as these points reduce combat effectiveness
of the Armenian army”, – Harutyunyan said.

He said that one should take into consideration that security of
the NATO member-states is one thing and security of Armenia is quite
another thing, as Armenia faces an open military threat stemming from
Turkey. “For Armenia, being in a rather hard geo-political situation,
the problem of ensuring security is the key one. But the documents
signed between NATO and Armenia suppose no obligation in the matter of
giving security guarantees to Armenia and Nagornyy Karabakh . For this
reason, for Armenia IPAP cannot be an alternative to the Collective
Security Treaty, which fixed strict obligations on providing Armenia’s
security”, – he said.

From: A. Papazian

UPCOMING ELECTIONS LEAST COMPETITIVE IN ARMENIA’S HISTORY – EXPERT

TERT.AM
21.01.13

The upcoming presidential elections will be the least competitive
ones in Armenia’s history, political analyst Richard Giragosian told
the reporters on Monday.

At the same time the analyst stressed that unlike the cases of
Uzbekistan and Belarus, Armenia’s incumbent president should not be
blamed for it.

“Serzh Sargsyan does not have a strong and viable contender. The
non-competitive elections reflect Armenia’s political reality. The
opposition remains core and not united. This time the elections
will be fairer than previously. The most serious challenge for the
Armenia’s authorities will be the low voter turnout. The absence of
real competition has resulted in the absence of public’s interest,”
he said.

Referring to the election campaign, Richard Giragosian said that till
now we are witnessing the fight of individuals and not political forces
which may be testified by the low level of the political debates.

“Nevertheless, I think former PM Hrant Bagratyan and former FM Raffi
Hovhannisian will come up with new ideas and will contribute to the
raise of the level of discussion. This is their mission,” he said.

Giragosian stressed that the upcoming elections will give the incumbent
president opportunity to create new political mandates.

“If Sargsyan is re-elected, an opportunity will be created to leave
a trace in Armenia’s politics. The first period of Sargsyan’s tenure
in office was marked with the heritage left to him by Robert Kocharyan.

Unlike that time when he was forced to bear the influence of March 1,
now he has an opportunity to go out of Kocharyan’s shadow and show
the difference between the years of his presidency and Kocharyan’s,”
he said.

From: A. Papazian

TURKISH OFFICIAL MADE MISLEADING STATEMENT ON ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS

11:52, 22 January, 2013

YEREVAN, JANAURY 22, ARMENPRESS. Turkey continues misleading the
international community via spreading deceptive statements regarding
the regulation of the Armenian-Turkish relations. The Chairman of
the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Grand National Assembly of
Turkey Volkan Bozkir made a speech during the conference entitled
“the Turkish Foreign Policy” held in London, where he attributed the
blame for unregulated state of the Turkish-Armenian relations to the
Armenian side. The Member of Parliament for the ruling “Justice and
Development” Party stated: “Armenia is not ready to establish good
relations with Turkey.”

As reports “Armenpress” citing the Turkish media, according to Volkan
Bozkir Turkey “takes a lot of steps for regulation of relation with
Armenia”. For instance, he mentioned the proposal put forward by Ankara
about creating a commission of historians for discussions regarding
the issue of the Armenian Genocide, but “the Armenian side did not
give positive response”.

The Turkish higher official “has forgotten” that the Armenian side
replied to the abovementioned proposal regarding “the commission of
historians”, which was put forward six years ago, and stated that
it’s necessary to create an intergovernmental commission not for the
discussions regarding the Armenian Genocide, but for the discussions
of issues regarding the elimination of consequences of the Genocide.

From: A. Papazian