Author: Babajanian Karo

CONCERN FOR LAKE SEVAN: ENVIRONMENTALISTS SAY GOVERNMENT DECISIONS WILL CAUSE IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE

News | 18.03.14 | 17:12

Photolure

By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow reporter

Environmentalists warn that the two Government decisions on the
increase of water drainage from Lake Sevan and increase of fish
breeding and trout resource recovery are fraught with irreparable
damage for Armenia’s biggest freshwater basin.

Gagik Tadevosyan, the co-author of the Law “On Lake Sevan”, who chaired
the 2nd convocation National Assembly Standing Committee on Social,
Health and Environmental Issues from 1999 to 2003, has addressed
an open letter to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to stop all
the projects regarding Lake Sevan, because both projects would have
disastrous consequences for one the world’s exceptional sweet water
resources condemning it to inevitable catastrophe.

“Thirteen years have passed since the law was adopted, but its
provisions are periodically violated. According to Article 10,
any kind of economic activities in different zones of Lake Sevan
that pose a potential threat to its ecosystem is forbidden. One such
violation is that small hydropower plants have been built on the rivers
feeding Lake Sevan,” he writes. “The establishment of 74 fish farms for
artificial fish breeding (50,000 tons) on the shores of Lake Sevan with
annually 500,000 tons of artificial forage in the forms of nitrogen,
phosphorus and other chemical mixtures to be added to water, which
will trigger eutrophication (swamping) in the lake, a vivid example
of adversary effects prescribed in the law. Besides this, there is
a proposal to increase water drainage by 70 million square meters,
i.e. to make 170 million square meters 240 million square meters,
which is a deadly hazard for the lake, as we will lose our strategic
reserve of the freshwater and we will finally lose the lake…”

Water ecosystem expert Seyran Minasyan says during the years
of blockade and energy crisis (early 1990s) Armenia survived due
to Sevan, using its water to generate electric power and its fish
as source of food. Talking about the condition of the lake today,
he says it is in a very unbalanced state – indices improve by some
criteria, but get worse by many others.

“There is irreversible decrease of the phosphorous level and increase
of nitrogen. What used to make Sevan exclusive to the world, is no
longer there. Recent researches show that fish as strongly resistant
to changes as carp has undergone anthropogenic change on a DNA level.

Attempts to prevent the increase of water level poses a huge threat of
potential harm the lake would longer recover from. There is increase
of biomass in the lake, but it is not fish. It would take years and
finances to stop the beginning eutrophication [the enrichment of
waters by inorganic plant nutrients, namely nitrogen and phosphorus,
due to human activities.] and reverse the ongoing processes,” he says.

On March 19, the parliament will discuss the bills on water removal
from Lake Sevan and fish breeding, but before then the ecological
alliance of Armenia (some 50 organizations) concerned over the fate
of Armenia’s biggest freshwater source, as well as Orhus centers,
environmental NGOs, scientists and scholars, concerned citizens have
addressed an open letter to the president and the government to stop
additional water drainage.

“INSULTING THE POLICE BEYOND THE POWER OF ORDINARY CITIZENS”: ARMENIAN ACTIVIST VARDGES GASPARI ON TRIAL

03.17.2014 22:36 epress.am

Civil society activist Vardges Gaspari (pictured), as before, has an
extremely low assessment of the dignity of RA Police Chief Vladimir
Gasparyan and several of his subordinates including Aida Demirkhanyan.

Gaspari said this himself today in the Court of First Instance of
Kentron and Nork-Marash Administrative Districts (presiding Judge Edik
Avetisyan), which is examining police employee Aida Demirkhanyan’s
lawsuit against the activist, from whom she is asking for compensation
of 1 million AMD for insulting her dignity.

The reason for the lawsuit was Gaspari’s statements against the police
and Demirkhanyan, in particular. The latter was insulted when in court
Gaspari said that some representatives of the police “are more filthy
and unworthy than the prostitutes that work near Yerevan Lake”.

During the conversation with Demirkhanyan, Gaspari tried to find
out whether his words were perceived as an insult directed at an
individual or a police employee. Demirkhanyan said she considers the
words “stupid, uneducated, liar” as a personal insult.

At the trial, Gaspari repeatedly claimed that he had no personal
relationship with the plaintiff, stressing that transferring the
incident to the plane of personal relationships is extremely insulting.

The activist said that his position remains unchanged: the assessments
he made of the police are extremely mild.

After the court session, Gaspari told reporters that the court,
in all likelihood, will rule in favor of the plaintiff.

“The police with this move directly appeals to possible extortion. I
don’t think that anyone was offended by my remarks, since it’s beyond
my and ordinary citizens’ power and extremely difficult to insult a
police officer. Police officers are such that they are not offended
by their superiors’ latest sexual expletives and remarks — how can
they be offended by my words? When [former Yerevan Deputy Police Chief]
Robert Melkonyan was pushing his officers onto demonstrators, he issued
the most perverse curses […] now how can I insult that officer?”

The day and time of the next court date will be announced later.

Note, the police employee’s complaint was submitted after the session
in the Administrative Court, which examined another lawsuit against
Gaspari in which the Armenian Police is asking for 50,000 AMD from
the activist for calling law enforcement officers “villain, scoundrel,
criminal” while protesting outside the Harsnaqar restaurant.

PROPOSED LEGISLATION TO COUNTERACT ‘FAKE’ USER ACCOUNTS WILL COMPEL ARMENIAN USERS TO ‘EMIGRATE’: STATEMENT

03.17.2014 13:33 epress.am

A legislative initiative circulated by a group of lawmakers in
Armenia’s National Assembly toamend Article1087.1 of the RA Civil Code
[AM] designed to counteract so-called “fake” online user accounts
has caused serious concern among the local media and active users
of primarily social networking sites (SNS). Recall, Article 1087.1
refers to the order and terms of compensation for harm caused to honor,
dignity, and business reputation.

Nine organizations issued a statement on March 14 in which they
argue that the draft law doesn’t so much solve the real problems as
it creates news ones:

“The vast majority of these conflicts, which the aforementioned
legislative amendments are designed to regulate, can be resolved
within the framework of the current legislation, judicial precedents,
and relevant interpretations of the RA Court of Cassation, as well
as the means of complaint that exist on the social networking sites
[themselves].

“At the same time, this legislative initiative contains threats to
freedom of speech, the realization of citizens’ right to receive
and impart information, and the protection of personal data. It
will not have a significant impact on the flow of information that
is defamatory, insulting, or an invasion of privacy. In addition,
the legislative amendments will restrict/immobilize/bind/fetter bona
fide participants of information processes, compel Armenian Internet
users to ’emigrate’ to sections of the virtual domain beyond the
control of national jurisdiction, and create conditions for the
selective application of the law and citizens’ responsibility for
subjective reasons.

[…]

“We call on

“the authors of the legislative amendment to withdraw the bill;

“the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia to devote the
parliamentary hearings scheduled for March 31 to conceptual approaches
to regulate the Internet, as without this, isolated legislative
initiatives cannot be effective;

“the legislative and executive authorities of the Republic of Armenia
to develop legislation related to the field of modern communications
solely in the context of standards developed and adopted by European
institutions and in full compliance with them;

“all interested individuals and organizations to realize the importance
of self-regulation in the field of information and contribute to the
task of developing its mechanisms in Armenia,” reads the statement,
in part.

Signatories:

Yerevan Press Club Media Diversity Institute – Armenia Committee
to Protect Freedom of Expression Media Initiatives Center (formerly
Internews Armenia) Freedom of Information Center of Armenia Asparez
Journalists Club Public Journalism Club Media Ethics Observatory
Information Disputes Council

EXPERT: ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT IS DOING ITS BEST TO MAKE ITS PEOPLE FLARE UP

by Erik Abrahamyan

Monday, March 17, 16:33

The Government of Armenia is doing its best to make its people
flare up, Executive Director of the Union of Information Technology
Enterprises of Armenia Karen Vardanyan said on Monday.

“In Ukraine the key troublemaker was the right-wing sector, in Armenia
it is the Government,” Vardanyan said.

He hopes that the Mar 22 protests against compulsory accumulative
pension in Armenia will give answers to many questions.

Economist Vardan Bostanjyan said that nobody knows how the Government
will use the people’s compulsory pension contributions.

The voluntary accumulative pension system was introduced in Armenia
on Jan 1 2011. The system became compulsory on Jan 1 2014. According
to the law the minimal pension in the country will be equal to the
minimum wage, while the basic pension will total 150% of the minimum
wage. The compulsory accumulative pension system covers the citizens
born after Jan 1 1974 (the citizens below 40). Starting Jan 1 2014,
5% of their salaries are transferred to their personal accumulative
accounts. The government transfers a similar amount (but no more
than 25,000 drams). People are displeased not only with the mandatory
component of the system but also with the absurd situation following
the Constitutional Court’s decision of January 24 that suspended some
provisions of the Law on the Accumulative Pension until the Court
considers its constitutionality on Mar 28 2014. The Court suspended
Article 76 stipulating responsibility for refusing to make compulsory
pension contributions or failing to do in time and Paragraph 3 of
Article 86 saying that the employees covered by the system should
choose a pension fund. Nevertheless, the Finance Ministry of Armenia
urges employers to calculate and make accumulative pension payments
and employees to choose a pension fund and a manager for it. The
picketers call the given approach a robbery.

“SEVAN IS AGAIN EXPOSED TO IRREVERSIBLE RISKS”

17:57 | March 17,2014 | Politics

On 17 March the public addressed a letter to Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan in regard with the projects to be implemented in Lake Sevan,
Ecolur reports.

The letter particularly says,

“Dear Mr. President

We are appealing You as a guarantor of the national safety and rule
of law in Armenia.

In 2009, you demonstrated political will and banned the implementation
of the project to transfer gold extraction facility from Ararat to
Sotq, which posed huge risks for Lake Sevan. Nowadays Sevan is again
exposed to irreversible risks, risks that two governmental resolutions
bear. First, to make amendments to RA Law “On state complex program
on the recovery, preservation, reproduction and natural development
and usage of Lake Sevan ecosystem”, which say to make annual water
outlets from Lake Sevan from 170 million cubic meters to 240 million
cubic meters. Secondly, the complex program on recovery of trout
reserves and developing fish breeding in Lake Sevan.

These two projects contradict to RA Law ‘On Lake Sevan’, which aims to
conserve Lake Sevan as a national and strategic priority of Armenia…

Mr. President, we think these two project should be stopped
demonstrating political will and deeply grounded scientific approach,
as only in this case we will preserve our national treasure and the
strategic reserves of freshwater unique for all the humanity.

ARMENIAN OPPOSITIONIST: CRIMEA REFERENDUM HAS ONCE AGAIN DEMONSTRATED DOMINATION OF THE RIGHT OF SELF- DETERMINATION OVER THE PRINCIPLE OF TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY

by Ashot Safaryan

ARMINFO
Monday, March 17, 11:57

The March 15 referendum in Crimea has once again demonstrated
domination of the right of self-determination over the principle of
territorial integrity, Stepan Safaryan, Secretary of Heritage Party,
told ArmInfo.

Drawing parallels between the developments in Crimea and the Karabakh
conflict, Safaryan said that the reasons of the given two conflict
situations differ radically. “The Karabakh conflict originated after
the collapse of the Soviet Union, while the situation in Crimea is a
result of Kyev’s aspiration to the West. Nagorno Karabakh exercised
its right to self-determination as a result of the war it was force
into. Meanwhile, Crimea did it as a result of Russia’s intervention.

These are quite significant differences. The peoples’ right to
self-determination is consistently dominating on the other principles.

In this aspect, the situations are similar,” Safaryan said.

Forecasting further developments amid confrontation of Russia and
the West, Heritage representative drew attention to the damage
the developments around Crimea has caused to the Kremlin-initiated
Customs Union.

“Now Russia will hardly manage to look attractive and constructive
to its potential partners. Actually, the developments in Ukraine has
become a serious obstacle to Moscow’s integration projects,” he said.

To recall, vast majority of voters in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea
(96.77%) voted for joining Russia on the March 16 referendum.

Another 2.51% voted for restoration of the Constitution of the
Republic of Crimea of 1992 and for leaving the region as part of
Ukraine. Another 0.72% of ballots were recognized invalid.

DE NOUVEAUX PRETS DE LA BANQUE MONDIALE POUR SOUTENIR LES ECOLES ARMENIENNES

Education

La Banque mondiale a annonce vendredi le deblocage de 30 millions
de dollars de prets pour l’Armenie, pret qui sera essentiellement
consacre a la renovation des ecoles secondaires et a la facilitation
de l’accès des enfants aux jardins d’enfants dans les zones rurales.

La banque a egalement dit que le gouvernement armenien deboursera 7,5
millions de dollars de ses propres fonds pour le projet d’amelioration
de l’education, qui doit etre finance par les deux prets remboursables
en 25 ans a faible interet.

” Le projet appuiera l’amelioration de la preparation a l’ecole pour
les enfants entrant dans l’enseignement primaire et les conditions
physiques dans les lycees “, est indique dans un communique. ” Il
va aussi promouvoir des liens plus etroits entre les etablissements
d’enseignement superieur et le marche du travail en Armenie. ”

En particulier, indique le communique, ” 17 lycees seront rehabilites
aux normes de construction et de securite. Les lycees rehabilites
dispenseront un enseignement plus approprie et de meilleurs
environnements d’apprentissage pour les etudiants”.

Le projet vise egalement a ameliorer la maturite scolaire chez les
jeunes enfants vivant dans les petites villes et villages. ” Le projet
portera sur la preparation a l’ecole de plus de 12 000 enfants de 5
ans vivant dans les zones rurales pauvres qui manquent de services
prescolaires “, a dit Cristian Aedo, un fonctionnaire de la Banque
mondiale en charge du projet.

Les nouveaux prets soulignent le statut de la Banque mondiale en tant
que premier bailleur de fonds etranger et creancier de l’Armenie.

L’institution basee a Washington a fourni 1,8 milliard de dollars
de credit a moindre interet et des subventions dans le pays depuis
son independance.

lundi 17 mars 2014, Claire (c)armenews.com

Research carried out by Manchester University: There is high risk of
revolution in Azerbaijan

17:01 10/03/2014 » REGION

According to the study carried out by researchers at the University of
Manchester, there is a high risk of political upheaval in Azerbaijan,
states the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) article.

Online activism can be an accurate indicator of where revolutions
might take place next, according to University of Manchester research.
Thus they came to a conclusion that Argentina, Georgia, the
Philippines and Brazil are claimed to be most at risk of upheaval,
according to this measure.

The Revolution 2.0 Index was developed last year and identified
Ukraine as the most likely to see political upheaval. This index sees
revolution being forecast by computer experts rather than political
analysts.

The index was designed as a teaching tool by Prof Richard Heeks, from
Manchester University’s Centre for Development Informatics, which
looks at how data and information technology interact with society. It
provides a different view of how regimes are put at risk by protest
movements, looking at online factors rather than street
demonstrations. Ukraine headed the list in 2013.
At the lowest end of this 39-country index are countries such as Iran,
Cuba and China.

High on the list are countries such as Kenya, Nigeria and Azerbaijan,
the BBC reports.

According to the Prof Heeks the index does show the differences in how
political protests are able to develop and organize online. According
to him this also raises the prospect of regimes under pressure wanting
to take more restrictive control over online activity.

Source: Panorama.am

ARMENIE
L’Arménie se souvient de Sumgait

Vingt-six ans se sont écoulés depuis les pogroms de Soumgaït en
Azerbaïdjan et en dépit de nombreux faits et de preuves sur les
massacres d’Arméniens la partie arménienne n’a pas toujours été en
mesure de mettre cette question dans un cadre juridique.

À la fin de Février 1988, lorsque des rassemblements pour
l’unification du Karabagh avec l’Arménie se déroulaient à Stepanakert
et Erevan, les Arméniens ont fait la connaissance de Sumgait, une
ville non loin de Bakou qui est devenu synonyme de nettoyages
ethniques et le début d’un conflit arméno-azerbaïdjanais sanglante.
Des témoins oculaires disent que des foules frénétiques d’Azéris armés
de btons, de haches et de barres de fer ont attaqué les Arméniens
dans la ville, ont fait irruption dans leurs maisons et les ont
brutalement tué seulement en raison de leur appartenance ethnique.

Selon les données officielles, plus de trois douzaines d’Arméniens ont
été tués dans les massacres qui ont commencé le 26 Février et ont duré
jusqu’au 1er mars. Des centaines d’Arméniens ont été tués selon le
nombre de morts non officiel.

Marina Grigoryan, chef du projet sur le génocide ordinaire, menée par
le Centre d’information et des relations publiques de l’administration
présidentielle arménienne dans le but d’étudier les actes de génocide
de 1988-1992, la création de films et de sites web, a déclaré lors
d’une rencontre avec des journalistes mercredi que ils préparent un
deuxième livre de comptes rendu d’environ 50 témoins qui éclairent sur
un certain nombre de circonstances jusque là inconnues des massacres
de Soumgaït. Le premier volume du livre de témoignages a été publié en
1989, par Samvel Shahmuradyan, qui prévoyait également la poursuite du
livre, mais a été tué dans la guerre du Haut-Karabagh.

Marina Grigoryan a dit que même s’il est largement admis qu’un
génocide a eu lieu à Sumgait du 26 au 29 février les histoires des
gens suggèrent que les tueries se sont poursuivies jusqu’à avril 1988.

> a déclaré Grigoryan.

Selon Marina Grigoryan, les pogroms de Soumgaït sont beaucoup plus
connus que les pogroms de Bakou en Janvier 1990, à l’époque, de
nombreux faits n’avaient pas été encore cachés et même les certificats
de décès délivrés pour les personnes tuées mentionnaient les causes
réelles de la mort – coups et torture. Dans le cas des massacres de
Bakou, les certificats mentionnent des crises cardiaques, des
accidents vasculaires cérébraux ou d’autres maladies comme les causes
de la mort. En outre, l’enquête a été réalisée après les événements de
Soumgaït, il y a beaucoup de documents, des écrits ont été faits.

De nombreux observateurs estiment que c’est à cause de sa passivité
politique que la partie arménienne n’a pas été en mesure d’utiliser
ces arguments.

Larisa Alaverdyan présidente de l’ONG contre la violation de la loi se
souvient qu’en 1989 l’Arménie soviétique a fourni certains documents à
l’Organisation des Nations Unies et que même une réunion a eu lieu,
mais que plus tard, cette question a été reléguée au second plan par
le mouvement de libération.

FOOTBALL
L’Arménie en 41e position au dernier classement de la FIFA

Dans le dernier classement publié par la Fédération internationale de
football (FIFA) le 13 mars, l’Arménie est classée 41e équipe mondiale,
en recul de 11 places en un mois. L’Arménie qui avait obtenu la 30e
place -son meilleur classement historique- mais qui a enregistré une
défaite le 5 mars en match amical face à la Russie (0-2). L’Espagne
est en tête de ce classement devant l’Allemagne, l’Argentine et le
Portugal. La Russie est 19e, l’Azerbaïdjan 91e, la Géorgie 99e.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 16 mars 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com