Author: Babajanian Karo

Zhamanak: Tax agencies conducts audit at ENA

Monday, November 25, 2013

‘Zhamanak’ daily writes that Director General of Electric Networks of
Armenia (ENA) Company Yevgeny Bibin went to Moscow earlier this week
to get the go-ahead to close down the large users’ service department
of ENA, but he failed to do it. Meanwhile, employees of the company
held protests, demanding Bibin’s resignation.

One protester told the paper that Bibin affords luxuries and large
expenses that have brought the company to the verge of bankruptcy.

According to `Zhamanak’, Armenian tax agencies have been conducting an
audit at ENA for several weeks.

23.11.2013, 12:16
Aysor.am

Hovik Abrahamyan invites Germán Cardoso to Armenia

17:08, 23 November, 2013

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The Head of the National Assembly of
the Republic of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan held a
meeting with the Chairman of the House of Representatives Germán
Cardoso in Montevideo within the frameworks of the official
visit to the Eastern Republic of Uruguay. `Armenpress’ was informed
from the Department for Mass Media and Public Relations
of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia that welcoming the
Head of the National Assembly, Germán Cardoso stated that
Uruguay attaches importance to the development of the multilateral
relations with Armenia. According to the Chairman of the House of
Representatives, inter-parliamentary cooperation plays a significant
role in the development and deepening of the inter-state relations.
Germán Cardoso added that such visits contribute to the strengthening
of friendship between the two countries.

The Head of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Hovik
Abrahamyan also stressed the importance of the deepening
of the bilateral cooperation in different directions and the
cooperation between the two parliaments in different formats. Hovik
Abrahamyan invited Germán Cardoso to Armenia with an official visit.

Politician: Road Police must share responsibility for road accident
involving actor Vardan Petrosyan

by David Stepanyan
Friday, November 22, 16:27

The Road Police must share the responsibility for the road accident
involving artist Vardan Petrosyan, Anahit Bakhshyan, a member of
Yerevan Elders Council, representative of Heritage Party, told
reporters.

On 21 November, the Armenian Court of Appeal has rejected the motion
of the well-known Armenian actor Vardan Petrosyan’s lawyer and left
the actor in custody. To note, Petrosyan’s lawyer Nikolay Baghdasaryan
applied for changing the measure of restraint against the artist.
Baghdasaryan has told the media that the court will present the
grounds for the given decision within the next three days. Heritage
Party members Stepan Safaryan, Anahit Bakhshyan, Preparliament
members, numerous public figures, politicians, men of culture,
participants of the civil initiative “We Support Vardan Petrosyan”, as
well as the actor’s relatives and colleagues have gathered near the
Court of Appeal to support Petrosyan. They are all chanting “Shame on
you!” addressing the court.

“Petrosyan’s case needs a thorough inquiry. Given the terrible state
of the roads in the country, particularly the one the accident
happened on, this factor is one of the others that leads to road
accidents. The asphalt on Yeghvard highway was not good. There were
neither lights nor road signs there. That is why the authorities and
the Road Police should share the responsibility for what had
happened,” Bakhshyan said.

On November 6, a decision was taken to detain Vardan Petrosyan. To
recall, on October 20 two cars collided on the Yeghvard-Yerevan
highway, killing two young men and injuring 5. The well-known Armenian
actor Vardan Petrosyan was among the injured. He underwent surgery and
was discharged from hospital on November 3. Petrosyan was arrested on
November 9 by the decision of the Kotayk Court of General Jurisdiction
and was taken to the pretrial detention facility from the court hall.
He is charged under Article 242 Part 3 (vehicular homicide) and may
face 4-7 years in prison.

To note, Petrosyan has recently come out with anti-governmental
statements. Some experts think that the criminal case against
Petrosyan may be grounded by the actor’s speeches during oppositionist
Raffi Hovannisian’s rallies. During those rallies, Petrosyan severely
criticized the Armenian authorities.

Þ63AF70-5379-11E3-B92D0EB7C0D21663

ARMENIE-ALLEMAGNE
Le btiment rénové de l’Ambassade d’Allemagne à Erévan a ouvert ses portes

Après plusieurs mois de travaux, l’Ambassade d’Allemagne à Erévan,
entièrement rénovée vient d’être inaugurée vendredi. Edouard
Nalbandian, le ministre arménien des Affaires étrangères, présent à
cette réouverture a affirmé « je me rappelle que votre Ambassade était
situé des de modestes bureaux de l’hôtel Hrazdan, mais désormais vous
serez dans ce beau btiment complètement rénové et fonctionnel. La vie
de l’Ambassade d’Allemagne traduit le développement des relations de
nos deux pays et le parcours réalisé depuis vingt ans ». Le chef de le
diplomatie arménienne a rappelé que l’Allemagne fut l’un des premiers
pays à établir des relations diplomatiques avec l’Arménie
indépendante. Il ajouta « aujourd’hui des relations politiques très
fortes et un dialogue se sont installées entre nos deux pays avec un
développement de la coopération dans le domaine économique, culturel
et éducatif. Il y a à peine quelques jours j’étais à Berlin et mes
entretiens avec mon homologue allemand Guido Westerwelle et les plus
hautes autorités de l’Etat allemand furent l’expression de ce dialogue
fort entre nos deux pays ».

Krikor Amirzayan `

dimanche 24 novembre 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

Abugidainfo, Ethiopia
Nov 22 2013

Such inhuman and shameful treatment of Ethiopian migrants living in
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States should be stopped immediately.

by Garbis Korajian

I am a fourth generation Ethiopian-Armenian and, like many Armenians
who lived in Ethiopia, my grandparents took refuge in Ethiopia after
the Armenian Genocide. Those Armenians who were fortunate enough to
have escaped the Turkish atrocities and mass murders of the early 20th
century repatriated to different countries around the world. Ethiopia
was a country that provided unconditional support and welcomed
Armenians with open arms. We lived and prospered in Ethiopia where we
maintained our institutions such as our churches, schools and
community centers without any interference from the Government of
Ethiopia and its citizens. We were treated as brothers and sisters and
lived a good life. Although I now live in Canada, I still have a lot
of love for Ethiopia and the people. Therefore, I find it necessary to
say a few words about the current mistreatment of Ethiopians in the
Gulf States including Saudi Arabia which has been the focus of
despicable mistreatment of Ethiopians. For various reasons, mostly
economic, today’s young Ethiopians are traveling abroad looking for
better opportunities of life through employment. For women, this is
mostly domestic help and for men, it would be construction or any
other job they can find. Needless to say, life for Ethiopians looking
for work and to survive in these countries is not easy. On top of
these hardships, the Ethiopians who are law abiding and hard working
members of society are facing persecution beyond anyone’s imagination.
There is no justification for such cruel behavior.

It is important to remember that one day, the citizens and its
descendants from the countries that are committing such atrocities on
helpless Ethiopians may very well seek refuge in Ethiopia as was done
1500 years ago. As always, what goes around always comes around. Do
not forget your history vis-a-vis Ethiopia and stop mistreating our
Ethiopian brothers and sisters living in your country. Start treating
them with decency and respect.

ADAM SCHIFF TO DISPLAY ARMENIAN ORPHANS’ RUG ON CAPITOL HILL

17:25, 22 November, 2013

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. The famous American Foreign Policy
periodical reacted in its blog on the issues of the exhibition of the
rug woven by the Armenian orphans sheltered in the “Ghazir” orphanage
of the Near East and the survivors of the Armenian genocide. 31
U.S. congressmen sent letters to the White House urging to take it out
for the exhibition but they received no answer. “If the White House
does not allow to take out the rug to the ceremony of the Smithson’s’
institute, I intend to organize a ceremony on the hill of the Capitol
for the purpose of its exhibition, ” Congressman Adam Schiff stated it
at a telephone conversation with Foreign Policy, “Armenpress” reports.

The Armenian orphan rug measures 11’7″ x 18’5″ and is comprised of
4,404,206 individual knots. It took Armenian girls in the Ghazir
Orphanage of the Near East Relief Society 10 months to weave. The
rug was delivered to the President Coolidge on December 4, 2025, in
time for Christmas, with a label on the back of the rug, which reads
“IN GOLDEN RULE GRATITUDE TO PRESIDENT COOLIDGE.”

According to Missak Kelechian, an expert on this topic, the gift of
the Armenian Orphan rug was widely covered in U.S. media, including
in the New York Times in 1925 and the Washington Post in 1926.

Armenian Communist leader steps down

15:48 – 23.11.13

The Armenian Communist Party accepted at its plenary session on
Saturday the resignation of its long-time leader.

Ruben Tovmasyan, who was the party’s first secretary in the past 13
years, confirmed the report to Tert.am, saying that his bid quitting
office had met objections by the communist members at the meeting.

`It isn’t good for me to say they unanimously wanted to reject and
prevent me from stepping down, but my resignation was accepted and I
was dismissed,’ he said.

Armenian News – Tert.am

Investment or Takeover? – U.S. Energy Giant to Pump $180 Million into
Armenia’s Hydro-Power Sector

22:41, November 23, 2013

ContourGlobal, a multi-million dollar U.S. company that develops,
acquires and operates electric-power resources around the world, has
announced that it will invest $180 million in Armenia’s hydro-power
sector.

This was the number one news item emanating from yesterday’s
U.S.-Armenia Joint Economic Task Force (USATF) meeting in Washington,
D.C.

While yesterday’s announcement only talked about ContourGlobal’s
`investment’ in Armenia’s hydro-power sector, in June of this year the
company issued a statement saying that it was engaged in `advanced
negotiations’ with the Armenian government regarding the takeover of
plants on the Vorotan River in Armenia’s Syunik Province.

While the Armenian Ministry of Energy initially declined to comment
about the possible takeover by ContourGlobal, just one day later the
government confirmed that it was negotiating with the U.S. company
regarding the sale of the state owned power plants on the Vorotan.

At the time, Energy Minister Armen Movsisyan failed to clarify whether
or not a deal to privatize the plants was in the offing, claiming that
the government hadn’t reached a final decision and that other
companies had expressed an interest in the Vorotan facility.

So far, the Armenian government has remained tight lipped about
yesterday’s announcement in Washington, D.C/

The Vorotan Complex, built during the late Soviet period, has an
operational capacity of over 400 megawatts, making it almost as
powerful as the Metsamor nuclear facility.

Yesterday’s meeting, attended by an Armenian delegation headed by
Minister of Finance Davit Sargsyan and Armenia Ambassador to the U.S.
Tatoul Margaryan, was the 22nd annual gathering of the USATF which
seeks to promote trade and investment between the U.S. and Armenia.

According to the U.S. Department of State website: `This investment,
which is expected to be partially financed by the U.S. Overseas
Private Investment Corporation, represents the largest U.S. private
investment in Armenia’s history, and the first U.S. investment in
Armenia’s critical energy sector.’

The U.S. was represented by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs Eric Rubin, USAID Assistant
Administrator Paige Alexander, and Coordinator of Assistance for
Europe Daniel Rosenblum.

The United States highlighted Armenia’s selection as one of 20 focus
countries for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID)
Science, Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships.

Through this initiative, both countries have agreed to undertake a
signature effort in the areas of clean energy and water.

Armenia and Russia interested in joint exploitation of the main sport
complex in Tsaghkadzor

by Karina Manukyan

ARMINFO
Saturday, November 23, 13:51

A delegation of the Russian Security Council, Ministry of Sport and
the Olympic Committee paid a working visit to Armenia on November
20-22. The delegation was headed by Russian Deputy Minister of Sport
Pavel Novikov.

Secretary of the Armenian National Security Council Artur Baghdasaryan
received the Russian delegation. The meeting covered a wide spectrum
of issues related to promotion of the Armenian-Russian cooperation in
the field of sport. The parties expressed the interest in joint
exploitation of the sport complex in Tsaghkadzor in compliance with
the legislation of Armenia and Russia. They also discussed issues
concerning establishment of joint Armenian-Russian infrastructures to
train Armenian and Russian sportsmen.

Armenian and Russian Deputy Ministers of Sport Pavel Novikov and
Nazaret Mnatsakanyan signed a letter of intent.

Passenger dies at Yerevan airport

November 23, 2013 | 15:19

YEREVAN. – A tragic incident occurred, on Friday afternoon, at
Zvartnots International Airport of Armenia’s capital city Yerevan.

A plane, en route from the United Arab Emirates to Ukraine, made an
emergency landing at Zvartnots.

The cause for the forced landing was the fact that a passenger aboard
the plane had fallen ill, the airport sources of Armenian News-NEWS.am
informed.

By landing the plane they attempted to provide medical assistance to
the passenger, but the 37-year-old man could not be saved.

He is believed to have been a resident of Ukraine.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am