Author: Babajanian Karo

MANVEL SARKISYAN: “MASS MIGRATION FROM ARMENIA IS NO ACCIDENT”

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Oct 23 2013

23 October 2013 – 11:28am
Interview by David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza

The head of the Armenian Center of National and Strategic Studies,
Manvel Sarkisyan, told Vestnik Kavkaza about new opportunities for the
authorities in the context of the degradation of political processes
and opposition parties in Armenia.

– The results of the parliamentary and presidential elections cast a
gloom over the Armenian society. What are challenges does this mental
condition contain?

– People feel depressed because the situation is not adequate to
the capacity of the society. The Armenian society trusted various
politicians, and every failure of another promise to change Armenia
caused a new shock. The current situation is a greater strategic
problem than integration projects which are being discussed actively
and even than security issues. The reasons are in impunity and
irresponsibility of the authorities in Armenia. Not only in power,
but also in the society I cannot see a person who would like to find
out what has happened and try to overcome the situation. Thus, mass
migration is not accidental. People try to escape, as they feel huge
mental pressure and feel useless in their own state. We shouldn’t
blame the conflict between the West and Russia for everything; these
views are outdated. New processes are taking place in the Armenian
society; and interested people could try to realize them. However,
the political leadership prevents any changes, new opinions and
responsibility. Today we live in the open world, continuing living
in the alien world, playing by the rules of alien people.

– Speaking about integration projects, is the problem of contradictions
between projects of European and Eurasian integration contrived
for Armenia?

– For certain reasons, I treat prospects of the projects skeptically. I
think European and Eurasian integration projects are topics, rather
than a goal for establishing new relations in the region. My view
is based on the absence of details about the scales of the projects
of Association with Europe and the Eurasian Union. They are only
about talking. However, real geopolitical relations will be based on
these talks in the future. If Europe demands signing the association
agreement, why does it require conditions which are too difficult to
fulfill for Yerevan?

– If the civil society doesn’t determine anything, how can you explain
certain success in fighting against the authorities’ despotism in
the past two years?

– Recent years, including 2012, were years of unprecedented civil
activity in the country. The fact had to lead to collapse of common
things and appearance of new courses. It has happened in Armenia,
and the current stagnation doesn’t mean a thing. The main result
of the civil activity wasn’t settlement of the problems which civil
activists planned to solve, even though the political aura which has
been establishing in Armenia for decades was dispelled. We all have
realized that everything that happened in the past was pointless.

Today people come to the streets, protest and shut off roads – it is
the best expression of civil activeness. People don’t allow a group
of oligarchs to damage nature. And there are a lot of examples.

– Has society realized that people should fight for their rights by
themselves, as politicians won’t do it?

– Yes, it has. Political processes maintain, their forms change, and
the society has realized it in the process of development of social
movements. Party attacks at social movements are a unique phenomenon
which confirms this. Why did our parties keep silence about social
activists on Taksim in Turkey? The Turks showed their country, the
whole world, and the Armenian demagogues what a social movement is. A
struggle for Mashtotsa Park could lead to similar consequences as
the struggle for Gezi Park, if there was no clan suppression, first
of all by the so-called opposition parties. A struggle for one tree
turns into a revolution under misunderstanding by the regime. People
don’t realize it in Armenia, while the Turks show it.

– Considering the absence of a reaction, it is well understood by
the Armenian authorities…

– They understand clearly what a result can be; but they have already
failed. They played people for fools for two years, trying to save
their party life and gain profit. So, there is ideological frustration
in Armenia. People in Armenia ask why the Turks and Brazilians manage
to do it and we don’t. They think in a different way; they eliminated
stereotypes which are typical for us. And the new era, the new time
will give an answer to this question.

AZERBAIJAN PILES UP THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF DEMOCRACY

The Washington Times
October 22, 2013 Tuesday

Aliyev’s re-election ensures a continued partnership with America

By Elin Suleymanov SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Azerbaijan and the United States are partners in addressing the world’s
most difficult challenges from fighting terrorism internationally
to serving shoulder-to-shoulder in Afghanistan and working together
to ensure peaceful future for the Afghan people. In fact, one of
only a few nations that have made an early commitment to post-2014
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan accounts for some 40 percent of transit via
the vital Northern Distribution Network supporting the International
Security Assistance Force.

Our nations also work to together promote Europe’s energy security
by bringing Caspian natural gas to the European markets through the
strategic Southern Gas Corridor, including the recently announced
Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, a choice enthusiastically endorsed by the
United States. Importantly, Azerbaijan, a nation proud of its Muslim
heritage, stands as a strong supporter of intercultural dialogue and
is a good friend of Israel. The U.S.-Azerbaijan partnership has been a
key factor in transforming our region and remains an integral part of
the international effort to bring about a lasting and international
law-based settlement to the protracted Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict,
which resulted in displacement of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani
civilians.

This partnership is part and parcel of the vision that the citizens
of Azerbaijan voted for in the recent presidential election. The
election produced no political surprises, as the incumbent, President
Ilham Aliyev, won a landslide victory on Oct. 9. Mr. Aliyev’s victory
was universally predicted by an overwhelming majority of pundits as
well as by numerous pre-election surveys and polls. The incumbent’s
undisputed advantage over the opposition comes, among other things,
as a result of Azerbaijan’s rapid social and economic growth – the
nation’s gross domestic product grew threefold over the past decade –
and Mr. Aliyev’s steady leadership chartering a pragmatic, independent
course in a complicated region of the world. In addition, the confusion
among the opposition, which resulted in nominating a self-described
“backup candidate,” Jamil Hasanli, a historian with rather limited
political exposure, further diminished the chances of Mr. Aliyev’s
opponents. Therefore, unable to mount a credible political challenge,
the Azerbaijani opposition predictably lost by a significant margin.

However, this simple and clear reality of Azerbaijan’s political
discourse seems to be frequently overlooked in the media coverage
of the election. Any nationwide election with 5.1 million registered
voters is never a perfect process. There were likely irregularities
and problems, which need to be addressed in accordance with the law.

Still, the latest election was observed by more than 50,000 observers,
including some 1,400 international observers representing 100 countries
and 50 international and nongovernmental organizations. Some 1,000
webcams in various precincts allowed real-time monitoring of the
process. The candidates campaigned and addressed rallies freely
around the country, and each was allocated the equal time free of
charge during televised debates, which were aired live on national TV
every other day during the campaign. These debates provided political
entertainment for viewers, easy quotes for Azerbaijan’s critics and
illustrated the noisy pluralism of Azerbaijan’s system.

Following the election, most international observers, including the
European Union, Council of Europe delegations and the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe observation mission head,
described the election as a step forward. They noted the well-organized
electoral process and called for addressing existing problems they
monitored. In a stark contrast, the OSCE mission from the Office of
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights issued a highly negative
report, unfortunately echoed by the U.S. State Department.

Interestingly, this controversial assessment of the election is not
shared by the Azerbaijani citizens, who spoke loud and clear by voting
for Mr. Aliyev.

Democracies consist of fundamental building blocks, which include
pluralism, diversity, tolerance, gender equality and economic
opportunities. Having established the first-ever democratic republic
with a predominantly Muslim population in the world in 1918 and
granted equal voting rights for women ahead of the United States, the
Azerbaijani people have established these fundamentals. In so doing,
they also shattered long-entrenched misperceptions. Likewise, today,
we should strengthen the strategic U.S.-Azerbaijan partnership and
continue making news by breaking existing convenient stereotypes,
not by imposing new ones.

Elin Suleymanov is Azerbaijan’s ambassador in Washington.

YSU STUDENTS PROTEST AGAINST EUROPEAN AGENCIES’ INDIFFERENCE TOWARD AZERBAIJANI AGGRESSION

October 23, 2013 | 17:31

YEREVAN. – The students of Yerevan State University on Wednesday
staged a protest action demanding, political assessment of the border
incident from European agencies, and OSCE in particular (photo).

The students were chanting “condemnation”, “compensation”, “we demand
justice” slogans while marching to the Yerevan office of OSCE. They
handed over a letter to the head of OSCE office Andrey Sorokin.

The students are indignant at international agencies’ indifference
in relation to Azerbaijani aggression. They are especially concerned
over inaction of OSCE, an organization carrying out mediatory efforts.

Andrey Sorokin said the office would inform about results after they
study the letter.

ZHAMANAK: MINISTER’S SON BOUGHT DRUGS IN IRAN

11:11 23/10/2013 ” DAILY PRESS

David Vardanyan, the son of Armenian Minister of Sport and Youth
Affairs Yuri Vardanyan, who was arrested on suspicion of drug
smuggling, bought hashish in Iran, transported it across the border
and was detained in Armenia, Zhamanak reports.

The paper notes that the criminal case (illegal turnover and smuggling
of drugs) was sent to the Department of Cases of Particular Importance
of the Main Investigative Department of the Armenian police.

Source: Panorama.am

TURKISH POLICE CATCH SUSPECT IN HRANT DINK MURDER CASE

October 23, 2013 | 18:45

The main suspect in murder of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was
caught by police.

Erhan Tuncel has been caught in Istanbul’s Kumburgaz district,
Milliyet newspaper reported.

The Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court on September 17 began the trial
into the killing of Hrant Dink after a decision by the Supreme Court
of Appeals overturned the Istanbul court’s first ruling on the murder.

During the session, the prosecution motioned the court to arrest
Erhan Tuncel, a prompter of Dink’s murder, who was released after
the issuance of the initial ruling on the murder case.

To note, on January 17, 2012 the Turkish court found Yasin Hayal guilty
of planning and organizing the murder of Hrant Dink-founder and chief
editor of Istanbul’s Agos Armenian bilingual weekly, who was gunned
down in 2007 in front of his office building-, and sentenced him to
life in prison. Erhan Tuncel, on the other hand, was found not guilty
of prompting Dink’s murder, and, instead, he was sentenced to ten
years and six months for an explosion in a McDonald’s restaurant.

But taking into account that Tuncel was already incarcerated for
that amount of time, the court ruled his release. The court also
found the nineteen other defendants not guilty of being members of
a terrorist organization.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT CONCERNED OVER BUDGET FULFILLMENT

October 23, 2013 | 16:37

YEREVAN. – Armenian budget expenditures for 2014 show an economic
decline, economist Ashot Yeghiazaryan said commenting on the draft
state budget for 2013.

“Armenia’s state budget revenues are set at 1trillion 127 billion
drams, expenses at 1 trillion 270 billion. Budget deficit is projected
to be around 110 billion drams, or about 3 percent of GDP,” he said
during the Wednesday media conference.

At the same time, he added, if the previously projected economic growth
made 6.3 percent, the present draft budget suggests 5.2-percent growth.

“So, the Armenian government is concerned over fulfilling of the
budget,” he resumed.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

COUNCIL OF JUDGES TO BE ESTABLISHED IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, October 23. /ARKA/. The Armenian government approved
today amendments to the judicial code and some laws to establish an
independent and self-governing institution of the judicial authorities
– the Council of Judges.

Armenian Justice Minister Hrayr Tovmasyan said the package implies
introduction of a new effective system obliging judges and courts to
submit reports. —0—-

– See more at:

BAKO SAHAKYAN ATTENDS JOINT MANEUVERS OF ARMENIAN AND KARABAKH RESCUERS

October 23, 2013 | 18:01

STEPANAKERT. – President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Bako Sahakyan took
part in the final stage of the joint command staff maneuvers with
the participation of the Artsakh rescue service and the Armenia’s
ministry for emergency situations units in the town of Shoushi.

In his speech, President Sahakyan underlined that the events have
shown high level of preparedness and technical equipment of the two
Armenian republics’ corresponding structures as well as the existence
of close cooperation.

Bako Sahakyan considered important holding such maneuvers, NKR
president’s press service reported.

President Sahakyan handed in awards and gifts to a group of
representatives of the NKR rescue service, the Armenian ministry for
emergency situations, and other structures.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

DINK MURDER SUSPECT SAYS POLICE SHOULD BE CALLED TO ACCOUNT

October 23, 2013 – 18:22 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – One of the main suspects in the assassination of
Turkish-Armenian journalist, Agos weekly editor-in-chief Hrant Dink
in 2007, Erhan Tuncel, whose whereabouts are unknown at the moment,
said he has no intention to escape.

Tuncel reportedly said he is going to produce new facts regarding
the Dink murder and surrender to the authorities.

“This murder showed that there is an organization higher than
Ergenekon, functioning in the country and it prevents exposure of the
crime,” he told Star, a Turkish newspaper. “I am a small participle
in this system. But if my arrest was ordered, the others must be
detained too. The gendarmerie of Tranzon should be called to account,
as its role in the murder is great. All knew that Dink is going to
be killed but took no action to prevent it.”

Ergenekon is the name given to an alleged clandestine, secularist
ultra-nationalist organization in Turkey with ties to members of
the country’s military and security forces. Ergenekon is by some
believed to be part of the “deep state”. Alleged members have been
indicted on charges of plotting to foment unrest, among other things
by assassinating intellectuals, politicians, judges, military staff,
and religious leaders, with the ultimate goal of toppling the incumbent
government.

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT IS ELIMINATED WHILE PRESIDENT’S AND PRIME MINISTER’S SALARIES DOUBLE

The National Assembly is discussing the draft law on a common system
of salaries of public employees. The government has submitted the
draft law to the parliament together with the draft budget 2014.

The draft law envisages raising the salaries of the president,
members of parliament and civil servants in 2014.

The chief of staff of the government Vache Gabrielyan stated that
the salaries which are high now will not be raised. He listed the
specialists of the Control Chamber, the staff of the independent
commission.

Vache Gabrielyan said the law envisages boosting the minimum net wage
to 70,000 drams by 2017. The minimum salary will be 50,000 in 2014,
55,000 in 2015, 62,000 in 2016.

“Is the government of the Republic of Armenia doing so well that Serzh
Sargsyan’s salary rises by 203%, the prime minister’s by 218%? Do
you think we’re doing so well and people in charge of things have
earned such a rise?” Member of Parliament Nikol Pashinyan inquired. He
noted that Serzh Sargsyan’s salary will mount to 1,300,000, the prime
minister’s salary will rise to 1,190,000 while the parliament adopts
the law on employment which eliminates 18,000 drams of unemployment
benefit.

Vache Gabrielyan did not answer these questions. He only said that
salaries of some officials were not raised over the past years,
which boosted corruption risks.

He also said there is no need to ask how much everyone gets. It is
necessary to ask whether Armenia is not falling behind the global
developments.

17:31 23/10/2013 Story from Lragir.am News: