Author: Babajanian Karo

FACE CONTROL TO ACCESS GOVERNMENT FEEDER

A huge part of profits of oligarchs comes from state procurement. The
flow chart “state procurement – kickbacks – enrichment of oligarchs and
officials” brings a tangible part of circulation in Armenia allowing
a group of people to generate profit “legally” at the expense of
the state.

This flow of actions is applied not only to budget funds but also
international loans. In certain cases international organizations
become part of this system, others put forth the precondition of
compliance with the legal system.

Now the government has decided not to allow big companies which submit
small reports to participate in state procurement. Since breaches
can be found in every report, it is evident that this is a revision
of the list of eligibility to access the government’s feeder.

Revision of this list started at the end of last year when Serzh
Sargsyan called a special conference on kickbacks. These processes
became more active after the revelations by Control Chamber, which
announced that 70% of government spending is at corruption risk. Serzh
Sargsyan dismissed this statement, saying that not 700 billion but
250-300 million drams are exposed to risk.

On August 1, the list of companies which will not be eligible for
participation in government procurement tenders will be released, and
it will become clear who remains close to the feeder. These companies
will be sent to drift freely, they will be told that they have grown
up enough to leave their “mother’s breast”. Go hunt on your own.

While it is clear that many companies may go bankrupt if they
are separated from the “breast” because the wealthy Armenians call
themselves big businessmen but their business is not built on the rules
of economic competition. Most of them lack business education, as well
as basic skills of management and marketing. They are used to making
money with the help of their access to state procurement contracts
and quotas, without competition and other economic “bullshit”. In
the open sea they would not survive a day.

It is interesting to know who will be on the list. Will they be
“political opponents” or the oligarchy? Which of them has more
pretensions? Or maybe state procurement has been cut, so it is just
necessary to cut the list of companies as well. What will the guideline
of the government be? Will it introduce face control?

Naira Hayrumyan 16:17 10/07/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

ARMENIAN ARBITER TO JUDGE ANAND VS. CARLSEN MATCH

July 10, 2013

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov appointed Armenia’s Ashot Vardapetyan
as the chief arbiter of the Anand vs.Carlsen World Championship match,
Armchess reported.

The match will be held on November 6-26in Chennai, India.

Vardapetyan was also the chief arbiter of the Anand vs. Gelfand World
Championship match held in Moscow last year.

NEWS.am Sport

JAMMING IN AZERBAIJAN: FOREIGN NEWS OUTLETS UNABLE TO BROADCAST

15:43, 10 July, 2013

YEREVAN, JULY 10, ARMENPRESS: As Azerbaijan’s October presidential
election approaches, the authorities seem more determined than ever
to restrict citizens’ access to information through controlling the
country’s media, taking steps to limit Internet freedom, and making
harsh examples of journalists who express critical opinions in order
to keep the broader media community in line. As reports Armenpress
referring to Al Jazeera now, it appears that Azerbaijanis are also
facing restrictions in accessing broadcast programmes from outside of
the country. Several foreign outlets have noted deliberate broadcast
interferences, known as jamming, and is a practice that violatesboth
international telecommunications regulations and human rights law.

The state has long dominated the broadcast media in Azerbaijan. Of
the country’s nine national television stations, three are directly
owned by the state, and the six private stations are heavily influenced
through the state’s control over advertising revenues.

The Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety has highlighted
discrepancies with the allocation of broadcasting licenses, calling
the procedure “highly political, biased, and non-transparent”,
preventing potentially critical media outlets from broadcasting within
the country.

Since January 2009, foreign broadcasters have been banned from
accessing national frequencies in Azerbaijan, a move that took the
Azerbaijani services of the BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
(RFE/RL), and Voice of America off the air, effectively eliminating
the only international sources of broadcast news in the country.

As a result, many Azerbaijanis are exposed only to the state’s version
of events, which prioritises coverage of President Ilham Aliyev and
First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva’s activities, idolizes the late former
President – and father of the current President – Heydar Aliyev, and
heavily skews or completely omits reporting on significant events
with political implications, such as anti-government protests or
trials of political prisoners.

In the absence of independent broadcasting within the country,
satellite broadcasts from outside the country have become increasingly
important, providing citizens with valuable access to independent
information and a rare glimpse of political views that differ from
those of the ruling party.

IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY REP: IRAN IS READY TO MEDIATE THE NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT IN CASE OF DESIRE OF THE CONFLICTING PARTIES

ARMINFO
by Marianna Lazarian

Tuesday, July 9, 16:03

Iran is ready to mediate the Nagorno Karabakh conflict in case of
desire of the conflicting parties, Abbas Araghchi, Iranian Foreign
Ministry representative told media, IRINN reports.

The Nagorno Karabakh conflict must be resolved via negotiations, he
said. So far the parties are interested in the conflict’s resolution
with help of the OSCE Minsk Group. However, he said, if Azerbaijan
and Armenia want, Iran is also ready to assist in resolution of
the conflict.

KIRO MANOYAN: MOLDAVIAN LAWYER’S BEHAVIOR IN ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT – INFLUENCE OF BIG MONEY

ARMINFO
Tuesday, July 9, 15:47

Behavior of Aurelia Grigoriu, Moldova’s Parliamentary Advocate, in the
Armenian Parliament is an influence of big money spent by Azerbaijan,
Kiro Manoyan, Head of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau’s
Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office, told media, Tuesday.

“It is very important for European officials to see how different
Armenia and Azerbaijan are, because in Baku the Moldavian Parliament
lawyer would hardly ever dare to make such a step and voice a pro-
Armenian position,” he said.

During the July 4 Pan-European Conference in Armenia’s National
Assembly, Aurelia Grigoriu, Moldova’s Parliamentary Advocate, blamed
Armenia for occupation of 20% of Azerbaijani lands. When making
her report dedicated to observation of human rights in the frozen
conflict zones, Grigoriu said that Armenia allegedly occupied 20%
of Azerbaijan’s territory and committed genocide against Azeri people.

The statement aroused discontent of official Yerevan, and the Armenian
mass media slammed Grigoriu for being bribed by the Azeri authorities.

DIARBEKIR’S ST. GIRAGOS CHURCH FOUNDATION RECLAIMS ITS PROPERTY

12:37, 9 July, 2013

YEREVAN, JULY 9, ARMENPRESS: 17 pieces of property was returned to the
Saint Giragos Armenian Church Charitable Foundation in Diarbekir. As
reported by Armenpress, this was published by the Turkish
aykiridogrular.com website. In 2009 during the reconstruction works of
the Saint Giragos Church an Armenian-language property register was
found, according to which during the years of 1910-1921 190 estates
in 20 different neighborhoods belonging to Armenians living there
before were registered. After translating the register into Turkish,
the Saint Giragos Armenian Church Charitable Foundation in 2009
submitted an application to the Regional Directorate of Foundations
for the return of the registered real estate that had been taken over
by the Turkish state.

After the clarification of the details of the submitted application,
the Regional Directorate of Foundations adopted a decision to return
17 estates with a territory of about 15,000 square meters to the
Armenian Foundation.

Vartkes Ergun Ayik, the chairman of the executive board of Saint
Giragos Armenian Church Charitable Foundation in Diarbekir expressed
his satisfaction on the return of the property stating:

“The fields and gardens, which earlier belonged to our community,
are currently occupied. 17 estates of 190 have been returned. To
return the rest might be quite difficult”.

Vartkes Ergun Ayik informed that the major part of the money taken for
the reconstruction of the Saint Giragos Church has been paid, though
the foundation still has a debt of 1 million Turkish Liras to pay. He
stated that they need the assistance of the community to pay the debt.

St. Giragos is an Armenian Orthodox Church in Diarbekir, which
although out of use has recently been renovated in part as a sign of
reconciliation with the Christian community. It was seen as one of
the largest and most important Armenian churches in the Middle East,
with seven altars. It was closed during the Armenian Genocide in
1915-1916, and was returned to the local Armenian community in 1960,
although due to emigration in the 1970s and 1980s the local Armenian
community was much diminished. According to some art historians,
the church is the largest in the Middle East. The complex sprawls
over 3,200 square meters and includes priests’ houses, chapels and a
school. The church was seized by the German army in 1913 and served
as their local headquarters until 1918, when it was converted into
a fabric warehouse. St. Giragos had several unique architectural
features. Vartkes Ergun Ayik, the chairman of the executive board of
Saint Giragos Armenian Church Charitable Foundation in Diarbekir said:
“Churches normally have one altar but St. Giragos has seven altars.

Its original roof was covered with the earth from around the region. We
will do it again. The earth has been stripped of seeds to prevent the
growth of plants. It should also be vented regularly, every year.” The
chairman, whose family is originally from the southeastern province,
said the church was handed over to the foundation by the General
Directorate of Foundations in the 1950s and continued providing church
services until 1980. After the founding of the Turkish Republic in
1923, it was used as a state warehouse for canvas and fabrics, and
then, despite sporadic efforts by the dwindling Armenian community
in Diarbekir, it had been left to deteriorate and decay until 2009,
when a few Armenians born in Diarbekir but living in Istanbul,
formed a Foundation Board under the auspices of the Armenian Istanbul
Patriarchate, with the goal of reconstructing the church, as well
as to start a legal process to reclaim title to the significant land
holdings originally belonging to the church.

MOLDOVAN EXPERTS DENOUNCE GRIGORIU’S STATEMENTS IN YEREVAN

Tuesday,
July 09

Moldovan experts believe that Moldovan Ombudswoman Aurelia Grigoriu’s
Yerevan speech that caused a scandal was a serious mistake, according
to Publika.md.

“The speech digressed from human rights and a serious conclusion
aimed against Armenia became its subject. It was a conclusion related
to bilateral relations between the two states,” said Victor Zhuk,
Deputy Director of the Institute of Legal Studies of Moldova’s Academy
of Sciences.

“This issue exceeds the authority of a parliamentary advocate, such
a style of expression is characteristic for politicians. Ombudsman
shall work with specific cases,” the head of Moldovan human rights
organization CREDO Sergei Ostaf said.

“The sides, including Ms. Grigoriu, should consider this as an
incident and not a conflict. In this case there will be a result. But
if Ms. Grigoriu insists on her position, then the Republic of Moldova
will have to issue a statement and reject what was said,” Had of the
Institute of European Studies Viorel Chibotaru said.

We would remind you that during the conference “The European Standards
of the Rule of Law and the Limits of Discretion of Powers in the
Council of Europe Member States” held in Yerevan on July 4, Moldova’s
parliamentary advocate Aurelia Grigoriu made a pro-Azerbaijani speech
entitled “The Observance of Human Rights in Frozen Conflict Zones”,
calling Armenia an “aggressor country”.

Aurelia Grigoriu’s statements have been already denounced by member
of Moldova’s Constitutional Court Victor Popan who said a commission
will be set up in the Moldovan parliament to examine the statements
of Grigoriu.

In the words of the Moldovan parliament speaker Igor Korman, the
parliamentary committee on human rights will give an assessment of
Aurelia Grigoriu’s words. “I said openly to the parliamentary advocates
that it was an outrage mistake and such mistakes must not be made”.

TODAY, 13:50

Aysor.am

“YEREVAN PARK” TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN RIGA

13:04, July 9, 2013

A delegation headed by Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan visited the Saint
Grigor Lousavorich Armenian Church in the Latvian capital of Riga.

Parish priest Father Khosrov Stepanyan briefed Margaryan on the
history of the church built consecrated in 2011.

A site near the church will be turned into a park named after
Yerevan, Armenia’s capital. The park will be built jointly by the
Riga Municipality and the local Armenian community.

LES ARMEMENTS RUSSES VENDUS A L’AZERBAÏDJAN SONT-ILS DESTINES A FRAPPER LA POPULATION CIVILE ?

Dans un entretien a Aravot, le ” vice-PM ” du HK, Arthur Aghabekian,
ancien vice-Ministre de la Defense de l’Armenie, ne se dit pas autant
preoccupe par le desequilibre militaire que la vente d’armements russes
a l’Azerbaïdjan est susceptible de provoquer dans la region, que par
le caractère de ces equipements qui seraient de nature a frapper
la population civile. Il regrette que le partenaire strategique
de l’Armenie ait vendu des armes a l’Azerbaïdjan, qui, pendant les
eventuelles operations militaires, pourraient etre utilisees contre
la population de l’Armenie et du HK.

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Armenie en
date du 2 juillet 2013

mardi 9 juillet 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

LE LIVRE ” LES ARMENIENS ET LES TURCS ” A ETE PUBLIE EN ANGLAIS

Une traduction en anglais d’un livre de 400 pages du journaliste et
expert Tatul Hakobyan Armeniens et Turcs, de la guerre a la guerre
froide a la diplomatie a ete publie a Erevan en Avril 2013. Ce travail,
qui porte sur les relations armeno-turques depuis 1918 a la diplomatie
du football , est le resultat de huit annees de recherche, d’analyse
et voyages par l’auteur, qui est un expert de la Fondation Civilitas
a Erevan et correspondant de plusieurs journaux armeniens en Armenie
et en Diaspora.

La première version ” les Armeniens et les Turcs ” a ete publie en
armenien en utilisant orthographe classique occidentale et a ete
presentee a Beyrouth en Mars 2012. La version en armenien oriental
a ete presente a Erevan en Avril 2012.

L’editeur de la version anglaise est Nareg Seferian.

mardi 9 juillet 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com