Author: Babajanian Karo

L’AZERBAIDJAN VA AUGMENTER SES DEPENSES MILITAIRES EN 2013
Stephane

armenews.com
mercredi 5 decembre 2012

Le Parlement de l’Azerbaïdjan, en froid avec l’Armenie voisine, a
adopte vendredi un budget 2013 qui prevoit une augmentation de ses
depenses militaires malgre un ralentissement de la croissance.

Au total, le projet prevoit des revenus de 19,1 milliards de manats
azerbaïdjanais (18,7 milliards d’euros) et des depenses de 19,8
milliards de manats (19,4 milliards d’euros).

Les depenses militaires ont ete prevues a 1,5 milliard de manats
azerbaïdjanais (1,4 milliard d’euros), soit 0,9% de plus qu’en 2012.

Ces chiffres sont bases sur une prevision de croissance du produit
interieur brut de 5,3% (la Banque mondiale table sur 3,5%), après 5,7%
prevus en 2012, et une inflation de 5,7%.

L’Azerbaïdjan, ex-republique sovietique de 9,1 millions d’habitants
en majorite musulmans, et l’Armenie voisine se disputent depuis des
annees autour du Nagorny Karabakh, après une guerre qui a fait 30.000
morts et des centaines de milliers de refugies entre 1988 et 1994.

Cette region a majorite armenienne, rattachee a l’Azerbaïdjan pendant
la periode sovietique, et qui a proclame son independance, n’est pas
reconnue par la communaute internationale.

Un cessez-le-feu a ete signe en 1994, mais Bakou et Erevan n’arrivent
pas a se mettre d’accord sur le statut de la region qui reste une
source de tensions dans le Caucase du Sud, une zone strategique situee
entre l’Iran, la Russie et la Turquie.

mercredi 5 decembre 2012, Stephane ©armenews.com

VAHAN HOVHANNESYAN : IL Y A UNE TENTATIVE DE RETOURNER LES ARABES CONTRE LES ARMENIENS
Stephane

Le 8 novembre l’iniative ” Aidez votre Frère ” a envoye un troisième
avion cargo charge d’aide humanitaire a Alep. A son arrivee des medias
ont annonce que l’aide etait destinee pour la communaute armenienne
malgre l’annonce continue de la part des organisateurs que l’aide
sera distribuee non seulement aux Armeniens, mais aux Syriens aussi.

Le depute de la FRA Vahan Hovhannesyan et coordonnateur de l’initiative
a dit ” c’est un malentendu, un malentendu artificiellement cree parce
que la Prelature Armenienne d’Alep et le Croissant Rouge de Syrie
sont enregistres comme les destinataires de l’aide. Ils recoivent la
cargaison ensemble et ainsi, parler de discrimination dans ce cas, est
clairement un malentendu et artificiel ” a dit Vahan Hovhannesyan. Il a
aussi mentionne que quand la première cargaison a ete distribuee chacun
a vu qu’elle a ete fourni aux familles syriennes dans le besoin, aussi.

” Nous ne l’avons jamais fait un secret de cela. La motivation
première de l’initiative etait la situation difficile a laquelle nos
compatriotes font face. Mais nous comprenons parfaitement qu’ils ont
des frères syriens, des voisins avec qui ils sont et avec qui ils
partagent non seulement des relations amicales mais fraternelles,
aussi. Naturellement, quand nous parlons de l’aide nous parlons non
seulement des Armeniens mais des Syriens, aussi “.

Vahan Hovhannesyan est sûr que cette tentative est le travail
de quelques groupes politiques qui essayent toujours de tirer la
communaute armenienne dans le conflit.

” Les armeniens tiennent a leur neutralite ; ils sont les citoyens
legaux de la Syrie, ils n’entrent pas dans le conflit. Et puisque un
autre effort de les entraîner dans le conflit a echoue ils essayent
maintenant de le realiser avec des declarations irresponsables et
tourner les cercles arabes contre les armeniens, meme en ce qui
concerne les conditions de vie. Ils se sont concentres sur les
conditions de vie. Tout ceci est simplement des fabrications, mais
pour les cercles qui ne sont pas developpes cela pourrait avoir des
consequences dangereuses et mener a plus de pression sur les armeniens
” a souligne Vahan Hovhannesyan.

Lilit Galstyan, coordonnatrice de l’initiative, a dit que pour
l’instant le programme est capable d’aider les armeniens qui sont
venus de Syrie avec seulement des vivres et des couvertures. Le reste
doit etre fourni par l’Etat armenien.

mercredi 5 decembre 2012, Stephane ©armenews.com

LE PARTI AU POUVOIR REMPORTE LES ELECTIONS LEGISLATIVES PARTIELLES AU MILIEU DE RECLAMATIONS POUR FRAUDE
Stephane

armenews.com
mercredi 5 decembre 2012

Deux candidats soutenus par le Parti republicain d’Armenie (HHK)
ont remporte la victoire lors d’elections legislatives partielles
que leurs challengers de l’opposition ont condamne les qualifiant
de frauduleuses.

Les resultats du vote officielle montrent que les candidats, Robert
Sarkissian et Arman Sahakian, ont gagne dans les circonscriptions
uninominales a Erevan et dans la deuxième ville du pays Gyumri
respectivement avec plus de 80 pour cent des voix.

Robert Sarkissian est le frère du maire d’Erevan taron Markarian et
Arman Sahakian un homme d’affaires repute proche de Mikael Minasian
le gendre du president Serge Sarkissian.

Dans les deux circonscriptions, des correspondants de RFE / RL ont vu
des dizaines de partisans du gouvernement se tenir près des bureaux
de vote afin de clairement influencer le vote. Ils ont faire face a
des menaces et a l’intimidation de certains d’entre eux.

Stepan Safarian du parti de l’opposition Zharangutyun (Heritage),qui
s’est presente contre Robert Sarkissian dans la circonscription
englobant le nord d’Erevan les districts d’Avan et Nor Nork, a
refuse de reconnaître sa defaite qualifiant le vote de ” honteux
“. L’equipe de campagne de Safarian parle d’achat de voix très
repandue, d’intimidation des residents, et de vote multiple par des
electeurs soudoyees ou de sympathisants du gouvernement avant meme
la fermeture des bureaux de vote dimanche soir.

Une correspondante de RFE / RL a vu ces groupes de jeunes
suspects debout a l’exterieur des bureaux de vote et des bâtiments
residentiels. Certains d’entre eux tenaient des feuilles de papier
avec des listes de noms ecrits. Ils ont ete visiblement agace quand
elle a commence a filmer des minibus vides gares devant une auberge
de Nor Nork.

” Telephonez-leur et dites-leur de venir ” a dit l’un des hommes a
une femme alors qu’il lui a donne une liste peu de temps après.

La femme a reagi avec fureur lorsque la correspondante lui a demande
d’expliquer quels etaient les noms qui etaient repertories sur la
liste. Elle a frappe la camera video de la journaliste et arrache
son enregistreur vocal.

Plusieurs autres hommes juste a l’exterieur d’un bureau de vote a
Avan ont essaye d’interferer avec le travail de la journaliste. Un
membre de la commission electorale locale a minimise leur presence
ce qui est interdit par le Code electoral d’Armenie. ” Aujourd’hui
est un jour ferie ” a-t-il declare a RFE / RL (Azatutyun.am).

Le president de la commission electorale du district, Gegham
Hayrapetian, a de meme declare qu’il n’y a rien de mal avec la
presence de ces personnes. Seda Safarian, la s~ur du candidat du
parti Zharangutyun fait reference a ces hommes comme des ” voyous de
quartier ” intimidant les electeurs.

Gegham Hayrapetian a egalement insiste sur le fait que l’election a
ete libre et equitable.

Arman Sahakian, le vainqueur des elections a Gyumri, face a des
allegations similaires de son challenger Murad Grigorian membre du
Congrès National Armenien (HAK). Murad Grigorian a affirme que le HHK
a assure la victoire ecrasante de son candidat via l’intimidation
et l’achat de voix. ” Les autorites ont demontre que leur cynisme
et l’impudence n’a pas de limites ” a dit Murad Grigorian au servie
armenien de RFE / RL (Azatutyun.am).

À travers la circonscription de Gyumri, qui couvre egalement plusieurs
villages voisins, un correspondant de RFE / RL a vu des groupes
soutenant le HHK a l’exterieur des bureaux de vote et des residences.

Certains d’entre eux ont prononce les noms des electeurs et ont
discute de leur transport vers des lieux de vote par telephone.

Un homme a menace de casser la camera du journaliste après avoir
remarque qu’il etait filme. ” N’avons-nous pas le droit de rester dans
notre quartier ? Je vais maintenant prendre votre appareil photo et
de le detruire “, lui a-t-il dit.

A Akhourian, une petite ville juste en dehors de Gyumri, une
douzaine d’hommes etaient occupes a faire des appels telephoniques
a l’exterieur d’un bureau de vote. ” Mon cher, prenez les gens de la
famille et venez, ou tout simplement dites leur de se preparer afin
que nous puissions aller les chercher ” a crie un jeune homme dans
son telephone.

Arman Sahakian a affirme qu’il a gagne de facon juste et carre.

Pour sa part, le vice-president de la commission electorale du
district, Maxim Shahbazian, a declare que l’election de Gyumri etait
” ideale “.

mercredi 5 decembre 2012, Stephane ©armenews.com

RUSSIAN “THREATS” TO AZERBAIJAN

Yeni Musavat
Nov 30 2012
Azerbaijan

[Translated from Azeri]

The Baku-based daily, Yeni Musavat, quoted the Russian Lenta.ru news
website listing several ways that Russia is exerting “pressure” on
Azerbaijan, including the use of newly-created pro-Russian Azerbaijani
diaspora and Lezgin minority groups in the country. The paper also
spoke about Russia’s media war against Azerbaijan.

Lenta.ru also wrote that the Kremlin is seeking to stir up the
situation in Azerbaijan due to its “imperialistic ambitions”,
especially ahead of the 2013 presidential elections in Azerbaijan.

Lenta.ru said that Russia is unhappy with several issues, including
problems related to the lease of Qabala RLS to Russia and the planned
construction of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline.

Ethnic card

The paper quoted a passage from Lenta.ru saying that a Kremlin plan
to divide Azerbaijan using Lezgi separatism would be the worst case
scenario for Azerbaijan.

The website recalled Moscow’s decision to host the “Lezgi Federal
National-Cultural Autonomy” and “Avar Federal National-Cultural
Autonomy” conferences, adding that those conference had been supported
by the Russian Foreign Ministry and Kremlin. The website said that
almost half a year after the conferences were held, Azerbaijani media
are still concerned by Moscow’s apparent show of support for these
ethnic groups. Meanwhile, a recent visit by Russian Ambassador to
Azerbaijan Vladimir Dorokhin to Azerbaijan’s Zaqatala District, where
Lezgis and Avars live in large numbers, has been viewed in Azerbaijan
as part of “Russia’s separatist activities against Azerbaijan”,
the website said.

Union of Billionaires

Lenta.ru also focused on a newly-established Azerbaijani diaspora
organization dubbed the “Union of Billionaires”, which has drawn much
criticism in Azerbaijan.

The website said that the recent deterioration of ties between
Azerbaijan and Russia started on 28 September after the creation of
the Union of Azerbaijani Organizations in Russia. The author of the
article cited the Azerbaijani haqqin.az website as saying that the
administration of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev directly orders
articles to be written attacking this organization. The website
recalled that the Union of Azerbaijani Organizations of Russia is
chaired by former Deputy Prime Minister Abbas Abbasov who was known
for his pro-Russian stance.

Lenta.ru went on to quote political analyst Rasim Musabayov as saying
that the creation of the Union of Azerbaijani Organizations of Russia
was politically motivated and that the organization’s activities
opposed Azerbaijani interests. It was also mentioned in the Lenta.ru
article that Azerbaijan was angered by a meeting of a member of the
organization, Soyun Sadiqov, with the Union of Armenians in Russia,
which Baku considers to have been initiated by the Kremlin.

Military intervention

The Lenta.ru article also speculated about a possible Russian military
attack against Azerbaijan. It said that Baku is afraid of a repetition
of the 2008 Georgian “scenario” in Azerbaijan, adding that during
the war against Georgia, Russia had counted on “separatist movements”.

However, the website said that such a scenario is less likely given
Azerbaijan’s significant energy resources and its role in the region.

The website said that the lack of distinct boundaries on the Caspian
Sea is another factor that could contribute to increasing tensions in
the region. It noted that both Russia and Azerbaijan are strengthening
their military power on the Caspian Sea.

“Media war”

“One can understand to what extent the [Azerbaijani] government
worries about the ‘northern threat’ by [reading] the article published
[recently] in the official state newspaper Azarbaycan,” Yeni Musavat
wrote. The opposition paper wrote that the newspaper Azarbaycan blamed
“certain circles” within Russia for disseminating critical reports
about Azerbaijan in the British press.

“The author has learned that [former] KGB officer Aleksandr [Alexander]
Lebedev, who lives in London, is behind several British media outlets
– The Independent, The Daily Mail and its Sunday edition, The Mail
on Sunday [actually, Lebedev owns the London Evening Standard,
The Independent, the Independent on Sunday and the i newspaper] –
that harshly criticize the Azerbaijani government on an almost daily
basis,” the opposition paper went on to say. It added that criticism
of the Azerbaijani government in the aforementioned media outlets is
initiated by “anti-Azerbaijani circles” in Russia.

The opposition paper noted that Azerbaijani-Russian ties became tense
after Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency in March 2012. The
report noted that a meeting of the CIS heads of state will be held in
Ashgabat on 5 December and whether or not Putin will decide to hold a
bilateral meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will be an
indication of Russia’s policy towards Azerbaijan. The report recalled
that at the last meeting of CIS countries held in summer 2012, Putin
did not hold a meeting with Ilham Aliyev.

[Translated from Azeri]

ARMENIA: SUBSIDISED MORTGAGES STILL TOO COSTLY FOR MOST
By Gayane Asryan

Institute for War and Peace Reporting
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #667
Dec 3 2012
UK

Officials say reduced-rate loans are the best the government can do
to help first-time buyers at the moment.

A programme to help young families in Armenia acquire their first
homes has been running for nearly three years, but potential buyers
complain that it is expensive and bureaucratic.

Since the scheme was launched in January 2010, about 950 families
have used it to buy properties, about half of them in Yerevan.

The programme requires young couples to come up with a deposit of
30 per cent of the purchase price in the capital Yerevan, or ten
per cent elsewhere. The government subsidises the mortgage rate by
two percentage points in Yerevan and four elsewhere. Despite this,
however, the interest rates are high by Armenian standards, at 8.5-9
per cent in the capital and 6.5-7 outside it.

Both the deposit and the mortgage payments are a deterrent to many
potential buyers.

“At first, the programme looked like a life-saver, but in practice it
was problematic because of the size of the deposit. We had to ask our
parents for 12,000 [US] dollars so that we could pay the 30 per cent
deposit,” said Liana Yeghiazaryan, a 31-year-old journalist in Yerevan.

Nvard Zakaryan, a 26-year-old working in the tourist industry, said,
“A couple on an average salary should steer clear of it, since it
creates the misleading impression that if you scrape together the
funds, you can take out a mortgage. But if you do, you won’t be able
to survive and pay off 250,000 drams [620 dollars] a month.”

Zakaryan said the banks had refused her a mortgage under the programme
because she did not earn enough.

“When they found out how much my boyfriend and I earned, three banks
refused to give us credit, saying that a [combined monthly] wage of
240,000 drams wasn’t enough for the scheme,” she said. “The programme
is supposed to be designed for young people on an average salary,
which in Armenia is 120,000 drams. Why didn’t they make it clear this
is actually a programme for families on high salaries?”

Deputy Finance Minister Varden Aramyan conceded that the scheme was
unaffordable for many young families.

“However, you have to recognise that even in the current conditions,
there are a lot of people who want to take part,” he added.

Other officials said they doubted there was a viable alternative.

“The programme isn’t ideal, of course, and it could never have been,
since it was always going to be a loan scheme albeit with lower
interest rates,” Armen Papyan, head of the youth policy department at
the ministry for sport and young people. “That means a young family
has to have a stable monthly income, plus disposable income to repay
the loan. At the moment, though, this is the best way the government
has of tackling the problem.”

Papyan advised couples to demand a written statement from banks that
refused them loans, so that they could appeal against the decision.

One difficulty that Zakaryan and others have come up against is that
friends, neighbours and extended family members used to be accepted
as guarantors of the loan, but the rules have been changed so that
only parents, aunts or uncles are allowed.

“This creates more problems – we had wanted my godfather to act as
guarantor,” Zakaryan said.

Another problem is that couples are only eligible to join the scheme
if their combined age is under 60. the average age of marriage is
rising in Armenia, to 28 for men and 25 for women.

Naira Nersisyan, 27, got married last year, and she is still living
with her husband’s family.

“Our monthly income is about 400,000 drams [1,000 dollars]. We did our
best to get on the scheme since it would have allowed us to buy a flat
at a better price than on the open market. But it hasn’t worked out.

Our combined age is over the set limit.”

Nersisyan said some bank staff had hinted that they would overlook
the age issue in return for a bribe, but she said, “My husband is
highly principled, and no matter how hard I tried to persuade him not
to rule out that option, he was resolved not to pay a penny in bribes.”

Gayane Asryan is a reporter with eMedia.am in Armenia.

BILATERAL MEETING HELD BETWEEN THE PRESIDENTS OF GEORGIA AND ARMENIA

The Messenger
Dec 4 2012
Georgia

Tuesday, December 4 The President of Georgia arrived in Yerevan
on November 30, where he participated in the working of the second
Eastern Partnership Summit. The President of Georgia met with the
President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan at the Presidential Palace of
Armenia, bilaterally, within the scope of the visit. The deepening of
cooperation between the neighboring countries and issues of regional
security were the main topics of discussion during the meeting. The
leaders discussed the recent developments in Georgia.

As the President of Georgia noted, Armenia is Georgia’s reliable
partner and the relationship between the two nations must develop even
more intensively. According to him, this relationship is exemplary
for the entire region. The Head of State noted that both Georgia
and Armenia are members of the Eastern Partnership which have common
European values.

An official welcoming ceremony was held at the Zvartnots International
Airport where Mikheil Saakashvili was greeted by the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian.

TURKISH ENERGY MINISTER BANNED FROM LANDING IN IRAQ

December 4, 2012 – 19:28 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – A plane carrying Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz
to an energy conference in Iraqi Kurdistan was denied permission to
land on Tuesday, December 4 by the central government in Baghdad,
a Turkish energy ministry official said, according to Reuters.

The plane, which was en route from Istanbul to the northern Iraqi
city of Arbil, was forced to land in Turkey’s Kayseri, southeast of
the capital Ankara, the official said.

The plane would not seek permission to land again and the minister
would now not attend the conference, the official said.

It was not immediately clear why the minister’s private aircraft had
been denied permission and officials in Baghdad were not immediately
available for comment.

Ties between Ankara and Baghdad have been strained for the past year
since Shi’ite Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the arrest
of Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, based on allegations that
he ran death squads. Turkey is now giving sanctuary to Hashemi.

TIGRAN KARAPETYAN INTENDS TO GO TO AFRICA

06:44 pm | December 03, 2012 | Politics

Leader of the People’s Party (ZhK) Tigran Karapetyan, who has recently
returned from Cuba, would like to go to some other place, e.g. Africa.

After living with people’s troubles and concerns for 13 years, Mr
Karapetyan has decided to eventually pay attention to himself. The
ZhK leader is not going to participate in the 2013 presidential
race either.

Mr Karapetyan refused to speak about the fate of his ALM Holding and
its rating. Instead, he predicted the upcoming developments in the
political domain.

“Political forces are reaching agreements and these are the forces
that rely on Western forces or Russia to assist them in achieving
victory,” he said.

Being engaged in politics for more than 20 years the ZhK leader
concluded that nothing will change in Armenia until people revolt to
protect their rights.

POPULATION-PAID CONSTRUCTION IN TEN MONTHS SURGED BY 39.4 PERCENT TO 67.4 BILLION DRAMS: ARMSTAT

YEREVAN, December 3. / ARKA /. Population-paid construction in the
first ten months of this year surged by 39.4 percent year-on-year
to 67.4 billion drams, according to the latest numbers released by
Armenia’s National Statistical Service (ArmStat). It said 63.04 billion
drams of that amount were spent on construction and installation work.

Population-paid construction accounted for 21.4 percent in the overall
volume of construction implemented in the reporting period of time.

Corporate-paid construction accounted for 49.1% (about 154.7 billion
drams), 8.2% (25.8 billion) were paid by money from foreign loans
and 16.3% (more than 51.5 billion drams) came from government budget.

The total volume of capital construction in the reporting period
funded by all sources amounted to about 315.1 billion drams. The
overall volume of construction was said to have dropped by 1.2%
from a year before. ($ 1 – 405.32 drams). -0-

MINISTRY OF DEFENSE DELAYED THE MONEY, THE SOLDIER DIED

10:40 – 03.12.2012

A soldier, Arthur Qocharian, who was suffering from acute blood disease
died on December 2, in Moscow. Defense Ministry of Armenia had promised
to take care of all expenses of the surgery, i.e. paying all the costs
that may come across during the soldier’s treatment. Such announcement
by the ministry has been made only after “We won’t be silent” movement
had raised the issue. The ministry, however, did not send the necessary
amount to the hospital. “Ministry of Defense delayed the money. The
doctors told me that if my son has been delivered to Moscow a month
ago they would have been able to treat him. I won’t be silent after
I bury my son. Everyone must know how much this country’s generals
value a soldier’s life”, said Romik Qocharyan, Arthur’s father to
“We won’t be silent”.