Author: Babajanian Karo

Armenia’s processing industry reaches significant progress to become a
regional leader

YEREVAN, October 19. /ARKA/. Armenia’s processing industry has made
significant progress in recent years to have become a regional leader,
Armenian Agriculture Minister Sergo Karapetyan said at the ArmProd
EXPO 2012 international exhibition opening ceremony in Yerevan.

`In recent years, Armenia started paying great attention to
development, improvement and re-equipment of processing industry
companies as an important component of agriculture,’ he said.

The minister also stressed the necessity of establishment effective
ties among production, market, processing and exports. He said the
ministry is doing whatever necessary to establish such ties.

According to official statistical data, the processing industry’s
Jan-August 2012 output amounted to AMD 429.9 billion showing 11.9%
year-on-year growth. ($1- AMD 406.13). -0—-

Armenia to have ten branded hotels in few years: Minister

YEREVAN, October 19. / ARKA /. The number of branded hotels in Armenia
is expected to grow to 10 in a few years, Armenian economy minister
Tigran Davtian said to journalists today. He said there are now
several branded hotels in Armenia, like Marriott and Golden Tulip
hotels in Yerevan. The second Marriott hotel will be built in the
resort town of Tsakhkadzor.

He said there are four Best Western hotels and another one is set to
open next year. Also in 2013, Armenia will have Hyatt and Kempinski
branded hotels.

According to the minister, the seasonal demand for hotel rooms in
Armenia exceeds supply, which is a good signal for the opening of new
hotels. He also said five, three-and two-star hotels need also to be
built.

Earlier this month The Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced signing an
agreement with Ginekar Company on the management of the first in the
CIS branded Hyatt Place hotel in Yerevan, scheduled to open in the
Armenian capital in the spring of 2013.

On October 4 the government of Armenia gave green light today to
selling a government building on Republican Square that houses the
ministries of foreign affairs and Diaspora. The historical building
will be sold to Tango Company for $51.271 million. The building was
built in the 1940’s. Its total space is 14,000 square meters. The
government said the buyer has committed to invest as much as required
to remodel the building into a five-star hotel by preserving its
historical and cultural appearance.

Earlier, the chief architect of Yerevan Narek Sargsyan, said the
building may be sold to Kempinski Hotels Group. In late 2011 there
were 200 hotels in Armenia, with the bulk in Yerevan and resort towns
of Tsakhkadzor, Sevan, Jermuk and Dilijan. -0-

ARMENIE-DEMOGRAPHIE
L’Arménie va offrir un million de drams pour le 3e et 4e enfant en 2014

Le gouvernement arménien vient de décider dans son plan de budget
2013-2015 qu’à partir de 2014 d’allouer une prime d’un million de
drams pour 3e ou 4e enfant. Cette somme sera portée à 1,5 million pour
le 5e enfant. Selon Vanig Babadjanian, l’un des responsables du
ministère chargé de social et de la démographie, le gouvernement
arménien étudie sérieusement les solutions pour donner au pays une
croissance démographique. En 2002 l’Arménie enregistrait 32 229
naissances. En 2011 ce chiffre était de 43 340. La tendance est à la
hausse. Mais la population arménienne vieillit également. Le
gouvernement arménien par son soutien en faveur de la hausse de la
natalité soutient la croissance démographie, sujet crucial pour
l’Arménie.

Si ce même gouvernement pouvait également agir pour freiner le nombre
importants de citoyens qui quittent la République, l’objectif serait
atteint…

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 20 octobre 2012,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

ARMENIE-SYRIE
L’aide de l’Arménie à la Syrie médiatisée par Damas

La télévision officielle syrienne a montré lors de ses informations,
un long reportage sur l’arrivée de l’aide humanitaire de l’Arménie aux
Arméniens d’Alep. Avec le titre « Début à Alep de la distribution de
l’aide de notre pays ami l’Arménie » titrait l’information diffusée à
une heure de grande écoute. « le peuple arménien arrive en aide au
peuple syrien qui fait face au terrorisme et aux privations » affirme
le reportage quelque peu propagandiste. Les images montrèrent
également Vahit Akad, le gouverneur d’Alep qui remerciait l’Arménie
pour venir ainsi en aide au peuple syrien dans ces moments difficiles
pour le pays. Rappelons que dans le cadre de « Aide ton frère »
l’Arménie a dépêché en Syrie 15 tonnes de produits de consommation
courante.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 20 octobre 2012,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

HAUT KARABAGH
La Journée de Stepanakert

Le Président de la République du Haut Karabagh Bako Sahakian a
participé samedi 13 octobre aux manifestations liées à la Journée de
la capitale, Stepanakert. Bako Sahakian désire donner à ces
célébrations une importance encore plus grande par le développement du
volet politique et culturel. De très nombreuses personnalités ont
participé aux manifestions de cette Journée de Stepanakert, dont Mgr
Barkév Mardirossian l’archevêque de l’Artsakh (Haut Karabagh), le
président de l’Assemblée nationale de la République du Haut Karabagh
Ashot Ghoulian, le Premier ministre Ara Haroutiounian.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 20 octobre 2012,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

REGRESSION OF DEMOCRACY IN ARMENIA

08:07 pm | Today | Politics

The state of democracy in Armenia is even worse than before May
2011 when under the pressure of rallies organized by the opposition
Armenian National Congress (HAK), Serzh Sargsyan granted pardon to the
last political prisoners jailed after the March 1, 2008 post-election
bloodshed.

The opinion was expressed by HAK member Vladimir Karapetyan during
a protest action outside the Prosecutor General’s Office in Yerevan
in support of the jailed opposition activist Tigran Arakelyan.

Armenia is getting more isolated, people are living in poverty,
authorities have not kept any of their campaign pledges… Harassment
of opposition activists has become widespread: not only HAK activists
but also representatives of other political forces are subjected to
persecution today. This again shows that the authorities are applying
the same methods and the same pressures in their relationship with
people and political forces,” he said.

Mr Karapetyan says protests against the authorities’ arbitrariness
are important as they enable people to pressurize the leadership
and signal our co-citizens that illegalities are continuing in the
country and the authorities are responsible for it.

Publicist Ara Nedolyan says regular civil acts-protests and
demonstrations – affect public awareness and show that ‘people have
a moral, political and civic position and continue to express it.’

“The fact that there is a public demand, there is a kind of social
protest – sustainable, long, sometimes crowded, sometimes not. But at
any time it can have its impact on the situation. We have citizens
who pose definite demanding and want to have them fulfilled,” says
the publicist.

Tigran Arakelyan was taken into custody after an August 2011 standoff
with police officers in a Yerevan park and was immediately charged
with hooliganism against a representative of law-enforcement body.

Arakelyan and his friends from the HAK – David Kiramijyan, Sargis
Gevorgyan and Artak Karapetyan were later sentenced to 2-6 years
in prison.

Four of the six factions of Armenian parliament condemned the court
ruling. The legal representatives of the HAK activists are presently
disputing the verdict in the Appellate Court.

ARMENIA’S ANTI-TRUST AGENCY REPRIMANDS SCR FOR FAILURES IN TICKET SALE

YEREVAN, October 19. / ARKA /. Armenia’s State Commission for
Protection of Economic Competition (SCPEC) issued a written reprimand
to the Russian-run South Caucasian Railway (SCR) for a number of
shortcomings in the process of sale and refund of tickets.

The SCPEC acted on complaints from a number of Armenian citizens that
the company refused to receive back tickets purchased electronically,
and when citizens returned the tickets it charged a 15% penalty of
the ticket price.

The citizens also complained that the online ticket purchase service
did not sell back tickets and did not allow to choose between the
available seats. SCPEC said there were other complaints that the
electronic tickets are 2000 drams more expensive.

“I would like to note that the company cooperated with us having
removed all the shortcomings, except the high cost of e-tickets,
but the SCR said in writing it will solve this problem. Therefore we
have issued only a reprimand,’ head of SCPEC, Artak Shaboyan said.

Armenian Railways was handed over to the South Caucasus Railways on
February 13, 2008 for 30-year concession management with a right to
prolong the management term for other 10 years. ($1-406.13 drams). -0-

ARMENIAN EXPERT WARNS AGAINST SERIOUS SHOCKS IN REGION

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 19, 2012 – 16:31 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – As President Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview
with Reuters, Armenian army is a guarantor of regional stability,
a political analyst noted.

According to Hrant Melikyan, with serious changes in the region
expected, Armenia must become a politically active participant of
the developments, with an increased fighting capacity as a must.

“Armenia has to be ready for serious shocks,” the expert said,
predicting activation of Turkish-Azeri union in the light of current
events.

ARMENIA CAN START TALKS WITH CHINA – ASHOT MANUCHARYAN

news.am
October 19, 2012 | 15:25

YEREVAN.- Russia is not the only possible partner in terms of improving
Armenia’s safety, former member of Karabakh committee Ashot Manucharyan
told reporters on Friday.

He said strong Armenia can spoil atmosphere of intolerance created
by Caspian Turks’ regime.

“Peoples of Azerbaijan, including Turks living in Caspian region,
are affected by the regime. It is an artificial project having an
objective to exterminate Armenians,” he said.

Lezgians, Talyshi and other nationalities are persecuted as well,
Manucharyan added. Member of Karabakh movement stressed Azerbaijan
must realize that language of threats is pointless.

He believes Armenia must seek ways of cooperation. The main talks are
held with Russia but they would hardly yield result. Armenia may turn
to China and NATO, Manucharyan said.

“We have Armenian-populated Javakhk where a NATO base can be deployed
once,” he added.

MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI’S MISTRESSES

2012-10-19 14:17:09

Georgian famous Reitingi magazine published an article, where names
of women are enumerated, which this or that media connected to Mikheil
Saakashvili’s name.

The magazine notes, that the women, about whom it’s spoken, can’t be
reached at the moment or they refuse to comment.

The list heads Saakashvili’s peer Ii Parulava. Then, as the magazine
reports, his former press speaker Alana Gagloeva became his lover,
which works in Georgian state apparatus until now.

Minister of Economics Veronika Kobalia is also among them, whom
Saakashvili convinced to come to Georgia from Canada, the magazine
reports.

Singer Sofo Nizhazaradze comes next, with whom Saakashvili met abroad.

Before the singer was performing in Russia, but after the war of 2008
she returned to her homeland. “One of the witnesses, which refused to
introduce himself, told the newspaper how Nijaradze and Kobalia had an
argument in the President’s Office. Reasons of scuffle aren’t known,
but we suppose, it may have been connected with fight of taking the
position of President’s mistress,” the magazine reports.

The name of Ukrainian singer Ivana Melay can also be found in the list,
which is also a TV host.

The magazine notes, that former famous reporter Nana Lezhava published
information how Saakashvili and Melay hosted in one of the hotels in
Batumi, and that all payments for Melay were made by Saakashvili.

No response was received from President’s administration on the
article.

Note, TV star Tina Kandelaki, which earlier informed, that she refused
Saakashvili’s offer of intimate affection, added, that sooner lots
of Georgian girls will tell about Saakashvili’s chasings.