Author: Babajanian Karo

NGO ENQUIRING: WHETHER NATURE PROTECTION MINISTER DOESN’T HAVE CONFLICT OF INTERESTS IN CASE OF ZANGEZOUR BIOSPHERIC COMPLEX

15:19 February 04, 2015

EcoLur

Arthur Ghazaryan, Chairman of Kapan-based “Union of Employees’ Rights
Protection” NGO has addressed an open enquiry to Nature Protection
Minister Aramayis Grigoryan on the outcomes of the projects carried
out in the specially protected areas of Syunik Region and financial
reporting.

The program on establishing Zangezour biospheric complex left as
inheritance from Ex Nature Protection Minister Aram Harutyunyan
to the current Ministry staff can’t be still determined either in
its geography, or regime or the frames of its own competences. The
government adopted a resolution 1465-N on establishing Zangezour
biospheric complex dated on 19 December 2013, i.e. one year ago. As
a result, Arevik National Park, Shikahogh State Reserve and a number
of nature sanctuaries under one protected area unit making it one of
the region’s largest protected areas – 60,000 ha.

The letter says, “The budget of KfW funded “Support to Specially
Protected Areas of Caucasus” program makes u 8.25 million Euros,
and a part of these funds are to be directed to the solution of
socio-economic problems of the adjacent communities to “Zangezour”
Biospheric Complex in Syunik Region”.

The studies of our experts showed that the borders of the specially
protected areas and adjacent communities in Syunik Region were not
specified.

The observations leave an impression that so far the projects
implemented in the specially protected areas in Syunik Region haven’t
been effective and the distribution of these funds was not transparent.

It was also found out that geoprospecting and soil management licenses
were issued for the land areas located within the borders of the
specially protected areas in Syunik Region and its adjacent areas.

However, Article 17(2) of RA Law “On Specially Protected Areas
of Nature” says, any geoprospecting in the recreation zone of the
national park is forbidden.

We would like to ask you to provide information on the following
within the statutory time period:

· List of the companies having conducted mapping of borders of
“Zangezour” biospheric complex in Syunik Region and the results of
their activities.

· What is the substantiation for such contradicting activities,
as mining within and beyond the borders of the specially protected
areas of nature,

· What are KfW-funded projects implemented in the Republic of Armenia
during the last 10 years,

· Which organizations have implemented environmental projects funded
by KfW in the Republic of Armenia during the last 10 years,

· We would like to ask you to provide us the outcomes of the projects
funded by KfW and participated and/or implemented by Nature Protection
Ministry and financial reporting in the Republic of Armenia during
the last 10 years.

CHARGES WERE BROUGHT AGAINST MILITARY OFFICIAL WHO CONSCRIPTED PERMYAKOV

Lragir.am
Law – 05 February 2015, 17:03

Charges have been brought against the military commissar of the
Russian town of Baley who has conscripted Valery Permyakov.

LifeNews reported that Permyakov, 19 accused of the murder of seven
people in Gyumri spent over a month in the psychiatric unit of the
military hospital during his service in Chita.

Doctors have noticed serious disorders in the conscript. Investigators
are currently finding out why the conscript who was under constant
examination of the psychiatrist was sent to Armenia.

The head of the Military Commission of Baley Town Alexander Loginovsky
and the commander of the military unit Yevgeniy Sotskov are suspected
of negligence that may cause tragedy.

The military commissar is charged for initially qualifying a boy
with mental disorder for military service, and provided a positive
characteristic in records.

It is also noted that when the military unit of Gyumri requested
transfer of conscripts from Chita to Armenia, the personnel of the
military unit forgot to inform that Valery Permyakov had passed
treatment.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL TO BE COMMEMORATED AT THE NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST

15:29, 05 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

The “National Prayer Breakfast”–a sixty-two year tradition in
Washington, held annually on the first Thursday in February–will
this year commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide,
accoridng to Eric Reeves, professor of English language and literature
at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Bringing together a wide range of guests from all fifty states and
more than 100 countries, the event is hosted by the U.S. Congress
and is designed to facilitate engagement between various social and
religious groups. This year President Obama and the Dalai Lama are
headline guests.

Eric Reeve notes that “he Armenian genocide should be commemorated
at a National Prayer Breakfast; the refusal to recognize this
genocide–and the belated recognition by much of the world–is a
failure to acknowledge the terrible suffering and destruction of the
Armenian people a century ago–it remains a ‘stain on our soul’.”

Eric Reeves is professor of English language and literature at Smith
College in Northampton, Massachusetts. He has spent the past seven
years working full-time as a Sudan researcher and analyst, publishing
extensively both in the US and internationally.

LOOKING AT ARMENIAN-IRANIAN RELATIONS THROUGH A RUSSIAN LENS

EurasiaNet.org
Feb 4 2015

February 4, 2015 – 1:29pm, by Alex Vatanka

The late January visit to Armenia by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad
Zarif got little media attention, but it could have significant
ramifications for geopolitics in Eurasia. Specifically, the trip
could help Russia gain a trade outlet that softens the blow of
Western sanctions.

Zarif’s two-day stay in Armenia had all the usual diplomatic pomp
and promises. It came on the back of an October visit to Tehran by a
high-ranking delegation led by Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan. In
Yerevan, Zarif met his counterpart Eduard Nalbandian and President
Serzh Sargsyan. The statements that followed those meetings included
plenty of the usual diplomatic rhetoric. But they also contained
hints that the trip was more than mere diplomatic reciprocity.

Most significantly, Zarif said Iran has “no restrictions” in
developing ties with Armenia, highlighting two areas in particular —
transportation and trade. On both fronts, the role of Russia looms
large. First, both Tehran and Yerevan have emphasized the need to
make progress on the construction of the Southern Armenia Railway,
a project that would better link the two countries. On the issue of
trade, Zarif praised Armenia’s accession to the Russia-dominated
Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and pointed to it as a potentially
important development for Iran.

According to Russia’s Interfax news agency, Zarif touted the EEU as
providing “broader cooperation options to Iran, Armenia and Russia.”

Iran’s ambassador to Moscow, Mehdi Sanai, earlier had said Tehran would
look into signing a memorandum of understanding in 2015 on trade with
the EEU. Such an agreement could spur an increase in Iranian exports to
Russia. Sanai has been on record as saying Iranian-Russian trade should
jump from the present $3-5 billion annually to $70 billion per year.

While Sanai’s suggested trade volume target may be far from realistic,
a desire to achieve even an incremental increase in Iranian-Russian
trade requires the two countries to significantly expand transportation
links. At the moment, there is not even regular air cargo service
between Iran and Russia.

This is where a Russian angle to the construction of the Southern
Armenia Railway is apparent. As Prime Minister Abrahamyan put it,
“Iran and Armenia can jointly produce agricultural products and export
them to Eurasia” via the proposed rail project. However, both Moscow
and Tehran evidently have much greater ambitions than just providing an
outlet to and from the small Armenian market. Iran’s trade with Armenia
is only about $300 million per year, a tiny share of its overall trade.

The 470-km rail project, which was first proposed in 2010 and has
remained largely on the drawing board since then, is seen as a
missing link in a North-South Eurasian trade corridor connecting
the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea. Its construction would give both
Iran and also Russia an important alternative outlet for trade. The
significance of the project is also reflected in President Vladimir
Putin’s announcement back in September 2013 to contribute $429 million
in financing for the multi-billion-dollar rail project. Given its
current economic woes, there’s no longer a guarantee that Russia
could follow through on Putin’s pledge. Still, Russian diplomatic
and economic interests in Iran are intensifying.

The statements made during Zarif’s trip to Yerevan are better
understood when Russia’s regional role is taken into account. Since
Armenia regained independence in 1991, Russia has served as a
geopolitical protector for Yerevan. And thanks to the EEU and to
Russia’s acquisition of strategic economic assets in Armenia over the
past decade, the Kremlin is in position to play economic kingmaker
for the South Caucasus country.

Meanwhile, Iran has played a complimentary role to that of Russia
as far as Armenia is concerned. Tehran has served as Armenia’s
most reliable trade outlet to the world since 1994, when Turkey and
Azerbaijan imposed a blockade. In addition, Iran has tended to favor
Armenia, and not fellow Shia Azerbaijan, in the search for a lasting
political settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Two factors are driving Iran’s desire for closer ties to Armenia.

First, Tehran has from early on resented Azerbaijan’s relatively
strong relationship with the United States and European Union, and is
particularly alarmed by Baku’s growing contacts with Israel. While
Iranian-Azerbaijani relations have improved in recent months,Tehran
remains wary of Baku’s intentions.

Second, Tehran has made a strategic decision not to challenge or upset
Russian interests in Moscow’s self-defined “near abroad.” For Iran,
Russian goodwill is important in light of Tehran’s troubled relations
with the Western world.

Ultimately, when it comes to Armenia, Iran has pursued a policy that is
deferential to Russian interests. In cases where Russians interests
have been at stake – when, for example, Iran and Armenia pursued
joint energy projects that would circumvent Moscow – the Iranians
have been quick to back down in the face of Kremlin opposition.

These days when it comes to Iranian-Armenian ties, Russian calculations
are straightforward: given the rising tension between Moscow and the
West over Ukraine, the Kremlin wants to secure alternative trade
partners. As long as Russia believes closer Armenian-Iranian ties
serve its interests, the momentum that Zarif and his hosts in Yerevan
spoke about stands a good chance of building.

Editor’s note: Alex Vatanka is a Senior Fellow at Middle East Institute
and The Jamestown Foundation in Washington DC.

CHRISTIAN COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD: ARTSAKH 2ND, ARMENIA 4TH

14:46, 04 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Armenia and Artsakh are in the top five of the countries with
most Christian population. According to the list presented by
christiancountries.com, 99.9% of the population of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic is Christian. Armenia is fourth in the list with
98.7% of Christian population.

Christianity is the major religion on the Planet. About 2.1 billion
people (33 % of world population) are Christians. Nations started to
accept Christianity at different times and due to various reasons.

The website reminds that “Armenia was the first nation in the World
that accepted Christianity as state religion in 301 AD. Roman Empire
accepted Christianity in 313 AD, and Georgia was the third country.”

OPPOSITION LAWMAKER INQUIRES ABOUT GYUMRI MASSACRE SUSPECT (VIDEO)

18:55 | February 4,2015 | Politics

Opposition lawmaker Nikol Pashinyan today spoke about the marked
increase in ceasefire violations along the Line of Contact and the
subsequent legal processes.

Then he referred to the murder of the seven-member Avetisyan family
in Armenia’s Gyumri city, which was allegedly committed by Valeri
Permyakov, a soldier serving at Russian military base 102 stationed
in Gyumri. Pashinyan focused on Permyakov’s actions, including his
attempt to cross Armenia’s border with Turkey. The lawmaker stressed
that Permyakov is viewed as a trespasser in the criminal case.

“If a trespasser is arrested on the border, a protocol is drawn up
immediately and his things are confiscated as a rule. Then he is
handed over to the law enforcement authorities of the given country.

As you know Permyakov was transported to Russian 102nd military base.

He was not handed over to Armenian law enforcement agencies. Why don’t
our government agencies ensure the enforcement of law?” said Pashinyan.

Then he said that Armenian Prosecutor-General Gevorg Kostanyan has
already submitted a formal request to his Russian counterpart, Yury
Chayka, saying that the high-profile case should be transferred to
Armenian jurisdiction.

“Why should we ask them to transfer the case to Armenia? Investigative
authorities in Armenia have said repeatedly that they are conducting
the investigation. Our government should demand the handover of the
Russian soldier to Armenian custody,” said Pashinyan.

Minister of Justice Hovhannes Manukyan said relevant authorities have
already given explanations on the issue, and the government does not
consider it appropriate to report additional information on the matter
for several reasons.

“We are concerned about undue interventions into the investigation,
those including political speeches and statements. The government
reaffirms its commitment to finding a solution that will fair and
consistent with public perceptions,” said the minister.

Permyakov has been kept under arrest at the Gyumri-based Russian
military base ever since being arrested, for the murder of a
seven-member family in Gyumri – Seryozha Avetisyan, his wife Hasmik,
daughter Aida, son Armen, daughter-in-law Araksya, two-year-old
granddaughter Hasmik and 6-month-old baby boy Seryozha, who died of
his stab injuries a week later.

PRIVATE MONEY REMITTANCES TO ARMENIA FALL BY 7. 5 PERCENT IN 2014 TO $1.7 BILLION- CENTRAL BANK

YEREVAN, February 4. / ARKA /. About $1.728.5 billion were sent
to Armenia in 2014 as private money transfers for non-commercial
purposes through the banks, the Central Bank reported saying the amount
represented a 7.5% or $141.1 million drop from the previous year.

According to a statement on the regulator’s official webpage, about
$339.5 million were remitted from Armenia to other countries, up
from $324.2 million remitted in 2013. The rise was 4.7 percent. The
net inflow of remittances thus amounted to about $1.388.9 billion,
down from $1.545.6 billion in 2013.

In December 2014 some $127.3 million were sent to Armenia as private
money transfers, by 9.1 percent more form the previous month, however,
it was 24.5 percent less than in 2013 December.

As usual, the bulk of money transfers – about 82.9 percent or
approximately $1.434.2 billion – came from Russia. When compared to
2013 their amount was 10.7 percent down. In the meantime the amount
of money remittances to Russia grew by 12.6 percent to $203.2 million.

Economists explain the decline in private remittances by continuing
economic stagnation in Russia that experiences also the negative
effects of Western sanctions imposed over the crisis in Ukraine. The
continuing devaluation of the Russian ruble is cited as another major
reason for the decline in the amount of private remittances to Armenia
as the ruble today can buy fewer dollars and Euros.

Money transfers from Russia to Armenia in 2014 November decreased
by 35.4% from November 2013 to approximately $95.1 million, while
the amount of remittances from Armenia to Russia increased by 13.5%
to $17.5 million.

The downward trend in remittances from Russia was observed for the
sixth consecutive months. Remittances along with foreign investments
are among major factors of Armenia’s economic growth. According to the
Central Bank, transfers to Armenia in 2013 totaled $1.869.7 billion
or about 17.3% of GDP.

The decline in remittances made international financial institutions
revise downward their forecasts of Armenia’s economic growth for 2014.

For example, IMF lowered its earlier forecast to 2.6 percent from
4.3 percent, Moody’s lowered it to 2.1 percent from 3.2 percent,
the Asian Development Bank cut it to 3.8 percent from 4.6 percent,
the EBRD dropped it to 3 percent and the World Bank to 2.6 percent
from its earlier forecast of 5 percent.

Their forecasts for 2015 are neither optimistic. The World Bank, for
example, expects Armenia’s economic expansion to be 3.3 percent(the
Armenian government projection is 4.1 percent). The most recent EBRD
projection for Armenia suggests a zero growth for 2015, compared to 3.5
percent growth projection in its September report. The new projection
is based on depreciation of the ruble and worsened economic situation
in Russia.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded in January Armenia’s issuer
and government bond rating to Ba3 from Ba2, and changed the outlook
to negative from stable because of Armenia’s increased external
vulnerability due to declining remittances from Russia, an uncertain
outlook for foreign direct investment (FDI), an elevated susceptibility
to exchange rate volatility.

On January 30 Fitch Ratings agency downgraded Armenia’s long-term
foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) from ‘BB-‘ to
‘B+’, with outlook kept stable. The issue ratings on Armenia’s senior
unsecured foreign and local currency bonds were also downgraded to
‘B+’ from ‘BB-‘. The Country Ceiling was revised to ‘BB-‘ from ‘BB’
and the Short-term foreign currency IDR affirmed at ‘B.’-0-

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT AMENDS TURNOVER TAX LAW AT FIRST READING

YEREVAN, February 4. /ARKA/. Armenia’s National Assembly passed
Wednesday the government-proposed amendments to the turnover tax law
at the first reading.

The law on turnover tax was revised last year lowering the turnover
tax for vendors with annual sales of up to 58 million drams ($125,000)
from 3.5 percent to 1 percent, but small business owners were to
provide tax authorities with documentary evidence of their wholesale
purchase deals with larger firms or face heavy fines.

The government argued the change was meant to crack down on tax
evasion by big business, but vendors say they cannot comply with this
requirement because their suppliers usually refuse to provide them
with receipts and invoices.

The revised law was to come into force in 2014 October but after a
series of demonstrations staged by vendors in September and October
the government was forced to postpone its enforcement until February 1.

After fresh protests this year Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan met
with protesters and reportedly agreed to postpone the enforcement of
the law until July 1.

Nongovernment parliament factions Prosperous Armenia, Heritage, Orinats
Yerkir and Armenian National Congress said they would abstain from
voting, since they are disagreed to the postponement until July 1,
but would not vote against it since this is still better than current
rules. Armen Rustamyan, head of Armenian Revolutionary Federation/
Dashnaktsutiun faction, said that its MPs will vote in favor of the
bill, since they are against the current rules.

The bill was passed by 75 votes for, one against it and 40
abstained. —0—–

OPPOSITION PARTY CALLS FOR RE-REGISTRATION OF USD LOANS AS LOANS IN ARMENIAN CURRENCY

YEREVAN, February 4. / ARKA /. An Armenian opposition party – the
Country of Law- is going to introduce a bill on re-registration of
USD consumer loans as loans in the national currency.

The secretary of its parliamentary faction, Mher Shahgeldyan, told
reporters today that the bill will be submitted to the parliament in
the near future. He said if passed it would save thousands of fellow
citizens from becoming insolvent.

He said the banks must do so as part of their corporate social
responsibility, ‘because it is a global trend today.’

He said the bill had been discussed with experts who described it as
positive, but no discussions were held yet with the banks.

“We’re going to take into account the Russian experience as well,
and also similar bills originated by parliaments Latin America and
Central Europe, ‘ he added.

By the end of December 2014, the aggregate amount of Armenian banks’
lending stood at a little over 2 trillion drams, of which the
equivalent of about 1.4 billion drams were loans in US dollars. ($
1-476,64 drams). -0-

BRITISH PRIEST CALLS TO COMMEMORATE THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

16:48, 04 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

“We must not forget Armenia’s suffering,” Alexander Lucie-Smith,
a Catholic priest, doctor of moral theology, writes in the Catholic
Herald. The article reads:

Earlyrly February is a good time, liturgically speaking. On Monday we
celebrated the lovely feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the
Temple, when candles were blessed, marking the fortieth day since
Christmas, and on Tuesday we celebrated St Blaise, when throats
were blessed.

St Blaise is one of those saints of which we know very little, even
though his is a famous cult. As is the case with so many early martyrs,
legends sprang up and accounts were written down many centuries later,
which have no historical value. But we can be sure that Blaise was a
bishop and a martyr and lived in what is now called Sivas in Turkey,
but in which those days was called Sebastea in Armenia.

Once Armenia covered much more territory than that presently covered by
the former Soviet Republic in the Caucasus. A look at a map placesSivas
in the middle of modern Turkey, but up to a hundred years ago the town
still had a flourishing Armenian and Greek Christian population. Then
came the fateful day: April 24 1915. It was on this day that the
Ottoman government began to arrest and deport Armenians who had been
living in Anatolia from time immemorial. This organised campaign of
arrest, deportation, massacre and extermination led to the deaths
of between one million and one and a half million Armenians. It is
for this reason that visitors to Turkey today will find plenty of
Armenian history but no actual Armenian people, or at least very few.

The Armenian genocide is commemorated all over the world, but not in
Turkey and not much in Britain, which studiously avoids mentioning
the genocide in order not to jeopardise relations with Turkey. This
is a pity, to put it mildly, as it is hard to see how any nations –
ours or the Turks – can flourish when we deny truth.

St Blaise, ever popular throughout the Catholic Church, is the
only Armenian saint in the Universal Calendar. He is the solitary
representative of his culture, but what a culture! The nation of St
Blaise is the oldest Christian nation, having been converted to Christ
by St Gregory the Illuminator in 301, before the time of Constantine.

Moreover, Armenia has arguably produced more martyrs than anywhere
else, given that the victims of the genocide were killed in odium
of the Christian faith. Right now we are rightly concerned by ISIS’s
cruelty; let us not forget the Armenians of 100 years ago.

Adolf Hitler’s view of the Armenian genocide is worth recalling,
and his reference to it, made in August 1939, worth quoting:

Our strength is our quickness and our brutality. Genghis Khan had
millions of women and children hunted down and killed, deliberately
and with a gay heart. History sees in him only the great founder of
States. What the weak Western European civilization alleges about
me does not matter. I have given the order – and will have everyone
shot who utters but one word of criticism – that the aim of this war
does not consist in reaching certain designated [geographical] lines,
but in the enemies’ physical elimination. Thus, for the time being
only in the east, I put ready my Death’s Head units, with the order to
kill without pity or mercy all men, women, and children of the Polish
race or language. Only thus will we gain the living space that we
need. Who still talks nowadays of the extermination of the Armenians?

Who indeed? That is why we need to talk about Armenia and remember
them this April. Put the date of that hundredth anniversary in your
diary now.

Alexander Lucie-Smith is a Catholic priest, doctor of moral theology
and consulting editor of The Catholic Herald.