Author: Badalian Vardan

Tax Officials Padlock Store After Owner Complains to Hetq

Grisha Balasanyan

hetq
13:43, July 7, 2011

The fact that Gagik Hambardzumyan, a small store owner, recently spoke
to Hetq and complained about the actions of Arabkir tax officials,
evidently didn’t sit well with that agency’s top heads.

This morning at around 9:45, tax officials padlocked the grocery store.

The head of the tax agency arrived with closure document in hand. The
store will be closed for 5 days.

The agency argues that an undercover tax official wasn’t given the
required sales receipt after making a purchase.

Hambardzumyan refutes the allegation and spilled the beans about the
agency’s shenanigans to Hetq.

During his June 30 conversation with Hetq, Hambardzumyan had
complained that local tax officials liked to stage intricate ploys
designed to make it nearly impossible for store cashiers to issue
sales receipts.

That same day, Hambardzumyan filed letters with the Appeals Board of
the State Revenue Committee and with the head of the Arabkir Tax
Agency.

The store owner told Hetq that tax operatives would then urge him to
enter into payment negotiations with the agency.

As described by Hambardzumyan, the tax agency seemed to be operating a
blackmail ring than exposing actual tax code violations.

“They could have waited and heard my appeal. In fact, by law, they
could have postponed executing the closure order for up to 30 days.
But they didn’t. They speeded things up because I talked to Hetq and
refused to bow down quietly,” said Hambardzumyan.

The storeowner also believes that his ownership rights are also being
violated. He argues that only a court order can prevent him from
entering his private property and not the tax agency.

Hambardzumyan has no idea when the Appeals Board will review his case.

In any case, since the telephone number on the petition is that of the
store, Hambardzumyan will never know if the Board has called for
additional information.

The small business owner says he’s determined to fight the case in the
courts if need be.

“They have passed a law that states that in addition to the penalty I
must also pay 300,000 AMD so that the store remains open for the 5
days. Businesses like mine don’t take in 60,000 AMD per day. Such laws
only benefit the oligarchs and their supermarkets,” says
Hambardzumyan.

Hurriyet, Turkey
July 10 2011

Mayor fighting ‘discrimination’

Sunday, July 10, 2011
Çaðla Pýnar Tunçel
DÝYARBAKIR – Hürriyet Daily News

The Sur mayor, says he has started services in Kurdish, Armenian and
Syriac ‘to prevent discrimination,’ although he is facing
discrimination charges

Sur Mayor Demirbaþ says balance is the key in the Kurdish issue.

The mayor of Sur Municipality in Diyarbakýr is continuing to face a
discrimination case due to the local authorities’ provision of
services in Kurdish, Armenian and Syriac and a decision to increase
the salaries of officials speaking these languages.

“The prosecutor will investigate whether our regulations are creating
discrimination; I, however, have launched many systems in order to
prevent discrimination,” Mayor Abdullah Demirbaþ recently told the
Hürriyet Daily News.

According to Turkish law, the project that has been launched in the
region is a crime, the mayor of the eastern district said. “To prevent
discrimination, the government should reach out to the people and
solve their problem in the quickest way.”

Given that English is tolerated by the Constitution, languages other
than Turkish that are spoken in the southeast region should be
approved as well, said Demirbaþ.

The municipality has been offering services in Turkish and English, as
well as Armenian, Kurdish and Syriac, since 2007.

Reaching balance through peace

Regarding a decision by independent candidates supported by Peace and
Democracy Party, or BDP, to boycott Parliament’s opening after the
deputyship of their colleague, Hatip Dicle, was quashed by the Supreme
Election Board, or YSK, Demirbaþ said he was afraid another conflict
between the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and the Turkish
military could soon begin.

Demirbaþ said balance was the most important thing to foster. “One
cannot survive by destroying the other, two should remain to keep the
balance.”

Demirbaþ and Osman Baydemir, the mayor of the Diyarbakýr Metropolitan
Municipality, as well as some members of the Sur Municipal Assembly,
have been previously acquitted in a case against their multilingual
municipal services. Demirbaþ said he believed that by reaching
democratic reconciliation in its Kurdish issue, Turkey could be a role
model for the Middle East. Demirbaþ was arrested as part of the
Kurdish Communities Union, or KCK, trial but was released last year
after four months of captivity due to health problems. The KCK is
accused of being the urban wing of the PKK, which is listed as a
terrorist group by Turkey.

Sur Mayor Demirbaþ says balance is the key in the Kurdish issue

ARMENIA: ARE SELECTIVE ABORTIONS BEHIND BIRTH RATIO IMBALANCE?

Marianna Grigoryan

EurasiaNet.org
July 6, 2011

Armenia’s high rate of male births is alarming international and
Armenian pre-natal specialists. Their chief concern is that selective
abortions are contributing to a demographically undesirable gender
imbalance.

Government statistics indicate that a gender imbalance in births has
existed since the early 1990s, but the trend has become more visible
in recent years. The State Statistical Service of Armenia reports
that 23,800 boys and 20,900 girls were born in 2010, working out to a
rate of about 114 male births for every 100 female births. In 2009,
23,600 boys and 20,700 girls were born, marking approximately the
same birth ratio as in 2010.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) puts the worldwide sex
ratio at birth at 105-106 males per 100 females. Armenia has an
overall population of 2.96 million.

Assessing the birth ratio, the head of the State Statistical Service’s
Census and Demography Department warned that Armenia faces “a serious
problem.”

“A study must be conducted to find out whether this imbalance is the
consequence of selective abortions, or something else,” said Karine
Kuyumjian. “[T]he problem is obvious, and it will become even plainer
later, when, along with demographic issues, we will face a lack of
future mothers.”

Representatives from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe (PACE) recently reached a similar conclusion. Armenia’s
above-average rate of male births indicates “that there must be some
sort of pre-natal sex selection,” said Doris Stump, a PACE rapporteur
on pre-natal sex selection who travelled to Yerevan in June to assess
the problem.

“But there is no knowledge yet about how it is done and what is the
responsibility of doctors telling the sex of the child to the parents,”
Stump said. “More research has to be done on that question.”

A report about the need for member-countries “to fight against the
preference for boys” in family planning will be presented to PACE in
October, she added.

As elsewhere in the Caucasus (Georgia and Azerbaijan also post high
rates of male births, PACE reports), much of the problem may have to
do with a heavy cultural emphasis on the value of having sons.

“A good man must have a son,” said sociologist Aharon Adibekian,
commenting on Armenian attitudes toward their children’s gender. “If
you don’t have a son, who will inherit your belongings, your house and
[look after] your family?”

That perspective is on display at Armenian hospitals; at one Yerevan
facility recently, the overjoyed father of a newborn baby boy danced
to Armenian folk music, while medical staff consoled the mother of
a newborn baby girl that she’d “have a boy next time.”

Sociologist Adibekian, however, scoffs at the notion that this
preference would prompt women to abort female fetuses. “In countries at
war, the number of boys is high; this is called a war phenomenon,” he
asserted, referring to a spike in male births noted by demographers in
countries engaged in long-term combat, where 120 boys can be born for
every 100 girls. The same might be happening amid Armenia’s ongoing
standoff with Azerbaijan, Adibekian suggested.

Dr. David Mkhitarian the medical director of Yerevan’s prominent
Shengavit Medical Center, also dismisses as “nonsense” the claim that
female fetuses are being aborted selectively. “It’s just that more
boys than girls are born,” Dr. Mkhitarian said.

Armenia’s current population slightly favors women (51.5 percent) over
men (48.5 percent), a difference that could reflect labor migration
trends. The UNFPA’s deputy representative to Armenia cautions that
legitimate grounds exist for connecting Armenia’s high male birth rate
to “intentional actions.” The UNFPA expects to finalize a report on
the issue this November.

“[S]ince the findings of the study are yet unknown, maybe it’s too
early to speak about it with certainty, but if we try to consider
it logically, we will see it is very likely to be so,” said Garik
Hayrapetian.

“The birth rate has decreased about twice now as compared to the
1980s, and by reducing the number of baby girls we risk entering a
vicious circle,” Hayrapetian continued. “When we say we need soldiers
to provide for Armenia’s security, we should not forget that we need
enough … mothers to whom these soldiers will be born in the future.”

But for women like 27-year-old Yerevan homemaker Gayane Hovhannisian,
her husband and her family’s “honor” outweigh any concern about
Armenia’s demographic situation.

A mother of two daughters, Hovhannisian says that she did not
hesitate to opt for an abortion when she learned she was pregnant
with a third girl. Six months later, she got pregnant again; this
time, with boy-girl twins. To avoid having another girl, she chose
another abortion.

“After these abortions, I finally fulfilled my husband’s dream, and
our son was born,” Hovhannisian said. “I would burn with shame if I
failed to give birth to a son.”

Official statistics show that the number of abortions in Armenia
(13,797 cases) increased by roughly 10 percent in 2010 compared with
the previous year; some specialists, though, maintain that the actual
figures are higher.

A fetus’ gender cannot be determined until the 14th week of pregnancy,
but Armenian law only allows abortions through the 12th week of
pregnancy for women without contraindications.

That suggests that many abortions “are performed secretly and
illegally,” said Marine Margarian, a project coordinator on gender
rights issues at the Public Information and the Need for Knowledge
non-governmental organization. “Of course, an abortion performed after
the 12th week of pregnancy is not registered officially; otherwise,
the picture would be clearer.”

Dr. Mkhitarian cautions that warnings about gender-based abortions
will do nothing to stop the use of abortions for “family planning.”

“[I]f … a woman of about 40 has three daughters and she learns she
is expecting a fourth girl, she will go for an abortion despite any
recommendations by either PACE or the Republic of Armenia or whoever
it may be,” said Mkhitarian.

Editor’s note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based in
Yerevan and editor of MediaLab.am.

RUSSIA’S LEASE OF ARMENIAN AIR BASE EXTENDED TILL 2044

Novinite.com

July 6, 2011
Bulgaria

World | July 6, 2011, Wednesday An agreement between Russia and
Armenia has allowed the former to extend its lease of an Armenian
air base until 2044.

The agreement allowing Russia to field air force units at an Armenia
base until 2044 went into effect on Wednesday, the Interfax news
agency reported.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov signed the defense treaty in
a Moscow ceremony with his Armenian counterpart Edvard Nalbandyan.

The deal extends a 1992 lease allowing Russia to field MiG-29
interceptor jets, S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, and some 2 500 soldiers
and officers at airfield some 120 km north of the Armenian capital
Yerevan, DPA reported.

Approximately 2 000 Armenian soldiers and family members also live
on the base, which operates as part of an Russia-managed air defense
network covering most of the airspace of the former Soviet Union.

Under a similar agreement made in April 2010, Ukraine agreed to extend
Russia’s lease of the Sevastopol naval base in the Black Sea for the
Russian Navy from 2017 until 2042, or even till 2049, if a second,
five-year extension clause kicks in.

Russia and Armenia already have an excellent defense relationship and
will sign new economic cooperation agreements in coming days, Armenian
Foreign Minister Nalbandyan is quoted as saying, according to Interfax.

Ties between Moscow and Yerevan have been close for more than two
decades since Armenia became a member of the Collective Security
Treaty Organization (CSTO), a regional mutual defense treaty also
including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.

Russia has traditionally supported Armenia in its long-standing
deadlocked conflict with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh
province, which is technically in Azerbaijan but is controlled by
Armenian forces.

Armenia and Azerbaijan need to accept compromise to resolve the
conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said at the press conference
on Wednesday.

ARMENIAN ANALYSTS ON POSSIBLE CONFRONTATION IN KARABAKH

The Messenger
July 6, 2011
Georgia

Armenian analyst Alexander Iskanderian stated on July 4 that there
is little possibility of the outbreak of full scale war in Karabakh
as the resources and conditions involved are not conducive to conflict.

Iskanderian stated that the Azeri leadership would be crazy to start
war and undermine the country’s welfare. In the event of starting war,
it will not last more than 5 days, thinks Iskanderian. In this time
the Azeri attack will be stopped without achieving any significant
results and Azerbaijan will have suffered big losses and problems
from a social and economic point of view.

PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN FALSIFIES HISTORY AND IMPOSES IT ON PEOPLE –

news.am
July 6, 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Armenian MFA commented on Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev’s statement at Congress of World Azerbaijanis that Armenians
are guests in Karabakh and Armenian State is built on historic
Azerbaijani lands.

“These kinds of pearls from the president of Azerbaijan are amusing,
taken into account that Azerbaijan is a county that could not be
found on the world map a century ago. Most probably this is the hidden
motive for barbarous extermination of centuries-old cultural heritage
of Armenians and everything that reminds of Armenians on the territory
of a state that is called Azerbaijan today,” reads the statement of
Armenian MFA.

Commenting upon the statement of Azerbaijani president on the military
factor, Armenian MFA stressed that during the years of Azerbaijani
aggression against the right for self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh
(Artsakh) Republic, when Azerbaijani youngsters were sent to the
frontline as a cannon fodder, Aliyev was far away.

“Aliev is still far away from the frontline, not only ignorant of the
history of the region but also of international law and the actual
essence of negotiation process. He lives in a world of illusions. In
the event of renewed hostilities, it is difficult to say, the capital
of which state would agree to shelter Mr. Aliyev,” reads the statement
of Armenian MFA.

TURKISH JOURNALISTS VISIT ARMENIA

news.az
July 6, 2011
Azerbaijan

Wed 06 July 2011 04:45 GMT | 0:45 Local Time

Armenian-Turkish relations should improve so that Azerbaijani-Armenian
relations could improve.

Seven Turkish journalists have visited Armenia within the scope of
an Armenia-Turkey journalist dialogue program, carried out by the
(slain Turkish-Armenian journalist) Hrant Dink Foundation.

Artak Davtyan, the chairman of the Science, Education, Culture,
Youth and Sports Committee of the Armenian Parliament, said Turkey
had a different, long and deep history.

“The Armenians have contributed to Turkey’s becoming such a strong
country, and the future will again be ours,” Davtyan said during his
meeting with Turkish journalists.

Davtyan said soccer had created a good atmosphere to normalize
relations, and he would go to Turkey to watch a match if he was
invited.

Armenian-Turkish relations should improve so that Azerbaijani-Armenian
relations could improve, Davtyan said.

The chairman said everybody should take steps, and problems should
be solved by mutual concessions.

Davtyan said Armenia was saying that Karabakh should have the right to
self-determination, there should be a common border between Armenia and
Karabakh, and security of those living in Karabakh–whether Armenian
or Azerbaijani–should be taken under guarantee.

The chairman said if Turkish-Armenian relations improved, Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev’s stance would change, and Turkey should make
such a pressure that war possibility would fade.

The head of Turkey Projects of Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen
of Armenia was another Armenian executive Turkish journalist met
in Yerevan.

Arsen Ghazaryan said Turkey’s exports to Armenia were around 300m USD,
but Turkey was only importing goods worth 160,000 USD from Armenia,
which he defined as an unbalanced trade.

Ghazaryan said there were cooperation opportunities between Turkey
and Armenia particularly in tourism, agriculture, transportation,
informatics and telecommunication, textile, construction materials
and jewelry.

The chairman said two countries could particularly cooperate in silver
and diamond works, and defined closed border crossing and lack of
diplomatic relations as the biggest obstacle before trade.

Ghazaryan said the association was planning to bring around 30 Turks
to Armenia for a conference next month, and they were thinking of
establishing Turkey-Armenia Tour Operators Association within a
few months.

Moreover, Turkish journalist had a meeting with Yerevan Press Club’s
President Boris Navasardian. Having his roots in the eastern Turkish
province of Igdir, Navasardian said if Armenian-Turkish relations
had progressed, all climate would have been changed.

Navasardian also said there should be a model for a solution.

Politicians, state institutions, international organizations,
think-tank and NGO representatives briefed Turkish journalists
on Armenia’s economic and political situation and Turkish-Armenian
relations within the scope of the program, supported by Heinrich Boll
Stiftung Turkey Association.

The common view of all people Turkish journalists met is that opening
Turkish-Armenian border will have a positive contribution on bilateral
relations, boost cooperation and tourism.

TurkishNY

REMARKS AND RESPONSE TO MEDIA QUESTIONS BY RUSSIAN FM LAVROV FOLLOWING TALK WITH FM NALBANDIAN

States News Service
July 6, 2011 Wednesday

SERGEY LAVROV AT JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE FOLLOWING TALKS WITH ARMENIAN
FOREIGN MINISTER EDWARD NALBANDIAN, MOSCOW, JULY 6, 2011

The following information was released by the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the Russian Federation:

I would like to express my satisfaction over the talks with my Armenian
counterpart Edward Agvanovich Nalbandian. We traditionally exchange
views and coordinate our positions in a constructive, trustful, allied
spirit. It was from this vantage point that we reviewed implementation
of the agreements that had been reached during the regular meetings
between the Russian and Armenian presidents. We attested to the intense
nature of bilateral relations, the strengthening of the legal framework
of our interaction, and we note the steady trend towards enhancement
and buildup of the economic foundation of our cooperation.

Trade has regained its pre-crisis level, and it continues to
grow. Our respective agencies and economic operators are implementing
progressively an array of large-scale joint investment projects.

Conducive to Russian-Armenian relations are, of course, humanitarian
and inter-regional contacts, which traditionally enjoy the widest
possible support of our citizens.

To be sure, international issues, the situation in the regions adjacent
to Russia and Armenia occupy a significant place in our dialogue. We
spoke for continuing the active participation of our two countries
in the integration processes in the Commonwealth of Independent
States area. We confirmed our intention to improve our cooperation
and coordination both bilaterally and within the framework of the CIS
and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, in the formats of the
UN, OSCE, the Council of Europe and other international organizations
and forums.

The situation in Transcaucasia has always been a part of our talks.

Today, we exchanged views on the outcome of the meeting between the
presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, which took place on
June 24 in Kazan, where issues related to the development of the
basic principles for settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
were examined. We attested to the fact that the presidents declared
in Kazan the harmonization of a number of important issues, helpful
towards creating the conditions for a final agreement on the basic
principles, and this work will continue, I expect, in the near future.

So we looked at, as I said, all key aspects of the agenda of bilateral
relations and cooperation in the international arena, and agreed on
a schedule of consultations between our two foreign ministries for
the second half of the year. We consider it necessary to strengthen
and develop our interaction.

Question: Even after the statement made in Deauville on
Nagorno-Karabakh, in which the Russian, US and French presidents
indicated that the use of force again would be condemned by the
international community, urging leaders of both sides to prepare the
population for peace, not war, threats continue to be heard from
Baku to use force and prepare for a new war. Azerbaijan virtually
ignores the opinion of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries,
opposing itself to the opinion of the international community. How
could you comment on that?

In the context of the Kazan meeting, what steps are expected to be
expeditiously undertaken to advance the negotiation process?

Foreign Minister Lavrov: I would like to clearly stress right away that
Russia sticks to the positions set forth in the statement adopted in
Deauville by the Russian, US and French presidents and also approved
in the last few years by the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan with
the participation of the President of the Russian Federation. These
documents not only confirm the commitment to a peaceful settlement,
but also include the agreements on measures to reduce tensions, build
confidence and prevent incidents along the line of contact. The leaders
of Armenia and Azerbaijan assumed these commitments, as I said, with
participation by the President of the Russian Federation. Just the
other day, regular OSCE monitoring of the situation on the line of
contact took place. The report presented at Vienna by the mission
which did the monitoring shows that the number of incidents is
decreasing. This is a positive trend. We will do everything to make it
stronger, and to ensure that the agreements I mentioned are respected.

With regard to further steps, Dmitry Medvedev, as a mediator in the
negotiation process, and acting with the full support of the US and
French presidents as co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, has completed
analysis of the post-Kazan situation and will soon take his decision
on further steps.

Question: (addressed to both ministers): How effective do you think is
the format of the OSCE Minsk Group? Are there plans to replace it? If
yes, then by what? Is consideration being given to the possibility
of participation of regional countries like Turkey and Iran in it?

Lavrov: The OSCE Minsk Group, formed, as I recall, at the end of the
1994 Minsk Conference, includes a large number of states. However,
in recent years, the real tool in the negotiation process is not the
Minsk Group as such, but its co-chairs. Initially, its composition
was different – two, then three, and the current co-chairs were not
in that trio. Now it has become permanent in the current format of
the three co-chairs, namely Russia, the USA and France. On their
behalf the special representatives vigorously and routinely work on
finding solutions to issues in the context not only of the negotiation
process itself, but also of confidence and security building measures
on the line of contact. I have already said about it. The co-chairs
meet regularly with the parties, and visit Baku and Yerevan and
Stepanakert. They have achieved a very good rapport.

Two years ago, President Dmitry Medvedev, taking into account the
special ties of Russia with Armenia and Azerbaijan, on behalf of
the co-chairs took the initiative to hold in a trilateral format
(the presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan), a series of
consultations with a view to finding concrete agreements on the basic
principles for a settlement. This initiative was supported.

Essentially, we have reached the point where decisions must be made.

I do not think that talk about changing the mediation format,
especially at this critical phase, will be productive. It only creates
the illusion that if the format is changed, the content will sort
itself out. As a rule, ideas to constantly modify the mediation
format divert attention from the substance. This also applies to
other situations. For example, there are a lot of plans to change the
format of Transnistrian conflict settlement. I think this is all the
work of the devil. The main thing is the political will of the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-Chairs, recognized by the parties as mediators. And
that’s the basis to proceed.

VANES MARTIROSYAN VS DEANDRE LATIMORE COULD BE IBF ELIMINATOR
by Scott Christ

Bad Left Hook

July 7 2011

Vanes Martirosyan and Deandre Latimore could meet in an IBF junior
middleweight title eliminator bout, according to BoxingScene.com,
in a fight that would pit two guys who have been loudly trying to
land big fights this year without much success.

Martirosyan (30-0, 19 KO) won a WBC semifinal eliminator in his last
fight, rallying to knock out Saul Roman in the seventh round of their
June 4 bout on the off-TV undercard of Zbik vs Chavez in Los Angeles.

The Freddie Roach-trained Armenian fighter has had his critics over the
year, but he’s a fighter who tends to make for good fights, and he’s
done everything asked of him thus far. The 25-year-old Martirosyan
has called out name fighters and titlists for a while now, but has
been unable to secure a big fight. Despite being promoted by Top
Rank and trained by Roach, having a decent fanbase in California,
and putting on good TV fights, he just hasn’t been in demand by HBO
or Showtime over the years.

Latimore (22-3, 17 KO) became a known contender in 2008 when he upset
Sechew Powell on ESPN, but since then has had a rocky go of it. That
win earned him a shot at the vacant IBF belt in 2009 when he faced
fellow St. Louis native Cory Spinks. Latimore was the obvious crowd
favorite going in, but by the end of the fight, Spinks had won back
his audience and took the fight. Latimore was also given a rematch
with Powell as an IBF eliminator in 2010, and lost that fight as well.

Latimore, also 25, was in the running to face Paul Williams on July 9,
but that fight went instead to Erislandy Lara. Both he and Martirosyan
are itching for an opportunity, and this might be as good as it’s
going to get. Cornelius Bundrage currently holds the IBF belt.

CNN PRESENTED NAKHICHEVAN AS A PART OF ARMENIA

Times.am
July 7 2011
Armenia

CNN TV channel has presented Nakhichevan as a part of Armenia. One
of the readers of Day.az web-site has noted this and informed the
editorial of the site by letter. CNN presented Nakhichevan as Armenian
territory in the film named “Five days of August”.

The film is about the journalists’ work during Russian-Georgian
short war and Nakhichevan is presented as Armenian part by the map
of the region.

Cadres by CNN journalists are presented in the film. The film premiere
took place on May of this year, in Cannes Festival.