Author: Badalian Vardan

TURKISH GOVERNMENT CANNOT HIDE CORRUPTION FILE FOREVER

Governance, Risk & Compliance Monitor Worldwide
December 15, 2014 Monday

The Turkish government will at some point address the public on
the issue of corruption and this should be both convincing and
transparent, according to Etyen Mahcupyan, a chief adviser to Prime
Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu.

“No parties or governments can escape from this forever. This is not
a file that can be hidden forever,” Mahcupyan said in an interview
with daily Hurriyet.

“Avoiding such an explanation would have higher costs to the AKP
[the ruling Justice and Development Party],” he added.

“I do not think these [corruption claims] can reach [President Recep]
Tayyip Erdo?an, but still some people are concerned that this might
turn into an argument that could be used in the election campaigns,”
Mahcupyan said, referring to the general elections scheduled for June
2015. Erdo?an, now president, will not run in the elections for the
Prime Ministry, but he has repeatedly said he would have close links
with the executive power.

The corruption claims cover a graft operation that began in
December 2013, covering four Cabinet ministers, their sons and other
bureaucrats. The legal charges against the former ministers have been
dropped, but a parliamentary inquiry is ongoing.

If the government does not press harder on the corruption claims,
it will face problems in the international arena, Mahcupyan also told
Hurriyet, adding that a “realistic view would expect strong government
moves on corruption after the elections.”

The prime minister’s adviser, appointed to his role at the end of
October, ruled out claims that people people have a right to feel
aggrieved under the AKP.

“I think just the opposite. I have become freer under AKP rule, both
as an Armenian and as an intellectual,” Mahcupyan said. 2014 Global
Data Point.

IRAN TO BUILD NEW AIRPORT ON BORDER WITH ARMENIA

19:29, 17 December, 2014

YEREVAN, 17 DECEMBER, ARMENPRESS. Iran will be building a new
airport in the Araz free economic zone (FEZ) on the border with
Armenia. This is what Director of the Araz free economic zone Mohsen
Khadem Arab-Baghi announced, as “ArmenPress” reports, citing the
Iranian Mehr News News Agency.

According to Arab-Baghi, the airport will be built in the course of the
next two years. “We have already received the license for construction
of the airport. The license is required for the development of the
infrastructure of the FEZ,” he said.

CBA PRESIDENT: NO SHORTAGE OF FOREIGN CURRENCY IN ARMENIA

17:50, 17 Dec 2014

Hasmik Dilanyan
Public Radio of Armenia

There is no shortage of foreign currency in Armenia, President of the
Central Bank of Armenia Arthur Javadyan told reporters today. He said
“no bank has been instructed to suspend transactions.”

“The Central Bank has not imposed any restrictions on accounts,
deposits or other services,” Javadyan said, adding that “banks will
be punished if it turns out they take any speculative steps and refuse
to provide services.”

The CBA President assured that the Armenian dram will again appreciate
and did not rule out that this could happen before New Year. He added
also that the Central Bank keeps the inflation under control.

CPJ: AZERBAIJAN AND TURKEY AMONG TOP 10 WORST JAILERS OF JOURNALISTS IN WORLD

16:14 17/12/2014 >> SOCIETY

The international organisation “Committee to Protect Journalists”
(CPJ) compiled a list of journalists imprisoned for their work.

Azerbaijan and Turkey are among the top 10 worst jailers of journalists
in the world in 2014. The statement is posted on the official website
of the organization.

“In Azerbaijan, authorities were jailing nine journalists, up one
from the previous year. Amid a crackdown on traditional media, some
activists took to social networking sites in an attempt to give the
public an alternative to state media. CPJ’s list does not include at
least four activists imprisoned in Azerbaijan this year for creating
and managing Facebook groups on which they and others posted a mix of
commentary and news articles about human rights abuses and allegations
of widespread corruption,” the statement reads,” the statement notes.

CPJ’s list is a snapshot of those incarcerated on December 1,
2014. It does not include the many journalists imprisoned and released
throughout the year. The Committee to Protect Journalists identified
220 journalists in jail around the world in 2014, an increase of nine
from 2013. China takes the first place in the list with 44 journalists,
and the second place belongs to neighboring Iran with 30 journalist
held in prisons. Twenty percent, or 45, of the journalists imprisoned
globally were being held with no charge disclosed.

Source: Panorama.am

TURMOIL AT ARMENIA’S FOREX MARKET TO IMPACT ELECTRICITY PRICES, BUT NO CHANGES PLANNED SO FAR

YEREVAN, December 17./ARKA/. Turmoil at Armenia’s forex market will
surely impact prices for electricity, but no changes are planned so
far, Deputy Energy and Natural Resources Minister Areg Galstyan told
journalists on Wednesday.

Fever at the forex market began on November 24, when the U.S. dollar
soared 16.6 percentage points against the national currency to 435
drams hitting the record high in the last eight years. The dollar
continues its upward motion every day. Today it traded at 490.34 drams.

Galstyan said.

Iosif Isayan, his deputy, said that it depends on how large are
shortcoming in profits and retained profits and on degree of pressure
from volatility at forex market.
Yesayan said though adding that the regulator can change prices under
force-majeure circumstances.

The Public Services Regulatory Commission told ARKA News Agency today
that it has received no utility price rise authorization requests from
Armenian companies so far. Before August 1, 2014, Armenia’s residents
paid 38 drams per one kilowatt-hour when they consumed electric power
in daytime and 28 drams in nighttime and now they have to pay 41.85
drams and 31.85 drams respectively. ($1 – AMD 490.34 ). —0—-

GOVERNMENT PLEDGES TO PROTECT ALL DEPOSITS

14:23, 17 Dec 2014

The current developments on the financial market are mainly connected
with global and regional developments not exempt from obvious
speculative elements, Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan said
in a statement.

“In the light of such spontaneous global trends, the Armenian
Government remains committed to the policy of floating exchange rate,
which is necessary for avoiding long-term instability,” he said.

“The Government supports the efforts of the Central Bank of Armenia
targeted at maintaining the stability of the financial system and
takes all measures to ensure the normal activity of the system and
protect the rights and interests of legal entities and citizens,”
the Prime minister added.

According to him, “all depositors should be confident that the Republic
of Armenia has a guarantee system of active deposits, that both the
Central Bank and the Government are doing and will be doing the best
to protect the deposits of the citizens.”

“The Government keeps in touch with its international partners and is
confident that with joint efforts and sober reasoning we’ll manage
to ensure stability on the financial and consumption market and
restrain the senseless rise of prices of consumer goods,” PM Hovik
Abrahamyan said.

LA RUSSIE FOURNIT 1 MILLION DE DOLLARS POUR LE DEVELOPPEMENT DE L’INDUSTRIE TEXTILE EN ARMENIE

ARMENIE

La Russie a fourni l’Armenie via l’Organisation pour le developpement
industriel des Nations Unies (ONUDI) 1 million de dollars pour le
developpement de son industrie textile a annonce Lamin Dhaoui, un haut
fonctionnaire de l’ONUDI, a Erevan après qu’un accord relatif a ete
signe par les representants de la Russie, de l’ONUDI et du ministère
armenien de l’economie.

Il dit que le but est d’aider les entreprises du textile et des
vetements locaux a mettre a niveau leurs equipements pour chercher
de nouveaux marches d’exportation.

mercredi 17 decembre 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

NATURE PROTECTION MINISTRY TURNED DOWN TUKHMANUK MINING PROJECT

18:29 December 15, 2014

EcoLur

“Environmental Expertise” SNCO of Nature Protection Ministry issued
a negative opinion to the amended project of Tukhmanuk gold mining
project submitted by “Mego Gold” LLC.

It should be noted that on 30 June 2014 the Nature Protection
Ministry issued a positive opinion to the new tailing dump project
for Tukhmanuk gold dressing plant submitted by “Mego Gold” LLC,
which was once rejected by the Ministry still in 2013.

THE NUMBER OF TURKISH “SHOWS” WILL INCREASE AHEAD OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL: EXPERT

16:46, 16 Dec 2014

Armine Gevorgyan
Public Radio of Armenia

Information security expert Tigran Kocharyan says Turkey will increase
the number of “shows” ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide. He does not rule out the opening of the border for one day
on April 24.

Turkey spends millions of dollars to show it has changed, Kocharyan
told reporters today, adding that the Armenian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs should take serious steps in this respect.

Speaking about the information war, especially on the
Karabakh-Azerbaijan front, the expert said “the Armenian mass media
worked very cleverly during the recent border incidents by putting the
emphasis on the authenticity of information rather than promptness.”

According to him, Armenian media never disseminated reports causing
panic.

OPPOSITIONIST: LATEST ATTACKS ON ARMENIAN OPPOSITIONISTS WORK STYLE OF EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION

by Nana Martirosyan

ARMINFO
Tuesday, December 16, 14:34

The latest attacks on the Artsakh War veterans Suren Sargsyan, Razmik
Petrosyan and Manvel Yegiazaryan as well as on Aram Manukyan, MP from
the Armenian National Congress (ANC), fit into the policy and work
style of the Eurasian Economic Union, Hovhanness Igityan, a member
of the ANC Board, told reporters, Tuesday, Igityan says the attacked
Artsakh War veterans are the people who are able to consolidate and
severely punish those who attacked them. The expert believes that
such attacks are connected with Armenia’s accession to the EEU,
as such measures are practiced in Russia and other countries. “Aram
Manukyan voted for accession to the EEU. The attack on him was one
of the fruits of that choice,” he said.

Manvel Badalyan, an MP from the Republican Party, in turn, called
Igityan’s conclusions not serious and condemned the attacks on the
oppositionists. He urged a comprehensive inquiry into the incidents
to expose the reason of the attacks and the people behind them.

To recall, the unknown have burnt the cars of four oppositionists
lately, beaten up three Artsakh War veterans who harshly criticized
the authorities, and attacked oppositionist parliamentarian Aram
Manukyan and later his comrade Ashot Piliposyan. The police have
detained Arshak Svazyan (born in 1973) suspected of beating Aram
Manukyan. It is widely rumored by local media outlets that Svazyan
is the former driver of Arakel Movsisyan (Shmays), MP from Republican
Party of Armenia. Meanwhile, Movsisyan denies these reports and swears
that he bears no relation to the attack on Manukyan.