Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

L’OPPOSITION DENONCE LA VENTE D’ARMES RUSSES A L’AZERBAIDJAN

Trois principaux partis de l’opposition armeniens ont vivement
critique la Russie pour avoir vendu des armes a l’Azerbaïdjan. Les
representants de la Federation revolutionnaire armenienne (FRA), du
Congrès national armenien (HAK) et du parti Zharangutyun (patrimoine)
ont declare que ces armes auraient une valeur au total d’1 milliard
de dollars et que cette vente va a l’encontre de l’alliance militaire
entre la Russie et l’Armenie.

” La Russie doit sentir que le gouvernement, le peuple et les forces
politiques d’Armenie sont mecontents de son comportement “, a declare
Giro Manoyan, le porte-parole de la politique etrangère de la FRA. ”
Ce n’est pas un comportement attendu d’un allie strategique. ”

Vladimir Karapetian, un membre du HAK, s’est dit preoccupe par la
livraison de centaines de chars russes, de vehicules blindes, de
systèmes de lance-roquettes et d’autres materiels a l’Azerbaïdjan.

Les responsables de la securite russe ont justifie la vente d’armes a
Bakou lors d’une visite en Armenie le mois dernier. Ils ont indique que
ces livraisons d’armes seront compensees par l’aide militaire russe.

Artak Zakarian, le president pro-gouvernemental de la commission
parlementaire armenienne pour les relations etrangères, a declare
mardi que les acquisitions d’armes par l’Azerbaïdjan vont accroître la
tension dans la zone du conflit du Karabakh. Selon lui, les Armeniens
devraient faire attention a ne pas denoncer les decisions de la Russie
parce que celle-ci a ses propres interets malgre le fait qu’elle soit
un partenaire strategique de l’Armenie.

mercredi 10 juillet 2013, Laetitia ©armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian

LES SYRIENS SE REFUGIENT DE PLUS EN PLUS EN ARMENIE

Selon un fonctionnaire du gouvernement a Erevan, les Syriens d’origine
armenienne refugies en Armenie seraient environ 10 000 dans le pays.

Lusine Stepanian, representante du ministère armenien de la Diaspora,
a declare que ce chiffre correspond a la dernière estimation du
gouvernement. L’annee dernière, ils etaient environ 6000 Syriens
bases en Armenie. La plupart ont fui la Syrie après de violents
combats a Alep.

La communaute armenienne de Syrie comptait environ 80 000 membres
avant le declenchement de la guerre civile il y a deux ans. La plupart
d’entre eux vivaient a Alep.

Le gouvernement armenien a pris une serie de mesures pour faciliter
l’installation des Syriens d’origine armenienne a Erevan. Le president
Serge Sarkissian a declare en mai que le gouvernement continuera a
faire de son mieux pour les soutenir. Aucune aide economique n’est
prevue pour les refugies. Beaucoup ont du mal a trouver un logement
decent et des emplois dans le pays.

Selon Stepanian, la plupart des Armeniens syriens vivent dans des
appartements loues a Erevan. Les prix des logements sont de plus en
plus chers dans la capitale.

Environ 600 familles armeniennes syriennes souhaitent acheter des
appartements en Armenie grâce au soutien de l’Etat. Selon Stepanian,
les futurs proprietaires devront payer la moitie du prix des
appartements.

Salpi Javakhchurian et sa famille ont demenage a Erevan en debut
d’annee et ont laisse derrière eux une maison et trois magasins. La
famille a decide d’acheter un appartement dans la capitale armenienne.

” C’est notre patrie, a explique Javakhchurian. Je me sens comme
a Alep. Il y a des difficultes et certaines personnes peuvent nous
offenser, mais personne ne peut nous dire de partir d’ici. ”

mercredi 10 juillet 2013, Laetitia ©armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian

L’ARMENIE ENFREINT LES DROITS DES MINORITES (MILITANT)

Chretiente.info, France
9 juillet 2013

En Armenie les minorites ne peuvent pas utiliser librement leur langue,
estime Ivan Semenov, membre de la commission pour les minorites
ethniques du conseil public de l’Armenie et directeur executif de la
Fondation d’aide et d’assistance aux compatriotes russes en Armenie.

Ivan Semenov a fait cette declaration lors de la conference consacree
a l’Application de la legislation internationale en matière de
protection des droits des minorites nationales en Armenie, mardi
a Erevan. Il a notamment rappele que des documents internationaux
ratifies par l’Armenie octroient aux minorites nationales du pays le
droit d’utiliser librement leur langue.

” En Armenie, seul un nombre très limite de gens connait le contenu
et les principes de ces documents. Ces derniers restent donc en marge
du travail social, educatif et administratif “, a indique Semenov,
cite par l’agence d’information Actualites-Armenie. Selon lui, il est
pratiquement impossible d’obtenir des documents sans requete ecrite
en armenien. Il remarque egalement que les certificats de naissance
et les autres pièces d’identite presentent le prenom patronymique
d’une personne en conformite avec les règles de la langue armenienne
sans tenir compte des traditions et des normes linguistiques des
minorites nationales.

” Malheureusement on n’applique pas les lois “, constate Ivan Semenov.

Par la signature et la ratification d’accords et traites
internationaux, l’Armenie s’est engagee a respecter leur contenu et
les principes de protection des droits des minorites nationales et
de lutte contre la discrimination “, souligne-t-il.

L’Armenie abrite 11 minorites ethniques : les Kurdes, les Yezidis,
les Assyriens, les Grecs, les Russes, les Ukrainiens, les Juifs,
les Bielorusses, les Georgiens, les Allemands et les Polonais. Selon
les statistiques officielles, ces minorites representent 2,5% de la
population. La communaute yezidi est la plus importante de ces groupes
(environ 42 000 personnes), alors que la communaute russe compte 14
000 personnes.

From: Baghdasarian

SNUB OFFERS REDS A DOSE OF REALITY

The Sun, UK
July 9 2013

MY VIEW
By MARK IRWIN
Football correspondent

HENRIKH MKHITARYAN might just have done Liverpool a huge favour by
turning them down in favour of Borussia Dortmund.

For the Armenian international has finally delivered the reality check
required by the red half of Merseyside for a long time.

Not having seen Shakhtar Donetsk on a regular basis, I have no idea if
Mkhitaryan’s £25million transfer fee will turn out to be a good deal
for Dortmund.

But Liverpool’s willingness to match that figure was not so much a
sign of their ambition as confirmation of their increasing
desperation.

A succession of recent Anfield managers has thrown good money after
bad in a bid to reverse the fortunes of a once great club.

Ryan Babel, Robbie Keane, Alberto Aquliani, Andrea Dossena, Christian
Poulsen, Charlie Adam and Andy Carroll all came and went without
making any kind of impact.

Others such as Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson, Joe Allen and Fabio
Borini remain on the staff but have yet to justify the huge outlay on
their acquisition.

Yet still the club’s American owners are prepared to bankroll an
apparently haphazard recruitment policy.

Brendan Rodgers has already spent the best part of £25m this summer on
Luis Alberto, Simon Mignolet, Iago Aspas and Kolo Toure. And the move
for Mkhitaryan shows he hasn’t finished yet.

But in the continued absence of Champions League football, Liverpool
have little more to offer prospective new recruits than a glorious
past and vague promises of a brighter future.

So maybe it is not surprising that the likes of Mkhitaryan are not
buying into Rodgers’ sales patter.

The same thing goes for many of Liverpool’s incredibly passionate but
increasingly frustrated supporters.

For a large number of Kopites remain unconvinced by their loquacious
manager, who talks a good game but has yet to deliver one on a
consistent basis.

Last season his team trailed home seventh in the Premier League table,
27 points behind Champions Manchester United and 12 behind
fourth-placed Arsenal.

That was a slight improvement on the previous campaign, when they had
finished even further adrift in the table under Kenny Dalglish.

Yet at least with Kenny in charge they had won the Carling Cup and
reached the FA Cup final. Under Rodgers they failed to mount a serious
challenge in any competition.

There were signs towards the end of last season that they were slowly
getting their act together, but that was only when they had nothing to
play for after a dismal start.

Failure to win any of their first five league games meant that their
top-four ambitions were effectively over by mid-September.

This time, with the exception of a home game against Manchester United
on August 31, Liverpool could not have asked for a kinder start.

Opening games against Stoke, Aston Villa, Swansea, Southampton,
Sunderland, Newcastle and West Brom are all eminently winnable for a
team with serious ambitions.

It is an opportunity which Rodgers and his players dare not miss out on.

But with Jamie Carragher gone, Luis Suarez looking to leave and Steven
Gerrard buckling under the strain of carrying the team on his
shoulders for too long, these are worrying times at Anfield.

English football needs a strong, vibrant Liverpool. But time waits for
no club in the modern game and, as Rodgers is starting to realise,
history counts for little these days.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA: THE PRINCIPLE OF THE WEAK LINK

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
July 9 2013

Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza

To clarify the position of foreign players and understand the disputes
over the situation inside power in Armenia, we should remember the
events which happen 5 years ago. On March 1st, 2008, the authorities
gave the order to fire on a peaceful demonstration of people who were
dissatisfied with the results of the presidential elections. Nobody
has been punished for the crime yet, even though 10 people were killed
and more than 200 were hurt. The world powers reacted calmly to the
crime committed by the Armenian leadership. Probably, they expected
some benefits from the vulnerable Armenian authorities. However,
they could confuse promises given to foreign players, considering
constant pressing by Russia, Washington, and Brussels.

In this context “the offshore scandal” which began in Armenia should be
considered. Even though the authorities tried to hush it up, it caused
a wide public reaction. On May 28th the online media Hetq.am published
the scandalous article headlined “Who seized Pailak Ayrapetyan’s
property? The offshore trinity.” The article says that the offshore
company WLISPERA HOLDINGS LIMITED which is registered in Cyprus by
Ashot Sukiasyan and deals with diamond business is involved into
seizure of businessman Ayrapetyan’s property. Along with Sukiasyan,
the shareholders of the company are Premier Tigran Sarkisyan and
the head of Ararat Eparchy of the Armenian Apostle Church Archbishop
Navasard Kchoyan. Due to Sarkisyan’s support, the bank Ameria gave
a credit of $10.7 million for diamond production; the credit wasn’t
used for the planned goal, but the offshore company which belonged to
Sarkisyan received $350 thousand. It can be considered as a payment for
help to the other shareholder of the company – dishonest businessman
Sukiasyan – to get the credit money.

After the publication, Sarkisyan and Kchoyan stated that they had
nothing in common with the company registered on Cyprus. Premier
addressed to the General Prosecution for investigation. Later
businessman Sukiasyan who was wanted by the police sent a letter to
Hetq.am and the General Prosecuation and stated that Premier Sarkisyan
and Archbishop Kchoyan didn’t know that the company on Cyprus was
registered in their names: “I registered the company without their
agreement. I made it to protect my business from various invasions. I
didn’t realize this step could have consequences.” The Armenian
authorities who got used to impunity replied at the scandal that
Sarkisyan wouldn’t be dismissed.

However, the authorities and pro-government mass media which promoted
the legend that the premier didn’t know about the company were
shocked when on June 27th the same website published continuation
of the detective story with new details, referring to the official
website of the Cyprus Companies Register.

Moreover, the general prosecutor of Cyprus Petros Clerides stated
that in his country it would be impossible to register an offshore
company without an agreement of one of its shareholders.

Who benefits from the uncovering? The powerful media Hetq.am is
financed by the Western funds. Why is Sarkisyan the target? It seems
directors of the offshore scandal considered that his government didn’t
fulfill the program for 2008-2012, in 2009 deep economic depression
was registered in Armenia, minor and medium business appeared in
the most negative and difficult situation, the number of the poor
grew under Sarkisyan’s rule, and so on. The Control Chamber’s report
confirmed that Sarkisyan’s Cabinet not only failed to provide economic
development, but also spent budget resources ineffectively.

The weak link principle has worked clearly in the story.

At the same time, the Armenian authorities continue to pretend that
nothing has happened. It seems they believe Armenia is an island
separated from the rest of the world. Meanwhile, Hetq.am has stated
that publications

to be continued…

From: Baghdasarian

VARUZHAN AKOPIAN WINS WORLD OPEN

18:25 09/07/2013 ” SPORT

Armenian GM Varuzhan Akopian (U.S.) scored 6.5 points out of 9 and
won first prize at the World Open 2013 in Arlington, United States.

Nine other grandmasters had the same results. An Armageddon play-off
game was held between the two players with the best tiebreak results
– Varuzhan Akopian and Yuniesky Quesada (Cuba). The Armenian chess
player, with black pieces, tied the game and became the winner of
the World Open, armchess.am reported.

Source: Panorama.am

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SIGNS LAW ON GRANTING PRIVILEGES TO DILIJAN SCHOOL

July 09, 2013 | 16:12

YEREVAN. – President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on Tuesday signed a
number of laws adopted by the parliament.

Among them are amendments to the “Law On TV and Radio”, amendments to
the ” Law On Financial Equalization”, amendments to the Law on granting
tax and customs privileges in the framework of the international
school in Dilijan project and others.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

“HE MIGHT HAVE GIVEN THE PASSPORT FOR SOMETHING ELSE?” K. MANOYAN REGARDING T. SARGSYAN’S OFFSHORE INCIDENT (VIDEO)

July 9 2013 “The manifestation of such phenomena, if it meets the
reality, when high-rank officials enter into such transactions,
the country is discredited, not to speak about high-rank priests”,-
so answered Kiro Manoyan, responsible person for the Armenian trial
and political office of ARF Bureau to the question of Aravot.am
whether he believes that it is possible to open an offshore bank
account in the name of the RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan without
his awareness. Continuing the theme, he said. “Until now, there are
many reasons to believe, but respective authorities should prove the
facts.” We inquired as to which are the bases, K. Manoyan replied,-
“Cyprus prosecutor says that he considers it unlikely that someone’s
name is given, as an owner, without the latter’s knowledge.” We tried
to clarify whether K. Manoyan believes in Cyprus Attorney General. He
answered,- “We have no reasons not to believe, even though his words
are not final.” In response to the observation that the Prime Minister
of Armenia had said that he was not aware of, Mr.

Manoyan responded accordingly,- “He might not be aware of, he might
have mistakenly given his passport for something else.” 

Tatev HARUTYUNYAN 

Read more at:  

From: Baghdasarian

GROUNDWATER LEVEL DROPPING AT ARARAT VALLEY – ARMENIAN PM

July 10, 2013 | 11:59

YEREVAN. – The level of groundwater is dropping at Armenia’s Ararat
Valley and, as a result, there is a tense situation.

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan noted the aforesaid during Wednesday’s
Cabinet meeting, and he added that there is a need for an immediate
intervention.

On the same day, the Government adopted a decision to impose fees
for the use of groundwater without permission.

The amount to be collected from these fees will be used for the
conservation of about 700 illegal wells.

As per Sargsyan, close to 4 million drams (approx. $9,635) are needed
for the conservation of each well.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER DEMANDS TO DISMISS THE MOLDOVAN OMBUDSMAN

19:12 10.07.2013

Armenian Human Rights Defender Karen Andreasyan has applied to three
international organizations, of which both Armenian and Moldovan
Ombudsmen are members.

Karen Andreasyan has urged the International Ombudsman Institute,
the European Ombudsman Institute and the Association of Francophone
Ombudsmen and Mediators not to invite Aurelia Grigoru to any event,
as she has “compromised herself with lies and unacceptable behavior.”

Also, Karen Andreasyan has applied to the Moldovan Parliament with
a demand to dismiss Aurelia Grigoriu from her position.

“Parliamentary Advocate Aurelia Grigoriu’s accusations not only
contradict the historic truth, but also violate the ethic norms. The
behavior is disrespect for the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian
people/

Aurelia Grigoriu’s arguments do not correspond to reality. Moreover,
they do an injustice to a nation, which has seen the genocide of 1915
perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire, and has been subjected to ethnic
cleansing, mass slaughter and persecution in Sumgait, Gandzak, Baku
and Shushi from 1988 to 1992,” Karen Andreasyan wrote in the letter.

From: Baghdasarian