Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

RUBBER PLANT’S DEBT EXCEEDS $100 MILLION – ARMENIAN MINISTER

June 13, 2013 | 15:17

YEREVAN. – The negotiations with Rosnet Company, and concerning
Armenia’s Nairit rubber plant, are in progress.

Armenian Energy and Natural Resources Minister Armen Movsisyan stated
the abovementioned during a briefing with news reporters on Thursday.

In his words, Nairit will be competitive in the global market for
twenty more years.

Movsisyan also informed that the rubber plant’s current debt exceeds
$100 million, but this matter is not discussed during the talks
with Rosnet.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

YEREVAN MUNICIPALITY ADMITS SHORTCOMINGS – CONTROL CHAMBER HEAD

16:38 ~U 13.06.13

The Yerevan Municipality admits and is dealing with all the
shortcomings revealed by the Control Chamber last year, Chairman of
the Control Chamber Ishkhan Zakaryan said in response to a question
by Zaruhi Postanjyan, an MP from the Heritage party.

In response to the MP’s question about the wasted sums, Zakaryan
said that his speech dealt with sporadic building and administration,
sale of lands at lower prices.

Last year, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia demanded
materials on only one of the inspections conducted by the Control
Chamber, which involved reforms in penitentiary institutions. The
Control Chamber is actively cooperating with Armenia’s law-enforcement
agencies.

With respect to procurements, Zakaryan said that “at least seven
government officials have to be involved in a criminal conspiracy
if they want to devise criminal schemes because their functions are
entirely different.”

The solutions proposed by the Control Chamber are not perfect, but
they must be discussed, Zakaryan said.

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA SHOULDN’T PUT TRUST IN EXTERNAL FORCES: RICHARD GIRAGOSYAN

15:47, 13 June, 2013

YEREVAN, JUNE 13, ARMENPRESS: Armenia should learn lessons from the
history and not put trust in the external forces. This was stated by
the Director of the Regional Studies Center, the political analyst
Richard Giragosyan at the seminar “EU association agreement. Security
Challenges and Opportunities” held on June 13.

“We should never put our trust in USA, Russia or the West. In the
first place we should put trust in ourselves”, – said the Director
of the Regional Studies Center, as reported by Armenpress.

The political analyst believes that the history has showed that in
different times, putting the hope on the external forces, Armenia
has always suffered and had big losses.

Richard Giragosyan stated that in the issue of the signing of the
Association Agreement, the summit, to be held in Vilnius, is the
easiest stage, adding that a bigger issue is the next day of the
summit, when Armenia will take the responsibility to implement
the requirements of the EU Association Agreement. The Director of
theRegional Studies Center and the political analyst Richard Giragosyan
noted that in that case Armenia will not have any alternative and
should make considerable reforms.

The discussions over the Armenia-EU Association Agreement were launched
since July 19 2010 in Yerevan.

From: Baghdasarian

AZERBAIJANI AUTHORITIES TRY TO NEUTRALIZE POTENTIAL CHALLENGERS – ARMENIAN EXPERT

June 13, 2013 | 14:24

YEREVAN. – The Azerbaijani authorities are attempting to neutralize,
by all means, their potential challengers in the run-up to the
presidential election in October.

Azerbaijani Studies specialist Sargis Asatryan stated the
abovementioned during a press conference on Thursday.

In his words, active processes are occurring in recent times in
Azerbaijan’s domestic politics, and in connection with the forthcoming
presidential voting in the country.

“The Azerbaijani authorities have severely criticized the [opposition]
National Council of Democratic Forces, [and] called its members,
‘Persons who do not deserve the people’s trust.’ The authorities have
placed the emphasis on the conflicts that exist between the members
of this council,” the Armenian analyst concluded.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

IRAN-U.S.-ARMENIA: PERFECT PARTNERS

It is possible to silence some problems for a long time, or at least
not to publicize them, but sooner or later one has to talk about them.

However, it is not accidental that they are silenced. It is a plan
made by politicians though some circumstances may matter too.

Iran is well-aware of the regional processes and tendencies so it
notices the rapprochement of Armenia with the United States, NATO
and the EU. Does it worry Iran, will it take any counteraction to
prevent the growing influence of the United States and NATO on Armenia
and eventually the South Caucasus? Strangely, this question did not
undergo due discussion because there is no such an “issue”.

Iran had such concerns in the 1990s when it did not consider Armenia
politically independent. At that time Iran was faced with the task
of enhancing the independence of Armenia not only from the West,
but also Russia, and Iran considered Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh
highly dependent on them.

Iran was seriously considering the status of associated state for
NKR along with the Afghan province of Herat, South Iraq and several
other territories.

Like Russia, Iran obviously underestimated the ability of the
Armenians to determine their own destiny. Iran did not dramatize
the situation. It accepted Armenia’s policy as one in line with its
own interests.

For Iran Armenia is first of all a state which opposes the plans of
Turkish expansion, not the United States or NATO. So, it is understood
that with a view to this task Armenia cannot afford international
isolation, and must develop its relations with the West. Who else
could Armenia otherwise rely on except Russia when the policy of
Armenian national interests is pursued?

Iran is reluctant to advocate of Armenia’s interest in case of
escalation of a military conflict with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Even if
Russia fulfils its commitments, it will not prevent it from availing
itself of problems in U.S.-Turkey and EU-Turkey relations. Iran
understands that Armenia cannot allow any harm to Iran, especially
upon the “order” of some Western powers.

There are not many arenas for the overlap of interests of the United
States and Iran in the vast areas of Asia Minor and the Near East.

However, both states understand that there are issues relating to
which the interests of the United States and Iran are in line. One of
these problems is the vulnerable geopolitical position of Armenia but
disruption of the balance of forces here will lead to a geopolitical
catastrophe for Iranand the United States.

The interests of the United States and Iran are growing in line in
Iraq, and soon they may turn out to be in line in Syria (strange
though it may seem). Analogically, Russia is approaching to their
position whose policy on the Near East was a breakthrough. But will
Russia be able to hold this position at least in a short term.

In this pragmatic and cynical world it is strangely difficult to set
up a geopolitical position without relying on partners with close or
similar cultural and historical complexes.

Igor Muradyan 15:50 14/06/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA’S RULING PARTY HAS NO INTENTION TO BECOME OPPOSITION

14:37 ~U 14.06.13

Galust Sahakyan, Head of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)
parliamentary group, states that the RPA has no intention to become
an opposition force.

With respect to the opposition’s claims that the authorities’
self-criticism and the developments in Armenia’s parliament are a
mere show, Sahakyan agrees it is a show, but without him and his
fellow members’ as actors.

“The opposition has to take on certain political tasks. The opposition
has active political figures,” Sahakyan said.

“The opposition should have introduced [all the bills], but we are
doing it, and we are right,” he said.

With respect to the inspections by the Control Chamber, Sahakyan said
that relevant political decisions will be made.

He noted that the Control Chamber’s reports are not shows. Rather,
the reports are presented to the public as a preventive measure.

“Abuse is a social phenomenon, and public and political forces must
enable society to express its opinion. This is a better preventive
measure,” he said.

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA WANTS TO SELL-OFF MORE OF ITS INFRASTRUCTURE

Thursday, June 13th, 2013

The Vorotan power generating station

BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN

Armenia’s Energy Minister Armen Movisisn on Thursday confirmed that
the Armenian government was indeed in talks with a US-based energy
company interested in buying Armenia’s largest power-generating
facility in Syunik . He did, however, say that the government has
not made a final decision.

However, in making the announcement on Wednesday, the US-based
ContourGlobal said it was in advanced talks and was willing to
contribute significant sums for the power generating plant, with
plans to invest significantly in its upgrade.

“While commercial terms are still being finalized the purchase price
will be very significant and all of the funds will be sourced from
outside of Armenia using a combination of ContourGlobal’s own resources
and those of prestigious international financial institutions,” it
said in a statement. They include the U.S. Overseas Private Investment
Corporation (OPIC) and the International Finance Corporation, a World
Bank Group division, according to the statement.

“In addition to the full purchase price, ContourGlobal will be
committing to invest further in a major overhaul of the main generating
equipment at the power plants,” added the company. “This investment is
urgently needed given the age of the plants and the under investment
in recent years.”

The Vorotan plant has the capability to produce as much power as
the Medzamor Nuclear Power Plant. Any decision about the sale of the
Vorotan Plant must be ratified by Parliament, as it is not on a list
of state assets that are subject to privatization.

If parliament approves this takeover, it will effectively hand-over the
last vestige of its energy infrastructure to a foreign company, forever
binding itself to the whims and policies of that corporation, whose
priorities do not include the national security interests of Armenia.

What’s also worth noting is that the plants within the Vorotan complex
were supposed to be refurbished with 51 million euros ($66 million)
in loans that were provided by a German development bank to Armenia
in 2010. Officials said at the time that the modernization will be
complete by 2015, reported RFE/RL on Wednesday.

This is the second large-scale effort in recent months by Armenia’s
government to essentially give away a critical asset in the Syunik
region, bordering the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic to the west, Iran to
the south and Turkey to the east.

The notorious scheme to lease pasture land to Iran was vocally opposed
by Armenia’s environmental and civic activists, who pointed out the
dangers in eventually populating this critical and strategic region
by Iranian shepherds.

Successive Armenian leaders have made it a common practice to sell-off
critical infrastructure to others. This trend started with the Levon
Ter-Petrosian administration and continued with Robert Kocharian and
seems to be favored by the Serzh Sarkisian regime.

Let’s take an inventory of what critical aspects of Armenia’s
infrastructure are foreign owned: gas, telecommunications, partial
power, nuclear power. This scheme will seal the deal and hand over
control of ALL of Armenia’s infrastructure to foreigners. This does
not include the inventory of Armenia’s natural resources, which during
the first Sarkisian term was systematically sold to so-called foreign
“investors.”

This latest effort, as was the case in the past, will make some
individuals overnight millionaires and the public once again will be
left footing the ultimate bill.

If this goes to parliament, Armenia’s legislators should put national
interests ahead of their partisan or individual interests and vote this
effort down unanimously. However, through its aggressive election fraud
mechanism, the ruling regime ensured last year that the parliament
will do exactly what the president wants.

From: Baghdasarian

HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK: ARMENIAN BANK BOARD CHAIRMAN BRUTALLY BEATEN

09:45 ~U 14.06.13

The paper says it has learned from sources that the board chairman
of Haybusinessbank, Sergey Arzumanyan, was beaten severely in his
office Tuesday evening.

It is already three days he hasn’t gone to work. Sources in the bank
have told the paper that several young people broke into Arzumanyan’s
office at the end of the working day and left a couple of minutes
later, ‘having completed their work’.

Arzumanyan’s face was reportedly difficult to identify after the
incident. Employees of the bank have said that he had had a phone
conversation half an hour before the men came. But the paper says
it didn’t manage to contact Arzumanyan for further details. It has
only found he didn’t turn to either the police or any healthcare
institution.

The paper notes that Arzumanyan, who has been working in the banking
sector for many years, is considered one of the real professionals
in the sector. Haybusinessbank’s shareholder is Vitaly Grigoryan,
who resides chiefly abroad, adds the paper.

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: Baghdasarian

BAKU IS CONCERNED THAT TURKISH PROTESTS MAY REPEAT IN AZERBAIJAN – ARMENIAN ANALYST

June 13, 2013 | 13:18

YEREVAN. – The West is interested so that stability is maintained in
Azerbaijan because it supplies energy to western countries.

Azerbaijani Studies specialist Sargis Asatryan noted the aforesaid,
during a press conference on Thursday, responding to the query as
to whether the ongoing demonstrations in Turkey could take place in
Azerbaijan, as well.

In his conviction, if a small protest in any country turns into a
mass protest movement, numerous factors contribute to this phenomenon.

“At any rate, we have to wait for further developments linked to the
“[Azerbaijani president Ilham] Aliyev, go away, you are next!’ slogans
[that were made] in Istanbul,” Asatryan stressed.

The analyst added that after the recent mass demonstrations in Turkey,
official Baku has serious concerns that such events could be repeated
in Azerbaijan.

“In addition, one cannot rule out the possibility that the Islamist
and pro-Iranian Shiite groups can play a seriously destabilizing role
in Azerbaijan,” Sargis Asatryan concluded.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

EXPERT: GENOCIDE RECOGNITION BECOMING WORLDWIDE TENDENCY

June 13, 2013 – 14:18 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The issue of the Ukrainian parliament’s official
recognition of the Genocide is a logical continuation of Armenian
Diaspora’s lengthy efforts, an expert at Politika analytical center
Oleg Smirnov told Analitika.at.ua.

“Recently, the recognition of the Armenian Genocide has become a
worldwide tendency, which involves Ukraine as well. Supreme Council’s
draft resolution on the Genocide was initiated to commemorate the
victims of the atrocities, stress the inadmissibility of discrimination
against any nations and prevent crimes against humanity in future,”
he stressed.

On June 6, a draft resolution on the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide was submitted to Ukraine’s Supreme Council.

The bill was initiated by parliamentarians Vilen Shatvoryan and
Arsen Avakov.

From: Baghdasarian