Author: Kajoyan Gevork

GERMAN AMBASSADOR: OLIGOPOLY IN ARMENIA APPEARED IN THE TIMES OF FORMER AUTHORITIES

Panorama
Sept 27 2011
Armenia

German Ambassador to Armenia Hans-Jochen Schmidt has said on Tuesday in
a discussion on 20 years of independence in Armenia and in the region
that both Armenian former presidents should hold responsibility for
the situation in the country, “including the negative steps.”

In this context the German Ambassador was asked if it’s accurate when
the former authorities condemn the ruling government.

Mr. Schmidt has said he’s attending the ANC demonstrations in the
Liberty Square, but at the same time he avoids interfering the ongoing
discussions. “In a meeting with one of the advisors of the first
president I asked if in 94-97 elections were not forged, he said that
I knew nothing about them. Of course, I think it’s unfair. But they
cannot admit their own mistakes.”

“Nobody likes the words oligopoly or oligarchy but those phenomena
appeared during the former governments,” concluded the German diplomat.

TURKISH BANKS SEND DEFENSE STATEMENT AGAINST AMERICAN ARMENIANS’ COMPENSATION LAWSUIT

news.am
Sept 27 2011
Armenia

ISTANBUL. – After receiving a protest note from the American side,
Turkey’s Bank of Agriculture and Central Bank sent their defense
statement to California Federal Court, where the heirs of Armenian
Genocide survivors have filed compensation lawsuits against these
banks.

The joint defense statement notes that the Bank of Agriculture and
the Central Bank do not bear any responsibility for the property
seized from the Armenians in 1915 because the Republic of Turkey was
established in 1923, Turkey’s Haberturk daily writes.

The lawsuit, which was filed past year against these banks and under
American Armenian Alex Bakalian’s guidance, states that in 1923 the
lands-in Adana, Turkey-belonging to their families were transferred
to the Bank of Agriculture. On one of the 4 plots of these lands the
Incirlik military base was built, which is leased to US. The lawsuit
demands the value of these lands, which comprise $63 million US,
and part of the income received from the lease of Incirlik, which
totals $100 million.

ARF COOPERATION WITH TRADITIONAL PARTIES IS POSSIBLE

AZG DAILY
28-09-2011

Head of ARF Armenian cause and political questions Kiro Manoyan told
the journalist during the press conference that he does not exclude
that if in the political field there will be any activation against
ARF policy or attitude then ARF will get equally active. He, however,
believes that there’s no need for taking steps at this point.

Representative of ARF did not deny the news that ARF is constantly
having meetings with other traditional political parties, yerkir.am
reported.

“Meetings that we have with Democratic Liberal party and
Social-democratic Hnchak party are on high level and in constant
basis and it is not excluded that one day we come with a mutual
announcement”, said Kiro Manoyan and added that there was a precedent
and could be again.

BRIBES REPORTED TO FIX BOXING AT 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS

AZG DAILY
28-09-2011

The BBC’s “Newsnight” programme reports evidence that secret payments
are being made for countries to ensure gold medals at the London 2012
Olympic Games.

It was broadcast both on the BBC Web site as well as “Newsnight,”
suggesting that secret payments of millions of dollars were being made
from Azerbaijan to the international organisation World Series Boxing.

The BBC says it has been shown evidence from whistleblowers that
the WSB’s chief claimed the money was in return for a guarantee that
Azerbaijani fighters would two gold medals in London.

Lawyers for the International Amateur Boxing Association told the
BBC that any such allegation was “preposterous and utterly untrue.”

“Any suggestion the loan was made in return for promises of gold
medals at the 2012 Olympics is preposterous and utterly untrue,”
said an IABA statement.

IABA, the boxing organiser at the Olympics, admits an Azeri national
paid $9m (£5.9m) to one of their competitions, reports the BBC,
but they deny any suggestion that any deals were made to fix medals.

“It was an arm’s length transaction between two entities made on
a commercial basis and with a view to a commercial return for the
investor,” the statement added.

The latest allegation of Olympic cheating will no doubt worry the
London 2012 organisers as well as the authorities.

Last week, Professor David Cowan, a doping expert from King’s College
London, warned sportsmen and women who refuse to play fair not to
come to London, the Press Association reported.

“It’s going to be the riskiest games for cheats,” he vowed, saying
“huge advances” had been made in recent years to find ways of reliably
identifying every kind of prohibited performance-enhancer. Cowan
spoke at the British Science Festival at the University of Bradford.

FRESH ALLEGATIONS OVER AZERBAIJANI BOXERS

Tert.am
20:54 27.09.11

Fresh allegations of corruption involving Azerbaijani boxers have
surfaced at the world amateur championships following earlier claims
that Baku paid a huge bribe to secure Olympic gold for its fighters.

British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported that Azerbaijan’s
boxers had been given seeded positions at the world championships –
the first Olympic qualifying event for boxing – that did not reflect
their world rankings.

“The seedings see the Azerbaijani super-heavyweight Magomedrasul
Medzhidov ranked No 2, despite never having fought in a major
tournament at that weight,” the newspaper’s report said.

“Of the eight other (Azerbaijani) boxers, four are seeded at No 8
in their respective weight categories although that does not reflect
their world ranking,” it said.

The International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) denied any
irregularities in the seeding process at the championships, saying
that it conformed to competition rules available for public scrutiny
on its website.

“In the regulations, the host country has eight seeded boxers,”
AIBA spokesman Sebastien Gillot told AFP.

“The regulation would be the same for any host country,” he said,
rejecting any suggestion of preferential treatment for Azerbaijan.

He said that Medzhidov was given his number two seeding because
“he was the second best boxer in the World Series of Boxing last year”.

The British newspaper’s allegations followed a report by the BBC last
week claiming that an Azerbaijani national paid a $9 million bribe
to ensure victories for the country’s fighters at next year’s Olympics.

The claim caused fury in Baku where Azerbaijani boxing officials
described it as a lie, while AIBA president Wu Ching-Kuo said it was
“totally untrue and ludicrous”.

“Any corruption or manipulation is totally unacceptable,” he said.

The world championships are being seen as a major event in Azerbaijan,
an energy-rich state seeking to boost its international profile.

KARAPET MIKAELYAN’S FANS IN IRKUTSK RAISE FUNDS FOR HIS OPERATION

Tert.am
21:25 27.09.11

Former player of Armenia’s National Football Team Karapet Mikaelyan
will receive financial aid for his heart transplantation also from
his fans in the Russian city of Irkutsk.

According to the Russian language new website Kp.ru, Mikaelyan,
who used to play also in the local team Zvezda (Star), needs heart
transplantation.

“I am sure that lots of people who live in Irkutsk, as well as in
Saratov, Samara and, of course, Yerevan, where Karapet Mikaelyan
played at various times, played with him and enjoyed his game,” said
Mikhail Klimov, Press Secretary for the Radian-Baikal football club.

“I am calling on you not to remain aloof at the misfortune of others.

Help to save his life,” he added.

FIVE CHILDREN BORN TO RUSSIAN COUPLE THANKS TO ARMENIAN DOCTORS

Tert.am
18:29 27.09.11

A couple in the Russian region of Rostov is raising five babies
simultaneously after several years of treatment against infertility.

Doctors recommended the Kaloev family to find a surrogate mother as
the only possible way of having a baby.

Knowing that such services are five times cheaper in Armenia, the
Kaloevs decided to apply to a medical center in Yerevan. There, the
mother, Anna Kaloeva, was recommended to get pregnant as well. As
a result, she bore twins; the surrogate mother gave birth to three
babies. The couple was even offered to get rid of one fetus, but they
disagreed to that.

The local authorities in the Russian region have granted six types
of state benefit to the parents of five.

Below is the Russian first TV channel’s video footage telling about
the family’s story.

KIRO MANOYAN: TURKEY HAS NO INTENTION TO RATIFY THE PROTOCOLS
Siranush Muradyan

Radiolur
27.09.2011 17:40

“Return of the protocols to the Turkish parliament agenda is not
a surprise. Ankara will use them as another tool of pressure on
Armenia to prevent Yerevan from withdrawing its signature,” Head
of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau’s Hay Dat and
Political Affairs Office Kiro Manoyan told a press conference today.

“Turkey just wants to show to the international community that the
reconciliation process in under way. However, it’s clear that this
country has no intention to ratify the protocols,” he said.

“Despite Armenia’s positive disposition, Turkey continues to speak
in the language of ultimatums,” Kiro Manoyan said.

Speaking about President Serzh Sargsyan’s speech at the UN General
Assembly, Manoyan said its accentuations were positive.

YOU HAVE TO WORK FOR DEMOCRACY, FORMER AMBASSADOR TELLS ARMENIA

epress.am
09.27.2011 17:17

No country becomes democratic right away; nothing happens just like
that, said former US Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans today
at the “Assessing Independence in Armenia and the Region” public
forum organized by the Civilitas Foundation.

A journalist asked the diplomat why US authorities didn’t assume a
stricter stance in the aftermath of the 2008 presidential election
in Armenia, especially when a diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks
recently revealed that the US believed presidential candidate and
current opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian had 35% of the votes.

Evans, however, didn’t respond to the question directly, stating that
“as they say, in Armenia, the best elections were the first.”

“Of course, in 2008, there was fraud but you shouldn’t wait that
democracy will be created by itself – in no country has it happened
like that. We all have to work in this direction. The events of Mar.

1-2 have had a very negative impact on Armenia, in terms of the
Millennium Challenge program, democracy, civil society. But we
shouldn’t overlook the tendency for reform. Yesterday, I was looking
through Armenia’s yellow pages directory. There are so many businesses,
so many shops,” he said.

German Ambassador to Armenia Hans-Jochen Schmidt, also speaking on
the panel, also said that despite the unfortunate events of 2008,
today the Armenian authorities are carrying out significant reforms.

“There are fantastic professionals in Armenian ministries, in the prime
minister’s [office]: such as, for example, in the justice ministry,
in the Central Bank there are highly qualified specialists.

They are working, but of course they can work better,” he said.

MONEY TRANSFERS IN RUSSIAN RUBLES THROUGH ANELIK PAYMENT SYSTEM IN JANUARY-AUGUST SEE FIVE-TIME INCREASE

ARKA
Sep 27, 2011

YEREVAN, September 27. / ARKA /. The volume of money transfers
in Russian rubles remitted to Armenia and from it through Anelik
payment system in January-August 2011 exceeded 356.1 million rubles,
a five-time increase over the same period of 2010, Bank Anelik told
ARKA. If compared with the first eight months of 2009 the volume
of transfers through Anelik system increased 13 times, it said in a
press release.

According to it, in the first eight months remittances through Anelik
were the equivalent of $673 million. The number of transactions in
the same time span rose to 920,649, up almost 37% from the same period
of 2010.

The commission charged for a money transfer from the system’s
subsidiary LLC Anelik.Ru (in Moscow) to any branch of Bank Anelik in
Armenia and back is from 0.5% to 0.8% of the amount irrespective of
the currency type. The commission charge for a remittance in Russian
rubles from any settlement in Russia to regional branches of Bank
Anelik and back is 0.9% for any amount.

Anelik payment and settlement system was established in 1997. Today
it operates in nearly 100 countries through about 200 banks and
63 thousand money points. Bank Anelik was established in 1990. Its
shareholders are CreditBank SALs (69.5%) Samvel Chzmachyan – 12.25%,
Armen Ghazarian – 6% and Galina Voronina – 12.25%.