Author: Kajoyan Gevork

WHERE THERE IS THE RUBLE THERE IS THE DRAM

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Dec 17 2014

17 December 2014 – 10:30am

Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza

The process of devaluation of the dram, which is predetermined by
negative processes in the Russian economy, continues in Armenia. It
started three weeks ago. The national currency is dropping by 3-7
points against the dollar every day. The dram exchange rate fell by
13% against the dollar, reaching 480 drams instead of the previous
411 drams.

The devaluation of the dram caused a price growth of 10-12% for
essential goods, including bread, milk, eggs, flour, and sugar.

According to Artak Shaboyan, the chairman of the State Commission for
Protection of Economic Competition, the fluctuations of the dram led
to a growth in prices for imported goods and some local goods which
include imported components.

The leadership of the Central Bank and many experts connect this with
the dollar rising, which is caused by the outflow of capital from
developing countries to the U.S. due to the growth of the American
economy, a slowdown in Russian economic growth and the fall of the
Russian ruble, as it reduced the number of transfers from Russia
to Armenia.

Karen Chilingaryan, the head of the Consumer Consultative Center,
is sure that the price growth will continue: “Due to the crisis in
Russia, the volume of money which was sent home by labor migrants
has reduced drastically. Before the crisis, the volume was $1.8 to
$2 billion a year. Where there is the ruble there is the dram.”

Meanwhile, Armen Pogosyan, the chairman of the Association of Consumers
of Armenia, doesn’t think the price growth is only connected with
the dollar rising. According to him, the main reason is the monopoly
on imports of meat and sugar, which determines prices. “There is a
nominal price growth and a criminal one. Prices on some goods are
growing for objective reasons, while the growth of prices on local
goods is explained by a desire of producers to get excess profit,”
Pogosyan says.

Economist Vaagan Khachatryan, a member of the opposition party the
Armenian National Congress, has the same view: “Monopoly structures
which are closely connected with the authorities define prices on the
market. The dollar rising is used by monopolists for getting excess
profits. If the country had many exporters rather than a few, the
dependence of prices on fluctuations of the exchange rate wouldn’t
be so big.”

Today consumer prices are three times higher than wholesale prices.

And this is typical for most goods from the consumer basket.

Since December 9th the Central Bank began limited auction monetary
selling for stabilization of the dram exchange rate. This will continue
till the end of the year. The head of the CB, Artur Dzhavadyan,
states that the monetary market of Armenia overcame the shock
situation. However, dram devaluation is going on. And the reason for
the devaluation is the CB’s policy with its restrictions.

According to Armen Papazyan, a financial expert, when considering
the timely selling of a certain volume of dollars and euros, the
participants in the financial market began to adopt their policy
to the terms till the end of December. Banks, organizations and
individuals could buy more foreign money till the end of the year,
and it will undermine the new policy of the CB.

Even if the dram rises, it will happen for a short period, ahead
of New Year’s Eve, after which the situation will become worse due
to the deficit of foreign money, which has objective and powerful
roots. The sources of getting foreign money are almost exhausted. This
is connected with the further reduction of transfers from Russia and
the cutoff of foreign loans and significant reduction of investments
in the Armenian economy and the huge deficit of the foreign trade
balance. The consumer market of Armenia is formed by imports, which
are monopolized.

To fight devaluation of dram and the growth of prices, a real economy
based on development of internal production would be effective, rather
than share selling. It would make the country less vulnerable to the
negative influence of external factors. However, stimulating internal
production and establishing a real competitive business environment,
a struggle against the monopoly structure of the economy, demand a
serious approach which demands political changes.

LETTER FROM NAGORNO-KARABAKH: WHEN AN ENTIRE COUNTRY BECOMES A KIND OF NO-MAN’S LAND

The Irish Times
Dec 17 2014

Nagorno-Karabakh is an unrecognised statelet of deserted villages
and tense front lines

by Conor O’Clery

In Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, polite officials
stamped our passports and wished us a pleasant stay.

They’re happy to welcome foreigners to the Armenian- populated
republic in the southern Caucasus. That’s because no country in the
world acknowledges its status.

Nagorno-Karabakh is one of a small club of unrecognised statelets
left stranded by the Soviet Union’s collapse. It officially belongs
to Azerbaijan, but was captured by Armenia 20 years ago, after a war
that cost more than 30,000 lives.

>From the Armenian capital of Yerevan, it took us seven hours to reach
the territory, whose name means “Black Garden”. The road traverses
mountains with fantastic rock formations and dense beech forests. The
last 65 kilometres of tarmac was constructed with $10 million (EURO 8
million) from the Armenian diaspora, replacing a mountain track that
cut off Nagorno-Karabakh in the winter.

Stepanakert has been rebuilt since it was partly destroyed by Grad
missiles in the 1990s. There are boulevards, fashionable shops and
cafes with free wifi. Our final destination was Martakert, another
hour across a featureless plateau, where my wife Zhanna has relatives.

Desolate landscape

Along the highway, old Ladas and modern army trucks lurched around
each other to avoid deep potholes and flocks of sheep. To the east was
an endless drab landscape of deserted villages. The roofless houses
were once occupied by Azeris, who lived at peace in Soviet times but
were forced to flee when war broke out.

The house we stayed at in Martakert was just far enough away so that
we didn’t hear the occasional sniper and machine- gun fire down the
road. The war may be over, but there is as yet no peace. The town lies
beside an active front line, which divides two armies and stretches
for hundreds of kilometres in each direction. It’s marked by concrete
bunkers, sandbags and camouflage netting.

In the week of our visit, 20,000 shots were reportedly fired along
the lines, and an Armenian officer and two Azeri soldiers were killed.

There is no formal contact between the troops, not even a telephone
line, though local conscripts have been known to meet at night in
no-man’s land to exchange cigarettes and recall how their parents
were friends in the Soviet era.

Many of the recruits stationed in Martakert are from Armenia proper,
here to do their national service, for “independent” Nagorno-Karabakh
is a practically a province of Armenia. The money in circulation is
the Armenian dram. Yerevan provides services such as the free gas
that flows through yellow pipes into every Martakert building.

There is much poverty. Still, our host, like everyone else in town,
has a large garden with vegetables,walnut trees, and pears, figs,
grapes, persimmon and pomegranate. Over a meal of dolmadas and lavash
bread stuffed with herbs and excellent home-made red wine, we talked
of young men from Martakert who had become casualties in the war or
were forced to seek a decent life elsewhere, usually in Russia.

The adjacent house was wrecked by a shell in 1992 and the family never
returned. The official population of Nagorno- Karabakh is 138,000,
down from 200,000 before the war. Remittances from those living in
Russia have dwindled with the falling rouble.

At night we watched Moscow television channels. Russia is allied
with Christian Armenia and provides a sense of protection against a
full-scale invasion from Moslem Azerbaijan, which has been investing
petro-dollars to upgrade its military with the declared aim of
recovering lost territory.

Accidental war

The danger on this East-West fault line is war by accident, which
could draw in Russia, Iran and Turkey. This year has seen the worst
casualties along the front since 1994.

In August, Russia president Vladimir Putin – in the unfamiliar role
of peacemaker – presided over an emergency summit of the Armenian
and Azerbaijan presidents to try to reactivate a peace process that
would involve a phased return to Azerbaijan of occupied regions around
Karabakh and an eventual referendum in the status of the region.

People in the “Black Garden” are preparing to hold special
commemorations next year to commemorate the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

They hope it will not be remembered for more bloodshed.

COMMUNITY RAISES OVER $60,000 FOR ARMENIAN STUDIES AT UC IRVINE

Wednesday, December 17th, 2014

Dr. Garo and Mrs. Sylvie Tertzakian hosted their seventh annual
fundraiser to support the Armenian Studies program at UC Irvine

IRVINE, Calif.–This past Sunday, Dr. Garo and Mrs. Sylvie Tertzakian
held their seventh annual fundraiser to support the Armenian Studies
program within the School of Humanities at UC Irvine. With generous
support from the community, the event raised over $60,000 to go
towards establishing an endowed chair of Armenian Studies.

Georges Van Den Abbeele, Dean of the School of Humanities, was present
to share his vision for the program, thank the Tertzakians and the
community for its continued support of the program and to invite
attendees to take action by supporting the $500,000 fundraising
challenge to meet the $1.5 million mark necessary to establishing an
endowed chair.

The establishment of an endowed chair in Armenian Studies has been a
commitment of the Armenian community in Orange County. With that goal
in mind, Drs. Vahe and Armine Meghrouni, benefactors of the Armenian
Studies Lecture Series, pledged $1 million this summer. In order
to meet the present $1.5 million endowment minimum for a faculty
chair, the UC Irvine School of Humanities is asking the community
to commit the remaining $500,000. With the funds raised from last
week’s holiday fundraiser, the School of Humanities is on its way to
achieving this goal.

The School of Humanities is currently in an unprecedented position
to elevate the impact of chair endowments, including its proposed
endowed chair in Armenian Studies. In partnership with the University
of California Office of the President, UC Irvine Chancellor Howard
Gillman recently announced a one-time matching gift program to fund
endowed chairs at UC Irvine. For the first eight endowed chairs that
have signed donor agreements at the $1.5 million minimum, there will
be a $500,000 match to bring the endowed chair value to $2 million.

This pilot program is an exciting opportunity to elevate the level of
academic expertise that an esteemed chair can bring to a school and it
would be ideal to quickly capitalize on this unique opportunity. These
matching funds are available on a first-come, first-serve basis,
and will no doubt be consumed quickly.

“Armenian studies has a central role to play in the humanities to
the extent that it is both focused on one people’s traditions and
history and also opens up a much wider horizon of ethical, cultural,
intellectual and spiritual concerns that face all humanity,” said Van
Den Abeele, dean of the School of Humanities. “It is, in a profound
way, both absolutely global and yet as local as our own southern
California community.”

Established in December of 2007 under the leadership of history
professor Touraj Daryaee and assisted by the Tertzakians, Armenian
Studies at UC Irvine includes undergraduate coursework in ancient
and modern Armenian history. With financial support from Vahe and
Armine Meghrouni, the program also hosts a quarterly lecture series
that bridges historical and cultural topics surrounding modern day
Armenia to the broader Orange County community.

The School of Humanities is currently in discussion with the American
University of Armenia regarding a partnership on faculty, student and
research exchange, which would add incredible value and knowledge-share
to the Armenian Studies Program at UC Irvine.

To learn more about Armenian Studies at UC Irvine or about how to
support the endowed chair, please reach out to Marijana Lekousis,
Interim Director of Development, at [email protected] or 949-824-1342.

“AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL”: AZERBAIJANI JOURNALIST KHADIJA ISMAYILOVA – PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE

11:56 17/12/2014 >> SOCIETY

International human rights organization “Amnesty International” has
recognized the Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova a prisoner
of conscience, was noted in a statement posted on organization’s
official website.

“Amnesty International believes that the accusation against Khadija
Ismayilova has political motives and is the latest attempt to silence
her journalistic activities after long persecution. Khadija Ismayilova
was threatened earlier for conducting investigative journalism, was
subject to criminal prosecution for libel. “Amnesty International”
believes that Khadija Ismayilova is a prisoner of conscience,” the
statement reads.

By this statement “Amnesty International” calls on the Azerbaijani
authorities to immediately release Ismayilova, who was detained only
for exercising their rights to freedom of expression. The statement
is a call to the Azerbaijani authorities to ensure smooth operation
of the lawyer of the journalist.

“Amnesty International” encourages the international community to
send this application to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and
Prosecutor General Zakir Garalov, and to disseminate it in the
diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan of their countries.

On December 5, morning, well-known Azerbaijani journalist Khadija
Ismayilova was detained after being questioned at the prosecutor’s
office. Baku Sabail District Court made a decision to detain her for
two months. She was charged with incitement to suicide. If the fault
of the journalist is proven, then she can be punished by a term of
3 to 7 years in prison. Khadija Ismayilova has become the target of
attacks of the government for her journalistic activities. Ismayilova
is an author of a number of journalistic investigations of corruption
in the highest echelons of power in Azerbaijan. In recent years, she is
conducting a talk show in the Azerbaijani Service of “Radio Liberty”.

INFLATION REACHES ARMENIAN PETROL MARKET – NEWSPAPER

YEREVAN, December 17./ARKA/. Oil prices are falling in all countries,
but Armenia – here they are going up, Zhamanak reports. According to
the newspaper, petrol prices jumped 30 drams yesterday.

In particular, Regular leapt from 460 drams per one liter to 490
drams and Premium was sold at 510 drams instead of 480 drams.

Styopa Simonyan, deputy director of Flash fuel supplying company,
confirming the fact of the petrol price increase by 30 drams in his
conversation with the newspaper’s correspondent, said that the price
rise will depend on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.

Simonyan, however, refused to answer some of the questions the
correspondent put to him, saying he was busy.

Another market player, City Petrol Group CJSC, however, neither
confirmed nor denied the fact of petrol price hikes. A spokesman here
said that the appropriate person is absent now. Armenia’s fuel market
would be better secured if the country imported fuel from various
countries, but now it imports fuel mostly from Russia.

The newspaper says, fuel was imported also from Bulgaria and Romania,
the countries having large competitive markets.

The 4-6-percent fall seen in petrol prices at the local market in
October not only stopped, but also inflation got own back. –0—–

WHETHER WE WILL HAVE SUCH HYDRORESOURCES TO PRODUCE 30% OF ELECTRICITY IN REPUBLIC IN 2025?

12:14 December 16, 2014

EcoLur

Under the studies, Armenia has its own sufficient resources of
renewable hydropower, the use of which will enable to meet the demand
of electricity consumption by 30% in 2025. This statement was made
by Deputy Energy and Natural Resources Minister Hayk Harutyunyan at
the conference devoted to renewable energy, as the official website
of Energy and Natural Resources Ministry informs.

Hydroresources are currently the most common renewable reserves. In
2013 the hydropower ensured around 29% of the annual consumption of
the electricity in Armenia.

It’s a big question to what extent it will be possible to increase
electricity production volumes at the expense of hydroresources in
further years, as the climate change processes in Armenia resulted
in the lack of water.

The Second National Communication on Climate Change says that the
river flow in Armenia will reduce by 6.7% by 2030, 14.5% by 2070 and
24.4% by 2100. Even now the lack of the river flow has been recorded,
and their indicators excel the figures laid down in the forecasts.

Under the data provided by the Hydrology Center for Hydromet Service,
the water flow in the Akhuryan river basin made up 15-20%, 20-30% in
Qasakh, 50% in the Hrazdan river basin in April, 22% in May and 30%
in June.

EPLO OPENS BRANCH IN ARMENIA

14:29 * 17.12.14

The AM law firm has held an opening ceremony of the Armenian branch
of the European Public Law Organization (EPLO).

Spyridon Flogaitis, EPLO Director and President of the Board of
Directors, noted that Armenia was one of the states that ratified
the EPLO establishment agreement.

The EPLO branch in Armenia will have great influence on the entire
region, he said.

Mr Flogaitis noted that the EPLO is ready to develop its activities by
means of its branch in Armenia. The EPLO has repeatedly invited the
member-states to undertake the initiative at the local and regional
levels to promote the development of public law. According to Mr
Flogaitis, the EPLO Armenia branch will be efficiently managed by
people with extensive experience and a clear idea of what the EPLO
is willing to develop in the member-states and in the world.

Armenia’s official representative in the EPLO, AM law firm Managing
Partner Grigor Minasyan noted that Armenia has been making great
efforts to integrate into the European law system since it gained
independence.

“The integration processes have enabled Armenians lawyers to become
full members of the European law community. Due to the long work
carried out by Professor Flogaitis and the EPLO we can state that
Armenia has the only EPLO branch in the region. The branch will
enable our young lawyers, law students and post-graduate students to
attend retraining courses at leading higher schools and European and
international conferences,” Mr Minasyan said.

LE PRESIDENT ARMENIEN LOUE LA POSITION DE L’URUGUAY SUR LE KARABAGH

ARMENIE

Le president Serge Sarkissian a salue la position equilibree de
l’Uruguay sur le Haut-Karabagh alors qu’il recevait le vice-president
Danilo Astori.

Danilo Astori, qui est egalement President du Senat uruguayen, a
declare plus tôt dans le cadre de sa visite officielle en Armenie
que l’Uruguay “travaille a “la reconnaissance de la Republique du
Haut-Karabagh”.

Lors de la reception du fonctionnaire uruguayen, le President
Sarkissian, a egalement decrit 2014 comme une annee prometteuse
et important dans le developpement des relations d’amitie
armeno-uruguayennes, qui selon lui a ouvert de nouvelles perspectives
pour les deux pays.

Serge Sarkissian aurait partage des souvenirs chaleureux de sa visite
d’Etat en Uruguay et de sa rencontre avec le president Jose Mujica en
ete. Le leader armenien a demande a Danilo Astori de transmettre ses
chaleureuses salutations a Mujica, et ses felicitations et meilleurs
voeux au president nouvellement elu Tabare Vazquez.

Danilo Astori, pour sa part, s’est felicite des liens etroits entre
les deux pays, avec la volonte de les etendre et de promouvoir la
cooperation economique.

Serge Sarkissian et Danilo Astori ont egalement souligne l’importance
de la diplomatie interparlementaire dans le renforcement des relations
interetatiques. Ils ont convenu que les activites menees par des
groupes d’amitie parlementaires des deux pays ont encore renforce
l’amitie.

Le president armenien a de nouveau exprime sa gratitude aux dirigeants
et au peuple de l’Uruguay pour leur precieuse contribution a la
reconnaissance du genocide armenien. L’Uruguay a ete le premier pays
qui a reconnu officiellement le genocide armenien en 1965.

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

L’ADMINISTRATION DE L’USINE CHIMIQUE DE NAIRIT S’ENGAGE A VERSER LES ARRIERES DE SALAIRES

ARMENIE

L’administration de l’usine chimique de Nairit a rassure ses
travailleurs en affirmant qu’elle etait prete a repondre a ses
obligations concernant le remboursement des arrieres de salaires
que certains craignent qu’ils risquent d’etre perdus en raison des
speculations sur une eventuelle faillite imminente.

Des centaines de travailleurs de l’usine Nairit d’Erevan ont
organise des manifestations a proximite des bureaux du president et
du gouvernement de l’Armenie depuis la semaine dernière exigeant que
leurs arrieres de salaires d’un maximum de 18 mois soient effaces.

Les travailleurs ont egalement demande plus de clarte sur le maintien
de l’emploi. Ils ont menace d’entamer une grève assis a moins que
leurs demandes soient satisfaites.

> a declare
l’administration de l’usine dans un communique publie mardi.

À l’heure actuelle, les arrieres de salaires de l’usine sont estimes
a quelque 15 millions de dollars.

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

EUROPE AND WE. PROFANE VULGAR

December 16 2014

The problem of the individual and the crowd in the 21st century
Yeghishe Tadevosyan’s “The Talent and the Crowd” canvas is one of the
most impressive works in our National Gallery, which our renowned
artist have created in 1909 created. The plot of the work brushed
under the influence of pointillism “pixel” techniques is clear without
unnecessary comments, the “genius”, the individual, the personality is
running away from the crowd’s noise, mockery and insults. The artist
touched upon this theme also in other works, such as “The Christ and
the Pharisees” canvas. The plot of confrontation between individuality
and the crowd in the European culture, it can be said, has an age-old
history, but it has found a great popularity in the 19th century. The
reason probably is that the “common equality” (truly) advocated by the
bourgeois-democratic revolutions, the egalitarianism ideas collapsed,
and it appeared that the “third class” coming to power was nothing
better of the first two: clericalism and aristocracy. Moreover, there
was again a demand for aristocracy, but this time, not by virtue of
origin, but by the “spirit”, meaning first of all the perceptions of
life different from the crowd. “The Poet and the Crowd,” so is called
European high values-holder Russian poet Alexander Pushkin’s poem.

However, such “aristocrats” have always existed. Socrates, for
example. There was a moment when the democratic crowd demanded the
death penalty for the Athena’s, the so-called “yerkrapahs” (who in
all times, sometimes become a calamity, and sometimes a scapegoat).

Socrates was strongly against this death penalty. The crowd’s verdict,
however, was executed, but some time later, the people of Athena
regretted, forgetting, however, that the philosopher had warned them
about it. Moreover, Socrates speeches and warnings began to irritate
the citizens of Athens, they accused the philosopher that he allegedly
is perverting the youth and generally, expresses profane ideas and
also sentenced to death. In the elitism, therefore, there is also a
positive element. The matter is not about the state elitism when the
state and political figures do not know, and as a rule, are reluctant
to know how their citizens live with, whereas they, the representatives
of this “elite” are living by momentary pleasures, not thinking even
about their personal future. Such an “elite” is usually composed of
a limited, ignorant and “rapacious” people. The matter is actually
about “aristocracy of spirit”, which was a driving force in European
societies for centuries, regardless of whether it was persecuted or
worshiped. Armen Petrosyan, the permanent author of “Aravot” has a
publication on this subject entitled “The Armenian fortune. Armenian
tragedy, lack of aristocracy,” in which, the scientist specifically
noted on this matter, Georgians have an advantage over us. It is indeed
the case, although we regularly ridicule our neighbors allegedly every
second person there thinks of himself a “prince”. Let it be so. It’s
better people think of themselves a prince rather than like us,
thinking of being a “good guy”. Because the one having the ambitions
of a prince (even if he does not noble roots) will definitely eat the
meal with knife and fork, while the “good guy” has to do it by champing
like a cow. Is it a trifle thing? A philistinism? Maybe. But everything
starts from trifle. The one having ambitions of a prince would dare to
oppose the crowd, while the “good guy” – never, he is always next to
“the people”. And when the above-described “elite” manipulates the
crowd, the very “aristocrat” should warn the people. The “elite”
may tell tales about justice, bright future and national ideals,
while the “aristocrats” should not be held captive to these rumors,
should not please the crowd rather than to be obligated to identify
the real intentions of the elite. To the point, about justice. When
Socrates was condemned, one of his pupils was annoyed that he was
unjustly condemned. In response to it, the philosopher asked, “What
is advantageous to you that I am sentenced to death just or unjust?”

Aram ABRAHAMYAN

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