Author: Kajoyan Gevork

ARMENIA BOOSTS DIAMOND EXPORTS 60% IN JAN-SEPT, GOLD EXPORTS UP 6.8%

Interfax, Russia
Nov 12 2013

YEREVAN. Nov 12

Armenia exported 1,857.2 kg of gold (including galvanic plating) in
the first nine months of 2013, up 6.8% from 1,738.7 kg in the same
period of last year, the country’s Customs Service reported.

The customs value of gold exports dropped 4.2% to $54.4 million from
$56.8 million in the first nine months of 2012. The Economics Ministry
attributed this to the drop in prices for gold this year.

Armenia exports Dore alloy with gold content of up to 92%. The country
does not produce pure (bank) gold.

Armenia imported 2,494 kg of gold (including galvanic plating) worth
$115.8 million in the nine months, up from 989 kg worth $52.4 million
in the same period last year. Armenia imports gold primarily in the
form of gold products and raw material for their manufacture.

Armenia increased exports of cut diamonds by 58% to 164,800 carats
in the nine months, from 104,300 carats a year earlier, the Customs
Service reported. The customs value of diamond exports rose to $64.2
million from $57.8 million a year earlier.

Imports of rough diamonds rose to 310,000 carats worth about $86
million, from 200,000 carats worth about $71 million in the first
nine months of 2012.

The Economics Ministry told Interfax that imports of rough diamonds
are nearly double exports of cut diamonds because some rough diamonds
are imported to make jewelry. The ministry attributes the growth of
cut diamond production to orders.

Armenia, which does not mine its own diamonds, imports rough for
polishing and exports the cut stones primarily to the same countries
from where the rough diamonds come – Russia and Belgium.

The ministry said earlier that the strategy for the development of
the polishing industry calls for Armenia to nearly double exports of
cut diamonds to $150 million in 2015 from $79 million in 2012.

Vp ak

ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY DENIES RUMORS OF CESSATION OF ARMS SUPPLIES TO AZERBAIJAN

by Emmanuil Lazarian

Wednesday, November 13, 00:26

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has denied the publication in the Armenian
media that Israel has allegedly suspended arms supplies to Baku,
the Baku-based Turan news agency reports.

According to these publications referring to the Swiss Agency ISN,
Russia put pressure on the Israeli Foreign Ministry and gained
suspension of supplies of certain elements of offensive weapons. The
reason stated Russia’s reluctance to change the balance of power in
the region.

“No changes happened in this area, no appeals came from the Russian
side. No one changes the agreement,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yigal
Palmor said to IzRus in relations to the Swiss news agency’s reports.

Turan recalls that Israel is one of the largest sellers of arms to
Azerbaijan. Thus, in recent years the country supplied to Baku various
weapons and communication systems worth $1.6 billion.

AZERBAIJANI DIPLOMAT HARSHLY REPLIED TO ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER AT SESSION OF UNESCO GENERAL CONFERENCE

APA, Azerbaijan
Nov 12 2013

[ 12 November 2013 12:28 ]

Baku – APA. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian made a
traditional speech basing on lies and slanders at general political
debate held within the 37th Session of UNESCO General Conference.

APA reports quoting the Foreign Ministry’s press service that Anar
Karimov, Charge d’affairs of the Permanent Delegation of the Republic
of Azerbaijan to UNESCO has issued a statement in the exercise of the
right of reply to the statement by FM of Armenia at the 37th Session
of UNESCO General Conference.

The statement says: “It is strange to hear from the Minister words
about respect to cultural diversity when his own country became ”
a unique ” mono ethnic and mono religious country by expelling 200
thousand Azerbaijanis from their historical home. It is also strange
to hear about Armenia’s endeavors to fight racism and xenophobia while
former President of Armenia replied to the question about roots of
Armenian -Azerbaijani conflict, that the roots of the conflict lay
down in ethnic incompatibility of Armenians and Azerbaijanis. These
are the words of leader of the nation who supposed to lead his country
towards peaceful coexistence with its neighbors in 21 century when
the civilized world overcomes the racial prejudices. This statement
was harshly criticized by many international organizations, including
then secretary general of council of Europe.

It is also strange to hear from the Minister words about respect
of cultural values and heritage when his own country occupied the
territory of another state, carried out ethnic cleansing in the
occupied territories and destroyed all cultural and religious heritage,
including mosques, temples, monuments and even cemeteries with only
goal to erase all traces of presence of Azerbaijanis both in occupied
territories and in Armenia itself.”

AZERBAIJANI AND TURKISH PRESIDENTS DISCUSS NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Trend, Azerbaijan
Nov 12 2013

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 12

Trend: After a bilateral meeting with Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham
Aliyev, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said at a press conference
today that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was discussed at the meeting,
Turkish TRT Haber TV channel reported on Nov. 12.

According to Gul, along with regional issues, relations between the
two countries were also discussed at the meeting.

“Moreover, the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the liberation
of occupied Azerbaijani territories, which is a national issue of
Turkey and Azerbaijan, were also discussed,” he said.

AZA MIGRANYAN: “DEFINING PRIORITIES WILL HELP ARMENIA TO MAINTAIN “AND-AND” PRINCIPLE”

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Nov 12 2013

Last week, the head of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Viktor
Khristenko, visited Yerevan where he spoke about the advantages of the
Eurasian Economic Union. “Participation in an effective regional union
enables countries to be heard in the world and influence the formation
of new rules of the international dialogue,” Khristenko believes.

According to him, after joining the Customs Union and the common
economic area of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, Armenia will get
all the advantages enjoyed by members of the CU.

At the same time, the head of the laboratory of interregional
development problems of the Institute of Market Problems of the Market
Problems Institute of the RAS, Aza Migranyan, told Vestnik Kavkaza:
“Armenia has already voiced its decision to join the EEU. Thus, the
government will mainly focus on the Eurasian direction, even though
Armenia doesn’t exclude an opportunity of cooperation with the EU in
certain spheres, including legal cooperation, development of democratic
institutes, science, culture, and religion. Armenia will do its best
to maintain close cooperation with the EU, which has been established.”

watch video at

COMING MEETING OF AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS WILL BE A REMARKABLE EVENT, EXPERTS BELIEVE

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Nov 12 2013

12 November 2013 – 9:04pm

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh
Sargsyan may meet before the end of the year, a statement issued by
the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs after their visit to the region reads.

According to the Director of Social and Political Research Centre,
Vladimir Yevseyev, the situation surrounding the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict is better than before. The parties do now seem interested
in finding a solution, he believes.

Caucasian nations should work together in order to improve security in
region. They shouldn’t try to divide spheres of interest and influence,
but cooperate with each other, the expert stresses.

Azerbaijani expert Rovshan Ibragimov, the head of the Azerbaijani
President’s Strategic Research Centre, believes that the coming
meeting will be a remarkable event.

The initiative shows that the parties haven’t given up and are ready
to work together in order to find a solution to the problem.

ARMENIA: KARABAKH DISPLACED ENDURE “DIFFERENT KIND OF MISERY”

EurasiaNet.org
Nov 12 2013

November 11, 2013 – 9:11pm, by Gayane Abrahamyan

When Mariam Avanesian and her family fled to Yerevan from Azerbaijan 25
years ago this month, they thought they were lucky; they had escaped
physical danger, and left behind an apartment rather than “a grave”
in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku. But moving to Armenia didn’t mean
the end of uncertainty for Avanesian’s family members, and tens of
thousands of others.

Many of those who escaped turmoil in Azerbaijan over two decades
ago have struggled to find a sense of equilibrium since then. In
the Avanesians’ case, roughly a month after they arrived at a camp
for displaced persons in the northern Armenian city of Vanadzor, the
devastating 1988 Spitak earthquake struck. The quake left 25,000 people
in the area dead, including the Avanesians’ seven-year-old son, Vadim.

Things didn’t get much better, financially, after that tragedy. For
the past two-and-a-half decades, the Avanesians – now a family of 10,
including four grandchildren, two surviving sons and their spouses —
have lived in two rooms in the basement of a building in the village
of Kasakh, 11 kilometers outside of Yerevan. Inside, the powerful
stench of sewage water permeates a pitch-black corridor frequented
by rats. The damp, concrete-floored rooms where they live have no
kitchen appliances, no toilet and no bathing facilities apart from a
bathtub in one room. Armenia’s Soviet-era government gave the family
the basement as a residence after the Spitak earthquake.

“There is no alternative. We either have to live in the streets or
here, but my grandchildren can no longer stand this,” a frustrated
Avanesian said. She believes the surroundings have affected her
three-year-old granddaughter, who, she claimed, does not speak and
“starts screaming with terror” when she steps into the corridor.

The 57-year-old Avanesian earns a meager wage as an office cleaner.

Like many other displaced Armenians, Avanesian blames the government
for her family’s lot. Along with what one son earns as a soldier,
their monthly income is roughly 160,000 drams ($393).

According to the State Migration Service, between 1988 and 1992,
an estimated 360,000 Armenians were forced to leave Azerbaijan, and
72,000 more fled their homes situated along the Armenian border with
Azerbaijan. The influx made up roughly 14 percent of the country’s
population in the late 1980s.

“Years ago, at least they remembered us and paid occasional visits,”
Avanesian said, referring social workers from both the government and
international organizations, “but now they have forgotten all about
our existence.” Armenian law does not require visits by social workers.

The Migration Service today has no budget for programs to assist those
uprooted by 1988-1994 Karabakh conflict. Amid widespread allegations
of mismanagement, a program that provided displaced persons with
apartments was suspended in 2010.

Officials maintain that the government has done “even the impossible”
to “integrate and support the refugees” in Armenian society. “Many
of the refugees fled [Azerbaijan] in whatever clothes they were
wearing at the moment — slippers and robes, and they not only needed
shelters, but also essentials,” said State Migration Service Director
Gagik Yeganian to EurasiaNet.org. “The country was facing a titanic
challenge; especially given the earthquake, which followed shortly
after the [1988] Sumgait and Baku pogroms [of ethnic Armenians],
left more than half a million people homeless.”

At first, refugees were mostly placed in hotels, resorts and camps in
Yerevan and the regions. Later, with financial support from the United
Nations and other international organizations, some 4,000 residential
buildings were built. Between 2004 and 2010, the government distributed
vouchers to 1,100 refugees and Internally Displaced Persons for the
purchase of apartments. The program cost the government, according
to Yeganian, between “$4 million to $5 million.”

Yeganian blames the 2009 global financial crisis for the decision to
discontinue the housing program. Government-funded classes to train
refugees to become hair-stylists, manicure-pedicurists and to arrange
flowers – occupations often in demand for women – and to teach basic
computer skills also have stopped.

Local and international non-governmental organizations now provide
most of the social-welfare assistance to refugees and IDPs. Among
the beneficiaries of assistance are the more than 100 refugee
families living in a hostel in Abovian, a town 16 kilometers from
Yerevan. Two women have managed to earn money as seamstresses for
household expenses after Save the Children installed sewing machines
and provided a sewing seminar.

The problem of housing, however, far outstrips such earnings.

Fifty-eight-year-old Hasmik Martirosian, a refugee from the region of
Shahumian, an area now cut in two between Azerbaijani and Karabakhi
forces, (the territory under Azerbaijani control is called the Goranboy
Region) lives with four family members in an 18-square-meter room,
sharing a toilet with a neighbor. She calls her accommodations “a
different kind of misery” from the terrors of war, but one that has
lasted for 21 years.

Yeganian estimates that it would take $25 million to provide
housing for all refugees; funds the government does not have. After
dedicating tens of millions of dollars since the 1994 cease-fire,
the international community no longer finances housing assistance.

One refugee-rights activist, Eleonora Asatrian, a coordinator
for Refugees and International Law, a network of 10 civil-society
organizations, believes that what international donors have given
should have been sufficient to “have completely and decently resolved
the housing issue” by now.

Citing refugee complaints, also made to EurasiaNet.org, Asatrian,
a former opposition presidential campaign manager, claims that many
people used “fake refugee documents” and paid bribes of between $2,000
to $5,000 to receive vouchers and apartments under the government’s
earlier housing scheme. State Migration Service Director Yeganian
dismissed such criticism as “routine speculations.”

Eighty-year-old Abovian hostel resident Boris Yesaian has lost
trust in official promises. In an inside jacket pocket, he keeps
copies of 15 unanswered letters he has sent since 2010 to government
representatives and the ownership documents for the two-story house he
left behind in Shahumian. He hopes the government will remember him,
he said. “At least before I pass away,” he added.

Editor’s Note: Gayane Abrahamyan is a freelance reporter and editor
in Yerevan.

Anahit Hayrapetyan is a freelance photojournalist based in Yerevan
and Berlin.

IMMIGRANT AIMING TO BRING JOBS BACK TO GARY

Post-Tribune, Chicago, IL
Nov 12 2013

November 12, 2013 1:10PM

“Well, my shoes, they come from Singapore

My flashlight’s from Taiwan

My tablecloth’s from Malaysia

My belt buckle’s from the Amazon

You know, this shirt I wear comes from the Philippines

And the car I drive is a Chevrolet

It was put together down in Argentina

By a guy makin’ thirty cents a day”

– Bob Dylan

John Zaboyan lives in Crown Point. He is a likeable but private
man as far as his personal life. I did get him to talk about his
Armenian roots.

The former buyer for Montgomery Ward has worked as a self-employed
product designer for the past 30 years. His business affairs have
taken him all over the world. He has traveled to Hong Kong more than
100 times.

But mostly, Zaboyan is a man on a mission. And that mission is to
create jobs in Gary by selling quality American-made T-shirts at
wholesale prices. The fledgling company he has created is called Two
Hearts Are Better Than One.

***

Armenia?

“Armenia was the first nation to accept Christianity in the world –
301 A.D,” he said. “My parents and grandparents were Armenians who
lived in Turkey.

“On April 24, 1915, 2.5 million Armenians were massacred by the Turks.

That’s why my grandparents fled Turkey and went to Syria. In 1938,
Hitler told the people that he was going to clean up his nation by
killing every Jew possible. Crowds of people scoffed saying that
something like that couldn’t be done. Hitler replied: ‘Who remembers
the Armenians?’ Only 23 years had passed. The world had already
forgotten about the massacre of the Armenians.”

John, I’ve interviewed an Assyrian; you might be my first Armenian.

“There was a coach at Notre Dame who was Armenian.”

Ara Parseghian.

“Correct. The Kardashian sisters in Los Angeles are
Armenian-Americans. L.A. has a large Armenian community.”

When year did you emigrate to this country?

“In 1959. We are really lucky here in the United States to have third
world countries to produce products for us at very low prices. For
example, we can buy shoes for $10. If those shoes were made in the
United States they would have been a lot more expensive.”

A race to the bottom, says I.

“As manufacturers went overseas to create products that were less
expensive, so they could be competitive in the United States, slowly
but surely manufacturing died in the United States.

“Good, bad, ugly, other countries benefitted from us by being able
to put food on their tables and Americans benefitted from low-priced
merchandise. That’s why you have Targets and Walmarts everywhere.”

Sorry, I’m not a big fan of “Wally World.” I say charge an extra 25
cents for a waste paper basket or a coffee mug and pay your employees
a decent wage.

“Jeff, I used to buy jewelry for Montgomery Ward in Providence, R.I.

In the ’70s and ’80s, Providence was where you went to buy jewelry.

There were hundreds of factories in Providence. Today, it’s a ghost
town. All that merchandise is being produced somewhere else in
the world.”

That sort of thing has been happening in this country since the
’80s or before.

“About two or three years ago, I thought to myself, ‘How can we create
manufacturing jobs in the United States?'”

And?

“There is a company in L.A. called American Apparel. They produce one
of the best T-shirts in the entire world. Here is an American Apparel
T-shirt that retails for $18. But I can buy them wholesale because
of my company, Two Hearts Are Better Than One. And I want quantity.

“I cannot sell their T-shirt exactly as it is because it’s their brand
name. You have to do something to it. Either print something on it
or convert it into your brand name. As you can see, this T-shirt has
my logo on the front of it – ‘HH made in America.'”

And it also has American Apparel printed on the tag. How much would Two
Hearts Are Better Than One sell that $18 American Apparel T-Shirt for?

“I can sell it at a retail price of $5.72.”

You’re kidding me.

“About three years ago, I spent time, energy and money to come up
with a wholesale website. A wholesale website for individuals.”

Creating jobs in Gary?

“The jobs will not require a college education. All the employees will
have to know is how to receive the merchandise, fold the merchandise,
repackage it and mail it.

“Jeff, there is a $19 billion printed T-shirt business in the United
States. Recently, the Bank of America sponsored the Chicago Marathon.

They probably ordered at least 20,000 T-shirts. I would bet those
T-shirts were made in Bangladesh, China, Singapore or Malaysia.”

Capitalism at its cruelest.

“Those poor people work for pennies an hour. But this is one area
where I can compete. And I compete without charity or asking for
breaks. Why wouldn’t the organizers and sponsors of the Chicago
Marathon want to buy a T-shirt of the highest quality in the world,
made in the United States, and printed in Gary, Indiana?”

You got me?

“The money our customers spend will stay in America, not go to, say,
Sri Lanka. The business is ready to go. I’m looking for a company in
Gary that knows how to receive, ship and invoice and has an extra room
in the back they could give to us. We are looking for a business that
would help give us an identity. This is who we are. This is where
we are.

“When you drive down Broadway and look to your left and right,
everything is decimated. It makes me want to cry. Unemployment,
unemployment, unemployment. Employment not only gives you some money,
it gives you a feeling of being somebody.”

You’ll be going up against some Goliaths out there.

“You’re right, competing in the printed T-shirt business is no walk
in the park. It is one of the most competitive businesses in the
United States. There are years of business bonds forged between large
importers and institutions, also years of licensing contracts between
the parties, intertwined with inside politics.”

Good luck. I mean that.

“This is a business concept that is like a mission to me. A mission
that provides permanent jobs to hundreds of average-skilled low-
and middle-income citizens in Gary. And it won’t be from begging for
money from the American government, rather it would be from competing
and winning in the actual business world.

“Jeff, I grew up very poor in Beirut, Lebanon, but you don’t have to
be poor to know what it feels like to be poor.”

How’s that?

“Go 24 hours without eating.”

***

I don’t believe John Zaboyan started Two Hearts Are Better Than One
to get filthy rich. He simply wants to create jobs for people in Gary.

Good for him.

SHIRAK FC TO PLAY GALAXY IN LA

Tuesday, November 12th, 2013

Shirak FC also won the Armenian Cup in 2012

YEREVAN-Armenian Premier League champion Shirak Football Club will
have a friendly match in the United States this winter.

On February 15, Gyumri-based Shirak will play against the Los Angeles
Galaxy at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

The LA Galaxy team includes Landon Donovan, goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini,
and Robbie Keane, some of the most talented players in the MLS and
the world.

Shirak F.C. was founded in the city of Gyumri in the Armenian SSR in
1958 and has produced many talented players who have represented the
Armenian national team, such as Artur Petrosyan and Harutyun Vardanyan.

Shirak may play additional test matches in the USA.

The Armenian community in California is the largest in the USA and
numerous Armenians are expected to watch the Shirak-LA Galaxy match
at the StubHub Center, which has a capacity of 27,000 spectators.

AZERBAIJAN’S POLICY IMPEDES PROGRESS IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH PEACE PROCESS – SHAVARSH KOCHARYAN

21:57 ~U 12.11.13

The Nagorno-Karabakh peace process is not showing progress because of
Azerbaijan’s policy, Armenian Deputy FM Shavarsh Kocharyan told Tert.am
as he answered a question about an impetus an Armenian-Azerbaijani
presidential meeting to be held this month may give to the peace
process, which, according to some experts, does not de facto exist.

“It is because of their racist, Armenophobic, bellicose policy, which
is distorting historical facts and international law, rejecting all
the proposals made by the co-chairs,” Mr Sh. Kocharyan said.

Elaborating on the subject, he noted that his assessments deal both
with the withdrawal of snipers and with the investigations into
ceasefire violations.

“It is clear that no progress is possible. If the presidential meeting
makes Azerbaijan start changing its position, it can be considered
progress,” he said.

Nonetheless, Mr Sh. Kocharyan does not think that such progress should
be expected given official Baku’s statements.

“Given what we have recently heard from Azerbaijan, it is hardly
possible,” the official said.

Following their recent visit to the region the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs stated that any military operation on either side now can
only be viewed as an attempt to torpedo the peace process.

Asked whether the threat of war is so great that such statements
are made, Mr Sh. Kocharyan said: “People keeping track of the
developments can see that the co-chairs have recently been carrying
out two missions. The first is assisting the conflicting parties in
reaching an agreement, which process fails due to Azerbaijan. The
second is sparing no efforts to prevent the fragile ceasefire from
developing into hostilities. And now they are placing emphasis on
the second mission. And it is from this aspect that the Minsk Group
co-chairs’ statements and steps should be viewed.”

Armenian News – Tert.am