Author: Kalantarian Kevo

Mediamax, Armenia
March 10 2012

`Artsakh has been and will continue to be Armenian’, Serzh Sargsyan stated

Saturday 10 March 2012 14:34

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said today that
`Artsakh [Nagorno Karabakh] has been and will continue to be
Armenian’.

Serzh Sargsyan said this speaking today at the Republican Party of
Armenia Convention.

`The Republic of Armenia has provided and will continue to provide
all-inclusive assistance to Artsakh’s political and economic
development. International recognition of the right of the people of
Artsakh to self-determination will be the foundation for the peaceful
resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh problem. We will continue our works
in the ongoing negotiations aimed at the engagement of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic as a full-fledged party in these negotiations.
Efforts of Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora will be aimed at the adoption
in the international organizations of the decisions which preclude
military option for the resolution of the conflict’, Serzh Sargsyan
said.

Iran to export power to Syria, Lebanon in May

Iran is capable of exporting 50 megawatts (MW) of electricity to Syria
and Lebanon in the first phase of power transfer.

press tv
Sat Mar 10, 2012 4:22PM GMT

Iran has guaranteed to provide Iraq with adequate power resources and
the Iraqi side has accepted to prepare the ground for the transfer of
Iranian electricity to Syria and Lebanon in May.”

Majid Namjou, Iran’s Energy Minister

Iran’s Energy Minister Majid Namjou says the Islamic Republic is ready
to start electricity exports to Syria and Lebanon via the Iraqi power
grid in May 2012.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with Iraq’s
Electricity Minister Abdul Kareem Aftan on Saturday, Namjou said Iran
can export 50 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the two countries in
the first phase of power transfer.

The Iranian official added, `Iran is currently exporting 1,000 MW of
power to Iraq but the available facilities of both countries makes it
possible to increase the transfer capacity to 1,200 MW.’

`Iran has guaranteed to provide Iraq with adequate power resources and
the Iraqi side has accepted to prepare the ground for the transfer of
Iranian electricity to Syria and Lebanon in May.’

Iran is currently exchanging electricity with Afghanistan, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Nakhichevan, Turkey and Turkmenistan.

Iran’s total annual power generation capacity stands at 63,403 MW
while the total length of the power grid exceeds 780,000 km.

According to the Iranian Energy Ministry statistics, the country will
be exporting up to USD 1 billion worth of electricity by March 2012.

Iran seeks to become a major regional exporter of electricity and has
attracted more than USD 1.1 billion in investments to build three new
power plants.

Serzh Sargsyan and Daedalus

Haik Aramyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 18:10:23 – 10/03/2012

Addressing today’s congress of the Republican Party, Serzh Sargsyan
assessed the role and achievements of the party. `But the Party has been
carrying on with its noiseless, unpretentious work, stirring away from the
roads to abyss and temptations to reach the sun flying on wax wings,’ he
said.

In fact, the red thread running across Serzh Sargsyan’s speech was the
slogan `let’s believe to change and change to believe’. This is a call on
the Republicans because the society does not believe, does not have reason
to believe any pledge and intention coming from the government. Meanwhile,
the vices that Serzh Sargsyan mentions – corruption, protectionism,
distortion of the role and functions of the state, the destructive
personnel policy, etc. – are typical of the Republican Party and the
government formed by it. This party has eliminated the most important thing
in people – confidence in their own future, their own selves, their own
everything – while Serzh Sargsyan speaks about material achievements.

`Let’s believe so that to be able to change us and our country, to be able
to change our mentality and attitude toward the state of Armenia. Let’s
change our behavior on the streets, at the working place, in the
university=85 There are numerous negative phenomena in our country and our
society that were inherited from the past and which go on by inertia. To
change first of all means to break that inertia and implant new
traditions,’ he said.

So far the Republicans retorted to accusations by mentioning the vices
inherent in the society. They never confessed that these vices were
introduced and established by themselves. Serzh Sargsyan’s speech leaves
no
chance to the Republicans to excuse themselves because Sargsyan actually
shifted responsibility on his fellow Republicans.

The architect of the Labyrinth, Daedalus, runs away from Crete with his son
Icarus as soon as he learns he will be killed after completing the
Labyrinth. He makes wings and flies away with his son. However, Icarus
flies high and the son burns the wings and he falls down and dies. Daedalus
survives and plunges into sorrow, the Greek myth says.

Serzh Sargsyan has made wings for his party and himself and showed them the
way to escape the labyrinth of problems of Armenia. However, it is possible
to change everything except the Republican Party. Serzh Sargsyan may escape
but it will be hard to keep the Republicans away from `the roads to abyss
and temptations to reach the sun flying on wax wings’. And the Armenian
society will hardly feel upset.

Serzh Sargsyan reelected as chairman of Republican Party of Armenia

15:57, 10 March, 2012

YEREVAN, MARCH 10, ARMENPRESS: Armenian President, Chairman of the
Republican Party of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan was reelected as party
chairman. As Armenpress reports, the 1801 deputies present at the 13th
Convention of the Republican Party of Armenia unanimously voted for
the candidacy of Serzh Sargsyan.

After the election, Serzh Sargsyan assured he will continue working
with great responsibility and energy for the good of our homeland and
people.

RPA Chairman: We believe that family is foremost and strongest citadel
which safeguards our national existence

15:44 10/03/2012 » Politics

We believe that each person is born free and must have the opportunity
to live free and develop, pursuing his or her own personal, familial,
public and national goals, President of Armenia and Chairman of RPA
Serzh Sargsyan said, addressing the 13th Convention of RPA.

The President said, `All mentioned levels are important and
interrelated. A person cannot be honest and virtuous on one level at
the expense of other levels. A person cannot be honest and virtuous in
his or her family at the public’s and the nation’s expense. A person
cannot build his or her own personal and family happiness, robbing and
depriving the public and the nation; stealing from the public and the
nation means stealing from oneself, from one’s own family.
We believe that our society should develop in an environment of a free
competition. However, free competition must not translate into the
advantage for big money as it cannot translate into an opportunity for
the very same big money to suppress and consume other competitors.’

`We also believe that family is the foremost and the strongest citadel
which safeguards our national existence: it is our traditional and
conservative family where the young respect and listen to the elderly,
whose pillars are the wife and the mother. However, `listen’ doesn’t
mean to be a hostage to the will of the elderly and `the pillar of the
family’ doesn’t mean a prisoner of the kitchen,’ said Serzh Serzh
Sargsyan adding that it is best proved by the increasing presence of
women and young people in the ranks of the Party.

`Compared to our previous conventions, there are more women and young
people in this hall. And we will do our best to preserve and develop
this tendency of their increased participation. We will combine the
experience and knowledge of the elder with the vigor and enthusiasm of
the young, with the dedication and traditionalism of the women, and
together we will build a new Armenia – for us all and for each one of
us,’ said the President.

Serzh Sargsyan concluded, `We also believe that our public is much
more than a simple mechanical gathering of people. We believe that a
nation is much more than the people of a common character bonded by a
social contract. We believe that that social contract is more based on
the spirit of the nation rather than on the letter of the contract.’

Source: Panorama.am

Between Two Models

Naira Hayrumyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 16:34:09 – 10/03/2012

The national carrier, Armavia Airlines, may soon go insolvent, stated
the owner of the company Mikhail Baghdasarov unless Zvartnots Airport
cuts taxes by ¼.

In 2001, Eduardo Eurnegian took up the management of Zvartnots Airport
for 30 years. The airport has changed dramatically. New and modern
terminals were built. Eurnegian said 160 million dollars have been
invested.

Nobody knows how much money was invested in Armavia. At least, this
number has never been published. The company often appears amid
scandals. For example, 8 years ago Sibir Avia gave its shares of
Armavia to Baghdasarov and left Armenia.

It was 70% of shares of the new company. At that time, the company was
fined 2 million dollars for not having a license to run flights in
certain directions. However, as soon as Baghdasarov bought Sibir
Avia’s shares, tax issues disappeared.

As reported by press, Baghdasarov got a fully fledged and intensively
developing company in 2005, not without the support of the government.
The quality and geography of flights has improved but 700 passengers
travelled via Armavia in 2011, which is down from 2010.

The airlines and the airport always have issues which reflect the
clash of two types of business, Western and Russian. The Russian
business represented by Baghdasarov is used to the old methods, namely
state protection, tax allowances, tax waivers in return for support
during elections, quotas, etc.

More importantly, the Russian business does not suppose long-term
investments. It is intended to generate fast and uncontrollable profit
without making investments, get state or other investments instead,
borrow money and fail to repay, raise prices and generate immense
profits.

The western type is different. Investments are considered as an
important condition for development. There are no political
privileges, everything is based on commerce, planning, business rules.

In Armenia, two types clashed. Armavia claims that Zvartnots Airport
does not charge special taxes from the national carrier and demands
discount while the airport argues that they apply discount but pay
debts first.

Were the manager of the airlines a Russian businessmen, Baghdasarov
would solve the problem with the old method. However, the Armenian
government cannot force Eurnegian to ignore the rules of business and
follow the rules of the oligarchy where the government and business
are one.

On the other hand, it is possible that the government is not trying to
save Baghdasarov. It is possible that he has appeared on the list of
odious oligarchs the government is trying to rid of. Last year
Baghdasarov stated in a news conference that some influential people
are willing to get Armavia. Eurnegian was rumored likely to buy
Armavia.

One way or another, the Russian business falls to parts as soon as it
clashes with the Western company and gets no support from the state.
It is possible that Baghdasarov is right in his argument with
Eurnegian but the problem is that Armavia’s bankruptcy may mark the
collapse of the new economic policy in Armenia. In any case, it is
possible.

Let’s change to be able to trust people and law – Armenian President

news.am
March 10, 2012 | 14:00

YEREVAN. – Let’s believe so that to be able to change us and our
country, to be able to change our mentality and attitude toward the
state of Armenia, President Serzh Sargsyan said.

`The moment in history has come, when the people of Armenia, all of
us, should prove in practice what’s more dear to us – wicked habits
inherited from the past, whose inertia is still present in our lives,
or achievements of modern civilization? A civilization, whose roots
and twigs were cultivated also by our greats. Personally I have made
my choice. I have no doubt: only this way we will prevail and multiply
the number of our friends all over the world,’ he said addressing the
Congress of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia.

`Let’s change our behavior on the streets, at the working place, in
the university. Let’s change people who are not on their places. Let’s
change the laws if they are far from being perfect. Let’s change the
culture of internal political struggle. Let’s change to be able to
trust people and the law. Let’s change so that streets, ministries,
universities, villages and towns, parliament and backyard become ours,
become better. As long as we don’t change and don’t believe, they do
not belong to us, to us all.

If you don’t trust your member of the parliament, it means you don’t
have one; if you don’t trust your judge, it means you don’t have one;
if you don’t believe in your country, it means you don’t have one.
Through this self-negation we have inflicted great damage on our own
home. This will takes us nowhere. We must believe to be able to
change.

But trust also needs constant nourishment. Each new change has great
potential for strengthening trust. Trust and change: these are
mutually determined and mutually fortifying phenomena. So, let’s
change to trust. Let’s nourish our trust with concrete work.

Let’s change the appearance of our country to a degree that a person,
who left Armenia years ago, doesn’t recognize it on his next visit,
and is pleasantly surprised,’ he said.

`Today, it is obvious for me: if we do not change, we will miss it, we
will be late as a nation and as a state.

Those who brought us the Vehamayr Gospel manuscript (named after the
mother of Catholicos Vazgen of All Armenians, who donated it to
Matenadaran) through the depth of times had faith. I was sworn in on
that Bible. I believe in what we do and even more in what we will do.

Thus, let’s believe to be able to change. Big and small, a worker and
a scientist, a successful person and the one who’s still in search;
let’s believe to be able to change,’ he concluded.

Nine Armenians run for parliament in Abkhazia

11:12 – 10.03.12

Nine candidates running for parliament in Georgia’s breakaway region
of Abkhazia are reported to be Armenians.

Eight candidates are Russians, two – Greeks, one – Ossetian and one –
Kabardian. Only two of the candidates are ethnic Georgians Georgian,
and the rest – 125 people – ethnic Abkhazians, Civil Georgia reported,
citing the Abkhaz news agency, Apsnipress.

Parliamentary elections come less than seven months after the snap
presidential election in the breakaway region in which Alexander
Ankvab was elected as the new leader and less than three weeks after a
failed attempt on Ankvab’s life.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the assassination attempt on
Ankvab aimed at destabilizing situation ahead of the parliamentary
elections in Abkhazia.

But Ankvab himself spoke about `mafia, criminal groups’ and `political
circles close’ to these groups when commenting on possible masterminds
of his assassination attempt on February 22 when his motorcade was
attacked killing his bodyguard; another one died in hospital two weeks
later.

The parliamentary elections also come less than a week after voters in
Abkhazia cast ballot in Russia’s presidential election.
Abkhaz news agency, Apsnipress, reported that 74,135 voters cast their
ballot in Russia’s presidential election in Abkhazia, 90.9% of which
voted for Putin.

Tert.am

FEMMES
Les activistes ukrainiennes de Femen, expulsées de Turquie

Le 8 mars, Journée de la Femme, les activistes ukrainiennes du
mouvement féminin Femen avaient décidé de manifester sur la place
devant Sainte Sophie à Istanbul pour attirer sur le sort des femmes en
Turquie. La manifestation a tourné court. Les jeunes femmes blondes
ont aussitôt été arrêtées par la police turque avec une rare violence
puis expulsés de Turquie où on ne plaisante pas avec ces choses-là…
Les activistes de Femen étaient invitées en Turquie par un producteur
de sous-vêtements féminins. Les Ukrainiennes en ont profité pour
dénoncer le droit des femmes régulièrement bafoué en Turquie. Ces
femmes de Femen qui ont la particularité de dénuder leurs seins pour
défendre ce droit des femmes attirent les médias mais choquent les
autorités et le public. Mais Femen ne baisse pas les bras. L’une de
ses membres, Alexandre Chevchenko assure que des activistes turques de
Femen reprendront le relais en Turquie.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 10 mars 2012,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

COMMUNIQUÉ DU CCAF
Communiqué du CCAF suite à sa dernière rencontre avec le président de
la République

Lors de l’audience qu’il a accordée au CCAF mercredi 7 mars, le
Président de la République Nicolas Sarkorzy -qui était accompagné de
Michel Mercier, ministre de la Justice, Garde des Sceaux, de Patrick
Ollier, ministre des Relations avec le Parlement et Jean-David
Levitte, conseiller diplomatique de l’Elysée – a fait une nouvelle
fois fait part de sa volonté d’apporter une sanction pénale au
négationnisme du génocide des Arméniens. Prenant acte de la décision
du Conseil Constitutionnel, il estime que la porte a été laissée
ouverte à la présentation d”un deuxième texte susceptible de répondre
à cette nécessité.
Cette deuxième mouture devrait être de caractère plus universel et
mieux garantir le pouvoir d’appréciation du juge. En cas de réelles
difficultés d’ordre constitutionnel, il n’exclut pas, à l’occasion
d’une prochaine réforme des institutions, de proposer des changements
qui rendront possible la conformité d’une telle loi. Il a décidé de la
mise en place au sein du gouvernement d’une commission, à laquelle
participeront les représentants de la communauté arménienne, pour
formaliser cette nouvelle proposition et la présenter dès le début de
son prochain quinquennat, s’il est réélu.
Tout en regrettant que la pénalisation du négationnisme n’ait pu être
réalisée durant la mandature actuelle, le CCAF sait gré au chef de
l’Etat de sa volonté affirmée de la faire aboutir dans les plus brefs
délais et salue son engagement dans cette juste cause.

samedi 10 mars 2012,
Ara ©armenews.com