Author: Kalantarian Kevo

CORRUPTION MAIN CAUSE OF EMIGRATION – ARMENIAN OPPOSITION LEADER

Tert.am
06.10.11

Armenia’s first president, leader of the opposition Armenian National
Congress (ANC), delivered a speech in Liberty Square.

According to him, Armenia’s problem number one is the demographic
situation and emigration. Ter-Petrosyan said that the problems should
be considered from the following aspects: historical, emotional and
psychological, gene pool, political, preservation of the nation and
its security.

Speaking of emigration “at the genetic level”, Ter-Petrosyan said that
it is mostly intellectuals, as well as skilled workers, builders and
farmers, that are inclined to emigrate.

The ANC leader stressed that the 1989 census showed Armenia’s
population to be 3.5m. “At present, we have only 2.5m. I do not want
to frighten you, but our nation is facing a disaster. If things go
on like this, we will disappear. Even if Armenia remains a state, we
will turn into a Luxembourg in the middle of the ocean. In 30 years,
we will be a state with a population of one million. It can only be
called genocide. Emigration means population decline, a smaller and,
consequently, less efficient, army,” Ter-Petrosyan said.

He pointed out two objective causes of emigration, saying that none
of the three Armenian presidents has been able to put an end to them.

“First, the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. Second, the blockade. We are a
landlocked country without a railway,” Ter-Petrosyan said. “Neither
Mongols nor Turks – no one has ever robbed our people in such a way
as our own authorities are robbing,” the ANC leader said.

Corruption is the main cause of emigration. The second is absolute
lawlessness, Ter-Petrosyan said.

KIRO MANOYAN : LA TURQUIE N’A PAS L’INTENTION DE RATIFIER LES PROTOCOLES
Stehane

armenews.com
jeudi 6 octobre 2011

“Le retour des protocoles a l’ordre du jour du parlement turc n’est
pas une surprise. Ankara va les utiliser comme un outil de pression
sur l’Armenie afin de prevenir qu’Erevan retire sa signature” a declare
le chef du bureau Hay Tad de la Federation Revolutionnaire Armenienne
(FRA) Kiro Manoyan, lors d’une conference de presse aujourd’hui.

“La Turquie veut juste montrer a la communaute internationale que le
processus de reconciliation reste en cours. Cependant, il est clair que
ce pays n’a pas l’intention de ratifier les protocoles “, a-t-il dit.

“Malgre l’attitude positive de l’Armenie, la Turquie continue a parler
dans la langue des ultimatums” a dit Kiro Manoyan. S’exprimant sur
le discours du President Serge Sarkissian a l’assemblee generale de
l’ONU Kiro Manoyan a declare que ses precisions ont ete positives.

A BASHKIR WRITES 3 VOLUMES ON ARMENIAN HISTORY – NEWSPAPER

news.am
Oct 6 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – A famous Bashkir writer is so interested in Armenia that
he even wrote our history, summarizing it in three volumes; the first
volume is already published, Yerkir daily writes.

‘”The writer was in Armenia once and he will come again,’ said to
us yesterday Viktor Krivopuskov, advisor of Russian Federation’s
Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia. But he could not remember the
name of the writer. To determine the identity of the Bashkir writer,
the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) suggested us to speak with
the Ministry of Culture, but the latter sent us back to MES. ‘A Bashkir
writer? We don’t know, we have no information. Didn’t Krivopuskov say
who it was?’ the ministries said. We hope that [Armenian capital]
Yerevan, the 2012 Book Capital of the World would really become as
such and know the writers who write about it,” Yerkir writes.

FRENCH ARMENIAN JOURNALIST ARRESTED IN DIARBEQIR HAS BEEN RELEASED

AZG DAILY
07-10-2011

French-Armenian journalist Tigran Sargis Arshak has been released
from prison as he was arrested by the police of Diarbeqir, Turkish
“Tumgazeteler” informs. Turkish police said that the journalist was
a suspect having connections with Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK),
but then found out that Tigran was making a story on Diarbeqir,
panorama.am reports.

“I’m not a terrorist. I’ve no connection with any terrorist group.

I’ve left for Diarbeqir to attend the social forum on Mesopotamia.

I’ve had several meetings there with Turkish and Kurdish intellectuals
and representatives of non-governmental organizations… A police
officer was killed on that day. Police were looking for suspects. I
was arrested when leaving the hotel,” the French-Armenian journalist
explained.

DIE WELT: WHILE OTHER NATIONS MARK INDEPENDENCE DAY ON THEIR LAND, AZERBAIJAN MARKS IT IN BERLIN

Panorama
Oct 6 2011
Armenia

The Heydar Aliyev Foundation held a celebration event in Berlin
a couple of days ago to mark the 20th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s
independence, which German newspaper Die Welt described as part of a
“large lobbying program.”

“While other nations mark Independence Day on their land, in
Azerbaijan, the schedule of events includes an exhibition and concert
in Berlin. German Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights
Policy, Markus Loning was so happy because he was not on the guest
list,” according to the newspaper.

Radio Liberty Azerbaijan reports that Loning responded to the
demonstrative disregard of his personality by the Azerbaijani
authorities, saying: “I would not go there, as it is.” He thinks
Azerbaijan is a country which “does not so strictly observe human
rights.”

“Oppositionists are jailed, journalists and bloggers are under
pressure and so far, the international observers have not recognized
any election as free,” the Ombudsman said.

Viola von Cramon, Member of German Bundestag from the Green Party,
considers that the Azerbaijani authorities with their political
activity “deliberately try to distract attention from serious human
rights violations.”

ARMENIA: WILL KOCHARIAN CHANNEL PUTIN AND ATTEMPT A COMEBACK?
by Marianna Grigoryan

EurasiaNet.org
Oct 6 2011
NY

Former President Robert Kocharian is pondering a political comeback
in Armenia. Analysts in Yerevan question whether Kocharian, who
served as chief executive for a decade, has enough political clout
to re-emerge as a powerbroker. Some politicians, meanwhile, say
his re-entry into politics could do more to unsettle than stabilize
economic and political developments.

In an exclusive September 30 interview with the Armenian news agency
Mediamax, the 57-year-old Kocharian declared that he does ~Snot rule
out~T a return to what he termed ~Sbig politics,~T meaning Armenia~Rs
national political scene. Many observers in Yerevan believe the
timing of the announcement was connected to the approach of Armenia~Rs
parliamentary elections in the spring of 2012.

Since stepping down as president in 2008, Kocharian — who now serves
on the board of Sistema, a Russian conglomerate that has energy and
consumer services holdings — has kept largely out of the spotlight,
making only occasional public appearances. Speculation that the
lifelong politician would eventually be drawn back into the public
life, however, has always run strong.

Many Armenians believe Kocharian may be trying to emulate Russian
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who recently announced his intention to
regain the Russian presidency in 2012. If Putin can do it, Kocharian
figures he can, too, the thinking goes.

Some analysts, though, trace Kocharian’s statement to domestic events,
specifically Armenia’s recent economic decline, and growing tension
with Azerbaijan over the breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Kocharian is a native of the independence-minded enclave who, prior
to coming to Yerevan, served as the territory’s de facto president.

Once called “the Caucasian tiger” by the World Bank for its
double-digit growth rates, Armenia saw its economy shrink by a
whopping 14 percent in 2009 as the international financial crisis set
in. Economic growth reached just 2.5 percent in 2010. Unemployment
officially stands at 6.6 percent, but unofficial estimates put it in
the double digits.

“Kocharian seems to play the role of a bogeyman; he shakes his
finger at the current and first presidents [Serzh Sargsyan and Levon
Ter-Petrosian respectively] as if to say ‘I’ll be back if you do not
behave yourselves,'” commented pollster Aharon Adibekian, director
of the Sociometer research center. “The situation has taken quite an
interesting turn.”

Kocharian listed the lack of an improvement in Armenia’s economy
among the factors that are encouraging him to return to politics;
other factors include interest “by various layers of society” and
his own “inner belief” that he could make a difference.

Members of Armenia’s ruling coalition have mixed opinions about the
possible contributions that Kocharian could make.

MP Rafik Petrosian, a senior member of incumbent President Sargsyan’s
Republican Party of Armenia, said Kocharian could have a debilitating
effect. He warned of serious trouble for Armenia’s two-party ruling
coalition if Kocharian decided to run for parliament. Kocharian
has been friendly with the governing coalition’s other member, the
Prosperous Armenia Party (PPA). If the PPA places Kocharian on its
slate of parliamentary candidates, “the coalition will be destroyed,
and the differences between the parties will deepen,” Petrosian said
at a September 30 press conference.

Meanwhile, PPA leader Gagik Tsarukian has asserted that Kocharian
“has the full moral and political right” to return to politics.

Political scientist Manvel Sargsian believes that Kocharian has
the potential to influence the parliamentary vote’s outcome. “The
important thing is what powers Kocharian consolidates around him,”
said Sargsian, the director of the Armenian Center for National and
International Studies. “The situation now is such that a political
force demonstrating that it can bring real changes to society will
be the winner.”

Since the 2008 presidential election, politics in Armenia has
been characterized by the yin-yang behavior of President Sargsyan
(Kocharian’s former prime minister and defense minister) and
Ter-Petrosian, Armenia’s first post-Soviet president who now heads
the Armenian National Congress, the country’s largest opposition
coalition. The pair’s attempt at dialogue recently stalled, prompting
the ANC to launch “non-stop” protests in Yerevan’s Liberty Square.

Public interest in Ter-Petrosian’s recurring protests has waned,
yet discontent with Armenia’s economic direction remains strong. This
would appear to give Kocharian an opening to cast himself as a viable
alternative to the status quo. Ter-Petrosian does not appear worried
that such a scenario will unfold. In recent comments, he described
Kocharian, whom he appointed prime minister in back in 1997, as
“a beaten card.”

Potential voters interviewed by EurasiaNet.org were not as dismissive
of Kocharian’s possible comeback, but neither were they enthused. “I
can’t imagine what will happen if Kocharian returns,” commented
67-year-old Yerevan engineer Lida Markosian. “I would never want to
see him come back, with all his intolerance.”

Markosian was referring to Kocharian’s perceived association with
the violent suppression of opposition protests following the 2008
presidential election. At least 10 people died and hundreds were
injured during a series of clashes in downtown Yerevan.

Another Yerevan resident, though, took a more positive view of the
ex-president, saying that labor migration was not as high under the
Kocharian administration as it is now. “At least peoples’ lives were
better. Though he was a far tougher leader than Serzh Sargsyan,”
the man said.

Speculation aside, the numbers do not bode well for Kocharian.

Pollster Adibekian reported that surveys run by his Sociometer center
“show that Kocharian’s rating is quite low.” If he wants to carve out
a new role in politics, he’ll need help. “Otherwise, he will barely
be able to find his place [in politics],” Adibekian said.

Kocharian is unlikely to let polling data and verbal darts influence
his choice. “There are … many interesting things in life and there
is no limit to self-improvement,” he told MediaMax in a September 17
interview. “Living in [the] present and thinking about [the] future
is much more interesting” than focusing on the past, he said.

Editor’s note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based
in Yerevan.

RUSSIAN POLITICIAN CALLS FOR PHYSICAL CASTRATION FOR CHILD SEX OFFENDERS

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 6, 2011 – 16:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – A senior Russian politician has called for physical
castration as punishment for child sex offenders, RIA Novosti reported.

Andrei Bogdanov, a top figure in the pro-Kremlin Pravoye Delo party,
was speaking two days after Russia’s lower house of parliament voted
in favor of chemical castration for convicted pedophiles.

The process involves injections that reduce sex drive.

But Bogdanov said the injections – only to be made on a voluntary
basis – were not enough. “I believe that if you want to [punish]
harshly then the [punishment] should be harsh,” he told a news
conference in Moscow. “Physical castration would be great.”

President Medvedev has said child molesters should be punished “as
harsh as possible.”

The new law, which also stipulates life sentence for those convicted
of a second sexual offence, has received widespread public support.

More than 9,500 cases of child rape were reported in Russia last year.

AMENDMENTS TO SIMPLIFY PROCEDURE FOR EXPORT OF PRODUCTS OF ANIMAL ORIGIN

/ARKA/
OCTOBER 6, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, October 6. / ARKA /. The Armenian parliament on Thursday
passed in the second reading a package of amendments to the Law On
Wildlife providing for mechanisms facilitating export of products of
animal origin.

Vardan Ayvazian, chairman of a parliament committee on economic issues,
who co-authored the amendments, said the existing procedures requires
that business people should get two licenses – one to capture and
the other to export products of animal origin.

The proposed changes calls for removing one of the licenses. He said
it concerns production and export of crayfish and fish products,
while issues related to animals included in the Red Book are governed
by separate regulations.

“In fact, we have simplified the procedure for manufacturers and
exporters, as well as toughened conditions with respect to animals put
in the Red Book whose capture is strictly prohibited,’ Ayvazian said.

230,000 TONS OF VEGETABLES PRODUCED IN ARARAT PROVINCE IN JAN-SEPT 2011

/ARKA/
OCTOBER 6, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, October 6. /ARKA/. Some 230,000 tons of vegetables were
produced in Armenia’s Ararat province over the period between January
and September 2011 against 163,400 tons in Jan-Sept 2010 – 41%
year-on-year growth, the province’s governor, Edik Barseghyan, said
Thursday at the Cabinet’s out session in Artashat, Ararat province.

At this session, the government approved the report on social and
economic situation in this province for the mentioned nine months.

Barseghyan also said that 67,000 of fruits were produced here in
Jan-Sept 2011 – 163% year-on-year growth.

He said 65,000 tons of grapes and 18,000 tons of wheat were produced in
Ararat in Jan-Sept 2011 – 2% and 8% year-on-year growth respectively.

“There are 48 hail protection systems here,” he said adding that they
saved fields from damage this year.

Presenting other areas of the economy, Barseghyan said that AMD 9.9
billion was spent for construction in Jan-Sept 2011.

He said that about AMD 9.1 million was allocated from the government
budget to Ararat province.

The province consists of Ararat, Artashat and Masis areas with their
four are urban and 93 rural communities.

The province has 285,000 residents, of which 82,000 (29%) are urban
and 203,000 (71%) rural residents.

THEY CALL FOR CLOSE CO-OPERATION WITH ITS DULY-ELECTED AUTHORITIES

hetq
18:20, October 6, 2011

This written declaration commits only the members who have signed it

20 years ago, through the adoption of legal decisions on independence
based on Soviet and International Laws, new states were created in our
region. The right to self-determination and decolonization from the
Soviet Union was exercised not only byArmenia,AzerbaijanandGeorgia,
but by Mountainous Karabagh as well.

These four political entities declared independence approximately at
the same time. Armenia,AzerbaijanandGeorgiahave been members of the
Council of Europe for 10 years now, while Artsakh is not a member of
this organisation. Despite these facts and the difficult situation it
finds itself in, Artsakh has nonetheless adopted and is consistently
following a political path of state-building in conformity with the
spirit, the mission and the values of the Council of Europe.

Highly appreciating the results and the dynamics of democracy-building
adopted as a development model by Artsakh and realising the importance
of the participation of the official delegates of Artsakh to the
negotiations taking place within the context of the OSCE Minsk Group,

we congratulate theRepublicofMountainous Karabaghon its 20th
anniversary and call for close co-operation with its duly-elected
authorities.

Signed (see overleaf)

Signed: 1

POSTANJYANZaruhi,Armenia, EPP/CD

BACQUELAINEDaniel,Belgium, ALDE

BADRÃ~IDenis,France, ALDE

BAGHDASARYANGagik,Armenia, ALDE

BARCIA DUEDRAGerard,Andorra, SOC

BÃ~ITEILLELaurent,France, EPP/CD

BLONDINMaryvonne,France, SOC

BLUMRoland,France, EPP/CD

BOCCHINOItalo,Italy, NR

COLOMBIER Georges,France, EPP/CD

DONABAUERKarl,Austria, EPP/CD

FALZONJoseph,Malta, EPP/CD

FOURNIERBernard,France, EPP/CD

FRANKENHans,Netherlands, EPP/CD

HARUTYUNYANDavit,Armenia, EDG

HAUPERTNorbert,Luxembourg, EPP/CD

MAISSENTheo,Switzerland, EPP/CD

MARINChristine,France, EPP/CD

MARLAND-MILITELLOMuriel,France, EPP/CD

MATEU PIMeritxell,Andorra, ALDE

MAYEREdgar,Austria, EPP/CD

MEALEAlan,United Kingdom, SOC

MELIKYANArmen,Armenia, ALDE

NAGHDALYANHermine,Armenia, ALDE

PRESEÄ~LNIKJakob,Slovenia, EPP/CD

PUCHE RODRÃ~MGUEZ-ACOSTAGabino,Spain, EPP/CD

ROCHEBLOINEFrançois,France, EPP/CD

ROUQUETRené,France, SOC

RUSTAMYANArmen,Armenia, SOC

SAÃ~ODIFatiha,Belgium, SOC

TODOROVIÄ~FDragan,Serbia, NR

ZOHRABYAN Naira,Armenia, ALDE

__________________

Total = 32

——————————————————————————–

1 EPP/CD: Group of the European Peopleâ~@~Ys Party

SOC: Socialist Group

ALDE:Allianceof Liberals and Democrats forEurope

EDG: European Democratic Group

UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

NR: not registered in a group