Author: Kalantarian Kevo

WORLD PRESS ON ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONS AND EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION (DECEMBER 9-10, 2014)

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Dec 10 2014

10 December 2014 – 8:09pm

World press on the Armenian-Russian relations and the Eurasian Economic
Union (December 10, 2014) Russia’s lower house of Parliament voted
unanimously on Wednesday to approve a treaty allowing Armenia to join
the Eurasian Economic Union.

“Armenia Wins Backing to Join Trade Bloc Championed by Putin” reads
the title of the article by David Hershenzon published by the New
York Times.

Describing the Eurasian Economic Union the article says: “Tensions
have emerged in recent months, however, as Russia has come under
economic pressure as a result of sanctions imposed by the West over the
Kremlin’s intervention in Ukraine. Russia’s mounting economic worries,
including a steep decline in the ruble and a simultaneous slide in
global oil prices, have weighed on its closest trading partners,
particularly Belarus”.

“Armenia, like Ukraine, had been working toward closer political and
economic relations with the European Union, including steps toward
a new free-trade accord. That all changed abruptly in September 2013
as Russia stepped up efforts to thwart a European Union program aimed
at strengthening ties with former Soviet republics. After a meeting
in Moscow that September with Mr. Putin, the Armenian president,
Serzh Sargsyan, announced that he was abandoning the European talks
and that his country would join Russia’s economic bloc instead”,
reads the article.

“His decision set off some protests in Yerevan, the Armenian capital,
but the country ultimately had little choice as it is heavily dependent
on Russia for economic and security assistance. The value to Armenia
of joining the trade bloc has been questioned, in part because the
country shares no common border with any of the other member countries.

The European Union has been Armenia’s main trading partner. Its economy
is severely hamstrung because borders with two of its neighbors, Turkey
and Azerbaijan, are sealed as a result of longstanding conflicts,
” writes the New York Times.

Russia’s lower house of Parliament voted unanimously on Wednesday to
approve a treaty allowing Armenia to join the Eurasian Economic Union.

“Armenia Wins Backing to Join Trade Bloc Championed by Putin” reads
the title of the article by David Hershenzon published by the New
York Times.

Describing the Eurasian Economic Union the article says: “Tensions
have emerged in recent months, however, as Russia has come under
economic pressure as a result of sanctions imposed by the West over the
Kremlin’s intervention in Ukraine. Russia’s mounting economic worries,
including a steep decline in the ruble and a simultaneous slide in
global oil prices, have weighed on its closest trading partners,
particularly Belarus”.

“Armenia, like Ukraine, had been working toward closer political and
economic relations with the European Union, including steps toward
a new free-trade accord. That all changed abruptly in September 2013
as Russia stepped up efforts to thwart a European Union program aimed
at strengthening ties with former Soviet republics. After a meeting
in Moscow that September with Mr. Putin, the Armenian president,
Serzh Sargsyan, announced that he was abandoning the European talks
and that his country would join Russia’s economic bloc instead”,
reads the article.

“His decision set off some protests in Yerevan, the Armenian capital,
but the country ultimately had little choice as it is heavily dependent
on Russia for economic and security assistance. The value to Armenia of
joining the trade bloc has been questioned, in part because the country
shares no common border with any of the other member countries. The
European Union has been Armenia’s main trading partner.

Its economy is severely hamstrung because borders with two of
its neighbors, Turkey and Azerbaijan, are sealed as a result of
longstanding conflicts, ” writes the New York Times.

NOUVELLE RESISTANCE AU MEMORIAL DU GENOCIDE ARMENIEN A GENÈVE

SUISSE

Un courrier du Departement federal des affaires etrangères recommande
au canton de Genève de refuser l’autorisation de construire des
Reverbères de la Memoire a l’Ariana, a appris la RTS mardi.

Nouvel obstacle a la construction d’un memorial pour le genocide
armenien a Genève. Lance en 2008 pour etre realise en Vieille-Ville,
le projet s’etait vu affecter – pour “raison archeologique” – un
nouvel espace dans le parc de l’Ariana, près de la place des Nations.

Mais l’emplacement des Reverbères de la Memoire pourrait etre a
nouveau revu, a appris la RTS mardi. Appel au refus d’autorisation

Suite a la rencontre entre les deux conseillers d’Etat genevois
Francois Longchamp et Antonio Hodgers avec Didier Burkhalter il y a
deux semaines a Berne, un courrier du president de la Confederation
a ete adresse lundi a Genève recommandant “que l’autorite cantonale
competente pour statuer refuse d’octroyer l’autorisation de construire
a l’emplacement envisage”.

Raison invoquee : “Preserver un environnement impartial et
paisible permettant aux Nations unies et aux autres organisations
internationales de s’acquitter de leurs fonctions dans les meilleures
conditions cadre possibles.”

Les Cropettes ou Beaulieu en alternative ?

La Ville maintient l’idee d’un memorial a l’Ariana, a indique
le porte-parole du Departement de la culture et du sport Felicien
Mazzola. “Mais si l’autorisation devait etre refusee, d’autres lieux
seraient envisages.”

Selon la RTS, la Ville de Genève serait deja a la recherche d’un autre
terrain susceptible d’accueillir Les Reverbères de la Memoire. Le parc
Beaulieu ou celui des Cropettes seraient envisages comme alternatives
possibles.

Les etapes du projet en bref En 2008, l’idee d’un monument a la
memoire commune des Genevois et des Armeniens obtient le feu vert de
la Ville de Genève. Un concours est organise, malgre l’incomprehension
de la Turquie.

Le 8 novembre 2010, un jury et des representants de la Ville designent
vainqueur a l’unanimite le projet de l’artiste Melik Ohanian, Les
Reverbères de la Memoire.

Le 29 mars 2011, le projet est rendu public en presence du chanteur
et ambassadeur de l’Armenie auprès de l’ONU Charles Aznavour.

En octobre 2013, le projet initialement prevu Bastion Saint-Antoine,
se voit affecter un nouvel emplacement – dans le parc de l’Ariana –
pour “raison archeologique”.

Decembre 2014, un courrier du Departement federal des affaires
etrangères enjoint le canton de genève de refuser l’autorisation de
construire dans le parc de l’Ariana.

mercredi 10 decembre 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

SWITZERLAND REJECTS ARMENIAN DIASPORA’S PROPOSAL TO ERECT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MEMORIAL IN ARIANA PARK IN GENEVA

by Tatevik Shahunyan

ARMINFO
Wednesday, December 10, 11:57

The Swiss Government has rejected the proposal of the Armenian Diaspora
to erect a monument to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman
Turkey in the early XX century in Ariana Park in Geneva.

Dogan news agency reports that the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs
submitted its decision to the Canton of Geneva. The Ministry says
that if the Armenian Diaspora insists, the

Canton of Geneva may decide to erect the monument elsewhere in the
country.

The Armenian Diaspora in Switzerland suggested erecting the monument
in Ariana Park, Geneva.

To note, Switzerland is one of the three European countries, which
has not only recognized the Armenian Genocide, but also criminalized
the Armenian Genocide denial at the legislative level.

KHADIJA ISMAYILOVA IN PRISON: CHARGES AGAINST ME ARE FRAUD, DIRTY BLACK PR

12:11 10/12/2014 >> SOCIETY

Today arrested journalist Khadija Ismayilova called from the prison
to her colleagues from the Azerbaijani service of “Radio Liberty”.

Speaking of her arrest, she said she knew that the Azerbaijani
authorities will eventually pluck, Azerbaijani news agency “Turan”
reports.

The article notes that Ismayilova expected that one day the authorities
would not stand it anymore. It happened and she got arrested. “The
charges against me are fraud, dirty and black PR.

Despite all this, I am strong. I know that it’s not easy for you
either. But do not be discouraged. Continue to work. It is important
that each of you continued his work. I expect new investigations from
my colleagues and new initiatives from human rights defenders. The
work must continue,” said Ismayilova.

“I am deeply concerned about the arrest of Ismayilova who was
ruthlessly persecuted by the Azerbaijani government for her efforts
to expose corruption in his country and for her work to protect the
rights of political prisoners,” this statement was made by the head
of the Helsinki Commission of the US Congress Benjamin Cardin. A
statement is published on the official website of Benjamin Cardin.

As noted in a statement the current charges against Ismayilova are
strange and seem to have one goal – to shut another critical voice
in Azerbaijan, which are very few.

“Ismayilova was supposed to appear before the Helsinki Commission
on November 19, 2014, but she couldn’t leave the country by the
decision of the authorities. The current charges against Ismayilova
for incitement to suicide are an escalation of persecution, which
it is exposed by the government for several years,” said the head of
the Helsinki Commission.

A well-known human rights organization “Reporters Without Borders”
also demanded an immediate release of the Azerbaijani opposition
journalist in its press release. The head of the German branch of the
organization Christian Peace expressed concern about a new wave of
repression in Azerbaijan. “Apparently, the Azerbaijani authorities
are trying by all means to silence another prominent critic of the
authoritarian regime,” he said.

Johan Beer, the head of the “Reporters Without Borders” of Eastern
Europe and Central Asia made a statement too. “We are outraged by
these false accusations and unjust deprivation of liberty. Arrest of
Khadija Ismayilova, the leader in independent investigative journalism
in Azerbaijan is evidence that the authorities are more determined
than ever, and have taken up the elimination of all the opposition,”
he said.

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”.

GLOBAL MILITARISATION INDEX 2014: ARMENIA RANKED THIRD

15:39, 10 Dec 2014

Armenia is the third most militarized country, according to the Global
Militarisation Index (GMI) issued by the Bonn International Center
for Conversion.

In the 2014 GMI, Israel, Singapore, Armenia, Syria, Russia, Cyprus,
South Korea, Jordan, Greece and Azerbaijan (rank 1 to 10) are amongst
the ten countries with the highest levels of militarization three
of which are situated in the Middle East, two in East Asia and
the remaining five in Western and Eastern Europe. The high levels
of militarization in these countries are mostly the result of
comprehensive arms purchases.

The causes for the generally high levels of militarization in The
Middle East are manifold. They range from the defense of existing
authoritarian regimes against possible internal adversaries to external
conflicts and potential threats from the outside. All in all, one
will have to assume that the level of militarization in the region
will remain high or will even increase.

The neighboring states Armenia (rank 3) and Azerbaijan (rank 10),
both belonging to Europe, show very high levels of militarization
and have initiated major increases in their military expenditures
over the past years. The high levels of militarization in these
two countries must, however, be seen in the overall context. Russia
(rank 5) delivers arms to both South Caucasian republics and has been
pursuing a comprehensive military reform since 2008.

Between 2009 and 2013, expenditures for equipment and procurement
in European NATO states fell by more than US $ 9 billion. Still,
some states show high levels of militarisation (Greece: 9, Estonia:
21, Turkey: 24, Bulgaria: 27, Portugal: 28).

Singapore (rank 2) and South Korea (rank 7) are the two countries
within East Asia that are amongst the ten most militarized countries in
the world. Singapore’s procurement efforts are a reaction to its many
unresolved territorial issues, the importance of strategic waterways in
the region and the Chinese anti-access / area denial strategy. South
Korea’s high level of militarization can be understood in the context
of the ongoing state of war with North Korea, but also with unresolved
territorial issues with Japan and China in the Yellow Sea.

The Global Militarisation Index (GMI) depicts the relative weight and
importance of the military apparatus of one state in relation to its
society as a whole. The update of the GMI 2014 is based on data from
the year 2013 (i. e. the most recent year for which data has been
available) and comprises 152 states. BICC’s GMI is supported by the
German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The GMI is divided into three overarching categories: expenditure,
personnel and heavy weapons. Military spending in relation to GDP
and health spending are the most important indicators for determining
the level of militarization. Besides military expenditure, the level
of militarization is also represented by the relation of military
personnel to the total population and physicians. As its third
category the GMI takes into consideration the number of an armed
forces’ heavy weapons in relation to the total population.

LAKE SEVAN’S LEVEL DOWN 7 CENTIMETERS

YEREVAN, December 10. / ARKA /. The level of Lake Sevan was seven
centimeters down on December 1 from the year before, said today Karine
Danielyan, the chairwoman of a non-governmental organization called
Association for Sustainable Human Development.

Speaking at a news conference Ms. Danielyan said water level
fluctuations of Lake Sevan pose a serious danger of desertification
not only for Ararat Valley, but also for the entire country, ‘because
all water resources of the country are interconnected.”

According to her, it is necessary to find a balance between economic
development and protection of natural resources.

She said when the level is rising it improves the quality of the
water in the lake which worsens when the level falls. Ms. Danielyan
said the lake’s water can not help resolve the irrigation problems
because when it reaches the irrigation areas about 80% of it is lost.

“It is evident that to lower the lake for the sake of the remaining
20% is wrong. The government and other stakeholders should make an
in-depth study of the problem and find a solution that will not use
Sevan Lake’s water,

LE GOUVERNEMENT ARMENIEN EXCLUT TOUTE RECESSION

ARMENIE

Le gouvernement armenien a maintenu ses previsions de croissance
economique pour l’annee prochaine malgre la deterioration significative
des perspectives economiques en Russie reconnu par les autorites
de Moscou.

Le ministre de l’Economie Karen Chshmaritian a declare que le
gouvernement continue d’anticiper que l’economie armenienne devrait
croître de 4,1 pour cent en 2015, malgre une recession attendue
en Russie.

Le ministère russe de l’Economie a declare mardi que l’economie
nationale devrait se contracter de 0,8 pour cent en 2015. Le ministère
avait prevu initialement un taux de croissance economique de 1,2
pour cent.

Interroge par des journalistes si cela signifie que l’Armenie risquait
de glisser dans la recession compte tenu de sa dependance economique a
la Russie, Karen Chshmaritian a dit : >. Il a fait
valoir que la Russie represente moins d’un quart du commerce exterieur
armenien. Karen Chshmaritian a donne des assurances similaires le mois
dernier. Mais il a admis en meme temps que le gouvernement armenien a
fait des plans d’urgence pour d’eventuels retombees liees aux problèmes
economiques de la Russie.

La monnaie armenienne, le dram, a depuis perdu plus de 6 pour cent de
sa valeur par rapport au dollar au milieu d’une baisse des transferts
des travailleurs migrants armeniens en Russie. Le rouble russe s’est
deprecie durant plus de la moitie de cette annee.

La Banque Centrale d’Armenie (CBA) a reaffirme jeudi qu’elle avait
suffisamment de reserves en devises fortes pour prevenir des > du taux de change du dram. S’exprimant
lors d’une reunion du cabinet a Erevan, le gouverneur adjoint de la
banque, Nerses Yeritsian, a egalement declare que le taux peut subir
des > mineurs en raison de >. La
situation economique qui se deteriore en Russie a deja conduit le Fonds
monetaire international a abaisser sa prevision de croissance 2014
pour l’economie armenienne a 2,6 pour cent. Cet ete, le gouvernement
armenien a declare que le produit interieur brut augmentera de 4 pour
cent cette annee.

mardi 9 decembre 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

PASSENGER TRAFFIC AT ARMENIA’S ZVARTNOTS AND SHIRAK AIRPORTS EXCEEDS 1.9 MILLION IN JANUARY-NOVEMBER

YEREVAN, December 9. /ARKA/. The two Armenian international airports,
Zvartnots and Shirak, provided services to a total of 1 million
931,554 passengers in January-November this year, 332,376 passengers
more than in the same period of 2013, the press office of Armenia’s
chief aviation department reports.

It is a 20.8% year-on-year increase. In the period, departures rose to
976,708, as compared to 803,523 in January-November 2013. Arrivals were
954,846 (795,652 in 2013). This means, departures outnumbered arrivals
by 21,862 in the eleven months (39,910 in January-November 2013).

The share of departures in overall traffic was 50.6%, which is well
comparable to the respective level of 2013 (50.2%).

Freight traffic through civil airports rose by 3% to 9,478 ton,
and number of operations (takeoffs and landings) hiked by 17.3%
to 9,739 in the period. -0–

COURT SUSTAINS HETQ’S FREEDOM OF INFORMATION CASE AGAINST ENVIRONMENTAL MINISTRY

17:47, December 8, 2014

Armenia’s Administrative Court today sustained a freedom of information
case presented by Hetq (Investigative Journalists) obligating the
Ministry of Nature Protection to provide copies of export, sale or
transport permits of rare animals as regulated by the CITES for the
period 2010-2013.

Hetq sought the copies for an investigative series it was working on
entitled “Dangerous Monkey Business: Armenia’s Links to the Illegal
Trafficking of Endangered Species.”

The ministry initially refused Hetq’s request, arguing that such
documents contained ‘secretive material’. It merely provided a list
of animals imported to and exported from Armenia.

After this initial refusal by the ministry to provide the copies of
the permits, Hetq suggested that any ‘secretive details’ be blacked
out. The ministry again refused and sent the same list.

The Administrative Court also sustained the IJ’s demand to be
compensated for the 49,000 AMD it had incurred in legal fees.

UN OPERATEUR ETRANGER ENLÈVE LES ORDURES A EREVAN

ARMENIE

Une societe libanaise qui a remporte un appel d’offres annonce par
la municipalite d’Erevan a commence ses prestations dans la capitale
armenienne.

Le Maire Taron Margaryan a inspecte l’equipement qui sert a
l’enlèvement des ordures de la SARL SANITEK Place Shahumyan.

Deux societes avaient ete choisies pour fournir des services a
Erevan en 2012 lors d’un appel d’offres dans lequel les entreprises
specialisees dans l’enlèvement des ordures et le nettoyage sanitaire
des huit pays ont participe.

La societe libanaise sera responsable de la fourniture des services
dans les districts administratifs de l’Ouest (Achapnyak, Davtashen,
Kentron, Malatia-Sebastia, Shengavit) d’Erevan, tandis qu’un consortium
de societes armeno-suedoises, EcoGroup et LL Milioconsult, fournira
les services de la secteur oriental (les districts administratifs
d’Arabkir, Avan, Erebuni, Kanaker-Zeytoun, Nor-Nork et Nubarashen).

mardi 9 decembre 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com