Author: Kalantarian Kevo

Agence France Presse
18 septembre 2013 mercredi 1:54 PM GMT

Arménie: les espoirs des pro-Européens douchés par la “realpolitik” d’Erevan

EREVAN 18 sept 2013

La décision de l’Arménie de rejoindre l’Union douanière menée par la
Russie suscite la colère des pro-Européens, pour lesquels la
“realpolitik” d’Erevan a eu raison des espoirs de modernisation et de
démocratisation du pays.

Début septembre, de nombreux Arméniens ont été pris de court en
apprenant que leur président, Serge Sarkissian, en visite à Moscou,
avait accepté que son pays rejoigne l’Union douanière pour l’heure
composée de la Russie, du Bélarus et du Kazakhstan.

Car après de longues négociations, l’Arménie, au côté de la Géorgie et
de la Moldavie, devait sceller en novembre à Vilnius un accord de
libre-échange avec l’UE, qui aurait constitué un premier pas vers une
intégration future au bloc européen.

Ce revirement a poussé des Arméniens à descendre dans la rue.

“Nous sommes venus ici pour dire que nous ne le permettrons pas”, a
déclaré lors d’une récente manifestation Lusine Hovsepian, 34 ans.

“S’il faut choisir entre l’UE et cette union douanière, nous
choisiront l’Europe, plus développée, plus démocratique”.

Les préoccupations autour du territoire du Nagorny-Karabakh, région
séparatiste d’Azerbaïdjan peuplée majoritairement d’Arméniens, et les
pressions exercées par la Russie, allié dans la région de l’Arménie,
semblent avoir eu raison des espoirs de rapprochement avec l’Europe.

Pressions de Moscou

“Il est clair que si on dépend de la Russie militairement,
économiquement et politiquement (…), il est impossible de rejoindre
une autre zone économique”, a commenté Tatoul Hakobian, un analyste à
la Fondation Civilitas, basée à Erevan.

L’Arménie dépend beaucoup de la Russie pour ses approvisionnements en
armement, qu’elle considère comme vitaux pour maintenir l’équilibre
face à l’Azerbaïdjan voisin, riche de son pétrole, sur la question du
Nagorny-Karabakh.

Alors qu’Erevan se rapprochait de Bruxelles, Moscou a envoyé une série
de messages sans équivoque à son allié, augmentant le prix du gaz
livré à la petite république caucasienne et annonçant un énorme
contrat de vente d’armes à Bakou.

“L’Arménie rejoint l’Union douanière non comme un partenaire à part
entière mais comme un mendiant humilié et malheureux”, a lancé
récemment lors d’un meeting politique Levon Ter-Petrossian, qui fut le
le premier président arménien après l’indépendance du pays et est
aujourd’hui un des chefs de file de l’opposition.

Le parti au pouvoir argue pour sa part que l’intégration à l’Union
douanière, un projet soutenu par le président russe Vladimir Poutine
qui milite pour une intégration toujours plus étroite des pays de
l’ex-URSS, fait sens.

“L’Arménie continue simplement d’approfondir ses liens avec un
partenaire stratégique conformément à ses intérêts économiques et
politiques”, a déclaré à l’AFP le député Edouard Charmazanov.

L’Arménie, le plus proche allié de Moscou dans le Caucase, a une
importante diaspora en Russie, dont les transferts d’argent vers le
pays on atteint l’an dernier 1,5 milliard de dollars.

Selon le sociologue Gevorg Pogossian, c’est la raison pour laquelle
55% d’Arméniens sont en faveur de liens plus étroits avec la Russie.

“Vous n’avez pas besoin de visa pour vous rendre là-bas et il n’y a
pas la barrière linguistique”, dit-il. Beaucoup d’Arméniens parlent le
russe, appris à l’époque soviétique.

“Le facteur décisif toutefois est que le bien-être d’un grand nombre
de familles dépend de ces transferts d’argent”, ajoute le sociologue.

“Un tel accord ne peut être dans les intérêts de l’Arménie car cela ne
va pas nous aider à résoudre nos principaux problèmes : la corruption,
les monopoles économiques et l’absence de concurrence politique”,
rétorque Armen Martirossian, du parti d’opposition Héritage libéral de
l’Arménie.

“L’Arménie, en choisissant l’Union douanière plutôt que des accords
avec l’UE, restera un pays d’oligarques et de monopoles comme la
Russie”, affirme-t-il.

mkh/del/edy/lpt/phv

One India
Sept 22 2013

Armenia celebrates 23rd Independence Day

Yerevan, Sept 22: Armenia Saturday celebrated 22 anniversary of its
independence from the former Soviet Union with a range of festive
events held across the country, including a gala reception in the
national capital.Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan also delivered a
congratulatory speech in the capital on this special day to mark the
occasion, Xinhua reported.On Sep 19, US Secretary of State in his
congratulatory note said: “On behalf of President Obama and the
American people, I extend my warmest wishes to the people of Armenia
as you celebrate your Independence Day on September 21.””The United
States and Armenia have a strong relationship based on historic ties
and mutual respect. I am proud and grateful for the enduring
friendship of many in the Armenian community.””I wish all Armenians a
joyful and prosperous Independence Day, with peace and happiness in
the coming year.”Twenty-two years ago, by the decision of the Supreme
Council of the Soviet Armenia, a referendum was held over the question
of withdrawal from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and
proclaiming an independent state was put to vote, and 99 percent of
the participants voted in favour of an independence.IANS

States News Service
September 21, 2013 Saturday

STATEMENT MINISTER KENNEY ISSUES STATEMENT MARKING ARMENIAS INDEPENDENCE DAY

OTTAWA, Canada

The following information was released by Citizenship and Immigration
Canada (CIC):

The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister for Multiculturalism, issued the
following statement recognizing the celebration of Armenias
Independence Day:

On this date in 1991, 99.5 per cent of voters in an Armenian
referendum voted in favour of full independence from the Soviet Union.
The subsequent declaration of independence helped establish a
sovereign democratic Armenia, ending almost 70 years of oppression
under the Communist regime.

The Government of Canada recently announced that it will be providing
funds to build a memorial to the victims of Communism within sight of
Parliament Hill. This memorial will help teach future generations how
millions of people lost their lives and suffered in inhumane
conditions in Armenia and other countries victimized by tyrannical
regimes.

Canada has enjoyed a strong relationship with the Republic of Armenia
for 22 years, and has been proud to support Armenias economic,
political and democratic development.

The Government of Canada fully supported Armenias candidacy to become
an associate member of lOrganisation international de la Francophonie
at the Quebec Summit in 2008, and was very happy to welcome Armenia as
a full member last October. Canada and Armenia have also signed a
number of bilateral trade agreements.

Our two countries close ties have only been strengthened by the many
positive contributions of the Armenian-Canadian community, whose
members have played an important role in Canadian society for more
than a century.

As Minister for Multiculturalism, I join with Canadians in wishing a
happy Independence Day to all Armenian citizens and people around the
world of Armenian descent.

ON THE MODERN CHALLENGES THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN LEBANON FACES

19.09.2013

Vahram Hovyan
Expert, Center for the Armenian Studies, `Noravank’ Foundation

The Armenian community in Lebanon traditionally takes plays key role
among the Armenian communities in the Middle East. Today it is even
more obvious taking into consideration difficult situation in other
Armenian communities in the Middle East region (Syria, Iraq, Egypt,
etc.).

Special role of the Armenian community in Lebanon among other Armenian
communities in the Middle East is conditioned by human and
organizational factors. As for the human factor, though the Armenian
community in Lebanon also could not avoid a wave of the Armenian
migration from the Middle East and Near Asia countries started in
middle of the 20th century reaching its heights during the Civil war
in 1975-1990, nevertheless, in general it preserves its considerable
size. Today the number of the Armenian population in Lebanon is 70-80
thousand people1. The fact that the territory of Lebanon is much
smaller as compared to other Armenian populated countries in the
Middle East (total area – about 10 thousand square miles), gives local
Armenian community a status of comparatively compact community.

Organizational factor is connected with the organizations of the
Armenian communities which are not only abundant in quantity and
diverse in types (church, educational, cultural, information, etc.)
but they also differ in the aspect of their activity. There are
organizations among them the activity of which goes far beyond the
scope of community and acquires regional (their activity is also
spread on other Armenian communities in the Middle and Near East) and
nationwide character.

In this aspect church institutions are worth mentioning:

– Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia (Antilias) – Nationwide
institution which, being one of the four main Sees of the Armenian
Apostolic Church is a spiritual center of a big segment of the AAC
adherents;

– Armenian Catholic Patriarchate (Bzoummar) – It is also one of the
nationwide institutions which is a center of the Armenian Catholic
Church;

– Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (Beirut)
– It includes six countries of the region – Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria,
Lebanon, Egypt as well as Armenian Evangelical communities in Greece
and Australia.

Due to the fact that the Armenian communities in the Middle and Near
East are mostly featured as religious entities and are administered by
the churches, one can state that the central administrative bodies of
the Armenian communities in this region (represented by the
aforementioned institutions) are in the Lebanon. Here we mean all the
confessional strata of the Armenians in the Middle and Near East –
adherents of the AAC, Catholics and Evangelicals.

At current stage the Armenian community in Lebanon also faces the
challenges which are characteristic of the Armenian Diaspora. Besides
opposition to threats jeopardizing national identity, the Armenian
community in Lebanon also must face the threats caused by this
volatile Middle East region. In other words, in case with the Lebanese
Armenians, the issue of preserving of the Armenian identity has
expanded and (like in other Armenian communities in the Middle East)
it has turned into an issue of security or even survival of the
Armenian community. The issues of the national identity (language,
culture, national self-consciousness) preservation were supplemented
by the issues of ensuring of physical security and emigration of the
community. Generally, the main issues faced by the Armenian community
in Lebanon can be divided into two groups – issues of security and
preserving of the identity.

Despite the unfavorable conditions and shrinkage of the potential of
the community, nevertheless, the Armenian institutions in Lebanon
still continue exerting efforts to oppose the challenges the Armenian
community faces. The traditional ways in this issues are supplemented
by new ones, because changing of the situation, emerging of new
challenges assumes new approaches.

Preserving of the Armenia identity

In the aspect of preserving of the Armenian identity the challenges
the Armenian community in Lebanon faces are connected with the
attributes of the national identity, in particular, loss of the
language. The problem of mixed marriages is no less acute.

Though the predominating Islamic environment in the Middle East
countries somehow puts the local Armenian communities aside from local
societies, thus contributing to preserving identity, nevertheless,
according to some specialists dealing with this problem, the shrinkage
of the number of the people speaking Armenian, and growth of the
number of the mixed marriages in the Armenian communities in the
Middle East is observed.

Struggling with the assimilation, the Armenian community in Lebanon
continues to emphasize the eagerness of the public life by means of
the regular activity of its organizational structures (church,
educational and cultural institutions, etc.).

As for new ways of preserving of the Armenian identity, in this aspect
the Lebanese Armenian community singles out two circumstances:

– Active involvement of the youth in solving of the national problems.
This is important not only in the aspect of introducing youth to the
national mentality but also in the aspect of rising of the efficiency
of the national organizations’ activity.

– Comparison of the national values with the universal values. It is
impossible to impose restrictions to the youth, thus depriving it from
a possibility of enjoying the achievements of other civilizations.
Such efforts may also contain threats of confrontation between the
community organizations and youth. Correspondingly, the best way of
preserving national identity today is not a confrontation but a
comparison of the national and universal2.

Security issues

The Armenian community in the Lebanon, just like in other countries of
the Middle East, faces the problems of physical security and
emigration which are conditioned by domestic and external
disturbances.

Lebanon stands out for its ethnic and religious-confessional diversity
of the population. In particular, strained relations developed between
the Shiite and Sunnite Muslims which form the main religious and
confessional groups in the country3. Worsening of those relations drew
the country into 15-years civil war (1975-1990). After the end of the
war the relations between Sunnites and Shiites periodically escalate
which is accompanied by violence.

At current stage the risk of the domestic crisis has increased owing
to the domestic Syrian crisis, because expansion of such moods to the
neighboring countries is one of the main features of the `Arab spring’
which burst out in 2011. According to the specialists, the collisions,
which took place in Lebanon lately, are influenced by the events in
Syria and it proves that the revolutionary wave can be `exported’ from
Syria to Lebanon.

And external shocks are connected with the Arab-Israeli conflict, in
which Lebanon is also involved and which manifests itself by
periodical escalations.

Domestic and external shocks affect both Lebanese society and Armenian
community. The community suffers not only human (victims and wounded),
but also material losses: here we mean both personal (flats, cars,
stores, etc.) and community (churches, schools, monuments, etc.)
property.

The absence of the security guarantees induces emigration of the
Armenians from Lebanon. Besides the security threats, emigration of
the Armenians from Lebanon is also determined by social and economic
conditions.

Weakening of the Armenian community in Syria, conditioned by domestic
conflict in this country, is also a challenge to the Armenian
community in Lebanon. The point is that the `Syrian Armenians are not
only a historic and organized community, but it also takes its
important place in the cultural, educational, sport and economic life
of the Armenian Diaspora’4. Proximity, interconnection and similarity
of the Armenian communities in Syria and Lebanon are so profound that
they can be considered as two segments of one big community. Weakening
and disappearance of the Syrian community will considerably weaken the
Armenian community in Lebanon. Under such conditions it is more than
obvious that the Lebanese Armenians cannot stay indifferent to the
fate of their compatriots in Syria.

It is obvious that the Armenian community in Lebanon cannot
considerably influence events of the restless Middle East region.
Moreover, interference into these events can even more endanger life
of the Armenian communities.

Correspondingly, the Lebanese Armenians tend to make efforts though
restricted to ensure their own security as well as the security of
other Armenian communities in the region. In this aspect the
importance of the cooperation with the Christian churches as well as
dialogue between religions and relations between Christians and
Muslims, `which are directed rather to the mutual understanding and
exchange of the experience necessary for the peaceful coexistence in
one and the same society, than the discussion of the theological
issues’5 are underlined.

As for the issue of preserving of the Armenian community in Syria, in
which the Armenians from Lebanon are interested, they do their best to
further it, mainly by means of the financial support6.

All the aforementioned can be summarized in the following theses:

– The Armenian community in Lebanon, as a managing center of the
Armenians in the Middle and Near East, plays a key role in the life of
the Armenian communities of the region;

– Just like other Armenian communities it faces the problems in the
spheres of security and preserving of the Armenian identity;

– Concerning the issue of preserving of the Armenian identity the
Armenian community in Lebanon at current stage, alongside with the
traditional means, also underlines importance of the active
involvement of the youth into the activity of the national structures
as well as combination of the national and universal values;

– In the aspect of the security, the Armenians in Lebanon underline
the importance of cooperation with the Christian churches and
interreligious dialogue with the Muslim world;

-The support rendered by the Armenians from Lebanon to the Armenians
from Syria, besides sincere aspiration to give a helping hand to the
compatriots who appeared in danger, is also based on the concern over
their own security.

1 Encyclopedia of the Armenian Diaspora, – Yerevan, 2003, p. 290.

2 See: General National Assembly of the Armenian Catholicosate of
Cilicia (); After completion
of works of the General National Assembly of the Armenian
Catholicosate of Cilicia Patriarch Aram I stated: `Reputation of the
Great House of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is in serving’
().

3 Conflict between Sunnites and Shiites is one of the main
inter-Muslim conflicts.

4 Statements of the General National Assembly of the Armenian
Catholicosate of Cilicia (June 12-15, 2013): Support of the Armenians
in Syria is nationwide priority

5 After completion of works of the General National Assembly of the
Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia Patriarch Aram I stated:
().

6 Statements of the General National Assembly of the Armenian
Catholicosate of Cilicia (June 12-15, 2013): Support of the Armenians
in Syria is nationwide priority
; Statement:
().

`Globus’ analytical journal, #7, 2013

Return
________________________________
Another materials of author

TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE ARMENIAN DIASPORA: CHALLENGES AND
POSSIBILITIES[17.06.2013]
ON POLITICAL VIEW OF THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN SYRIA [06.05.2013]
ISSUE OF RETURNING CHURCH PROPERTIES IN TURKEY[07.02.2013]
THE ARMENIAN EVANGELICAL COMMUNITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST[24.10.2012]
THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN GREECE AT THIS STAGE[04.06.2012]
ARMENIAN EVANGELICAL COMMUNITY IN URUGUAY [06.02.2012]
CURRENT CONDITION OF THE ARMENIAN EVANGELICAL COMMUNITY IN RUSSIA[09.01.2012]
ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN BULGARIA[07.11.2011]
ARMENIAN EVANGELICAL COMMUNITY IN EGYPT[20.01.2011]
ARMENIAN PROTESTANT COMMUNITY IN IRAN[22.10.2010]

Barack Obama sent a congratulatory message to President Serzh Sargsyan

23:23, 21 September, 2013

President of the United States Barack Obama sent a congratulatory
message to President Serzh Sargsyan.

`Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of all Americans, I congratulate you and the people of
Armenia on the 22nd anniversary of Armenia’s independence on September
21.

The United States deeply values its enduring relationship with Armenia
and has been made a stronger nation by the millions of Americans who
proudly trace their ancestry to your country. The bonds of affection
and respect between the United States and Armenia remain as strong as
ever, and we look forward to developing greater cooperation between
our countries in the years to come’,- President of United States
stated in his congratulatory letter.

© 2009 ARMENPRESS.am

Our nation proved with its centuries-old history to be able to
overcome any hardship. Taron Margaryan

13:10, 21 September, 2013

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS: On the occasion of the 22nd
anniversary of the Independence Day of the Republic of Armenia the
Yerevan Mayor sent a congratulatory message. As reported by
Armenpress, the message of Taron Margaryan says in particular:

`Dear compatriots,

I heartily congratulate you on the anniversary of independence of the
Republic of Armenia.

On this day 22 years ago the realization of centuries-old wishes of
the Armenian people and the restoration of historical justice was
started and our people initiated the process of its own statehood
foundation, strengthening and development. Overcoming the hardships of
the first years of the independence today we stand steadily among the
countries which have chosen the way of democracy.

To have the country of our dreams we still have a lot to do, all of us
and each of us, as having a powerful and prosperous country is our
common wish. Our nation with its centuries-old history proved that
they are able to overcome any hardship, and I am certain that
eventually we will have the strong and flourishing homeland we are
dreaming of.

Congratulating on the most important holiday for our country, on the
Day of Independence, I wish all of us peace and creative work for the
sake of the safe future of our country and future generations’.

© 2009 ARMENPRESS.am

Customs Union membership will impact Armenia’s ordinary citizen:
Belarusian Ambassador

11:36, 21 September, 2013

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS: The relations between the Republic
of Armenia and Belarus are actively developing. The Armenpress
correspondent talked to the Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of Belarus to the Republic of Armenia Stepan
Sukharenko about the bilateral commercial and economic relations and
the possible impact of the Armenia’s membership in the Customs Union
on the indicators.

– Mr. Ambassador, the volumes of the trade turnover between Armenia
and Belarus does not exceed $30 million. Are you satisfied with the
current level of the bilateral commercial and economic relations?

– I think, nobody is satisfied with them, especially after the world
crisis. Concerning the Armenian-Belarusian commercial and economic
relations, I should say that they are developing quite actively but
still do not reach the high level of the political dialogue between
our countries and our presidents. Today we are actively developing and
hope that in the nearest future we could improve the commercial and
economic relations.

– Will the membership of Armenia in the Customs Union contribute to
the improvement of the Armenian-Belarusian commercial and economic
indicators?

– Certainly, yes. Undoubtedly, all this will be beneficial for the
economy of Armenia. Today the economists estimate a growth of the GDP
of Armenia by 5-7% due to the joining the Customs Union. Surely it
will have its impact not only in general but also on the ordinary
citizen of the Republic of Armenia in particular. (THE FULL INTERVIEW
IS AVAILABLE IN ARMENIAN)

Interviewed by Hakob Vardanyan

© 2009 ARMENPRESS.am

EX-CONGRESSMAN IN PR ACTIVITIES FOR TURKISH-OCCUPIED NORTHERN CYPRUS

By Kevin McCauley – Former Brooklyn/Staten Island Congressman Mike
McMahon is handling public affairs/government relations duties for the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the occupied section of Cyprus.

The Democrat is working as lead on a $200K, one-year contract won by
Herrick Feinstein in New York.

According to HF’s contract, Team McMahon is to arrange Congressional
visits to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a state recognized
only by Turkey, and promote a positive image for it in the media.

Tea Party-backed Republican Michael Grimm defeated McMahon, a former
member of the House Foreign Affairs committee, in 2010.

McMahon also handled the development, and construction of Turkey’s
expanded consulate in New York, across from the United Nations’
General Assembly building. (OD)

Shishkert: A shining light in a `lost’ land

FEATURES | 22.09.13 | 22:35

NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow

By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

The horizon holds abundant forest and blue skies. A gorge, like a
wedge, divides the forest into two parts. Similar-looking redish tufa
houses can be spotted on one side. In the settlement embraced by the
woods like an island in the sea, serenity reigns with the undisputable
authority of a monarch. Knocks on the door remain unanswered – no one
to hear them – no adults, no children, no cheerful screams of
excitement in the yards. Only the river flowing in the depth of the
gorge, some stray dog barks every now and then, and the buzz of bees
challenge the otherwise solid silence…

In the distance one can spot beekeepers, wearing all white clothes and
special net masks to fence from stings. I stand far from them and have
to shout my questions, then strain my hearing to catch the answer:
`They made it so that this village vanished from the map, but I will
continue living here, proving that the village exists. And I am
Lavrenty Grigoryan, 68 years of age.’

On my way to the village, our group of reporters was taking pictures
and placing on Facebook right away, with a comment that we were in
Shishkert, however the Google maps would automatically change it to
Azerbaijan, regarding our post erroneous. Perhaps that is the reason
why Shishkert, indeed cannot be found on the map of Armenia, or maybe
because the name of the village derives from Turkish `sis’ meaning
`six’.

The beekeeper’s story repeats the life tale of hundreds of Armenians,
with just different names and residence addresses: their children have
left, his wife and he remained at their home and will continue
staying. He says they have no community and that they got merged with
the neighbor Tsav community, 12 kilometers away from Shishkert. To the
question where the other residents of the village are, Lavrenty says
with a smile: `Search and you might find.’

Shishert is a village with a rich historic past, vague present and no
future prospects. Locks on abandoned houses are the most common site
here. But it is hard to lock the hearts of those 18 residents
stubbornly refusing to leave their homes. The only child here is
two-year-old Hayk. The village has no shops and no school. A bumpy
dirt road leads to the settlement. As if to compensate, people here
are of strong will, rich in heart, fighters by nature. They survive
due to livestock breeding and field work. The climatic conditions are
quite favorable for animal husbandry, which the Soviet Union took into
consideration in choosing the direction of development.

`This is a splendid village, 50 km from Kapan, the farthest by
location. There are six villages from Kapan till here and ours was the
best – it was the remotest and the biggest, with pastures, haylofts,
developed sheep breeding. We had 12,000 heads of sheep during the
Soviet times, and more than 150 households, with no less than three
children in each family,’ recalls mathematician Ishkhan Galstyan, who
at his time moved to Shishkert from Yerevan.
Wrinkles on his face turn deeper when speaking about losing the village.

`Back during the tenure of Nadir shah people of this village were
driven away to Persia [modern day Iran], but they came back, recovered
the settlement. Last time it happened in 1800s, and now the village is
destroyed in broad daylight,’ he says, putting out another cigarette
in the ashtray.

He lives alone. His sons have left the village, and a while ago his
wife passed away. He leads me to the basement to show the accurate
rows of books he has read and keeps with great care. When seeing me
off he apologizes for having talked too much and says: `For days there
is no one to talk to.’

Shishkert is under the supervision of Tsav village head. For shopping
they again have to go to Tsav.

`The village had over a hundred households, and over the recent years
some 18 or 19 families used to live in the newly-built houses, but
they, too, have left. There is no school, so partly they leave because
of that, others to find jobs. Slowly there is almost nobody left, no
village. It’s only this few of us,’ says Hmayak Galstyan from
Shishkert.

The five families live like one. Day or night, they come to one
another’s help and say their home is Shishkert.

Among the members of the five families 60-year-old Valya Balayan is
the most stubborn. She has married-off her daughters, but keeps living
here together with her husband and three sons. She won’t let her
children leave for Kapan or Yerevan, or abroad.

`I won’t let them leave… why would I send them to Russia leaving our
land and water. They now force foreigners to leave Russia. Let Serzh
(President Sargsyan) do something, look after our youth, I will wed
them, they’ll have families, children, a school would open, a shop
would open, why leave when they can live in their homeland? If they
move to Russia, who is going to work our land, protect our border, if
something happens now, won’t my three sons be the first to go?’ says
Valya with both pride and frustration.

Rebelling against the idea of moving to Tsav, she says her home is here.

Years have emptied the village, but the five lights scattering the
obscurity of the night, lighting an uncertain future for 18 residents
prove that there can be heroes outside a battlefield or on the border.

ARMENIE
Les prêts ont augmenté de 20,6 pour cent

Les prêts à l’économie arménienne par les institutions financières ont
augmenté de 20,6% en mai 2013 par rapport à l’année précédente et ce
sont les prêts en devises qui ont prévalu a annoncé la Banque centrale
d’Arménie dans un communiqué.

Selon le Service national de la statistique, les prêts des banques
commerciales aux résidents en mai s’élevaient à 1622,8 milliards de
drams, soit une augmentation de 1,48% par rapport à avril.

L’encours des prêts accordés par les institutions de crédits en mai
s’élevait à environ 127 milliards de drams, après avoir augmenté de
2,3%.

Selon le Service national des statistiques, le montant des dépôts
individuels en drams en mai s’élevait à 370,6 milliards de drams, le
volume des dépôts en devises à 646,2 milliards de drams.

dimanche 22 septembre 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com