Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ZHOGHOVURD: TRAFFIC FARE RISE NOT LEGALLY JUSTIFIED

09:46 24.07.13

The paper says it has managed to learn that the decision to raise
the passenger fees is not justified by any legal act.

Citing the legislation, it says the fares for the public transport
can be revised only based on justified calculations submitted by
the company responsible for operating the route. That is requires a
decision by the municipality, which according to the paper, is missing
in the present circumstances. TÕ°e paper says the city authorities
have apparently reached an oral agreement with the route owners to
impose higher prices.

“The municipality has afforded such a luxury for the simple reason
that the route owners are its own people – [Mayor] Taron Margaryan,
his brother-in-law Robert Sargsyan, who is a lawmaker of the Republican
Party of Armenia, Head of the Yerevan City Hall’s Transport Departmenrt
Henrik Navasardyan etc,” says the paper.

Armenian News – Tert.am

L’NTRODUCTION DE NOUVELLES TECHNOLOGIES ET D’INVESTISSEMENTS EN CAPITAL VA AUGMENTER LA PRODUCTIVITE DE L’AGRICULTURE ARMENIENNE

ARMENIE

L’introduction de nouvelles technologies et d’investissements
dans l’agriculture de l’Armenie va augmenter sa productivite et
la competitivite des produits locaux sur les marches etrangers a
declare Tigran Jrbashian, chef du developpement de la societe de
conseil America.

Il a dit que l’agriculture dite industrielle se developpe deja en
Armenie et qu’elle a besoin d’investissements en capital. Ce segment
est constitue de grandes serres et d’elevage de poissons a-t-il dit
lors de la presentation des resultats d’une etude intitulee ” Le
developpement de l’agriculture industrielle en Armenie ” menee America.

Il a dit etant donne la petite taille du marche local, le developpement
de l’agriculture industrielle en Armenie est subordonnee en grande
partie sur le potentiel d’exportation

Selon Jrbashian dans les pays de la CEI et les pays d’Europe de l’Est
l’Armenie est le pays leader en termes de part de l’agriculture dans
le PIB global – environ 19-21%, cependant, en termes de productivite,
elle accuse un retard important. Il a dit que beaucoup d’argent a
ete investi dans les 2-3 dernières annees dans le renforcement de la
productivite agricole.

” Nous croyons que le soutien de l’Etat pour le developpement agricole
doit etre remplace en aidant a augmenter sa productivite et la creation
de conditions favorables pour cela” a-t-il dit.

mercredi 24 juillet 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

UN MEMBRE DE LA FRA DEMANDE INSTAMMENT AUX AUTORITES DE FAIRE UNE ENQUETE COMPLETE SUR LE SCANDALE OFFSHORE

ARMENIE

Aghvan Vardanian, un parlementaire membre de la Federation
revolutionnaire armenienne (FRA), a exhorte les autorites a faire une
enquete minutieuse sur la soi-disant ” scandale offshore ” impliquant
le Premier ministre Tigran Sarkissian.

S’adressant aux journalistes, Aghvan Vardanian a declare que le fait de
ne pas le faire signifie que de nouveaux incidents peuvent se produire
a l’avenir. Cela dit, il a doute de la volonte des autorites de faire
une enquete approfondie sur le scandale.

“Etant donne l’etat actuel du système de gouvernance en Armenie et
le faible niveau de confiance de la population dans les organes de
repression, on ne peut pas attendre que les autorites menent une
enquete impartiale” a-t-il dit.

mercredi 24 juillet 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

LA FRONDE CONTRE L’AUGMENTATION DES TARIFS DES TRANSPORTS CONTINUE

EREVAN

La police antiemeute s’est affrontee avec de jeunes militants et
a arrete mardi plusieurs d’entre eux alors que le mouvement de
protestation continuait contre l’augmentation de 50% du prix des
transports en commun a Erevan.

Six jeunes hommes ont ete places en garde peu avant une manifestation
près du bureau du maire de la capitale armenienne organisee par
environ 200 personnes demandant l’abolition de cette mesure très
impopulaire. Les autorites imputent cette augmentation a celle du
gaz naturel russe.

Aux cris de “Nous sommes les maîtres de notre pays !”, les manifestants
ont franchi un cordon de police et se sont approches du bâtiment
tentaculaire situe dans le centre-ville. La police antiemeute a
empeche le regroupement de penetrer dans le bâtiment.

JPEG – 105.9 ko Arrestation d’un jeune militant.

La foule a ensuite marche sur le siège de la police du district
administratif central d’Erevan où les militants arretes etaient
detenus. Des bagarres ont eclate avec les forces de securite
a l’exterieur du poste de police avant que des assurances soient
donnees sur les raisons de ces arrestations. Les six militants ont
ete liberes environ deux heures plus tard.

Une bagarre similaire a eclate a l’intersection d’une importante rue
du le centre de Erevan lundi soir. Des dizaines de manifestants de
l’opposition pour la plupart des jeunes s’etaient rassembles pour
protester contre la hausse du prix du transport.

Valeri Osipian, chef adjoint de la police d’Erevan, a condamne comme
illegal les manifestations et les appels des militants invitants au
boycott de cette augmentation. Dans une declaration ecrite publiee
lundi soir, la police nationale egalement accuse les manifestants
de perturber l’ordre public et de faire pression sur les chauffeurs
d’autobus ce qui pourraient entrainer des accidents de la circulation.

La declaration a averti que ceux qui perturbent l’ordre public seront
“identifies et tenus de rendre des comptes.”

JPEG – 77.5 ko Benevole offrant un transport gratuit mercredi 24
juillet 2013, Ara ©armenews.com

ARMENIA’S BIGGEST CELEBRITIES ARE OFFERING PEOPLE FREE RIDES AROUND YEREVAN

The Atlantic Cities
July 23 2013

by Giorgi Lomsadze

Armenia’s Biggest Celebrities Are Offering People Free Rides Around
Yerevan Reuters

A bus boycott entered its third day in the Armenian capital, Yerevan,
with hundreds protesting against an increase in public and private
transportation fees in the wake of a hike in the price of imported
Russian natural gas.

Fares have doubled or, at best, increased by 50 percent, depending on
the type of transportation. A bus ride now costs 150 drams, which is
just 35 cents, but is pinching wallets in this cash-strapped country.

And sapping patience among an urban population which has already shown
this year how economic hard-knocks can translate into protest power.

One crowd, gathered on July 23 in front of the office of Mayor Taron
Margarian, accused the Yerevan mayor of having business interests in
private bus companies. Six people were detained by police, but later
released. Scuffles with police persisted throughout the day.

Ironically, not a few bus drivers back the boycott, RFE/RL reported.

Many Armenian celebrities do, too, taking to the streets and offering
ordinary Armenians rides in their cars. The tactic, billed Free Car,
is meant to dissuade people from using public transportation and keep
the pressure up on the authorities.

Some Armenians feel that they have been duped by officials, who, they
claim, delayed the price hike until after the February 18 presidential
election, which saw President Serzh Sargsyan re-elected. The government
denies any such scheming.

CITY TO EXPLAIN PLANS FOR ARMENIAN CULTURAL CENTER

Los Angeles Daily News, CA
July 23 2013

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Rick Orlov

Under pressure from community groups, Councilman Paul Koretz on Tuesday
asked for a 90-day outreach effort to explain the plans to convert
an abandoned fire station in to an Armenian museum and cultural center.

“In retrospect, we should have done a better job explaining what we
wanted to do,” Koretz said. “A number of people have raised objections
and we will try to address those.”

Koretz had received full City Council support to the concept of
leasing Fire Station 83 at 5001 Balboa Blvd., Encino, for $1 a year
for 50 years to the Armenian Cultural Foundation.

In return, the group would make about $1 million in improvements as
well as provide the security on the property to prevent vandalism
and graffiti.

Critics have said the city should sell the property to private
developers to bring in money to the city and representatives of the
Encino Charter Elementary School have said they would like to be able
to use the parking lot at the station.

City officials said they did offer the property to other city agencies
and governmental jurisdictions, but none stepped forward to claim
the property

THE TRACES OF BLOOD ON THE CHAIR AT THE RECEPTION OF RA POLICE STATION IS CONFIRMED

July 22 2013

The review of the appeal Robert Revazyan (in the photo), member of
the Chamber of Advocates of the Republic of Armenia, advocate of USSR
multiple boxing champion Armen Khaloyon commenced today at the RA
Court of Criminal Appeals chaired by judge Henrik Ter-Adamyan. The
lawyer sued the Special Investigation Service, and is litigating
its idleness. SIS has refused to bring criminal charges based on
the report of Mr. Khaloyan. Armen Khaloyan who was sentenced to
five years in prison stated that he was tortured and subjected to
torture at the Arabkir Police Department, and at the reception of
Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan, where he had gone at the request
of private reception, was injured with a chair by his assistant
M. Hakobyan. By the way, it’s true that no biological testing
was conducted to determine the identity of blood, but the forensic
examination confirmed that A. Khaloyan had been injured. In the place
where the arrested are kept, the injuries committed by the police
“were not seen”. The sharp, piercing and transparent injury caused
by the chair, according to Robert Revazyan, his client could not get
because any sharp, protruding ridge was not found on the chair. Today,
the defendant was present in court, the investigator of the Special
Investigation Service Rafael Amirkhanyan. At the hearing of this appeal
at Kentron and Nork Marash General Jurisdiction Court, judge the SIS
was presented by Kamo Khachatryan, who pursuant to his application was
resigned from his job. The investigator said that the claim of the
advocate is intangible, which is to bring to criminal charges. SIS,
by its initiative, has brought to criminal charges based on the
requirements of the previous appeal, but did not see grounds for a
criminal case, and has made the decision to refuse. And The Court of
First Instance had found in the decision to refuse that the attorney
did not maintain the out-of-court order, in other words, it was not
complained on time. For the act of violence against a representative
of authorities, the appeal with regard to the size of punishment of
Armen Khaloyan sentenced for five-year in prison is at the Court of
Cassation, and my appeal is at the General Prosecution’s Office of
Armenia. The former athlete, who was one of the security employees
of the Ltd. company, is kept in Noubarashen detention center and
detention cell of the Ministry of Justice since last year November. At
the Kentron and Nork Marash General Jurisdiction Court, the attorney
raised the issue of moving to “Vardashen” PI. But the Ombudsman’s
complaints and demands still have not been resolved. Judge Henrik
Ter-Adamyan requested from SIS investigator to present the conclusion
of the medical examination to the court regarding A.

Khaloyan, his explanation and the protocol on examining the scene of
the incident. The court session will be continued tomorrow.

Ruzanna MINASYAN

Read more at:

FORMER CBA CHAIRMAN SPEAKS ABOUT CRISIS IN ECONOMY

Tuesday,
July 23

“The 50% increase in transport fares means a crisis in the economy,”
the former chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Bagrat
Asatrian told reporters today.

He expressed an opinion that in case of correct calculations, the
transport fare would decline and not grow, but it has increased
because the bus lines are the ‘political support of these authorities’.

Economist Vardan Bostanjian noted for his part that such ‘petty’
problems are used by the authorities to divert attention from serious
problems. According to him, the actions of activists and public
discontent will not give results.

Bagrat Asatrian disagreed with him, noting that ‘everything depends
on volumes’.

22.07.2013, 17:19

Aysor.am

EXPERTS: RISE IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT FARE IN YEREVAN IS ECONOMIC THEFT
by Erik Abrahamyan

Tuesday, July 23, 18:22

The rise in the public transport fare in Yerevan is the result of the
ruling regime’s greed and shortsightedness, expert harutyun Mesrobyan
told journalists on Tuesday.

“In case of a product you can use less if it grows in price, but you
cannot pay 75 AMD to go just half of your way. So, here one must be
very careful,” Mersobyan said.

In her turn, Head of the Protection of Consumers’ Rights NGO Lusine
Yagubyan pointed out the low quality of public transport services
in Yerevan.

She said that once the new academic year starts, the problem will
become even more acute as students will not be able to pay the
new fare.

Yagubyan’s deputy Karen Chilingaryan said that the Chinese buses used
in Yerevan are not profitable – though being much smaller than the
buses used in Europe, they consumer much more fuel.

“Municipal transport must be owned by municipal authorities rather
than private proprietors. In many countries people enjoy discounts. In
Georgia students pay half of the fare, poor people just 10 GEL (20-25
AMD), while schoolchildren and disabled people do not pay anything
at all,” Chilingaryan said.-0-

VALERY OSPIYAN PROMISES TO ARREST THE MOST ACTIVE DEMONSTRATORS
Tue, 07/23/2013 – 13:33
News

Today in the morning in the area near the municipality the protest
dedicated to the fare increase was launched.

While police were trying to prevent the participants of the action to
reach the building of the municipality by closing the road leading
to it, the participants of the protest managed to break the chain
and to approach the building.

Demonstrators had slogans in their hands reading “100 AMD”, “Fare is
100 AMD”, “We will not pay 150 AMD”.

Deputy Head of city service department Valery Osipyan in response
to questions from journalists covering the protest said that the
protesters violated public order and traffic rules and promised that
police will arrest the most active ones. Colonel Osipyan mentioned
the name of Aren Gevorgyan as the most active.

Yerevan Police Service Division head Karen Movsisyan has confirmed
the information that yesterday the Central Division Police arrested
three organizers of the protests at bus stops.

On this regard Valery Osipyan announced that they are preparing the
materials, because, according to him, the arrestees were kicking the
police officers.

Author: Nelly Danielyan – See more at: