Author: Kalantarian Kevo

FIRST QUARTER PLANS OF 2013 HAVE BEEN OVERFULFILLED.

Tuesday, 23 April 2013 16:12

By primary data, the NKR state budget revenues of the first quarter
of 2013 such as tax incomes, duties and welfare benefits amounted to
AMD 5036.8 mln exceeded the planned 4880.0 mln drams by 3.2 percent
or 156.8 mln drams. As compared with the previous year the same index
has been exceeded by 1.1 percent or by 55 mln drams, the website of
the state tax service adjunct to the NKR government reported.

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES PAID TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF INNOCENT VICTIMS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

19:00, 23 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 23, ARMENPRESS: Armenian network of Independent Life
on April 23 organized a visit to Tsitsernakaberd memorial to pay
tribute to the memory of innocent victims of Armenian Genocide.

As Armenpress has been informed from the executive director of “Unison”
public organization Armen Alaverdyan, 10 leading public organizations
advocating the rights of people with disabilities are included in
the Armenian network of Independent Life.

Participants of the action laid flowers around the eternal flame in
the memory of Armenian Genocide victims.

About 150 people with disabilities participated in the action.

THE VATICAN EMISSARY HANDS POPE’S LETTER TO ARMENIAN CATHOLICOS

April 23, 2013 | 15:51

ETCHMIADZIN. – The Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II, on Tuesday
received Archbishop Marek Solchinsky, the Internuncio of the Holy See
of the Vatican to the South Caucasus, who handed to the Catholicos
the letter by Pope Francis.

In his letter, the Pope extended his thanks to Karekin II for
his message of congratulations on his election as the Pope and for
personally attending his installation ceremony, the Information System
of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin informs.

In his turn, and expressing gratitude for the warm note, the Catholicos
of All Armenians recalled his meetings with Pope Francis and, by
way of Archbishop Solchinsky, he conveyed to the Pope his brotherly
greetings and his well wishes for a productive papacy.

During the ensuing talk, the interlocutors reflected on the warm
relations between the Armenian Apostolic and the Roman Catholic
Churches.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

ADAM SCHIFF: NEW GENOCIDE BILL TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SOON
Lilit Sedrakyan

“Radiolur”
17:58 23.04.2013
Los Angeles

Rep. Adam Schiff recently attended an event in Los Angeles
commemorating the 98th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. He
informed that a new Armenian Genocide bill will soon be submitted to
the UN House of Representatives. The Congressman hopes the US will
recognize the Armenian Genocide before its 100th anniversary.

“Last week I wrote to the President to once again urge him to recognize
the Armenian Genocide. I also spoke with Secretary of State Kerry
urging him to help make the case for recognition. He was a strong
voice for recognition in the Senate. I hope he will be a strong voice
as Secretary of State,” Adam Sciff said.

He said the fact of Genocide is undeniable, and the United States
has not recognized it up until now only because of constant Turkish
pressures and threats. “That’s simply unacceptable. This country has
the leadership it needs to speak out against human rights abuses,
mass atrocity and genocide,” he added.

As for the Armenian Genocide, the Congressman said there is no historic
debate about it and voiced hope that the Administration willdo the
right thing. “There is a bipartisan group in the Congress, ready to
fight until it wins the fight however long it takes. But I feel a
real sense of urgency to recognize the genocide now, while there are
survivors still with us.”

The Congressmen are now working on a new draft resolution, which
is going to be introduced very soon. “We are determined to continue
pressing this in the Congress and the Administration, until the United
States joins the body of nations that have already recognized the
Armenian Genocide,” Mr. Schiff said.

“I hope we’ll move very quickly to recognize the genocide, as we’re
coming up on a 100th anniversary, but I’d like to see recognition now,
today, this week. We’re gong to fight until we succeed,” he concluded

ARMENIA WELCOMES CANADA SUPPORT FOR OSCE MINSK GROUP EFFORTS

April 23, 2013 – 16:42 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Ambassador of Armenia to Canada Armen Yeganian
met with the Foreign Affairs Senate Committee chair Raynell Andreychuk.

At the meeting, the parties discussed a number of political, economic
and cultural issues, with Mr Yeganian further briefing Ms Andreychuk
on Armenia’s steps in the settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

In this context, the envoy stressed the importance of the OSCE Minsk
Group’s mediatory efforts.

The parties also dwelled on Armenia-Turkey relations, with the
importance of Canada’s recognition of the Genocide emphasized.

SPOKESMAN: PAP HAS NOTHING IN COMMON WITH AUTHORITIES

April 23, 2013 – 16:59 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Prosperous Armenia leader has nothing in common
with the ruling authorities, the party’s spokesman said.

“Gagik Tsarukyan met President Serzh Sargsyan a couple of days ago,
with Prosperous Armenia leader briefing on the political majority’s
decision,” Tigran Urikhanyan said.

Dwelling on former foreign minister Vartan Oskanian’s statement
offering Prosperous Armenia to proclaim themselves opposition during
the fall session, he said, “Prosperous Armenia parliamentary group
secretary Naira Zohrabyan has already expressed the party’s readiness
to hold discussions.”

TURKEY PAYS $5000 FOR EACH KILLED ARMENIAN

An old friend of mine visited Armenia a few days ago on personal
business. He had lived in Armenia for several years but he returned to
his family after the war broke out in Syria. He told interesting things
about the life of Armenians of Aleppo as a witness and participant of
the self-defense of the Armenian neighborhood. Here is what he told me.

The Armenians mostly live in 3-4 districts Aleppo. 80% of Aleppo
Armenians are in Nor Gyukh, others in Suleymanie side by side with
Arab Christians, as well as in Vilaner and Sheik Taha where they live
with Arab Christians and Muslims. As of recently, Armenian districts
are quiet, the free opposition army of Syria wants to enter the
Armenian neighborhoods but the Armenians, the army (government forces)
resist. Once they took advantage for 2 or 3 days but were pushed back.

The neighborhood [Nor Gyukh] is often shelled because government troops
are there. People, Armenian churches, schools, buildings are destroyed.

Armenians fight within the government force and the army leadership
is satisfied with the Armenians. Armenians fear that Islamists may
come to power, like in Egypt, and the Armenian community and cultural
heritage will be destroyed.

Turkey is a participant of all this which wants to perpetrate the
second genocide in Aleppo. Once I went to bring food and fuel from
Aleppo with another guy. We were warned to leave Aleppo with the ID
card of a Christian or Muslim Arab. We found a Christian Arab who was
a little like me, and I took his ID. The car was stopped and checked
by the rebels several times on the way to the neighboring villages of
Aleppo. They asked us if there are army soldiers or Armenians in the
car. We certainly said no. Being asked the same question for several
times we asked why they ask this question. One of the rebels said
Turkey promised to pay 1000 dollars for each killed army soldier and
5000 dollars for each killed Armenian.

The Armenian district is the target of snipers therefore some central
streets are closed. The street of the high school is closed. Karen
Epeh, Sahakyan Schools, St Gregory Illuminator Church are closed. The
main street where most shops are is closed. Sometimes the army is
able to catch snipers. The first was an Austrian girl, a former
biathlonist. She said she was paid 50,000 dollars a month plus a fee
for each victim. Before she was caught she had killed an Armenian
young man.

A few days ago rebels intervened in the Kurdish neighborhood
called Sheik Makhsud which is beside the Armenian neighborhood and
is situated higher. First the Kurds defended their neighborhoods,
the government promised to help them to defend themselves but Kurds
were split by controversies and some of them agreed to yield. Some
twenty days ago they yielded to the rebels in return for some money,
which exposed the Armenian neighborhood to risk. The army felt that
this neighborhood could not be yielded so it intervened and took the
Kurdish neighborhood.

There are also funny incidents. We were on duty one night, and two guys
were walking towards our neighborhood shooting every now and then. The
Armenians wounded them. The gunmen (who were from Afghanistan) asked
if we could see them. They said we were given some substance and told
that we it would make us invisible. A few days later we caught someone
else with a sword who also said he had been given some medicine which
would make him invisible.

There are lots of foreigners among the rebels. Mostly Afghans and
Chechens are sent to the front line, there are also Tunisians,
Europeans, Filipinos, Yemeni, Saudis, Nigerians.

The rebels are keen on the Armenian districts because it will give
them a big advantage. Besides, they believe that the government forces
will not raze Armenian buildings to the ground. On the contrary, the
government tells the residents of different districts to keep their
districts and promises to help them in every way. The government
warns a day before the surrender to leave their homes and deploys
artillery and air force to destroy entire districts controlled by
the rebels. If the rebels are able take a district, the government
considers it betrayal by residents of the district.

What allows for hope is that the Armenians have united at this hard
time independent from their party affiliation. Armenians abroad
send money, food, so Armenians always have food for a month. Half
of Armenians of Aleppo have left the country. Most of them moved to
Armenia and Lebanon hoping to return as soon as everything ends. Most
of them prefer to stay, noting that Syria is their home, and they will
live both good days and hard days and will not abandon their homes.

Mushegh Ghahriyan 16:35 23/04/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

NEW WAR OF ARMENIA

A few years after the bloody war in Artsakh Armenians are facing a
new war which may be even more severe and may have worse consequences.

This war is for Armenia’s natural resources. Hundreds of mines
have been licensed in our country, and the Internet is flooded
with videos voicing complaints of rural people. Cyanide processing,
open-pit mining, destruction of the ecosystem, pitmen exploitation,
irreversible damage to health, displacement of border villages,
deep water intoxication, tailing leakage…

Mines are opened throughout the whole country that will eventually
result in displacement of local population. Rural people become miners,
picturesque places are turning into toxic tailings.

This economic war goes unheeded because the most loyal ally of
mine owners is the state and government officials. Marring the
landscape with wastes, mining business pays little taxes and does
not do anything to improve the social situation and quality of life
in those regions. This struggle for Armenia’s resources modifies the
structure of the economy the most direct consequence of which is the
growing rate of emigration.

Mine owners are the only beneficiary of Armenia’s integration and
development programs that receive low interest loans from international
financial organizations and forces the government to simplify their
business and conditions. The loser is the Armenian people. The ongoing
redistribution of national wealth worth tens of billions of dollars
does not go with social justice in any way.

First the government kneels down the villagers, then, together with
the companies, forces them to accept exploitation of mines. On the
other hand, the lack of legal awareness and frequent health problems
completely strip local people of any hope. Only small contributions
are made to meet community needs.

Active players have nothing to do with the concept of national
capital because their business style does not imply any development,
and money is kept in the offshore. This is a “locust capitalism”
model when one finishes one source and moves on to another. Mines
generate large amounts of laundered dollars into the country, causing
the Dutch syndrome when one’s own currency becomes more expensive,
preventing the development of other industries and increasing labor
and business costs. A vulnerable country like Armenia slowly but
steadily falls under the curse of resources.

This is also a war because without the rule of law the mine business
uses the most brutal instruments, ranging from mass media and bribing
communities to violation of human dignity. Everything is permissible
because development of the mining sector is a priority in Armenia’s
national strategy. For its part, the Communist-Republican nomenclature
treats “predatory capitalism” as a taboo, explaining this by degrading
comments about poverty and unemployment.

In this war of mineral resources the only advocates of the Armenian
people are the small civic groups of environmental activists who
are not grown into the nomenclature and corrupt elites. Those people
represent the only organized and public force and oppose the mining
giants that spend millions on PR and lobby. On one side is the mining
lobby intertwined with the state policy, on the other side is the
civic activists without a defined political agenda. The political
system can be changed only through a political alternative.

Having ridded of the Soviet dictatorship, Armenia may lose its chance
to use its democratic and civic potential and risks and drown in a
tailing swamp generated by severe exploitation of mineral resources.

Thus, Armenia has almost unconditional support of the old political
elite. Industrial countries need raw materials and minerals. Not
every country can protect its own interests against exploitation of
natural resources. Will Armenia be that country? Replacement of one
capital with another more organized foreign capital will not change
anything in Armenia’s declared war.

While hiding under the veil of liberalism, young career hunters are
signing loan agreements with the state authorities, and conservative
businessmen-officials do not see anything apart from a mine-based
economy, one with good sense can understand that mines cannot ensure
long-term development for Armenia. Armenia’s future leads it in other
direction rather, notably organic products, a lot of sustainable SMEs,
industries based on intellectual capacity, as well as strong regions
and rural communities. But the villages simply disappear because
of the mineral-mania. The mine fever destroys the country’s most
valuable resource – the people. However, the Republic of Armenia has
not crossed the Rubicon yet, after which the economic developments can
proceed in a dramatic way. And perhaps now it is time to think about
change as long as the country has not lost its most crucial war –
the war waged for our natural resources.

That is why it is time for revolt for social justice. The capital will
not give up for any reason. Only a new social movement that will put
in place the rule of law and political strategy of economic justice
will be able to win the victory. The war for mines already reaches
Artsakh and exploitation of Kashen and other mines threatens to ruin
everything, the country, health and safety of people.

Vahan Meliksetyan 15:32 23/04/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

KURT STRAIF: CANCER RATE WILL DOUBLE

Kurt Straif, International Agency for Research on Cancer, said during
the International Scientific Symposium on Emerging Issues in
Environmental and Occupational Health at the American University to
Armenia said the rate of cancer is growing all over the world. In 2030
the rate of cancer is expected to grow twice. The bulk will be in low
and medium income countries.

Prevention is the key to tackle this challenge, identification and
reduction of the cause of cancer, the expert advises low income
countries. He reminded that miners die at an early age. Studies have
revealed that the cause is radon and its derivatives which expose
miners to a high risk.

In regard to Armenia Kurt Straif said arsenic discovered in Armenia
causes cancer of urinary organs and skin. Chrome VI derivatives causes
lung cancer, cadmium causes kidney and lung cancer.

Varduhi Petrosyan, head of Health Service Study and Development Center
of AUA, presented results of studies in Armenia. In Akhtala, the level
of pollution with arsenic, lead and chrome are higher than the
international allowable level. Studies of 19 communities situated
close to mines showed that the level of chrome was 65%, cadmium was 5%
and arsenic was 52% higher than the allowable level.

Studies also revealed problems with tails, notably there are no
warning signs, regular monitoring, in some communities materials were
taken from tails to use as building material. Besides, soil pollution
exposes children to heavy metals, there are tailings reservoirs near
schools.

12:34 23/04/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

ARMENIAN OLIGARCHS LOST MONEY IN CYPRUS

Interview with Yeran Kouyoumdjian, editor of the Azad Khosk E-Magazine
based in Cyprus

Ms. Kouyoumdjian, is there any statistics on Armenian capital in
Cyprus banks?

There is no information how much Armenian money is left in the Cypriot
banks. The Armenian community of Cyprus is a conservative and closed
community but I know that most of them have big sums in banks and the
bulk of this money is risked. Armenians of Cyprus save money in banks.

I have learned that some people have lost a lot of money after they
sold their land and deposited the money in banks. They say some
Armenians of Russia and other countries also had big sums. However,
Cypriot banks hide their creditors and their deposits. Being a
financial center, it is an attractive place for big money.

Fortunately, our national organizations, schools, church, have not
lost any money.

The EU has lent 10 billion euro to Cyprus. Will it help overcome
the crisis?

It will help relieve the situation only partly. The economic crisis
persists, every day shops close, and people lose their jobs. A lot
of people are on the verge of poverty, charities offer free dinners
to poor families. The upcoming few years will be hard for the people
of Cyprus.

Ms. Kouyoumdjian, did any Armenian oligarchs lose money in Cyprus?

I learned from my acquaintance that most Armenian oligarchs kept
money in Cypriot banks and they certainly lost money there. I could
not learn names but they are many.

Ms. Kouyoumdjian, the Orthodox Church of Cyprus is ready to donate its
property to the state if it will help overcome the crisis in Cyprus.

Will it increase the reputation of the church?

I don’t know if it will help the country to overcome the economic and
financial crisis. However, the church expressed its support to the
state. In Cyprus the Orthodox Church is very popular, unlike Armenia
where the church, as I have noticed, is with the Armenian government.

When citizens took to streets for the sake of their civil rights,
justice and dignity, our religious leader was unable to communicate
with his pasture, understand and share their concerns, inspire them
with hope and faith.

Do you see your future in Cyprus?

Cyprus has a historical importance to us, Armenians have lived there
since the 6th century. The people and government of Cyprus have been
honest and hospitable to the Armenians, both after the genocide when
they opened their doors and accepted the Armenians saved from the
genocide and now when they fund Armenian schools, help the Armenian
Church. Western Armenian is the officially recognized language of
minority. Cyprus is our second home. It is reliable home. Hard times
will come and go like winter.

Siranuysh Papyan 12:02 23/04/2013 Story from Lragir.am News: