Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ARMENIA SEES ALMOST 25% CAPACITY REDUCTION FROM ARMAVIA SUSPENSION

CAPA, Centre For Aviation
April 10 2013

CAPA > Aviation Analysis > Armenia sees almost 25% capacity reduction
from Armavia suspension
10th April, 2013

CAPA Armavia suspended operations on 01-Apr-2013 after filing for
bankruptcy amid mounting debts. The Armenian national carrier was,
until then, the largest carrier operating from Armenia with services
across Eastern and Central Europe and into the Middle East.

The loss of Armavia has resulted in capacity to/from the country
reducing by about 23%, according to CAPA and Innovata data. But
already three carriers from Western Europe have agreed to increase
capacity to Yerevan in the wake of Armavia’s suspension of operations.

A number of Eastern carriers also plan to launch services to the
country as part of their summer 2013 programmes.

Armavia’s financial issues were apparent in late 2012 with Yerevan
Zvartnots International Airport temporarily suspending the servicing
of the airline’s aircraft twice within one week in late Oct-2012 due
to unpaid debts of USD3.3 million. This was above the agreed debt
level of USD1 million.

Large debts to both Armenian and Russian organisations In Nov-2012
the airport’s deputy director Pavel Manukya said the airport was
considering completely banning the airline from the airport and was
planning to file a lawsuit against the airline. At around the same
time, the airline was reportedly considering offers from various
parties interested in purchasing the airline.

Armavia recently had a new shareholder enter into the company, however
this shareholder was not disclosed despite Yerevan Zvartnots requesting
the new shareholder’s name to be revealed.

Armavia’s liquidity issues saw the Armenian Government state its
tender with Armavia may be terminated. The government planned to
announce a decision on the future of its tender agreement with Armavia
on 22-Apr-2013.

Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) confirmed the
suspension of operations by Armavia on 01-Apr-2013 and stated
the airline’s debt to Russian organisations to be RUB54.2 million
(USD1.8 million), including USD290,000 for Russian air navigation
services and almost RUB44.3 million (USD1.4 million) to Moscow Vnukovo
International Airport.

The airline also reportedly had debts to fuel suppliers. Meanwhile,
Sukhoi reportedly stated plans to sue the airline for over USD1.385
million in relation to a debt for the unfulfilled terms of an agreement
for SSJ100 aircraft. Armavia’s total debt (including debts to both
Armenian and Russian organisations) is yet to be disclosed but may
increase if Sukhoi’s lawsuit is successful.

Armenia: a purely international aviation market Armenia’s aviation
market is purely international, with no domestic air transportation
networks. The majority of air traffic to the nation is to Yerevan
Zvartnots International Airport, handling about 97% of total traffic,
with the remaining 3% of traffic handled by Gyoumri Leninakan Airport.

Gyoumri Leninakan Airport currently features one airline, Russia’s VIM
Airlines, which operates three times weekly Moscow Domodedovo-Gyoumri
Leninakan service using Boeing 757-200 equipment. About 1,300 seats
per week are offered on the route.

Up until Armavia’s bankruptcy, Armavia was the largest carrier
operating from Armenia and was based at Yerevan Zvartnots International
Airport. Armavia operated a network of 18 destinations, with its main
market being Eastern and Central Europe. According to Innovata data,
Eastern and Central Europe accounted for about 95% of Armavia’s total
capacity while the Middle East accounted for the remaining 5%. The
airline operated around 10,200 seats on its European network and only
about 500 weekly seats across its Middle Eastern network.

The airline’s network was operated using a fleet of seven aircraft
including one A320, three Boeing 737-500s and three Bombardier CRJ200LR
aircraft. In late 2012 the airline also operated a SSJ100 aircraft
however this was returned to Sukhoi due to a dispute between the
airline and manufacturer over maintenance costs.

Russia was Armavia’s main market, with seven of its top 10 destinations
being Russian. Its top two, Moscow Vnukovo and Moscow Domodedovo, made
up 65% of the airline’s total capacity offered per week (about 7,000
seats out of a total of almost 11,000 seats per week). Yerevan-Moscow
Vnukovo service made up 48% of the airline’s total capacity alone.

Yerevan Zvartnots International Airport main gateway into Armenia
Yerevan Zvartnots International Airport served 25 airlines (including
Armavia) at the time of Armavia’s bankruptcy with 34 passenger
destinations (30 to Europe, three to the Middle East and one to
Asia-Pacific). Eastern and Central Europe is Armenia’s main market,
with around 85% of total capacity (about 39,000 seats) attributed to
the region. This is followed by Western Europe, the Middle East and
Central Asia with around 8%, 7% and less than 1%, respectively. The
majority of airline traffic to and from Armenia is full service,
as LCCs account for about 3% of capacity in the market.

Armavia was the leading carrier in its home market but not by a large
margin. Based on schedules originally filed for the week commencing
1-Apr-2013, Armavia accounted for 23% of capacity in Armenia.

Post-Armavia, the four Russian carriers of S7 Airlines, Aeroflot,
Donavia and UTair Aviation have become the leading four carriers in
the Armenian market. A fifth Russian carrier, Transaero Airlines,
also makes the top 10 list of airlines into Armenia based on weekly
seats offered in the market.

Western and Eastern European airlines increasing frequencies to
Yerevan Yerevan Zvartnots Airport reportedly reached an agreement
with Alitalia, Austrian Airlines and CSA Czech Airlines to
increase frequencies to Yerevan on 04-Apr-2013. The increases
will reportedly see Alitalia operate three times weekly service
and Austrian Airlines and CSA Czech Airlines each operate daily
service. According to Innovata, Alitalia currently operates twice
weekly Rome Fiumicino-Yerevan service, Austrian Airlines five times
weekly Vienna-Yerevan service and CSA Czech Airlines five times weekly
Prague-Yerevan service. The increases will see Austrian Airlines and
CSA Czech Airlines further strengthen their positions in the Armenian
market, where they ranked as the sixth and eighth largest carriers
when Armavia was still in the market.

Eastern carriers are planning new routes to Yerevan in the coming
months including Aeroflot, NordStar and Ukraine International
Airlines (UIA). Aeroflot plans to launch Sochi-Yerevan service
while NordStar plans to launch weekly Krasnoyarsk-Yerevan service
on 01-May-2013 using Boeing 737-800 equipment. UIA plans to launch
services from Kiev Boryspil, Odessa and Donetsk to Yerevan in Apr-2013,
Jun-2013 and Jul-2013 respectively. Kiev Boryspil-Yerevan service was
previously operated by Aerosvit until it suspended operations in late
Dec-2013/early Jan-2013.

European low-cost carriers may also identify opportunities in the
market with Armavia’s exit. UAE low-cost carrier flydubai was already
the seventh largest carrier in the Armenian market prior to Armavia’s
suspension of operations. It is currently the only budget carrier
operating in the country.

The same issues for low-cost carriers operating in Eastern countries
remain though, including high airport charges and competition rules
which often can make it difficult for low-cost carriers to establish
themselves in different Eastern markets.

No other Armenian airline able to take Armavia’s place There are no
other Armenian carriers able to take Armavia’s place at this point in
time. While Armenia’s General Department of Civil Aviation has issued
11 Air Operator’s Certificates (AOC) to airlines including Armavia,
the majority of these airlines are small charter and cargo operators
such as Air Armenia, Vertir Airlines and Veteran Avia. The only
Armenian scheduled passenger service operator currently is Atlantis
European Airways. Atlantis operates leisure services and currently
operates scheduled four times weekly Yerevan-Prague service with its
sole A320 aircraft in addition to charter services.

Thus, Armenia will be relying heavily upon foreign carriers to maintain
links between the country and the rest of Europe. While Alitalia,
Austrian Airlines and CSA Czech Airlines have already responded with
some frequency increases, there is still a significant gap left by
Armavia’s suspension of operations. The increased frequencies and new
routes by Eastern carriers as part of their summer 2013 programmes
will also help fill the capacity gaps left by Armavia.

NKR MFA: THE BLOODY EVENTS IN MARAGHA WERE CERTAINLY A WAR CRIME

Wednesday,
April 10

The NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on the
21st Anniversary of Massacres in Maragha village. The statement
particuilatrly reads:

“The Azerbaijan’s military aggression against the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic, which became the continuation of Baku policy of violent
crackdown on the expression of free will of the people of Nagorno
Karabakh is abound with outrageous facts of crimes against the
civilian population.

One of its most tragic episodes was a massacre of the population of the
village of Maragha in Martakert region, NKR committed by the units of
the Azerbaijani army on April 10, 1992. The bloody events in Maragha
were certainly a war crime, as the attack on the village was not driven
by military necessity but aimed to annihilate its peaceful population.

On this day, after intensive artillery shelling the Azerbaijani armed
units invaded the peaceful village and committed a ruthless reprisal
over defenseless people. This fact was later confirmed by various
human rights organizations, including the Human Rights Watch and
Amnesty International. According to various sources from 53 to 100
people were killed, more than 60 people including 9 children and 29
women were taken hostages. More than 30 hostages were subsequently
killed in Azerbaijani captivity. Two weeks later, the village was
subjected to a renewed attack and its inhabitants who returned to
bury their relatives yet again fell victim to atrocities committed
by the Azerbaijani army.

This hideous crime in Maragha became the next in the chain of the
anti-Armenian pogroms and deportations in Northern Artsakh, as well as
Sumgait, Baku, Kirovobad and other settlements of Azerbaijan, which
aimed at intimidating people and depriving them of the opportunity
to live on their native land.

It was the lack of the adequate political and legal assessment of
the international community of the massacres and ethnic cleansing of
the Armenian population in Azerbaijan which paved a way for the war
crime committed by the Azerbaijani army in the village of Maragha.

Impunity for those crimes has created a fertile ground for the
implanting of the cult of zealous hatred towards Armenians and
anything Armenian and uncurbed propaganda of xenophobia, intolerance
and militarism in Azerbaijan.

To break this vicious circle and prevent the recurrence of similar
tragedies in the future, the massacre in Maragha should be condemned
by the international community, and its organizers and perpetuators
punished”.

TODAY, 22:57

Aysor.am

NKR PRIME MINISTER, “I WILL NEVER LEAVE ARTSAKH IRRESPECTIVE OF THE POST I HOLD.”

Wednesday, 10 April 2013 11:30

In the recently held press conference prime minister Ara Haroutyunyan
denied the rumours about his transfer to the RA Central Bank Chairman’s
post in Yerevan.

“There are no similar talks,” he announced denying any possibility of
his transfer to the RA. “Irrespective of my post I will never leave
Artsakh. That’s out of question. I may resign my office. It depends
on how much the President of the country is satisfied with my work,
how well I carry out the government activity programme.” According
to Ara Haroutyunyan no similar changes areexpected.

GENOCIDE EDUCATION FOR TEACHERS IN PASADENA

Published: Wednesday April 10, 2013

Sarah Cohan with Pasadena teachers.

PASADENA, CALIF. – In an effort to more permanently include the
Armenian Genocide and other 20th century genocides into the Pasadena
high school curriculum, The Genocide Education Project (GenEd)
provided a full-day professional training workshop for Pasadena high
school history teachers. Led by GenEd’s Education Specialist, Sara
Cohan, the comprehensive workshop covered a range of topics related
to genocide, including the California state requirements on Armenian
Genocide instruction, the genesis and meaning of the term, common
conditions leading to genocide, and the “eight stages of genocide.”

The basic history of the Armenian Genocide was provided, and teachers
were introduced to a variety of resources to use in class, including
GenEd-developed lesson plans, “Human Rights and Genocide: A Case
Study of the First Modern Genocide of the 20th Century,” “Nicole’s
Journey,” an online, interactive course, “The Armenian Journey: From
Despair to Hope in Rhode Island,” a documentary video and classroom
study guide produced by GenEd.

Guest Speaker, Lorna Touryan Miller, spoke about her extensive work
documenting the oral histories of Armenian Genocide survivors and
survivors of the genocide in Rwanda. Herself a daughter of genocide
survivors, Miller first recorded her father’s story of survival, which
spurred her and her husband, Donald Miller, to continue recording the
oral histories of other genocide survivors. They are currently editing
a new book titled, Survivor Voices: From Ottoman Turkey to Rwanda.

“It was excellent,” said Pasadena teacher Joe Shady. “The personal
stories from Lorna were very moving.” Shady said he plans to use the
workshop’s resources in preparing his social studies courses. “I want
to incorporate the eight stages of genocide, so that way my students
can compare genocides throughout history and across eras and regions.”

Teachers in attendance engaged in robust discussions about “best
practices” around teaching the subject of genocide and the most
effective ways of communicating the important society themes that
run through the continuum of genocides of modern history.

“We applaud the Pasadena Unified School District for hosting this
unique and useful professional development activity to enhance their
teachers’ readiness for bringing lessons on the Armenian Genocide into
their classrooms,” said Shoghig Yepremian, chairperson of the Armenian
National Committee of America’s Pasadena Chapter. The ANCA-Pasadena
chapter was instrumental in bringing the city’s attention to the
need for the Pasadena schools to incorporate this topic into their
standard curriculum, and the organization led the effort to organize
and fund the teacher-training workshop.

ANCA-Pasadena initiated and organized the workshop, and secured
funding from Saint Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian
Cultural Foundation, the Armenian Youth Federation Juniors, the
Armenian General Athletic Union and Scouts (Homenetmen), PUSD and
California State Senator Carol Liu.

“We’re very grateful to all the organizations and Senator Liu for
recognizing the need for this instruction and pooling resources to
make it happen,” said Yepremian. “We’re also sincerely appreciative
to The Genocide Education Project and particularly Sara Cohan for
sharing her incredible knowledge about genocide and human rights and
delivering such valuable mentorship to educators,” said Yepremian.

“Likewise, sincere thanks to Lorna Touryan Miller, whose extensive
knowledge of the traumatic experiences of genocide victims helps
teachers and students put a human face on an otherwise faraway,
historic event.”

The Genocide Education Project is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization
that assists educators in teaching about human rights and genocide,
particularly the Armenian Genocide, by developing and distributing
instructional materials, providing access to teaching resources and
organizing educational workshops.

Watch Videos:

Educator Joe Shady on the value of the
workshop: Guest Speaker Lorna Miller on
documenting genocide survivors:

####

The Genocide Education Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit,
tax-exempt 501(c)(3) educational organization that assists educators
in teaching about human rights and genocide, particularly the Armenian
Genocide, by developing and distributing instructional materials,
providing access to teaching resources and organizing educational
workshops. For more information about The Genocide Education Project,
go to

ONLY ARMENIAN SIDE NEEDS PEACE IN KARABAKH – FORMER OMBUDSMAN

April 10, 2013 | 16:30

YEREVAN.- There will be no war in Nagorno-Karabakh in the next few
years, and not because of the might of Artsakh army, first Armenian
Ombudsman Larisa Alaverdyan said.

“The matter is that to date, the human factor is not considered
in the human dimension. This should be taken into account in terms
of major powers’ perception on security and war,” Alaverdyan said,
stressing that this is considered in the context of security of oil
and gas infrastructure.

In her opinion, Armenia and the Armenian people were on the first
line of the clash of civilizations.

“This means that from every point of view only the Armenians need
peace and human rights. It turns out that only for Armenians the
peace is the most favorable state of things,” she added.

As for Azerbaijan, Alaverdyan noted that all humanitarian issues in
Baku are turned into political ones. She urged Armenian authorities
to distribute materials on illegal actions of Azerbaijan.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

SLOVAK EXPERTS TO SHARE EXPERIENCE IN CONSTRUCTION, IT SECTORS WITH ARMENIA

April 10, 2013 – 17:51 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian-Slovak business forum launched Wednesday,
April 10 in Yerevan with the assistance of the Chamber of Commerce
and Industry.

At the event, the Chamber CEO Araik Vardanyan expressed dissatisfaction
over the current $10 million trade turnover between the two countries,
noting the sectors of agriculture, construction, and IT to be a
priority on business cooperation agenda.

As the project manager at Slovak Trade Development Agency Pavel
Chobirka noted, in turn, Slovak companies are ready to offer
construction services as well as share experience in design and
innovations.

As he further added, Armenia~Rs investment environment is favorable
enough, specifically in the sectors of business registration and tax
administration, with Slovak entrepreneurs having expressed interest
in working with the Armenian market.

TWO ARMENIAN TEENAGERS DIE IN PROJECTILE EXPLOSION AT RUSSIAN RANGE

Interfax, Russia
April 8 2013

Prosecutors are checking the compliance of officers of the Russian
Defense Ministry’s 102nd base in Armenia with the rules of range
operation and disposal of dud munitions in the context of the death
of two teenagers at a training range, assistant military prosecutor
of the Southern Military District Natif Gajimetov told Interfax.

“Two Armenian citizens born in 1997 and 2001 died on Sunday from the
negligent handling of a dud grenade while collecting scrap metal on the
Kamkhut training range, 3.5 kilometers from the village of Vagramaberd,
Armenia. The teenagers died instantaneously from shrapnel wounds,”
Gajimetov said.

Military prosecutors of the Southern Military District are probing
the incident, he said.

INAUGURATION DAY FALLOUT: APRIL 9 SHAPES COMPETING OPPOSITION AGENDAS IN ARMENIA

VOTE 2013 | 10.04.13 | 10:37

Photolure

By SIRANUYSH GEVORGYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

After a day of protests against the inauguration of President Serzh
Sargsyan in what his challenger Raffi Hovannisian said would mark the
‘dawn of a new Armenia’ it has become clear that the opposition leader
will try to take his supporters along the path of a long struggle,
including rallies and other actions.

Enlarge Photo

At least this is what is prompted by some of his statements addressed
to supporters in Liberty Square just before making a failed attempt
to lead a march past the Presidential Palace in Baghramyan Avenue,
where heavy police cordons had been put up.

Whether Hovannisian can quickly reshape the immediate goals of his
movement after failure to stop Sargsyan from taking what the opposition
leader claimed was a “false” oath of presidency before the nation will
now depend on how successful will be his efforts to overcome the sense
of disappointment that a considerable number of opposition supporters
seemed to have last night after a number of controversial events.

Many participants were clearly perplexed at the decision of Hovannisian
to leave them in Baghramyan Avenue amid a continuing standoff with
riot police and lead part of protesters towards the Armenian Genocide
Memorial at Tsitsernakaberd via a different route and in the company
of Chief of Armenian Police Vladimir Gasparyan.

First, when at 6 pm people gathered in Liberty Square it became clear
that Hovannisian did not mean to go to Baghramyan Avenue where,
in his residence at Number 26, Sargsyan was receiving his foreign
guests who had arrived in Armenia on the occasion of his inauguration.

Hovannisian, however, apparently yielded to pressure from hardliners
in the first rows who were shouting: “Now, now, now!”

Interestingly, Tsitsernakaberd did not feature in the plans of the
opposition as a point toward which they could stage a march on April
9. It was also known in advance that Yerevan authorities did not
allow the opposition to include the section of Baghramyan Avenue,
where the Presidential Palace is located, in the route of their march,
explaining that an official event would be held there simultaneously.

Hovannisian, his wife Armine, Heritage Party members Armen Martirosyan,
Stepan Safaryan, Heritage faction lawmakers Tevan Poghosyan, Ruben
Hakobyan and former presidential candidate Andrias Ghukasyan walked arm
in arm up the avenue. But they and the protesters led by them were met
with several rows of police cordons at the beginning of the boulevard.

A standoff began with some scuffles in which some protesters reportedly
suffered minor injuries. Heritage member Martirosyan also suffered a
broken nose and was reportedly taken to a clinic for medical treatment.

Then after negotiations with Police Chief Gasparyan Hovannisian led a
group of supporters, about 3,000 according to ArmeniaNow’s estimates,
towards the hilltop memorial via a different route that included
Saryan Street and Victory Bridge. ArmeniaNow noticed, however, that
some of the protesters did not go all the way to the memorial as they
separated from the marching crowd. Some were apparently too tired
after doing a lot of walking during the day.

The hardliners, as well as those who apparently were confused and
did not know what was happening, still remained locked in a standoff
with riot police in Baghramyan Avenue. Among those who stayed in
Baghramyan Avenue was also Heritage MP Zaruhi Postanjyan, who was
calling on people to move back to Liberty Square, but would not
listen. And former presidential candidate Andrias Ghukasyan, who
joined the Hovannisian-led protests after the elections, suggested
starting a sitting strike, but he was taken to a police station from
where he was released later.

Among those who remained in Baghramyan Avenue were also representatives
of the Sardarabad civil movement, Karabakh war veteran Jirair Sefilyan,
film director Tigran Khzmalyan and others. Sefilyan stated: “Raffi
[Hovannisian] went to Tsitsernakaberd without telling them about
it while they did not need to go there.” And Khzmalyan qualified
Hovannisian’s step as ‘political suicide’.

“I could not imagine such a way of neglect. We have long been offering
to Raffi [Hovannisian] an alternative power, alternative elections,
an alternative system. A system is needed to fight another system,
we suggested that way to him, but he did not want it and decided to
go alone, choosing his way. The movements, of course, will continue
but without Raffi,” said the hardliner.

Hovannisian did return to Baghramyan Avenue late on Tuesday where
after negotiations the police agreed to remove the cordons and let a
peaceful march past the Presidential Palace with a subsequent return
to Liberty Square for a “good night”.

“Those who do not believe in victory should go home and watch soap
operas, but those who do want to believe should stay in the fight,”
said Hovannisian.

Many political observers already estimate that the Heritage leader,
who staged protests in Yerevan and provinces for seven weeks after
the February 18 presidential elections, including a three-week hunger
strike, has now found himself in a difficult political situation. On
the one hand, he has managed to avoid deadly clashes similar to the
2008 post-election riots in which 10 people were killed. On the other
hand, some of Hovannisian’s steps and decisions made on the spur of
the moment appear to have disappointed many, prompting assumptions that
the opposition leader has no clear political program or organized team.

Hovannisian called on people to come to the next rally in Liberty
Square on April 12 during which he said he would present his program,
including in regards to the immediate goal of the local elections
in Yerevan in which a bloc of parties supporting his movement is
taking part. Meanwhile, observers say the turnout during Friday’s
gathering will show what impact April 9 has had on Hovannisian’s
‘political future’.

MILITARY PREPARATION IN KARABAKH MAY GIVE A POWERFUL BOOST TO LIBERATION STRUGGLE OF TALYSH PEOPLE. “INDEPENDENT TALYSHISTAN”

12:16, 10 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 10, ARMENPRESS: “Independent Talyshistan” public union,
operating in Moscow, has accepted a statement, in which it greeted
the opportunity given to Talysh youth to enter military Academy after
Suvorov and Madatov in Artsakh. As Armenpress was informed from the
press center of the committee implementing the program of “Military
Academy after Suvorov and Madatov in Artsakh”, it is mainly noted in
the statement of “Independent Talyshistan” public union “The historical
land of Talysh people, which is now occupied by Azerbaijan, soon or
later will be independent and military preparation in Karabakh of
Talysh youth living abroad may give a powerful boost to the liberation
struggle of Talysh people”.

Taking into account the displayed interest and applications, issue
on the entrance of Talyish, Lezgian, Avar, Tsakhur and Tatar youth to
the academy has been included in the agenda of committee implementing
the program of “Military Academy after Suvorov and Madatov in Artsakh”.

ARMENIA INTENDS TO BUY NEW AIRCRAFTS AND HELICOPTERS FROM RUSSIA

APA, Azerbaijan
April 9 2013

Baku. Rashad Suleymanov – APA. Armenia plans to strengthen its Air
Forces through the purchase of new aircrafts and helicopters.

APA reports quoting Russian media that the two countries have signed
an agreement on purchase of military transport and attack helicopter.

Armenia also intends to buy advanced training aircraft Yak-130 from
Russia. Currently, the negotiations are underway.

In 2012, Armenia also purchased 4 complexes of drones from Russia.

In the recent years, Russia has presented to Armenia weapons and
military property worth more than 1 billion.