Author: Kalantarian Kevo

REGIMES SUPPORT EACH OTHER BY SHOTS

Interview with publicist Zaruhi Hovhannisyan

You have recently received “Young Women in the Caucasus” award for
active civil activities at the “For Peace in the South Caucasus”
conference. Are you engaged in peacemaking?

The appeal not to resort to violence is an appeal to peace. Any
major project starts from something small, from your house. The job
of human rights defender has a peacekeeping nature because it is
aimed at solving conflicts. If the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is
seen in this recourse, we should state that the regimes support each
other by shots. The change of the atmosphere in one of the regional
countries will lead to total changes. The region really needs to
liberalize totally. Let’s recall the recent events in Azerbaijan,
peaceful victims in the army and the civil war in this connection. The
activities of our civil initiative “Army in reality” is aimed at this
too. Only a progressive society can fight for the sake of legal state
without violence. We can draw parallels between the attempt to hold
a festival of Azerbaijani movies in Vanadzor and the publication of
Akram Ailisli’s book in Azerbaijan entitled “Stone dreams”. In both
countries calls for violence were issued, which is a continuation
of the escalation of conflict and rejection of peace as a living
condition. Attempts to get to know each other meet the conservative
resistance of anti-communities. All this looks like a war in the
criminal world, which is held for the preservation of the levers of
power and usurpation of public resources. The interest of the public
is peace.

Calls not to resort to violence have been voiced on Freedom Square
this time.

Sure, there have been some calls, but parallel to this, the
nationalistic rhetoric was also used. Legal emphasis diminished. I
noted that there is the task to change the quality of opposition
but not the authorities and our task is to make the authorities to
transform. We again failed to form the authorities.

You mean the aim of the movement has never been voiced?

I see this process in a wider, regional context. Now, the task is
to change the foreign political emphasis, in particular between
the EU Association and Eurasian Union. In this context, the home
political field carries out certain work on the relevant foreign
policy requirements, and the transformation of the opposition sector
takes place in this space.

The idea on the alternative power is heard more often. After April 9,
the power will either be divided or the new government will be formed.

Which version is better for Armenia?

No shadow process can be healthy. We struggle just against shadow
processes that society becomes opener to discuss all the pressing
issues, but now a double process is applied. On the one hand, the
society is called to form an alternative government, on the other
hand the epistolary genre of negotiations is chosen. This is a
closed format.

What should the civil society do?

The emphasis changed because the issue on the individuals again rose:
whether we support Raffi Hovannisian or not. The civil sector should
put forward tasks instead of consolidating around someone. It should
form tasks, try to influence political players. But, during the last
elections serious work to create a zone of influence on the civil
sector was carried out with the aim to neutralize and control.

Now we can see in Armenia a serious shortage of resources, both in
power, in opposition, and the task is to attract new resources, because
the parties are exhausted to some extent, the civilian sector shows
some activeness, and can make claims. They try to build something,
to get leverages on this resource. And the best way to make the civil
sector controllable is to offer participation in the control system
to its subjects.

However I think that this movement will not dry up, because its claims
have not been met. And after a regular disappointment in regard
to a person, changes will be forced from the bottom, regardless of
elections and political parties.

Siranuysh Papyan 14:58 02/04/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

ARMENIAN VILLAGE GOVERNOR THOUGHT TO BE KILLED IN SNIPER ATTACK (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

14:05 ~U 02.04.13

A sniper bullet is thought to have caused the death of the Proshyan
village’s governor who was reported killed earlier today.

Hrach Muradyan was found dead outside the village administration
on Tuesday morning. He had received one gunshot wound, but no gun
capsules were found at the murder site, Arsen Sargsyan, the head of
the Nairi Police Department, told Tert.am.

According to him, the 50-year-old village governor died of a gun
wound fired in the right temple.

The regional police have launched a criminal proceeding under Article
104.2(2) of Armenia’s Criminal Code (murder related to a person’s
official duties or public service).

Armenian News – Tert.am

WESTERN INVESTMENT EXPANSION

The National Statistics Service reported a sharp decline of investments
in Armenia. Total foreign investments in the Armenian economy in
2012 dropped by 8.6% compared with 2011, reaching 1,587 million. And
foreign investments in the real sector of the Armenian economy total
751.8 million, having decreased by 7.9%.

No one wanted to invest in Armenia, apparently due to the political
situation. However, experts say after April 9 when passions will
calm down, investments will flow to Armenia. This applies to several
branches which are still monopolized or highly limited: air flights,
imports of essential goods and mining. These branches are always in
demand, so investments will be made unlike high-tech which is risky.

Armavia’s bankruptcy may lead to appearance of a major foreign capital
in Armenia, the press reports, either American or Italian. Sale of
Yerevan City supermarkets to the French Carrefour may result in the
dominance of a foreign company in the market of essential goods. And
the promised investment of over 400 million in the development of
gold deposits by the British Amulsar company of Armen Sargsyan can
change the situation of investments in the mining sector.

Actually, redistribution of property in Armenia may turn into a process
of transfer of the real economy to the Western capital. Local investors
who lost political levers, as Ashot Yeghiazaryan says, prefer taking
their capital out of the country. Actually, they are providing room
for foreign capital.

If world giants appear in the tiny market of Armenia, it will be hard
for local businessmen. The government, along with liberalization of
economy, should take measures to protect local production. Otherwise,
the Western capital which will repress local oligarchy will be the
next monopolist.

It is noteworthy that the leader of foreign investments in the real
sector of the 2012 is France with 230.4 million USD, having grown 2.3
times as compared with 2011. Average Russian investments in the real
sector of Armenia totaled USD 122.7 million (down by 68.8%). In 2012
Canada invested approximately USD 106.6 million in Armenia, which is
3.4 times more than in 2011. Approximately half of the investments
went to telecommunications.

Russia is taking out its capital from Armenia to be replaced by Western
giants. It has already happened in the banking sector where HSBC and
ACBA-Credit Agricole are leaders in Armenia. Besides, in regard to
foreign debt, Armenia owns more to Western funds, IMF, WB, and EBRD.

It is time for other branches.

Naira Hayrumyan 11:35 02/04/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

GYUMRI GETS READY TO BECOME CIS CULTURAL CAPITAL WITH ALL DUE RESPONSIBILITY

10:40, 2 April, 2013

GYUMRI, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS. In accordance with the decision of the CIS
country leaders’ council, Gyumri has been declared CIS Cultural Capital
2013. On the order of the Minister of Territorial Administration of the
Republic of Armenia Armen Gevorgyan the special commission, including
a number of Shirak Regional Administration and Gyumri Municipality
representatives, composed and introduced to the Ministry of Culture
of the Republic of Armenia the program of events based on the public
discussions. “Armenpress” had a conversation with the Adviser of the
Shirak Governor and Honored Art Worker Hasmik Kirakosyan.

– Gyumri has always been cultural capital. Is the city ready to assume
the title of CIS Cultural Capital 2013?

– Gyumri is always ready, because this city has been created to be a
city of arts. Culture is the age-old wealth of our city. Nobody and
nothing can abolish this, even the earthquake. Gyumri really remained
a city, which gave birth to art and always strived to it. This is a
unique psychological and moral moment, and this is very useful for
the city. Gyumri has always been the first in arts.

– What will Gyumri introduce to the guests?

– When we have guests, first of all we want to learn about their
preferences and even tastes. We are already collecting and summing up
our “wealth”, compensate the shortcomings, study cultural ensembles,
objects, museum system, infrastructures, and external view of the
city. (THE FULL VERSION OF THE INTERVIEW IS AVAILABLE IN ARMENIAN)

Interview by Armenuhi Mkhoyan

POTATO, TOMATO, EGGPLANT, PEPPER FIELDS TO REDUCE IN ARMENIA THIS YEAR – EXPERT

13:30 ~U 02.04.13

Potato fields will reduce this year by 50%, chairman of Agrarian Rural
Union NGO Hrach Berberyan said speaking to reporters on Tuesday. He
said besides potato, pepper, tomato and eggplant fields will also
reduce by 30%.

“I am speaking of Ararat valley. Studies have been conducted in about
40-45 villages. We link this problem with the flaws of bureaucrats
who failed to promote the export of vegetables to Georgia – the
traditional export stopped resulting to potato stagnation last year.

Another reason is migration that has influenced the consumption by
40-50 tons,” Berberyan said.

One of the causes of reduction of the potato fields is the potato
moth. The government has promised to fight against it from April.

“This moth is a serious problem in Ararat valley. It has been spread
in more than 50 villages. The ministry has finally confessed that
tomato fields have reduced. It means the plants processing tomatoes
will face production decline problem,” the expert said.

Berberyan also stressed that to raise land’s productivity it is
necessary to use fertilizers containing calcium and phosphor. He
reminded that our lands have not been fed by such fertilizers for
already 15 years.

He said the situation with grain is stable thanks to the seed growing
program.

Relating to cattle-breeding, Berberyan said that no price reduction
is expected which though goes in contradiction to growth of cattle
number. The export of sheep to Iran has reduced stabilizing the
sheep market in Armenia. The expert also stressed the reduction of
cattle-breeding. The prices for beef will grow in May. He explained
it with reduction of foodstuff and decline of cattle. “As soon as the
grass grows the slaughter will stop and the meat price will sharply
grow,” he said.

Armenian News – Tert.am

OPPOSITION LEADER CONDEMNS VILLAGE MAYOR’S MURDER

NEWS | 02.04.13 | 12:54

Photo: kotayk.gov.am

Hrach Muradyan

Opposition Heritage party leader Raffi Hovannisian, who is continuing
his regional visits as part of a Barevolution campaign protesting the
results of the February presidential election, has strongly condemned
the murder of a village mayor reported earlier today.

The dead body of Hrach Muradyan, the head of the village administration
in Proshyan in Armenia’s Kotayk province, was found near the
administration building earlier on Tuesday. Police confirmed this
information but did not immediately report on other circumstances of
the crime. The 50-year-old man was found with a fatal gunshot wound
temple. The police said the shot had been made by a yet unidentified
gunman.

Hovannisian, who has designed his provincial visits as a means to
drum up local support for an upcoming rally in Yerevan as well as
to put more pressure on local leaders whom he has accused of rigging
the election in favor of the incumbent, called the murder an example
of fratricide as he addressed residents of the Aragatsotn region
community of Talin today.

“This crime must be duly solved and law-enforcement bodies must make
every effort for that,” said Hovannisian, according to media.

The killed village mayor was a member of the opposition Dashnaktsutyun
party, which has triggered allegations that his murder could be linked
to politics.

LE PREMIER MINISTRE ARMENIEN DEMANDE D’ORGANISER DES AUDITIONS PUBLIQUES SUR L’UTILISATION DES RESSOURCES MINERALES

Le Premier ministre Tigran Sarkissian a demande au ministre de
l’energie et des ressources naturelles Armen Movsisyan d’organiser
des auditions publiques au Parlement sur l’utilisation des ressources
minerales.

S’exprimant lors d’une seance du Cabinet le premier ministre faisait
etat d’allegations que le gouvernement ne contrôle pas la situation
dans ce secteur

” Le public a besoin d’obtenir toutes les reponses a ces questions,
surtout que le Parlement a adopte recemment une loi modifiee sur les
sous-sols “, a declare Tigran Sarkissian.

mardi 2 avril 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

L’ARMENIE VA FABRIQUER DES AUTOBUS

La fabrication d’autobus devrait etre lancee en Armenie.

Le gouvernement armenien a annonce le transfert de biens a Erevan en
faveur de la societe ” MED A.KGmbH ” pour un bail de 35 ans.

Arman Sahakian, qui dirige le departement de la gestion des biens de
l’Etat, a declare que le locataire est tenu d’investir 7 millions
de dollars dans le projet au cours des sept prochaines annees. Les
frais de location s’elèvent a un million de drams au cours des sept
prochaines annees (près de 2500 dollars).

” Les autobus seront fabriques sur ce terrain. Le locataire aura la
possibilite d’une location-acquisition “, a dit Arman Sahakian.

De son côte, le Premier ministre d’Armenie Tigran Sarkissian a rappele
que le programme avait ete precedemment approuve par le gouvernement.

” Nous devons continuer le programme pour accelerer la fabrication
d’autobus en Armenie cette annee ” a-t-il dit.

La dernière fois que des vehicules ont ete produits c’etait en Armenie
sovietique. Une usine a Erevan, creee en 1964, fabriquait plus de
100 camions differents. Debut des annees 2000 l’usine a ferme.

À l’heure actuelle près de 2100 camions et environ 580 bus circulent
a travers la capitale.

mardi 2 avril 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

ARMENIE : LA COMPAGNIE AERIENNE ARMAVIA EN FAILLITE

EREVAN, (AFP) – La première compagnie aerienne d’Armenie, Armavia,
incapable de faire face a ses obligations financières, a cesse ses
vols lundi après avoir annonce sa decision de se mettre en faillite.

Fondee en 1996, la compagnie detenue par l’homme d’affaires armenien
Mikhaïl Bagdasarov comprenait notamment quatre moyen-courriers,
trois Boeing 737 et un Airbus A320.

Elle etait aussi la première compagnie a avoir pris livraison, en 2011,
du nouvel avion regional Superjet 100 de l’avionneur russe Soukhoï,
mais elle avait renonce depuis plusieurs mois a exploiter cet appareil
faute des moyens necessaires.

“Ces trois dernières annees, le proprietaire de la compagnie Armavia a
mis en oeuvre des moyens financiers puises dans ses autres activites
pour soutenir le transporteur aerien”, a ecrit Armavia dans un
communique.

“Cependant, la situation est aujourd’hui telle qu’il est devenu
impossible de continuer a travailler de cette manière”, est-il ajoute.

La compagnie a souligne les difficultes liees a la crise economique qui
a durement frappe le secteur aerien, provoquant plusieurs importants
depôts de bilan (American Airlines) voire des liquidations, comme
recemment la compagnie regionale russe Kuban.

L’autorite russe du transport aerien, Rosaviatsia, a precise de son
côte qu’Armavia souffrait d’arrieres de paiement en Russie depassant
plus de 40 millions de roubles (un million d’euros) envers des
aeroports et plus de 200.000 euros envers les contrôleurs aeriens.

D’une taille modeste, Armavia etait cependant la première compagnie de
cette ex-republique sovietique du Caucase, avec le statut de compagnie
nationale. Elle desservait 48 destinations en Europe, Asie et Afrique
du Nord.

La precedente compagnie nationale avait fait faillite en 2003 et
le gouvernement a fait savoir qu’aucun autre transporteur n’avait
exprime son interet pour obtenir ce statut après la faillite d’Armavia.

Armavia avait ete la première compagnie a recevoir le nouvel avion
regional Superjet 100 lance par l’avionneur russe Soukhoï avec
plusieurs partenaires internationaux.

Cet avion regional, qui porte les espoirs de renaissance de l’industrie
aeronautique civile russe, est aujourd’hui essentiellement exploite
par la compagnie russe Aeroflot.

mardi 2 avril 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

SUMGAIT POGROM: THREAT OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE STILL EXISTS IN AZERBAIJAN

The Voice of Russia
April 2 2013

The 25th anniversary of the genocide of the Armenians was marked
in Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, the world community still has not
given a proper political and legal assessment of this crime of the
Azerbaijan authorities, and thus has not secured itself against the
future recurrence of genocide in other regions of the world.

The genocide of the Armenians in Sumgait organized by the authorities
of Azerbaijan became the answer to the peaceful constitutional decision
of February 20, 1988, of the session of the Nagorno-Karabakh Regional
Council of People’s Deputies on Nagorny Karabakh’s unification with
Armenia, which integral part it was during the millennia-old history
prior to the Soviet period.

On February 27-29, 1988, in the city of Sumgait, located hundreds
of kilometers away from Nagorno-Karabakh, there occured mass pogroms
and killings of Armenians, crimes against humanity that stunned the
world public by its savagery and brutality. During the three days
of massacres and pogroms, dozens of Armenians were killed, hundreds
were wounded, a huge amount was subjected to violence, torture and
harassment, 18 thousand people became refugees. The genocide in Sumgait
became the embodiment of hatred for Armenians that was inherent for
the policy of the leadership of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan pogrom-makers armed with metal rods made at factories
and other thrust weapons commenced to the implementation of their
planned criminal actions. Piles of stones were stockpiled in the
centre of the city in order to throw them at motor transport and
forces of law and order. In the days of the pogroms, telephones of
the Armenian residents of Sumgait were turned off, and, as a rule,
they were turned off after people called the militia or the City
Committee of the Communist party with the request to help. The phones
of many Russian residents were also turned off.

The pogrom-makers knew their tasks very well; they had on hand lists
of Armenians and their addresses. Groups of 50-80 bandits broke into
the houses of Armenians, killing people, not only in their homes,
but they often took them out in the street or courtyard for public
humiliation. After severe tortures, the victims were doused with
gasoline and burned alive. Thus they destroyed entire families.

The genocide in Sumgait gave the “green light” to new unprecedented
crimes against the civilian population in Nagorno-Karabakh, and
ultimately led to the beginning of an open military aggression of
Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh in 1991-94.

After the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was proclaimed in accordance with
the norms of the international law and the legislation of the USSR,
Azerbaijan undertook a large-scale terrorist aggression. The Baku
administration had committed crimes against peace and humanity, such as
planning, preparation, unleashing and waging an aggressive war, murder
and extermination of civilian population, killing and ill-treatment
of prisoners of war, and intentional destruction of towns and villages.

In February 1992, the Azerbaijan leadership committed the murder
of their own peoplein the territory of Khojali controlled by the
Azerbaijan army, or more precisely in the outskirts of Agdam, whence
the continuous bombardment of the NKR territory and attacks on the
cities and villageswere carried out.

The Azerbaijan authorities systematically falsify the events in
Khojali. The Azerbaijan still library represents computer-edited
photos and display other historical events in other geographical
locations. Photos that allegedly represent the Khojaly tragedy,
in fact, are the photos of the earthquake in Turkey in 1983, Afghan
children-refugees, the pogroms of the Alawis in 1978 in the Turkish
city of Marash, photos of Albanianskilled in Kosovo, the pogroms in
the Balkans in 1999, and picturesof Hamas militants destroyed by the
Israeli army.

Regularly playing the card of “Khojali”, the official Baku tries
to distract the attention of the international community from the
genocide of the Armenians in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad, Khanlar and
otherAzerbaijan settlements, as well as in the border settlements
of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In the course of the large-scale aggression of Azerbaijan against
the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in 1991-94, in the Karabakh village of
Maraga occupied by the Azerbaijan army for several hours on April 10,
1992, 81 peoplewere brutally killed, 67 people were taken hostage,
and the fate of many of them is still not known. People, who had
not managed to leave the village, were dismembered with axes,
doused with gasoline and burned alive. Unfortunately, to this day,
all these crimes committed by Azerbaijan against humanity, have not
been adequately assessed by the world community.

Today, in Azerbaijan, instead of repentance for endless atrocities
and murderous acts, instead of legal procedures against the criminals,
weonly see and hear sabre-rattling and threats of revanchism, terrorist
calls for shooting down civilian aircrafts, falsification of the facts
of history and persistent racist misanthropic insults of the Armenian
people. The shameful release and glorification of the murderer with
an axe Safarov has once again demonstrated to the world community that
in Azerbaijan murder owing to national reasons had been raised to the
rank of state policy, and systematic and deliberate lies and breakdowns
of international agreements lie in the basis of theBaku policy.

Ruben Zargaryan, candidate of historical sciences, Advisor of the
1st class of the NKR MFA