Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT RATIFIES AGREEMENT TO OPEN FLIGHTS TO KUWAIT

YEREVAN, February 7. /ARKA/. On Thursday, Armenian National Assembly
ratified an agreement signed by Armenian and Kuwaiti governments to
open flights between the countries.

Artem Movsisyan, chief of Armenia’s Civil Aviation Department, the
agreement lays legal ground for operating flights from Kuwait to
Armenia and from Armenia to Kuwait.

The two countries’ national air companies Armavia and Kuwait Airways,
however, have not reached an accord yet after negotiating for more
than two years.

The thing is that Kuwait’s national air company wants not only
to operate flights to Armenia, but also from Yerevan to some other
destinations, particularly to Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon
and Iran.

“But Armenia’s national air carrier’s interests should be secured
as well,” Movsisyan said. “We have agreed to permit Kuwait Airways
to operate flights only to some destinations, but have received no
response from the Kuwaiti side so far.” -0-

BAKO SAHAKYAN DISCUSSED ECONOMIC ISSUES WITH ARTAK SHABOYAN

17:36, 7 February, 2013

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. On 7 February Artsakh Republic
President Bako Sahakyan received delegation of the Armenian State
Commission on defending economic competition led by head of the
structure Artak Shaboyan.

The Central Information Department of the Office of the Artsakh
Republic President informed “Armenpress” that issues related to
further expanding the cooperation in the field of regulating economic
competition between the appropriate structures of the two Armenian
states were discussed during the meeting.

Chairman of the NKR State Commission on regulating public services
and economic competition Hakob Ghahramanyan was present at the meeting.

POLITICAL END OR NEW BEGINNING?: TER-PETROSYAN PLANS FOR REFORMATTING OPPOSITION BLOC DRAW MIXED REACTIONS

POLITICS | 08.02.13 | 12:30

Photolure

By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent

The announcement by the leader of the opposition Armenian National
Congress (ANC) Levon Ter-Petrosyan of plans to set up a new
social-liberal party on the platform of the current opposition bloc has
elicited mixed reactions, with some representatives of the government
calling it the sign of the former president’s political fiasco.

In an interview with the pro-opposition Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun daily
on Thursday, Ter-Petrosyan said: “The Congress has fulfilled its role
of a movement relentlessly struggling against the gangster state,
but this movement needs serious institutional changes to continue
its mission and struggle till the victorious end… Considering the
tendencies of political developments in the coming years, I think it
is now time for various political forces and non-partisan individuals
of the Congress to merge into one single political party.”

The ANC has been accused of dispersing its powerful revolutionary
sentiments that Ter-Petrosyan managed to mobilize at one point in
2008. Back then his rallies – in the run-up to the presidential
election – were attended by tens of thousands of people and were
accompanied with calls for the overthrow of the regime. The ANC formed
several months after the dispersal of post-election demonstrations
on March 1, 2008 continued its rallies for some time, before the
movement eventually died out as fewer and fewer people would turn
out for the events.

However, the number of Ter-Petrosyan supporters has sharply decreased
especially after the opposition leader engaged in what essentially
amounted to political bargaining with representatives of the regime he
had harshly criticized and labeled as a bunch of criminals for years.

First, his representatives conducted fruitless “consultations”
with President Serzh Sargsyan’s political coalition, then with
representatives of tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan, the leader of the Prosperous
Armenia Party. Some experts believe it was due to this bargaining that
the ANC got seven mandates in the National Assembly in the May 2012
elections. However, dissent within the ANC ranks grew even stronger
after that.

Several major political parties and individuals making up the alliance
decided to quit it formally, others left the alliance by the de
facto absence. And it is this situation that eventually must have
led to Ter-Petrosyan’s decision last December not to make another
presidential bid.

Experts estimate that it was then that Ter-Petrosyan completely
disoriented and ‘dispersed’ the pro-opposition part of the society
that pinned their hopes on that bigger segment of the opposition.

Ter-Petrosyan, however, stopped short of urging members and supporters
of his alliance to boycott the elections.

The announced plans for the establishment of a new party of a
social-liberal orientation immediately sparked speculation about the
imminent dissolution of a number of political parties that currently
make up the ANC. These are the Armenian National Movement (ANM) and
the People’s Party of Armenia (PPA) and several other major parties.

Justice Minister Hrayr Tovmasyan was quick to point out in this regard
that if the members of these political parties join the new party of
Ter-Petrosyan, these parties will have to be formally dissolved.

ANM leader Aram Makukyan and PPA leader Stepan Dmirchyan indicated,
however, that they wanted their parties to continue to exist. However,
it is possible that at some point they will change their minds and
join the nascent party.

The Armenian opposition certainly needs reformatting if it wants to
continue to fight for influence over government decision-making.

Perhaps this reformatting will change the paradoxical situation
that now exists in Armenia when a considerable number of people
are critical of the ruling force, but this majority has no powerful
political force to expresses its interests.

Despite the existing frustration about the social and economic policies
of the ruling party among a considerable part of the population,
people apparently see no other equally powerful opposition party
to vote for. In fact, Ter-Petrosyan has failed to live up to the
expectations of many pro-opposition members of the public.

Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, ruling Republican Party of
Armenia spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov insisted on Thursday that by his
move Ter-Petrosyan is only trying to save the ANC from a collapse. He
added that only time will show how effective this format will be for
the opposition political force. For the time being, Sharmazanov said,
the ANC has turned into a mere group of supporters of Ter-Petrosyan
and bloc coordinator Levon Zurabyan.

WITHOUT CANDIDATES SHOW WON’T BE COMPLETE

Story from Lragir.am News:

10:32 08/02/2013

Lragir.am talked to Stepan Danielyan, chairman of Cooperation for
Democracy Centre NGO on domestic affairs

Mr. Danielyan, you have visited Andrias Ghukasyan. How is he?

His relatives and friends are concerned about his health. When doctors
visited him and he took off his coat, his bones could be seen even
under the sweater but his morale was high. Those who know Andrias
know his intellectual and analytical abilities. The hunger strike
has not affected his brilliance.

The press reported that Paruir Hayrikyan’s health is also bad and he
is not ruled out to apply to the Constitutional Court with a demand
to postpone the elections. Do you think Andrias will give up hunger
strike then?

Sure, Andrias has stated that he will stop his hunger strike then but
I doubt that Hayrikyan will apply to the Constitutional Court. Such
statements are part of the public dialogue with the government. There
are four players in these elections – the government in the face
of Serzh Sargsyan, the society, the candidates and the foreign
ambassadors who have assumed the role of the opposition. Sometimes the
impression is that the ambassadors want to substitute the vanishing
opposition. Since in Armenia the role of the society in the elections
has been nullified, the authorities seem to be making promises to
international organizations and great powers. Naturally, later the
ambassadors put forth their demands and get the right to criticize
the power.

The other candidates are supposed to be opposition to Serzh Sargsyan,
otherwise why should they run in the elections? But as we can see,
being opposition can be different. The candidates fighting for the
first place have warm relations with one another. To who can the
society of Armenia put forth demands? It can’t put forth demands to
the government because the government does not depend on the society
so the candidates are left. Everyone understands that the show won’t
be complete without the candidates. So they bear huge responsibility
as participants of a farce.

There are opinions that some candidates run for president to gain
popularity in order to become opposition leaders later.

I think there are candidates who pursue such goals. But I think they
will fail. After the elections, they will face huge responsibility,
especially the runner up candidate. They remind me of marauders
who want to seize something from the dying body. But you know what
happens to marauders in countries of law. I hope the day when we’ll
become a country of law is not too far.

AZERBAIJAN CONCERNED OVER ARMENIA’S JOINING COPUOS

February 6, 2013 – 21:08 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenia’s international image is more importance than
the country’s economic capacity, Byurakan Observatory director said.

“For many years Armenia has been actively involved in astrological
projects, with Armenia’s joining the UN Committee on the Peaceful
Uses of Outer Space(COPUOS) opening up new opportunities,” Areg
Mikayelyan said.

Azerbaijan has been actively lobbing against Armenia’s membership
within the UN relevant bodies.

However, due to the diplomatic negotiations and consistent efforts
by the Armenian side, the UN General Assembly decided to appoint
Armenia together with Costa Rica and Jordan as full-fledged members
of the Committee.

“Armenia may boast a richer culture than Azerbaijan. Our
country is currently pursuing the path of integrating into the
European astrology. It has been proved, that science is the most
income-generating field,” Mr Mikayelyan said.

Dwelling on Armenia’s accession to COPUOS, international media hailed
Armenia’s vast scientific potential, despite the inability to implement
individual programs.

PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION URGES ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT TO TEMPERATE ITS ODIOUS GOVERNORS

ARMINFO
Wednesday, February 6, 17:39

The Government of Armenia must temperate its odious governors, Aram
Manukyan, representative of the opposition Armenian National Congress
faction, said in Parliament on Wednesday. The MP is discontent with
the fact that one of the glossy magazines has recognized Souren
Khachatryan, the scandalous governor of Syunik region, the governor
of the year.

Manukyan pointed out that though it is not the Government’s function
to follow the ratings of certain magazines, nevertheless, the fact
remains – by its silence and indifference the Government simply
“covers up” its own zealous “princelings”. And this fact disappoints
the citizens and makes them feel unsafe here and leave the country.

For his part, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said that
the negative phenomena in the society should be removed, and if the
matter concerns officials, this issue becomes especially urgent. “The
public itself can decide how close these ratings are to the reality”,
the Premier said.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ARMAN MELIKYAN ASSURES THAT OVER 1 MLN VOTERS ARE ABSENT FROM ARMENIA

ARMINFO
Wednesday, February 6, 17:46

Presidential candidate, ex-minister of foreign affairs of the Nagorno-
Karabakh Republic Arman Melikyan has once again applied to the Central
Electoral Commission of Armenia and to the observation missions to
satisfy his proposal and to publish the specific data of the citizens
absent from the republic.

This will make the election more transparent and will allow avoiding
possible fraud, he says.

Melikyan’s open letter says that during the May 2012 parliamentary
election the authorities “used in their favor” the votes of over
500 thsd voters absent from the republic. Melikyan says that his
campaign headquarters is conducting its own survey concerning the
citizens absent from Armenia and will publish the results within the
next few days. However, the candidate assures that according to the
preliminary results of the headquarters’ survey, one can state that
over 1 mln voters are absent from the republic, and the authorities
will use their votes “at their own discretion”.

In addition, the candidate speaks about cases of collection of the
citizens’ passports, as well as blackmailing, bribery and intimidation.

KARABAKH CONFLICT WENT TOO FAR TO BE SOLVED EASILY – NARYSHKIN

Wed 06 February 2013 13:12 GMT | 13:12 Local Time

The stumbling block in the work on a peace treaty between Armenia
and Azerbaijan is the question of holding a referendum, but it can
be solved.

According to “Interfax-Azerbaijan”, the statement came from Chairman
of the State Duma Sergey Naryshkin at a meeting with members of the
French National Assembly as part of his working visit to Paris.

“The conflict has gone too far to be quickly and easily solved,”
said Sergei Naryshkin.

He disagreed with the assessment given by one of the
French parliamentarians to the “negotiation platform
Medvedev-Aliyev-Sargsyan”.

“You call negotiating platform Medvedev-Aliyev-Sargsyan a failure. I
do not agree with that assessment,” said Naryshkin.

In his opinion, there should be a realistic look at the situation,
and it would be wrong to expect a quick resolution to the conflict.

According to the speaker, the results of the trilateral talks already
exist today – a large number of coordinated positions were tested,
with which you can move on.

“The results are available, and they are not bad,” he said.

News.Az

POISONED PORK? AKHTALA PIGS WALLOW IN AND DRINK TOXIC WASTE WATER
Larisa Paremuzyan

12:45, February 6, 2013

Yesterday, residents of Akhtala once again called Hetq, raising the
alarm about wastes materials flowing into the Debed River from the
Akhtala Enrichment Plant.

When we visited the site, we saw what they meant. When we approached
the confluence of the Getak and Debed rivers, a plant worker manning
the pumping station tried to prevent us from taking pictures of the
waste flow.

“They told me not to permit anyone from approaching the river,”
the worker said.

It seems that plant management has no problems with allowing its
wastes to flow into the Getak and then Debed Rivers. It’s become a
part of the process to produce copper ore.

We also found out that residents of Building #1 in Akhtala’s Barit
neighbourhood maintain pig pens along the Getak. The pigs drink
from the polluted waters. The day we arrived, residents had the pigs
penned in their sheds. They tried to conceal any connection between
the animals and the toxic water.

Local resident Ashot told us that the pigs spend all day wallowing
in the water. Evidence of this was the fact that the pigs’ snouts
were the same color of the toxic-laden water.

As to the possible health effects of the water on the animals, Greens
Union President Hakob Sanasaryan noted that animals drinking water
full of tailings material store up heavy metals in their bodies.

“When consumed, these metals are transferred to people,” he said.

Our investigation revealed that local pigs are slaughtered and then
sold to Alaverdi butchers and meat vendors who set up shop along the
roadside. The meat also gets sold to local eateries.

There’s a large quantity of livestock in Alaverdi that feeds off the
tailings waters and none of the meat is ever inspected for safety.

All our efforts to obtain information regarding the Akhtala Plant’s
discharged tailings have been fruitless. Plant Deputy Director Orbeli
Tarminyan doesn’t answer our calls.

The Akhtala Municipality has shown a penchant for inactivity on the
matter as well.

Hetq has contacted Lori Regional Governor Artour Nalbandyan about
the environmental and health risks in Akhtala.

He promised to look why the Plant was discharging so much waste into
the local environment.

AMBASSADOR VLADIMIR DOROKHIN: “BEING SOVEREIGN STATES RUSSIA AND ARMENIA ARE ESTABLISHING RELATIONS IN THE MANNER THEY CONSIDER PROPER”

[ 06 February 2013 15:44 ]

Baku. Viktoriya Dementyeva-APA. “Russia and Armenia are sovereign
states and are establishing relations in the manner they consider
proper and basing on the algorithm in line with the international law,”
Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan Vladimir Dorokhin told journalists
while commenting on media reports about Russia’s arms sale to Armenia,
APA reports.

“Our military-technical cooperation with Armenia is transparent. We
report to the UN regarding all arms sales,” he said.