Author: Kalantarian Kevo

HERITAGE MEMBER: PROSPEROUS ARMENIA WON’T BECOME OPPOSITION

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 24, 2012 – 13:50 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – MP from Heritage opposition party commented on
Prosperous Armenia’s refusal to join the new coalition.

“I have no doubts as to Prosperous Armenia’s meeting the interests
of political majority. The party’s decision doesn’t change anything,
as it won’t become opposition,” Stepan Safaryan said.

Dwelling on recent parliamentary elections, the MP noted that the
political forces included in the coalition fulfilled the provisions
of the coalition memorandum, maintaining the balance of power and
increasing mandates at the expense of other political forces.

“According to polling results, Prosperous Armenia garnered about half
a million votes. These people voted for our party, out of faith in
us and the demand for tangible changes in the country’s social and
economic life. Given the election outcomes, Prosperous Armenia has
no constitutional possibility to participate in government formation
and implement its programs. Thus, I declare that our party doesn’t
deem participation in coalition formation reasonable,” the statement
by party leader Gagik Tsarukyan reads.

“Prosperous Armenia will continue to play a significant role
in Armenia’s political life, having constructive and balanced
participation in the social-political life of the country,” the party
head said.

ARMENIAN APRICOT YIELD THIS YEAR TO MAKE SOME 40,000 TONS

/ARKA/
25 May, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, May 25. /ARKA/. Hrach Berberian, chairman of a
non-governmental organization defending the interests of farmers,
predicted today that these year apricot growing farmers will gather
as much as last year- 40,000 tons.

Speaking at a news conference the head of the Agrarian-Farming Union,
said his forecast differs from official numbers. He said some 25,000
tons of apricot will be gathered in Ararat valley and 15,000 tons in
other regions.

According to Berberian, the main threat to apricots this year is
fungal diseases that infected trees, mostly in the Ararat valley. He
explained that rainy weather and winds contribute to spread of fungal
diseases. He said the most unfavorable situation with apricot orchards
is in Etchmiadzin, while in the Ararat valley there are both favorable
and unfavorable communities. In general, he said, the Union receives
about 20-30 signals from the farmers daily. As a measure to combat
fungal diseases Berberian suggested aerial spraying of trees with
antifungal drugs.

Armenian farmers had a good crop of apricots in 2009 when they gathered
about 90,000 tons.

ARMENIA’S POLITICAL STRUGGLE CENTERED INSIDE RPA – EXPERT

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 25, 2012 – 16:18 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Summarizing the outcomes of 2011, Caucasus Institute
director said that the past year was not remarkable for outstanding
foreign policy events in Armenia.

“Armenian authorities came on terms with the opposition during the
past year. Both the possibility of holding of an opposition rally at
Liberty Square and the launch of a political dialogue between the
authorities and representatives of the Armenian National Congress
(ANC) opposition bloc proves that,” Alexander Iskandaryan said.

The expert further called attention to the resignations before the
elections, those of Yerevan Mayor, heads of the President’s Office,
National Assembly speaker and police chief.

“This again proves that the internal political struggle is ongoing
within the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) itself, rather
than between Prosperous Armenia and RPA,” Mr. Iskandaryan said.

HOW MUCH DO ARMENIAN BANKS OWE TO FOREIGNERS?

news.am
May 25, 2012 | 01:47

YEREVAN. – As of the end of the first quarter of 2012, Armenian
commercial banks and credit organizations owe $870.7 million to the
foreigners, the report of Armenia’s Central Bank states.

During this period, commercial banks and credit organizations in
Armenia have attracted external credit facilities totaling to $467.8
million. 14.6 percent of credits were in the form of long-term loans,
59.7 percent of credits were received from Russia, 18.6 percent –
from international organizations.

The major creditor nation for Armenian commercial banks and credit
organizations was Russia, whose share in total actives was 12.2
percent.

MISSING LINK: RAILWAY COMPANY HEAD CONFIRMS PLANS FOR COMMUTER TRAIN BETWEEN AIRPORT AND YEREVAN METRO
By Gohar Abrahamyan

ArmeniaNow
25.05.12

Director General of the South Caucasus Railways (SCR) company Viktor
Rebets

The project to connect Armenia’s international Zvartnots airport and
the Yerevan underground with a commuter train service will soon get
off the drawing board, according to Director General of the South
Caucasus Railways (SCR) company Viktor Rebets.

At a press conference on Thursday Rebets said that the commuter
train linking the airport and the Charbakh station of the Yerevan
underground will be built within a year.

The construction will be part of the program related to building
an international logistics center and transport infrastructure at
Zvartnots that was approved by the Armenian government in November.

A trilateral memorandum about the intention to build a commuter train
link towards the Zvartnots airport was signed among the minister of
transport and communications, the SCR director general and the Armenia
International Airports company general manager on May 4, said Rebets,
adding that the rail link will be an estimated 7.8 kilometers long.

Also, he said, an 810-meter-long tunnel is expected to be built.

The realization of the project is expected to facilitate access to
the city for passengers at Zvartnots as well as provide a link between
the airport’s cargo terminal and the Karmir Blur railway station.

The SCR CJSC is a subsidiary of the Russian Railways OJSC. In 2008
it assumed the management of the Armenian Railways CJSC for 30 years.

Rebets, who was appointed director general of SCR only 100 days ago,
reported that during the past three years of its activities the company
made an investment of nearly 72.1 billion drams (about $180 million)
that was aimed at upgrading Armenia’s rail infrastructure.

Despite the reforms, the SCR head said he was still dissatisfied with
the rate of cargo shipment volume growth registered by the company.

“Although during the four months of 2012 the volume of SCR cargo
shipments totaled 898,000 tons, which exceeds by 2 percent that
registered during the same period of 2011, this growth is still not
as dynamic as we would like it to be,” said Rebets, adding that the
April-May cargo shipment growth rate still gave hopes for a significant
rise by the end of the year.

The company head also said that they were working to raise the level
of services provided to customers and at this moment were engaged
in repairs of commuter train carriages as well as the train railway
along the Yerevan-Batumi-Yerevan route. The train servicing the
popular tourist destination in Armenia is expected to open on June 15.

“EUROVISION IS A POLITICAL PRODUCTION”

Deutsche Welle
,,15970358,00.html
May 23 2012
Germany

Making waves in contemporary German literature, Olga Grjasnowa is back
in her homeland of Azerbaijan to watch the Eurovision Song Contest,
interested in the power structures there.

Olga Grjasnowa has caused a stir with her political approach to writing
fiction in German. Born in Baku in 1984, she emigrated to Germany in
1996 and studied writing at the renowned German Literature Institute
in Leipzig. Never one to mince words when it comes analyzing power
and politics, she believes the power-holders in Baku are using the
Eurovision Song Contest to polish their image.

I read that you were rather appalled at how famous your home country
has become. Why is that?

Because Azerbaijan was always a country no one ever heard anything
about. Perhaps at the beginning of the 1990s, during the war with
Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. Otherwise, the country just hasn’t
appeared in the news. And now, everyone’s talking about it; it’s on
every channel. It’s a weird feeling. Before, whenever anyone asked
me where I came from, it took forever to explain where Azerbaijan
is located.

How was it for you, leaving Baku in 1996 at the age of 11, and then
going back to the city for the first time in 2011? How did it feel?

Did you recognize the place?

It was odd. Some of the places were familiar, like the house where
I grew up and my old school, the inner city. But a great deal of
buildings have gone up since then. When we left the city, a lot of
it lay fallow. Trash collection, the infrastructure were almost
completely ruined. When I returned in 2011, I found a city whose
facades sparkled, and everything functioned properly. Of course,
it all comes at a cost. But the changes have come swiftly. The city
has gotten an almost completely different look due to the things that
have been built in the past 15-16 years.

Is it all really new, or are they Potemkin villages?

No, it’s all really new. They are buildings that are really being
used. Many of the changes took place even before the hosting of the
Eurovision Song Contest – roads were built, you could actually call
some of them highways.

So one can actually see and touch the things that were built with
petrodollars?

Yes, absolutely.

I read that the male residents of Baku were asked via television not
to wear white tennis socks during the contest. Is that correct?

I can’t vouch for that, but I was told the same thing.

Is the city in ESC fever?

Everyone is really excited and people are guessing at who will make
it to the finals. Also, people are wondering whether or not there
will be clashes and demonstrations, and whether “Sing for Democracy”
[a counter event organized by human rights activists during the ESC
in Baku] will actually take place.

You have bluntly called the regime in Baku “completely corrupted.”

Given that, how is it possible to blithely enjoy the song contest? Is
that even possible?

Well, in terms of the music, one also cannot mindlessly enjoy the
whole event. It’s like with the European Soccer Championship in
Ukraine. They’re always political events, too.

Can one separate them?

Not in my opinion.

Given that, do you consider the Eurovision Song Contest a showplace
for those in power, the Aliyev clan, to present themselves in a light
in which they want to be seen – as an aspiring, prospering country
straddling Europe and Asia?

A fountain and the Flame Towers in Baku Absolutely! It’s also
about attracting investments to Baku. People want to show just how
westernized Azerbaijan is by demonstrating the great conditions in
Baku for investors to build relationships there.

What should one be aware of so as not to be duped by the veneer?

It’s hard to say. One has to remember that it’s a region where not
one democracy exists. Azerbaijan lies between Russia, Iran, Georgia
and Armenia – nations that cannot boast of having stable, democratic
systems. There may be a ceasefire, but the territorial conflict with
Armenia has not yet been resolved. Of course one must call for human
rights and democracy there, but also keeping the situation and the
conflicts in the entire region in mind. I do not think respect for
human rights will grow there much in the near future.

What would you consider to be good media coverage – on the Eurovision
Song Contest, and on the situation in the country in general?

I would like to see more varied media coverage that does more than
just scratch the surface.

I read that you’ve called the music “complete crap.” But are you
getting into the Eurovision mood anyway now?

I’m not really interested in the contest as such but in its staging, in
how the Aliyev government is instrumentalizing it politically. So much
money has been spent on it. I’m expecting it to be a superlative event.

Even more glitz and glamour than in Kiev?

It will be much more.

But the people of Baku: are they all part of the excitement, or do
they just shake their heads over all the hoopla and the circus going
on there?

Baku’s old city Well, one has to make distinctions: there are the
dumb nationalists, who can’t be helped anyway. And then there are
those who are reasonable, but who have developed a biting sense of
cynicism. For them, the whole thing is just a huge waste of money – and
event for image-improvement. Money is being spent on infrastructure,
it’s true, but that’s only accessible to a fraction of the population,
and money isn’t being invested in schools and universities.

Surely you have also taken a good look at the ESC candidates. Who’s
your frontrunner?

Turkey. I’ve watched all the clips with two friends who know a lot
about the contest. My gut feeling tells me it’s going to be Turkey.

Interview:Birgit Gortz / als Editor: Rick Fulker

EUROVISION’S DIRTY SECRET – BBC (VIDEO )

23.05.12

With just a few days left until the Eurovision Song Contest, BBC
Panorama has prepared a film about Azerbaijan to discover the truth
about the 2012 host country and its approach to what it has called
world’s most watched non-sporting event.

Reporter Paul Kenyon finds out how the contest has been used as a
tool of intimidation.

The film, which lasts 30 minutes uncovers all the facts that discredit
Azerbaijan as a country which earned the right to organize the 2012
contest after its representatives, Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal,
won the first place in Germany last year.

According to Kenyon, Azerbaijan has taken advantage of the contest
for political ends. He considers Eurovision a chance for the country
to sing a song of respectability amid the criticism against its
repressive regime. Kenyon recalls the country’s hostile attitude to
Armenia’s 2009 participants, Inga and Anush Arshakyans, noting that
Azerbaijan stopped the broadcast as the singers made their entry on
the stage. The BBC reporter believes Armenia is not attending this
year’s contest for security considerations. He has talked to Rovshan
Nasril, an ethnic Azerbaijani, who voted for Armenia as a sign of
protest against his country’s anti-democratic move.

Kenyon has also interviewed Azerbaijani Ambassador to the UK Fakhraddin
Gurbanov and the organizer of the contest Ingrid Deltenre, to know
their opinion about the democracy situation in the country.

The full film is below.

SISIAN SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS WAS GIFTED BY NEW COMPUTERS FROM BOSTON BASED ARMENIAN BENEFACTOR

ARMENPRESS
24 May, 2012
SISIAN

SISIAN, MAY 24, ARMENPRESS: Sisian School of Fine Arts was provided
with computers and the appropriate equipment to conduct the teaching of
‘~RArt History’~R subject. Fine Arts School’s staff briefed Armenpress
that the gift was by Boston based Armenian Perch Zololyan who recently
paid frequent visits to Sisian.

The benefactor is computer specialist and during his visits to the
mother land brings certain amount of computer equipment and distributes
to the institutions that are need of it.

First time philanthropist visited Armenia in 2001 on the 1700
anniversary of adoption of Christianity. Zololyan visited many
historical places of Armenia, Sisian inclusive. The philanthropist
held cordial relations with Sisian residents and conducts charity
actions mainly in this province. During this visit three advanced
students in Sisian received gifts by the benefactor.

NKR PRESIDENT MEETS CHIEF OF STAFF OF RA ARMED FORCES

armradio.am
24.05.2012 12:28

On 23 May President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakyan
met with the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the
Republic of Armenia, Colonel-General Yuri Khachaturov.

Issues related to army building and cooperation between the two
Armenian states in this sphere were discussed during the meeting.

Artsakh Republic defense minister Movses Hakobyan partook at the
meeting, Central Information Department of the NKR President reported.

PUBLICATION OF REPORT ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS CASE OF GEORGIA’S JAVAKHETI REGION ARMENIAN PUBLIC FIGURE VAHAGN CHAKHALYAN

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 10:56:18 – 24/05/2012

At the request of the France-based NGO “Yerkir Europe”, international
legal expert Dr. Fernand de Varennes has prepared a new and thorough
report on the human rights case of Vahagn Chakhalyan, a well-known
public figure and one of the more visible leaders of the Armenian
minority in the Javakheti region in Georgia.

The report entitled “The Perils of Being a National Minority: Human
Rights and Chakhalyan v. Georgia”, presents a detailed overview of
the events in Javakheti and Georgia leading up to Vahagn Chakhalyan’s
arrest and trial, as well as the country’s political context before
and after the trial which have affected the Georgian authorities’
treatment of and policies toward its Armenian minority.

One of the main sections of the report is devoted to the rights
violations which occurred both prior and during the trial of Vahagn
Chakhalyan and members of his family, which flagrantly violated a
number of basic human rights, especially in relation to a fair trial.

Vahagn Chakhalyan’s case is currently before the European Court of
Human Rights in Strasbourg.

The full English text of the report can be downloaded here:

About the author of the report

Dr Fernand de Varennes is a visiting professor in human rights at
Peking University in China, the Faculty of Law and Shari’ah at the
Maldives National University in Male, Maldives, and the University
of Pretoria in South Africa. He is also a scientific advisor with the
Observatoire internationale des droits linguistiques at the Universite
de Moncton, Canada.

Dr de Varennes holds an LLB from the Universite de Moncton (Canada),
an LLM from the London School of Economics (UK), and a Dr Juris from
Maastrciht University (Netherlands).

A legal expert in comparative and international human rights dealing
with minority or language matters, he was awarded the 2004 Linguapax
Award (Barcelona, Spain) in acknowledgement of his work in the field
of linguistic diversity and multilingual education. Dr de Varennes
author of some five books and 150 scientific articles and reports
in 26 languages, dealing mainly with language and minority rights,
he prepared in 2012 a study on the language rights of indigenous
peoples for the United Nations’ Expert Mechanism on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples.

He has also worked with numerous international organisations such
as the United Nations’ Working Group on the Rights of Minorities,
UNESCO and the OSCE on language issues. Dr de Varennes is chair of
the language rights working group for Linguapax (Barcelona, Spain),
editor-in-chief of the Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the
Law, and has been on the advisory board of numerous other journals
and research centres around the world.

Dr de Varennes was one of the experts who collaborated in the drafting
of OSCE-sponsored initiatives, under the guidance of the former OSCE
High Commissioner on National Minorities, Max van der Stoel, on a
series of influential documents dealing with the rights of minorities:
the Lund Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National
Minorities in Public Life, and the Oslo Recommendations regarding
the Linguistic Rights of National Minorities.