Author: Kanayan Tamar

IRANIAN EMBASSY DOES NOT REFUTE ‘PERSIA TOWER’ CONSTRUCTION IN YEREVAN: HAYKAKAN JAMANAK

epress.am
11.18.2011

The Iranian Embassy in Armenia yesterday did not refute reports that an
Iranian company intends to build a 50-storey mixed-use building next to
Moscow Cinema in downtown Yerevan. Later, this was confirmed by Yerevan
City Hall, reports local daily Haykakan Jamanak (“Armenian Times”).

The opposition paper notes when it tried to get details
from the Iranian Embassy regarding the company as well as the
yet-to-be-constructed tower, the embassy only wanted to know the
newspaper’s source for this information.

“You definitely don’t know whether an Iranian company is constructing
that building or not; you don’t know where you got that information
from and you’ve called Iran’s embassy, wanting to find out the
embassy’s position?” was the reply from the embassy’s press service,
reports Haykakan Jamanak.

“In response to Haykakan Jamanak’s question ‘Do you deny that
Iran or any Iranian company has a connection to the building to
be constructed?’ the embassy said they will call and speak with the
person in charge of the newspaper, which, however, they haven’t done,”
writes the paper.

Recall, Haykakan Jamanak reported on Thursday that the building will
be called Persia Tower and it will be a mixed-use development with
several floors set aside for commercial use; others, residential;
and more than 10 floors to be designated as a hotel.

WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION EXPRESSES ATTITUDE TOWARDS INFO-TOURS TO OCCUPIED AZERBAIJANI TERRITORIES
I. Isabalayeva

Trend
Nov 15 2011
Azerbaijan

Nov. 15–World Tourism Organization Secretary General Taleb Rifai
has expressed his attitude toward organizing info-tours by Armenia
in Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Rifai recalled in an interview with journalists in Baku that the
World Tourism Organization is a specialized UN agency and its opinion
coincides with the view of the United Nations, which is very important.

The World Tourism Organization calls on the conflict sides to resolve
this problem as soon as possible, Rifai said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group — Russia, France, and the U.S. —
are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

ARMENIAN NOMINATED FOR INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S PEACE AWARD 2011

news.am

Nov 16 2011
Armenia

Archbishop, Nobel Peace prize winner Desmond Tutu announced the
5 nominates for the International Children’s Peace Award 2011 in
Cape Town. The award is an initiative of the Dutch “KidsRights”
organization, which was formed during the Summit of Peace Laureates
chaired by Mikhail Gorbachev in 2005. The award is given every year
to the child whose actions have changed something in the issues which
affect children throughout the world.

As the organization’s website informs the nominates are: 17-year-old
Lisa from Palestine, 13-year-old Malala from Pakistan, 17-year-old
Michaela from South Africa, 17-year-old Nikolay from Armenia and
14-year-old Winfred from Uganda. They have been chosen from 98 children
who were presented from 42 countries. One of them will be given the
Children’s Peace award on November 21, 2011, in the Netherlands.

Nikolay from Armenia organizes discussions and presentations concerning
human rights. He wants to motivate other children to spread information
on human rights and democracy in Armenia. Nikolay shares his thoughts
on his website and blog.

ARMAVIA AIRLINES: NEW FLIGHTS FROM MALPENSA, ROME AND VENICE TOWARDS ARMENIA

AVIONEWS

Nov 16 2011

Milan, Italy – As from the end of next March

(WAPA) – As from the end of next March, the new direct services
operated by Armavia Airlines from Milan-Malpensa to Armenia (Yerevan)
every Thursday, will start.The carrier will operate direct flights
from Venice every Sunday and from Rome every Tuesday.

The duration of connections, made â~@~Kâ~@~Kwith A-319 aircraft, is
approximately 4 hours. The airline operates also domestic flights
between Yerevan and Tbilisi, Georgia. The fleet now consists of 4
A-319, three A-320 and a CRJ-200. The airline was also the first to use
the Sukhoi Superjet 100, a new generation aircraft with 75/100 seats
developed by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC), in collaboration
with Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica Company.

Armavia has ordered three A-320 and three Sukhoi and two
CRJ. (M.B.) (Avionews) (0010)

ARMENIA MARKS DOWN THE PRICE OF LIBEL
by Giorgi Lomsadze

EurasiaNet.org

Nov 16 2011
NY

Just in time for the 2012 parliamentary elections, Armenia’s
Constitutional Court has instructed lower courts to make defamation
compensation proportional to the size of media companies’ wallets.

The November 15 ruling, the response to a case brought by Ombudsman
Karen Andreasian and eight local newspapers, can make life easier
for the Armenian news industry, which has faced a rise in libel suits
and hefty fines that media observers link to 2010 amendments of media
laws, which decriminalized slander, but also toughened the penalties
for libel.

That has meant a serious problem for some print outlets with a
penchant for government criticism. Armenian newspapers, mostly
shoestring operations, have struggled to pay thousands of dollars in
damages. One even asked its readers to help foot the bill, Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty reports.

Since the 2010 changes, “almost 30 civil defamation lawsuits have
been brought against newspapers, including 11 this year,” said Dunja
Mijatovic, media freedom representative of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe. “In most cases, the compensation
sought is out of proportion to the damage allegedly inflicted.”

But the Constitutional Court’s ruling does not mean that Armenian
media is now off the hook. Ombudsman Karen Andreasian welcomed the
ruling, but also said that the legislation is too ambiguous on the
matter of slander, leaving too much room for broad interpretations
in the plaintiff’s favor.

43,000 TEACHERS OF SECONDARY, SPECIAL AND VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS ELIGIBLE TO SOCIAL SECURITY PACKAGE NEXT YEAR

/ARKA/
NOVEMBER 17, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, November 17. / ARKA /. In 2012 some 43,000 teachers of
secondary, special and vocational schools will be eligible to a new
social security package, designed by the government for low-paid
public sector workers, Education and Science Minister Armen Ashotyan
said at a news conference today.

Under next year’s draft budget civil servants will be provided
with a social security package and will have an opportunity to avail
themselves of this package to pay interests on their mortgage, to cover
their medical expenses by means of insurance policies. They will also
be enabled to pay the tuition fees of their student family members. The
2012 draft budget has earmarked 18 billion drams to this end.

Ashotyan said the package will not cover the workers of educational
institutions, including state-run and private which offer paid
training.

The 2012 draft budget calls for 910 billion drams in revenues and
1.042.5 trillion drams in spending. The projected deficit is 132.5
billion drams. The amount of revenue is projected to increase by 6.8%
from this year’s budget (852.4 billion drams). The spending is expected
to grow by 41.5 billion drams.

Some 86.1% of the spending (897.8 billion drams) is projected as
current expenditure; 13.9% or 144.7 billion drams are projected as net
non-financial expenditure. Some 46.2% are projected as social spending
(education, health, social security). $1 – 384.9 drams).

ST. CROSS CHURCH OF THE AKHTAMAR ISLAND LIGHTLY DAMAGED FROM EARTHQUAKES

ARMENPRESS
NOVEMBER 17, 2011
YEREVAN

Architect responsible for the reconstruction of the St. Cross Church
of the Akhtamar Island Adnan Vural told the reporters that the church
has suffered light damages from the October 23 and November 9
earthquakes in Van.

Citing Turkish habereler.com Armenpress reports that Vural stated that
St. Cross church has not essentially suffered from the earthquakes.

Light cracks have appeared on dome easy to restore.

The parts of the church damaged as a result of previous earthquakes
were restored in 2005-2007 during the restoration works by the Turkish
Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

SOBER EXPLANATION: ARMENIAN PM ON RECENT SCANDALS, INCLUDING HIS ALLEGED “DRUNK” SPEECH VIDEO
By Gayane Abrahamyan

ArmeniaNow
17.11.11 | 14:54

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan has dismissed allegations that he
was drunk while delivering a speech to a large audience at a recent
public event, insisting that the misperception was the result of
“sound problems”.

Talking to media while visiting the National Assembly on Wednesday,
the head of the Armenian government said the footage shown by Public
TV on which he was shown addressing an audience at Yerevan’s Sports
and Concert Complex while appearing tipsy, in fact was a matter of
technical illusion.

TV viewers and those who watched the video later online could hear
Sargsyan omitting endings in some of the words and pronouncing some
words in an odd manner. Besides, his half-open eyes and smiling all the
time led some to conclude he had been under the influence of alcohol.

“That was purely a technical problem. Unfortunately, I wasn’t drunk,”
Sargsyan rebuffed his critics in a joking manner.

“There was, indeed, a technical problem during that event, the stage
was right in front of our podium and the entire equipment, all the
microphones were at a distance. And when I began to speak, the echo
was so strong and it was hitting me back so that I simply couldn’t
follow what I was saying. And that, of course, was the omission of
our team,” explained Sargsyan, adding that he saw no “plot” against
him in the occurrence as alleged by some.

Earlier, Sargsyan’s November 10 speech became one of the most debated
subjects on the Armenian segment of online social networking sites.

The premier had earlier disproved the allegation through his Facebook
page, saying he had himself been “amused” by the video.

At the briefing the prime minister, who is a senior member of
President Serzh Sargsyan’s ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA),
also answered the question concerning other topical issues of recent
days – the alleged beating of a businesswoman by Syunik Governor Surik
Khachatryan, an RPA member. He condemned the violence especially by
a man against a woman, but added that “while the investigation is on,
it is more appropriate to refrain from evaluations.”

In commenting on the prospects of businessmen getting into the
parliament of the next convocation, Sargsyan stressed that “it is
the requirement of the Constitution and the law” that they must not
be there.

“I think a clear answer to this question was given by the president,
who has formulated the approaches of our party – we will realize this
norm enshrined in our Constitution step by step and should create
legal mechanisms for members of parliament not to engage in business,”
he said.

NO CEASEFIRE VIOLATION REGISTERED DURING THE OSCE MONITORING OF THE LINE OF CONTACT

armradio.am
17.11.2011 16:51

On November 17, in accordance with the earlier agreement with the
authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission
held scheduled monitoring of the NKR and Azerbaijani armed forces’
contact-line near the NKR Martakert region’s Talish settlement.

>From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring was
held by Coordinator of the OSCE Office Imre Palatinus (Hungary)
and Field Assistants of the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Christo Christov (Bulgaria) and Marius Puodziunas
(Lithuania).

On the opposite side, the monitoring mission was led by Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk. The
monitoring group comprised Field Assistants of the Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office William Prior (Great
Britain) and Antal Herdich (Hungary).

The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule, and no
violation of the cease-fire regime was fixed.

>From the Karabakh party, the monitoring mission was accompanied by
representatives of the NKR Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense.

OLIGARCHS ‘ASK’ AND GET
JAMES HAKOBYAN

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 11:38:44 – 17/11/2011

One of the upcoming key concerns of Armenia is those additional
collections of 101 billion drams which is stipulated in the draft
budget for 2012. The government intends to boost revenues while the
National Assembly majority will naturally confirm the intention of
the government because it stems from the pre-election logic.

The civil society, experts and entrepreneurs, especially SMEs wonder
from who those 101 billion will be collected. The government assures
that it will not lie heavily on the shoulders of SMEs and will be
collected from major companies. However, business does not believe
these words because it knows, it has experienced what happens in
reality, beyond the oral or even written assurances of the government.

Nevertheless, in this situation the answer of the government is
interesting from another aspect. Whenever it is stated that additional
taxes will be collected from major businesses, two questions arise:
what major business means and what it means to collect taxes from
major businesses.

For instance, the State Revenue Committee publishes the list of 1000
major taxpayers or 300 major taxpayers. And if Armenia has so many
major businesses, isn’t it a surprise that the budget hardly amount
to 3 billion dollars?

Apparently, it is necessary to review the criteria defining a major
taxpayer because successful SMEs often fall under this category and
get caught in the so-called “terminological trap”, and are measured
equal to major businesses and unlike the latter they sustain losses.

And what does it mean that taxes will lie on the shoulders of the
major businesses? Generally, business is taxed, be it major, medium
or small. Simply every business must be taxed in the amount provided
by the law.

Consequently, the response of the government must be enforcement of
the legislative provisions, taxing much from major ones and taxing
little from small ones. And a primitive judgment but an essential
detail: ensuring reference to the law. The government must refer
to the law because when it says the major businesses will be taxed,
even if it supposes a legislative framework, the situation remains
blurred because the notion of major business is blurred too.

And in the case of reference to legislation responsibility becomes
a little more definite. The law provides for tax liabilities, and
additional 101 billion must be collected in the result of performance
of tax liabilities laid down in the law for all businesses.

After all, it is not a secret that being the owner of a major taxpayer
company, one high-ranking official or another downsized their companies
under their tax and shade tactics.

Consequently, the problem is not the size of business but the
imperative of elimination of arbitrary enforcement of the law because
even when the government begs the oligarchs to give some money rather
than tax them in accordance with the law, the oligarchs ask something
in return for the money and as a rule they get what they want.