Author: Kanayan Tamar

L’INFLATION EN ARMENIE DEVRAIT SE SITUER ENTRE 6% ET 7% A LA FIN DE CETTE ANNEE

Vardan Bostanjyan, economiste, a declare que l’inflation en Armenie
est susceptible d’etre entre 6% et 7% d’ici la fin de cette annee,
depassant les 4% prevu dans le budget de l’Etat.

Vardan Bostanjyan a dit qu’il n’a pas ete pris en compte en 2012,
lorsque le budget pour l’annee 2013 a ete presente, que les prix
pouvaient monter en 2013 en raison de la hausse des prix du gaz
naturel et de la hausse de l’energie electrique.

” Si les prix montent, alors, je pense, il sera impossible de maintenir
l’inflation dans les previsions ” a-t-il dit.

vendredi 28 juin 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

LA RUSSIE POURRAIT VOLER AU SECOURS DE LA MODESTE FLOTTE AERIENNE ARMENIENNE

Après le choc cause en Armenie par la signature d’accords portant sur
la livraison de materiel militaire russe a l’Azerbaïdjan, les autorites
russes se sont employees a rassurer leur ” partenaire strategique
” armenien, en expliquant que ces contrats n’etaient pas de nature
a rompre l’equilibre des forces dans la region et encore moins a
remettre en cause les liens militaires etroits qui unissent la Russie a
l’Armenie, qui abrite la seule base militaire russe au sud du Caucase.

C’est dans ce contexte pour le moins tendu que des responsables de
la defense de l’Armenie et de la Russie ont annonce jeudi 27 juin
que la Russie aiderait l’Armenie a moderniser ses forces aeriennes
relativement modestes dans le cadre de l’Organisation du Traite de
securite collective (CSTO), une alliance militaire dirigee par la
Russie et reunissant six ex-Republiques sovietiques, dont l’Armenie.

Une annonce qui est censee mettre un terme aux speculations et attenuer
les craintes de l’Armenie, que la Russie de Poutine a peut-etre
deliberement suscitees, moins d’un mois après la reunion de la CSTO du
28 mai où le president armenien Serge Sarkissian avait brille par une
absence percue comme un affront par le Kremlin. Le secretaire general
de la CSTO Nikolaï Bordyuja et Artur Baghdasarian, le secretaire du
Conseil national de la security d’Armenie, ont annonce les projets
d’aide russe a l’aviation armenienne a l’issue de discussions a Erevan
qui se sont conclues par la signature d’un memorandum.

Le document concerne la mise en ~uvre de la recente decision des
presidents des six ex-Republiques sovietiques composant la CSTO
d’unir leurs effectifs au sein d’une force commune sous la bannière
de l’alliance militaire dirigee par la Russie. Selon MM. Bordyuja et
Baghdasarian, cette force commune comprendrait aussi des unites des
armees de l’air des Etats associes au sein de cette alliance. “Les
forces de la Securite collective sont en voie de formation dans la
region du Sud Caucase où l’Armenie est le seul Etat membre de la CSTO.

Des forces aeriennes communes y seront egalement creees”, a indique
M.Baghdasarian. “L’armee de l’air de l’Armenie s’en verra renforcee”,
a ajoute le responsable armenien lors de la conference de presse
qu’il a donnee aux côtes de M.Bordyuja dans la capitale armenienne,
en precisant : “pas seulement l’armee de l’air, mais le système
de defense aerienne en general, qui seront modernises et equipe de
nouveaux materiels.

La base militaire russe [en Armenie] setra aussi reequipee. Pour ce
qui concerne ce processus de modernisation, 2014 sera une annee très
importante”, a poursuivi le responsable armenien. M. Baghdasarian
ne s’est pourtant pas etendus sur les details de la modernisation
annoncee. Il s’est contente d’indiquer que la base aerienne armenienne
de Gyumri pourrait etre modernisee avec l’aide de la compagnie russe
Vertolety Rossii, qui construit des helicoptères de combat. L’armee
de l’air armenienne n’est equipee actuellement que de quelques
dizaines d’avions de combat russes de type Su-25, Mi-9 ainsi que des
helicoptères de coimbat Mi-25 qui contribuent a proteger l’espace
aerien armenien. Celui-ci peut aussi compter sur la vingtaine de
chasseurs MiG-29 stationnes dans la base militaire russe de Gumri,
et qui pourraient intervenir en cas d’attaque, confirmement aux
accords de defense liant les deux pays.

Au cours des dernières annees, l’Azerbaïdjan a utilise les rentes
de son petrole pour acheter des dizaines de MiG-29s, ainsi que
des helicoptères de combat russes de la dernière generation. Le
president azerbaïdjanais Ilham Aliyev declarait la veille encore, e
mercredi 26 juin, que la modernisation de l’armee pourrait permettre a
l’Azerbaïdjan de reconquerir le Haut-Karabakh. Des menaces qui irritent
d’autant plus l’Armenie que des armements russes sont mis au service
des projets de reconquete de l’Azerbaïdjan, pays qui n’est pas membres
de la CSTO et qui a rompu ses derniers liens militaires avec la Russie
en mettant un terme, il y a peu a la location, de la station de radar
de Gabala, que les Russes avaient conservee depuis l’epoque sovietique.

Commentant les derniers propos de M.Aliev, M. Bordyuja a mis en garde
contre toute tentative visant a regler le conflit du Karabagh par la
force. “Il n’y a pas de solution militaire au problem du Karabagh “,
a martele le reponsable russe de la defense. Le secretaire general de
la CSTO a par ailleurs salue les capacites de defense de l’Armenie. “La
cooperation militaire et technique accrue [avec la Russie] et les
livraisons de materiels militaries au titre de l’aide … tout cela
contribue au haut degre de securite dans la Republique d’Armenie”,
a conclu M. Bordyuja.

vendredi 28 juin 2013, Gari ©armenews.com

AZERBAIJAN TO BUILD UP MILITARY MIGHT UNTIL KARABAKH PROBLEM IS SOLVED – PRESIDENT

Interfax, Russia
June 26 2013

Azerbaijan will continue to enlarge the output of military products
and import newest weaponry until the final settlement of the Karabakh
problem, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said while inspecting a military
parade dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the Azeri Armed Forces
on Wednesday.

“We had a $163 million defense budget in 2003. The budget grew to $3.6
billion last year and it is $3.7 billion now. This is a proof that the
Armed Forces development is a primary objective and the biggest budget
allocations go to the army, which is only natural,” the president said.

“For comparison, the entire budget of needy Armenia is only about
$2 billion. Even our defense budget is twice bigger than Armenia’s
total spending,” he remarked.

“Strong Azerbaijan can speak any language to weak Armenia. For now,
we prefer negotiations in order to preserve regional stability, as
Azerbaijan is the country stabilizing the region. Azerbaijan enjoys
enormous authority in its region. Not a single regional initiative or
project can come true without Azerbaijan’s consent. For this reason,
we so far prefer political ways to keep stability and to achieve a
peaceful solution,” he emphasized.

“But it is not a secret that Azerbaijan is growing stronger day
after day while Armenia is weakening. The scope of growth of our
economic might is beyond comparison. We outdo the enemy manifold in
any sector or by more than ten times in particular fields. That gap
will be growing further. Because we have a clear future, prospects
and development ways,” he added.

The president said he was certain that historical and political
factors, international legal norms and the military-economic might
would play a role in the fair settlement of the Armenian-Azeri
conflict. “Azerbaijan will restore its territorial integrity in
Karabakh and on other occupied lands. The Azeri flag will be flying
in Khankendi (Stepanakert) and Shusha,” he said.

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ARMENIA TO DEFEND KARABAKH IN CASE OF AGGRESSION – DEFENSE MINISTER

Interfax, Russia
June 26 2013

Yerevan remains the security guarantor of Nagorny Karabakh, Armenian
Defense Minister Seyran Oganyan said.

“In case of possible resumption of military actions against Nagorny
Karabakh, Armenia will be completely engaged in them and will make
an enemy to give up his intentions,” Oganyan said at the second forum
Political and Security Guidelines for Formation of Collective Security
Treaty Organization’s (CSTO) Military Element being held in Yerevan.

“Armenia has to be ready to resist all aggressive intentions of
an enemy, especially taking into account that namely Armenia is the
guarantor of the Physical security of the people of Nagorny Karabakh,”
Oganyan said.

The situation in South Caucasus remains difficult and potentially
volatile, Oganyan said.

“The geopolitical situation in the zone of the CSTO responsibility is
complex. Despite the fact that the majority of the CSTO member-states
are in Central Asia, South Caucasus still remains in the focus of the
CSTO attention. Not sharing borders with the CSTO partners, Armenia
is more than interested in eliminating the tension in the region and
introducing stability,” Oganyan said.

The Nagorny Karabakh conflict settlement is a priority for Armenia,
Oganyan said.

“We are definitely committed to the peaceful way of resolving the
issue, however Armenia has been involved into arms race Azerbaijan
had begun. This country has said openly that it intended to achieve
reconsideration of the status quo with military means, which makes
us to spend considerable part of state funds on improving defense
systems,” Oganyan said.

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KOMOROWSKI AND SARGSYAN ATTEND FORUM IN WARSAW

Polish News Bulletin, Poland
June 26, 2013 Wednesday

25-06-2013; gazeta.pl

On Tuesday, President Bronislaw Komorowski and his Armenian counterpart
Serzh Sargsyan attended the Polish-Armenian economic forum in
Warsaw. At the event, Komorowski announced that he expected the
EU-Armenian association agreement to be signed during the November
Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius. He also encouraged Armenian
businesspeople to learn from the experiences of the Polish capital
market and expressed hope that thanks to the forum more Armenian
products would be found in Polish stores in the future. Both officials
pointed at the common historical experiences of the two nations,
with Sargsyan stressing that in the past his people had contributed
to a large extent to Poland’s development. The Armenian leader also
praised the Polish economy while at the same time expressing regret
that the economic relations between Poland and his country remained
largely underdeveloped.

INTERSECTIONS: AN EXPLOSIVE REMINDER OF INTOLERANCE

Glendale News Press, CA
June 26 2013

By Liana Aghajanian
June 26, 2013 | 3:42 p.m.

When I lived in Armenia during the summer of 2011, there was a new
bar down the street from my apartment. I found myself there most
nights when I stayed within the confines of the capital.

On those warm, sweltering evenings, it acted as one of the only places
in the city that gave refuge to and brought together a wide array
of people. With its local beer, bands and sandwiches bused in from a
nearby cafe, it was an open, comfortable space, where intellectuals,
music-loving youth, diplomats, journalists and activists mingled into
the early morning hours.

New friendships were formed, old friends christened it as their new
meeting place. The owners of the bar doubled as musicians who stood
in to provide the soundtrack for the night.

The conversations and connections that I formed in that bar were
unforgettable but they all seem slightly bittersweet now.

Roughly a year after I left, the bar was bombed in the middle of
the night by two youth who belonged to a nationalist right-wing
group. The bar was destroyed, and so was the spirit of those who
sought its sanctuary during those warm months.

The bombing, which sparked a national conversation, was carried
out as an act of revenge against the gay and lesbian community –
a group that frequented the bar and is still very much subject to
discrimination in Armenia.

It was a message to say, “We not only don’t want your kind around,
but we certainly don’t want your kind out in the open, mingling and
having a good time.”

It left a big impression on me. It was the first time I had had a
physical, adult connection to a place that was impacted by violence.

Looking at the blackened insides of a place where I once sat, enjoyed
a few drinks and, by chance, met fascinating people was surreal. The
windows were blown out, the air conditioner was a mangled mess,
a calculator that had been left on the counter was completely melted.

I felt an indirect connection to intolerance. What if people had
been there? What if my friends had been hurt? What if the boys who
carried out their hate crime hadn’t waited an entire year and I had
been caught in the middle of it?

Another year has passed since the bombing and the bar no longer
exists. Its owners, from what I can tell, have left, too. Of course,
there are still so many places to spend those warm Yerevan summer
nights – places I remember and places I’ll get to explore when I make
my way back this year.

But that special bar was on my mind this week as Supreme Court rulings
delivered landmark decisions that bolstered the gay marriage movement.

The news took me back to it, transporting me to a better time when
the bar’s walls were painted with reproductions of Lichtenstein pop
art, its bathroom that had no mirror but had a painted square outline
above the sink that said, “You are beautiful,” and its comfortable
atmosphere full of people who were able to treat each other with
mutual respect despite different lifestyles, outlooks and preferences.

—

LIANA AGHAJANIAN is a Los Angeles-based journalist whose work has
appeared in L.A. Weekly, Eurasianet and The Atlantic. She may be
reached at [email protected].

,0,7515681.story

ARMENIA, RUSSIA SIGN PACKAGE OF AGREEMENTS

ITAR-TASS, Russia
June 25, 2013 Tuesday 06:19 PM GMT+4

– Russia and Armenia signed a large package of agreements following
talks between Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev
and the Armenian leadership on Tuesday. The parties signed a treaty
on developing military cooperation, an agreement between the federal
agency on developing the state border of the Russian Federation and
the office of Armenia’s Security Council on interaction in information
exchange in developing the infrastructure of the state border and
border passes, a plan of joint actions to develop the Russia-Armenian
humanitarian response center and the protocol of conference between the
geophysical service of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the seismic
protection service of the Armenian emergency situations ministry.

“Russia and Armenia have strategic relations, it’s the highest level
of relations,” Patrushev said. The security councils of both countries
are working very actively.

“We work according to plans; we draw a cooperation plan every two
years,” he reminded.

“The current cooperation plan ends this year, and we issued
instructions to draw the next one for 2014-2015, to address the issues
of interest to us,” the Russian Security Council secretary said,
“we set the task for the departments that ensure security in this
or that area to actively and effectively cooperate; we need proper
legislative groundwork for that.”

“Departments have had consultations and signed agreements. Military
cooperation is entering a new level. We have strategic relations
with Armenia. During this visit, we visited Russia’s 102nd military
base and saw that our military – the army, the borderguards and over
services — reliably ensure Armenia’s safety. Armenia should have no
worries on this account,” Patrushev assured noting that “there are
enough assets to provide security here – we’ve checked it together.”

Speaking about supplies of armaments to the neighboring Azerbaijan,
the Russian Security Council secretary stressed that “Russia, when
it sells arms, meets all the existing international obligations and
requirements, as well as all Russian laws.”

REALITY AND NECESSITY

BY VACHE THOMASSIAN

Our groups’ time in Gyumri is quickly coming to an end, and before
we make our way to Shushi I want to reflect on the city of Gyumri
and its current condition. Gyumri is Armenia’s second largest city
and in a lot of ways it’s a microcosm of Armenia.

There exists governmental corruption, widespread poverty, and
infrastructural neglect. Sadly, remnants of the 1988 Spitak earthquake
can still be seen, from the collapsed steeple of — Sourp Amenaprgich
Church, to the countless families still living without running water
and electricity in domiks throughout the city. However, the city
also has incredible natural beauty, rich history, friendly people,
and a bright new generation, who are proud Gyumretsis.

During our time in Gyumri I conducted an extremely informal survey
amongst people in the city; kids, adults, really anyone I could have
a five minute conversation with. When I asked them about what they
saw as the city’s most important needs here were the most consistent
responses:

1. Roads- the roads in Gyumri are abhorrent. To a naïve eye, they
look almost impassable. To a local, it’s a norm that they have become
accustomed to ever since the 70’s/80’s when the last repaving took
place. Potholes, boulders, and pits exist where asphalt should,
especially in the residential areas, making it a journey to get
anywhere.

2. Street lights- the city has incredible architecture, and natural
beauty, but walking around in the evenings is difficult because most
street lights are non-functional or non-existent. The general gloom
leads the city to become a ghost town after dusk.

3. Trash disposal- just teaching kids in our camp that it’s not okay
to throw the wrappers of their sandwiches on the floor in the yard
of our school was an ordeal, especially when they routinely watch
trash just getting burned nearby. The idea of an organized trash
pickup that comes a certain day of the week and takes the trash to
a proper disposal area, along with public trash bins, doesn’t exist
and is the reason behind rampant littering.

It sounds really simple when it’s written down like this. It would
make perfect sense for the local government to invest in fixing the
roads in the city, which in turn would increase accessibility and
ease of transportation (car and foot). It’s a no-brainer to put in,
or repair street lights, which would increase public safety and give
life to the city outside Republic Square. And it would seem logical
to set up a system of trash pick-up and disposal which would increase
sanitation and beautify the city. But sadly it’s not that simple.

New York City in the 1980’s was in the grips of one of the worst crime
epidemics in its history. This wave declined in the 1990’s and one of
the theories to explain the phenomenon is called the “broken window
theory”. The crux of the theory says that simple societal problems
coupled with neglect can have a far reaching impact. For example, a
broken window in a building which is left unrepaired will lead people
walking by to think that no one cares, and no one is in charge. Soon
enough more windows will be broken and the sense of disorder will
spread. Things like unpaved roads, non-functional street lights,
and lacking sanitation are equivalent to broken windows, and are an
invitation to anarchy.

In New York, city officials began by targeting the subway system.

They began by cleaning up all the graffiti, then moved on to busting
fare-beaters and drunks. Arresting those who rode the subway without
paying, and those disturbing the peace inevitably meant arresting
people with outstanding warrants, and people carrying illegal weapons,
and this led to an eventual drop in crime. The result was that by
1996 New York City became the safest big city in America.

Thankfully, Gyumri does not have serious issues with violent crime,
but the same changes New York saw can be replicated here. The point
is that seemingly small changes can bring about revolutionary change.

In a city like Gyumri, properly addressing the issue of roads, lights,
and sanitation can lead to an increase in civic pride and a brighter
future.

What is needed is the will to do so.

Visit the Youth Corps Blog to read and find out more

OFFICIAL: ARMENIANS, GREEKS MUST JOIN FORCES AGAINST TURKISH DENIAL POLICY

June 27, 2013 – 22:02 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenians and Greeks must join forces against
Turkish policy of the Genocide denial, deputy parliament speaker said.

On Thursday, June 27, Eduard Sharmazanov met with the ex-speaker
of Greek parliament, the head of an Armenia-Greece friendship group
Apostolos Kaklamanis.

At the meeting, the ex-speaker hailed friendly ties with Armenia,
noting that in 1996 his country’s parliament unanimously recognized
the Armenian Genocide.

Sharmazanov, in turn, spoke of the genocide of Armenians, Greeks,
Assyrians and other Christian nations in the Ottoman Turkey, noting
that the National Assembly urged the parliaments worldwide to recognize
the genocide of Christian nations, including Pontic Greeks.

MONEYVAL: THERE ARE GAPS IN LAWS OF AZERBAIJAN AIMED AT COMBATING MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORIST FINANCING

17:31 27/06/2013 ” ECONOMY

There are gaps in the laws of Azerbaijan aimed at combating money
laundering and terrorist financing. The Committee of Experts on the
Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of
Terrorism (MONEYVAL) has today made public an annual report.

APA’s Europe bureau reports that the report contains a large
evaluation analysis on money laundering and financing of terrorism
in Europe. The organization noted the achievement of the recent
considerable progresses in the member states, highly assessed the
adoption of new draft laws and implementation of legal reforms towards
anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism.

MONEYVAL also notes its main recommendations in the report.

The organization calls on judicial, police and security service
systems to combat effectively, increase punitive measures such as
the confiscation of property against money laundering and create
deterrent effect against these activities. According to the report,
money laundering by one third of organized criminal networks is not
solved and the committers remain unpunished.

According to this assessment, there are some deficiencies in the
six countries – Azerbaijan, Croatia, Georgia, Republic of Moldova,
the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Ukraine. The President
of the organization called on the delegations of the abovementioned
countries to eliminate these gaps. Minor issues of both deficiencies
which have not been tackled by the amendments will be addressed during
the on-site visit to Azerbaijan taking place in 2014.

Addressing the presentation of the annual report, Executive Secretary
to MONEYVAL John Ringguth stated that they cooperated with Azerbaijan
for several years: “We will discuss the problems regarding Azerbaijan
during our visit to the country next year.

Moreover, we will make another evaluation report on Azerbaijan
next year.”

The report says that Armenia has continued to work on the basis of
a specific action plan to address the deficiencies identified and
the recommendations formulated in the mutual evaluation report. As
a result, a revised package of 15 draft laws, including revisions
of the AML/CFT Act and the Criminal Code, has been presented to the
National Assembly for adoption. It also says that there have been
positive steps on the implementation of the criminalisation of money
laundering and case law has gradually developed in Armenia.

Source: Panorama.am