Author: Kanayan Tamar

American Taxpayers and Armenian Oligarchy

The U.S. ambassador John Heffern stated that American investments are
expected in the regions of Armenia which will foster tourism and food
processing and create jobs.

The United States is dealing with something which is the duty of the
Armenian government to create jobs in the regions and reduce
emigration. Instead, the representative of the government states that
emigration and migrant workers existed in Soviet Armenia as well.

This is how the Armenian government attends to this complicated issue.
It is clear that emigration is not a problem for the RPA whereas the
population is which demands a better quality of life and protection of
rights. If they go away, the RPA will rule quietly.

American investments may change the balance. In fact, they are a
challenge to the RPA, the philosophy with which this party rules
Armenia, particularly the regions. The RPA ensures investments only in
the mines, exploiting ruthlessly the nature and placing people before
the choice to leave the country or to work as a miner.

Investments in tourism and food processing may change the state of
affairs, the balance in economy which is presently against the future
of Armenia. A change of this correlation may provide a competitive
environment which will force mine owners to focus on environmental
requirements.

But what investments does the U.S. ambassador mean? Are those private
companies or government assistance under Millennium Challenge? Armenia
qualified for MC in 2006 but following 2008 disbursement of part of 70
million dollars was cancelled, and the program was discontinued, and
unlike Georgia, Armenia did not qualify for MC for the second time.

However, in December 2012 Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan visiting the
United States met with the director of MCC. This meeting was not
planned, like the meeting with Joe Biden. At least, the meetings were
not announced earlier.

This meeting seemed to prompt that the United States is likely to
start cooperating with Armenia. And the congratulatory message by the
U.S. president let hope that MC may turn the green light for Armenia.
It is possible that the U.S. ambassador meant resumption of the
Millennium Challenge.

There is a key issue to address before the second phase of MC. During
the first phase investments were made in those communities where some
Armenian capitalists had interests, as well as high-ranking posts in
government. In other words, American investments were made the
beneficiaries of which were the oligarchy, not the community people.

The second program must be designed on the basis of regions where the
infrastructures will genuinely benefit the local people, not the
oligarchy for who the local people are just labor. As an investor, the
United States government must make sure that the American taxpayers
will not unintentionally feed the Armenian oligarchy which squeezes
the Armenian taxpayers.

James Hakobyan
16:23 14/05/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

Under What Influence Did the OSCE Observers Draw up the Report on the
Presidential Election in Armenia?

May 13 2013

The OSCE/ODIHR observation mission monitoring the 2013 presidential
election in Armenia has published its final report on the election.
The document mentions the election campaign and states that
fundamental freedoms were generally respected, and all contestants
could campaign without hindrance, but the OSCE/ODIHR observers noticed
abuse of power and administrative resources to the incumbent
president’s advantage. inquired of Aram Harutyunyan, a
former candidate for president, whether he agreed with the ideas
expressed in the report and how he would describe the report. He
basically said the following: `The observers must have been drunk too
much and mixed up everything, since I also said during a meeting with
them that it was a disgraceful situation, there were pressures,
coverage was not good, the facts put forward were distorted. I don’t
know what influence they were under when they said such a thing. They
want our government to be weak. I told them too that political
interests underlay every statement of theirs. On the other hand, if we
look into it, we will see that everything that enters Armenia gets
spoiled, including Europeans. The current government is to blame for
that. The sooner we get rid of it, the better it will be for Armenia
and our people.’

Arman Melikyan, a former candidate for president, in his turn, said:
`Wherever there is abuse of power and administrative resources to the
incumbent present’s advantage, it is not logical to state that
fundamental freedoms were generally respected, and all contestants had
equal opportunities to carry out an election campaign. I can
understand the willingness of the authors of the report to distort the
real picture, and in that context, their skillfulness in selective and
targeted use of facts and information gives esthetic pleasure.
However, being more or less aware of what happened, I cannot share
many claims made in the report. Firstly, I cannot help but notice that
many facts are not mentioned in the report.’ Hovsep Khurshudyan, the
press secretary of the Heritage Party, noted that the report was very
moderate and didn’t reflect the reality that the current government
had seized power. `I can just assume that the support that was shown
to the government by this report has geopolitical context. At the end
of the day, support is continuously shown to the government by such
moderate statements. Certainly, the theses that reflect the vicious
realities are agreeable, but we generally think that it is too
moderate a report and generally doesn’t reflect what happened on
February 18.’

Andrias Ghukasyan, a former candidate for president, thinks that the
report really aimed at serving Serzh Sargsyan’s legitimization. `There
is no mention in the report that citizens of the Republic of Armenia
and political forces have raised the issue of rigged elections. No
mention is made of the fact that obvious political processes transpire
in Armenia instead of elections. Also, the idea that fundamental
freedoms were respected is false, since those who drew up the report
contradict themselves. If it is mentioned that the government used
pressure, what respect for fundamental freedoms can one talk about? It
is understandable that this sentence was just included in the report,
so that it can be used as a cliché, since it contradicts all the
conclusions drawn in the report.’ Continuing, A. Ghukasyan stated: `It
turns out that the OSCE advises the ruling party not to commit crimes
in the Republic of Armenia, since political pressure and bribing
during elections are punishable by law. Although it was obvious that
the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) used election bribery, observers
tried their best not to notice it. This makes one think that observers
bear no responsibility, and since they communicate with the criminal
regime, there is no guarantee that this kind of observation missions
will do proper work, and the OSCE will not ruin its reputation as an
organization protecting human rights.’

Tatev HARUTYUNYAN

Read more at:

© 1998 – 2013 Aravot – News from Armenia

Gagik Tsarukyan: Prosperous Armenia will not become opposition

ARMINFO
Tuesday, May 14, 16:15

Prosperous Armenia Party will not become opposition, as there are many
political forces in the opposition in Armenia. Leader of Prosperous
Armenia Party Gagik Tsarukyan made such an unusual statement
motivating his party’s decision not to join the opposition.

Before the ceremony of consecration of St. John the Baptist Church in
Abovian, Tsarukyan told media that Prosperous Armenia will further
defend the public interests and fight for the “welfare and proper life
of the Armenian citizens.” He said that all the political forces were
invited to the ceremony. The church was built on the funds of Gagik
Tsarukyan.

To recall, the consecration ceremony of the church is currently
underway. Presidents of Armenia and Belarus, Serzh Sargsyan and
Alexander Lukashenko attended the ceremony. The Byelorrusian president
arrived on a two-day official visit to Armenia, on May 13. Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan and second president of Armenia Robert
Kocharyan are also present at the event alongside with representatives
of other political forces, and the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.

Departing Swiss Ambassador: $8 Million to Promote Farming in Syunik

$8-million-to-promote-farming-in-syunik.html
15:07, May 14, 2013

RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan today bade a fond farewell to
Konstantin Obolensky, Switzerland’s Ambassador to Armenia, who is
completing his mission in Yerevan.

Ambassador Obolensky noted that Switzerland will be investing $8
million to promote farming operations in Syunik Province. This
compares to last year’s investment of $4 million.

The Ambassador also expressed the hope that the newly formed
Armenian-Switzerland Chamber of Commerce will assist in increasing the
volume of trade between the two nations.

ARMENIE
Un ex-gouverneur poursuivi pour « corruption »

Un ancien gouverneur régional affilié au Parti Arménie prospère (BHK)
fait face à des poursuites sur des accusations de corruption ont
annoncé les autorités policières.

Le Service Spécial d’Investigation (SIS) a dit au service arménien de
RFE /RL (Azatutyun.am) que Sergei Bagratian, qui a gouverné la
province de Vayots Dzor durant la période 2010-2012, est accusé d’abus
de pouvoir et détournement de fonds à grande échelle ainsi que
plusieurs autres représentants locaux du gouvernement. Parmi eux se
trouve Babken Mkrtchian, le chef du département de l’agriculture de
l’administration provinciale.

Un responsable du SIS a déclaré que les procureurs ont officiellement
ouvert une affaire pénale, le 2 mai, afin d’approfondir la question.
Le fonctionnaire n’a pas donné de détails sur les accusations de
corruption.

Selon Edgar Ghazarian, le gouvernement actuel de la province de Vayots
Dzor, la police locale a demandé il y a dix jours que son bureau
fournisse des informations détaillées sur l’utilisation de carburant
subventionné qui a été fourni par le gouvernement central aux
agriculteurs locaux au début de 2012. Le combustible a été distribué
aux agriculteurs par les administrations provinciales.

Edgar Ghazarian, qui a été nommé gouverneur en Juin 2012, a dit au
service arménien de RFE / RL (Azatutyun.am) que seuls les services
répressifs peuvent déterminer si du carburant a été détourné.

Le BHK, dont Bagratian est un membre éminent, a affirmé que
l’ex-gouverneur est innocent. « J’ai confiance aux assurances de mon
collègue indiquant qu’il n’a rien à voir avec ces abus et est prêt à
le prouver publiquement` a déclaré Naira Zohrabian, une représentante
du BHK.

Naira Zohrabian a précisé que son parti `évalue` tous les faits
pertinents. « Je m’abstiendrai de faire ces évaluations en ce moment`
a-t-elle dit.

Sergei Bagratian a été élu dimanche au Conseil des aînés de la ville
d’Erevan avec 16 autres candidats.

Naira Zohrabian a dit que Sergei Bagratian aura son siège si le parti
décide de ne pas boycotter le conseil en signe de protestation contre
la fraude présumée dans les élections du 5 mai.

mardi 14 mai 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

Le Monde, France
5 mai 2013 dimanche

La relation franco-turque reste tendue

AUTEUR: Gu. P.

C’est d’Etat à Etat, entre le premier ministre japonais, Shinzo Abe,
et son homologue turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, qu’a été ont signé,
vendredi 3 mai, à Ankara, le contrat pour la deuxième centrale
nucléaire turque. Elle sera construite à partir de 2017, à Sinop, sur
la côte de la mer Noire.

A l’image d’Areva, associée au groupe nippon Mitsubishi pour les
quatre réacteurs de cette centrale, les sociétés françaises sont
restées en retrait du dossier, laissant le premier rôle à leur
partenaire. Cette discrétion s’explique par ” des raisons politiques
“, dit un acteur économique français à Istanbul. Tensions et menaces
de sanctions ont émaillé les relations entre la France et la Turquie
depuis douze ans, du fait, notamment de la reconnaissance par Paris du
génocide arménien de 1915. C’est pourquoi Areva a joué de prudence. Le
contrat signé vendredi est l’un des rares exemples récents de marché
public décroché par une firme française.
Les relations économiques franco-turques fluctuent au gré de crises
politiques successives. Après celle de 2001, déclenchée par la
reconnaissance du génocide de 1915, Ankara a fait planer la menace de
mesures de rétorsion contre les sociétés françaises, en 2006 et en
2012, lorsque Paris a tenté de légiférer sur la pénalisation du
négationnisme.

Malgré une reprise de la coopération depuis janvier, le ministre de
l’économie, Zafer Caglayan, ne cesse de rappeler aux milieux
d’affaires qu’un véritable dégel était suspendu à l’attitude française
sur ” la question arménienne “.

Avec 12 milliards d’euros d’échanges bilatéraux en 2012, montant
modeste, la Turquie est le quatrième partenaire de la France, hors
espace européen, derrière les Etats-Unis, la Chine et la Russie.
L’inquiétude a resurgi, dernièrement, alors que l’Elysée étudie la
possibilité d’un nouveau projet de loi pour sanctionner pénalement le
déni du génocide arménien.

” Otage ”

Le 24 avril, jour de commémoration du début des déportations, le
ministre de l’éducation, Vincent Peillon, qui représentait le
gouvernement aux cérémonies parisiennes, a qualifié le négationnisme
turc d'” insulte au peuple arménien “. Cette déclaration a été suivie
d’une condamnation du ministère turc des affaires étrangères.

” On s’est dit que c’était reparti pour un tour “, témoigne un
industriel sous couvert de l’anonymat. Une situation dont a joué
Ankara. ” Nous tenons les intérêts industriels français en otage “,
souligne un diplomate turc à Paris.

Plusieurs grands projets sont suivis avec attention par les firmes
françaises, notamment dans le secteur des transports. Le consortium
franco-italien Eurosam est par exemple en lice pour un système de
défense antiaérien, contrat estimé à 3 milliards d’euros.

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
May 13 2013

Turkey as a regional foreign policy actor

MARC PIERINI

In a few days, Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, will
visit Washington, a significant step for the country which has NATO’s
second largest conventional army. The visit will also take place after
a deeply troubled Turkish-Israeli relationship will have been reset at
a proper level, after President Barack Obama’s successful
intermediation.

By itself, Turkey’s troubled environment sets the agenda for such a
visit: Syria, Iran, Israel, Palestine, Cyprus, Armenia – all these
subjects will no doubt be discussed. The position Turkey will express
in Washington on each of them will craft its image as a regional
foreign policy actor. This is a circumstance where carefully chosen
words and subtle equilibriums, not proclamations or emotions, will
delineate Turkey’s policy line for the years to come and its standing
among key actors in its complex region.

The Middle Eastern region, rife with tensions, historical grievances,
but also opportunities, is not a place where attempts at
agenda-setting initiatives are much welcome. The region has rather
been a lesson in modesty for world leaders for at least half a
century. In such a delicate environment, it is worth looking at where
Turkey stands today on some of the issues at hand.

Syria is by far the most dangerous situation for Turkey given the
chaos in which the country is now drifting. Turkey wisely chose last
summer to call for NATO’s protection and its legitimate demand was
honored in short order. At this point in time, the narrow possibility
for stopping the bloodshed lies with the U.S. and Russia, at best with
the five permanent members of the United Nations’ Security Council.
Other players such as Turkey or Qatar will play a helpful role if they
align themselves with the consensus that was set to emerge from an
international conference on May 7.

The Turkish-Israeli relationship is being restored: the
never-interrupted economic links will take off again, compensations in
the Mavi Marmara case will be paid, diplomatic relations will resume
and even foreign policy discussions will take place, including on
Palestine. In all these compartments, relations will thrive all the
more that both sides will avoid an excessively public diplomacy,
especially on Syria and Palestine. Turkey’s analyses will be heard,
not clamor. Beyond this, gas exports from both the Israeli and Cypriot
fields will, in the coming years, constitute the real game-changer
between Turkey and Israel. Subject to studies, such gas resources
could be exported directly from the offshore fields to Turkey via
submarine pipelines and onwards to the European Union, a truly
strategic prospect for both countries as well as for the EU.

Sooner than later, the comprehensive talks in Cyprus will come back to
the fore. In the current economic context, the division of the island
makes less sense than ever. The prospect of tapping large offshore gas
resources to the benefit of both Cypriot communities is another
game-changer for the divided island’s leaders, and therefore for
Turkey as well. As much as Turkey’s current position on Cyprus is
rooted in the past four decades of history, a profound evolution is
unavoidable and should be carefully nurtured.

On a more general level, the transformation process which is affecting
so many Arab countries is an important element for Turkey as a
regional foreign policy actor. Most of these countries are grappling
with issues such as constitutional reform, judiciary reform, the place
of the various ethnicities within society, press freedom, the role of
women, equilibrium between ballot-box democracy and dialogue (in other
words, the role of civil society and the virtue of consensus) – all
issues where work is in progress in Turkey. The more Turkey resolves
these issues in line with European and Western standards, the more it
will stand out as a respected regional actor.

Where does the European Union fit into this snapshot? Everywhere, is
the short answer. Two EU countries contribute to Turkey’s security
with Patriots missile batteries, another is now involved in
reinforcing its energy security. The EU provides for nearly 50 percent
of Turkey’s trade and more than 75 percent of the foreign direct
investment it receives. Albeit slow, progress is being made in
accession negotiations, which provides for a Turkey modernized in line
with the world’s best economic and governance standards. If Turkey
strikes a deal with the United States on free trade, in parallel with
the future U.S.-EU free trade accord, it will incorporate itself into
the world’s major trade and services entity. The EU is a major driver
of Turkey’s prosperity.

*This article was written before the May 11 bombings in Hatay province.

Marc Pierini is a former EU career diplomat who is now a scholar at
Carnegie Europe and the Open Society Foundation.
May/13/2013

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
May 13 2013

Belarus to start joint venture in Armenia

13 May 2013 – 4:26pm
Belarus and Armenia are planning to create a joint venture for
assembly of agricultural machinery. This issue was discussed at a
meeting of the Minister of Agriculture and Food of Belarus, Leonid
Zayats with the Minister of Agriculture of Armenia, Sergo Karapetyan
in Yerevan, Trend reported.

Armenia expressed great interest in cooperation in such areas as
growing seed, livestock farming, the supply of fertilisers and
pesticides.

“We also have a very strong interest in purchasing Belarusian
agricultural machinery. We agreed that this year we will begin to
create a joint venture for the assembly of agricultural machinery in
Armenia,” Sergo Karapetyan said.

In turn, Leonid Zayats confirmed the readiness of Belarus to develop
links in these areas. Moreover, the ministers discussed the
possibility of creating joint ventures in other fields, in particular
butter packaging, as well as bottling and processing of Belarusian
milk in Armenia.

There is also mutual interest in further cooperation on supplies of
canned products and cognac to Belarus from Armenia.

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
May 13 2013

Belarus to cooperate with Armenia in nuclear power

13 May 2013 – 5:57pm

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said his country is
interested in Armenia’s experience in atomic energy. During his visit
to Armenia, Lukashenko said Belarus is building its first nuclear
power plant. He stressed that the sides are showing interest in
exchange of information and safe exploitation of an NPP, as well as
new approaches to the building of energy units.

`You have accumulated considerable experience of exploiting such
energy blocs. We expect that Armenia will be able to send at least a
dozen experts to Belarus for them to help us in the early stages of
operation of the NPP which is under construction now,’ news.am quotes
Lukashenko.

During the visit, several documents were signed, including an
agreement on exchange of information and cooperation in nuclear safety
and radiation protection.

Belarus is building an NPP (in the Ostrovetskiy district, Grodno
region) consisting of two units with a total capacity of 2.4
megawatts. The general contractor for the construction works is the
Russian joint company “NIAEP” – JSC “ASE”. The project provides for
the commissioning of the first nuclear power plant unit in November
2018, the second – in July 2020.

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
May 13 2013

Death for intractability

13 May 2013 – 1:15pm

Author: David Stepanyan, Yerevan, exclusively to VK

A scandal erupted in the penal and judicial system of Armenia. In the
“Nubarashen” penitentiary institution in the Ararat region
businessman, a U.S. citizen of Armenian origin, George Bagumyan, died
under arrest. The 65-year-old entrepreneur owned a company producing
batteries for the defense industry and the military founded in early
1990 by his father in Armenia.

On October 27, 2012 Bagumyan was charged with tax evasion and illegal
possession of weapons, after which he was arrested. Bagumyan was
accused of failing to pay taxes to the amount of 16 million drams,
which, after various fines, reached 41 million drams. But the charges
did not involve his arrest and detention. According to Bagumyan’s
lawyer Mushegh Shushanyan, his client had previously suffered a heart
attack, suffered from hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and in the last
days of his life was on his deathbed. The lawyer thrice petitioned for
bail in the amount of 2,000,000 drams, but to no avail. At the last
meeting on April 22 the judge once again dismissed the defense of
Bagumyan’s side in the application for bail. After that, the lawyer
said that if the judge granted the request of the investigator and
extended the term of imprisonment for two months, it would be nothing
more than a death sentence. In his last days the businessman was
detained in the prison infirmary, where he could not get medical care,
as in the penitentiary institution, which contained 1,200 prisoners,
there was only one nurse. In this prison a lot of seriously ill
prisoners are detained, in particular, Boris Petrossian, staying there
from July 2012, although his condition is serious and no investigative
action is taken.

Bagumyan’s lawyer considers the problem to be systematic, describing
it as a disgrace to Armenian justice, and calls on Minister of Justice
Hrayr Tovmasyan to resign. According to the head of the human rights
organization “Helsinki Association” Mikael Danielian, the state is
guilty of the violation of Bagumyan’s right to life being responsible
for the punishment of a person without a verdict and bringing to
death.

George Bagumyan’s brother, Serge Bagumyan, who recently arrived from
the United States, described the incident as a homicide, saying that
some people have long offered him and his brother to pay them for
“relieving him of taxes”, but the brothers refused. Serge Bagumyan
said that during the investigation, he was demanded a bribe of 10
million drams to free his brother from arrest. Now Bagumyan’s family
and lawyer intend to require criminal justice for those responsible
for his unlawful detention and death. According to them, the arrest
and all fabricated case were intended to get the company producing
batteries. Bagumyan’s arrest had not a single legal basis and was
carried out as a punishment. “The investigator Edgar Antonian just
said to George,” You will be in prison as long as you do not pay all
the taxes. ” Although the court was not provided with any evidence of
this “debt”, the lawyer said. Given that all other employees of the
company were only witnesses in the case and were not arrested, the
lawyer assessed the case against Bagumyan as targeted and customized.

Anyway, probably once a businessman from the diaspora has become a
victim of irrepressible appetite of the representatives of at least
two branches of the government of Armenia. Bagumyan’s case is not
unique, there are many such examples, the only difference is that so
far all these things were not accompanied by the death of Armenians
from the Diaspora. In recent years, the government not only did not
create a favorable atmosphere for investment income to the country,
but also obstructed few entrepreneurs from the diaspora who dared to
take risks and invest in the economic development of their historical
homeland. One of the most striking examples of such a criminal policy
of the Armenian authorities has become the pressing by tax,
administrative, and even law enforcement agencies of Narek
Harutyunyan, philanthropist from the Diaspora, businessman, founder
and leader of the Union of Art “Narekatsi”.

It was just one of the manifestations of inadequate fiscal policies of
the authorities in respect of entrepreneurs dared to found a business
in Armenia without sharing with its “rulers”. Harutyunyan was was
accused of failing to pay 1.5 million drams, and his business overpaid
to the budget over 20 million drams. And if Harutyunyan “escaped” from
the Armenian Themis by “paying taxes”, fines and loss of time and
nerves, Bagumyan had to pay for his intractability with his life.