Author: Kanayan Tamar

ORANGE FOUNDATION CONTINUES SUPPORTING CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

Today is World Autism Day. The Orange Foundation and “Arabkir” United
Children’s Charity Foundation summed up the results of the project
“Let’s Help Autistic Children” in “ArBeS” Health and Day Care Center.

The project aims to improve early detection of autism in Armenia,
to support autistic children and their parents in all related issues
and to implement autism diagnostic and treatment modern tools.

In the scope of this annual large-scale project, launched since 2010,
special courses were organized for the medical specialists directly
involved treatment processes, for the autistic children and their
parents, in order to raise awareness on autism, as well as to implement
the autism early detection modern method – the CHAT test.

These courses aimed to provide a better understanding of autism
to teachers and nurses, to present the symptoms of autism, reasons
for its occurrence, spread, and in particular, to provide general
understanding of psychological characteristics of autistic children,
of the interests typical of these children, as well as of their
concentration, perception and thinking peculiarities. 170 medical
specialists, 340 teachers, 60 parents and 166 children from Yerevan
and Kotayk participated in these courses. In the scope of the project
the rehabilitation centers of “Arabkir” United Children’s Charity
Foundation were furnished with special methodical games.

“For already 20 years France Telecom has been supporting the
autistic children in many countries of the world. In Armenia,
the Orange Foundation has been cooperating with “Arabkir” United
Children’s Charity Foundation for already 3 years. We are happy for
this partnership, as we are working with real professionals, who have
many years of experience and do their best to ensure that the autistic
children have good childhood and adolescence,” said Francis Gelibter,
CEO of Orange Armenia.

Due to lack and load of the special rehabilitation centers, a new
pilot project on community health and education was launched in 2012.

N 9 polyclinic in Yerevan Malatia-Sebastia community was furnished
and equipped with rehabilitation tools, and the whole staff of the
polyclinic participated in special courses organized by the specialists
of “ArBeS” Health and Day Care Center.

In the scope of this project, already for the 3rd time in June-August
months 16 autistic children accompanied by their parents/nurses and
special teachers were hosted by summer recreation camp located on
the bank of Lake Aparan.

In order to better integrate into the society and gain certain
independence, the education of children cannot be limited to
school only. That’s why part of the program was dedicated to a
difficult process: vocational education of children with autism. The
French-Armenian educational center was selected as partner. For
the good implementation of this project two Armenian specialists
visited France, in order to get acquainted with the experience of
Rhone professional educations school (SEPR) and to study the model
implemented there. Ms. Marlene Parod, responsible for education
of disabled at SEPR, was invited to Armenia. Two teachers from the
French-Armenian educational center worked at the summer camp during
two weeks, in order to get to know and communicate with children.

On the invitation of the Orange Foundation one specialist of
rehabilitative care and one children psychiatrist participated in
the first international conference “Modern technologies for people
with autism disorders”, held in Valencia, Spain. The main objective
of participating in the conference was to get acquainted with the
future technologies, discover new modern tools and analyze the
best tools that can be used in Armenia. The ADOS (Autism Diagnostic
Observation Schedule) method was earlier implemented in Armenia by
Swiss specialists. For its best implementation and accessibility it
was translated into Armenian in 2012.

For the realization of the whole project in 2012 the Orange Foundation
has allotted total 25.869,000 AMD. The project will be continued
in 2013.

16:45 02/04/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

Turkey Stopped Yerevan-Istanbul Flights

The General Civil Aviation Department of Turkey stops flights
Yerevan-Istanbul from April 1. News.am reported referring to its
source from Turkey. Yesterday Yerevan-Van-Yerevan flight was
cancelled.

14:14 30/03/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

RSI , Svizzera
22 marzo 2013

“La mia Armenia nella diaspora”

Intervista a Ludwig Naroyan, “adottato” dal Ticino

L’Armenia è stata al centro ieri del Festival International de Films
di Friborgo(FIFF). Dopo le pellicole proposte, scelte dal regista
canadese di origine armena Atom Egoyan, è seguito un dibattito sul
ruolo del cinema della diaspora nella trasmissione della storia di
questo popolo. Ne abbiamo parlato con Ludwig Naroyan, architetto e
portavoce della piccola comunità armena in Ticino, che conta circa 100
persone.

In Ararat (Canada, Francia, 2002), il cineasta Atom Egoyan sostiene di
aver tentato di descrivere come, ad un secolo di distanza, il
genocidio armeno continui ad avere un impatto sugli individui. Lei
come avverte i massacri del 1915?

In un certo senso sento ancora il dramma. Se mi promuovo come
portavoce della comunità armena locale, è perché credo nelle mie
radici, a questo popolo che dopo il 1915 è come se fosse scomparso. Il
genocidio non è riconosciuto da tutti, e specialmente non lo è dalla
Turchia, ma non si tratta solo di questo.

Cosa intende esattamente?

Formalmente la Turchia è un paese democratico. Ma in Turchia non si
parla volentieri degli armeni. Le faccio un esempio: la famiglia
Balyan era un’importante dinastia di architetti nell’impero Ottomano.
Ha progettato e costruito importanti opere per il sultanato ad
Istanbul. Ma facendo un giro turistico di questi palazzi, si accorgerà
che il nome è stato distorto in “Bali”, perché non si vuole dire che è
opera di armeni. Alla Turchia gli armeni davano fastidio perché
occupavano settori importanti, ed erano tendenzialmente ricchi e
colti: erano commercianti, e si distinguevano nei campi
dell’architettura, della musica, della poesia. Ed ancora oggi il
Governo turco fa fatica ad ammettere questo aspetto armeno.

Lei ha trascorso parte della sua giovinezza in Turchia. Come l’ha vissuta?

Per motivi di sicurezza io e la mia famiglia ci siamo trasferiti
dall’Armenia storica a Costantinopoli, una regione dell’est della
Turchia dove gli armeni rimasti si sono convertiti all’Islam
continuando a praticare di nascosto la loro fede cristiana. Ma anche
lì, dove c’era una grande comunità armena, si era in pericolo,
soprattutto se se si era un po’ rivoluzionari, nel senso di voler
reagire all’ingiustizia subita. Per questo ci siamo trasferiti in
Svizzera negli anni ’70.

Stando al direttore del FIFF, Thierry Jobin, è come se al
riconoscimento del genocidio armeno mancasse un film che faccia
l’effetto prodotto da Schindler’s list (1993) per il riconoscimento
della Shoah. “Ararat” aveva suscitato tante attese alla sua uscita,
dieci anni fa, ma poi la gente è rimasta disorientata.

Esattamente. C’è qualche parallelo tra i due film, ma l’effetto non è
lo stesso. E non c’è da stupirsi se un film, come per così dire,
`rivelatore’ del massacro non esista. Il Governo turco non vuole che
si parli del genocidio e boicotta tutti i registi che intendono farlo.
Basti pensare all’affossamento, negli anni ’30, della trasposizione
cinematografica del romanzo “I 40 giorni del Mussa Dagh”, dello
scrittore Franz Werfel. Negli anni si è ritentato di produrlo. Nel
2006 ci provò Sylvester Stallone, ma gruppi di pressione lo fecero
desistere. Lo stesso è toccato a Mel Gibson, che nel 2009 volle farne
un documentario.

Trova che per gli armeni in patria sia più importante il
riconoscimento del genocidio o un miglioramento della situazione
economica?

È una domanda difficile. Tutti e due i fattori sono importanti.
Occorre anche tener presente che le due cose non sono disconnesse.
Infatti, se il genocidio verrà riconosciuto anche dalla Turchia, il
prossimo passo sarà la restituzione dei beni degli armeni, che erano
benestanti e che nel genocidio hanno perso tutto.

Francesca Motta

Armavia Reimagined: Solutions for a Successful Armenian National Carrier

22:46, March 31, 2013

By Raffi Elliott

A history of problems:

The brief time since Armenia’s regaining of independence has been
rather turbulent for its small aviation industry.

As the USSR fell apart, Armenia, having been a constituent republic
received a number of former Aeroflot jets which formed the basis for a
new Armenian national carrier, Armenian Airlines, which served a
number of routes to Russia and continental Europe.

However, environmental restrictions within the European Community
meant that the soviet-era fleet would no longer be able to fly its
European routes, effectively condemning the new airline to bankruptcy.
This failed first attempt was shortly followed by a second, albeit
controversially short-lived venture; Air Armenia’s assets were
opaquely liquidated to form the new, privately-run, supposedly
publicly-traded, Armavia.

Armavia, officially managed by the Russian-Armenian oligarch Mikhail
Baghdasarov was able to lease, and later purchase, a small fleet of
second-hand airbuses, allowing it to expand its routes into the EU and
Russia, as well as serving some middle-eastern destinations, such as
Dubai, Aleppo and Beirut. despite a few accidents, Armavia
essentially flew with a descent record.

Despite apparent successes, it soon became apparent that Armavia was
being plagued by financial issues, incompetent management, and
inefficient use of resources; with more flights being cancelled, and
others being delayed as a result. The company’s true financial
situation began to surface when, being the first recipient of the
Russian-Italian made Sukhoi Superjet, it soon had to return its
purchase, as well as cancel a second order for a second one.

This was followed by a drastic reduction of routes. Armavia further
caused controversy, when they cancelled their flight to Aleppo, only
to reinstate it with grossly inflated ticket prices, which most of the
ethnic-Armenian refugees fleeing the Syrian Civil War could not
afford.

A recent dispute between the failing airline and the
Corporacion-America-managed Zvartnots Airport over gate fees further
raised speculation of imminent bankruptcy; and, as an “ArmeniaNow”
article pointed out, fully embodied the stark contrast between a
western-style properly managed corporation (such as the Airport), and
a soviet-style oligarch run and operated company which relies on
kick-backs and government favouritism to survive.

Today, Armavia flights are routinely between 2 and 3 hours late or
sometimes cancelled, to the great discomfort of travellers, and its
future is uncertain. As of March 30th, Armavia has already filed for
bankruptcy.

Challenges and Solutions

Other than the obvious factors such as the endemic results of
oligarch-style mismanagement, which plagues most other sectors of the
Armenian economy, the most glaring problem is that Armavia simply
missed its mark. the airline failed to establish its niche. it flies
against tough competition in very crowded routes such as
Yerevan-Moscow, Yerevan-Sochi, Yerevan-Krasnodar, and so on, which are
served extensively by a number of domestic Russian airlines, without
offering a competitive edge such as better service, cheaper airfare,
customer loyalty points or anything. As far as most labour migrants
are concerned, it is a soviet airline like all the others. The
Yerevan-Dubai route, for example, is served by both Armavia and
Emirates subsidiary: FlyDUBAI. The difference in Ticket-price is
almost minimal (usually less than 50 Euros), yet FlyDUBAI offers
outstanding customer service, friendly staff, both on the phone, and
on the plane, as well as online booking. Armavia offers none of
that…well worth the extra 50 Euros….

Low-Cost People Mover?

Second, Armavia totally fails to make proper use of its logistical hub
in terms of boosting number of travellers. There is a gross
miscalculation in their mission statement: Yerevan does not have to be
a FINAL DESTINATION, as much as it could also serve as a transit
station. Granted, Zvarnots airport (which recently won an award for
the best-managed airport in Eastern-Europe by the way) DOES have
higher-than-average gate fees, which, with some negotiations, could be
brought down, but the point is that the aerodrome is equipped to
handle almost all aircraft flying in the world today, and the
facilities could handle much larger volume than it does today. This,
coupled with Armenia’s suitable geographical location as a transit
point between east and west would allow the company to compete in a
new airline market: that of low-cost alternative.

If people could travel from Western Europe, or North America to
South-East asia for several hundred dollars less than one of the major
airlines, they would certainly not mind a layover in Armenia; and
similarly, Hotel managers, tour companies and various other Armenian
businesses wouldn’t mind the extra customer base. Seems like a win-win
for all.

It wouldn’t be difficult for Armavia to pull this off. It would be as
simple as following the Ryanair, or EasyJet model of avoiding large
airports in favour of smaller, regional airports, where gate fees are
much lower, serve better quality meals for a small fee, charge for
luggage, or extra leg room and so on.

Brand Recognition

One of the most irritating parts about Armavia, is the fact that the
first 3 letters in the name correspond to the name of the Republic of
Armenia. Right now, there is no greater shame than having such an
airline serving as Armenia’s national air carrier. I’m also sorry to
say that hiring Gerard Depardieu, who has recently lost his marbles,
and began prostituting himself to the whims of a number of post-soviet
dictators does nothing to help raise brand awareness.

Maybe Armavia would do well to hire a public relations firm, rebrand
itself as safe, reliable and cheap alternative to Emirates of British
Airways, and advertise themselves as such.

Freight-Traffic Development

Being based in a tiny, landlocked country which is being blockaded on
two sides, it comes as a total shock that Armavia hasn’t yet developed
a cargo division. the solution seems obvious: buy freight aircraft and
start flying cargo in and out as a way to make extra cash.

Of course, none of these changes could be implemented until the
management problem is resolved. the practice of hiring and promoting
based on nepotism and kick-backs needs to cease immediately, as such
positions which be awarded on the basis of meritocracy. This would
allow a competent management team to properly oversee company
operations.

To recap: if Armavia one day decides to get its act together, it could
very easily rise from the grave through a simple formula of hiring a
competent management team, finding its niche, and gaining the
competitive edge by rebranding itself as a safe, reliable, low cost
airlines which can connect the world. That way, Armenians will finally
regain their pride in their national carrier….oh, and maybe have an
ARMENIAN version to their site for a change…

Raffi Elliott is a Yerevan-based Canadian-Armenian political
commentator who frequently writes about Armenian social, political and
economic trends on his blog:

PRESS RELEASE
RAFFI HOVANNISIAN HEADQUARTERS
31 Moscovian Street
Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 10) 53.69.13
Fax: (+374 – 10) 53.26.97
Email: [email protected]
Website:

30 March 2013

Day 21: Raffi Hovannisian rocks Liberty Square

Yerevan–On the final evening of his twenty-two day hunger strike at
Liberty Square, Raffi K. Hovannisian took part in an open-air concert
featuring the Armenian folk-rock band Bambir and the popular singer
Lilit Pipoyan. Before retiring to his tent for his last night at the
square, Hovannisian thanked his supporters for their faith, love, and
dedication to a New Armenia.

`Tomorrow we shall break bread,’ he said. `And together we shall begin
our national resurrection.’

After making a brief public statement at 10 am tomorrow, Hovannisian
will leave Liberty Square to attend church services and spend Easter
with his family. The following day he will begin his four-day regional
tour–what he called a border-to-border enlistment campaign–leading
up to the April 5 organizational rally and the April 9 inauguration of
a New Armenia.

Raffi Hovannisian’s Schedule

REGIONAL VICTORY TOUR

April 1, 2013 – Kapan 10:00; Goris 12:00; Sisian 13:30; Eghegnadzor
15:30; Ararat 17:00; Goravan 17:45; Artashat 18:00

April 2, 2013 – Yeghvard 9:30; Udjan 10:30; Talin 11:00; Artik 13:00;
Gyumri 14:00; Armavir 17:00; Etchmiadzin 18:00

April 3, 2013 – Abovyan 9:30; Nor Hachn 10:30; Martuni 12:30; Sevan
14:00; Ijevan 16:00; Berd 18:00

April 4, 2013 – Noyemberyan 10:00; Alaverdi 11:30; Vanadzor 13:00;
Spitak 14:30; Aparan 15:30; Ashtarak 17:00

ORGANIZATIONAL RALLY – LIBERTY SQUARE
April 5, 2013 – 6pm

INAUGURATION OF THE NEW ARMENIA – FROM LIBERTY SQUARE
April 9, 2013 – from 11am

Raffi Hovannisian Headquarters

Armenian Ambassador and Crimea official discuss issues on Armenian
cultural heritage

March 30, 2013 | 19:02

Armenia’s Ambassador to Ukraine Andranik Manukyan discussed the issues
on preserving Armenian cultural heritage with the chairman of the
Crimea cabinet of ministers Anatoliy Mogilyov.

During the meeting, the sides discussed prospects for development of
bilateral relations and interaction between the Armenian community
representatives and local authorities, analitika.at.ua reported. They
noted considerable potential in trade and economic ties.

Ambassador Manukyan thanked Mogilyov for his attention to the problems
of the Armenian community.

Ambassador also participated in the work of a conference organized by
the Union of Armenians of Ukraine in the city of Yalta.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

Iran allocates 2.1b to build gas condensates refinery
Economic Desk

On Line: 10 March 2013 17:25
In Print: Monday 11 March 2013

TEHRAN – Iran has allocated 2.1 billion so far in establishing the
Persian Gulf Star gas condensates refinery in southern Hormozgan
province, IRNA quoted Hormozgan Province governor general Ebrahim
Azizi as saying.

The refinery is the largest gas condensates refinery in the world

The construction of the refinery has progressed by 65 percent, he
said, adding that it will add 27.6 million liters to the country’s
daily gasoline output.

Some 3.6 billion will be invested in the project. The refinery will
also produce 14 million liters of diesel fuel, 3.8 million liters of
LPG, and 3.3 million liters of jet fuel.

On January 25, IRNA quoted deputy oil minister Alireza Zeighami as
saying that seven oil refining projects are underway in Iran, with the
goal of boosting gasoline production capacity to 110 million liters
per day.

The projects will be inaugurated maximum by the end of the first half
of the next Iranian calendar year (September 21, 2013), he added.

The projects include Arak, Lavan, Tabriz, Esfahan, Bandar Abbas,
Tehran, and Persian Gulf Star refineries.

Iran exported over 132,000 tons of gasoline, worth around $134
million, last year.

According to Customs Administration data, the gasoline exports rose by
127 percent in value and 108.5 percent in volume, respectively,
compared to the year before.

Armenia, Afghanistan, the UAE, Iraq and Oman were the destinations for
Iranian gasoline.

Iran’s gasoline production to meet domestic needs by March 2014: official
Economic Desk

On Line: 15 March 2013 16:34
In Print: Saturday 16 March 2013

TEHRAN – Gasoline production in Iran will exceed consumption by the
end of the next Iranian calendar year (March 2014), IRIB quoted
Iranian deputy oil minister Alireza Zeighami as saying.

He made the announcement on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony
of a gasoline production unit with the daily output of 8 million
liters at Shazand refinery, central Iran.

On January 25, IRNA quoted Zeighami as saying that seven oil refining
projects are underway in Iran, with the goal of boosting gasoline
production capacity to 110 million liters per day.

The projects will be inaugurated maximum by the end of the first half
of the next Iranian calendar year (September 21, 2013), he added.

The projects include Arak, Lavan, Tabriz, Esfahan, Bandar Abbas,
Tehran, and Persian Gulf Star refineries.

Iran exported over 132,000 tons of gasoline, worth around $134
million, last year.

According to Customs Administration data, the gasoline exports rose by
127 percent in value and 108.5 percent in volume, respectively,
compared to the year before.

Armenia, Afghanistan, the UAE, Iraq and Oman were the destinations for
Iranian gasoline.

According to official government data, Iranian gasoline imports have
slumped by as much as 95 per cent over the last four years as rising
refinery capacity and lowering fuel subsidies help neutralize Western
sanctions aimed at starving Tehran of fuel.

The `Issue of the Dead Body’ Is Not Topical Anymore

March 30 2013

Raffi Hovhannisyan’s decision to stop the hunger strike is good news.
No normal man wants someone to deliberately harm himself and damage
his health. The Nzhdehists, first of all, Galust Sahakyan, say: `We
don’t want any Armenian to suffer.’ However, I, not being a national
conservative, attribute my wish regarding health to all people on the
planet Earth, regardless of their political and religious views, race
and nationality. That is why, by the way, I am displeased when the
decision of the government to allot money for Hayrikyan’s treatment
becomes a subject of heated discussion. Why to Hayrikyan, why from the
treasury? These questions must be asked in the political domain.
Perhaps that criticism is really proper, and one could have spent that
money more reasonably. However, I try to abstract from these factors,
and perceive the issue this way; someone, in this case the state,
wishes to rescue one man’s life. One ought not to talk so much about
this; I, as a taxpayer, don’t begrudge my money spent on this cause.
The same thing applies to Raffi Hovhannisyan’s hunger strike.
Certainly, one can rub his hands and gloat; he failed, he was just
pretending etc. However, I think that one cannot tease or provoke a
person, as far as health is concerned; necessarily continue your
self-destruction, otherwise we will mock you and consider as
unprincipled. That malice cannot be justified by any political reason.
Stopping the hunger strike has two other positive aspects; it will
allow both the other political forces and experts – whom Raffi gave a
piece of his mind yesterday – to focus not on the health condition or
the diet of the Heritage Party leader, but on his steps. It is one
thing when you start your report with a sentence `Today is
such-and-such a day of Raffi Hovhannisyan’s hunger strike.’ It is
another thing when you inform that the politician had said this and
had demanded that. In the end, Raffi Hovhannisyan’s decision to stop
the hunger strike proves that his actions lack threatening,
blackmailing the opponent, which, I must confess, I thought of this
kind of struggle. It has become clear that the phrase `over my dead
body’ was figurative, and the readiness `to rest in some corner of
Armenia’ is just a tribute to the Diaspora Armenian phraseology. The
struggle has become merely political, and all of us should wish good
luck to Raffi Hovhannisyan in that. ARAM ABRAHAMYAN

Read more at:

© 1998 – 2013 Aravot – News from Armenia

`What Will Be the Point in My Casting a Vote for That List,’ Experts
Say About the Yerevan City Council Election Lists

March 29 2013

`Being engaged in local self-government personally for many years, I
know persons who more or less know the material, but I don’t see many
such people on the lists,’ Sos Gimishyan, a member of the Association
of Community Financiers and the leader of the Christian Democratic
Renaissance Party, expressed this opinion, while talking about the
lists presented by different political forces in the run-up to the
Yerevan City Council election. Then he added: `There is no conception
of local self-government either in the opposition or in the
government. It is a profession in the same way as a doctor or an
engineer. But it seems to everyone that whoever wishes can engage in
politics. This is a bigger task. People should have many years’
experience to try to govern a city. To govern Yerevan means to solve
the problems of one million people. Otherwise, it means to put those
people in jeopardy. Engaging in politics is a profession that requires
experience, time, and greater wisdom. For example, I will never take
the liberty of dealing with the issue of the cultural field or express
a serious opinion on that. Why do they take the liberty of doing that
in politics? It is deception; everyone tries to win over the people’s
vote. And if we look at the issue from the political perspective,
those included in the city council election list should be able to
debate, oppose all that is going on in our country and our city. First
of all, the opposition should be such, but not the opposition declared
such by the government. And they have declared the Prosperous Armenia
Party (PAP), the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), the
Pan-Armenian National Movement (PANM)-Armenian National Congress
(ANC), and the Heritage Party the opposition. At least three political
forces among them don’t take an oppositional attitude. And the real
opposition is engaged very little in the struggle these days. In this
sense, perhaps, we can single out the Heritage Party.’ Harutyun
Hambardzumyan, the head of the Choice is Yours NGO, in his turn, said
regarding the same issue: `A chess player, an actor, a famous
musician, people like these are included in the city council list.
Certainly, they are needed too, but if you fill the whole list with
their names, it is not right. I agree that the city council should
deal with cultural issues, not only social ones, but one can take one
or two people, not fill the whole list with their names. I know for
sure that those people will decline the list. The man who has deep and
comprehensive knowledge of politics, culture, has a general conception
should become a member of the city council.’ We inquired how efficient
including 20-year-old youths, drivers, or suppliers in the city
council lists was, how efficient it was for solving the urban
problems. Mr. Hambardzumyan replied: `I am not against involving the
youth, but they should be people with experience. Now what is the
point in my turning out and voting for that list, in which young
suppliers are included?’ Tatev HARUTYUNYAN

Read more at:

© 1998 – 2013 Aravot – News from Armenia