Author: Kanayan Tamar

EBRD – EUROPEAN BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELO : EBRD SUPPORTS FINANCING TO MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES IN ARMENIA

01/31/2013| 07:48am US/Eastern
US$5 million loan in local currency to Converse Bank

Date: 31 January 2013
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending
US$ 5 million equivalent in local currency to Converse Bank for
on-lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in
Armenia. The EBRD’s funds will help Converse Bank to expand its
lending portfolio, especially in the country’s remote rural areas.

Converse Bank is one of the leading financial institutions in Armenia
and has been an EBRD client since 2008. The bank offers services to
all segments of the market through its wide network of branches in all
regions of the country.

The loan to Converse Bank falls under two important EBRD initiatives:
(i) the Armenian Multi-Bank Framework Facility II (MBFF II) which aims
to support the sustainable development of the country’s banking sector
with a special focus on supporting micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises and (ii) the Local Currency Lending Programme in Early
Transition Countries (ETC LCY), which aims to further private sector
development by providing long-term financing and ensuring that
Armenian borrowers, including local enterprises, banks and
microfinance organisations, avoid taking on currency exchange risks.

“The local business will greatly benefit from this facility in the
current economic environment where there is a limited source of local
currency long-term financing. This transaction reinforces the EBRD’s
commitment to support the development of private businesses in Armenia
as well as to further strengthen the financial sector in the country,”
said Valeriu Razlog, Head of the EBRD Resident office in Yerevan.

The EBRD has been active in Armenia since the country’s independence
and to date has invested over ~@613 million. The Bank is focused on
supporting the development of local enterprises and financial
institutions and specifically seeks to promote a competitive,
transparent and fair business environment in Armenia. In 2012, the
EBRD signed 15 projects worth a total of ~@94 million in Armenia.

Last updated 31 January 2013

FROM ARMY DEATHS TO JOURNALIST ATTACKS – HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 2013 REPORT ON ARMENIA

18:35 ~U 31.01.13

Human Rights Watch has issued its 2013 report on human rights in the
world. It dedicated one chapter to the human rights issues in Armenia
the organization has registered in 2012.

Armenia’s ruling coalition retained a parliamentary majority following
the May 2012 elections amid allegations of abuse of administrative
resources, and intimidation of voters, observers, and journalists,
starts the part dedicated to Armenia.

The government has yet to offer conscientious objectors a genuine
civilian alternative to military service and has failed to effectively
investigate a troubling number of non-combat deaths in the military.

Politically motivated defamation lawsuits no longer appear to be
a problem, but media pluralism is lacking, and some journalists
covering the May 6 parliamentary elections suffered violent attacks
by onlookers, some of them members of Armenia’s ruling political party.

Violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation are serious
problems. Bureaucratic restrictions prevent people with terminal
illnesses from accessing strong pain medications.

In the part dedicated to the parliamentary elections it is being
stressed that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe’s (OSCE) monitoring report assessed the May 6 parliamentary
elections as competitive and largely peaceful, yet marred by “an
unequal playing field” due to misuse of administrative resources,
and party representatives and local authorities pressuring voters,
interfering in voting, and hindering the work of journalists.

Several violent incidents occurred during the campaign period in
Yerevan, including assaults on opposition party Armenian National
Congress (ANC) candidate Babken Garoyan and three other ANC members
on April 15, and on ANC candidate Karen Tovmasyan on April 17. In both
cases, the ANC members were distributing campaign information. Police
opened investigations into each case. The report says Helsinki
Association campaign monitor Arman Veziryan filed complaints alleging
that Yerevan resident Tigran Manukyan punched him and hindered his
work as an observer while Veziryan observed an opposition activist
distributing election pamphlets on April 30. Instead of investigating,
prosecutors pressured Veziryan to withdraw the complaint and in June
charged him with beating Manukyan, although Manukyan never claimed
to be a victim.

In Torture and Ill-Treatment in Custody section the report says that
according to local human rights defenders, torture and ill-treatment
in police custody persist. Authorities often refuse to investigate
ill-treatment allegations or coerce citizens into retracting
complaints.

The government has not effectively investigated a complaint from seven
ANC activists that police beat them in detention in August 2011. In
July, the court sentenced four of the activists-Karapetyan, Tigran
Arakelyan, Sargis Gevorgyan, and David Kiramijyan-to two to six years’
imprisonment for hooliganism and resisting authority. In November,
the appeals court upheld their sentences. In August, police dropped
charges against the other three for lack of evidence. In October, the
European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that Armenia had violated
the prohibition against inhuman or degrading treatment in the case
of opposition party member Grisha Virabyan when police repeatedly hit
him in the testicles with metal objects after detaining him following
demonstrations in 2004. The court denounced the authorities’ failure
to effectively investigate.

In the Army Abuses part the report mentions that local human rights
groups reported 44 non-combat army deaths through September.

A January ECtHR ruling found Armenia had violated the right to
religious freedom of two Jehovah’s Witnesses by imprisoning them for
refusing to perform mandatory military service in 2003. According
to Forum 18, an international religious freedom nongovernmental
organization, 32 conscientious objectors were in prison as of September
20 for refusing military and alternative service, believing the
alternative service was not independent of the military. In 2012,
courts sentenced to prison terms 16 additional Jehovah’s Witnesses
for refusal to serve. The sentences were not enforced.

In 2011, authorities proposed amendments to the alternative service
law. However, the OSCE and the Council of Europe (CoE) criticized the
amendments for not making alternative service truly independent of the
military and for making it 12-18 months longer than military service.

In its July review of Armenia, the United Nations Human Rights
Committee (HRC) urged the government to ensure a real alternative
to military service, and release those imprisoned for refusing to
perform military service or the existing alternative to it.

As to Freedom of Expression, the report says politically motivated
defamation lawsuits no longer appear to be a serious problem. However,
a June 2012 Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
report on media freedom in Europe found Armenian journalists’
capacity to report was “hampered by pressures of self-censorship”
and expressed concern about television stations’ use of material from
political advertisements in news coverage.

At least two journalists suffered attacks while covering the May
elections. In Yerevan, a man punched Elina Chilingaryan as she
filmed a bus arriving at a polling station, knocking her camera
to the ground. Police brought charges against the assailant for
interfering with the professional duties of a journalist. In Gyumri,
four unidentified men approached journalist Karen Alekyan at a polling
station, ripped off his press badge, and broke his camera. Alekyan
filed a complaint.

As to Palliative Care, the report says UN statistics from 2009-2010
suggest that approximately 7,000 people die annually in Armenia
from cancer and HIV/AIDS. However, analysis of strong pain medicine
consumption suggests only about 600 patients with moderate to severe
pain gained access in 2012 to adequate pain relief during the last
stages of their illness.

In Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity part the reports says that
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people experience
employment discrimination, obstacles accessing healthcare, and
physical and psychological abuse in the army, in families, and in
public. On May 8, unidentified people threw a homemade bomb at DIY,
a Yerevan bar frequented by LGBT and women’s rights activists.

In the Key International Actors’ sector the report mentions
EU President Herman Van Rompuy who visited Yerevan in July and
welcomed Armenian authorities’ efforts to deliver more competitive
and transparent parliamentary elections, but cautioned that February
2013 presidential elections should be more democratic.

GERMAN ARMENIANS AND WESTERN ARMENIANS NATIONAL CONGRESS TO ORGANIZE EVENINGS OF POLITICAL DISCUSSION

20:50, 31 January, 2013

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS: Evenings of political discussion
will be organized in Germany by initiation of Central Council of
Armenians in Germany and Western Armenians National Congress.

As Armenpress has been informed from Central Council of Armenians
in Germany, members of Western Armenians National Congress expressed
willing to visit Armenian communities and present their institution and
programs in frames of their visit to neighboring European countries.

During political meeting-discussion speakers will present their
projects and answer questions of the participants.

Speakers of political discussions are lieutenant-general Norat
Ter-Grigoryants, Karen Mikaelian, Aragats Akhoyan and Sevak Artsruni.

Evenings of political discussion will launch on February 1.

S. MARTIROSYAN GIVES ADVISES HOW TO ESCAPE VIRUSES IN SOCIAL NETWORKS

Expert on information security Samvel Martirosyan has met journalists
today and spoke about the virus which is spread in the social
networks. If the user opens link of the virus he himself starts to
share it.

“Many users think that this is an anti-Armenian virus. This virus
takes the information from the computer and on the over hand it is
a marketing virus as it gives great amount of visits to the Turkish
web-sites”, the speaker noted and advised to not open the unknown
links.

The expert also informed that the virus let its creators to rule the
computer which is under attack.

S. Martirosyan also underlined that the attacks on Armenian pages are
just a usual case. “Azerbaijani hackers try to break any Armenian page
every day. But Turkish ones become active on the eve of commemoration
day of Armenian Genocide. ”

31.01.13, 17:51

ACTIVISTS DEMAND RETURN MONUMENTS TAKEN FROM ARMENIAN REGIONS FOR EXHIBITION PURPOSE

17:51 ~U 31.01.13

Historic Cultural Preservation civil initiative has released a
statement calling on Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan to return the
pieces of cultural monuments taken from country’s regions to expose
them at an exhibition.

The activists say they will do everything possible to prevent the
conduction of the exhibition.

In the statement the members of the initiative claim that many
have forgotten about it but they still remember and will fight
for the suspension of the exhibition that violates the laws and is
anti-national.

The members of the initiative met with the organizers of the exhibition
and employees of the Culture Ministry as well as raised the issue in
the Public Council. “Unfortunately the latter has chosen the way of
‘peaceful settlement of the conflict’ which means calming down the
passions without the solution of the issue which is not expedient in
this case as the raised issue relates to the protection of cultural
values,” the statement runs.

The initiative also cited a part of the Armenian law “About Historic
and Cultural Monuments” urging the ministry officials to first get
acquainted with it and not make funny statements.

They once again urged the minister to annul the conduction of the
exhibition and said they will do everything to prevent it and protect
the monuments.

Virginia Legislators Are Wined, Dined And Taken To Turkey By Lobbyists, Corporations And Advocacy Groups

Richmond Times-Dispatch
Jim NolanPosted
01/30/2013 8:14

Virginia Legislators Go To Turkey
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Dinners at Ruth’s Chris. Free tours of Turkey and Taiwan. Tickets to
the Masters golf tournament and Redskins games. Conferences, concerts
and conventions.

Lobbyists, corporations, advocacy groups and associations wined,
dined, feted, flew to foreign lands and otherwise schmoozed Virginia’s
legislators last year to the tune of more than $221,000, according to
Statements of Economic Interests filed with the clerks of the House
of Delegates and Virginia Senate.

The amount of gift giving was down slightly from the 2011 total of
roughly $245,000, but still the third-highest amount in the past nine
years, according to an analysis by the Virginia Public Access Project,
a nonpartisan tracker of money in politics. More than 170 donors were
listed in the filing.

Leading the pack in donations was Dominion Virginia Power, which
showered lawmakers with more than $23,000 in freebies. Not far behind
was the American Turkish Friendship Association, which spent more than
$21,000 on eight trips to Turkey. In the past three years, ATFA has
taken 24 lawmakers and their spouses on free tours, according to VPAP.

Conspicuously down the list of donors this year was Virginia Uranium,
which spent thousands in 2011 to send legislators to France and Canada
to tour uranium mining operations as part of its lobbying effort to
lift the mining moratorium in Virginia. In 2012, the company only
spent $437 on seven gifts, according to the filings.

Leading the list of legislative recipients was Sen. Thomas K.

Norment, Jr., R-James City, the Senate majority leader, who accepted
$11,799 in gifts — including more than $9,000 in free travel from
the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association and more than $1,500 in free travel
from Dominion.

Lawmakers are required to list gifts with a value in excess of $50.

SENIOR IRANIAN CLERIC TO TURKISH AUTHORITIES: OUR ENTIRE NATION FEELS DISGUST FOR YOU

16:38 30/01/2013 ” ANALYSIS

I wonder how a nation can be hostile to all of its neighbors, Iran’s
news agency Mehr quoted Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi as saying
today during a gathering at a mosque in the Iranian city of Ghom.

Referring to Turkey’s policy to its neighbors, particularly Syria,
Naser Makarem Shirazi said, in part, “The Turkish authorities have
turned off 180 degrees from the path of Islam. They arm terrorists
and send them to Syria to kill their Muslim brothers.”

Addressing the Turkish authorities, Naser Makarem Shirazi said,
“State relations have nothing to do with us, but we announce that
our entire nation feels disgust for you.”

“I wonder how a state can be hostile to all of its neighbors. What
logic is this? Recently Turkey has also had disagreements with Iraq
and Russia,” the senior Iranian cleric added.

Read also: Turkey supports Iran’s separatist forces on state level

Source: Panorama.am

VOICE OF RUSSIA BREAKS CONTRACT WITH ARMENIAN RADIO

NEWS.AM
January 31, 2013 | 10:58

YEREVAN. – Radio Hay Company of Armenia informed that its
rebroadcasting of the programs of the Voice of Russia radio station
will be suspended as of February 1 because, by breaching the contract
terms, the latter has unilaterally severed the working contract.

“Radio Hay Company Assembly Chairman, Armenian presidential candidate
Andreas Ghukasyan’s hunger strike against fake elections in Armenia
has become the motive for breaking the working contract,” Radio Hay’s
press release states in particular.

To note, Ghukasyan is on a hunger strike ever since January 21,
and he demands from the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia to
declare the ruling Republican Party presidential candidate, incumbent
President Serzh Sargsyan’s formal nomination null and void.

THREE ETHNIC ARMENIANS IN FORBES LIST OF 30 KINGS OF RUSSIAN REAL ESTATE

12:17 ~U 31.01.13

Russian Forbes edition has issued the list of 30 Kings of the Russian
Real Estate with three Armenians being included among them.

The owner of Tashir holding Samvel Karapetian is ranked the third
with his annual revenues received from renting making $720 million.

Samvel Karapetyan has real estate in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Reutov,
Yaroslavl, Belgorod, Ivanovo, Kaluga, Sochi, Yalta, Vologda, Tula,
Tver, Smolensk, Yerevan, etc.

The biggest real estate is RIO trade center having 300,000 sq. meters
territory and Yerevan Plaza with 80,000 sq. meters territory both
in Moscow.

According to Forbes, Samvel Karapetyan earned his first sum in early
90s in Armenia and then moved to Kaluga where he dealt with wholesale
and textile production.

Currently Tashir is a multi-profile company. During Tashir prize
handing ceremony Samvel Karapetyan presented apartments to the anchors
of the show, including Russian celebrity Ksenia Sobchak.

Another ethnic Armenian Danil Khachaturov is ranked 25th. He is the
owner of Legion Development company. His annual revenue from renting
makes $80 million. He elaborates his activity in Moscow. Legion I and
Legion III are his largest multi-functional complexes having 130.000
sq. meters territory.

First he was dealing with the sale and purchase of shares, worked
in Slavoil company, participated in the privatization process of
Rosgosstrakh becoming the company’s director in 2004. He is the
co-owner of Rosgosstrakh bank.

Gagik Adibekyan, also an Armenian, has been ranked the 26th with his
annual revenue from renting making $70 million. He is based in Moscow.

Romanov Dvor with 43,500 sq. meters territory and Vremena Goda with
64,000 sq. meters territory business centers are his biggest real
estate property.

He is said to be the most mysterious figure in the Moscow market. He
is known to have reconstructed Romanov Dvor business center situated
in downtown Moscow in 1997, but he activity before it is unknown. He
is the owner of RD Group which acquired the 40% of Vremena Goda trade
center and according to media outlets, is negotiating over acquiring
the rest 60%.

The Forbes rating list is topped by Kiyevskaya ploshad (Kiev Square)
company the owners of which are Azerbaijanis Zarah Iliyev and God
Nisanov. Their annual revenue from renting makes $1.1 billion.

The second is IKEA Mos company the owner of which is ethnic Sweden
Ingvar Kamprad and his family.

FACEBOOK CENSURE LA PLUS GRANDE INITIATIVE ANTIRACISTE DE LA TURQUIE

Une politique incomprehensible de Facebook envers la censure a frappe
la page Facebook de ” DurDe ! “, une initiative citoyenne pour
combattre le racisme, le nationalisme et le discours de haine en
Turque. ” Facebook se contredit lui-meme ” dit l’un des fondateurs du
site.

” Comme nous le savons d’experience, le racisme est une ideologie
ennemie de l’espèce humaine, qui est toujours allee de pair avec les
effusions de sang et qui a servi les interets d’une petite minorite au
pouvoir “. C’est ainsi que commence l’appel fondateur de ” DurDe ! ”
(Dites Stop !), ou ” Initiative Dites Stop au Racisme et au
Nationalisme “, sur le site Internet de l’initiative. Et cet appel
finit sur la phrase ” Nous souhaitons nous unir pour agir en
permanence avec ceux qui disent ‘je suis contre le racisme et le
nationalisme’ “.

DurDe ! Est cette initiative citoyenne fondee avec les associations
locales en 2007, pour combattre le racisme, le nationalisme et le
discours de haine en Turquie. L’initiative a organise d’intenses
campagnes comme ” Retirez 301, Poursuivez les Racistes “, en reference
a l’article 301 du code penal turc, une campagne qui obtint 20 000
signatures sur une petition, et qui finit avec une visite a
l’Assemblee nationale turque.

Elle a egalement organise une commemoration du Genocide armenien a
Istanbul en 2010, une manifestation qui avait reuni 2 500 personnes
pour cet evenement controverse. Depuis sa fondation le 21 mars 2007,
l’initiative a organise chaque annee des manifestations . DurDe ! est
aussi membre de United for Intercultural Action, un reseau europeen
qui lutte contre le nationalisme, le racisme et le fascisme et qui
soutient les immigres et les refugies, et aussi a l’ European
Grassroots Antiracist Movement, [Mouvement Citoyen Antiraciste
Europeen].

Avec 25 000 visiteurs par mois, 7 000 adeptes de Twitter et 50 000
adeptes de Facebook, DurDe ! est la plus grande initiative en Turquie
favorable a une reponse forte au racisme et au nationalisme. En fait,
son combat est en resonnance avec les propres normes de la communaute
Facebook.

Facebook n’ ” aime ” pas DurDe !

Dans les engagements de la communaute Facebook, on peut lire ”
Facebook ne permet pas le discours de haine “. Cet argument est repris
plus loin : ” Nous ne permettons pas les attaques par des individus ou
des groupes contre d’autres fondees sur leur race, leur ethnie, leurs
origines, leur religion, sexe, genre, preferences sexuelles, infirmite
ou etat de sante “. Pourquoi alors l’accès a la page a-t-il ete
interdit a tous les administrateurs du site DurDe ! de Facebook la
semaine passee ?

” La semaine passee, nous avons tous constate que nos statuts
d’administrateur nous ont ete retires. La page etait encore active,
mais nous n’y avions pas accès ” a dit Cengiz Algan, l’un des
fondateurs de l’Initiative DurDe ! et administrateur de la page pour
Hurriyet Daily News. Algan est en outre le directeur de Social Change
Association [Association pour un Changement Social] qui lanca la
Campagne Contre les Crimes de Haine qui entre autres activites, avait
prepare des lois specifiques contre les crimes de haine pour les
soumettre au parlement turc.

Lorsqu’on regarde la page Facebook.com/durde, le dernier commentaire
qui y figure remonte au 14 janvier. Lorsqu’on regarde les derniers
commentaires issus de l’Avocat du Diable pour rechercher les
eventuelles raisons de cette decision extreme, il n’y a rien. En fait,
les commentaires sont des liens aux programmes TV, dont celui de la
chaîne d’etat TRT, et aux principaux quotidiens, dont Hurriyet,
Milliyet, Radikal et Vatan.

” C’est systematique et delibere “, a dit Algan. ” De tels mecanismes
de censure se sont declenches dans le passe lorsque les nouvelles
concernant les Kurdes et les Armeniens ont augmente, et lorsque on
s’approchait de la date du 19 janvier “. Le 19 janvier est la date
anniversaire de l’assassinat de Hrant Dink, l’editeur du journal
Armenien depuis longtemps defenseur de la reconciliation entre les
Armeniens et les Turcs, par un nationaliste turc de 17 ans.

Y a-t-il une equipe Facebook Turquie ?

” Des incidents se sont produits quand quelques uns des
administrateurs de la page se sont vus refuses d’y entrer ; nous ne
pouvions plus y faire figurer nos commentaires sur la page Facebook “,
a dit Algan. ” C’etait a l’epoque des grèves de la faim [ des Kurdes
dans les prisons a travers la Turquie], lorsque nous couvrions
l’assassinat d’Armeniens a Samatya [Istanbul] et en general quand nous
y faisions figurer des articles au sujet des Kurdes et des Armeniens.

Mais rien d’aussi important ne s’etait produit auparavant.

Le censeur de Facebook sevit sur les comptes particuliers d’Algan et
d’autres administrateurs. Ils ne leur est plus permis de faire figurer
des textes similaires a ceux qu’ils auraient montre sur la page de
DurDe !, ni meme le lien vers la petition pour obtenir de Facebook
qu’il retire sa mise a l’ecart. ” Facebook est en contradiction avec
lui-meme. D’un côte, le discours de haine figure dans sa liste des
interdits qu’il appelle a signaler ; de l’autre, on y censure la plus
importante plateforme de Facebook opposee au discours de haine en
Turquie ” nous dit Algan.

Selon Algan, il y a des douzaines de pages et d’articles qui
soutiennent ouvertement les discours de haine contre les Kurdes et les
Armeniens mais que Facebook persiste a ignorer.

Ont-ils pris contact avec Facebook ? L’un des problèmes majeurs,
concernant la direction de Facebook, c’ est…qu’il n’est pas possible
d’atteindre Facebook Management. ” Nous avons contacte Facebook
Turquie, et n’avons aucune reponse. La prochaine demarche sera
d’approcher le siège de Facebook. Et si cela ne mène a rien, nous
intenterons un procès “, nous dit Algan.

” Facebook doit reevaluer son activite en Turquie. Il y a a l’evidence
des employes racistes dans son equipe, ” dit Algan. ” Il y faut depuis
longtemps plus de transparence “. Ce n’est pas vraiment une nouvelle
qu’ayant franchi a present a travers le monde un milliard
d’utilisateurs, Facebook a du mal a diriger efficacement son activite.

L’an passe, l’un de ses employes a devoile des informations sur la
politique de censure de Facebook, faisant savoir que Zuckerberg & Co
recrute des sous-traitants de pays en voie de developpement peu payes
pour surveiller les pages de pays et supprimer certains passages.

Aller sur durde.org pour y signer une petition pour retablir les
administrateurs legitimes sur la page Facebook.

Emrah Guler

Ankara – Hurriyet Daily News

Traduction Gilbert Beguian

jeudi 31 janvier 2013,
Stephane ©armenews.com