Author: Khoyetsian Rose

                                        Wednesday, 
Yerevan Mourns Death Of Armenian Businessman Jailed In Russia
 . Emil Danielyan
 . Aza Babayan
Russia -- Russian-Armenian businessman Levon Hayrapetian attends a
court hearing in Moscow, April 13, 2015
Armenia's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday paid tribute to an ethnic
Armenian businessman and philanthropist who died overnight while
serving a controversial prison sentence in Russia.
Levon Hayrapetian, who was born in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1949 and made a
fortune in Russia after the Soviet breakup, was first detained in July
2014. He was then placed under house arrest only to be sentenced to
four years in prison in April 2016.
A Moscow court convicted Hayrapetian of embezzling $700,000 from the
mother of a jailed senator from the Russian republic of
Bashkortostan. The businessman, who suffered from a serious disease,
flatly denied the accusation.
Hayrapetian's arrest was part of a high-profile criminal case stemming
from the takeover by the state oil giant Rosneft of a majority stake
in Bashneft, a Bashkortostan-based oil company, completed in
2015. Russian law-enforcement authorities accused Bashneft's previous
owner, the business conglomerate Sistema, of resorting to serious
fraud prior to the deal.
The Bashneft affair also led to the November 2016 arrest of Russia's
Economic Development Minister Aleksei Ulyukayev. Ulyukaev has strongly
denied a bribery case against him, saying that it was engineered by
Igor Sechin, the powerful Rosneft chief close to President Vladimir
Putin.
Armenia - Protesters outside the Russian Embassy in Yerevan demand the
release of businessman Levon Hayrapetian, 19April, 2016.
Politicians and public figures in Armenia and Karabakh repeatedly
appealed to Russian authorities to free Hayrapetian. The businessman
remained behind bars despite his deteriorating health. Hayrapetian's
daughter Anzhelika told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) that
he died in a prison in Russia's Mordovia region early on Wednesday.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Tigran Balayan, described
Hayrapetian as a "great son of the Armenian people" and an "exemplary
patriot" in a Twitter statement that announced his death. "May he rest
in peace," Balayan wrote in Russian. "We will never forget Levon
Gurgenovich and his legacy."
Arayik Harutiunian, Karabakh's state minister, likewise called
Hayrapetian a "great benefactor of the Armenian nation" and noted his
"invaluable" contributions to Karabakh. "This is undoubtedly a great
loss for all Armenians," he told the Armenpress news agency.
Nagorno Karabakh -- Wedding ceremony of several hundred couples,
16Oct2008
Hayrapetian spent millions of dollars on various charity projects in
Karabakh. In particular, he financed the 2000-2002 restoration of the
13th century Gandzasar monastery located just outside his native
village of Vank.
Hayrapetian also famously sponsored the collective wedding in 2008 of
about 700 Karabakh couples. He covered their wedding expenses and paid
each couple $2,500 as a bonus. Medical services in Karabakh struggled
to cope with a resulting surge in child births the following year.
Hayrapetian spoke of his desire to relocate from Moscow to Karabakh
when he was interviewed by RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) in
October 2015.
Tsarukian Ally Questions Government Commitment To Reform
 . Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia -- Naira Zohrabian of the Tsarukian Bloc gives an interview to
RFE/RL, Yerevan, 18Oct2017
A senior member of Armenia's second largest parliamentary force led by
businessman Gagik Tsarukian questioned on Wednesday the Armenian
government's stated commitment to implementing political reforms
envisaged by an upcoming agreement with the European Union.
The draft Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA)
calls, among other things, for the "strengthening of democracy and of
political, economic and institutional stability" in Armenia. It
commits Yerevan to implementing major reforms of the country's flawed
judicial and law-enforcement systems.
Naira Zohrabian, a senior lawmaker from the Tsarukian Bloc, said the
authorities do not necessarily have the political will to honor these
commitments. "My concern is that reforms mandated by many important
provisions of the document could slow down or remain on paper
altogether," she told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).
Zohrabian, who chairs the Armenian parliament committee on European
integration, argued that the authorities have already enacted various
anti-corruption laws which have not had a significant impact on the
rule of law.
"Look at the income declarations of our high-ranking officials and
compare their de facto lifestyles and assets to their de jure
declarations," she said. "Have any of them been held accountable for
filing false income declarations? No."
Eduard Sharmazanov, a deputy parliament speaker and the spokesman for
the ruling Republican Party (HHK), insisted earlier this week that the
authorities are serious about implementing the reforms specified by
the CEPA. He portrayed the EU's largely positive assessment of
Armenia's April 2017 parliamentary elections as proof of their
commitment to democratic change.
Zohrabian dismissed Sharmazanov's remarks, saying that she has "very
serious reservations" about the freedom and fairness of the
elections. She did not elaborate, however.
The Tsarukian Bloc, which claims to be in opposition to President
Serzh Sarkisian, did not allege serious fraud in its official reaction
to the conduct of the April elections. The bloc finished second in the
polls, winning 31 seats in the country's 105-member parliament.
Regulators Claim `Objective' Reasons For Price Hikes
 . Tatevik Lazarian
Armenia -- The chairman of the State Commission for the Protection of
Economic Competition, Artak Shaboyan, at a press conference in
Yerevan, 25Dec2013
State regulators insisted on Wednesday that external factors were
behind recent increases in the retail prices of some foodstuffs and
fuel in Armenia.
The State Commission on the Protection of Economic Commission (SCPEC)
said it has arrived at this conclusion after scrutinizing the
increased costs of butter, meat and gasoline.
The butter price hike has been particularly drastic. It has soared by
35 percent since January, according to SCPEC estimates.
"The rise in international butter prices began in May last year," said
the commission chairman, Artak Shaboyan. "The butter prices have risen
by about 120 percent in the international markets since then."
Butter is mostly imported to Armenia from New Zealand by a limited
number of companies. Shaboyan insisted that they did not abuse their
dominant positions in the market.
The country is far less dependent on imports of meat, which has also
become more expensive. Echoing statements by Agriculture Minister
Ignati Arakelian, Shaboyan blamed that on recent months' sharp
increase in Armenian exports of cattle and sheep to the Middle East.
According to the National Statistical Service (NSS), those exports
soared by 62 percent to $35 million in January-August 2017.
There has also been a nearly 5 percent rise in the prices of
gasoline. Fuel imports to Armenia have long been monopolized by a
handful of firms owned by government-linked individuals.
Shaboyan said an SCPEC inquiry has found that the fuel price rise
results from higher oil prices, rather than the importers' desire to
make extra profits. Speaking at a public discussion in Yerevan, he
also denied the existence of monopolies in this market.
Some participants of the discussion, notably deputy parliament speaker
Mikael Melkumian, questioned the official explanation for the price
hikes. Melkumian claimed that the cost of other products such as some
construction materials has also gone up of late because the
authorities are forcing businesses to pay more taxes in order to "fill
the state budget."
First Street Refurbished In Gyumri's Old Town
 . Satenik Kaghzvantsian
Armenia - Prime Minister Karen Karapetian (C) and other officials
inaugurate a newly renovated street in Gyumri's old town, 18Oct2017.
Officials inaugurated on Wednesday the first street that has been
refurbished in Gyumri's as part of a $10 million reconstruction of its
historic old town initiated by Prime Minister Karen Karapetian.
A relevant program drawn up by Armenia's Central Bank and a private
charity calls for capital repairs of the two main streets in Gyumri's
central Kumayri district mainly constructed in the 19th century. This
is aimed at attracting more tourists and stimulating economic activity
in the impoverished city. Old houses to be renovated there over the
next two years will offer commercial space to businesspeople
interested in opening shops, restaurants and centers for traditional
arts or handicrafts.
Work on one of those streets began in March, with construction teams
laying new underground gas and water pipes, paving it with granite
tiles and installing new benches and street lighting in the following
months. The radically renovated Rustaveli Street was inaugurated at a
ceremony attended by Karapetian, Gyumri Mayor Samvel Balasanian and
other government officials.
Karapetian said the reconstruction of the other Kumayri street is due
to start in March 2018."We will definitely complete the Kumayri
historical center project," he told reporters.
Karapetian said the project's implementation will continue even if he
is not reappointed as prime minister after President Serzh Sarkisian
serves out his final term in April.
Gyumri - The newly renovated Rustaveli Street in Gyumri, 18Oct2017.
Visiting Gyumri in February, the premier promised in that his family
will invest $500,000 of its own money in the project mostly financed
from private sources. The family has since purchased a building at
Kumayri which is currently undergoing capital repairs.
Gyumri has still not fully recovered from a catastrophic 1988
earthquake that killed 25,000 people and left hundreds of thousands of
others homeless in this and other parts of northwestern Armenia. The
city has long had one of the highest poverty and unemployment rates in
the country.
The tourism development scheme was launched ahead of a large-scale
reconstruction of many other Gyumri streets and roads which have been
in an increasingly poor condition in the last few years.
The Armenian government and the municipal administration secured last
year $25 million in funding from the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD) for the planned street repairs. The money will
also be used for installing new and energy-efficient lighting and
upgrading the municipal drainage infrastructure.
Press Review
"Haykakan Zhamanak" reports that the Russian-Georgian border crossing
at Upper Lars, heavily used by Armenian importers and exporters, has
been shut down due to a heavy snowfall. The paper says that such
"seasonal" closures of that mountainous road undermine Armenia's
supposedly "common economic area" with Russia and other members of the
Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).
"Zhoghovurd" says that few have taken seriously President Serzh
Sarkisian's recent calls for increasing Armenia's population to 4
million by 2040. "That Armenia's population will not rise to 4 million
in the next 23 years is also asserted by international structures,"
writes the paper. "International structures have their own methodology
of [demographic] forecasts, putting concrete facts at the heart of
their analyses. And those analyses show that even in the distant
future Armenia's population will not reach 4 million. It would be good
if the authorities specified calculations on which their statements
about increasing the population are based. After all, asking Diaspora
Armenians to return to their homeland alone cannot guarantee that. Nor
can their populist statements about boosting the birthrate, reducing
emigration and prolonging life expectancy be such a guarantee. What
Armenia needs is real reforms that are still not materializing."
"Zhamanak" comments on the rising prices of some basic products in
Armenia such as meat, butter and gasoline. The paper complains that
official inflation rates calculated by the authorities do not reflect
these price hikes.
"Hayots Ashkhar" reflects on local elections that will be held in
about 70 mostly rural communities across Armenia on November 5. The
paper notes that there is very little coverage of the upcoming polls
by the Armenian media. "And that is not a good sign," it says.
(Tigran Avetisian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org