Author: Liana Toganian

Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan received today Masood Ahmed, IMF Director for Middle East and Central Asia Department.

The Prime Minister hailed the IMF role in Armenia’s economic development and attached importance to the further expansion and deepening of bilateral cooperation.

Hovik Abrahamyan noted that the cooperation with the IMF positively impactes Armenia’s monetary policy, improvement of the business climate and attraction of investments in different sectors of economy.

Masood Ahmed noted, in turn, that under the conditions of the current geopolitical and economic situation in the region the IMF is ready to provide assistance to the Armenian Government.

Mr. Ahmed attached importance to the promotion of different investment programs and pledged the IMF support in their implementation.

During the meeting reference was made to bilateral cooperation, the priorities of the Armenian government, the tax and customs administration, other issues of bilateral interest.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern that the sides of the Nagorno – Karabakh conflict have not reached a peace settlement yet and the tension is still growing, Trend reports.

Ban Ki-moon made this statement as part of the PACE summer session.

He said that the military solution to the conflict will be devastating not only for the sides of the conflict, but also for the entire region.

“I hope that the OSCE Minsk Group will help the sides reach a constructive and peaceful solution to the conflict,” he said.

Tamar Kaprelian — one-sixth of Armenia’s Genealogy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 — has won Wiwibloggs’ search for Eurovision’s Next Top Model 2015.

After collecting more than 140,000 votes in the semi finals and final, Wiwibloggs has announced the winner.

In a video Tamar thanks her fans for their support, and reminds  that her new EP “Yours to Keep” is available on iTunes now.

The Armenian delegation headed by Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan had a meeting with the President of the Czech Senate Milan Štěch.

Milan Štěch attached great importance to the visit of the Armenian Prime Minister to the Czech Republic and expressed confidence that it would contribute to the reinforcement of warm and friendly relations and promote the development of Armenian-Czech cooperation in different directions.

PM Hovik Abrahamyan said, in turn, that the visit was of great significance for the development of bilateral relations.

The interlocutors emphasized the need to intensify the economic ties, deepen the inter-parliamentary coopetaion and propmote cooperation on the international arena.

Reference was to regional issues, incluring the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and deepening of Armenia-EU relations.

The official remix of the “Face the shadow” song performed by the Genealogy band representing Armenia at the Eurovision 2015 contest was published a few hours ago at the Public Television of Armenia’s Facebook page.

The track is created by “The Sunside” group’s members Hayk Manucharyan, Deep Danny (Manuk Manukyan) and DJ Dale (Vartan Babayan).

The saxophone is played by Marat Hakobyan, the mix and mastering is done by Arman Avetisyan. The official remix is included in the “Face the shadow” single CD.

Garboushian Gallery will be presenting an exhibition featuring four contemporary artists of Armenian descent, entitled “1915,” reports.

2015 is the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. Throughout this year, Armenians all over the world are commemorating the loss of their ancestors. One hundred years ago, the destiny of all Armenians was forever changed. Since then, the identity of Armenians has evolved into something new, and through the contemporary lens of these four artists, we are better able to see that evolution.

Sev Black, Kaloust Guedel, Alina Mnatsakanian and Samvel Saghatelian have been brought together by their shared heritage and creative minds. Very different in style, execution and inspiration, these four artists have led similar paths to a similar reality. All four artists have found their personal vocation of creative expression through their journey of self discovery.

Touching on themes of identity, borders, and societal critique, these four artists are brought together in the exhibition “1915” to express the contemporary vantage point of their heritage as artists.

Sev Black, also known as Henrik Khachatryan, creates politically-charged artworks in many different media. Although he started off as a writer, his passion for creativity led his expression toward a more visual form in the 1980s, including sculpture, photography, performance, and video. His works are part of the permanent collections of the Narva City Museum in Estonia; Panevezhiss City Museum in Lithuania, and Museum of Contemporary Art of Madeline, Colombia. Sev lives and works in Los Angeles.

Kaloust Guedel explores capitalism and excess in his minimalist and conceptual artworks. Reflective and symbolic, Guedel’s pieces explore the relationship between materials, metaphors, and the spiritual and physical boundaries of painting. The excess of contemporary cultures is of great interest to Guedel, and can be seen in his fascinating artistic explorations. His work belongs to numerous collections all over the world, including The Charles Saatchi collection of London. He has been featured in such publications as Masters of Today, Trends and was recently featured on the cover of New American Paintings. Guedel lives and works in Los Angeles.

Alina Mnatsakanian focuses her energy in her multimedia artworks on the themes of identity and borders. Having grown up in many different places, Mnatsakanian’s journey to self discovery has been complex and difficult. Her artwork is multifaceted and is based in research, giving real facts, information, and references substantial weight in her works of art. Utilizing painting, sculpture, robotics, photography and video as well as installation, for this exhibition, Mnatsakanian exhibits “One person died” which commemorates the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian genocide, one person at a time. The evolutive moving image is based on the repetition of the phrase “one person died” which is quantified with a counter. Garboushian Gallery is one venue out of 100 where this will be shown worldwide this year. Mnatsakanian uses her multimedia process to help create stronger links between different forms of expression and different concepts and themes to fullest. Mnatsakanian has received awards from The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and California Council for the Humanities, amongst many others. Though Mnatsakanian has lived all over the world, including in Los Angeles, she is currently living and working in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

Samvel Saghatelian, also known as Sam Saga, creates many different kinds of work, including painting, drawing, installation, collage and installations. With a focus on emotional relationships and the personal reflections associated with nationality, identity and the human experience, Saghatelian creates work with a lyrical and narrative core at the base of his creations. His personal and political protest signs, designed as a visual hybrid text using both English and Armenian alphabets, will be on display alongside his narrative paintings in “1915.” Saghatelian was one of the artists representing the Armenian Pavilion in the 49th Venice Biennale in Italy. Saghatelian lives and works in Los Angeles.

President Francois Hollande has become the first French leader to visit Cuba in more than a century, the BBC reports.

He is also the first Western leader to visit the Communist island since a diplomatic thaw between Cuba and the US was announced in December.

Mr Hollande is due to meet his Cuban counterpart, Raul Castro, later on Monday.

The French leader is travelling with a delegation of ministers and business executives.

With the support of the European Union, the Diplomatic School of Armenia has organized an international conference on Digital Diplomacy.

More than 60 participants, Directors of Diplomatic Institutes, Ambassadors and Heads of Department of Ministries of Foreign Affairs from all over the world will discuss the prospects and challenges of digital diplomacy during the two-day event. The program of the conference will cover all aspects of the digitization of diplomacy, from virtual reality and social media over organizational changes in diplomatic services, to best practices in training programs related to e-diplomacy.

“Digital diplomacy creates an additional platform for diplomats to launch their activity and to be accountable to the public,” Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in his opening remarks.

“Widely using the opportunities opened up by information technologies, we should take into account the sensitiveness of accessible information and its advisory nature, as well as the possible influence of the information we provide and the statements we make on interstate relations and human destinies. Therefore, the more opportunities time provides, the more previously unknown challenges emerge,” he said.

Addressing the audience, the head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Traian Hristea recalled that the “first objective for the longstanding cooperation between the European Union and the Government of the Republic of Armenia in support of Diplomatic School is to reinforce the institution, empowering the School to offer education and training for Armenian diplomatic personnel.”

Five parties have cleared the five-percent threshold needed to get into the 33-member National Assembly of Nagorno Karabakh.

According to preliminary results, the ruling Free Motherland party led by Prime Minister Ara Harutyunyan received 47.35 percent of the vote, head of the NKR Central Electoral Commission Srbuhi Arzumanyan told reporters today.

“Karabakh’s Democratic Party (headed by current Speaker speaker Ashot Gulian) came second with 19.1 percent,” she added.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation received 18.51 percent of the vote, Arzumanyan said.

The opposition parties – Movement-88 and National Revival – got 6.93 percent and 5.38 percent of the vote respectively.

The turnout stood at 70.6 percent.

PARTY PATRONAGE CLAIM: STATE OFFICIAL DECRIES POLITICALLY PROMOTED CAREERS IN CIVIL SERVICE
By Gayane Abrahamyan

ArmeniaNow
11.05.10 | 12:51

News

Badalyan is dissatisfied with "subjective and arbitrary approaches"
of the coalitional government members in appointing civil servants.

The criticism that Chairman of the Civil Service Council Manvel
Badalyan voiced at last week’s government session that "political
parties have become labor exchanges" and are engaged in providing
jobs for their members has become a topic of serious discussions in
recent days.

(Civil servants in Armenia are employees of the state governance
system who occupy non-political, mostly bureaucratic posts, such
as chiefs of staff, specialists at ministries, state departments,
agencies, etc. Civil servants are appointed on the basis of their
qualification proved through tests and shall retain their posts when
political authorities resign.)

Many consider it to be a "government show", others think that the
initiative to clean up the state governing field is a consequence of
recent political gang fights and is aimed mainly against Prosperous
Armenia, one of the two junior partners of the ruling Republican
Party in the current governing coalition.

In emotionally charged comments last Thursday Badalyan expressed
dissatisfaction with "subjective and arbitrary approaches" of different
members of the coalitional government in appointing civil servants.

"They consider only party affiliation [of candidates]. Our parties
seem to be turning into labor exchanges and many civil servants today
carry different party membership cards in their pockets," stated
Badalyan, calling for action against the tradition of political
parties patronizing civil servants.

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan welcomed that criticism, saying that
he will assist the Civil Service Council "in the matter of fulfilling
the mission."

The Civil Service Council set up in 2002 holds examinations and
validation of civil servants working in the state governing system.

According to Badalyan, they have maximally reduced the factor of
a subjective human choice in examinations for civil service posts,
however, he adds, interferences occur from all coalition parties.

"Those interferences are often unreasonable and absurd, because if a
person has failed a test, no one can push him through," says Badalyan,
citing an example when someone tried to help a specialist in geography
to get a job at an accounting department, etc.

Badalyan, however, denies pressures from the top.

"What does it mean, pressure? There is a form of pressure, moral
pressure, that may be coming from friends or relatives. For me it is
a greater pressure. Fortunately, there has been no pressure from the
head of state and it is the [policy] vector of the country’s political
leadership," says Badalyan.

According to the Council’s data, Armenia has about 8,000 civil
servants. Badalyan says, without giving an exact number, that many
of them are people with party affiliations.

The condition of civil service jobs for political connections harkens
to Soviet times, when even the lowest-level official had to be a
Communist Party member to have a successful career. Now, for instance,
even the heads of student councils at higher schools are elected from
among the governing parties.

"I wouldn’t say it has become like it was in the Soviet times, but
unfortunately tendencies are obvious," says Badalyan in an ArmeniaNow
interview, suggesting that a new legislation should be passed to
prohibit civil servants from having party affiliations.

Meanwhile, many remain skeptical about this initiative and even point
at its main target.

"This is simply struggle between Republicans and Prosperous Armenia,"
head of the opposition Heritage party’s parliamentary faction Stepan
Safaryan tells ArmeniaNow. "Both parties appeared in parliament due
to vote rigging and administrative resource, and civil servants are
the greatest base for abusing the administrative resource, therefore,
increasing their presence in civil service is a priority for them
today."

According to Safaryan, the major target of the initiative is the
Prosperous Armenia Party led by wealthy businessman and leader Gagik
Tsarukyan, as "the Republicans anticipate the greatest danger from it".

Prosperous Armenia has denied strife between the two coalition member
parties, which have been said to be increasingly at odds lately.

"We do not promote civil servants’ careers. It’s a journalistic tale
that the Republicans and Prosperous Armenia are fighting a cold war.

There is nothing like that," Vardan Bostanjyan, a senior Prosperous
Armenia Party lawmaker, tells ArmeniaNow.