Author: nina hovnanian

SECOND MARZ PHASE OF THE REPUBLICAN RECITATION YOUTH CONTEST-FESTIVAL STARTED

National Assembly of RA, Armenia

Oct 31 2011

The Republican Recitation Youth Contest Festival is being held for
the fourth time under the auspice of the NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan,
which this year is dedicated to the Western Armenian poets Petros
Durian, Ruben Sevak, Vahan Tekeyan and Misak Metsarentz.

>From September 15 in all marzes of the republic, in Artsakh and Javakhk
the first phase of the Contest-Festival has started. The launching
of the second marz phase on October 30 was solemnly announced in the
secondary school N 19 of Ghyumri. Writers, poets, artists, actors,
singers, teachers well known in the republic are included in the
festival jury.

Karo Vardanyan, the speaker, candidate of philological sciences,
Director of Charents Museum of Literature and Art, presented the
Western Armenian poetry. And RA Honoured Artist Sargis Najaryan
admired those present with his wonderful recitation, especially
reading samples of the Western Armenian poetry. We’ll note that 3240
pupils from 167 schools of Shirak marz, who have taken part in the
first phase of the Contest-Festival, 35 pupils of them have gained
the right to take part in the final marz phase.

After summing up the final points of the jury the winners of the two
age groups, 11-14 and 15-17 (8 participants) became known, and they
gained the right to take part in the 3rd final phase. Razmik Davoyan
and Kryun Arakelyan congratulated the winners. On November 4 the jury
will be hosted in Ararat marz..

YEREVAN MULLS PROS AND CONS OF PUTIN’S EURASIAN UNION VISION
by Gayane Abrahamyan

EurasiaNet.org, NY
Oct 31 2011

It may still be only on the drawing board, but Russian Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin’s proposed Eurasian Union, an economic bloc of former
Soviet republics, already is stirring concern in Armenia about the
future of Yerevan’s independence from Moscow.

In an October 3 commentary in the daily Izvestia, Putin, who plans to
run for Russia’s presidency next year, described the bloc as allowing
its members “a higher degree of integration” on “a new … political
and economic basis,” without a return to the Soviet past.

So far, the Armenian government has not elaborated about its plans
to join the bloc, but conjecture runs strong.

In what has been touted as a first step toward realizing Putin’s plan,
on October 18 Armenia and seven other former Soviet republics signed
an agreement to create a free trade zone within the Commonwealth
of Independent States, the club of ex-Soviet republics that could,
conceivably, serve as a launch pad for Putin’s new union. Armenia
also appears to have put aside earlier reluctance about another
potential building block for the Eurasian Union, a customs union
between CIS members.

Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian has praised the Eurasian Union, saying
that it shows “perspective” and “goes with the times.” President
Serzh Sargsyan himself has not yet released an official comment,
but a televised remark by Union of Armenians of Russia Chairman Ara
Abrahamian, a prominent businessman, that Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan allegedly told him that he approved of the Eurasian Union,
has been interpreted widely to mean that Armenia will sign on with
the plan.

The idea, however, has outraged some Armenian opposition members,
who believe that Russia’s only goal is “to increase dependence [among
former Soviet republics], and create multi-[layers of] dependence”
on Moscow.

“The goal is not the creation of a European-Union-like structure with
several equally powerful countries as members, but to simply not allow
CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] countries get too carried
away and deepen their relationships with the West, which might lead
to less dependence,” argued Styopa Safarian, head of the opposition
Heritage Party’s parliamentary faction.

The nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation, a onetime government
coalition member, echoes that view. Armenia’s economy itself will
probably “neither win nor lose” from membership in the Eurasian Union,
but the union could endanger Armenia’s “independence” from Moscow,
predicted MP Artsvik Minasian, an economist by background.

Russia currently ranks as Armenia’s largest economic partner, with $3
billion worth of investments in the country, according to government
data. Russian firms control 80 percent of Armenia’s energy resources,
account for two out of three of its telecommunications companies and
now hold a 30-year management contract for its railway.

Strategic ties play a role, too: Moscow has a 49-year agreement for
the stationing of troops at Gyumri in northern Armenia.

Safarian contends that, by joining the Eurasian Union, Armenia would
just add one more block to that pillar of influence, at the risk of
any EU-friendly economic development track and, possibly, anticipated
western investments. Last year, Armenia and the European Union
started negotiations on an Association Agreement that would provide
the opportunity for a free trade area and a simplified visa regime.

“Of course, the European Union invests only in countries that are
predictable, share the same set of values, and sees a future with
those countries,” claimed Safarian. “If we join this [Eurasian] union,
we will once and forever be out of that value field and, consequently,
will also be left out of major investment projects.”

The European Union has made no statement about Putin’s Eurasian Union,
but has stressed that the CIS free trade zone has no impact on a
member country’s ties with the EU.

“[T]here is no problem or incompatibility between negotiating a deep
and comprehensive free trade agreement and being in association with
the European Union on the one side and having free trade agreements
with other countries on the other side,” Gunnar Wiegand, who oversees
the South Caucasus for the European Commission’s European Neighbourhood
Policy, commented on October 26, reported RFE/RL.

One senior MP from the governing Republican Party of Armenia
dismisses fears that the Eurasian Union could spell an end to
Armenia’s economic freedom of maneuver. “This is just a premature
panic. That’s all,” Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Samvel Nikoyan
commented to EurasiaNet.org.

Another Republican parliamentarian, Shirak Torosian, a member of the
Foreign Affairs Committee, believes, however, that “the Putin-submitted
plan is innocent only at first glance.”

“We have to think very carefully not to fall into another — this
time, final — trap,” Torosian said, in reference to controversial
economic deals, such as the shares-for-debt swap that gave Russia
control over five Armenian state-run companies, including the Hrazdan
thermo-electric power station, as compensation for Soviet-era debt.

Torosian added that his opinion does not reflect the Republican
Party’s view.

Some analysts view the Eurasian Union as a more mundane phenomenon,
however. Economist Tatul Manaserian, head of the Alternative economic
research center, notes that the Union would not be “a new thing,”
and could introduce competition to help Armenia “fight against the
import monopoly” which, he argues, poses the greater threat to the
country’s economy.

Ultimately, predicted independent political analyst Yervand Bozoian,
the proposed Eurasian Union “will get into a deadlock before it
reaches us.” For now, he said, it looks like “nothing more than just
an election campaign promise [by Putin] to rebuild the Soviet Union.”

Editor’s note: Gayane Abrahamyan is a reporter for ArmeniaNow.com
in Yerevan.

RICHARD KIRAKOSYAN: “TODAY RUSSIA, THE US AND EUROPE EXPECT ACTIONS FROM ANKARA, NOT YEREVAN”

Vestnik Kavkaza
Oct 31 2011

Richard Kirakosyan, the head of the Regional Research Center, tells
VK about the prospects for the Armenian-Turkish process and the role
of the US and Russia in it.

– Armenian-Turkish relations are at the focus of international
attention now, but there are very few who are ready to comment on the
prospects for rapprochement between the two countries. Do you think
Armenia is pre-disposed to it?

– When the Armenian-Turkish process is discussed, we usually talk
about what Armenia can expect, but not about what it has to do. I
think this reflects the real state of affairs, as there’s not much
that Armenia can actually do right now. Today Russia, the US and
Europe expect actions from Ankara, not Yerevan. I is true that not
much is said today about the prospects for rapprochement. But the
officials responsible for our foreign policy would be better qualified
to answer this question than activists of civil society participating
in the dialogue. However, unfortunately both governments have lost
any grip on reality here. Turkey is preoccupied with other issues. So
the sides should focus on keeping the process rolling, on preventing
its ultimate failure, as such a future doesn’t appeal to either party.

– Some Armenian politicians think that the suspended state of the
Zurich agreements isn’t in Armenia’s best interests. Many demand the
head of the Republic to retract his signature from them… But you
don’t agree?

– No, I definitely don’t. I think that the very existence of these
protocols, even if they are tabled, keeps the process going. And the
more the civil societies of Turkey and Armenia are involved in the
dialogue, the more Turkey’s government will risk losing its authority
among the people, unless it takes some action. I believe that it is
the Turkish government that bears the full burden of responsibility
for stalling the process of reconciliation. And the international
community is already starting to suspect Turkey of insincerity.

– Does the US still play any considerable part in the Turkish-Armenian
process?

– I don’t think it actually should.

– So it shouldn’t or isn’t?

– Well, the so-called ‘football diplomacy’ that started the new phase
of Armenian-Turkish relations was in no way a US idea. The Armenian
President invited his Turkish counterpart to come to a national teams’
match while visiting Moscow, not Washington. There is a popular, yet
completely false opinion, that the opening of the Armenian-Turkish
border isn’t in Russia’s best interests and it is the USA that would
profit from it the most. In the current geopolitical situation Russia
won’t risk losing the Armenian market, even if the border is opened.

On the contrary, in that case Russia would profit, as its enterprises
in Armenia would finally be able to work to full capacity. Moreover,
if the border is opened, Russia will be able to complete its plan of
isolating Georgia from the rest of the region. That is why Russia
is now more interested in Armenian-Turkish reconciliation than it
was before the war of 2008. So this process is in no way an American
initiative.

– Turkish PM Erdogan has recently visited all the countries touched
by the ‘Arab spring’. This event falls in line with Turkey’s general
political course, aimed at increasing its influence in the Middle
East and in North Africa. But is Turkey acting on its own here,
or is someone giving these ideas to Ankara?

– This process started this year. And it’s in Turkey’s best interests,
not NATO’s. Today Turkey is more passive in the affairs of the Alliance
than ever. In these affairs Turkey’s an integral part of the Eastern
world, and isn’t a conduit of Western influence.

– After the collapse of the USSR, Turkey stopped being NATO’s outpost
on the borders of the ‘Evil Empire”. However, some think that Turkey
is still artificially supported by the Alliance as an outpost against
the Iranian threat. Is this true?

– Ankara makes its own policies, even if it’s against the interests
of the West. Moreover, Turkey is trying to decrease western influence
in its everyday life. And the tone of Turkey’s relations with Russia
and Iran comes into direct contradiction with the interests of the
Western powers in the region. As in its relations with the EU, where
Turkey doesn’t merely want to become a part of the united Europe,
but expects Europe to welcome it into its home, it doesn’t want to be
just a conduit of Western influence. Turkey wants to be an independent
self-standing power. We don’t know yet what impact that would have
on its relations with Armenia. The Pentagon has taken Turkey’s side
in this conflict more than once, but now it is growing disappointed
with its eastern partner. And the US doesn’t need Turkey anymore,
as it has its soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. Turkey, in its turn,
while being a NATO member, still considers its politics in the Black
Sea region in terms of cooperation with Russia, and not in terms of
Western interests. Ankara and Washington are still allies, but it
is unlikely that they will restore the former level of relations,
and in general that is good for the region.

– Are you saying that Turkey finally chose the East as its top priority
and put its relations with the West in the background?

– It seems so. But Turkey might be mistaken, as its strength has
always resided in its middle position between the West and the East.

And if Turkey loses the West, it risks becoming weaker and thus losing
the East too. And that would be very unfortunate for Ankara. Turkey
has reviewed its Euro-integration strategy and isn’t asking Europe
to accept it into the EU anymore. Instead, they are trying to turn
Turkey into a great power in the region, thus making EU turn to it. In
theory, Turkey’s membership in the EU should prove to be a remedy
for Turkish-Armenian conflict, and obviously Turkey can’t remain a
hostile neighbor of Armenia forever.

Interview by David Stepanyan, Yerevan, exclusively to VK

GOVERNMENT ‘POSTPONES’ OPENING OF MONUMENT IN YEREVAN FOR 5 TIMES NOW

Tert.am
21:59 31.10.11

The opening of a monument in Yerevan dedicated to relations between
Armenia and the Arab world has for five times been postponed,
according to an article by the Armenian-langue newspaper Azdak
published in Lebanon.

The author, Met Terterian, writes that the construction of the “Arabic
Gratitude” was completed in March 2009. He then claims that last
time Armenia’s government has postponed the opening was on October
5 this year.

He slow writes that the government had initially agreed to celebrate
the opening with great fanfare with the presence of foreign
ambassadors, the president and the Catholicos.

Further, he writes that the sculptor, Varoujan Salatyan, conceived
the idea by taking into account two factors – the geopolitical fortune
Armenia and the Arab world shared, and the assistance Arabs generally
provided the survivors of the Armenian Genocide.

Terterian then asks if the decision by Armenia’s government to postpone
the opening of the monument has been made under pressure from Turkey,
Israel and US.

ARFD SUPPORTS RETURN OF PROPERTY TO AAC, CONCERNED OVER PRESSURE

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 31, 2011 – 16:47 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – ARF Dashnaktsutyun supports governmental resolution
to return property to Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC); however,
the party is concerned about foreign-policy consequences of the step.

As ARFD parliamentary group leader Vahan Hovhannisyan told a news
conference in Yerevan, “in Soviet time, the Church, as an integral
part of Armenian society, was dealt the most serious blow and suffered
grave losses. And current Republic of Armenia has to compensate them.”

However, Hovhannisyan was concerned that other religious unions might
use the decision against Armenia, while he is unsure if Armenian
authorities and the society could withstand the outer pressure.

Armenian National Assembly passed an amendment to the Law on Property,
envisaging tax exemption for Armenian Apostolic Church.

ARMENIAN-INDIAN BUSINESS COUNCIL TO BE FORMED

Tert.am
31.10.11

The Armenian-Indian intergovernmental commission for trade, economic
technologies, science, education and cultural cooperation held its
5th sitting in Yerevan, Oct. 31.

The sitting was co-chaired by Armenian Deputy FM Sergey Manasaryan and
Secretary for Trade, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India Sanjay Singh.

An Armenian-Indian business conference took place as well.

On the margins of the Commission’s sitting and business conference the
Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia and the Federation
of Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed an agreement on establishing
an Armenian-Indian business council.

The sitting discussed a wide range of issues of Armenian-Indian
cooperation in trade, economy, IT technologies, agriculture,
healthcare, tourism, science, culture and education. They also reached
an agreement on further cooperation programs.

ENVIRONMENTALISTS MAKE DEVELOPER STOP CONSTRUCTION ON RIVER

Tert.am
31.10.11

A group of Armenian environmentalists has won a weeks-long fight
against a developer and has made it stop the construction of a hydro
power station on Chichkhan River in Armenia’s north.

Robshin, LLC, the company in charge of the construction on the
Trchkan Waterfall, said in a statement on Monday that it is halting
down the construction in accordance with a proposal by the Ministry
of Nature Protection.

The company also said it is withdrawing its equipment from the
construction site, adding that the move is also aimed at preventing
various political speculations.

“At the same time we are expressing hope that through further
discussions there will be solutions that will reflect everybody’s
interests,” the company’s management said in the statement.

It comes after some of the defenders of the Trchkan Waterfall set up
tents right in the centre of construction high in the mountains and
spent days despite cold weather conditions.

The activists say that the construction of the hydro power station
at that part of the river will disrupt the ecosystem.

Armenia has few waterfalls, and that is adding up more sensitivity
to the issue.

ARFD: EXEMPTING PROPERTY OF ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH FROM TAXES GOVERNMENT OPENS DOORS TO ANTI- ARMENIAN CAMPAIGN IN INTERNATIONAL INSTANCES

arminfo
Monday, October 31, 18:33

Yerevan, October 31. ArmInfo. The Republic of Armenia is to
recompense the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) for the damage caused
to the property of AAC in the Soviet period of time, and ARFD is not
against the tax privileges provided to AAC by the government. Vahan
Hovhannisyan, a member of ARFD Bureau, head of ARFD faction in the
parliament, made such statement in response to ArmInfo’s question in
a press conference, Monday.

The point is that other religious organizations will use that
precedent to demand similar privileges for their property and will
appeal to international instance if rejected. “This will lead to
an anti-Armenian campaign, which, I am afraid, our government and
diplomacy are not ready for,” Hovhannisyan said.

Therefore, he said, ARFD is certainly concerned about the given
initiative of the government. As for the economic aspect of the issue,
he said, this will not affect the community budgets and the given
facilities of the AAC did not pay taxes before the given initiative.

It is an attempt to secure it by the legislation, he said.

Earlier on Oct 25 Parliament of Armenia passed the first reading
of alterations and amendments to a package of laws to regulate
the property problems of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC). The
Government offers amendments to the Laws On property Tax, On Land
Tax and the Land Code. The list of the facilities subject to tax
privileges is determined by the government. A total of 256 buildings,
lands, churches, dining halls, libraries, tractor station and others
are transferred to the balance of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

The given facilities are in the permanent process of property
inventory. AT the same time, the government will regulate the process
of fulfillment of tax privileges by the AAC.

REQUIREMENTS SET FOR SCIENTIFIC EDITIONS TO BE ENHANCED

ARMENPRESS
OCTOBER 31, 2011
YEREVAN

>From next year’s January new requirements will be set for periodic
scientific editions, Chairman of the Higher Qualification Commission
of the Ministry of Education and Science Artush Ghukasyan told today
a news conference, adding that according to the new requirements,
periodic scientific editions must be issued with the guarantee of
scientific centers or organizations, and scientific councils of
state-run and accredited higher educational establishments.

According to the new requirements, the periodical must be either
scientific or scientific-methodical, must have certain professional
coverage according to the spheres of science and scientific directions,
must have an editorial council, which will involve doctors of sciences,
and must provide information availability. He noted that there are
other requirements, too, with which one can familiarize himself/herself
from their website.

PALESTINIANS GET UNESCO SEAT AS 107 VOTE IN FAVOUR

ARMENPRESS
OCTOBER 31, 2011
YEREVAN

The UN cultural organisation has voted strongly in favour of membership
for the Palestinians – a move opposed by Israel and the United States.

Out of 173 countries voting, 107 were in favour, with 14 opposed and
more than 40 abstentions.

Before the vote, the US said it would stop its funding to Unesco if
the Palestinians’ bid was accepted.

The UN Security Council will vote in November on whether Palestine
should become a full UN member state.

Membership of Unesco – perhaps best known for its World Heritage
Sites – may seem a strange step towards statehood, says the BBC’s
Jon Donnison, in Ramallah, but Palestinian leaders see it as part
of a broader push to get international recognition and put pressure
on Israel.

The move comes a month after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
asked for Palestine to become a full UN member state.

The UN Security Council is expected to vote on that bid in November.

The United States has said it will use its veto.

But at Unesco, the US does not have veto power.

“We believe this is counterproductive… The only path for the
Palestinians is through direction negotiations,” US Undersecretary
of Education Martha Kanter told delegates ahead of the vote.

The Palestinian move has put Unesco in a bind.

Following a US law passed in the 1990s, America says it would cut
funding to any UN body that admitted Palestine as a full member.

That amounts to $70m (£43.7m) a year – over 20% of Unesco’s entire
budget.