Author: nina hovnanian

REBELS TRIED TO INTRUDE ARMENIAN DISTRICTS OF ALEPPO: SEVERAL ARMENIANS WOUNDED

16:38, 2 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENRPESS. Clashes between the governmental forces
and armed rebels flared up in Aleppo during the recent days. The
Press Secretary of the Armenian National Prelacy of Aleppo Jirair
Reisian stated this in a conversation with “Armenpress”. In addition
he stressed that the clashes mainly take place in Sheikh Makhsood
district, which is very close to the Armenian regions. The district
is mostly populated with the Kurds, along with a small number
of Armenians. The local Armenians moved to other regions for the
security reasons. The Aleppo-Armenian emergency unit tries to take
care of them as much as possible.

Among other things Reisian noted that the rebels tried to intrude
the Armenian districts and a number of bombs exploded in the Armenian
districts. Several Armenians were wounded in the explosions.

Fortunately, their injuries are not serious. There is a danger that
the Armenian districts may become arena for clashes.

The Press Secretary of the Armenian National Prelacy of Aleppo Jirair
Reisian also stated that the city has been deprived of electricity
for 4-5 days.

In accordance with the UN data clashes lasting for already two years
in Syria caused death of over 70 thousand people, including more than
five dozens Armenians.

ZHOGHOVURD : SERZH SARGSYAN SPEAKS HARSHLY TO HOVIK ABRAHAMYAN BECAUSE OF GAGIK TSARUKYAN

ARMINFO
Tuesday, April 2, 17:08

During last session of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia Supreme
Body (RPA SB), President and RPA leader Serzh Sargsyan spoke very
harshly to Speaker of parliament Hovik Abrahamyan, Zhoghovurd daily
reported.

“When the matter of Sargsyan’s inauguration on April 9 was discussed,
the NA speaker assured that PAP Chairman Gagik Tsarukyan definitely
will attend the session devoted to the swearing-in ceremony. But
Sargsyan interrupted Abrahamyan in a strict tone noting that, for
the last period of time, Abrahamyan is unable to give clear answers
to matters concerning his relative, Tsarukyan.

In an interview with Zhoghovurd, RPA NA Faction leader, RPA SB member
Galust Sahakyan said that, as an NA MP, the PAP leader is obligated
to attend the inauguration. Tsarukyan’s spokeswoman, Iveta Tonoyan, on
the other hand, said: “Tsarukyan was out of the country, and I did not
have an opportunity to discuss with him his plans,”Zhoghovurd writes.

WE ARE A UNANIMOUS NATION, EX-CANDIDATE SAYS IN GYUMRI

TERT.AM
17:17 ~U 02.04.13

At a meeting with supporters in Armenia’s second largest city, Gyumri,
the opposition Heritage party’s leader voiced calls for national unity,
reminding the crowd of the overwhelming majority of votes cast in
his favor in last month’s presidential election.

Raffi Hovhannisian said that the re-elected president has only a week’s
time until April 9 (the officially declared presidential inauguration
day which the opposition claims should mark Hovhannisian’s swearing-in
ceremony) to decide whether he is joining the opposition’s popular
campaign.

“Believe me that the campaign will go on until it realizes all our
dreams. This is not the victory of Raffi or the defeat of Serzh
[Sargsyan]; that’s the triumph of the people and our children, which
we are going to fix together on April 9,” said the former candidate.

He promised the crowd to bring his New Armenia vision into life,
relying upon the nation’s unity and the Constitution. He said the
nation was conscious and resolute enough on February 18 to freely
express its will, rejecting all forms of electoral bribes.

“We are not a flock to be counted; we are a unanimous nation and
will move ahead with that unanimity until April 9. It is now time to
translate words into action,” he said, noting concerted efforts are
the obligation of each and everyone seeking positive reforms.

YOUNG MEMBERS OF “PROSPEROUS ARMENIA” ARRESTED

2013-04-02 16:11:42

“The police of Yerevan’s Nor-Nork community just arrested several
young members of “Prosperous Armenia” party. According to our
reliable information young people were required not to work in favor
of “Prosperous Armenia” in the upcoming elections of the Council
of Elders.

Member of “Prosperous Armenia”, the head of NA parliamentary commission
on human rights Elinar Vardanyan and her colleagues are already at
the police station for details of what has happened,” zham.am writes.

In an interview with Lurer.com PAP Secretary Tigran Urikhanian noted
that hae can not say anything, because at the moment the circumstances
are being clarified.

More details will be provided later.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS?: DEBATE CONTINUES OVER FRENCH CARREFOUR’S ENTRY INTO ARMENIAN MARKET

BUSINESS | 02.04.13 | 15:48

By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

The potential expansion to Armenia by major “hypermarket” network
Carrefour into the oligarchic and monopolized Armenian economy has
raised heated discussions despite the government assurances that the
legislative field in the country is favorable for foreign investment.

“The Republic of Armenia and the government are interested in Carrefour
to be represented and start operating in the Armenian market to offer
the kind of services it does all over the world. It is important for
our economy in terms of formation of a competitive field, introduction
of a new culture, a new type of institutes and infrastructures,”
stated Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.

Management expert Harutyun Mesrobyan conditions the panic in the local
business world over Carrefour’s opening by several factors. He says,
the oligarchic, monopolized economy is fearful, because it is always
dealing with bureaucrats, the system, and always wants to have a
“preferential” field. It takes over the market by non-market rules,
and as a consequence it cannot be competitive.

“Of course, when any new major player joins the game, domestic economic
entities have to be protected in our country, but not oligarchs. An
oligarch should be put into this difficult position, so that it becomes
obvious whether he is that tough in fact, or it’s just a show-off,”
says Mesrobyan.

Le Cafe de Paris former owner Valerie Ashkhen Gortsunian, who was
forced to sell her business because of the years-long unfavorable
business conditions and leave for France, says that if one does not
have a “back” among the authorities in Armenia, no business can be
successful here.

The businesswoman says that in order to sustain a business in Armenia,
one needs an insider in the Customs House to file bogus receipts and
someone in the tax bureau to keep collectors away.

“The situation in Armenia is very dangerous and that’s the reality,
laws have no force in the country,” she says.

Meanwhile, Vardan Ayvazyan, chairing the NA Standing Committee
on Economic Issues, is amused over why Carrefour’s introduction
into Armenia is so politicized. After all, he says, the country’s
legislation does not prohibit a business’s access to the country. The
Republican MP is convinced that “the economy is on the right track”
now in Armenia and that “monopolies are being overcome”.

Karen Vardanyan, heading the Department for Business Environment
Improvement at RA Ministry of Economy, says negotiations are in process
with Carrefour representatives and most probably the world’s second
biggest retailer will have opened a branch in Armenia by the end of
this year.

The speculations over Carrefour were initially sparked among public
by signs at Dalma Gardens Mall (belonging to Russia-based Armenian
businessman Samvel Karapetyan), announcing the network of shops,
which later were removed. Further on, news appeared in the local
press claiming that the authorities had decided to negotiate with
Republican businessman Samvel Alexanyan and convince him to sell his
Yerevan City supermarket chain to Carrefour.

“To my knowledge, Carrefour has asked for 35,000-40,000 square meters
of space. I have heard that Alexanyan has expressed willingness to
sell his premises,” says Ayvazyan.

News.am local daily reports that Alexanyan claimed he himself had no
business but that he was aware that his family business was offered
for sale to Carrefour. The word goes among local media, however,
that Samvel Karapetyan suspended the Carrefour deal and that it was
allegedly done largely due to Alexanyan’s rather productive efforts.

The Carrefour issue was discussed in March at a meeting between
Armenian Vice-Premier, minister of territorial administration Armen
Gevorgyan, during his working visit to the United Arab Emirates,
and Arab Majid Al Futtaim company leadership. (Majid Al Futtaim is
a leading company in the Middle East and South Africa specialized in
running multi-functional complex shopping and entertainment centers.

In that region it is French Carrefour hypermarket chain’s licensed
partner.)

Vice-premier Gevorgyan says Carrefour would not only offer new-quality
services in Armenia, but would also enable domestic agricultural and
processed products to exit into the world market through its huge
network as a hypermarket.

US Ambassador in Armenia John Heffern made a related twitter post:
“Hear Carrefour wants to open in Yerevan. I used to shop there in
Brussels. Would be good for competition here. Hope it happens,”
he wrote.

ARMENIAN “ARMAVIA” GOES BANKRUPT: FUTURE OF NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC UNDER QUESTION

YEREVAN, April 2. /ARKA/. According to official information released
Thursday, Armenian national air company Armavia made a decision
to cease its flights as from April 1st 2013 and start a bankruptcy
procedure. For the second time an Armenian national air carrier goes
into bankruptcy: Armenian Airlines turned bankrupt in 2003.

Armavia is starting a bankruptcy process.

There has been a lot in mass media about Armavia’s problems, its
big debts and that its license may be revoked. Now events take an
unexpected turn. Armavia’s press service announced the company’s
decision to cease the flights and start a bankruptcy process.

“Aviation is a field where you must not be satisfied with what you have
already achieved. During three years, owner of Armavia air company
kept investing money from his other businesses to support the air
carrier. But today the situation is that there is no possibility left
to continue like this. Hence, a decision is made to cease flying and
start a bankruptcy”, says the report. The document also says that
the 2008 global economic crisis cause bankruptcy of many foreign
air companies, such as KUBAN, AEROSWIT, RED WINGS, AMERICAN AIRLINES
and others.

Debts and disputes over SuperJet

As early as in November 2012 reports said that owner of the company,
president of MIKA Limited and a major Armenian businessman Mikhail
Baghdasarov intended to sell its Armavia. The The main alleged reason
was the economic crisis and the losses suffered from maintenance of
the new Russian SuperJet.

Last year Armavia returned one of the two Sukhoi SuperJet 100 on order
to Sukhoi Civil Aircraft company: the reason given was the low quality
assembly. The second Sukhoi SuperJet 100 had not been supplied and
Baghdasarov said he had no debts to the jet manufacturing company.

But the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft said that Armavia had not paid some
4 million dollars for the first aircraft, that there is encumbrance
recorded against it in an Armenian bank that the air company could
not return the jet unless it exonerated the aircraft.

Baghdasarov retorted saying that if the manufacturer had a buyer they
would have exonerated the aircraft themselves since long ago.

Yet, according to Armenian mass media, Armavia owes not only to Sukhoi
Civil Aircaraft.

Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper says the company has not repaid its 22
million dollars loan from Bank VTB Armenia (taken for buying SuperJet
100) and has not paid overdue salaries to the staff.

Who is the buyer?

Armenian print media say Baghdasarov intends to sell the air company
at $50 million, but potential buyers are scared away because of the
huge debts of Armavia.

Late 2012 Baghdasarov told RBC daily that no Russian investors are
interested in the deal, but there are Italians and investors from
the East among potential buyers.

According to Armenian mass media, a major businessman and leader of
Prosperous Armenia party Gagik Tsarukyan showed the greatest interest
in purchasing Armavia, but, reportedly, the two businessmen failed
to come to an agreement.

According to mass media reports, negotiations are under way with two
foreign, an American and an Italian, companies.

Allegedly, during his meeting with Baghdasarov Tsarukyan tried to
convince him to first declare the company bankrupt and then sell it
to him, but the government said the overdue salaries should be paid
first (to avoid protests).

Press secretary of Tsarukyan Ivetta Tonoyan, in commenting
allegations, said that Gagik Tsarukyan has never had intentions to
buy Armavia. “This information has no basis in fact”, she said.

After the bankruptcy…

A number of questions remain to be answered after Armavia announced
it will start a bankruptcy process, and the first one is who will be
operating the company’s flights. The press service said the company
will cease its flights as from April 1, yet no single Armavia flight
was operated from Zvartnots on Friday March 29.

Will the company be sold or nationalized? For instance, Armenia’s
Public Council suggests partly nationalizing Armavia.

“We believe that Armenia should have its national air carrier
registered in Armenia, with most of its staff being Armenians”, head
of the Public Council Vazgen Manukyan told journalists. He also said
that partial (from 30 to 51%) nationalization of air companies is
quite common in many countries.

According to Manukyan, having a national air company is of strategic
importance to Armenia. “In case of a war, if we don’t have our own
air company, flights from other places may be forbidden, and then we
will find ourselves in a full blockade”, Manukyan said.

Apart from this, many people still remember the protests held by
employees of Armenian Airlines who were set adrift for long years in
fighting for their occupational disease compensations to be paid.

Let us hope the questions will be answered by the respectively agencies
in the near future and both the staff and the passengers of Armavia
will then know what to expect.

Hayk Khalatyan, reporter of ARKA Agency

The author’s opinion does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the
editorial office.

Armavia pilots go on strike

Saturday,
March 30

The Armavia airline will not operate flights anymore. The airline told
`Zhamanak’ daily yesterday that yesterday’s flights did not take place
because airline pilots went on strike.

Armavia representative assured the daily’s correspondent that all
employees received their salaries on March 1, except `a few pilots’
who later did not come to work in protest against it. It was mentioned
that the pilots’ salaries are quite high. According to Armavia’s
representative, the prices of tickets will be refunded to all the
passengers.

TODAY, 12:30

Aysor.am

Hometownlife.com
March 31 2013

Holocaust Center presents `Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust’

The Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus
() will host Dr. Robert Melson as the featured
speaker for a presentation on the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust
at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 10. The Holocaust Memorial Center is at
28123 Orchard Lake Road in Farmington Hills.

Titled, `Two Survivors’ Perspectives: The Armenian Genocide and the
Holocaust,’ Melson explores perpetrators’ means and motives, as well
as survivors’ courage and survival during the Armenian Genocide and
the Holocaust, focusing on the stories of Armenian Bishop Grigoris
Balakian and the Jewish Mendelsohn family.

Melson is Professor Emeritus at Purdue University and past president
of the International Association of Genocide Scholars. His
publications include `Revolution and Genocide: On the Orgins of the
Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust.’ He also has lectured on ethnic
conflict and genocide at venues around the world.

This annual genocide commemoration is presented in cooperation with
the Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive, Cohn-Haddow
Center for Judaic Studies, and the Armenian Research Center at the
University of Michigan – Dearborn.

It is the mission of the Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family
Campus to remember those who perished and those who survived the
Holocaust and, in a world increasingly faced with sectarian strife and
intolerance, to set forth the lessons of Holocaust as a model for
teaching ethical conduct and responsible decision-making.

By highlighting those individuals who, in the midst of evil, stood for
the best, rather than the worst of human nature, the Holocaust
Memorial Center seeks to contribute to maintaining an open and free
society.

The facility is wheelchair accessible and free parking is available at
both the North and South entrances.

For more information on the Holocaust Memorial Center, visit
, or call 248-553-2400.

Raffi Hovhannisyan’s ‘inauguration’ to be landmark event for Armenia – activist

17:22 – 31.03.13

Zhirayr Sefilyan of the Sardarapat group says he expects April 9
(which the opposition believes will mark former Raffi Hovhannisian’s
inauguration into office) to be a landmark day in the history of
Armenia.

The activist thinks there are two possible ways to fight the incumbent
regime and achieve the resignation of Serzh Sargsyan (who is widely
believed to have won his second term through a fraudulent election) .
`One [form of struggle] has to be from within, and the other – beyond
the regime. Our proposal is [to start the struggle] beyond it, but the
other form would be no trouble at all. The important thing, however,
is to start it beyond the regime as that will reach the target,’ he
told Tert.am.

Sefilyan said the former opposition candidate’s post-election campaign
will yield no result in case he decides the former option. But he
thinks Hovhannisian’s choice of methods – hunger-strike, regional
visits, proposals to the president – remain his choice for leading a
struggle.

`Every politician has his own style. AndHovhannisian too, has his
political culture of struggle. So, regardless of whether we agree to
that or not, we must respect it. I respect [his decision] to end the
hunger-strike. All that, I think, will help the movement to move
towards self-organization, giving better hopes to the people,’ he
said.

As for Serzh Sargsyan’s proposals to his former opposition challenger,
Sefilyan said they had openly voiced their opinion on that score (that
maintaining any kind of relations with the head of the regime will not
be to the popular movement’s advantage, public though it may be).

`Because the absolute majority of our people have a negative opinion
of the regime. Any communication with its representatives will be only
to the movement’s detriment. So one problem is seen about the
situation that followed the February 18 [presidential election]: the
people have surprised all with their activeness and seriousness,’ he
said, adding that the existing activeness urges for an immediate
action.

Sefilyan expressed hope that the practical step they offered to the
Heritage leader will receive his approval.

As for the other political forces’ attitude to the post-electoral
processes, the activist said he is little interested in that.

`Political forces, as parties, do not exist, as a matter of fact. What
we have are individuals, honest individuals. So it is necessary to
find those honest, incorruptible people to create the nucleus,’ he
added.

Armenian News – Tert.am

Turkish foreign Ministry responds to Charles Aznavour’s remark

March 31, 2013 | 00:04

Turkey’s foreign ministry responded to the interview of Armenia’s
Ambassador to Switzerland Charles Aznavour to the Swiss television,
Hurriyet Daily News reported.

The response is given to Aznavour’s remarks telling that Turkish PM
Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said in the past that he hated Armenians and
Greeks.

`We strongly refute this unfounded and meaningless accusation. We have
insistingly emphasized that it is wrong to revive animosity from
history,’ spokesperson Levent Gumrukcu said in a statement. He added
that the ministry welcomes Aznavour’s proposals for the normalization
of relations between Armenia and Turkey.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am