Author: nina hovnanian

AZERBAIJANI PROVOCATIONS GET ADEQUATE RESPONSE

Wednesday,
June 20 Politics

“Breakthrough can be noticed in Karabakh issue as Azerbaijan is in
a difficult geopolitical situation. It has opened its second front
against Iran,” said head of Noravank fund Gagik Harutyunyan today.

Situation grows rapidly in the region and according to the speaker
the US today is busy with Syrian and Iranian issues.

According to the speaker the US wants to build a “sanitary barrier”
along the Iranian border.

The head of Noravank fund touched upon the provocations of Azerbaijan
on Armenian – Azerbaijani border and said, “Loss of every soldier
is painful and the Armenian side has given an adequate response to
Azerbaijani provocations.”

“ELITE” SEEDS?

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 15:22:17 – 20/06/2012

Villagers of Ararat Marz of Armenia are facing serious issues. 5000
hectares of grain fields of the region are in a terrible condition.

The grain spikes are too short which will make difficult the reaping.

This is an issue in the whole territory of Armenia, the same situation
is in the other regions.

Last year, the government announced it had imported high quality, elite
seeds from Russia and Ukraine and distributed it to the villagers.

Though the ministry of agriculture says the little yield is due to
the weather conditions, but there are doubts about the quality of
the seeds. Rumors go, the seed was not imported but was local.

HAK MPS PEPPER PRIME MINISTER WITH QUESTIONS AT TODAY’S PARLIAMENTARY HEARING

hetq
13:38, June 20, 2012

Aram Manoukyan, head of the HAK parliamentary faction, appeared to be
in a fighting mood today as he peppered PM Sargsyan with questions
regarding the government’s past track record and upcoming five year
strategy plan.

“It is because of what you have done that 69,000 people have already
flown out of Armenia this year. This is an 18% over 2011, declared
Manoukyan.

The HAK official then rhetorically asked the Prime Minister, “If you
were the president what would you do to a prime minister who questions
whether it isn’t better to let these people leave rather than staying
and creating a critical mass to stage a revolution?”

Prime Minister Sargsyan responded that everyone knows when the exodus
started and that more people left in the years 1990-1995 than now.

Sargsyan added that the 2009 financial crisis also spurred emigration
from the country and that job creation was of paramount importance
in stemming the outflow.

The government head noted that the quote mentioned by Manoukyan had
been incorrectly transcribed by the 168 Zham newspaper and that the
publication had issued a retraction.

PREMIER “RETURNED” ARAM MANUKYAN’S QUESTION ON EMIGRATION

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 13:10:47 – 20/06/2012

During the discussion of the program of the government in the
National Assembly, secretary of the Armenian National Congress
parliamentary group, head of ANM board, Aram Manukyan, said that
though the program of the government dwells on the prevention of the
emigration, the government has not yet released the official data on
the unimaginable scale of emigration – more than 65.000 people leave
the country annually.

He also recalled Tigran Sargsyan words, who wondered what they need
to do, to let the dissatisfied people stay in the country and carry
out a revolution. “What would you do with such a premier?” asked
Aram Manukyan.

Tigran Sargsyan responded that the main emigration took place in
’90s when more than 1 million people left the country, hinting to
the period of rule of the ANM. The prime minister said that they are
creating jobs to solve the social issues.

NO ONE BANS IMPORTS OF SUGAR AND PETROL INTO ARMENIA – PM

news.am
June 20, 2012 | 15:14

YEREVAN. – No one can restrict the imports of various goods into
Armenia, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said in parliament in response
to question of the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) MP
Nikol Pashinyan.

Pashinyan asked whether any Armenian can afford importing sugar,
petrol or oil without obstacles. Premier responded that if any importer
faces any artificial obstacles in carrying out his/her job in Armenia,
the issue will be immediately investigated by the State Commission
for Protection of Economic Competition.

“However, the Government cannot and should not take a course on
artificial increase in the number of entities in a particular market.
The number of importers should not be large, otherwise it may lead
to lower profits,” PM stressed.

ARMENIAN PM DOES NOT MOTIVATE PEOPLE TO LEAVE COUNTRY

news.am
June 20, 2012 | 14:57

YEREVAN. – The Government does not ‘plan conspiracy plots’ for
the people to leave the country, Armenian PM Tigran Sargsyan said
responding to the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) MP Aram
Manukyan. The latter claims over 69,000 Armenians left the state since
the beginning of this year, while the number may achieve 150,000 at
the end of the year.

The greatest waves of migration occurred in 1990-95, when over
1.5 people left the state and the current ANC representatives were
in office.

“As a matter of fact, migration volumes started to decrease parallel
to the increase of economic growth. However, the 2009 crisis had a
negative impact on stimulating the migration,” PM said adding they
do work out projects on how to establish new jobs and secure people’s
proper life standards.

However, there are problems and defaults to yet overcome and if there
are more effective steps to take, authorities are ready to consider
them as well.

TURKISH GOVERNMENT TO FORM ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AUTHORITY
Murat Bardakci

A man holds a candle during a religious service marking the anniversary
of mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 at an
Armenian church in Tbilisi April 24, 2012. (photo by REUTERS/David
Mdzinarishvili )

The office of the Turkish prime minister has made a crucial break from
all past approaches to the issue of the Armenian genocide. From now
on, one single authority will be tasked with dealing with all claims
related to genocide.

The Turkish government has decided on the formation of a single
institutional body to deal with all claims related to the Armenian
genocide issue. This is a step forward, writes Murat Bardakci – if
the body focuses on defending Turkey’s actions in 1915 to a world
audience, and avoids publishing ineffective material aimed only at
the Turkish In Turkey, there are currently a variety of institutions,
centers and offices that deal with Armenian claims, including the
Armenian desk in the Turkish Historical Society, certain departments
within the General Staff, universities, foundations and many others.

These institutions have been active for years, issuing a significant
number of publications that all have something bizarre in common: they
address no country but Turkey. That is, they don’t confront the claims
of the Armenian diaspora that is active in all corners of the globe.

Instead, they attempt to influence Turkish public opinion with
claims such as: “These men are lying, don’t believe them. In 1915,
they slaughtered us.”

Result: a huge nothing

And what have we achieved with all of this work so far? A huge
nothing. The Armenian diaspora has been effective in its activities in
European and US research centers and universities. They have produced
work of professional quality, including a number of attractive
publications and hundreds of well-designed websites.

Because most of our publications address only our own people and
do little more than promote ourselves to ourselves, nobody really
cares about them abroad. The work being done our universities and
organizations is not taken seriously, as they merely follow the
state’s line of “we didn’t do it, they did.”

Nobody reads the leaflets and books that our embassies try to
distribute, as they are written in the boring propagandistic style of
the 1960s. Even if somebody were to read these leaflets, nobody would
understand them given that nothing is said about what actually happened
in 1915. They consist of unnecessary, long-winded and obscure defenses.

This is why the prime minister’s office’s decision to unite all
activities related to the Armenian issue under one authority is a
very important move – albeit a late one.

Let us not forget that over the next three years, the Armenian issue
and the claims of the diaspora against Turkey will change significantly
and take on a different perspective. The diaspora has spent years
preparing from the 100th anniversary of the deportations that took
place in April 1915. A number of widely diverse activities are being
planned, especially in the diplomatic arena. They will work hard to
push the United States and many other countries to acknowledge that the
events of 1915 amounted to genocide, and they will most likely succeed.

Finally, we noticed

The office of the prime minister’s decision to create a single
authority means that we have finally noticed the Armenian preparations
for this date. The biggest impediment this new authority will have
to overcome is the “more royalist than the king” mentality it will
encounter along the way.

We don’t have a single publication that is taken seriously in academic
circles abroad. The prevailing mentality whereby we brag about
ourselves and hold fast to the mindset of “we didn’t do it, they did”
– and worse, our inability to understand the disgrace of reducing
the events of 1915 to counting corpses – must be abandoned. If not,
Turkey’s headaches over the next three years will be much more painful
than ever before.

ARMENIAN DEMOCRATS CALL FOR RECOGNIZING LEGITIMACY OF KARABKH

tert.am
20.06.12

The Democratic Party of Armenia has called upon the National Assembly
to recognize the legitimacy of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).

It is particularly seeking for legislative measures to declare that
the process of the country’s formation complies with the norms and
principles of international law.

Speaking to reporters after the National Assembly’s ad hoc session
on Wednesday, the leader of the party, Aram Sargsyan, said that they
had elaborated a bill which will be soon distributed among all the
political factions represented in parliament.

“This does not imply we recognize the NKR independence because we have
the December 1, 1989 decision on the reunification of Karabakh and the
Republic of Armenia. What we want is to underline the legitimacy of
the republic’s formation. With this, we will make one step in return
for hundreds of others by Azerbaijan, and try to defend our interests,”
he said, adding that the party is against the recognition of Karabakh.

In the meantime, Sargsyan stressed the importance of conducting
a referendum in the country to decide whether it is uniting with
Armenia or maintaining its current status.

The Democratic Party intends to submit its plan to NGO’s and political
organizations and conduct public hearings to enable interested parties
to debate the issue and voice their opinions.

U.S., ISRAEL DEVELOPED FLAME COMPUTER VIRUS TO SLOW IRANIAN NUCLEAR EFFORTS: THE WASHINGTON POST

ARMENPRESS
20 June, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 20, ARMENPRESS: The United States and Israel jointly
developed a sophisticated computer virus nicknamed Flame that collected
intelligence in preparation for cyber-sabotage aimed at slowing Iran’s
ability to develop a nuclear weapon, The Washington Post cites Western
officials with knowledge of the effort, Armenpress reports.

The massive piece of malware secretly mapped and monitored Iran’s
computer networks, sending back a steady stream of intelligence to
prepare for a cyber¬warfare campaign, according to the officials.

The effort, involving the National Security Agency, the CIA and
Israel’s military, has included the use of destructive software such as
the Stuxnet virus to cause malfunctions in Iran’s nuclear-enrichment
equipment. The emerging details about Flame provide new clues to
what is thought to be the first sustained campaign of cyber-sabotage
against an adversary of the United States.

“This is about preparing the battlefield for another type of covert
action,” said one former high-ranking U.S. intelligence official,
who added that Flame and Stuxnet were elements of a broader assault
that continues today. “Cyber-collection against the Iranian program
is way further down the road than this.” Flame came to light last
month after Iran detected a series of cyberattacks on its oil industry.

The disruption was directed by Israel in a unilateral operation that
apparently caught its American partners off guard, according to several
U.S. and Western officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

OLIGARCH’S CASINO AND HIGH TECHNOLOGIES
Hayk Aramyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 12:22:27 – 19/06/2012

In Armenia, the U.S. Ambassador John Heffern said that he sees a
big potential in Armenia in four directions – high technologies and
telecommunications, processing industry, pharmacology and tourism. He
noted that the state could invest in these spheres pointing out
the importance of competition for the development of the small and
midsize businesses.

It seems that this is a simple prescription for Armenia thanks to
which the country can ensure economic growth, well-being and open
jobs. Besides, these are those spheres the development of which will
enable to change the economic structure and business environment
of Armenia.

It seems nothing hinders taking into account also the willingness of
the West to invest in these spheres. It seems the Armenian government
should cling to such a possibility. There is no ground or reason to
refuse such a prospect.

But, we deal with a reality, which may not allow such developments.

Sure, it does not fit into the human logic but the realities in
Armenia are out of any logic, more, they act against it.

The economic-political system of Armenia with its essence and logic is
against such prospect. The system and the relations, which suppose
quoted monopolies, tax and customs privileges for some groups,
corruption etc. need to change for the development of those spheres.

Besides, the “owners” of these privileges and quotas are MPs of the
National Assembly and ministers, whose activities are directed to the
preservation of the system. They won’t benefit from free competition,
equal starting positions and tax and customs possibilities.

In such conditions, the prospect of new, technological production
is foggy. Instead, the traditional Armenian economy – the anti-human
mining industry, restaurants, whorehouse and casinos are prospering,
where the local “businessmen” are having fun and beating people from
time to time.

How can a citizen of Armenia understand that a bypass from Zvartnots
Airport to Yerevan can’t be built only because Shmays (Republican MP
Arakel Movsisyan, oligarch) and other people who have casinos on the
airport-Yerevan road will be harmed? Coming to Armenia and having to
pass that road to arrive to Yerevan, even the most optimistic investor
will lose any wish to do business here. Since many “shmayses” and their
personal interests are standing on the road of development of Armenia.