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ARMENIAN FOOTBALL AND THE ARMENIAN "POLITICAL" THOUGHT
Lragir.am
13 July 06
The eighteenth World Cup ended and excitement ended as well, making
us think anew about Armenian football. It is known that football is
a serious tool for great political moves all over the world except
in independent Armenia, where political and public figures are busy
with filling their pockets with money rather than doing politics. The
most vivid example - the team Lernayin Artsakh of Hayk Football Club
was left out of the Premier League in 2005.
In order to understand the point it is necessary to go through the
history of this club. The club started in 1992, after the independence
of Armenia, first known as Karabakh, and organized games under
the missiles and bullets of the foe to bolster up morale among the
Armenians of Karabakh, which the present criminal political leaders
fail to do. Several years later they renamed the team Artsakh which
won its place in Armenian football. And in 2001 on the proposal of
the president and prime minister of NKR a shareholder of the famous
watch company Franck Muller Vardan Sirmakes and Armenian American
Hrach Kaprielian became the owners of the club. Almost in the same
period these two "benefactors" received Ararat FC and Dzoraghbyur
Sport Base belonging to this club since Soviet times for 50 years
to reconstuct (this will be dwelled on separately). The odyssey of
these two glorious clubs began. Problems started when these two
"benefactors" decided that independent Armenia does not need a
national team, and all Armenians need is a club named Ararat. As
a result of this "bright" idea these two clubs were twice left
out of the championship of Armenia. Eventually, they put an end to
Karabakh football by giving the sport complex of Stepanakert to these
"benefactors" for 500 thousand U.S. dollars in 2005 for reconstruction
(by the way, Robert Kocharyan was against this deal, but one of the
influential ministers of Armenia and NKR Prime Minister Anoushavan
Danielyan met with him and persuaded Robert Kocahryan), but nothing
was reconstructed. Moreover, the space to the left of the government
of Karabakh in Stepanakert, where the office of Artsakhbank was located
(these two "benefactors" are the main shareholders of the bank), almost
a hectare of land, was given to these two to build a business center,
and since the leadership has been "fed" by Artsakhbank since long,
they overlooked the fact that no investments were made.
Anyway, on the eve of the parliamentary election in 2005 construction
in the stadium of Stepanakert began on Arkady Ghukasyan's request. They
brought a lifting crane, started ripping off wooden benches. After
the election the "activity" of the sole lifting crane was stopped.
Presently the sport complex is in ruins, and a lifting crane continues
digging because Ghukasyan and Danielyan are eager to become president
and prime minister again.
And we keep complaining that the population of Armenia and Karabakh is
declining every year, there is no confidence in our own government,
and the money donated to Armenia Foundation is becoming less. Why
are we complaining all the time that no investments are made in the
economies of Armenia and Karabakh if such "investors" are invited?
VARDAN GABRIELYAN
Lragir.am
13 July 06
The eighteenth World Cup ended and excitement ended as well, making
us think anew about Armenian football. It is known that football is
a serious tool for great political moves all over the world except
in independent Armenia, where political and public figures are busy
with filling their pockets with money rather than doing politics. The
most vivid example - the team Lernayin Artsakh of Hayk Football Club
was left out of the Premier League in 2005.
In order to understand the point it is necessary to go through the
history of this club. The club started in 1992, after the independence
of Armenia, first known as Karabakh, and organized games under
the missiles and bullets of the foe to bolster up morale among the
Armenians of Karabakh, which the present criminal political leaders
fail to do. Several years later they renamed the team Artsakh which
won its place in Armenian football. And in 2001 on the proposal of
the president and prime minister of NKR a shareholder of the famous
watch company Franck Muller Vardan Sirmakes and Armenian American
Hrach Kaprielian became the owners of the club. Almost in the same
period these two "benefactors" received Ararat FC and Dzoraghbyur
Sport Base belonging to this club since Soviet times for 50 years
to reconstuct (this will be dwelled on separately). The odyssey of
these two glorious clubs began. Problems started when these two
"benefactors" decided that independent Armenia does not need a
national team, and all Armenians need is a club named Ararat. As
a result of this "bright" idea these two clubs were twice left
out of the championship of Armenia. Eventually, they put an end to
Karabakh football by giving the sport complex of Stepanakert to these
"benefactors" for 500 thousand U.S. dollars in 2005 for reconstruction
(by the way, Robert Kocharyan was against this deal, but one of the
influential ministers of Armenia and NKR Prime Minister Anoushavan
Danielyan met with him and persuaded Robert Kocahryan), but nothing
was reconstructed. Moreover, the space to the left of the government
of Karabakh in Stepanakert, where the office of Artsakhbank was located
(these two "benefactors" are the main shareholders of the bank), almost
a hectare of land, was given to these two to build a business center,
and since the leadership has been "fed" by Artsakhbank since long,
they overlooked the fact that no investments were made.
Anyway, on the eve of the parliamentary election in 2005 construction
in the stadium of Stepanakert began on Arkady Ghukasyan's request. They
brought a lifting crane, started ripping off wooden benches. After
the election the "activity" of the sole lifting crane was stopped.
Presently the sport complex is in ruins, and a lifting crane continues
digging because Ghukasyan and Danielyan are eager to become president
and prime minister again.
And we keep complaining that the population of Armenia and Karabakh is
declining every year, there is no confidence in our own government,
and the money donated to Armenia Foundation is becoming less. Why
are we complaining all the time that no investments are made in the
economies of Armenia and Karabakh if such "investors" are invited?
VARDAN GABRIELYAN