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September 11, 2009
1. Party split: Expelled Heritage member comments on colleagues'
activities
2. Something to feel good about?: Armenia viewed as better for Doing
Business & `efficiency-driven'
3. 03/01 Report Due Soon: But Nikoyan probe says some questions
remain unanswered
4. Dangerous Game or Good Diplomacy?: Political debate on
Armenia-Turkey protocols continues
5. Global Crisis and Tourism: Armenian officials claim growth,
specialists say slump in business
6. Armenia-Turkey: Armenian Parliament is preparing for hearings
of the protocol on normalization of bilateral relation between the two
countries
7. Sport: Armenia wants to host (Jr.) Olympics?
1. Party split: Expelled Heritage member comments on colleagues' activities
By Georg Khachaturyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Expelled member of the opposition Heritage Party, former deputy chairman of
the Party Movses Aristakesyan, at a meeting with journalists Friday,
announced that he cannot answer the question as to who exactly is to blame
for the inner Party split - external or internal forces.
(Aristakisyan is next in line to succeed Heritage Party founder Raffi
Hovannisian as MP after the latter gave up his parliamentary mandate earlier
this week.)
Aristakesyan said that the party itself often had contradictory viewpoints
on Hovannisian's approach to party politics.
`As the head of the Party, he was supposed to be more decisive,'
Aristakesyan said.
The Heritage board met on Wednesday evening to discus Aristakesyan's as well
as political secretary Vardan Khachatryan's and representative of the Party
to the Central Electoral Commission Zoya Tedavosyan's `undermining
activities' within the Party.
Aristakesyan also said that according to the Party regulations, while making
decisions concerning separate members of the Party, the board must inform
those people about it. The board was supposed to inform the three expelled
members of the Party about the decision made concerning them in a written
form, and only then, in if they did not appear, could they make a decision
in their absence.
Aristakesyan said that still in August he and several members of the Party
turned to the board asking for a meeting to be called in order to get
clarification concerning some issues. Besides, it was planned to discuss the
claims of nine members of the Party concerning the election of the chairman
of the Heritage Party Armen Martirosyan, whom the expelled members accuse of
rigging the party vote during the July 2008 election of the Heritage
governing body.
Aristakesyan said that they demanded a report about 23 business trips of
party members' (MPs from the Heritage faction) and Martirosyan refused to
submit such a report, moreover, he refused to do so for the eighth time.
`If the problem is not solved on the inner party level, we intend to turn to
the Minister of Justice of Armenia,' Aristakesyan said.
2. Something to feel good about?: Armenia viewed as better for Doing
Business & `efficiency-driven'
By Karine Ionesyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Two international reports released this week have indicated that Armenia has
improved as an environment for doing business and reached a qualitatively
new stage in its global competitiveness - a rare positive development amid
falling economic indicators and a pessimistic outlook in Armenia.
The Doing Business 2010 report of the International Finance Corporation and
the World Bank released on Tuesday ranks Armenia 43rd among 183 reviewed
economies by the overall ease of doing business in the country, which is an
improvement over last year's 50th position. Armenia's regional neighbors
Azerbaijan and Georgia are ranked 38th and 11th respectively, a circumstance
that in particular led Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to publicly
boast of his country having moved to the `highest league of the world
championship in doing business.'
According to the World Bank press release, progress in Armenia is
conditioned by reforms in three major areas - establishing businesses,
obtaining loan information and cross-border trade.
Economist Andranik Tevanyan, however, says despite improvement in obtaining
loan information noticed by the World Bank, loans themselves remain hard to
get.
`Yes, banks today work transparently and provide loans at certain interest
rates. But are these loans accessible for ordinary people? This is already
disputable, since in reality interest rates are high and a loan is not
affordable,' says Tevanyan, head of the Politeconomia Research Center.
The other major report on Armenia released this week was the Global
Competitiveness Report 2009-10 of the Geneva-based World Economic Forum
(WEF). The report shows Armenia as retaining its previous Global
Competitiveness Index and ranking of 97th among 133 reviewed economies. It
also shows Armenia completing its move from the group of countries rated as
`factor-driven' economies to the group of countries with `efficiency-driven'
economies.
According to the authors of the report, Azerbaijan, which has a higher Gross
Domestic Product and is ranked 51st according to its global competitiveness,
is still behind Armenia in terms of competitiveness quality, or its stage of
development, as mineral resources make up to 98 percent of Azerbaijan's
exports.
`In order to strengthen our positions and get to the next group of
`innovation-driven economies', Armenia needs to improve the efficiency
of
goods markets, technological readiness, as well as business environment,
anti-monopoly policy and innovation activities,' said Manuk Hergnyan, head
of the Yerevan-based Economy and Values research center, a WEF partner
institute in preparing the report. `The current economic crisis conditions
create more favorable conditions for creating motivations to take serious
steps in this direction.'
Hergnyan believes this drastic change is necessary because the Armenian
economy is currently on the decline because of dwindling private cash
remittances and shrinking housing construction.
And in Tevanyan's opinion, the most essential here is to follow an
anti-monopoly policy. He says his research center has a draft project on how
to implement this in practice and is going to submit it to the National
Assembly for discussion soon.
`Today we need a competitive economic system, accessible and long-term loans
and corresponding legislation,' concludes Tevanyan.
3. 03/01 Report Due Soon: But Nikoyan probe says some questions remain
unanswered
By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow reporter
The National Assembly's Ad Hoc Commission that has conducted a probe into
the 2008 deadly post-election clashes for more than a year will present its
summary conclusions during the first week of the parliament's autumn session
that starts Monday. But the commission led by the Republican Vice-Speaker of
Parliament Samvel Nikoyan says questions on `a number of circumstances of
deaths' remain unanswered.
Ten people, among them eight civilians, were killed and more than 200
injured in Armenia's worst violence that followed ten days of street
demonstrations by the supporters of opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan
protesting the official outcome of the February presidential election. The
opposition accused the government of using lethal force against unarmed
protesters and continues to hold it responsible for the death.
A probe into the causes and circumstances of the clashes was launched in the
Armenian parliament in June 2008. Yet, the chairman of the commission
conducting the parliamentary inquiry says no answer has yet been found to
the question of `in consequence of whose actions people were killed.'
Representative of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) in
the commission Artsvik Minasyan blames the investigation body for failing to
establish the circumstances of the deaths.
`The commission's evaluation in the matter of the clarification of the
circumstances of the deaths is 99 percent dependable on the behavior of the
investigation body. And if this body has not shown necessary professionalism
or will, the only thing the commission can do is to state that we have
failed to clarify it,' says Minasyan. `As a commission member, I evaluate
the work of the investigation body as unsatisfactory.'
Opposition member of the commission Aram Karapetyan thinks that the March 1
crimes will be fully revealed only after a change of leadership in Armenia.
`The commission has failed to provide answers to several important
questions. Such as: who ordered to shoot at people, whether the actions were
coordinated through specially set-up headquarters at [President] Robert
Kocharyan's, who were the members of those headquarters and did the gangs of
oligarchs take part in the March 1 slaughter?' says Karapetyan, the leader
of the opposition New Times party.
The main opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) alliance has alleged
that a total of 950 sets of military outfit were issued to five senior
officials and four members of parliament from the Defense Ministry
warehouses on March 1, 2008. Those, the opposition claims, were worn by
their own bodyguards and security personnel during the suppression of the
opposition demonstrations.
Three members of the parliament's Ad Hoc Commission, including United Labor
Party Gurgen Arsenyan, Dashnaktsutyun parliamentary faction secretary
Arshaluys Shahbazyan and head of the National Accord party Aram Harutyunyan
visited the mentioned premises of the Defense Ministry to check the veracity
of the information earlier this week.
`We established as a result of our inspections that there was no transfer of
property at the Defense Ministry on March 1, 2008. Only towels were issued
on February 24 and beds on March 4. We have checked all registers,
instructions and photocopied them,' said Arsenyan.
Saying that logically such things would have been done without
documentation, Karapetyan, however, added: `It is always a case during
bloody deals that everything is done in writing so that those involved will
not deny involvement later.' He said that the Defense Ministry might have
simply withheld the information from the visiting commission members.
Commission chairman Nikoyan said, however, that the questions raised in the
reports by the opposition members of the disbanded Fact-Finding Group of
Experts, including the claims about the `illegal issuance of uniforms'
will
also be incorporated in the final report due to be published next week.
4. Dangerous Game or Good Diplomacy?: Political debate on Armenia-Turkey
protocols continues
By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow reporter
Political discussions continue on the draft protocols on establishing ties
and developing bilateral relations between Armenia and Turkey, nearly two
weeks after their publication. Opinions, as expected, are split and
typically reflect political party persuasions.
Aram Karapetyan, who leads the extra-parliamentary opposition New Times
party, thinks with the current Armenian-Turkish relations President Serzh
Sargsyan has trammeled Armenia into a `dangerous, complex and cruel game.'
Karapetyan said at a press conference Thursday that Armenia should have
launched its relations with Turkey with a precondition that the latter
recognizes the Ottoman-era killings and deportations of more than 1.5
million Armenians as genocide.
`Why? The policy in the past ten years conducted by [former president]
Robert Kocharyan and [his foreign minister] Vardan Oskanian, the main
purpose of which was the recognition of the Armenian Genocide at
international instances, has been totally left aside today,' said
Karapetyan. `What does an unconditional Armenian-Turkish rapprochement
mean?'
The leader of the opposition party finds it strange that one nation can
slaughter another and that victim nation should have no pre-condition.
Furthermore, Karapetyan believes that Armenia should achieve a genuine
separation of the Karabakh settlement from normalization with Turkey.
Meanwhile, the Orinats Yerkir party, a junior partner in the Republican
Party-led governing coalition, sees no snags in the protocols on
establishing diplomatic ties and developing bilateral relations unveiled by
Yerevan and Ankara on August 31.
Heghine Bisharyan, who leads the Orinats Yerkir faction in parliament, does
not share the views and concerns of Armenia's nationalist forces, notably
the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, that the published protocols have a
link with Karabakh.
`I see no grounds for this concern. There is no reference to Karabakh
anywhere in the protocol,' she says.
And Tigran Karapetyan, who leads the People's Party, sees a risk for
Karabakh in the protocols.
`There is a point in the protocols by which the parties should contribute to
processes taking place in the region. This way, Turkey gets the right to
intervene in the Karabakh issue,' says Karapetyan.
And New Times' Karapetyan suggests that by increasing Turkey's role in
the
region Armenia will in fact infringe upon the interests of Iran and Georgia.
According to Karapetyan, if the protocols are ratified by the Armenian
parliament, then `this parliament is not Armenian.'
And Orinats Yerkir's Bisharyan said: `All presidents [of Armenia] wanted to
get the border opened. Now a period has come when efforts are successful=85 We
will back the country's president so that he solves this problem and thank
God that the coalition is of this opinion.'
5. Global Crisis and Tourism: Armenian officials claim growth,
specialists say slump in business
Georg Khachatryan
ArmeniaNow reporter
The world financial crisis has affected - not greatly but to some extend
-
the development of tourism in Armenia. Although official numbers speak about
progress in the sphere of tourism in Armenia, experts, on the other hand,
point out a slump.
According to Anahit Papazyan, director of Levon Travel tourist agency, the
effect of the world crisis on tourism in the country will be more tangible
in 2010.
She says that in 2008 a number of booked trips to the South Caucasus and
Armenia in particular were annulled, first because of the March 1 tragic
events in Yerevan and then because of the August war in Georgia.
`It was only a month ago that we started recovering the level we used to
have in 2007, before then we had worked with a loss,' says Papazyan.
She stressed that tourist agencies register in their statistics not only
tourists but also generally visitors to Armenia, including foreign citizens
coming here on business trips.
During the first two quarters of 2009, according to official data, 207,729
tourists visited Armenia (0.1 percent more than during the same period last
year - 207,500).
According to the head of tourism department of Levon Travel David Khachiyan,
more than 700 tourists have visited and will be visiting through their
agency, mostly from the USA, Italy and France. Ninety percent of the
visitors from the States are Diaspora Armenians, whereas their number makes
50 percent among those coming from France.
As Khachiyan says, the average cost of travel packages in Armenia, including
accommodation (hotels), meals and one-day or multi-day sightseeing
tours, makes
about $100-$150 per day per person.
Armen Hakobyan, representative of the Armenian Hotel Association, shares the
opinion that the global crisis has had its negative effects on the
development of tourism in Armenia.
According to him, another problem emerged in 2009, because of the budget
reduction of many Armenian families many of them could not afford spending
their vacation at resorts in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.
As for travel services, he says, the prices have not dropped. Hakobyan also
pointed out that tourism is among the rare spheres where there is no
monopoly and hotel owners can set their own tariffs for their service.
He says that many construction projects in this sphere are frozen with no
investments expected in the nearest future.
Mekhak Apresyan, head of the department for Tourism and Regional Economic
Development at the RA Ministry of Economy, says there are a number of
objective factors due to which there is no decline in the tourism sphere and
Diaspora is one of them.
`Diaspora has always had a special input in the development of tourism in
our country as well as the economy in general,' says Apresyan, adding that
this factor is especially tangible in the current circumstances of economic
crisis.
Apresyan says that the majority of visitors belong to senior age-group with
established preferences which, he thinks, cannot be affected by the crisis.
6. Armenia-Turkey: Armenian Parliament is preparing for hearings of the
protocol on normalization of bilateral relation between the two countries
Analysis by Aris Ghazinyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Last week the Heritage Party opposition faction submitted to the NA Standing
Committee on Foreign Relations an initiative on holding a referendum on
Armenia's adoption of the protocols envisaging normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations.
`This initiative was born with a consideration that the issue of
Armenian-Turkish relations is of vital importance for Armenia and it is for
such cases that the law on referendums has been recently passed. It's time
to apply that law,' stated MP Larisa Alaverdyan.
It should be noted that in the evening of August 31 the Foreign Ministries
of Armenia, Turkey and the Federal Department on Foreign Affairs of
Switzerland reported the beginning of bilateral political consultations on
the two protocols initialed with Switzerland's mediation - `Protocol
on the
Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Two Countries' and
`Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations'.
The parliament hearings will be held before October 14 according to the set
timeframe of six weeks which coincides with Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan's scheduled visit to Turkey.
Some political analysts and politicians think that the protocols have a
number of unacceptable formulations and phrases from the viewpoint of
Armenia's interests.
Vahan Hovhannisyan, member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Dashnaktsutyun (ARF) Bureau, stated that Dashnaktsutyun had never spoken
against the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border, however, they are not
happy with the price the Armenian authorities are ready to pay for it to be
achieved.
`Protocols providing for taking steps aimed at reconciling Armenia and
Turkey have to be reconsidered, because the way they are now is
unacceptable.'
One of the regulations in the protocol says: `Confirming again bilateral
and
multi-lateral obligations of equal rights, sovereignty, non-intervention in
other countries' domestic affairs, recognition of territorial integrity of
states and stability of state borders, the parties=85 '.
`It is quite obvious that the `other countries' implies first of all
Azerbaijan, and the phrase `non-intervention in other countries' domestic
affairs' refers to the Nagorno Karabakh issue exactly as Azerbaijan's
`domestic' affair,' points out Moscow political analyst Samvel Nazaryan.
`The Armenian authorities can say whatever they want and however they want,
but there is no other interpretation. The sited regulation unambiguously
localizes the most important issue of today's history of Armenia within the
state borders of Azerbaijan making it that country's `domestic affair''.
Azerbaijani mass media have rushed to announce that there is the prospect of
official Baku submitting a draft resolution on the respect of Azerbaijan's
territorial integrity on the basis of the Armenian-Turkish protocol to the
UN General Assembly.
`Taking into account the international euphoria in reference to this
document and the not less euphoric state of the Armenian authorities, there
is little doubt that Azerbaijan's resolution draft would be passed,' says
Nazaryan.
Another point in the controversial protocol completes the above mentioned
one: `Confirming mutual recognition of the common border between the two
countries based on the corresponding international-legal agreements=85'
`This regulation means that the Armenian authorities are officially
renouncing any territorial claims, depriving future presidents of Armenia of
international-legal grounds to raise this issue in the perspective,' says
political analyst Garegin Gabriyelyan, head of the Keni Center.
The Armenian-Turkish border, in reality, amounts to not only space but time
as well. It is not simply a couple of hundred kilometers dividing one part
of historic Armenia from the other, it is several alternating centuries
during which many different monstrous acts have been carried out against the
Armenian population, among which is the Armenian Genocide. It was during the
Genocide that the length and contours of the current `Armenian-Turkish'
border were drawn.
`Hence, to speak about recognizing the current border means signing a
complete and unconditional capitulation of the Armenian cause, and agreeing
with the Turkish that `the events of the early 20th century had no
consequences for the Armenians,' stresses Gabriyelyan.
Member of Parliament of Nagorno Karabakh Maxim Mirzoyan, while speaking
about the process of settling the Armenian-Turkish relations, stated:
`I do not think that the Armenian-Turkish relations can be successfully
settled. In any case, like it or not, Turkey is our neighbor and we have
unsettled issues with it, and until they are called to account for what they
did, we have no right to build any relations with Turkey.'
Representatives of the Armenian authorities have made statements on this
issue as well.
`If the protocols on establishing relations initialed by Ankara and Yerevan
are not in Armenia's interests, people will protest and start rallying,'
says Galust Sahakyan, deputy chairman of the ruling Republican Party of
Armenia.
7. Sport: Armenia wants to host (Jr.) Olympics?
By Suren Musayelyan
Olympics
Meeting International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge in
Switzerland on Monday, Gagik Tsarukyan, the President of the National
Olympic Committee of Armenia (NOCA), expressed Armenia's desire to host the
third Junior Olympic Games in 2018.
According to a NOCA report (www.armnoc.am), Tsarukyan also offered the IOC
and the European Olympic Committee to hold meetings of the executive
committees in Armenia where `there are all corresponding conditions for
that.' The NOCA president also stressed that Armenia has all necessary sport
settings for `competitions of any scale.'
IOC President Rogge reportedly praised Armenia's efforts in developing
sports and said he was aware of large international competitions that
Armenia has hosted. Rogge also said that cooperation between the IOC and the
NOCA will gradually strengthen, which will `enliven sport life in Armenia.'
(Source: www.armnoc.am)
Judo
The European junior judo championships opened in Yerevan on Friday, with the
official weigh-in of athletes, preliminary fights and finals in three out of
eight weight categories.
Around 400 athletes from 40 countries of Europe are participating in the
championships. Armenia is represented by eight male athletes competing in
all weight divisions, and six female athletes competing in five out of
eight divisions.
The championships to be held through September 13 are also being attended by
participants from Azerbaijan - the first Azeri athletes to visit independent
Armenia. Armenian authorities had provided security guarantees to the Azeri
athletes and delegation members while they were in the Armenian capital.
In a recent media interview Armenian Judo Federation President Alexan
Avetisyan said he expected tough competition for medals at the Yerevan
championships. At the same time, he said he hoped for several medals to be
won by Armenian sportsmen.
Soccer
Armenia have improved the record in the current FIFA World Cup 2010
qualifying campaign after beating Belgium in Yerevan 2-1 on Wednesday. The
latest victory still leaves Armenia in the bottom position of the six-nation
group with only four points in eight games. Armenia have got a real chance
to catch up with and outstrip currently fifth-placed Estonia (5 points) in
the two remaining games - against reigning European champion Spain in
Yerevan on October 10 and Euro-2008 semifinalist Turkey in Bursa on October
14.
`I notice a qualitative change in the play of the Armenian team. Our team
has a potential. One should believe in their own strength and be
self-confident,' said Armenia head coach Vardan Minasyan of the team's
performance as he spoke at a press conference after the match. Meanwhile,
Bosnia-Herzegovina took another major step towards finishing second in the
group, next to Spain, and hope for winning qualification through a playoff.
On Wednesday, the Balkan outfit held their main rival Turkey to a 1-1 draw
at home and still have a four-point advantage with only two rounds to go.
Boxing
Three Armenian boxers reached quarterfinals at the continuing AIBA world
championships in Milan, Italy. Andranik Hakobyan (75 kg), Azat Hovhannisyan
(57 kg) and
Hovhannes Danielyan (48 kg) held their fights on Wednesday. Only Hakobyan,
however, managed to beat his opponent to reach the semifinal and secure at
least a bronze medal for his team.
Six other Armenian boxers in the rest weight divisions were beaten by
opponents at earlier staged.
For complete information on the championships, see the official website at
www.aiba.org
Chess
Armenian women's national team (including Elina Danielyan, Lilit Lazarian,
Lilit Galoyan, Nelli Aghinyan, Siranush Andriasyan, coach - Arsen
Yeghiazaryan) haveg been taking part in the world team championships held in
Ningbo, China, September 1-12. The other participants of the championship
are the national teams of China (1st and 2nd), Georgia, India, Poland,
Russia, Ukraine, the USA, and Vietnam. Before the last round of the
championships, Armenia is in the fourth position, with 17 points, behind
Russia, Ukraine and China.
Meanwhile, Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronyan has good chances to become the
winner of a four-man two-round Grand Slam Masters Final being in Bilbao,
Spain, September 5-12. His opponents are Alexander Grischuk (Russia), Sergey
Karyakin (Ukraine), Alexei Shirov (Spain).
After the fourth-round victory over Grischuk Aronyan has nine points (3
points are appointed for a win according to this tournament's regulations),
with one defeat and three victors. With two more games to play, Aronyan is
in clear first place with a 3-point advantage over the Russian.
(More information is available here
http://www.bilbaofinalmasters.com/2009/en_ind ex.asp)
Administration Address: 26 Parpetsi St., No 9
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d="scan'208";a="194287487"
X-L istprocessor-Version: 8.1 -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN
Phone: +(374 1) 532422
Email: [email protected]
Internet: www.armenianow.com
Technical Assistance: (For technical assistance please contact Babken
Juharyan)
Email: [email protected]
September 11, 2009
1. Party split: Expelled Heritage member comments on colleagues'
activities
2. Something to feel good about?: Armenia viewed as better for Doing
Business & `efficiency-driven'
3. 03/01 Report Due Soon: But Nikoyan probe says some questions
remain unanswered
4. Dangerous Game or Good Diplomacy?: Political debate on
Armenia-Turkey protocols continues
5. Global Crisis and Tourism: Armenian officials claim growth,
specialists say slump in business
6. Armenia-Turkey: Armenian Parliament is preparing for hearings
of the protocol on normalization of bilateral relation between the two
countries
7. Sport: Armenia wants to host (Jr.) Olympics?
1. Party split: Expelled Heritage member comments on colleagues' activities
By Georg Khachaturyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Expelled member of the opposition Heritage Party, former deputy chairman of
the Party Movses Aristakesyan, at a meeting with journalists Friday,
announced that he cannot answer the question as to who exactly is to blame
for the inner Party split - external or internal forces.
(Aristakisyan is next in line to succeed Heritage Party founder Raffi
Hovannisian as MP after the latter gave up his parliamentary mandate earlier
this week.)
Aristakesyan said that the party itself often had contradictory viewpoints
on Hovannisian's approach to party politics.
`As the head of the Party, he was supposed to be more decisive,'
Aristakesyan said.
The Heritage board met on Wednesday evening to discus Aristakesyan's as well
as political secretary Vardan Khachatryan's and representative of the Party
to the Central Electoral Commission Zoya Tedavosyan's `undermining
activities' within the Party.
Aristakesyan also said that according to the Party regulations, while making
decisions concerning separate members of the Party, the board must inform
those people about it. The board was supposed to inform the three expelled
members of the Party about the decision made concerning them in a written
form, and only then, in if they did not appear, could they make a decision
in their absence.
Aristakesyan said that still in August he and several members of the Party
turned to the board asking for a meeting to be called in order to get
clarification concerning some issues. Besides, it was planned to discuss the
claims of nine members of the Party concerning the election of the chairman
of the Heritage Party Armen Martirosyan, whom the expelled members accuse of
rigging the party vote during the July 2008 election of the Heritage
governing body.
Aristakesyan said that they demanded a report about 23 business trips of
party members' (MPs from the Heritage faction) and Martirosyan refused to
submit such a report, moreover, he refused to do so for the eighth time.
`If the problem is not solved on the inner party level, we intend to turn to
the Minister of Justice of Armenia,' Aristakesyan said.
2. Something to feel good about?: Armenia viewed as better for Doing
Business & `efficiency-driven'
By Karine Ionesyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Two international reports released this week have indicated that Armenia has
improved as an environment for doing business and reached a qualitatively
new stage in its global competitiveness - a rare positive development amid
falling economic indicators and a pessimistic outlook in Armenia.
The Doing Business 2010 report of the International Finance Corporation and
the World Bank released on Tuesday ranks Armenia 43rd among 183 reviewed
economies by the overall ease of doing business in the country, which is an
improvement over last year's 50th position. Armenia's regional neighbors
Azerbaijan and Georgia are ranked 38th and 11th respectively, a circumstance
that in particular led Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to publicly
boast of his country having moved to the `highest league of the world
championship in doing business.'
According to the World Bank press release, progress in Armenia is
conditioned by reforms in three major areas - establishing businesses,
obtaining loan information and cross-border trade.
Economist Andranik Tevanyan, however, says despite improvement in obtaining
loan information noticed by the World Bank, loans themselves remain hard to
get.
`Yes, banks today work transparently and provide loans at certain interest
rates. But are these loans accessible for ordinary people? This is already
disputable, since in reality interest rates are high and a loan is not
affordable,' says Tevanyan, head of the Politeconomia Research Center.
The other major report on Armenia released this week was the Global
Competitiveness Report 2009-10 of the Geneva-based World Economic Forum
(WEF). The report shows Armenia as retaining its previous Global
Competitiveness Index and ranking of 97th among 133 reviewed economies. It
also shows Armenia completing its move from the group of countries rated as
`factor-driven' economies to the group of countries with `efficiency-driven'
economies.
According to the authors of the report, Azerbaijan, which has a higher Gross
Domestic Product and is ranked 51st according to its global competitiveness,
is still behind Armenia in terms of competitiveness quality, or its stage of
development, as mineral resources make up to 98 percent of Azerbaijan's
exports.
`In order to strengthen our positions and get to the next group of
`innovation-driven economies', Armenia needs to improve the efficiency
of
goods markets, technological readiness, as well as business environment,
anti-monopoly policy and innovation activities,' said Manuk Hergnyan, head
of the Yerevan-based Economy and Values research center, a WEF partner
institute in preparing the report. `The current economic crisis conditions
create more favorable conditions for creating motivations to take serious
steps in this direction.'
Hergnyan believes this drastic change is necessary because the Armenian
economy is currently on the decline because of dwindling private cash
remittances and shrinking housing construction.
And in Tevanyan's opinion, the most essential here is to follow an
anti-monopoly policy. He says his research center has a draft project on how
to implement this in practice and is going to submit it to the National
Assembly for discussion soon.
`Today we need a competitive economic system, accessible and long-term loans
and corresponding legislation,' concludes Tevanyan.
3. 03/01 Report Due Soon: But Nikoyan probe says some questions remain
unanswered
By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow reporter
The National Assembly's Ad Hoc Commission that has conducted a probe into
the 2008 deadly post-election clashes for more than a year will present its
summary conclusions during the first week of the parliament's autumn session
that starts Monday. But the commission led by the Republican Vice-Speaker of
Parliament Samvel Nikoyan says questions on `a number of circumstances of
deaths' remain unanswered.
Ten people, among them eight civilians, were killed and more than 200
injured in Armenia's worst violence that followed ten days of street
demonstrations by the supporters of opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan
protesting the official outcome of the February presidential election. The
opposition accused the government of using lethal force against unarmed
protesters and continues to hold it responsible for the death.
A probe into the causes and circumstances of the clashes was launched in the
Armenian parliament in June 2008. Yet, the chairman of the commission
conducting the parliamentary inquiry says no answer has yet been found to
the question of `in consequence of whose actions people were killed.'
Representative of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) in
the commission Artsvik Minasyan blames the investigation body for failing to
establish the circumstances of the deaths.
`The commission's evaluation in the matter of the clarification of the
circumstances of the deaths is 99 percent dependable on the behavior of the
investigation body. And if this body has not shown necessary professionalism
or will, the only thing the commission can do is to state that we have
failed to clarify it,' says Minasyan. `As a commission member, I evaluate
the work of the investigation body as unsatisfactory.'
Opposition member of the commission Aram Karapetyan thinks that the March 1
crimes will be fully revealed only after a change of leadership in Armenia.
`The commission has failed to provide answers to several important
questions. Such as: who ordered to shoot at people, whether the actions were
coordinated through specially set-up headquarters at [President] Robert
Kocharyan's, who were the members of those headquarters and did the gangs of
oligarchs take part in the March 1 slaughter?' says Karapetyan, the leader
of the opposition New Times party.
The main opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) alliance has alleged
that a total of 950 sets of military outfit were issued to five senior
officials and four members of parliament from the Defense Ministry
warehouses on March 1, 2008. Those, the opposition claims, were worn by
their own bodyguards and security personnel during the suppression of the
opposition demonstrations.
Three members of the parliament's Ad Hoc Commission, including United Labor
Party Gurgen Arsenyan, Dashnaktsutyun parliamentary faction secretary
Arshaluys Shahbazyan and head of the National Accord party Aram Harutyunyan
visited the mentioned premises of the Defense Ministry to check the veracity
of the information earlier this week.
`We established as a result of our inspections that there was no transfer of
property at the Defense Ministry on March 1, 2008. Only towels were issued
on February 24 and beds on March 4. We have checked all registers,
instructions and photocopied them,' said Arsenyan.
Saying that logically such things would have been done without
documentation, Karapetyan, however, added: `It is always a case during
bloody deals that everything is done in writing so that those involved will
not deny involvement later.' He said that the Defense Ministry might have
simply withheld the information from the visiting commission members.
Commission chairman Nikoyan said, however, that the questions raised in the
reports by the opposition members of the disbanded Fact-Finding Group of
Experts, including the claims about the `illegal issuance of uniforms'
will
also be incorporated in the final report due to be published next week.
4. Dangerous Game or Good Diplomacy?: Political debate on Armenia-Turkey
protocols continues
By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow reporter
Political discussions continue on the draft protocols on establishing ties
and developing bilateral relations between Armenia and Turkey, nearly two
weeks after their publication. Opinions, as expected, are split and
typically reflect political party persuasions.
Aram Karapetyan, who leads the extra-parliamentary opposition New Times
party, thinks with the current Armenian-Turkish relations President Serzh
Sargsyan has trammeled Armenia into a `dangerous, complex and cruel game.'
Karapetyan said at a press conference Thursday that Armenia should have
launched its relations with Turkey with a precondition that the latter
recognizes the Ottoman-era killings and deportations of more than 1.5
million Armenians as genocide.
`Why? The policy in the past ten years conducted by [former president]
Robert Kocharyan and [his foreign minister] Vardan Oskanian, the main
purpose of which was the recognition of the Armenian Genocide at
international instances, has been totally left aside today,' said
Karapetyan. `What does an unconditional Armenian-Turkish rapprochement
mean?'
The leader of the opposition party finds it strange that one nation can
slaughter another and that victim nation should have no pre-condition.
Furthermore, Karapetyan believes that Armenia should achieve a genuine
separation of the Karabakh settlement from normalization with Turkey.
Meanwhile, the Orinats Yerkir party, a junior partner in the Republican
Party-led governing coalition, sees no snags in the protocols on
establishing diplomatic ties and developing bilateral relations unveiled by
Yerevan and Ankara on August 31.
Heghine Bisharyan, who leads the Orinats Yerkir faction in parliament, does
not share the views and concerns of Armenia's nationalist forces, notably
the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, that the published protocols have a
link with Karabakh.
`I see no grounds for this concern. There is no reference to Karabakh
anywhere in the protocol,' she says.
And Tigran Karapetyan, who leads the People's Party, sees a risk for
Karabakh in the protocols.
`There is a point in the protocols by which the parties should contribute to
processes taking place in the region. This way, Turkey gets the right to
intervene in the Karabakh issue,' says Karapetyan.
And New Times' Karapetyan suggests that by increasing Turkey's role in
the
region Armenia will in fact infringe upon the interests of Iran and Georgia.
According to Karapetyan, if the protocols are ratified by the Armenian
parliament, then `this parliament is not Armenian.'
And Orinats Yerkir's Bisharyan said: `All presidents [of Armenia] wanted to
get the border opened. Now a period has come when efforts are successful=85 We
will back the country's president so that he solves this problem and thank
God that the coalition is of this opinion.'
5. Global Crisis and Tourism: Armenian officials claim growth,
specialists say slump in business
Georg Khachatryan
ArmeniaNow reporter
The world financial crisis has affected - not greatly but to some extend
-
the development of tourism in Armenia. Although official numbers speak about
progress in the sphere of tourism in Armenia, experts, on the other hand,
point out a slump.
According to Anahit Papazyan, director of Levon Travel tourist agency, the
effect of the world crisis on tourism in the country will be more tangible
in 2010.
She says that in 2008 a number of booked trips to the South Caucasus and
Armenia in particular were annulled, first because of the March 1 tragic
events in Yerevan and then because of the August war in Georgia.
`It was only a month ago that we started recovering the level we used to
have in 2007, before then we had worked with a loss,' says Papazyan.
She stressed that tourist agencies register in their statistics not only
tourists but also generally visitors to Armenia, including foreign citizens
coming here on business trips.
During the first two quarters of 2009, according to official data, 207,729
tourists visited Armenia (0.1 percent more than during the same period last
year - 207,500).
According to the head of tourism department of Levon Travel David Khachiyan,
more than 700 tourists have visited and will be visiting through their
agency, mostly from the USA, Italy and France. Ninety percent of the
visitors from the States are Diaspora Armenians, whereas their number makes
50 percent among those coming from France.
As Khachiyan says, the average cost of travel packages in Armenia, including
accommodation (hotels), meals and one-day or multi-day sightseeing
tours, makes
about $100-$150 per day per person.
Armen Hakobyan, representative of the Armenian Hotel Association, shares the
opinion that the global crisis has had its negative effects on the
development of tourism in Armenia.
According to him, another problem emerged in 2009, because of the budget
reduction of many Armenian families many of them could not afford spending
their vacation at resorts in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.
As for travel services, he says, the prices have not dropped. Hakobyan also
pointed out that tourism is among the rare spheres where there is no
monopoly and hotel owners can set their own tariffs for their service.
He says that many construction projects in this sphere are frozen with no
investments expected in the nearest future.
Mekhak Apresyan, head of the department for Tourism and Regional Economic
Development at the RA Ministry of Economy, says there are a number of
objective factors due to which there is no decline in the tourism sphere and
Diaspora is one of them.
`Diaspora has always had a special input in the development of tourism in
our country as well as the economy in general,' says Apresyan, adding that
this factor is especially tangible in the current circumstances of economic
crisis.
Apresyan says that the majority of visitors belong to senior age-group with
established preferences which, he thinks, cannot be affected by the crisis.
6. Armenia-Turkey: Armenian Parliament is preparing for hearings of the
protocol on normalization of bilateral relation between the two countries
Analysis by Aris Ghazinyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Last week the Heritage Party opposition faction submitted to the NA Standing
Committee on Foreign Relations an initiative on holding a referendum on
Armenia's adoption of the protocols envisaging normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations.
`This initiative was born with a consideration that the issue of
Armenian-Turkish relations is of vital importance for Armenia and it is for
such cases that the law on referendums has been recently passed. It's time
to apply that law,' stated MP Larisa Alaverdyan.
It should be noted that in the evening of August 31 the Foreign Ministries
of Armenia, Turkey and the Federal Department on Foreign Affairs of
Switzerland reported the beginning of bilateral political consultations on
the two protocols initialed with Switzerland's mediation - `Protocol
on the
Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Two Countries' and
`Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations'.
The parliament hearings will be held before October 14 according to the set
timeframe of six weeks which coincides with Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan's scheduled visit to Turkey.
Some political analysts and politicians think that the protocols have a
number of unacceptable formulations and phrases from the viewpoint of
Armenia's interests.
Vahan Hovhannisyan, member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Dashnaktsutyun (ARF) Bureau, stated that Dashnaktsutyun had never spoken
against the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border, however, they are not
happy with the price the Armenian authorities are ready to pay for it to be
achieved.
`Protocols providing for taking steps aimed at reconciling Armenia and
Turkey have to be reconsidered, because the way they are now is
unacceptable.'
One of the regulations in the protocol says: `Confirming again bilateral
and
multi-lateral obligations of equal rights, sovereignty, non-intervention in
other countries' domestic affairs, recognition of territorial integrity of
states and stability of state borders, the parties=85 '.
`It is quite obvious that the `other countries' implies first of all
Azerbaijan, and the phrase `non-intervention in other countries' domestic
affairs' refers to the Nagorno Karabakh issue exactly as Azerbaijan's
`domestic' affair,' points out Moscow political analyst Samvel Nazaryan.
`The Armenian authorities can say whatever they want and however they want,
but there is no other interpretation. The sited regulation unambiguously
localizes the most important issue of today's history of Armenia within the
state borders of Azerbaijan making it that country's `domestic affair''.
Azerbaijani mass media have rushed to announce that there is the prospect of
official Baku submitting a draft resolution on the respect of Azerbaijan's
territorial integrity on the basis of the Armenian-Turkish protocol to the
UN General Assembly.
`Taking into account the international euphoria in reference to this
document and the not less euphoric state of the Armenian authorities, there
is little doubt that Azerbaijan's resolution draft would be passed,' says
Nazaryan.
Another point in the controversial protocol completes the above mentioned
one: `Confirming mutual recognition of the common border between the two
countries based on the corresponding international-legal agreements=85'
`This regulation means that the Armenian authorities are officially
renouncing any territorial claims, depriving future presidents of Armenia of
international-legal grounds to raise this issue in the perspective,' says
political analyst Garegin Gabriyelyan, head of the Keni Center.
The Armenian-Turkish border, in reality, amounts to not only space but time
as well. It is not simply a couple of hundred kilometers dividing one part
of historic Armenia from the other, it is several alternating centuries
during which many different monstrous acts have been carried out against the
Armenian population, among which is the Armenian Genocide. It was during the
Genocide that the length and contours of the current `Armenian-Turkish'
border were drawn.
`Hence, to speak about recognizing the current border means signing a
complete and unconditional capitulation of the Armenian cause, and agreeing
with the Turkish that `the events of the early 20th century had no
consequences for the Armenians,' stresses Gabriyelyan.
Member of Parliament of Nagorno Karabakh Maxim Mirzoyan, while speaking
about the process of settling the Armenian-Turkish relations, stated:
`I do not think that the Armenian-Turkish relations can be successfully
settled. In any case, like it or not, Turkey is our neighbor and we have
unsettled issues with it, and until they are called to account for what they
did, we have no right to build any relations with Turkey.'
Representatives of the Armenian authorities have made statements on this
issue as well.
`If the protocols on establishing relations initialed by Ankara and Yerevan
are not in Armenia's interests, people will protest and start rallying,'
says Galust Sahakyan, deputy chairman of the ruling Republican Party of
Armenia.
7. Sport: Armenia wants to host (Jr.) Olympics?
By Suren Musayelyan
Olympics
Meeting International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge in
Switzerland on Monday, Gagik Tsarukyan, the President of the National
Olympic Committee of Armenia (NOCA), expressed Armenia's desire to host the
third Junior Olympic Games in 2018.
According to a NOCA report (www.armnoc.am), Tsarukyan also offered the IOC
and the European Olympic Committee to hold meetings of the executive
committees in Armenia where `there are all corresponding conditions for
that.' The NOCA president also stressed that Armenia has all necessary sport
settings for `competitions of any scale.'
IOC President Rogge reportedly praised Armenia's efforts in developing
sports and said he was aware of large international competitions that
Armenia has hosted. Rogge also said that cooperation between the IOC and the
NOCA will gradually strengthen, which will `enliven sport life in Armenia.'
(Source: www.armnoc.am)
Judo
The European junior judo championships opened in Yerevan on Friday, with the
official weigh-in of athletes, preliminary fights and finals in three out of
eight weight categories.
Around 400 athletes from 40 countries of Europe are participating in the
championships. Armenia is represented by eight male athletes competing in
all weight divisions, and six female athletes competing in five out of
eight divisions.
The championships to be held through September 13 are also being attended by
participants from Azerbaijan - the first Azeri athletes to visit independent
Armenia. Armenian authorities had provided security guarantees to the Azeri
athletes and delegation members while they were in the Armenian capital.
In a recent media interview Armenian Judo Federation President Alexan
Avetisyan said he expected tough competition for medals at the Yerevan
championships. At the same time, he said he hoped for several medals to be
won by Armenian sportsmen.
Soccer
Armenia have improved the record in the current FIFA World Cup 2010
qualifying campaign after beating Belgium in Yerevan 2-1 on Wednesday. The
latest victory still leaves Armenia in the bottom position of the six-nation
group with only four points in eight games. Armenia have got a real chance
to catch up with and outstrip currently fifth-placed Estonia (5 points) in
the two remaining games - against reigning European champion Spain in
Yerevan on October 10 and Euro-2008 semifinalist Turkey in Bursa on October
14.
`I notice a qualitative change in the play of the Armenian team. Our team
has a potential. One should believe in their own strength and be
self-confident,' said Armenia head coach Vardan Minasyan of the team's
performance as he spoke at a press conference after the match. Meanwhile,
Bosnia-Herzegovina took another major step towards finishing second in the
group, next to Spain, and hope for winning qualification through a playoff.
On Wednesday, the Balkan outfit held their main rival Turkey to a 1-1 draw
at home and still have a four-point advantage with only two rounds to go.
Boxing
Three Armenian boxers reached quarterfinals at the continuing AIBA world
championships in Milan, Italy. Andranik Hakobyan (75 kg), Azat Hovhannisyan
(57 kg) and
Hovhannes Danielyan (48 kg) held their fights on Wednesday. Only Hakobyan,
however, managed to beat his opponent to reach the semifinal and secure at
least a bronze medal for his team.
Six other Armenian boxers in the rest weight divisions were beaten by
opponents at earlier staged.
For complete information on the championships, see the official website at
www.aiba.org
Chess
Armenian women's national team (including Elina Danielyan, Lilit Lazarian,
Lilit Galoyan, Nelli Aghinyan, Siranush Andriasyan, coach - Arsen
Yeghiazaryan) haveg been taking part in the world team championships held in
Ningbo, China, September 1-12. The other participants of the championship
are the national teams of China (1st and 2nd), Georgia, India, Poland,
Russia, Ukraine, the USA, and Vietnam. Before the last round of the
championships, Armenia is in the fourth position, with 17 points, behind
Russia, Ukraine and China.
Meanwhile, Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronyan has good chances to become the
winner of a four-man two-round Grand Slam Masters Final being in Bilbao,
Spain, September 5-12. His opponents are Alexander Grischuk (Russia), Sergey
Karyakin (Ukraine), Alexei Shirov (Spain).
After the fourth-round victory over Grischuk Aronyan has nine points (3
points are appointed for a win according to this tournament's regulations),
with one defeat and three victors. With two more games to play, Aronyan is
in clear first place with a 3-point advantage over the Russian.
(More information is available here
http://www.bilbaofinalmasters.com/2009/en_ind ex.asp)