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RFE/RL Report 

Yerevan Details Renewed Influx Of Syrian Armenians Syria
16.09.2015

Over 2,000 more ethnic Armenians from Syria have taken refuge in
Armenia since fighting in Aleppo, their principal place of residence,
escalated in May, Diaspora Minister Hranush Hakobian said on
Wednesday.

Their arrival raised to about 16,000 the official total number of
Syrian Armenians currently living in their ancestral homeland.

Syria was home to up to 80,000 Armenians, most of them descendants of
survivors of the 1915 genocide in Ottoman Turkey, before the outbreak
of the bloody civil there four years ago. Most of them are thought to
have fled the country since then.

Hakobian estimated that only around 15,000 Armenians remain in Syria
now as she commented on their plight during the Armenian government's
question-and-answer session in parliament. "Unfortunately, the
situation in Syria is worsening by the day," she said. "A total of
another 2,500 Syrian Armenians have come to Armenia since the May
events," she added.

Nazaret Aroyan, who owns several carpet shops in Aleppo, is one of
those people, having settled in Yerevan with his family a month
ago. Speaking to RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am), Aroyan
expressed concern about the security of his sister and her husband
trapped in the warn-torn Syrian city. He said she works at a local
public hospital and therefore needs government permission to leave the
country.

"She has asked for permission to leave. Four months ago they sent her
papers to Damascus," Aroyan said, adding that she is still awaiting an
answer.

"The situation there is really bad," said Nazaret Kuyumjian, a younger
Syrian Armenian refugee. "Yesterday they shelled a school and there
were kids there."

Mikael Garabed, another former Aleppo resident, said he has still not
managed to convince his two brothers to relocate to Armenia. "There is
no electricity and running water there," he said. "Living conditions
just keep getting worse."

The Armenian government faced growing domestic calls for the
evacuation of the remaining Armenians in Syria as fighting in and
around Aleppo between Syrian government troops and rebels intensified
earlier this year. The government made clear then that it will not
encourage or help them to leave Syria en masse without the consent of
the leadership of their shrinking community. The latter has been
opposed to such an exodus until now.

In May, Hakobian acknowledged that with no end in sight to the Syrian
conflict the exodus may only be a matter of time. The minister
discussed the matter in July with the leaders of the Armenian
community in neighboring Lebanon, which has taken in an even larger
number of Syrian Armenian refugees. She said afterwards that the
authorities in Yerevan are "sending signals to our compatriots that
they should leave Syria in various ways."

According to Syrian Armenians in Yerevan, many of their relatives
would like to flee Aleppo and take refuge in Armenia but cannot afford
expensive journeys out of the city. Some are probably also mindful of
a lack of economic opportunities Armenia. Many Syrian Armenian
refugees have been struggling to make ends meet in the
unemployment-stricken country.

"They [the refugees] are starting to realize that there is no going
back and to quickly integrate [into Armenia's socioeconomic life,]"
Hakobian told the National Assembly on Wednesday. "We all must help
them to find jobs and help them with accommodation."

Firdus Zakarian, the head of a Diaspora Ministry task force dealing
with Syrian Armenians, cautioned in that regard that the government is
too cash-strapped to provide significant material assistance to the
refugees and therefore hopes to secure funding from foreign states and
international organizations.


tert.am
Translated Koran given as special gift to Istanbul-Armenian Patriarchate

The Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul has received 1,000 copies of the
translated Koran as a special gift from the Scientific and
Technological Council of Turkey.

The translator of the Armenian edition, Yavuz Aydin, and the owners of
the publishing house have personally visited the Patriarchate to hand
over the gift.

According to the Istanbul-Armenian publication Agos, Patriarch Aram
Ateshian thanked hailed the guests' visit, thanking Mr Aydin for his
efforts to translate the Islamic holy book.

`It is not really easy to distinguish our values, whether Turkish,
Armenian or Jewish. So it is now time to share also cultural and
religious values. A Greek or an Armenian not knowing Turkish must read
the Koran to understand that culture. They must comprehend the values
contained therein,' he is quoted as saying. 

AZERBAIJAN READY TO RETAKE KARABAKH
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Sept 14 2015

Azerbaijan has completed major command and staff drills, which were
attended by 65 thousand soldiers of the Air Forces, Air Defense,
naval, missile and artillery troops. The divisions were raised on
alarm and moved a distance of over 300 km.

The maneuvers almost escalated into a resumption of active hostilities
over Nagorno-Karabakh, when planes of the Armenian Armed Forces,
which were involved in the exercises for the deployment of hospitals
and evacuation of the wounded, approached the Azerbaijani border.

The Air Forces and Air Defense of Azerbaijan spotted the enemy and
forced the enemy fighters to return to the Armenian territories.

Azerbaijan's Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov ordered Armenian planes
to be destroyed if they crossed the border between the two countries.

The head of the Defense Ministry also ordered a response to any
violation of the ceasefire regime on the contact line from the
Armenian side. "If they continue to bombard our civilian population,
by my order we will fire back not only on their positions, but also
on settlements. We have no other way. We have repeatedly warned them
about the inadmissibility of the shelling of civilians, but they do
not stop shooting at peaceful people," the minister stressed.

The exercises were held on the order of the Supreme Commander of
the Armed Forces, President Ilham Aliyev, their aim was to test the
readiness of the whole army of Azerbaijan. "I declare that the level
of combat readiness of the Armed Forces allows us to liberate the
occupied territories. I would like the enemy understand that they
could end tragically. While it is not too late, they must withdraw
from the occupied territories," Zakir Hasanov concluded.

The deputy director of the Political and Military Analysis Institute,
Alexander Khramchikhin, stressed the high level of combat capability
of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan. "I would say that, on the whole,
post-Soviet Azerbaijan is second only to Russia in terms of equipping
the armed forces," he told Vestnik Kavkaza.

At the same time, according to him, the probability of resumption
of active hostilities over Karabakh is growing every day. "I have
always believed that fighting in Karabakh will be resumed. Although
it is impossible to name the exact time of the return of the war,"
Alexander Khramchikhin noted.

Military expert Uzeir Jafarov agreed that fighting could be resumed at
any moment while the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not resolved. "The
minister of defense and the generals have repeatedly declared that the
army is ready, and the recent exercises have achieved their goals. I
believe that these exercises will allow Armenia and the OSCE Minsk
Group to understand that Azerbaijan is not going to suffer while the
international structures organize fruitless meetings, 65 thousand
soldiers is almost the number of all the Armed Forces of Armenia,"
he pointed out.

According to the expert, these exercises can be considered as a 'final
rehearsal before the parade'. The 'parade' will begin when the signal
is received from the Supreme Commander. Meanwhile, we do not want a
lot of blood spilled in Karabakh. Armenia should understand that we are
two Caucasian republics, and Armenia will not leave the Caucasus, nor
will Azerbaijan. The faster the conflict is resolved peacefully, the
less need there will be for the use of force," Uzeir Jafarov concluded.


armenpress.am
40 NEW COMPANIES WITH 171 EMPLOYEES CREATED WITHIN 

8 MONTHS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF LAW SUPPORTING IT SECTOR
14 September, 2015
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14. The implementation of the law
"On state support to IT sector" has proved to be successful within 8
months. 40 new companies obtained a certificate and started using the
tax privileges granted by the law. The founding director of "Enterprise
Incubator Foundation" Bagrat Yengibaryan informed in an interview
with "Armenpress", who is also a member of certification commission,
that while developing the law they had the fear of to what extent it
would serve its purpose, but today they are sure that they were on the
right path. "We had planned, that annually 40 new companies would be
established by average, but by September 9 certificates were already
delivered to 40 companies. Many younger people have established new
companies who, obviously, would not pay taxes as all of them worked
for the outside market and could work sitting at home. But now they
come and register their companies", mentioned Bagrat Yengibaryan.

According to him the promulgation of this law was a right decision
as it creates extra sources of revenue for the state. "It seemed that
making exempt from taxes we lose money, but no, we make extra profits
for our state budget and give people an opportunity to work legally
without fear", Bagrat Yengibaryan added.

According to him the establishment of 40 certificated companies has
created 171 new jobs. In addition to IT specialists, accountants,
lawyers and other specialists have been employed. 

arka.am
EXPERT: COST OF LIVING IN ARMENIA SHOULD BE AT LEAST 

120 THOUSAND DRAMS
Speaking at a news conference today he cited official statistics,
which say poverty rate in the country is 34%, while the government-set
cost of living is only 17,000 drams a month.

Describing the figure as 'paradoxical', Bostanjyan said 17,000 are
not enough for citizens to even meet their most basic needs because
this amount included not only the cost of food, but also electricity
and gas bills, purchase of winter clothing and household goods.

According to him, this pricing is explained by the polarization of
income since all the country's wealth is owned by a narrow circle of
people, while the majority of Armenia's population is on the verge
of poverty. ($ 1 - 485.08 drams) 

celebcafe.org
ARMENIA RANKS 43TH IN 2015 GLOBAL AGEWATCH INDEX
Sept 13 2015
By : Kris Simmons

Six African countries, including Malawi and Mozambique, have been
ranked among the 10 worst places to grow old, according to HelpAge
worldwide.

Ian Yates, chief executive of COTA, previously known as the Council
on the Ageing, said old-age poverty in Australia was "significant",
but the report may have overstated the rate because it includes people
aged 60-65 on Newstart unemployment benefits.

The list ranks 96 countries on their treatment of the elderly
by looking at income, health, employment, education and social
connections.

Norway, Sweden and Germany follow closely behind and the United Kingdom
takes the tenth spot when it comes to the happiness, wellbeing and
financial stability over the over 60s.

The wellbeing of the older people has arguably declined in most
countries across the globe, HelpAge Watch Index data reveals. The
average life expectancy at 60 across all featured countries is 21
years, according to the index. "The Index has also shown that a number
of countries still lack vital statistics of older people and we would
like to see them feature in the report in the future".

By the time the Sustainable Development Goals reach their fruition in
2030, the proportion of people aged 60 and over globally is predicted
to rise to 16.5 per cent, up to three-quarters of whom will live in
developing countries. "Rather than ranking 62nd out of 96 countries,
we are likely to be in the top 20".

This year's Global AgeWatch Index reveals new data, rankings, based on
four key domains: income, health, capability and enabling environment,
categorizing 96 countries on how well they support older people.

Other stand-out performers include Iceland and the Czech Republic,
which has the world's lowest rates of old-age poverty (1.6 and 1.7
per cent, respectively). Around the world, 46% of women aged between
55 and 64 are economically active, compared to over 73% of men. This
increases the risk of poverty among older women. "It shows us which
countries are preparing well for this unprecedented demographic change
and demonstrates that when governments plan ahead and invest in their
ageing populations, society as a whole benefits". In the 1960s, Japan
adopted a comprehensive welfare policy, introduced universal health
care, a universal social pension, and a plan for income redistribution. 

RFE/RL Report
Council Of Europe Body Backs Armenian Constitutional Reform
Harry Tamrazian
14.09.2015

In a major boost to President Serzh Sarkisian, legal experts from the
Council of Europe have essentially endorsed the latest version of his
administration's draft constitutional amendments, saying they are now
"in line with international standards."

In a weekend report, the Venice Commission argued that the
constitutional reform package drafted by an Armenian presidential body
has undergone important changes recommended by its representatives.

The package calls for Armenia's transformation into a parliamentary
republic with a largely ceremonial head of state and a much more
powerful prime minister.

The Venice Commission voiced a number of objections to the draft
amendments after they were first made public this summer. It singled
out a clause that envisaged a mandatory run-off vote between the two
top election contenders in cases where no party or bloc wins a
majority of parliament seats in the first round of voting. Armenian
opposition groups believe that this unusual arrangement was designed
to make it easier for Sarkisian's Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) to
retain its control over the National Assembly.

The Sarkisian administration agreed to revise this and several other
amendments during an August 24-25 visit to Yerevan by three Venice
Commission officials. The revised version of the clause stipulates
that a run-off vote "may" take place "if no stable parliamentary
majority is formed as a result of the election or through building of
a political coalition."

"Article 89 does not provide any more that a second round of elections
shall be held, but only that is may be held," the Venice Commission
stressed in the report posted on its website. "This solution is in
line with the recommendation of the [commission's earlier] Preliminary
Opinion and deserves to be welcomed," it said.

"The Electoral Code will have to provide for the electoral system in
detail; if it provides for a second round, the Code will have to deal
in particular with the definition of "stable parliamentary majority"
as the condition not to call for a second round of elections," added
the report.

Although the commission made a number of further recommendations to
the Armenian authorities, it made clear that the existing draft will
represent a "further important step forward in the transition of
Armenia towards democracy" if it is backed by voters in a referendum
due expected this year.

Democratization is also the main official rationale for the
constitutional reform advanced by Sarkisian. His political opponents
insist, however, that the Armenian president is simply keen to retain
control over the government after completing his second and final term
in 2018.

Levon Zurabian, a leader of the opposition Armenian National Congress
(HAK), stood by the opposition claims as he dismissed the Venice
Commission's conclusions on Saturday. Zurabian downplayed the changes
made in the text, saying that "the regime's reproduction" remains its
key aim. "We will keep fighting against the realization of this
program with the same vigor," he said.