Armenian News...A Topalian... {The Vatican offers Ankara a fig leaf]
Global Post
Feb 4 2016
Turkey to send envoy back to Vatican after Armenia 'genocide' row
Turkey says it will send its ambassador back to the Vatican, after
recalling him last year in a row over Pope Francis' use of the word
"genocide" to describe the massacres of Armenians by Ottoman forces
during World War I.
The foreign ministry said Wednesday its decision came after the
Vatican published a statement welcoming Ankara's willingness -- first
expressed in 2005 -- to create a commission of Turkish and Armenian
historians to study the 1915 killings.
"In this context... the decision has been taken to send our ambassador
Mehmet Pacaci back to the Vatican," ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic
said in a statement.
Turkey recalled its ambassador in April last year, days away from the
100th anniversary of what the pope described as "the first genocide of
the 20th century".
A furious Ankara accused the pope of a "selective overview" of World
War I and "ignoring the atrocities suffered by the Turkish and Muslim
peoples who lost their lives" in favour of concentrating on Christians
and above all Armenians.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915
and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, and have long sought
to win international recognition of the massacres as genocide.
But Turkey rejects the claims, arguing that 300,000 to 500,000
Armenians and as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose
up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian
troops.
RFE/RL Report
Armenian Minister Justifies Monopolies
Sargis Harutyunyan ## Astghik Bedevian
03.02.2016
The existence of business monopolies is inevitable in a country like
Armenia and the authorities in Yerevan are therefore not seeking to
eliminate them, Economy Minister Karen Chshmaritian said on Wednesday.
"The government has not fought and will not fight against monopolies,"
he told a news conference. "Our legislation and policies are aimed
instead at tackling abuse of monopolist positions, price collusion and
other practices specified by the law."
"Should we not allow the emergence of monopolies? That's not
possible in Armenia," insisted Chshmaritian.
Some lucrative forms of business in Armenia, notably imports of fuel
and foodstuffs, have long been controlled by large companies belonging
to government-linked individuals. Local and foreign economists say the
resulting lack of competition in those sectors translates into
disproportionately high prices and hampers faster economic growth.
A World Bank survey released in 2013 said that oligopolies control
Some lucrative forms of business in Armenia, notably imports of fuel
and foodstuffs, have long been controlled by large companies belonging
to government-linked individuals. Local and foreign economists say the
resulting lack of competition in those sectors translates into
disproportionately high prices and hampers faster economic growth.
A World Bank survey released in 2013 said that oligopolies control
20 percent of economic activity in Armenia, making it the most
monopolized economy in the former Soviet Union. World Bank
monopolized economy in the former Soviet Union. World Bank
officials have repeatedly called on the Armenian government to
create a level playing field for entrepreneurs in all sectors.
In particular, the existence of de facto monopolies is widely blamed
for the fact that the retail prices of gasoline in Armenia have
dropped by only about 20 percent since oil prices began rapidly
falling in summer 2014. The oil prices have tumbled more than
three-fold in the past 18 months.
Levon Zurabian, a leader of the opposition Armenian National Congress
(HAK), challenged the government to explain this huge price disparity
during a question-and-answer session in parliament on
Wednesday. "Because of this deliberate monopolization, the Armenian
economy is now choking," he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Vache Gabrielian told Zurabian that the
government has asked the State Commission on the Protection of
Economic Competition (SCPEC) to investigate the gasoline prices and
determine just how market-based they are now. The anti-trust body has
rarely slapped major fines on lucrative firms holding dominant
positions in their respective sectors.
Another opposition lawmaker, Nikol Pashinian, decried a monopoly on
sugar imports to Armenia that has long been enjoyed by Samvel
Aleksanian, one of the country's richest men affiliated with President
Serzh Sarkisian's Republican Party (HHK). Pashinian pointed to
"lingering rumors" that Aleksanian is massively evading taxes and that
Sarkisian has a "personal share" in the tycoon's revenues.
The chief of the government staff, Davit Harutiunian, brushed aside
the allegations, saying that Pashinian is only keen to score political
points with false statements.
Sarkisian reportedly defended the sugar monopoly when he met with
members of the Armenian community in the Czech Republic during a
September 2014 visit to Prague. "Do you want a dozen people to import
sugar to a small country?" the "Aravot" daily quoted the Armenian
president as saying.
In particular, the existence of de facto monopolies is widely blamed
for the fact that the retail prices of gasoline in Armenia have
dropped by only about 20 percent since oil prices began rapidly
falling in summer 2014. The oil prices have tumbled more than
three-fold in the past 18 months.
Levon Zurabian, a leader of the opposition Armenian National Congress
(HAK), challenged the government to explain this huge price disparity
during a question-and-answer session in parliament on
Wednesday. "Because of this deliberate monopolization, the Armenian
economy is now choking," he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Vache Gabrielian told Zurabian that the
government has asked the State Commission on the Protection of
Economic Competition (SCPEC) to investigate the gasoline prices and
determine just how market-based they are now. The anti-trust body has
rarely slapped major fines on lucrative firms holding dominant
positions in their respective sectors.
Another opposition lawmaker, Nikol Pashinian, decried a monopoly on
sugar imports to Armenia that has long been enjoyed by Samvel
Aleksanian, one of the country's richest men affiliated with President
Serzh Sarkisian's Republican Party (HHK). Pashinian pointed to
"lingering rumors" that Aleksanian is massively evading taxes and that
Sarkisian has a "personal share" in the tycoon's revenues.
The chief of the government staff, Davit Harutiunian, brushed aside
the allegations, saying that Pashinian is only keen to score political
points with false statements.
Sarkisian reportedly defended the sugar monopoly when he met with
members of the Armenian community in the Czech Republic during a
September 2014 visit to Prague. "Do you want a dozen people to import
sugar to a small country?" the "Aravot" daily quoted the Armenian
president as saying.
news.am
Armenian MP of Turkey upsets Turkish nationalists
03.02.2016
Istanbul Armenian attorney Selina Ã-zuzun DoÄ?an, who is also an
MP from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) of
Turkey, has quite disturbed Turkish nationalists.
DoÄ?an, who had recently visited the country's Diyarbakır city as
member of a CHP delegation, wrote about her impressions of the visit
on her Facebook account, where she wrote Diyarbakır also as
Tigranakert (Dikranagerd), the Armenian name of the city.
As a result, Turkish nationalists instructed the writing of articles
in various websites, and against Selina Ã-zuzun DoÄ?an's statement.
arka.am
DoÄ?an, who had recently visited the country's Diyarbakır city as
member of a CHP delegation, wrote about her impressions of the visit
on her Facebook account, where she wrote Diyarbakır also as
Tigranakert (Dikranagerd), the Armenian name of the city.
As a result, Turkish nationalists instructed the writing of articles
in various websites, and against Selina Ã-zuzun DoÄ?an's statement.
arka.am
Switzerland was largest foreign investor in Armenia in first
nine months of 2015
YEREVAN, February 3. Switzerland was the largest foreign
investor in the Armenian economy in the first nine months of 2015,
economy minister Karen Chshmarityan said today.
Speaking at a news conference, he said the net inflow of foreign
investments in January-September 2015 amounted to $296.7 million,
exceeding the same period of the previous year by $80 million.
The minister specified that foreign direct investment in the first
nine months of 2015 totaled $262.2 million, an increase of $38 million
when compared to the first nine months of 2014.
In particular, Swiss investments in the first 9 months of 2015 grew by
$82.4 million to $93.5 million, investments from Germany upped by
$57.9 million to $62.3 million, investments from Luxembourg increased
by $44.5 million to $59 million, investments from Argentina rose by
$24 million to $41 million, investments from the United Arab Emirates
saw a zero growth totaling $21 million, investments from France grew
by $17.5 million to $20.5 million and investments from the US
increased by $16 million to $17.5 million.
Some $137.3 million of these investments were channeled into the
mining sector, $78.1 million went to electricity, gas, steam and air
conditioning sectors, $64.3 million went to manufacturing industry,
$33.1 million were invested into wholesale and retail trade, $24
million went to information and communications sectors and $11 million
to agriculture .
YEREVAN, February 3. Switzerland was the largest foreign
investor in the Armenian economy in the first nine months of 2015,
economy minister Karen Chshmarityan said today.
Speaking at a news conference, he said the net inflow of foreign
investments in January-September 2015 amounted to $296.7 million,
exceeding the same period of the previous year by $80 million.
The minister specified that foreign direct investment in the first
nine months of 2015 totaled $262.2 million, an increase of $38 million
when compared to the first nine months of 2014.
In particular, Swiss investments in the first 9 months of 2015 grew by
$82.4 million to $93.5 million, investments from Germany upped by
$57.9 million to $62.3 million, investments from Luxembourg increased
by $44.5 million to $59 million, investments from Argentina rose by
$24 million to $41 million, investments from the United Arab Emirates
saw a zero growth totaling $21 million, investments from France grew
by $17.5 million to $20.5 million and investments from the US
increased by $16 million to $17.5 million.
Some $137.3 million of these investments were channeled into the
mining sector, $78.1 million went to electricity, gas, steam and air
conditioning sectors, $64.3 million went to manufacturing industry,
$33.1 million were invested into wholesale and retail trade, $24
million went to information and communications sectors and $11 million
to agriculture .
epress.am
Hundreds of Yerevan Residents Sleep on Streets or City's
Sole Homeless Shelter: Press
02.04.2016
Haykakan Zhamanak daily newspaper reports that according to unofficial
data, the number of homeless people in Yerevan is around 400, 300 of
whom sleep on the streets of the city, and only 103 ` in a homeless
shelter.
Speaking to the daily, Shavarsh Khachatryan, the director of Yerevan's
sole homeless shelter, said that their establishment is able to take
in only a hundred people at a time. Besides, he added, there is still
no specific definition of who can be considered `homeless' in Armenia.
`Shelter is usually provided to those who apply to us themselves, as
well as those whom we get notified about or who are brought here by
ambulance or police,' the director said.
Khachatryan noted that their beneficiaries usually find themselves in
a state of homelessness due to difficult socioeconomic conditions, or
alcoholism: `Under the current procedure, shelter is provided for a
period of 3 months. During this time, the management tries to find
them jobs, or return those banished to their families.'
02.04.2016
Haykakan Zhamanak daily newspaper reports that according to unofficial
data, the number of homeless people in Yerevan is around 400, 300 of
whom sleep on the streets of the city, and only 103 ` in a homeless
shelter.
Speaking to the daily, Shavarsh Khachatryan, the director of Yerevan's
sole homeless shelter, said that their establishment is able to take
in only a hundred people at a time. Besides, he added, there is still
no specific definition of who can be considered `homeless' in Armenia.
`Shelter is usually provided to those who apply to us themselves, as
well as those whom we get notified about or who are brought here by
ambulance or police,' the director said.
Khachatryan noted that their beneficiaries usually find themselves in
a state of homelessness due to difficult socioeconomic conditions, or
alcoholism: `Under the current procedure, shelter is provided for a
period of 3 months. During this time, the management tries to find
them jobs, or return those banished to their families.'
news.am
Armenia Parliament speaker and UK ambassador discuss
one-sided PACE reports
04.02.2016
YEREVAN. ` President of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, Galust
Sahakyan, on Thursday received British Ambassador Judith Margaret
Farnworth.
The NA informed Armenian News-NEWS.am that the parliament speaker
stressed that the Armenia-UK political contacts have intensified and
cooperation achieved considerable progress in recent years. Sahakyan
expressed a conviction that Armenia looks toward expanding relations
with Great Britain.
In addition, the NA President touched upon the two resolutions on
Nagorno-Karabakh during the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE) Winter Session, and which, by his assessment, were
distorting the reality and inhibiting the peaceful negotiation process
over the Karabakh conflict, and misleading the international
community. Head of the Armenian parliament noted that the resolution,
entitled `Escalation of Violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and Other
Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan,' by British former MP Robert
Walter, was not adopted due to the PACE MPs who voted for justice.
`That resolution contained a serious risk, as it was an inadmissible
attempt by Azerbaijan and its co-thinkers to move the settlement of
the Karabakh problem to parallel platforms,' said Sahakyan. The
speaker of parliament noted that Armenia continues remaining adherent
to the ongoing negotiating process under the auspices of the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs, which is the only internationally recognized
platform of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.
Ambassador Farnworth, for her part, also emphasized the development of
the bilateral relations in several domains.
In the course of the meeting the sides touched upon the process of the
constitutional reforms. In this connection, the UK ambassador welcomed
the decision of the Armenian authorities to switch to a parliamentary
system of governance.
And regarding Robert Walter's anti-Armenian report, Judith Margaret
Farnworth noted that an individual's report does not reflect the
policy of the government, and added that Great Britain supports a
peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.
On January 26, PACE voted against MP Robert Walter's (UK) one-sided
report entitled `Escalation of Violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and Other
Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan,' but adopted MP Milica MarkoviÄ?'s
(Bosnia and Herzegovina) one-sided report about Sarsang Reservoir in
Nagorno-Karabakh, and entitled `Inhabitants of frontier regions of
Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water.'
arka.am
Armenia's national football team drops two points in FIFA's
04.02.2016
YEREVAN. ` President of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, Galust
Sahakyan, on Thursday received British Ambassador Judith Margaret
Farnworth.
The NA informed Armenian News-NEWS.am that the parliament speaker
stressed that the Armenia-UK political contacts have intensified and
cooperation achieved considerable progress in recent years. Sahakyan
expressed a conviction that Armenia looks toward expanding relations
with Great Britain.
In addition, the NA President touched upon the two resolutions on
Nagorno-Karabakh during the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE) Winter Session, and which, by his assessment, were
distorting the reality and inhibiting the peaceful negotiation process
over the Karabakh conflict, and misleading the international
community. Head of the Armenian parliament noted that the resolution,
entitled `Escalation of Violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and Other
Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan,' by British former MP Robert
Walter, was not adopted due to the PACE MPs who voted for justice.
`That resolution contained a serious risk, as it was an inadmissible
attempt by Azerbaijan and its co-thinkers to move the settlement of
the Karabakh problem to parallel platforms,' said Sahakyan. The
speaker of parliament noted that Armenia continues remaining adherent
to the ongoing negotiating process under the auspices of the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs, which is the only internationally recognized
platform of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.
Ambassador Farnworth, for her part, also emphasized the development of
the bilateral relations in several domains.
In the course of the meeting the sides touched upon the process of the
constitutional reforms. In this connection, the UK ambassador welcomed
the decision of the Armenian authorities to switch to a parliamentary
system of governance.
And regarding Robert Walter's anti-Armenian report, Judith Margaret
Farnworth noted that an individual's report does not reflect the
policy of the government, and added that Great Britain supports a
peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.
On January 26, PACE voted against MP Robert Walter's (UK) one-sided
report entitled `Escalation of Violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and Other
Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan,' but adopted MP Milica MarkoviÄ?'s
(Bosnia and Herzegovina) one-sided report about Sarsang Reservoir in
Nagorno-Karabakh, and entitled `Inhabitants of frontier regions of
Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water.'
arka.am
Armenia's national football team drops two points in FIFA's
ranking
YEREVAN, February 4. Armenia's national football team fell two
points in FIFA's world ranking to the 123rd position between Belize
and Ethiopia.
In their latest official games Armenian team suffered two major
defeats ` it lost 0:4 friendly match to France and 0:3 to Albania in
the European Championship qualifying game.
Armenia's rivals in 2018 World Cup qualifiers are Romania (16th),
Poland (34th), Denmark (40th), Montenegro (84th) and Kazakhstan
(131st).
The best ten teams in FIFA world rankings published Thursday are
Belgium, followed by Argentina, Spain, Germany, Chile, Brazil,
Portugal, Colombia, England and Austria.
YEREVAN, February 4. Armenia's national football team fell two
points in FIFA's world ranking to the 123rd position between Belize
and Ethiopia.
In their latest official games Armenian team suffered two major
defeats ` it lost 0:4 friendly match to France and 0:3 to Albania in
the European Championship qualifying game.
Armenia's rivals in 2018 World Cup qualifiers are Romania (16th),
Poland (34th), Denmark (40th), Montenegro (84th) and Kazakhstan
(131st).
The best ten teams in FIFA world rankings published Thursday are
Belgium, followed by Argentina, Spain, Germany, Chile, Brazil,
Portugal, Colombia, England and Austria.
Evening Star, UK
February 3, 2016 Wednesday
Church celebrates centenary of its building with special service
Vince Yallop
Members of a Felixstowe church have celebrated 100 years of Christian
worship on the site of their building.
The original foundation stone of Bethesda Baptist Church in Cavendish
Road was laid in 1915 by the first pastor, FRW Heath.
A century later, more than 100 members and visitors enjoyed a
memorable day, poring over old photographs, the original church minute
book, and even the engraved trowel presented when the church was first
built.
André Beck, now Bethesda's 10th minister, said: "A healthy church is
one which does not boast, because we are not any more special or
clever or good than anyone else at all, but all we do is hold onto
God, who has proved his faithfulness to us as a church over the last
hundred years.
"And so we want to keep preaching faithfully that God's son, Jesus
Christ, died on the cross, to take on himself all that we have done
wrong, and to give us all that he did perfectly right.
"We need to tell this good news in a way that people ¨can still
understand today, ¨but never changing that message."
Hymns and children's songs which would have been sung in 1915 were
enjoyed in the building, which has recently been extended and
modernised, during a celebration service followed by lunch.
Built during the First World War, the church survived the 1939-45
conflict, as well as the devastating floods of 1953.
In memory of the tragic Armenian genocide that took place
in the same year as Bethesda's foundation, 1915, the church
members offered a gift to Armenian Ministries in that
poverty-stricken land.
No comments:
Post a Comment