Armenian News... A Topalian... 10,000 business closures in Armenia

armenews.com
Over 10,000 businesses have closed in Armenia in 2015 
10029 companies were closed in Armenia in 2015, reported the 

Zhoghovurd newspaper quoted Gagik Makaryan, the president of 

the Union of Employers of Armenia.

Gagik Makaryan added that Armenian citizens to leave their country 

to find jobs and they'll especially in Russia. 

"Unfortunately, migration flows are not declining," said he said.


arka.am
Armenian wineries still owe 2 billion drams to wine-growers
September 13.

YEREVAN, September 13. /ARKA/. Armenian wineries owe 2 billion 

drams to local wine-growers for grapes procured last year, not 

800 million drams, as claimed by the authorities, head of a union 

of farmers, Hrachya Berberyan, said to a news conference today. 

In his words, the main problem of wineries is that the vendors 

overstate the final price of the product trying to sell at $8 a bottle 

of wine, which costs them only $1. The result is sales-related 

problems. 

According to official data, last year wineries and other 

food-processing companies bought a total of 31.5 billion drams 

worth grape. 

According to the ministry of agriculture, in 2015 Armenian food

-processing enterprises bought 216,800 metric tons of grape, 

which was 32,700 tons or 17.8% more than in 2014. 

($ 1 - 474.26 drams).


ENPI Info Centre, EU
Sept 14 2016
EU welcomes Armenia deal on electoral reform
The EU today welcomed an agreement on electoral reform reached
yesterday between Armenia’s government coalition and opposition
parties, in consultation with representatives of civil society. The
signature of the agreement is “a positive development supporting the
implementation of electoral reform in the country,” the EU said in an
official statement.

According to the statement, “The European Union's financial
assistance, together with that of other international partners and the
engagement of the Government, will enable the implementation of the
technical aspects defined by the new Electoral Code of the Republic of
Armenia”.

“The electoral stakeholders in Armenia should now fully implement the
new electoral legislation in good faith in order to increase
credibility, transparency and public trust in the new electoral system
and procedures in line with international standards,” the statement
concluded. (EU Neighbourhood Info)


armradio.am
Kurdish Mayors visit St. Sarkis Armenian Church 

in Kensington, London
13 Sep 2016 

Massis Post – The co-mayors of Bitlis and Mutki just paid a courtesy visit to St. Sarkis Armenian Church in Kensington, London. Huseyin Olan (Bitlis) and Ozcan Birlik (Mutki), who are on a working visit to London, met with the Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic church in Great Britain, bishop Hovakim Manukyan, to discuss improving contacts between the Armenian diaspora and Kurdish communities in south-eastern Turkey. The meeting included Ali Gul Ozbek, the mayor of Haringey, as well as others.

Both Olan and Birlik are longstanding champions of better Kurdish Armenian relations and are well aware of the history of Armenians. Over the years they have hosted Armenian guests in their cities, supported exhibitions on Ottoman Armenians, and even a conference on the Armenian Genocide. The city of Bitlis even renamed a street after William Saroyan. These are all ongoing practical steps aimed at addressing Armenian issues and paving the way to a better future.

On the occasion of their visit to St. Sarkis, the co-mayors issued a formal statement inviting Armenians to reengage with their ancestral lands in Turkey, including Bitlis and Mutki

Statement Dated 11 September 2016

Today we are visiting our Armenian brothers and sisters at St. Sarkis Armenian church in London. It is good to see this fine church and members of its congregation in one of the great capitals of the world. There used to be many such Armenian communities in the Ottoman Empire, within the borders of modern Turkey. They lived on their ancestral lands alongside other communities, until 1915, when they were subjected to the first genocide of the modern era. Over a million Armenians were killed by their own government. Modern Turkey still bears the scars of those days, including in Bitlis and Mutki, where we come from. The Turkish republic still denies what happened to Armenians.

We can never reverse the terrible legacy of 1915 but, as the mayors of Bitlis and Mutki, we can express our sorrow and extend our hands of friendship to all Armenians. We want to build new bridges with you, to replace those that were destroyed in the past. The future is in our hands and we can still imagine better days ahead. We hope to see you again in Bitlis and Mutki.

panarmenian.net 

Glasgow fest to feature Armenia’s first inclusive theatre company
September 13, 2016 
The British Council has partnered with the National Centre of Aesthetics (NCA) Small Theatre in Yerevan to create Hiraeth , a new dance work exploring themes of homesickness and belonging, the Council said in a statement.

It will be the only international production to feature in the Unlimited Festival of work by disabled artists at Tramway, Glasgow on September 15 and 16.

Unlimited is an arts commissioning programme offering talented disabled artists funds and mentoring support to develop, produce and show ambitious work. Delivered in partnership by disability-led arts organisation Shape Arts and arts-producing organisation Artsadmin, Unlimited aims to embed work by disabled artists within the UK and international cultural sectors, reach new audiences and shift perceptions of disabled people and is funded from 2013-16 by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, Arts Council of Wales and Creative Scotland. The British Council and Arts Council England funds Unlimited International. Spirit of 2012 funds Unlimited Impact to support young people, extend geographic reach and ensure legacy.

The production is the result of the British Council’s Unlimited: Making the Right Moves programme, which has facilitated exchange between from the UK’s Candoco Dance Company and disabled artists from Armenia since 2013. The programme of skills training and creative development has led to the establishment of Armenia’s first inclusive dance company, consisting of disabled and non-disabled dancers. Hiraeth, commissioned as part of the programme, premiered at the Small Theatre in Yerevan inSeptember 2015. The Tramway performances mark the Small Theatre’s UK debut.

Meaning “homesickness” in Welsh, Hiraeth charts the sometimes remarkable journey of the Armenian people throughout their nation’s history: their yearning for a lost homeland and struggle to create an identity in a new country, the Council said. 

Lancaster Evening Post, UK
September 12, 2016 Monday
Readers' letters
Poor record of human rights

The Vote Leave' campaign claims Turkey's possible accession to the EU
will lead to mass migration of Turkish citizens to the UK. As a
supporter of the Remain' campaign, I don't have any misgivings at all
about migration issues within the European Union because this is a
two-way street between the UK and other EU countries as there are 1.2
million British people living in other EU countries as committed
migrants'.

However, not only is there a possibility of Turkey's accession to the
EU within decades, but my particular objection to this is the failure
of successive Turkish governments to acknowledge the atrocities
committed against the Armenian people of the Ottoman Empire between
1915 and 1923.

The genocide against the Armenian people was planned and administered
by the then Turkish government against its entire Armenian population.
Armenians were subjected to deportation to Anatolia and Syria from
their historic homeland in Turkey, their property was expropriated,
and they were abducted, massacred, starved and tortured. The Armenian
Genocide is commemorated on April 24, when the massacres began in
1915.

The Armenian Genocide is acknowledged to have been one of the first
modern genocides, but because of persistent denial by successive
Turkish governments, Turkey has never been indicted by the
International Criminal Court for it. In Turkey, debate has been
stifled with Article 301 of the Penal Code on "insulting Turkishness"
being used to prosecute prominent writers who discuss the killings of
Armenians.

Ten countries within the EU recognise the events that took place in
Turkey between 1915 and 1923 as genocide (but regrettably not the UK)
and the European Parliament has adopted several parliamentary
resolutions to do so, the latest being in 2005.

In my opinion, the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish
government is an absolute pre-requisite to Turkey's accession to the
EU.

To bring us up to date, Turkish Government restrictions on freedom of
expression and media freedom are associated with efforts to discredit
political opposition and prevent scrutiny of Government policies.
Turkish authorities were responsible for almost three quarter of
requests to Twitter worldwide for removal of Tweets. The authorities
impose arbitrary bans on public gatherings, violently dispersing
peaceful demonstrations. Journalists continue to be removed from
mainstream media organisations for critical reporting.

In addition, people have been detained for unspecified periods prior
to their trials for allegedly insulting Erdogan through correspondence
to newspapers, social media and demonstrations.

Amnesty International's 2015 Annual Report detailed a rapidly
deteriorating human rights environment in Turkey, particularly after
the parliamentary elections and the outbreak of violence between the
Turkish government and the Kurdish Worker' Party (PKK). Long-standing
problems in Turkey's justice system include threats to judicial
independence and politically motivated prosecutions. Despite Turkey's
ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and
combating violence against women and domestic violence, violence
against women remains a significant concern in Turkey.

Such an autocratic country has no place within the European Union's
democratic institutions.

Susan Fox, Longton

(as Russia has such a stranglehold over Armenia, views from there

should more than interest us. One caucasiologist presents an 

unbalanced analysis, the other is an unrealistic  dreamer)  

Vetsnik Kavkaza

Sept 14 2016\
Compromises to save Karabakh: a view from Russia
Compromise is the only way for an effective and complete settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at the moment, Russian
experts-caucasiologists told Vestnik Kavkaza, speaking about the
possibilities of a settlement of the long conflict around Karabakh and
ensuring peace in the region. However, they all aired completely
different approaches to the compromises that can be achieved in the
foreseeable future between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Thus, the political consultant and candidate of historical sciences,
Oleg Kuznetsov, pointed to the need to separate people and the
authorities in the search for a compromise. "If by the parties of the
conflict the whole of the country is meant, I am sure that the
Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples are able to find a compromise for
joint coexistence. If we assume that the parties of the conflict are
the political regimes, then a compromise between the Karabakh 

clan of Kocharyan-Sargsyan of Armenia and the team of Aliyev in 

Azerbaijan is not possible. That means that the Kocharian-Sargsyan 

regime, which I believe to be a terrorist one, the conflict itself 

and the war are the only conditions not only for its political, 

but also its physical existence,’’  he explained.

The expert sees an achievable compromise in a return to the original
positions, preceding the appearance of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"It is necessary to restore the situation prior to 1988 and the
further definition of Nagorno-Karabakh's status within Azerbaijan in
accordance with international law, abstracting from the Soviet legacy,
that is, in the various forms of national and cultural autonomy by
world standards. I believe that this situation has real prospects of
being resolved, but the condition for this should be still the
democratization of the political regime in Armenia as a result 

of the parliamentary elections and the election of the decision

-makers,’’ Kuznetsov believes. (what about Azeri politics?) 

"In accordance with the constitutional reform, Armenia's transition
from a presidential republic to a parliamentary one will require the
establishment of a balance of powers, as well as the selection of the
first persons who will embody this balance of power. People who are
not linked to Karabakh and who did not participate in the Karabakh
war, who were not influenced by the diaspora on Armenians living in
Armenia, should be elected to the key positions, so they can solve
their own domestic issues. Then a compromise in the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict will be possible,’’ he concluded.

In his turn, the political analyst Andrei Epifantsev expressed
confidence that a valid compromise on Karabakh can only be found 

in the division or sovereignization of the region. "In my view, the
solutions that are offered by both parties, trading them off as
compromises, are not compromises: nor the requirement of Azerbaijan to
include all the territories, Karabakh as well as the areas around it,
in its structure, with the allocation of broad autonomy for the
Armenian population in Karabakh, nor the desire of Armenia to see
Karabakh in its composition, while being ready to return part of the
regions. In reality I see two compromises: a simple division of
Karabakh conditionally into two parts with their further joining to
Armenia and Azerbaijan, or the creation of a territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh, a complex, federal or even confederal state 

with two communities – Azerbaijani and Armenian.