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Our Choice: Singing the Lament of the Lost Fatherland
[ 2010/10/04 | 17:00 ]
Edik Baghdasaryan

No one is any longer amazed to read stories about Armenian officials
abusing their government posts.

You can no longer shock anyone by writing that this or that person has
spent $500,000 to buy a seat in the National Assembly. It comes as no
surprise to anyone if you prove that the real owner of a commercial
enterprise is actually a government official. It’s become the “norm”
and has entered the Armenian genetic code. Many can argue that this is
the way it has always been, or that the same situation reigns
throughout the world. And there’s not much in the way of response you
can tell such people. Such effort is pointless. Armenians aren’t
capable of creating their world. Here, naturally, we are not referring
to the “Armenian world” as posited by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.

What’s actually going on with Armenians today? The myth of the
Armenian no longer holds water; it has long since turned to dust.
Armenians are destroying their own country, its natural environment.
They destroy and then flee the country.

Sometimes, it seems that all this is part of a conspiracy drafted in
some unknown place. Such thoughts are fleeting, since there is no
conspiracy at work. There is no need for one.

Armenia is being emptied. Armenians are fleeing from their country.

And this doesn’t seem to be of any concern to the authorities in
charge. They are only concerned with one thing – holding on to power
and accumulating more wealth. Their souls are money-driven.

Like curses uttered, depopulated villages are blocked up in the
country’s throat and no government can digest such a reality.
Neglected old folk drag their frail bodies through the dusty streets
of ghost towns. They cry out for their departed children in parental
longing and curse this country for their present plight.

It’s a simple fact. This continuing chain of injustice and lawlessness
has a price – an Armenia being emptied of its people. In the midst of
this crippling widespread poverty, the price paid for the parties and
nightly fireworks, the expensive jeeps, the huge mansions built with
monies ripped off from the taxpayer and a billionaire Robert
Kocharyan, has been an Armenia being emptied of Armenians. There’s a
ghostly specter haunting Armenia; the ghost of a dispossessed people.

People still have faith in one another when it comes to daily matters
of life. But broach the subject of this or that government agency and
that faith turns to unbelief. How did we get here, how did we push the
country to such an abyss? We have even screwed up the army to the
point of collapse and have made life a living hell for that eighteen
year-old facing the enemy on the frontline. Every Armenian once held
the national army as an institution to be revered and above reproach.
Now look at it.

All the apparatuses of the state and the political parties have a hand
in the process of emptying Armenia. Not one of them ever says – Hold
on a minute, we can’t go on living like this.

Our type of Armenian is not capable of building a country. Armenians
like us only sing one song- the song of a lost fatherland. It’s a sad
song that demands no work in return. It was written a long time ago.
We, it seems, have made our choice and have broken down, singing the
song of the lost fatherland.

Over the years we have wasted it all, every square inch of
independence we won. Step by step, minute by minute we caved in
without resisting and swallowed one injustice after another.

This giant wheel is now rolling over us all; crushing each of us under
its weight.
It should come as no surprise that we are now standing on the
precipice. Who can honestly say that we don’t deserve to be where we
are today?

Experts: Demography in Armenia may become national security issue
04.10.10 | 16:47
Members of Sardarapat movement alarm of demography issues in Armenia.
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent

Armenia’s demographic makeup became a topic of public debate following
opposition Armenian National Congress party leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan
stating this summer that migration has become a security threat.

“The weakest point of those advocating the preservation of the status
quo (in the Karabakh settlement) is that they have no answer to the
question of how to stop migration. Thus, demography becomes the
question of questions, it is demography that since the 11th century
has been the cause of all ills of the Armenian people. To disregard
this fact and blindly advocate the status quo means deepening the
demographic crisis and bringing us closer to a national disaster,”
said the former president.

However, in its annual report, the National Statistical Service of
Armenia said that as of 1 January 2010, Armenia’s population has grown
by 12,500 and now exceeds 3.25 million.

Demography was also a subject of a recently held press conference of
the initiative group of the movement Sardarapat. The speakers blamed
the government for failing to take steps to prevent migration and,
furthermore, encouraging it.

(While statisticians present data for a year-on-year change, experts
maintain they evaluate the general trend.)

Sardarapat movement member Zhirayr Sefilyan said that a number of
amendments to Russian migration legislation has given citizens of
Armenia more attractive conditions for settling down in Russia.
Moreover, he claimed that by agreement with the Armenian authorities
the registration of those wishing to move to Russia is being made
“without excessive noise”.

Demographics expert Harutyun Mesrobyan said that whereas in 2005-2006
Armenians constituted only 5 percent of immigrants in Russia, already
in 2008-2009 their number grew to 13.5 percent. Sociologists say this
index may grow more due to the implementation of a target program
being offered by Russia.

Experts say that against the backdrop of a demographic boom in
Armenia’s neighboring states, especially in Turkey and Azerbaijan,
demography is becoming a national security issue. Emigration is caused
not only by the hard socio-economic situation in Armenia, but also the
atmosphere of legal arbitrariness, violations of human rights and
freedoms, a sense of insurmountable despair and hopelessness, experts
say.

Panorama, Armenia
Oct 16 2010
"Tatev's wings" aerial tramway officially launched in Syunik

Tatev Monastery bells are ringing marking the launch of the events
scheduled in Tatev for today. `Tatev's wings' aerial tramway,
connecting Tatev-halidzor villages, has been officially launched in
the Armenian province of Syunik today with President Serzh Sargsyan
being the first tramway passenger, Panorama.am reporter said from
Syunik.

Tatev is hosting also over 800 guests, including the governmental
delegation, other high officials who have arrived at Tatev to become
witnesses of Tatev Revival. President Serzh Sargsyan is expected to
deliver a speech, the Supreme Patriarch Karekin II will conduct
blessing.

Spanning 5.7 kilometers across the spectacular Vorotan River Gorge,
the Tatev Aerial Tramway, `Tatev's Wings' - the longest passenger
aerial tramway in the world - is poised to be one of southern
Armenia's most popular attractions.

The Tatev Aerial Tramway has been built by Garaventa, a world leader
in the accessibility industry that has been building award-winning
aerial tramways around the world for over 30 years. The design process
and foundation work began in 2009, and construction took 11 months,
the total expenses estimating as much as 13 mln. euros.

The Tatev Revival Project is designed to revitalize Tatev Monastery
and its surrounding region, highlighting its religious, academic and
cultural legacy, and making it a world-class destination. The project
consists of several components: restoring the monastery, reviving its
monastic and scholarly tradition, and developing tourism attractions
and infrastructure in the adjacent villages, including the world's
longest aerial tramway.

With several exciting initiatives underway, including the restoration
of Tatev Monastery's 17th century oil mill, the development of a
network of village bed and breakfasts, and a cuisine revival that will
highlight and reinterpret local specialties, a trip to the Tatev
region promises to be highly experiential - an invigorating blend of
culture, nature and adventure. The three-year Tatev Revival Project is
one of the frontrunner initiatives of the National Competitiveness
Foundation of Armenia, an independent organization structured as a
public-private partnership and chaired by the Prime Minister of
Armenia. It has a mandate to achieve breakthrough development toward
competitiveness in key sectors of the Armenian economy, including
tourism, healthcare and education.

OVER 5000 PRISONERS IN ARMENIA
news.am
Oct 19 2010
Armenia

At the moment there are over 5000 prisoners in Armenia, 900 more than
last year, Armenian Justice Minister Gevorg Danielyan said speaking
in the Armenian Parliament.

According to him, the number of prisoners is not high. Statistic shows
that there are 750 imprisoned per 100,000 in U.S., in Russia 650 per
100,000, 420 in Georgia and 270 in Azerbaijan. This indicator totals
only 130 in Armenia. The lowest indicator (80-90 people) is registered
in Europe.

COMPULSORY CAR INSURANCE UNDER WAY IN ARMENIA

news.am
Oct 18 2010
On October 18 the compulsory car insurance process got under way
in Armenia.

Eight licensed companies are selling car insurance policies. All
the car owners are obliged to sign relevant insurance contacts by
December 31.

If car owners fail to sign car insurance contacts by January 1, 2011,
they will be fined U.S. $140. Insurance companies have no right to
deny insurance contacts to car owners or persuade them into signing
other contracts.