Armenian New Sent by A Topalian

ARMENIAN SYRIANS SEEKING SAFETY IN ARMENIA

Xinhua General News Service

June 28, 2012 Thursday 10:55 AM EST

China

The Armenian community in Syria had been hit hard by the country's

16-month crisis, with many seeking refuge in Armenia, a local police

official said.

Hovhannes Kocharyan, head of the Passport and Visa Department of the

Armenian Police, told Armenpress on Thursday that 14,277 applications

for Armenian citizenship, permanent, temporary or special residence

status were received in 2011, 2,983 of which were Armenian Syrians

and that level had almost been reached in only the first five months

of this year.

"This year's January-May number of applicants from Syria is 2,699,"

he said.

Up until June 21, 16 Syrian citizens have been given permanent

residence status, 30 temporary status and 47 have been given special

status.

More than 10,000 people have been killed during the Syrian crisis

and the Armenian Syrian community, which has nearly 100,000 members,

has been among those to suffer, with six being killed, including four

soldiers who were soldiers with the Syrian Army.

ARMENIA IN THE VICE: PRISONER OF HISTORY

The Economist

June 27 2012

..ARMENIA tends to feature in the news because of its problems

(history, geography, demography and economics to name but a few. But

a new report from the International Crisis Group (ICG) says not all is

doom and gloom. The parliamentary elections in May showed significant

improvement. Media coverage was more balanced, and the authorities

permitted greater freedom of assembly, expression and movement than in

previous years. Like Georgia, Armenia has a class of "30-something"

technocrats, whose western education and global outlook means they

are less rooted in the Soviet mentality than their elders. That bodes

well for the future.

The economy is still recovering from the global financial crisis,

which saw GDP contract by 14.2% in 2009. In the same period, the

construction sector contracted by more than 40%. Remittances from the

diaspora dropped by 30%. That led Forbes magazine to label Armenia

the world's second worst performing economy in 2011-much to Yerevan's

irritation. Although official statistics claim 8 percent unemployment,

48% of respondents told a recent survey they were looking for a job.

Over one-third of the country lives below the poverty line. Complaints

of corruption are widespread, and inflation is high.

Low rates of tax collection-19.3% of GDP, compared with a 40% average

in EU countries-limit the government's reach. Cracking down on tax

evasion could increase government revenue by over $400 million, says

the World Bank. A few, high-profile businessmen dominate the economy.

Their monopolies and oligopolies put a significant brake on business

development. Their influence also weakens political will for the kind

of reforms that the country sorely needs.

Armenia's democracy also has lots of room for improvement. Abuse

of administrative resources, inflated voter lists, vote-buying and

pressure on voters were just some of the irregularities that took

place in May. Moreover, the flawed 2008 presidential elections, and

subsequent crackdown on protestors (during which ten people died and

450 were injured) mean the government has lots more to do to restore

its credibility. Public trust in the country's democratic institutions

is low, and cynicism is widespread.

The next big test will be presidential elections in February 2013.

The president, Serzh Sargosyan, has promised "the cleanest elections

in Armenia's history". If so, he has a lot to do. "The country needs

a better future than a stunted economy and dead-end conflicts with

its neighbours", the ICG concludes.

That is putting it mildly. Nagorno-Karabakh, over which Armenia went

to war with Azerbaijan is a "sleeping volcano" according to a 2010

book by Tom de Waal. The main fighting stopped in 1994 but between

April 27th and June 20th this year, at least eight Armenian and seven

Azerbaijani soldiers died. That's by far the worst death toll of any

conflict anywhere in Europe (even including Russia's troubled North

Caucasus). If it were happening in the Balkans, say, the world would

be watching worriedly. But it isn't.

(For a longer report on Armenia, take a look at Tim Judah's piece in

the New York Review of Books).

RFE/RL Report

Doctor Dies After Yerevan Restaurant Assault

Ruzanna Stepanian

29.06.2012

One of the three men who were badly beaten up this month at a Yerevan

restaurant belonging to a powerful government-linked businessman died

in hospital on Friday.

Vahe Avetian, 35, and two other military doctors were hospitalized

after being assaulted by restaurant staff in still unclear

circumstances on June 17.

Avetian was hit hardest in the incident, suffering severe head

injuries. He remained in critical condition despite undergoing two

surgeries at a military hospital in the Armenian capital where he

worked.

Seven men, most of them security guards, were arrested in an ensuing

police investigation into the violence. One of them was then freed

pending investigation, while the others were remanded in pre-trial

custody on assault charges.

The incident has cast a renewed media spotlight on the notoriously

violent conduct of burly men working for wealthy businessmen close to

the Armenian government, including Ruben Hayrapetian, the owner of the

restaurant in question. Media commentators have attributed the

severity of the assault to what they see as impunity enjoyed by those

men and their powerful employers.

Hayrapetian, who is also a parliament deputy from the ruling

Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), strongly condemned the incident but

denied any responsibility for it last week. He pledged to assist in

the ongoing criminal investigation.

The Armenian Defense Ministry also condemned the violence and

expressed solidarity with its victims and their relatives. Defense

Minister Seyran Ohanian visited Avetian and the two other hospitalized

doctors last week.

RFE/RL Report

Hefty Bonuses Promised To Armenian Olympic Medalists

Karlen Aslanian

29.06.2012

Armenian athletes winning gold medals in the upcoming Olympic Games in

London would receive $700,000 each from Gagik Tsarukian, an

influential businessman heading the National Olympic Committee, it was

announced on Friday.

Derenik Gabrielian, the deputy chairman of the committee, said the

hefty bonuses would be paid in addition to more modest financial

rewards promised by the Armenian government.

The government has promised to pay Olympic champions 20 million drams

($48,000). Silver and bronze medalists would get 15 million drams and

10 million drams respectively. Their coaching staff and doctors would

also be eligible for financial benefits.

Both the government and Tsarukian, who also leads the country's second

largest parliamentary party, set the same rewards head of the last

Olympic Games held in Beijing in 2008.

Armenian athletes won only six bronze medals in the Chinese

capital. Each of those medalists received a bonus from the state

budget and a car from Tsarukian.

Gabrielian confirmed that the National Olympic Committee is aiming for

a better Armenian performance at the London Olympics. `I think it

would be great to win a gold medal,' he told reporters. `What we need

today is not quantity but quality [of medals,] which needs to be

improved.'

Armenia has won only one Olympic gold medal since independence. Its

Olympic athletes representing the Soviet Union had been considerably

more successful.

`Our guys should just demonstrate a strong will and not forget about

patriotism for a second, not get frightened and enter the struggle

because nobody is stronger than they,' said Gabrielian. `And if they

lose, they should lose like real men.'

Armenia will participate in the London games with 25 athletes

competing in ten sports. The country's biggest medal hopes rest on

weightlifting and wrestling, the two Olympic disciplines in which

Armenians have excelled most.

One member of the Armenian team, the 30-year-old judo wrestler Armen

Nazarian, will be trying his Olympic luck for a third time. `Two

Olympics were unsuccessful for me,' Nazarian told RFE/RL's Armenian

service (Azatutyun.am). `I don't want this one to be like that. This

will be my last Olympic Games. So I must do my best to win a medal.'

ARMENIA ADMONISHES AZERBAIJAN AT BSEC SUMMIT

Asbarez

Wednesday, June 27th, 2012

ISTANBUL-Efforts by Azerbaijan to politicize the Black Sea Economic

Cooperation were thwarted when head of the Armenian delegation

admonished Azerbaijan for discussing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

at a forum that "cannot become a platform for political discussions

and accusations."

During a presentation to the summit, Azerbaijan's President Ilham

Aliyev said conflict was a major barrier to the expansion of regional

cooperation and the deepening of economic relations.

"The conflict has not yet been resolved and is a threat not only to

economic cooperation but, in general, to peace and stability in the

region," said Aliyev.

In response Armenia's representative, Deputy Foreign Minister Ashot

Hovakimyan admonished the Azeri leader for his attempts to politicize

the regional economic summit.

"According to the basic documents of the BSEC, the organization should

stay in the limits of its economic mandate and cannot become a platform

for political discussions and accusations. The BSEC summit is not a

proper place to discuss the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The OSCE Minsk

Group is the only agreed format for the negotiations on the Karabakh

issue," said Hovakimyan.

Diplomatic sources told PanArmenian.am that the adoption of a final

declaration, which strengthened the resolve of members to states to

further their cooperation, was marred by efforts by Azerbaijan to add

amendments that would alter the focus and politicize the document in

its favor.

The same sources told PanArmenian.net that Turkey's high-ranking

officials, under pressure of the European Union, succeeded in

persuading Baku to withdraw its politically motivated provisions,

as the Armenian delegation would never sign the document that would

be detrimental to Yerevan.

The amendments were removed one by one, while the Turkish officials

were negotiatd with both the Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations,

according to the source.

The BSEC was established on June 25, 1992 with Albania, Armenia,

Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia,

Turkey and Ukraine as participating countries. In 2004 Serbia and

Montenegro also entered the cooperation group.

President Serzh Sarkisian, who did not attend the summit, issued

a written statement that was read at the gathering. The Armenian

president stressed that economic progress was impeded by closed

borders.

"I would like to reiterate that Armenia continues to adhere to the

principles and goals enshrined in the charter of the organization,

and always faithfully implements all decisions adopted by the

organization as well as agreements and memorandums signed by the

member states," said Sarkisian. "I am confident that in the face of

the thorny problems existing in the region, further enhancement of

the multilateral economic cooperation in the framework of the BSEC

will inevitably result in the facilitation of the political dialogue

between the member states and establishment of regional stability."

"There can be no implementation of economic programs in a multilateral

or bilateral format under closed borders. Unimpeded contact and

open borders, free movement of resources and equal conditions for

competition remain the main prerequisites for the development of

contemporary economic relations. Blockades and closed borders are not

only artificial obstacles for bilateral and multilateral cooperation,

but also unacceptable dividing lines on the political map of the 20th

century. The Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation has

adopted all these provisions, and we have to ensure their successful

implementation," explained Sarkisian.

DOLLAR STILL LOSES VALUE IN ARMENIA

news.am

June 26, 2012 | 17:06

YEREVAN. - This is the second consecutive day that the US dollar's

exchange rate against the Armenian Dram (AMD) fell in Armenia's

financial market.

Its average exchange rate comprised AMD 417.25/$1, at NASDAQ OMX

Armenia stock exchange on Tuesday, and this is a 0.17-percent-or a

0.71-point-drop from the previous trading session on Monday.

The total sales were $3 million.

The US currency is bought and sold at the AMD 416-418/$1 range in

Armenia's cash foreign currency market.

And the Central Bank's official exchange rate is set at AMD 418.02/$1.