Nepotism? – Armenian MP’s Hire Their Children as Assistants

Months ago, I asked the Public Affairs Department at the RA National Assembly to supply a list of names of the staff assistants for the MP’s.

I had noticed during my visits to the legislature that many MP’s were employing relatives on a paid basis while other young people were registered as “social” servants.

I even asked a few MP’s why they had chosen relatives to fill such posts. A few were so taken aback with shame that they requested that I not publish the names of their children so employed. They promised that staff changes would be made.  Read more... (570 words)

‘March 1’ Case: 08/03 investigation seen as one of conditions for political dialogue in Armenia

One of the conditions put forward by the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) for internal political dialogue to start in Armenia was a fresh investigation into the March 1, 2008 post-election events. The dispersal of anti-government street protests then resulted in ten deaths and hundreds of injuries.

In April, President Serzh Sargsyan urged law-enforcement agencies to give a fresh impetus to the “March 1” investigation. The Prosecutor’s Office and the Special Investigative Service have already stated that new people have been interrogated and all materials related to the events are being accepted.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Melia, who recently visited Armenia, met with heads of law-enforcement bodies and the investigation group and was told that the picture of the events had been approximately restored.  Read more... (648 words)

Marxist Leader Proposes Karabakh’s Independence After Becoming Russian Federal Subject

Marxist Party of Armenia leader David Hakobyan proposed his own version of settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, while speaking to journalists in Yerevan today.

“That version has to be as follows: Yerevan denounces in parliament the agreements in 1921 that divided Armenia [referring to the Treaty of Moscow and the Treaty of Kars] and comes out of the negotiation process, yielding its place to Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh] as the principal party to the conflict and negotiator, but does not associate with it. Artsakh is thus given broad diplomatic room to maneuver,” he said.

Hakobyan noted that in this case, Nagorno-Karabakh’s parliament can appeal to Russia’s State Duma with a proposal to make Karabakh a federal subject of the Russian Federation. The party leader noted that Karabakh could have the same status as Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, and Chechnya.  Read more... (211 words)

Strained Ties With Armenia ‘Undermine Turkey’s Clout’

Turkey will only boost its international standing if it agrees to unconditionally normalize relations with Armenia, according to Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian.

In an interview with CNN aired late on Wednesday, Sarkisian also indicated that he supports, in principle, Turkey’s eventual membership in the European Union.

“It’s not just an issue for Armenia,” he said, commenting on historically strained relations between the two neighboring states. “Turkey’s political clout and weight will only grow if Turkey follows international rules of the game. Its clout is undermined by problems that Turkey is continuing to have with its neighbors.”

“Turkey should continue to carry out the democratic reforms on the path towards EU accession, in which case we are able to easily build a sustainable relationship with our neighboring country,” added Sarkisian.  Read more... (392 words)

CNN Airs Interview with Armenia’s Prime Minister (Video)

On January 15, CNN aired an interview with Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan. Here’s the transcript.

The first question relates to the impact of the world economic crisis on Armenia’s economy and steps undertaken to overcome it.

The first problem that we encountered after the contraction was that it was largely due to the fact that our economy was not sufficiently diversified. Our crisis response focused on three areas: further diversification of the economy, improving the infrastructure and improving the business environment and we hope that with continued reform efforts we will be able to further boost the environment and overcome the consequences of the crisis.  Read more... (513 words)

Sasoun Mikayelyan – Government Weak on Karabakh Talks

Sasoun Mikayelyan, a former Armenian MP recently released from jail, described the Armenian government’s negotiating position on Karabakh as weak and declared there could be no compromise when it came to a settlement of the Artsakh issue.

“I am against any return of lands. Must we liberate them again?” Mikayelyan commented at a press conference held earlier today.

The political activist, who was jailed on charges stemming from the events of March 1, 2008 and released under a general amnesty, said that he didn’t expect any break through on the Karabakh matter from the upcoming June 25 meeting in Kazan to be attended by the presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia.  Read more... (209 words)

13 Armenians Are Prisoners in Moscow Hotel

By Alex Chachkevitch

Valida Avanesyan has been a prisoner in the Hotel Yuzhny on Moscow’s Lenin Prospekt for more than six months.

She stays in a friend’s room. When she gets hungry, she asks friends to shop for her and bring her some food. Her only connection with the outside world is the balcony.

She cannot leave because the guards at the entrance won’t let her back in.

“I’ll keep fighting for a place to live for me and the other people here until the end,” she said.

Avanesyan, 59, is one of 13 Armenian refugees who had lived in Yuzhny for two decades and are now being kicked out. The residents were among hundreds of thousands of Armenians who fled Azerbaijan in 1990 to escape ethnic violence that escalated into war the next year.  Read more... (1318 words)

Karmir Shuka Residents Will Have Drinking Water By 2012

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund has begun rebuilding the potable-water system of Karmir Shuka, a village in the Martuni Region of Artsakh, with co-financing from its Eastern U.S. affiliate and the government of Artsakh.

Dating back to the 1930s, the existing network has long fallen into disrepair, leaving residents with no other option but to carry water from local springs for their daily needs, Mayor Samvel Hakobjanyan explained.

The reconstruction project comprises the building of a new internal-distribution network. Other components of the initiative include the refurbishment of the water-collection tanks at the Tnjri and Hacha springs, the construction of two regulation reservoirs with a capacity of 100 cubic meters and 150 cubic meters, respectively, and the installation of eight pipelines, with a total length of 11 kilometers, which will connect the springs to the internal-distribution network.  Read more... (228 words)

Yerevan municipality clamps down on illegal and idling kiosks

The number of illegal and idling kiosks in Yerevan has significantly decreased this year, according to the Yerevan Municipality’s Trade and Service Department.

“The existence of such kiosks is unbecoming of our capital,” Mayor Karen Karapetyan reportedly emphasized at the working meeting of the Yerevan city administration on Monday, ordering the completion of the process within a short period of time.

Meanwhile, according to the Information and Public Relations Department of the Yerevan City Hall, the head of the Municipality’s Ecology Department reported that they plan to expand the irrigation network and create a forest buffer zone in the territory of 60 hectares in the city’s Nubarashen administrative district.  Read more... (144 words)