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Armenian Government Plans To Curb Key Tax Exemption

December 29, 2009 Armenia No Comments
Armenian Government Plans To Curb Key Tax Exemption

Risking renewed protests from small businesses, the Armenian government confirmed on Tuesday plans to significantly restrict a legal exemption from valued-added tax (VAT) enjoyed by them.

Under Armenia’s existing legislation, small companies with an annual turnover of up to 58.3 million drams ($154,600) are eligible for a preferential form of taxation that exempts them from the payment of VAT, profit tax and other duties levied from business entities. They only have to pay so-called “simplified tax” or other fixed taxes mainly depending on their size and location.

The government introduced the VAT threshold in August 2007 as part of its efforts to phase out simplified tax which tax authorities said was increasingly abused by larger businesses keen to evade taxes. It ordered all small firms and even market traders to install cash registers in order to be able to calculate their real turnover.

We Don’t Live By Christian Principles

December 28, 2009 Armenia No Comments
We Don’t Live By Christian Principles

 Armenians are a nation that adopted Christianity 1700 years ago, but today they don’t have faith. “Churches should have been full of people on Saturdays and Sundays, but people don’t attend the masses,” said Father Kyuregh Talyan in response to the questions by the students of “A1+”.

The students of “” participated in a meeting with the clergyman who answered all questions of social concern and other issues.

The young journalists were interested in the Christian principles of the current political elite and the society. “I would not like to separate the political elite from society. Today, Armenian society is not living by Christian values,” said Father Kyuregh.

International Conference on “Perspectives to Reach Gender Equality in Armenia: Political and Legal Aspects”

December 21, 2009 Armenia, Top News No Comments
International Conference on “Perspectives to Reach Gender Equality in Armenia: Political and Legal Aspects”

A three-day international conference on “Perspectives to reach gender equality in Armenia: political and legal aspects” opened today in Tsakhkadzor Writers’ Union House. It was jointly organized by the Association of Women with University Education (AWUE), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation-Armenia.

The conference is conducted under the auspices of the RoA National Assembly, the UN Armenia and OSCE Yerevan offices.

The draft of the RoA law “On provision of Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men,” drafts of the RoA Gender Policy Concept and its implementation strategy, as well as reports on the UN strategy and the European institutional policy in the field of gender equality were presented to the participants for further discussion.

Analysis: Ankara is Lingering, Yerevan is Responding

December 19, 2009 Armenia, Top News, Turkey No Comments
Analysis: Ankara is Lingering, Yerevan is Responding

The Armenian president’s unexpected response to Turkey’s attempts at linking the ratification of the Armenia-Turkey protocols with the Karabakh issue settlement could not have emerged overnight, and is an ‘escape hatch’ in case if the normalization process reaches a deadlock. It is also obvious that the president’s statement is Yerevan’s official message to the international community as a response to Ankara’s uncompromising stand.

“If Turkey keeps delaying the ratification process of the Armenian-Turkish protocols Yerevan will immediately reply by taking measures regulated by the international law,” Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said last week in Yerevan.

What are those measures the president was referring to?

Will Corruption in Armenia Be Eradicated?

December 9, 2009 Armenia, Top News No Comments
Will Corruption in Armenia Be Eradicated?

Armenian Young Lawyers Association today marched through Yerevan’s central streets carrying the posters: “No to Corruption!”

The action was aimed at acknowledging people with the struggle against corruption, violated rights and mechanisms of their restoration. The marchers distributed booklets informing citizens about their rights.

“Things will better after each of us gets armed with will to struggle against corruption. We must unite our efforts in the struggle to achieve tangible results,” said Norayr Harutyunyan, a legal advisor of the Association.
Association member Marat Atovmyan thinks corruption hinders reforms in different spheres.

“If we are able to exercise the principle of inevitability and bring an official breaching the law before court, we shall register serious changes in the combat against corruption,” said Marat Atovmyan.

Spread of (common) Flu Leads to Call for Schools Closure in Armenia

December 7, 2009 Armenia No Comments
Spread of (common) Flu Leads to Call for Schools Closure in Armenia

Armenia’s chief infection specialist Ara Asoyan’s appeared on Public Television over the weekend calling for the immediately closure of schools throughout Armenia as a precaution against the spread of seasonal flu.

The doctor’s call raised concern and some alarm among the public, and prompted health officials to meet today (December 7) to discuss the situation. A decision is expected to be reached Monday or Tuesday on whether it is necessary to close public schools.

“Currently the Municipality of Yerevan and the Heath Ministry are cooperating to collect the indexes of attendance at schools, and the decision to be made depends on them,” Shushan Hunanyan, assistant to the Minister of Health of Armenia, told ArmeniaNow. She says that if the decision is positive, “schools and kindergartens will most probably be closed beginning next week.”

President of Armenia Serzh Sarkisian Again Warns Turkey, Azerbaijan

November 30, 2009 Armenia No Comments
President of Armenia Serzh Sarkisian Again Warns Turkey, Azerbaijan

President Serzh Sarkisian again warned Turkey against delaying the implementation of its agreements with Armenia and vowed a “tough” response to a possible Azerbaijani attempt to win back Nagorno-Karabakh by force as he defended his foreign policy over the weekend.

Sarkisian also insisted that the controversial agreements signed last month will not hamper greater international recognition of the Armenian genocide.

Critics say Ankara will exploit the formation of a Turkish-Armenian commission of historians, envisaged by one of the two “protocols,” to keep more countries from officially recognizing the 1915-1918 mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

20 Internationally Wanted Criminals Detected in Armenia Last Year

November 13, 2009 Armenia, Top News No Comments
20 Internationally Wanted Criminals Detected in Armenia Last Year

Al in all, 256 Armenians are wanted by Interpol. Information about 12 of them has been posted on an open website, Interpol National Central Bureau Chief Vardan Yeghiazaryan told a press conference today. He spoke about the policy and priorities of the structure.

“Fortunately, we have no world known criminals today. For our organization there is no difference whether the criminal is a famous terrorist Carlson or some Yeghiazaryan. The investigation has the same power and the same capacities,” he said.

The main goal is to help the law-enforcement bodies to find the criminals and missing persons. In 2008 Interpol helped to detect 95 wanted persons. 54 of them were arrested, another 20 were extradited.

Armenian Ambassador Criticizes Azerbaijan’s Rhetoric at UN Security Council

November 12, 2009 North America No Comments
Armenian Ambassador Criticizes Azerbaijan’s Rhetoric at UN Security Council

The United Nations Security Council began its debate on the effective protection of civilians in armed conflict on November 11, which marked the tenth anniversary of its systematic work in this endeavour.

The debate, with the participation of representatives from the UN’s 47 member states including Armenia, lasted well into the evening.

During the debate, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador, Agshin Mehdiyev, spoke about the events of Khojaly, presenting Azerbaijan’s view on the events.

Armenia’s Ambassador, Karen Nazaryan, followed Mehdiyev’s address closely and responded with the following statement, as noted by the UN Security Council and posted on the UN website:

Apricot Stone: Eva Rivas in Eurovision 2010

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Commentary

On The Principles Of Self-Determination And So-Called “Territorial Integrity” In Public International Law (The Case Of Nagorno-Karabakh)

June 22, 2010

On The Principles Of Self-Determination And So-Called “Territorial Integrity” In Public International Law (The Case Of Nagorno-Karabakh)

By: Ara Papian – Head, “Modus Vivendi” Center

We are not going to negotiate over the right of the people of Artsakh (Karabakh) to self-determination.

Serzh Sargsyan, President of the Republic of Armenia, 1 June 2010

 

It is for the people to determine the destiny of the territory and not the territory the destiny of the people.

Judge Hardy Dillard, International Court of Justice, 16 October 1975

 

Is ‘Reconciliation’ Compatible with Justice?

June 2, 2010

Is ‘Reconciliation’ Compatible with Justice?

By Lucine Kasbarian

On Wednesday May 12, at the Armenian Library and Museum of America (ALMA) in Watertown, Massachusetts, editors Emil Sanamyan of the Armenian Reporter and Khatchig Mouradian of theArmenian Weekly spoke about their recent trip to Turkey sponsored by TEPAV – a Turkish think tank that has recently been promoting Turkish-Armenian relations. TEPAV is funded by TOBB, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey.

 ALMA Executive Director Mariam Stepanyan welcomed the audience after which moderator Marc Mamigonian, Academic Affairs Director of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), opened by noting that there was no formal title for the evening’s program because the trip was not necessarily part of what would be termed “Turkish-Armenian reconciliation or relations.”

Davit of Sassoon is Undefeated or Once More on Foreign Language-Medium Schools in Armenia

June 2, 2010

Davit of Sassoon is Undefeated or Once More on Foreign Language-Medium Schools in Armenia

By Ara Papian – Head, “Modus Vivendi” Center

The changes proposed by the Government to the law on language has recently become subject to heated public debate. It is natural and good that society express many opinions. This implies that we are gradually surmounting the legacy of the not-too-distant past. It is unfortunate, however, that those in favour of the chan­ges to the law are not putting forth reasonable counter-arguments to the political, legal, economic, psychologi­cal and cultural facts presented by their opponents, but are instead simply warping the essence of the issue in attempting to present the case as a manifestation of xenophobia and advocacy for self-imposed isolationism.

An Investigative Report:The Woodrow Wilson Center Desecrates its Namesake’s Legacy and Violates its Congressional Mandate

May 20, 2010

An Investigative Report:The Woodrow Wilson Center Desecrates its Namesake’s Legacy and Violates its Congressional Mandate

By: David Boyajian

Is the Woodrow Wilson Center seeking to discredit the Treaty of Sèvres on its 90th anniversary by honoring Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu?

Woodrow Wilson, the 28th American president, is looking down in horror at what the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWC; WilsonCenter.org) is doing in his name.

Most Americans are not aware of the DC-based organization, or that their taxes comprise one-third of its multi-million dollar annual budget.

The WWC was created by Congress in 1968 through the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act to commemorate the late president’s “ideals and concerns” and memorialize “his accomplishments.”

The WWC has in several ways, however, violated its Congressional mandate.

LATEST DIASPORA NEWS

USAID Provides $50 Million To Armenian For Economic Development and Social Reform

August 6, 2010

At an official ceremony held in the Republic of Armenia Ministry of Economy on August 6, 2010, Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsyan, US Ambassador to Armenia Marie L. Yovanovitch and USAID/Armenia Mission Director Jatinder Cheema signed two Assistance Agreements under which the US Government will provide up to $50 million to the Government of Armenia for the period of 2010-2013 in support of the country’s economic development and health and social services reform, according to a release issued by US Embassy in Armenia .

Armenian Bread Price Set For Further Rise

August 6, 2010

The price of bread in Armenia looked set on Friday to soar further following the Russian government’s decision to ban all grain exports because of a severe drought that has devastated crops across Russia.

The move, announced by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday, pushed international prices of wheat to the highest level since the 2007-08 global food crisis. They jumped by more than 12 percent in European commodity markets.

The wholesale and retail prices rose just as drastically in Armenia where one 50-kilogram sack of flour cost between 9,500 and 10,000 ($27.4) on Friday. The rise did not immediately push up bread prices. They are nonetheless expected to be adjusted accordingly in the coming days.

Armenian National Committtee of America (ANCA) Disbelieves Matthew Bryza Will Stand in The Way of Aliyev’s March To War

August 6, 2010

ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian commented on recent statement by political observer David Petrosian, who was cited as saying, “soonest appointment of a new U.S. ambassador to Armenia, – be it Matthew Bryza or someone else, is important in restraining Azerbaijan’s ambitions.”

Aram Hamparian responded as follows, “Just to be clear, this is the same Mr. Bryza who was the primary U.S. adviser to the Georgian government of Mikheil Saakashvili as he stumbled into war with Russia; the same diplomat with controversial ties to top Azerbaijani leaders (Foreign Minister Elmar Mammedyarov served as a groomsman in his Istanbul wedding to Caspian energy expert/advocate Zeyno Baran), the same nominee backed by senior Azerbaijanis close to the Aliyev regime and by leaders of the Azerbaijani American community, and; the same U.S. official who has, for more than a decade, turned a blind eye to Azerbaijani threats, military aggression, and acts of cultural desecration.

I Believe You Will: Mammadyarov and Davutoglu Discussed Karabakh Conflict

August 6, 2010

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov hopes that his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu will take very useful initiatives in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, reports Azerbaijani news agency Trend.

“Turkey is highly respected in the international arena, and therefore I believe that Ahmet Davutoglu will take very useful initiatives in the Karabakh settlement”, Mammadyarov said at a joint press conference following a summit of Turkic-speaking countries.

The summit was held in Bodrum town in western Turkish province of Mugla on Thursday bringing together foreign ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

US Secretary of State Extends Her Gratitude To The Cafesjian Center For The Arts in Armenia

August 6, 2010

The US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in a letter to the Director of Administration and the Acting Executive Director of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts Vahagn Marabyan thanked the Center for hosting her meeting with Armenian civil society leaders.

“The center is a magnificent landmark and a wonderful symbol of Armenian- American cooperation. Our tour of the Cafesjian sculpture garden and the Chihuly gallery was one of the highlights of my visit to Yerevan”, the letter of Secretary Clinton said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited the Cafesjian Center for the Arts on July 5th, 2010. In her honor, a glass sculpture by Sidney Hutter was placed on exhibit – similar to the one by the same artist, added to the White House Craft Collection in 1993. The sculpture, known as the “White House Vase”, is now in the William J. Clinton Presidential Library.

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