change Archives

Armenia MP: First signs of changes are noticeable but results are not yet significant

January 4, 2017 by administrator

YEREVAN. – The first signs of qualitative changes in our country are noticeable, but the results are not yet significant.

Secretary of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun Party, Aghvan Vardanyan, told the aforementioned to Armenian News – NEWS.am, summing up year 2016.

“Qualitative changes have kicked off in our country. The first signs of qualitative changes in our country are noticeable, but the results are not yet significant. However, it is apparent that the path has been chosen correctly and the signs exist. 2017 will be a year of stabilizing both the political system and the economic condition, as well as that of developing preconditions for development,” he said.

Asked whether as a significant result he expects that banana will be imported by several persons and monopoly will no longer exist, Vardanyan said: “Now if you are going to judge by the number of banana importers…I see publications in media on that there are already importers and there are not only two of them. That is, the issues have been formulated correctly. Currently we have small changes, which the society doesn’t yet appreciate.”

As an implemented change, the MP pointed the tariff reduction, at the same time confessing that the economy is in trouble, this not allowing to increase the salaries and pensions.

Armenia PM: Govt. proposes most rapid economic change possible

November 21, 2016 by administrator

Armenia’s Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan said on Saturday, November 19 that the country needs “profound change,” adding that “we’re proposing the most rapid change that’s possible,” including measures to combat corruption by streamlining bureaucracy and a government fund to support enterprise, Bloomberg reports.

“Businesses shouldn’t be obstructed” by corrupt officials seeking payments for administrative decisions or by dominant rivals using political ties to restrict competition, said Karapetyan, a former mayor of Yerevan who took office after returning from Russia, where he worked in Moscow since 2012 for a subsidiary of Gazprom PJSC, the world’s largest natural-gas exporter.

“We will create an even, competitive, level playing field.”

Armenia’s foreign debt is $5.8 billion with GDP at $10 billion, while growth of 3.2% in 2017 won’t be enough to raise living standards significantly, Karapetyan said. “We also have external debt growing faster than the GDP growth and growing faster than revenues,” he said.

Changes in the leadership of the customs service and in the tax code are improving transparency, and he won’t allow dominant players to use “administrative support that isn’t available to others” to suppress competition, Karapetyan said. “No one is immune and no one is privileged,’’ he said.

Armenia rejected a trade pact with the European Union to enter the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union of former Soviet states in January last year.

While critics say there’s been no economic benefit so far, nobody knows what would have happened if Armenia hadn’t joined and “the negative impact could have been much greater,” while membership doesn’t stop Armenia developing EU trade, Karapetyan said.

Armenia’s also seeking to bolster trade with Iran following the lifting of international sanctions over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Karapetyan said he’s ordered plans developed by December 25 to implement a free economic zone near Armenia’s southern border to boost ties in areas including agriculture and food production.

Armenia’s in a “challenging” position after absorbing “tremendous shocks” when Russia’s ruble devalued following the fall in oil prices, Teresa Daban Sanchez, the International Monetary Fund’s resident representative in Yerevan, said in an interview.

Karapetyan further said that “we clearly understand that reduced public spending may have a downside effect,” while businesses are delaying investment until after the elections. Amid speculation he’s a short-term appointment to improve the ruling Republican party’s prospects, it’s “inappropriate’’ to say if he’ll be prime minister after the vote because nobody can predict the outcome, he said.

Even so, he’s seeking to develop clear long-term plans over the next six months so that “from 2018 we’ll have sustainable year-on-year growth,’’ Karapetyan said.

Armenia’s government to spare no effort to implement radical reforms in IT sector – minister

October 5, 2016 by administrator

The 2^nd Internet governance Armenian conference has been launched in Yerevan.

Armenia’s Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies Vahan Martirosyan took part in the conference.

In his speech at the conference, Mr Martirosyan noted that Armenia’s government declared IT development one of the priorities and will spare no effort to ensure radical reforms in the field.

Talking to journalists, the minister said that Armenian content and its export must be in the highlight, which requires cooperation between the government and the private sector.

With respect to the government’s steps to stir up business interest, the minister said:

“The government must only help and ensure relevant legal framework. The premier often says that ‘investors must be caught by the hands, taken everywhere’ for obstacles to be removed,” Mr Martirosyan said.

Armenia PM: One entire ministry will deal with business issues and assistance

September 22, 2016 by administrator

YEREVAN. – An entire ministry will deal with business issues and assistance matters, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan said at Thursday’s Cabinet session.

He noted this while presenting the changes to be made within the government makeup and its activities. Accordingly, the Ministry of Economy will be renamed the Ministry of Investments and Entrepreneurship Assistance.

Speaking about the logic behind these changes, Karapetyan said, however, that even though the word “economy” will no longer be in the name of this ministry, it will be within its capacity.

“With the new name we wish to show investors that they have a department [in Armenia], where they can submit their complaints, wishes, recommendations,” added Karapetyan. “This ministry will also help entrepreneurs go through all necessary institutions, so they don’t encounter any obstacles.”

Job done: Russia saved Syria from US regime change… now it’s over to diplomacy

March 15, 2016 by administrator

By Finian Cunningham

Five years of war, five months of Russian military intervention, and now peace talks are underway. It’s as simple as that.

However, rather than acknowledging a successful Russian mission, Western media outlets immediately began speculating that President Putin’s surprise announcement to withdraw Russian forces from Syria indicates a “rift” between Moscow and Damascus.

This is just more of the same Western media weapon of mass distraction that has obscured the real nature of the five-year war.

The sovereignty of Syria is the central principle officially underpinning peace talks that resumed in Geneva this week. Without Russia’s military intervention, Syria would not have the chance to pursue a political settlement on a such solid footing.

By contrast, after nearly two years of US-led military intervention allegedly to “defeat terrorism”, the Syrian state was on the brink of collapse from a largely foreign-backed terrorist assault. Until, that is, Russia intervened at the end of September last year.

The touchstone is that Russia from the outset was motivated by supporting the Syrian nation and supplanting the terror threat. While the US and its allies were ultimately the source of the threat.

Western media in hock to their governments’ political line still strain the implausible narrative of a “popular uprising” in Syria that somehow descended into a “global proxy war”.

But to the rest of the world, US-led illegal regime-change is the obvious, and damning, story. This should be the focus, not speculation about Putin’s alleged ulterior motives to withdraw militarily now from Syria.

US Secretary of State John Kerry speaking in Paris last weekend alongside European counterparts appeared to highlight Syria as a priority for peace efforts.

It is rather galling that Kerry should lecture Russia about making “clear choices” in Syria or elsewhere, when the only plausible explanation for the violence in the Arab country can be traced to the criminal interference of Washington and its partners, in flagrant violation of international law and thereby unleashing mayhem that destroyed millions of lives.

As opposition parties gather for tentative talks in Geneva, the New York Times informed its readers that it coincides with the “fifth anniversary of the beginning of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, which morphed into civil war and then a regional and global proxy war.”

This is a typical sample of Western distortion on Syria that persists in contradiction to the abundant evidence. That Western narrative is based on the dubious premise that the violence was instigated after the Syrian state crushed a genuine pro-democracy uprising. Secondly, the narrative blandly portrays that the conflict then escalated into a proxy war between foreign governments, as if the latter scenario is unrelated to the initial “uprising”.

However, thanks to alternative news media in the West and also internationally, such as channels like RT and Press TV, there is a substantial body of information that challenges the Western mainstream narrative. Not only challenges, but exposes it as willful deception.

For a start, substantive reports in the alternative media convincingly show that the initial, small-scale protests in Syria during March 2011 were infiltrated by armed provocateurs who fired on civilians and state security forces alike in order to incite large-scale violence. One of the best investigations on these crucial events was carried out by Sharmine Narwani for RT.

Global geopolitical changes as seen by Armenian expert

February 21, 2016 by administrator

The Middle East developments the world is witnessing are actually a follow-up to the incomplete process that got under way 100 years ago, when European empires were formed, whereas the process remains incomplete in Russia and Turkey, Ara Papyan, Head of the Modus Vivendi center, said at a discussion invited by the Nor Hayastan (New Armenia) NGO.

“The process is going on round us and, therefore, can go on either to our detriment or to our benefits. Remaining neutral is not only inadvisable, but also impossible for Armenia,” he said.

Armenia needs a political line to make accurate forecasts about, art least general tendencies because the current trends will go on and determine regional realities.

The trends are as follow:

1. The Middle East is and will for the next 20-25 years remain a hotbed of clashes of Great Powers’ interests
2. He Middle East tangle of will never be unraveled with the Middle East to remain as it was before
3. Russia is being ousted from Europe, and has to focus on the Middle East
4. The role of non-state alliances, such as the Islamic State, in international relations is growing
5. The role of religious and ethnic communities that have no statehood will grow in the near future
6. The oil era is coming to its end, and the oil-based economies will face serious difficulties, with ensuing consequences
7. Politicizing Islam will continue, the religious factor will gain greater importance in international relations

All that will determine the scenarios of the political situation in the region.

Mr Papyan offers the following three scenarios:

The first is an optimistic scenario.

Division of Turkey, with a Kurdish state formed south of Lake Van. Armenia establishes control over Kars by means of contrasting interests of Armenians, Kurds and Turks. Armenia succeeds in getting restitution of billions in hard currency, which will be directed to Armenia’s economic development and prosperity. At the same time, the regions with the Talysh population will break away from Azerbaijan.

This scenario requires consistent and reasonable work on the part of Armenia’s authorities. However, Mr Papayan does not see such work, and believes that the probability of such a scenario is below average.

The second scenario is a moderate one.

Division of Turkey and formation of a Kurdish state in the territory of West Armenia, with friendly relations between Armenia and the Kurdish state. Armenia sues Turkey and Nakhichevan loses a common border with Turkey. Armenia establishes control over the Iran-Nakhichevan-Armenia railway, while Azerbaijan entered a stage of religious and ethnic tension.

The probability of such a scenario is above the average as it requires less resources.

The third scenario is a pessimistic one:

Division of Turkey, with a Kurdish state in the territory of West Armenia, which will be a religious state hostile to Armenians. Armenia sees further emigration and ageing population, infrastructure deterioration. Armenia’s foreign debt continues growing, with creditors denying further funds to the country. The Iran-Azerbaijan-Russia and Iran-Azerbaijan-Georgia railway is put into operation next year. Armenia finds itself in a complete blockade, with continuing Russian-West confrontation. Russia proves unable to overcome the economic crisis, and Russian-Turkish military conflicts break out on the Armenian-Turkish border, with tension growing on the Nagorno-Karabakh front. Azerbaijan becomes amore religious and nationalistic state, and its leadership causes its population to vent its discontent with the economic crisis on Armenia.
Mr Papyan believes this is the most probable scenario because, according to him, Armenia’s authorities are doing their best to put it into practice.

Urgent Message from Zeynep Tozduman human right activist? “Kidnapped Syrian, Assyrian women”

March 4, 2015 by administrator

Zeynep Tozduman

Dear friends, please go to www.change.org (see bellow the English version)

IRAK/HABUR’DAKİ SÜRYANİ SOYKIRIMINA VE KAÇIRILAN KADINLARIN BULUNMASI İÇİN BM KADIN ÖRGÜTÜNÜ VE DÜNYA KADIN ÖRGÜTLERİNİ GÖREVE ÇAĞIRIYORUZ !!!

”Birleşmiş Milletler (BM) barış ve güvenliğin korunması, sürdürülebilir kalkınmanın desteklenmesi ve insan haklarının güvence altına alınmasını içeren Türkiye dâhil 51 ülke tarafından dünya barışını, güvenliğini korumak ve uluslar arasında ekonomik, toplumsal ve kültürel bir iş birliği oluşturmak için kurulan uluslararası bir örgüttür. Silahsızlanma ve silah denetimi konusunda önerilerde bulunmak. Barış ve güvenliği etkileyecek görüşmeler yapmak, her konuda önerilerde bulunmak. Ülkeler arasındaki iyi ilişkileri bozucu sorunların, barışcıl yollarla çözümü için önerilerde bulunmak. Birleşmiş Milletler,

-Kadınlar ve kız çocuklarına karşı şiddeti sonlandırmak;
– Barış ve güvenlik sürecinin her alanına kadınların katılımını sağlamak en temel görevidir ”.

Dünya 8 Mart Dünya Emekçi Kadınlar gününe yaklaştığımız bu günlerde, Habur’da Süryani soykırımı yaşayan Süryani kadınlarının çığlıklarını görünür kılmak ve BM Kadın Örgütlerini ve uluslararası Kadın örgütlerini, biz aşağıda imzası bulunan kişi ve kurumlar olarak göreve çağırıyoruz.

23 Şubat 2014’de Irak / Habur’da İŞİD ( İsis ) terör örgütü; Asur/ Süryani/ Keldani ( Doğu Hristiyanları) halkına karşı, etno- dinsel- kültürel soykırım yapılmakta, yaklaşık 3000 insan yerinden, yurdundan edilerek 400 kadın, çoluk çocuk, yaşlı demeden İŞİD militanlarının elinde rehin olarak tutulmakta, bu halka ait binlerce yıllık tarihi eserleri dünyanın gözü önünde yıkılmaktadır. Hala kaçırılan Kadın ve çocuklardan bu güne değin bir haber alınamamıştır. 2014 Haziran ayında Şengal’de kaçırılan Ezidi kadınlarını Köle pazarlarında pazarlayan, fuhuş sektöründe kullanan İŞİD terör örgütü şimdi de Süryani kadınlarına aynı şeyi yaşatmadan BM Kadın Örgütlerini ve Dünya kadın örgütlerini imzaladıkları sözleşmeler doğrultusunda göreve çağırıyoruz.

Ayrıca, bu 8 Mart’ı tüm dünya kadın örgütleri olarak Soykırımlarda, katliamlarda hayatlarını kaybeden Süryani kadınlarına ve Özgecan şahsında Şiddete ve Tecavüze uğrayan tüm kadınlara ithaf edilmesini istiyoruz.

Bölgede İŞİD terörünü durdurmak, rehin alınan Süryani Kadınlarını sağ- salim teslim almak, kadın katliamlarını durdurmak ve bölgede kalıcı bir barışı sağlamak için BM Kadın örgütünü ve Dünya kadın örgütlerini göreve davet ediyoruz.

ENGLİSH VERSİON

IRAQ / THE ASSYRİAN GENOCİDE İN HABUR AND MISSED FOR THE PRESENCE OF WOMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS AND WORLD WOMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS THE UN WOMEN WE CALL A DUTY !!! ”

The United Nations (UN), the preservation of peace and security, sustainable development, the promotion and protection of human rights safeguarding containing the world peace by 51 countries, including Turkey, to protect the security and among nations economically, is an international organization established to create a social culturall cooperation.

Advising on disarmament and arms control. Peace and discussions will affect the security, advising on everything. Good relations between the countries disruptive problems, make suggestions for the solution by peaceful means.

United Nations, to end the violence against -Women and girls; – Ensure the participation of women in all areas of peace and security is the most basic task process’. World these days we approach the March 8 International Working Women’s day, in habur appear screams of Syriac genocide living Syrian women make to the UN Women’s Organization and international women’s organizations, we urge you to act as individuals and institutions who have signed below.

February 23, 2014 in Iraq / Habur Isidor (Isis), a terrorist organization; Assyrian / Syriac / Chaldean (Eastern Christians) against the people, ethno-religious-cultural genocide carried out, about 3,000 people displaced, 400 women by the dorm, children, is being held as a hostage in the hands of elderly Isidor militants, thousands of years of historical monuments in the world of this ring are collapsed into consideration. Still abducted women and children could not be news until this day.

2014 The markets in missed Ezidi women slave market in Sengal in June, Isidor terrorist organization uses in prostitution without dictating the same thing is now the Syrian Women UN Women Organization and we urge you to work in agreement with the direction they signed the world women’s organizations. In addition, in this March 8 women’s organizations all over the world as genocide in the massacre in Syrian women who lost their lives and Ozgecan person we want to be dedicated to all women subjected to violence and rape. Isidor stop terrorism in the region,

Syrian women to receive right- taken hostage unharmed, to stop the massacre of women and to ensure a lasting peace in the UN women’s organizations and women’s organizations in the world are invited to task.