Paper mulls over financial implications of Armenian peacekeeping in Iraq

Iravunk, Yerevan
14 Jan 05

Text of D. Akopyan’s report by Armenian newspaper Iravunk on 14
January headlined “The price of the military contingent that will be
sent to Iraq”

When the top authorities of Armenia almost unexpectedly decided to
send an Armenian military contingent to Iraq, and the National
Assembly ratified this decision, political circles and analysts
started speculating about the price of this decision. Incidentally,
the point is not so much about an unpopular and risky political
decision as about its financial aspect.

It was supposed that this would be done using credits and grants from
Western and international financial organizations and generous aid
from some countries. And these predictions seem to have come true, but
in a slightly unexpected way. It has become known from a source close
to American diplomatic circles that, thanks to direct support from the
Washington administration, about 100m US dollars will soon be given to
Armenia within the framework of the Lincy Foundation programme.

According to our sources close to the Armenian government, some
ministries have already started taking into account the use of the
credits that will be given to them by the Lincy Foundation. In
particular, the Agriculture Ministry hopes to spend the money it will
get. At the same time, the analysts noticed that on 7 January, in
order to encourage the Armenian authorities to send a military
contingent to Iraq, US President George Bush signed a decree according
to which, from now on, a normal trading regime will be granted to
Armenia. Incidentally, that same decree says: “Armenia has
demonstrated its obvious desire to develop friendship and cooperation
with the USA.” At the same time, it is also obvious that grateful
Americans will not ignore either Armenian Defence Minister Serzh
Sarkisyan, who made great efforts to send an Armenian military
contingent to Iraq.

And it is not by chance that at a recent meeting with Serzh Sarkisyan
at the Defence Ministry, the US ambassador to Armenia, John Evans,
“specially mentioned that he values Serzh Sarkisyan’s open way of
expressing his ideas and his wide view of the events taking place in
the world, which greatly contributes to the deepening of the two
countries’ relations”. And this relates to a functionary who was known
as very pro-Russian until recently. Such an estimation by the US
ambassador is a turning point in itself.

At the same time, some observers also note that, to choose my words
carefully, the noticeable warming of the Washington administration
towards the current Armenian administration certainly differs from the
approach of the US administration towards undemocratic and corrupt
regimes in other post-Soviet countries over the last two years. This
fact proves once again that this superpower – which proclaims great
ideas of democracy, a free economy and human rights – as well as other
geo-political giants, have been and are guided in their policy by
so-called double standards. According to analysts, understanding the
ambiguity of the US position on the leadership of Armenia, the US
administration will nevertheless try to “save face” in front of
Armenian political circles and people, demanding from time to time
that the Armenian authorities carry out reforms of some kind. Let us
recall that in December 2004, the IMF officially expressed its
displeasure with the process of tax collection by the Armenian tax and
customs systems and, on the whole, with the content of the budget and
the way it was implemented. The unexpected activity of Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan at the beginning of the year should be seen
within the framework of these demands. Visiting the Armenian State
Customs Committee and State Tax Service, the president in fact
declared a new economic policy, which according to Kocharyan is aimed
at reducing the shadow economy, forming a free and equal economic
field, and so on. This process, which the state propaganda machine has
already declared a “revolution from above” and which the opposition
has declared another deception by the “illegitimate regime”, is
obviously directed at the world community as well and in particular at
US taxpayers, who, as is known, unlike Armenian taxpayers, do not like
and will not allow their money to be wasted.