Thursday, Expert Calls Sarkisian's Population Growth Task Challenging . Tatevik Lazarian Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian addresses parliament, Yerevan, May 18, 2017 Raising Armenia's population to 4 million by 2040 is a formidable challenge, an expert of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Armenia said concerning President Serzh Sarkisian's recent speech in which he formulated the task. In his address to the newly elected National Assembly on May 18, the Armenian leader among the priorities also pointed out the need for a considerable improvement of Armenia's demographic situation in the coming decades. UNFPA Assistant Representative Garik Hayrapetian said that Armenia, whose current population is estimated at about 3 million, will do a great job even if it can raise its population number by 500,000 during the next 20 years. "Theoretically, everything is possible. But if we try to really estimate our abilities, then, I think, it will be rather difficult to achieve the announced figures. But even if we can achieve half of that, I think this will be a very big step forward for us in terms of improving and stabilizing the country's demographic situation," the expert said. Armenia -- Garik Hayrapetian, UNFPA representative in Armenia, undated. Hayrapetian identified two main directions for achieving this goal. "What may bring results much faster in the first place is the organization of immigration. But for this it is necessary that the country become very attractive so that people who once left wanted to return. The second direction is, of course, an increase in the birth rate, which is not a simple task either," the UNFPA representative said, adding that another challenge for Armenia is its aging society. Two years ago the UNFPA conducted a large study, concluding that in the best-case scenario, if steps are taken in this direction, the population of Armenia by 2050 will be 3.2 million, while in the worst-case scenario, if nothing is done to reduce the scale of outmigration and stimulate the growth of the birth rate, the population of Armenia will drop below 2 million. In his previous speeches President Sarkisian never addressed specific figures connected with the demographic situation. Specific numbers are even difficult to find in the government's program. Only the program for 2012-2017 indicates that the government intends to bring the birth rate coefficient to 1.8. However, in 2016, as it was in 2012, this coefficient remained at the same level - 1.6. Meanwhile, according to official statistics, since 2008 Armenia's permanent population has dropped by more than 100,000 - from 3.1 million to 2 million, 990 thousand. According to the Migration Service, about 346,000 citizens have left Armenia for good since 2008. The birth rate slightly increased after 2008, but then it declined again. Since 2014 it has tended to consistently decline, while the mortality rate, on the contrary, is rising. Mkhitaryan's Manchester United Wins UEFA Europa League United Kingdom -- Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Micki), Manchester United, 4May, 2017 Armenian international soccer player Henrikh Mkhitaryan helped his English club win a prestigious European tournament as Manchester United beat the Dutch side, Ajax, 2-0 in a UEFA Europa League final last night. Mkhitaryan scored in the 48th minute to double Manchester United's lead after a first-half goal by the team's French international Paul Pogba. With six goals scored in Europa League the 28-year-old Armenian is the best scorer for Manchester United in the competition. "So, so, so happy with our win tonight! I dedicate this trophy to my family, Manchester & all Armenians!" Mkhitaryan wrote in his Twitter account shortly after the match in Stockholm, which opened with a minute's silence observed for the victims of a May 22 suicide bombing in Manchester Arena. By winning the trophy Jose Mourinho's side also earned the right to play in next season's Champions League, the UEFA's most prestigious club-level tournament. Mkhitaryan joined Manchester United last summer on a four-year contract for a 27 million ($35 million) transfer fee from Germany's Borussia Dortmund. The move marked the record high signing of a player representing a former Soviet country. So far in the 2016-2017 season Mkhitaryan has scored 11 goals on his 41 appearances for Manchester United, including his December scorpion kick stunner recognized as the club's best goal of the season. Opposition War Vet Resumes Protest After Release From Jail . Naira Bulghadarian Armenia -- Retired colonel Volodya Avetisian, a war veteran and activist who was set free from prison today, holds a protest near the central government offices in Republic Square, Yerevan. 25May, 2017 A prominent Karabakh war veteran who was released from prison under an amnesty act having served more than half of his controversial six-year term resumed his protest in front of the Armenian government, deploring fraudulent elections and demanding social justice to thousands of people like him. Volodya Avetisian, a retired army colonel, was arrested in September 2013 after organizing anti-government protests joined by fellow veterans of the 1992-1994 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. His campaign began four months earlier that year with a lone protest staged in Yerevan's Liberty Square. Avetisian was joined by hundreds of other war veterans in the following weeks. They staged a series of demonstrations outside key government buildings in Yerevan. A district court in Yerevan convicted him the following year of having "embezzled" $2,000 from another man through a false promise to have his grandson exempted from compulsory military service. Avetisian and his supporters strongly denied the charge, calling it government retribution for his campaign for a sizable increase in modest pensions paid to the veterans. The authorities, however, denied any political motives behind the high-profile case. Seyran Ohanian, the then defense minister, who is also a war veteran, repeatedly met with the colonel and his comrades in summer 2013 to discuss their demands. He subsequently accused Avetisian of breaching unpublicized "agreements" reached by them. In front of the government office today Avetisian declared that he wants Armenia to become a "law-abiding country". He said he knew Ohanian participated in the April parliamentary election on an opposition platform. "But it is one thing to have an opposition stance and another thing being an oppositionist. I was released from prison today, after spending three years and eight months there, I did not even go home, but I came here to the government building for the tyrants to hear my protest and to deliver a message to the people to rise and fight against these authorities," the activist said to the media. Avetisian, a father of six children, claimed that the authorities could have paroled him still in 2015 as he was a disciplined convict. "Does the Republic of Armenia have a justice minister?.. They are speaking about law on television, lying to the entire nation without feeling ashamed," he said. The activist said he intended to continue his sit-in "until, due to my sacrifice, Armenia becomes a country where law prevails and until we make a revolution." Avetisian said "all must go into the streets and as a nation demand the resignation of the government." "We must awaken the people, let them stop being frightened hares. That's why I've come here today," he said, without elaborating on his immediate plans. Avetisian did not rule out that reprisals could resume against him for his current actions. Armenian Government To Set Up Body On Corruption Prevention Armenia -- The main entrance to the Government building in Yerevan, undated Acting Justice Minister Artur Hovannisian on Thursday introduced to the Government for approval a package of draft laws to make amendments in Armenia's law on `Body On Corruption Prevention Issues" and related laws. According to the press service of the Ministry of Justice, in presenting the package Hovannisian said that on the basis of the Ethics Commission for High-Ranking Officials it is planned to create a corruption prevention body that will implement corruption prevention, as part of which it will deal with ethics, conflict of interests, incompatibility requirements, other restrictions applicable to high-ranking officials and civil servants, carry out functions related to assets, income and interests systems, educational activities and raising public awareness. "The body on corruption prevention will be endowed with the necessary set of tools and levers, and one of the major elements of this is the ability to impose sanctions. Besides, in case of breach of the declaration requirements the body will immediately impose sanctions," the acting minister said. In 2015, then Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian initiated the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Council, which was headed by the head of the government. According to human rights activists, however, that Council, just like similar structures acting in Armenia before, was not purposeful in its activities and pursued more demonstrative goals. As proof of that argument, observers point out that that the Council did not inadequately respond to corruption cases reported by media. Press Review Commenting on Prime Minister Karen Karapetian's visit to Russia for the purpose of attending a Eurasian Economic Union heads of government gathering, "Zhamanak" writes: "The meetings of prime ministers are usually dull meetings that, in fact, decide nothing, as it is clear that the EEU is the club of presidents or top leaders. The more important aspect of Karapetian's visit to Russia is what may happen in the backstage in connection with Armenia's internal political life. More specifically, will Karapetian try during his visit to Russia to specify his prospects and possibilities in the fight for a new status quo in Armenian politics ahead of 2018?" The editor of "Aravot" suggests that all opposition forces in Armenia have failed during the past 25 years during to `tactical errors': "The tactical error of oppositions is that it seemed to them that getting more active a few months before the elections, creating alliances and giving a few critical speeches against the government will propel them into power and that if they fail, then in the next four or five years they can speak about usurpation of power by the government, demand an immediate change of government and snap elections. The tactical error is that these oppositions constantly castigate other oppositions and attack all those who disagree with them on some points. And now Yelk has come into the area. For now, at least, it does not take that path, which leads to a deadlock. The level of criticism is there, but there are no futile promises of an immediate change of power." "Hayots Ashkhar" writes: "A number of political forces that failed during the elections will, of course, continue to act as extra-parliamentary opposition. Among them one can mention Armenian Renaissance, a party established on the basis of Orinats Yerkir. It is very unlikely that the party led by Artur Baghdasarian will cease its activities, especially if we consider that it has a certain amount of material and propaganda resources. Zaruhi Postanjian's Yerkir Tsirani party can also be regarded as an extra-parliamentary opposition force, but its representation in Yerevan's Council of Elders makes its status a little bit different. Instead, the Heritage party that Postanjian was formally a member of is `fully extra-parliamentary' and it is a question what will remain of it. Among the `extra-parliamentary' forces is also the Armenian National Congress of ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosian." The paper concludes that the important thing is not how many "extra-parliamentary" parties are there, but "what kind of activities they will carry out." In connection with the recent escalation of tensions at the line of contact of ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijani troops in Nagorno-Karabakh "Zhoghovurd" writes: "It was expected that the situation in Karabakh will become tenser after the completion of an election cycle in Armenia. While in the past neither the United States nor Russia had any big interest in the settlement of this conflict, then the current geopolitical developments increase the necessity of at least neutralizing this painful knot in the South Caucasus. So, it is not without a reason that in response to the latest escalation of tensions the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and Russia's Foreign Ministry issued targeted statements, something that one can hardly remember being done ever. Thus, the co-chairs in fact tried to make it clear to Azerbaijan that its periodic deviations from the diplomatic process and agreed rules of the game are no longer acceptable." (Tigran Avetisian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org