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
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