Friday, November 17 2017 Sarkisian Presents Annual IT Award, Calls For Knowledge-Based Economy November 17, 2017 Armenia -- President Serzh Sarkisian hands the GIT Award to Nest Labs co-founderTony Fadell, Yerevan, 16Nov2017 Thousands of men and women involved in the information technology sector help Armenia move towards a knowledge-based economy, President Serzh Sarkisian said on Thursday as he handed his annual Global IT award to Tony Fadell, a Lebanese-American inventor, designer and entrepreneur who is also known as "one of the fathers of the iPod". Addressing the guests of the ceremony held in the Presidential Palace Sarkisian went on to describe the IT sector as a major potential locomotive of growth for Armenia. "Some 600 companies are involved in this sector [in Armenia] and among them are offices of many world-renowned organizations. They provide jobs to nearly 20,000 people. For several years we see on average a 20-25 percent growth in this sector," the Armenian president said. "But while providing such rates of development, we should not limit ourselves to such indices. We should dream, think and create new projects and implement them. The number of companies working in the IT sector should reach thousands and the number of their employees should be in the hundreds of thousands." In this view, Sarkisian put an emphasis on the establishment of a "dynamic system" of professional education. "I think that our specialists should be interested in the solutions of Mr. Fadell in terms of iPod or other innovations," he added. In 2010, former Apple engineer Fadell co-founded a start-up company, Nest Labs, that is a home automation producer of programmable, self-learning, sensor-driven, Wi-Fi-enabled thermostats, smoke detectors, security cameras, and other security systems. Alphabet Inc. (Google) acquired Nest Labs for US$3.2 billion in January 2014, when it had 280 employees, continuing the Nest brand identity. In November 2015, Nest Labs had grown into more than 1,100 employees, with a new engineering center in Seattle. Fadell is the eighth international IT personality honored in Armenia since 2010 with the Presidential Award which is given to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to humanity through advancing the world of IT. Among the previous laureates were retired CEO/Chairman of the Board of Intel Corporation Craig Barrett, co-founder of Apple Computers, Inc. Steve Wozniak, CEO of Kaspersky Lab Eugene Kaspersky and others. One of the objectives of the award is to bring to Armenia leading IT sector individuals, thus raising the profile of the country and its recognition in the world IT industry. Armenian Parliament Extends Amnesty-For-Cash Option For Draft Dodgers November 17, 2017 . Ruzanna Stepanian The Armenian parliament building in Yerevan All men who have illegally evaded compulsory military service and will have turned 27 by December 1 may be amnestied provided they pay a hefty sum, according to a new amendment passed by Armenian lawmakers on Friday. The 105-seat National Assembly voted unanimously for the extension of the already existing legislation, with the amendment expected to provide hundreds of young men with an opportunity to avoid criminal prosecution and legally return to Armenia. In order to do so, they will need to pay 200,000 drams (about $410) for each conscription period they illegally missed (or a total of 3.6 million drams, or some $7,400, for all draft periods). Ruling Republican Party MP Karine Achemian, who presented the bill in parliament, clarified that the amended law will be in force until December 31, 2019. The original law adopted in 2004 has so far been amended eight times. During this period thousands of citizens returned to Armenia benefiting from the amnesty offered by this legislation. The previous term of the legislation expired in May 2015. Earlier, the Defense Ministry suggested that the parliament provide such an opportunity for the last time and also raise the legal cost of the amnesty to at least 9 million drams (approximately $19,000). But that initiative was rebuffed by the parliamentary committee on defense and security. The committee's head Koryun Nahapetian and several other lawmakers affiliated with the Republican Party publicly criticized the amendment last week. MP Achemian also argued that the amendment sought by the Defense Ministry would restrict lawmakers' constitutional right to come up with bills. Nahapetian said last week that 700 and 800 draft dodgers have been granted such amnesty annually since 2004. He also revealed that almost 9,500 other men remain on the run on draft evasion charges. Nalbandian Speaks On Declaration Language Dispute Between Armenia, Azerbaijan November 17, 2017 . Sargis Harutyunyan Armenia - Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian at a press conference in Yerevan,17Nov,2017 Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian thinks it is more appropriate to speak about differences in the approaches of Azerbaijan and the European Union rather than Azerbaijan and Armenia towards the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement as far as the dispute over wording in the final declaration at an upcoming Eastern Partnership summit is concerned. Speaking at a joint press conference in Yerevan with his visiting Brazilian counterpart on Friday, Nalbandian also commented on the reports suggesting that the ambassadors of all 28 European Union member states have agreed on the text of the declaration for the summit to be held in Brussels on November 24 apart from one paragraph, which has to do with regional conflicts, and on which Armenia and Azerbaijan have suggested conflicting language. "As for the declaration, negotiations are underway, and until the completion of these negotiations it is early to state anything about it. There are still a few days ahead, let's see," the top Armenian diplomat said. At the same time, Nalbandian insisted that Azerbaijan's approach differs from that of the EU as much as it differs from Armenia's. "Here we should rather speak about the differences in approaches to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement of Azerbaijan and the EU, Azerbaijan and the international community rather than Azerbaijan and Armenia," he said in response to a question asked by an RFE/RL Armenian Service reporter. "This difference has emerged on multiple occasions, including during the previous summits# The EU's position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement has always been the same - in support of the efforts and approaches of the [OSCE Minsk Group] Co-Chair countries. It is not a situational position, but it is a well-thought-out and conscious approach that does not harm the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but contributes to the efforts and approaches of the Co-Chair countries and promotes a solely peaceful resolution of the conflict. The EU has never changed this position." Nalbandian spoke to the media today following his trip to Moscow where he met on November 14 with the Minsk Group's American, Russian and French co-chairs and reportedly agreed on a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Elmar Mammadyarov, on the sidelines of an OSCE Ministerial Meeting in Vienna, Austria, next month. Ahead of his separate meeting with the mediators on November 16, Mammadyarov stressed that at the talks with Yerevan Baku demands "concrete results" and does not want "negotiations to be held for the sake of negotiations." Nalbandian, in this regard, reminded his Azerbaijani counterpart that "the Co-Chair countries at the highest level have urged the parties to refrain from destructive and maximalist approaches if they want the settlement of the conflict." "The Co-Chairs have urged [the parties] to reaffirm their commitment to the peaceful settlement of the conflict. Has Azerbaijan done that? The Co-Chairs have urged [the parties] to reaffirm their commitment to the three well-known principles of international law: the non-use of force or threat of force, [the right of nations to] self-determination and territorial integrity. Has Azerbaijan done that? The Co-Chairs call for unconditionally respecting and implementing trilateral open-ended cease-fire agreements. Does Azerbaijan do that? The Co-Chairs urge [the parties] to respect the agreements reached earlier. Does Azerbaijan do that?" the Armenian foreign minister charged. European Parliament Calls For Dialogue On Visa Liberalization With Armenia November 17, 2017 . Heghine Buniatian Flags of the EU and Armenia Ahead of the Eastern Partnership Summit, which is to be held in Brussels next week, the European Parliament has called on the European Union bodies to launch a dialogue with Armenia on visa liberalization. A resolution passed at the European Parliament's plenary session earlier this week refers to significant progress made since the last Eastern Partnership summit in Riga two years ago as well as to the conclusion of negotiations on a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with Armenia, which, it says, "serves as an example of how membership of the Eurasian Economic Union and participation in the EU's neighborhood strategies can coexist." RFE/RL's correspondent in Brussels Rikard Jozwiak explains that considering this progress, the MEPs want to start a Visa Liberalization Action Plan with Armenia, something that Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova did before. However, the final decision is to be made by the EU member states and the European Commission, he says. "The European Parliament is probably the body in the European Union that is more sort of forward-looking. They obviously want to start what is called VLAP, which is the Visa Liberalization Action Plan, which is sort of a big action plan that Armenia has to fulfill when it comes to different rules and regulations. In fact, it's the same sort of things that Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine did before," Jozwiak says. "The EU Council, the member states, the Commission are thinking about this, but still, I don't think that they will really grant it to Armenia at the [Brussels] summit." "It's in the works. But what we have to remember is that the action plan usually takes two, three, four years to fulfill. I think it was two years with Georgia, two years and a half with Ukraine. If it happened, it would be the very start of a project that will be very long for Armenia," RFE/RL's correspondent in Brussels adds. Offers of the MEPs on Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova are even more ambitious and promising. Highly appreciating the progress of these countries in the direction of democracy and liberalization of the market, the European lawmakers urge their leaders to give a clear signal that Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova may, too, one day become full members of the European Union. "We propose EP+ format, which includes the establishment of a trust fund, a new European investment plan, a financial support mechanism for the implementation of the association agreements# When the time comes, when the homework is done and necessary requirements are fulfilled, potential membership of these countries in the customs union, the digital union, the energy union should be considered as an option," said coauthor of the resolution Laima Andrikiene, an MEP from Lithuania. Promising broad political and financial opportunities, the European Parliament simultaneously underlines that Brussels should set clear limits and stop cooperation with and assistance to those countries that do not respect European values and human rights. "As our resources are limited, the principle of `more for more' and `less for less' should be implemented. We should focus our resources much more on those Eastern Partnership countries that have made remarkable progress on their European path," Andrikiene stated. Press Review November 17, 2017 "Zhamanak" says, on the one hand, it understands the government's logic that lowers the public's expectations from next year's state budget, "since it is a budget that should lay the foundations for future growth". At the same time, the paper considers it to be rather cynical: "For this argument to work, the government's activities must undergo a quick, qualitative and large-scale transformation. If the public can see this transformation, then this approach will be quite comprehensible for it, but people see absolutely no change in the government's conduct." "Chorrord Ishkhanutyun" writes: "The state budget is on which the government can be criticized for weeks, because the country is in a situation when no budget will save it. One can also understand the parliamentary opposition which won't miss this wonderful opportunity to indulge in populism. But the question is: who has led the country to a situation when outmigration looms large, when it is impossible to check inflation and there is no money for raising pensions and salaries?" The daily further suggests that President Serzh Sarkisian is mainly responsible for the current social and economic woes and should become the main target of opposition criticism. The editor of "Aravot" writes: "If I were a student today and were interested in civil activism, I would fight not for getting an exemption from the army through graduate and post-graduate studies, but would raise a more profound issue: depoliticizing student life. Today's student councils and their leaders remind me of the most regressive Komsomol careerists. In conditions of the declared political pluralism and relevant freedom of speech such characters are perceived as very untimely." "Hraparak" writes: "Centralized heating has not been turned on in the National Assembly building yet and it is quite cold in the parliament chamber. MPs have solved this problem in their rooms individually as they either switch on air conditioners or heaters. It turns out that in the National Assembly they save only on journalists, as the corridors are not heated and it is not known when the repairs of the decrepit heating system will be finished." (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