ARMENIAN ELECTIONS AND DIASPORAN INVESTORS IN ARMENIA AND KARABAKH
Lragir.am
11 July 06
The nation is again facing a presidential election in Karabakh. For
independent Armenia and Karabakh elections imply immense funds for
some people, for others a new means of bargain votes enabling them
to get privileges. The same is for our Diasporan "compatriots".
In other words, some people give some money during the elections and
in return for it they get land or a company, which is about "to go
broke", and assume certain "obligations", which they never fulfill
or they fulfill from one election to another election.
As a result, people lose a number of important "objects", such as the
sport base of Dzoraghbyur, which was transferred to the new owners
of Ararat Football Club in 2001 by the decision of the government
for 50 years, who assumed sponsorship of the club and reconstruction
of the sport base (including 32 hectares of fertile land and several
thousands of fruit trees), which was privatized in 2004 for only 14
thousand U.S. dollars. It is said that after this deal 400 thousand
U.S. dollars appeared in the pocket of certain people, whereas at
that time this land cost as much as 1.5 million dollars. Anyway,
these people enjoy the protection of the NKR president and prime
minister, acquired supporters, who come from Armenia, and started
"cheating" the first persons of the country. In the same period they
gave a promise to the Ministry of Defense they would buy part of the
building of the Institute of Physics for 12 million dollars and many
other promises, namely 5 hectares of land in the orchards of Dalma,
where a modern watch factory would be built and the production would
be exported, which made the leadership of the state go "silent". After
all, presidential and parliamentary elections are drawing nearer in
Armenia. In the same period these "businessmen-benefactors" enjoying
the protection of the NKR president and prime minister started
privatizing several companies, such as the Karabakh Hotel, which was
reconstructed by Spitak Tnak in 2002. The project was worked out by
Armenian engineers invited from Italy (by the way, the "benefactors"
did not pay them, and these people left Armenia forever). The old
building was pulled down in 2005, before the election, and now they
are allegedly continuing the work of Spital Tnak, but it is not known
by what project.
They bought the only factory of lead in Armenia and Karabakh, the Karin
Factory with 7 quarries, the only sport base and stadium of Karabakh
and many other companies. Besides, they got 2000 hectares of pastures
known as Shrlan, and another 2000 hectares of land in Fizuli to develop
wheat production there. In return for these, several tens of thousand
dollars was paid to the pre-election funds of the president and prime
minister of Karabakh. After this deal the president and prime minister
of Karabakh were hosted by these "patriots" in Switzerland and the
United States, where they went on discussing what else they could buy.
What do we have now? Today we may say that nothing is done in Karabakh
except for a little work on the Karabakh Hotel. The other enterprises
are idle. And most importantly, these people pay tens of thousands of
dollars to slush funds before every election, while people receive
nothing. On the eve of the presidential election they have again
started working on these enterprises to display to people that they
were able to engage investors to reconstruct the country.
Recently President Ghulasyan has personally met with these people and
asked for their support to run a third term, promising it is already
clear what.
VARDAN GABRIELYAN
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
