Author: Chakrian Hovsep

WORK ON RE-EQUIPMENT OF ALAVERDI-2 SUBSTATION COMPLETED

Noyan Tapan
Dec 18 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, NOYAN TAPAN. The work on re-equipping the
Alaverdi-2 high-voltage substaion has been completed. The work
was done by the company Areva, the winner of an international
tender. Sahak Abrahamian, Director of the company High-Voltage
Electric Networks, told NT correspondent that KfW Bank (Germany) has
allocated 7.35 mln euros for the implementation of the Regional System
of Electricity Transmission between Armenia and Georgia (Alaverdi-2)
Program. According to S. Abrahamian, the German bank also promised to
allocate sums for re-eqipment of two high-voltage substaions in Gyumri.

Transitions Online, Czech Republic
Dec 15 2006

Old Wounds, Daily Gunfire

by Zoe Powell
15 December 2006

Journalists get a guided look at the Nagorno-Karabakh frontline. From
EurasiaNet.

Recent announcements by Azerbaijan and Armenia have spurred hopes
that a Nagorno-Karabakh peace settlement is within reach. But on a
windswept Karabakh military post northwest of the disputed
territory’s capital, Stepanakert, the struggle over this
self-declared state seems far from over.

At this position, roughly 300 to 400 meters from the Azerbaijani
lines, exchanges of gunfire are a daily occurrence, soldiers said. A
seven-person unit that is refreshed every seven days staffs the post.
An Azerbaijani sniper recently killed a Karabakhi soldier not far
from here.

In a recent tour of the frontline organized for international
journalists by Nagorno-Karabakh’s de facto Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, officers were reluctant to discuss their views on the
ongoing Karabakh negotiations and on the potential impact of a
settlement on the separatist government and military they serve.

"That’s for the politicians," said one army representative, a veteran
of the 1988-1994 conflict with Azerbaijan who gave his name as Artur,
when asked to comment about recent announcements of a breakthrough in
the negotiations. "The military doesn’t mix with politics. Nor should
we, right? We’ll do what we’re told."

The size of the Karabakh army is "a state secret," officials say, and
information about the defense budget is not readily available. A 2005
report by the International Crisis Group, however, cites an unnamed
official in Nagorno-Karabakh’s Yerevan mission who stated that the
army has 20,000 soldiers. Another source cited in the report, a U.S.
military expert, put the number at 18,500 soldiers.

Along with military hardware, Armenia is thought to provide some of
the troops in the Karabakh defense force. Former Armenian conscripts
interviewed by Crisis Group representatives in Yerevan reported that
they had been sent to serve in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Conscripts serving at the frontline post, a bleak collection of
trenches, observation hut, one-room office and one-room living
quarters, asserted that they came from Nagorno-Karabakh, adding that
they were there "to serve the homeland." A clock with a large image
of Jesus dominates the office visually, standing across from a
Russian-language wall poster describing how to fight tuberculosis.

"This isn’t the American army," one Defense Ministry representative
on hand for the tour commented with a laugh about the stark scene.
"This is the Karabakh army. They have to be tough."

Young men in Karabakh are required to serve two years in the
military. The government says conscripts are paid 3,000 Armenian
drams per month (about $6.83) for "extras." Army representatives
detailed a long list of food items, including first and second
courses, salad, and soup for dinner, reportedly brought in to feed
frontline soldiers daily, and – indicating one particularly bulky
conscript – claimed that they’re fed meat each day.

An academy "with a military inclination" exists in Stepanakert, but
students who wish to serve as officers in the Nagorno-Karabakh army
do their training in Yerevan, an army representative said. Plans
exist, however, to open a more formal military academy in Karabakh,
where students would be taught, "as in Tsarist Russia," foreign
languages and ballroom dancing along with their regular course of
study, he said.

SLOW RECOVERY

Twelve years after the cease-fire agreement that ended the 1988-1994
war over the territory, ruined houses and other buildings still dot
the landscape outside of Stepanakert. The military did not allow
photos to be taken, but the images seen suggest a conflict indelibly
engraved in residents’ minds.

The economy appears to be recovering slowly, but independently
verifiable economic data is unavailable. At a 6 December
parliamentary session, de facto Minister of Economy and Finance
Spartak Tevosian reported that Karabakh’s gross domestic product
expanded by 20.8 percent for the first nine months of 2006, as
compared with the same period in 2005, reaching $97.4 million, the
Armenian news bulletin service De Facto reported. Monthly salaries
average around 36,605 Armenian drams, or about $83.38, the minister
claimed.

Primarily an agrarian society, Karabakhis are returning to
cultivating vineyards and wheat fields. A gold mine opened in 2002,
and construction projects, including a new parliament building and
adjoining hotel, can be seen throughout Stepanakert, often financed
by diaspora Armenians. The separatist leadership is also putting
increased emphasis on tourism: the government claims that in 2006
some 3,750 foreign tourists visited this rugged region, prized among
Armenians for its monasteries and churches, and that the number of
such visits is steadily increasing.

Security concerns remain foremost in Karabakhis’ minds. Interviewed
residents routinely cited maintaining an adequate defense against
Azerbaijan, which formerly controlled Nagorno-Karabakh, as their
territory’s largest problem. Many cast a doubtful eye on the return
of the seven territories surrounding their region to Azerbaijani
control.

"If Armenia frees those territories, without a doubt, then,
Azerbaijan should take reciprocal steps and recognize our
independence or, in the worst case, recognize our right to a free
choice," commented Vahram Atanesian, chairman of the Nagorno-Karabakh
parliament’s foreign affairs committee. "We went toward independence
because it was the best way to guarantee our security."

While war veterans, refugees from Azerbaijan and long-term residents
interviewed by EurasiaNet all spoke out strongly against any
resumption of armed hostilities with Azerbaijan, feelings were mixed
about the return of Azerbaijani refugees to this predominantly ethnic
Armenian land. The government of Azerbaijan has insisted on such a
right of return as one of the conditions for a lasting peace
resolution with Armenia.

"There’s no chance we can live together now," said octogenarian Areg
Oganisian, an Azeri-speaking ethnic Armenian refugee from the
Azerbaijani town of Sumgait who returned to his family village
outside of the Karabakhi town of Shushi after the 1988 pogrom against
Armenians in Sumgait. "But I also can’t say that all Azerbaijanis are
bad. They are civilized, too . . . . If it hadn’t been for Sumgait,
we could have worked things out, but Sumgait was a detonator."

"We took Karabakh by blood," said a Karabakh war veteran, who gave
his name as Artur. "How will there not be a war if Azerbaijan tries
to take it back?"

Zoe Powell is a pseudonym for a journalist based in Tbilisi. This is
a partner post from EurasiaNet.

RUSSIA’S MILITARY OUT OF TBILISI WITH BAG AND BAGGAGE

Kommersant, Russia
Dec 14 2006

The last train with machinery and belongings of Russia’s garrison
has left Tbilisi, Interfax reported.

The machinery and equipment are heading for the Military Base 102 in
Armenia’s town of Gumri, said Vladimir Kuparadze, deputy commander
of Transcaucasia’s Group of Russian Troops. Overall, 387 officers
and soldiers left Tbilisi garrison and around 100 armored vehicles,
350 tons of ammunition and other belongings were taken away from it,
Kuparadze specified.

Those of military remained in Tbilisi will be driven out of Georgia
next week, ITAR-TASS said.

The withdrawal of Russia’s military bases from Georgia is to complete
in 2008.

‘SCREAMING’ FOR JUSTICE
By Carl Kozlowski

Pasadena Weekly, CA
Dec 14 2006

In a new documentary, Glendale’s System of a Down turns up the volume
on the battle for recognition of the Armenian Genocide

Think of documentaries, and you might imagine films focused on
obscure topics and filled with serious facts, adding up to minimal
entertainment value. Think of rock concert films and you’ll likely
picture a band full of airhead, perhaps mullet-wearing men banging
out tunes between lurid backstage scenes of groupies and drug parties.

What you’d likely never expect to see is a film like "Screamers" –
a powerful new documentary that details the raw inhumanity of the
1915 Armenian Genocide in Turkey while also providing its audience
with walloping doses of rock ‘n’ roll, thanks to the passionate
participation of Glendale native rockers System of a Down: Serj
Tankian, John Dolmayan, Daron Malakian and Shavo Odadjian. Following
the Grammy Award-winning band on tour as it educates its rabid fan
base through message-laden songs, the film also observes the band’s
lead singer Tankian as he poignantly stirs the memories of his
genocide-survivor grandfather.

Together, the film makes the urgent case that official recognition of
the genocide – which several major countries, including the United
States, have been reluctant to do – is key not only to remembering
the past but also to preventing current and future genocides.

"I’m Armenian myself, and a descendent of genocide survivors,
but didn’t see what I could bring to a film about genocide until I
heard about System of a Down," says Carla Garapedian, the director of
"Screamers," which had its world premiere Nov. 2 at the Los Angeles
Film Festival. "A colleague said, ‘Maybe you should do something with
these guys.’ I went to a 2004 Greek Theatre concert with them that
had a lot of organizations with information tables about genocide,
and fans were coming over and knew all about the Armenian and other
genocides. I was amazed. These were 15-year-olds into their 30s, so
I thought this must be a really different band, able to make the kids
ask questions about this very difficult subject at such a young age."

Garapedian has built a career upon the fearless creation of
documentaries that shine a light on the darkest aspects of humanity.

While she’s a native of North Hollywood, she moved to England to
attend college in 1979 and has rarely looked back while establishing
herself as a prime director of human-rights documentaries for the
BBC and the British independent-TV network Channel 4.

Traveling across such harsh and dangerous regions as Afghanistan
and Chechnya, Garapedian has seen firsthand the dangers of ignoring
history. She also points out that Adolf Hitler once reportedly scoffed
"Who remembers the Armenians?" in 1939 when his Nazi officers asked
him how he thought he could get away with murdering Jews.

The Armenian Genocide itself occurred as the result of a forced mass
evacuation of more than 1 million Armenian Christians from their
homes during the rule of the so-called Young Turks from 1915 to 1917
in the Ottoman Empire, as its Muslim leadership tried to "cleanse"
the nation of non-Muslims. While this foreshadowed not only Hitler’s
Holocaust but also the Bosnian-Serbian atrocities of the 1990s and
the horrific events currently taking place in Darfur, Sudan, Turkish
officials have never admitted the deaths amount to a genocide – in
fact, they loudly protest whenever someone uses the word. Nations
such as the United States have never forced such an admission because
Turkey is a vital ally in the West’s Middle Eastern affairs.

Additionally, Turkey potentially has a lot to lose if it officially
recognizes its tragic past, because genocide survivors and descendents
could either demand their land back or bankrupt the country through
reparations.

"A lot of this is in the history books, despite the fact that
US leaders tried to fight such mentions, but we also had a lot
of survivors and their grandchildren in the LA area, so it was a
matter of choosing survivor stories that would illuminate it the
best," explains Garapedian. "Serj’s granddad still being alive was
a gift for me, as it was a personal way to tell the story within the
circle of the band, who were a big key in making the film viable to
audiences. When I checked with the BBC about using System of a Down,
they said ‘Go for it’ because they’re a phenomenon. And it was a good
way and great time to explore the issues, because Turkey was pushing
to join the European Union and the genocide was becoming a political
football in Europe as a result."

For Garapedian, the decision to use System of a Down was a matter of
making a gruesome subject more intriguing to a broader audience and
thereby helping spread awareness. Since the band had long made genocide
awareness a focal point of its mission, they were an obvious choice,
but she still had to overcome their qualms that the resulting film
might just be a shallow look at backstage life and others’ fears that
splitting focus with a rock band might cheapen the cause.

"It was a question of how do you tell the story without being crass
or a music video, and yet respectful," says Garapedian. "For me at
least, the music is so powerful that you get used to it by the end.

You may not like the music, but it’s very powerful and that lends
itself to the subject matter."

Ultimately, according to System drummer Dolmayan, the band came aboard
because it saw the film as an opportunity to spread the word beyond
the fan base that buys their CDs.

"Carla took a lot of chances with her personal safety to make this
film, and I didn’t have any idea how good this would be, but this is
very well-done and very factually correct," says Dolmayan. "There’s
a lot of things that even I learned when making this film, and it’s
hard to get super-widespread views in theaters for any documentary,
so if we can help it get out there further, I’m glad we’re a part."

What System’s members and Garapedian are hoping for aren’t reparations,
but merely for Turkey to admit the truth. It is then, they believe,
that Turkey can follow the difficult path already navigated by South
Africa and the former Soviet Union in achieving reconciliation among
all its citizens.

Ultimately, such a big step will likely come only after the United
States makes a big step of its own: a vote by Congress to recognize
the dark events of 1915 as genocide. While our leaders have shamefully
looked away for more than 90 years, Garapedian finally sees hope
emerging from hopelessness.

"Some congressmen changed their votes the last time this came up
because Turkey blocked us from using their bases recently in the
Iraq war, and they realized we’re helping Turkey for nothing," says
Garapedian. "They are allowed to get away with what they’ve done,
and the problems and resentments remain. The effects of the genocide
keep going until you admit to it."

"Screamers" is playing at the Mann Glendale Exchange, 128 N. Maryland
Ave., Glendale. Call (818) 549-0045, or visit

m/article.php?id=4117&IssueNum=50

ZHIRAYR SEFILIAN DEFENCE COMMITTEES FORMED IN YEREVAN, BEIRUT, MONTREAL, TORONTO AMD LOS ANGELES

Noyan Tapan
Dec 14 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The committee "Support for Zhirayr
Sefilian" was created in Yerevan on December 14. NT was informed from
member of the public initiative "Liberated Territories Protection"
Armen Yeghian that the committee’s tasks, goals and composition will
be announced on December 15.

According to him, committees for defence of Zh. Sefilian are being
formed in the Diaspora. Such committees have already been created
in Beirut, Montreal, Toronto and Los Angeles. The committees staged
protests in front the Armenian embassy in Canada and the Armenian
consulate in Los Angeles, demanding that Zh.

Sefilian be released and granted Armenian citizenship. To recap,
the Lebanese citizen Zhirayr Sefilian, who is the coordinator of the
initiative "Liberated Territories Protection" and commander of the
special Shushi battalion, and Vardan Malkhasian, leading member of
the same initiative, were arrested by the RA National Security Service
on December 10. A criminal case was opened against them based on the
RA Criminal Code’s Article 301 "Public Calls to Change Constitutional
Order by Violence". The court chose a 3-month arrest as a measure of
restraint against them.

REFERENDUM ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE NKR

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.12.2006 GMT+04:00

One more step forward towards the international recognition

According to the USSR Constitution, the autonomous republics and
regions had the same rights as the 15 "main" republics.

Referendum on the Constitution of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was
held, and as it could be expected, it was held with the unanimous
approval of the population of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The
World Community’s response was also predictable; nobody recognized
its results, including the OSCE Minsk Group and the Council of Europe
and European Union. U.N.O. wasn’t among those who didn’t recognize it,
but instead GUAM Countries were.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The mentioned organization, before the referendum had
announced that "holding the referendum is violation of the Constitution
of the Republic of Azerbaijan, norms and principles of international
rights, therefore it will have no legal significance and its results
will be recognized as invalid". Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning
that according to the USSR Constitution, the autonomous republics
and regions had the same rights as the 15 "main" republics. That
means, that the autonomous region of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,
South Ossetia and all the more Ajaria and Abkhazia, which used to be
autonomous republics, have the right of self-determination without
breaking the principle of territorial integrity. Consequently,
they had and still have the right of holding referendums and
elections. According to the Head of the International Relations
Problems Department of the Institute of Political and Military Analysis
Sergey Markedonov, the referendum on adopting the Constitution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, was first of all addressed to the World
Community. "Both USA and European Union talk much of democratization
as of a crucial factor in solving conflicts in a peaceful way. The
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic demonstrated adherence to this method",
he said.

As for GUAM Countries (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldavia),
they have recently been acting on one principle: "that’s the guilty
conscience speaking", however this principle is not strategically
very successful. Only the powerful country, having no complaints and
demands, is recognized by the World Community. It is the case, when it
has no oil; in case it does, it is quite another thing. Thanks God,
Nagorno-Karabakh has no oil, so it is free to do whatever he wants
(within reasonable limits, of course). Yet, Azerbaijan can always
be controlled and threatened with sanctions of Ilham Aliyev’s
authoritarian regime, who feeds the population with tales about
"fairy oil incomes", but in real the money goes into the clan’s pocket
only. But these are just trifles. Later in an announcement made by
GUAM Countries, there was an idea which was repeated by anyone who
"didn’t recognize the results": "The referendum disturbs the ongoing
peaceful process and aims at destabilizing the situation in the region
and deludes the International Community. This act contradicts the
universally recognized standards and values of democracy and the human
rights. Any Constitutional Document stipulating for self-government
of the Nagorno-Karabakh population may be developed within the
frames of legal, democratic and peaceful processes with full, equal
and immediate participation of the whole population of the region,
composed of both Azerbaijani and Armenian Communities".

The most moving part of the whole story was the part about the
participation of the Azerbaijani Community in the Referendum of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

Yes, let them come and vote, who doesn’t allow them to? Just wondering,
why should the population of 2-3 villages impose its will on the
95% population? Or maybe the Azerbaijani authorities think that the
safe haven is also included in the territory of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic. Then there are no unanswered questions left, they accepted
themselves, so it means that these territories are not subject to
any return.

In general, there is a rather familiar air in the content of the
announcement- it is very typical to Central Committee of the CPSU,
when Brejnev and Aliyev Senior were in power. The style is very
typical to the party, having tendency for "democracy", as it is
understood by GUAM Countries, and first of all, by Azerbaijan. The
cost of the announcement is the same as that of other parties’
-published and forgotten.

Especially when the discussions about the "frozen conflicts in the
territory of GUAM Countries" have been suspended in U.N.O. for a
year. For an organization like that – a year is a very long term and
it may be considered that the resolution has been simply "frozen".

"PanARMENIAN.Net" analytical department

HEALTH STATE OF G.ABDALIAN AND HER 3 GRANDCHILDREN MADE ATTEMPT OF SETTING THEMSELVES ON FIRE IS STABLE

Noyan Tapan
Dec 13 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The health state of Gyulizar
Avdalian and her 3 grandchildren of the Yezidi origin, made an attempt
of setting themselves on fire during the action of protest in front
the of the RA President’s residence on December 7, is stable and is
estimated as of middle seriousness.

Hovsep Shamakhian, the Chief of the Burn Department of the
Traumatology, Orthopedics, Burns and Radio-Therapy Center informed
the Noyan Tapan correspondent about it. He mentioned that the latters
got burns of the 2nd and 3rd categories. In H.Shamakhian’s words,
G.Avdalian and Roman Avdalian from the children are in comparatively
poor state. To recap, G.Avdalian is the mother of Kyaram Avdalian
killed in the consequence of the incident taken place in the village
of Lchashen on November 6. She demanded to remove the examination of
the case of murder of her 42-year old son from the Prosecutor’s Office
of the marz of Gegharkunik to the RA Prosecutor’s Office. To recap,
a criminal action was brought on the occasion of the fact of setting
on fire, a preliminary investigation is being held. In G.Avdalian’s
words, she did not want to injure the children, she simply did not
notice that petrol was filled on the children as well.

RENOVATED KINDERGARTEN IN VERISHEN READY TO PROVIDE IMPROVED EDUCATIONAL AND CARE CONDITIONS

ArmRadio.am
13.12.2006 14:52

On December 14, 2006 at 13:00 the official opening ceremony of the
kindergarten in Verishen village will take place. The kindergarten
was renovated through the US Embassy and USAID-funded Community
Self-Help Fund (CSHF) program, which is implemented by Save the
Children. Representatives of the US Embassy, USAID, Save the Children,
Syunik Marzpetaran, Verishen local government and the community will
participate in the event.

The kindergarten of Verishen village (2,250 residents) is a two-storied
building constructed in 1974. Until 2001 the kindergarten functioned
with 120 children enrolled, including 30 from the neighboring Akner
village, and run by 18 staff. Strong winds in 2001 swept away the roof
of the building due to which the rainwaters systematically penetrated
into the building and flooded the interior. This led to complete
destruction of the building – sanitary units and heating system went
out of order, hindering the functioning of the kindergarten. Though
in 2002 the building’s roof was renovated through the funding from
World Vision, however the overall problem still existed. Due to poor
hygiene and heating conditions the number of children enrolled in the
kindergarten gradually decreased which resulted in the final closure of
the kindergarten in 2004. As the re-opening of the kindergarten was of
vital importance for the village, the local authorities intensively
began seeking funding for the renovation of the building. In 2005
Jinishian Family Foundation helped renovate the sanitary units of the
kindergarten. However, the kindergarten still had major unresolved
problems, which impeded the kindergarten’s functioning.

Thus the kindergarten administration applied to Save the Children for
a CSHF program grant to renovate the heating system and finalize the
internal renovation.

The Community Self-Help Fund program helped renovate and upgrade
the kindergarten’s kitchen, laundry, health post, events’ hall, 3
playrooms and 3 bedrooms, and install a gas boiler and an internal
heating system. As a result, the heating system and the building’s
premises were improved, and the kindergarten finally got ready to
receive children in proper educational and care conditions. After
the kindergarten’s re-opening, 90 children will begin attending it,
and 18 staff will be hired.

The total cost of the project was USD 26,599 of which USD 18,199
was provided by the Community Self-Help Fund, while USD 8,400 (about
32% of the project cost) was contributed by the Verishen and Akner
villages municipalities in form of labor and construction materials. In
addition, the local dairy producing company "Elola" LTD committed to
provide dairy products in the amount of about USD 180 per month.

TURKEY’S TERMS INADMISSIBLE

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.12.2006 17:40 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Any proposals on formation of a bilateral commission
of historians on investigation of events of 1915 are absolutely
inadmissible, said political scientist, director of the Caucasus
Media Institute Alexander Iskandaryan. The Armenian Genocide is a
crime that must be recognized. Armenians do not doubt the fact of
Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.

Telling an Armenian that there was no Genocide is the same as telling
a Jew that there was no Oswiecim and Dachau," he emphasized.

The Armenian political scientist remarked that the Armenian Genocide
issue cannot be a precondition for opening of the Armenian-Turkish
border. "If opening of the border and normalization of the
Armenian-Turkish relations depend on the issue the relations will
never be normalized," he said.

Turkey’s proposals are inadmissible. It especially refers to the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.

Turkey is a third state and has no right to interfere.

Armenia’s interference into the Cypriot issue would look the same way,"
he said.

KOCHARIAN AGAIN SLAMS ARMENIAN TAX COLLECTION
By Emil Danielyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Dec 8 2006

President Robert Kocharian again lambasted Armenia’s tax and customs
authorities on Friday, saying that the amount of taxes collected
by them remains too low and "does not correspond to the existing
potential."

The criticism came at a special meeting between Kocharian and a group
of top officials, including Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, Finance
Minister Vartan Khachatrian and Central Bank chief Tigran Torosian. The
heads of the State Tax Service (STS) and the State Customs Committee
(SCC) were also in attendance.

"In the president’s words, some work has been done in the past few
years to improve the tax and customs administration, but it is still
far from being satisfactory," Kocharian’s office said in a statement.

The head of state was cited as demanding a "qualitative change" in
the work of his government’s two revenue collection agencies next year.

The Armenian budget for 2007, approved by parliament last week,
calls for an almost 16 percent increase in public spending which is
projected to total a record-high 558.7 billion drams ($1.51 billion).

This will require a corresponding rise in tax revenues, something
which was stressed by Kocharian during the meeting.

According to official data released by the Finance Ministry, the STS
and SCC collected 346 billion drams in combined revenues during the
first ten months of this year. This represents an almost 20 percent
rise from the same period in 2005, putting the government on track
to meet its 2006 budgetary targets.

Despite having grown steadily over the past decade, the tax revenues
are still worth less than 15 percent of Gross Domestic Product,
one of the lowest rates in the former Soviet Union highlighting the
scale of tax evasion in Armenia. Kocharian’s chief economic adviser,
Vahram Nercissiantz, has repeatedly singled out the disproportionately
low figure as a key economic challenge facing the country.

"It is evident that considering our robust economic growth, it should
have been possible to collect much more tax revenues," Nercissiantz
admitted in a RFE/RL interview last June. He said Armenia’s continuing
double-digit economic growth makes the tax shortfall particularly
glaring.

Kocharian was reported to instruct the tax authorities to tackle the
problem by eliminating unspecified legal loopholes for tax avoidance
and creating a level playing field for all Armenian businesses. It
is not clear if he agreed with a widespread perception that wealthy
government-connected entrepreneurs get away with grossly underreporting
their earnings.

The latest list of the country’s 300 largest corporate taxpayers made
public by STS last month shows that many of the so-called "oligarchs"
continue to post modest profits contrasting with their conspicuous
wealth. Gagik Tsarukian, arguably the most influential and ambitious
of them, was again a case in point. The biggest of the companies
known to be owned by him held a lowly 76 place in the STS rankings,
with only 411 million drams ($1.1 million) in taxes and other duties
paid from January through August.