Author: nina hovnanian

SHOULD ARMENIA CONVERT FOREIGN CURRENCY LOANS INTO NATIONAL CURRENCY UNITS? – ECONOMISTS

11:13 * 10.03.15

Converting foreign currency loans into national currency units is the
best way for a country to avoid further dollarization, an economist
has said, considering the Russian currency policies exemplary also
for Armenia.

“The only way out of the Dollar race is for people to realize that
the Dram is their country’s currency, and the [national] flag is
the Armenian tricolor, not the US flag; that’s it. Why I say this is
because the more the country dollarized, the more your flag repeats
the United States’ flag. So a country’s economy cannot have Dollars
in such an amount,” Vilen Khachatryan told Tert.am.

He cited the Dollar loans and deposits as the most vivid evidence of
a dollarized economy.

Studies by the Central Bank of Armenia reveal that the banks’ 2015
loan portfolio totals 2.134 Drams, of which 1.342 Drams (60%-65%)
was issued in a foreign currency (USD, Euro or Russian Ruble).

As of January, the deposits amounted to 729 billion Drams, of which
847 billion Drams (45%-50%) was in a foreign currency.

Khachatryan said he finds Dollar loans conversion into Drams
technically possible.

“If a powerful country like Russia does that, it is definitely
possible,” he said.

Mikael Melkumyan, an economist lawmaker of the Prosperous Armenia
party, hailed the idea but at the same time, pointed out to possible
economic risks which he said will not be limited to banks alone as
private entities. He said he doesn’t think that problems arising from
risks are solvable on the level of banks and individual entrepreneurs.

“A government institution has to make an intervention to create a
triangle sharing the risks among three, because the banks themselves
are likely to incur damages in such a case,” the economist said,
adding that he now works on a draft envisaging loan issuances at a
2%-4% interest rate.

But he didn’t give further details.

“I repeat, those risks have to be divided into three parts, but
there has to be a clear scheme which I cannot elaborate on now for
understandable reasons,” he added.

Speaking to Tert.am, Hayk Gevorgyan, an economic commentator for the
Armenian daily Haykakan Zhamanak, expressed his disapproval of the
loan conversion policies, considering them anti-liberal.

“It isn’t as if [the citizen] borrowing a loan has already taken
risks. If the Dollar had depreciated, there wouldn’t naturally be
any complaints. So the same logic suggests that the banks themselves
should have taken to streets [for a protest],” he added.

Gevorgyan said he finds that any citizen borrowing a loan has to
make the risk assessments himself or herself before concluding the
transaction. He added that unwritten laws in any country require that
bank clients borrow loans in their national currency.

PROSECUTOR GENERAL OF ARMENIA IS AT LOSS TO SPEAK OF CRIME WAVE REASONS IN ARMENIA

by Ashot Safaryan

Tuesday, March 10, 13:34

Prosecutor General of Armenia Gevorg Kostanyan is at loss to speak
of the crime wave reasons in Armenia. After the government meeting
on March 10 the journalists asked Kostanyan to comment on the recent
bloody shootout. Criminal kingpin Levon Ghazaryan was killed in the
shootout in Yerevan. During the shootout in Gyumri six people were
severely injured and taken to hospital.

However, the Prosecutor General’s answers were rather indefinite.

According to him, it is too early to speak of the crime rate in
Armenia, as well as of the reasons of the shootout. Kostanyan believes,
that the only solution to the problem after such incidents is to
strengthen the control of arms traffic. He assured, that necessary
measures are taken on each crime.

Kostanyan evaded the question if the crimes were related to the law
enforcement bodies’ improper execution of their functions.

The Prosecutor General also refused to comment on spread rumors
that Head of Police Vladimir Gasparyan and Head of Investigation
Committee Aghvan Hovsepyan are striving for his resignation. “Every
single administrative official desires a higher position, which is
quite normal”, he said.

GEORGE CLOONEY JOINS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL EFFORTS

10:44, 10 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Leaders in the Armenian diaspora, preparing to commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide, have collaborated with Hollywood
celebrities and human rights advocates to create a prize to be awarded
annually to those who put themselves at risk to ensure that others
survive, The New York Timesreports.

The humanitarian prize, to be announced on Tuesday in New York, is
part of an expansive effort by prominent Armenians to ensure that
the history of the genocide by Turkish Ottoman troops, which is still
disputed by Turkey’s government, is documented and archived through
the stories of survivors and their saviors, in ways similar to the
chronicling of the Jews’ suffering in the Holocaust.

The effort, the Armenian sponsors said, will emphasize how survivors of
the genocide — people who in some cases were protected by sympathetic
Turks — went on to lead successful lives as they and their descendants
spread throughout the world, many of them relocating to Russia and
the United States.

About 1.5 million Armenians died from 1915 to 1923 in what is widely
acknowledged as the 20th century’s first genocide. About 500,000
survived, many because of interventions by foreign individuals and
institutions. The official commemoration of the genocide in Armenia
begins next month.

“The humanity, generosity, strength and sacrifice shown by those who
saved so many Armenians compels us to tell these stories,” said Ruben
Vardanyan, an Armenian investment banker and philanthropist who grew
up in Russia and is a co-sponsor of the commemoration effort, known
as the 100 Lives Initiative.

“My grandfather was saved by a missionary,” Mr. Vardanyan said in an
interview, crediting his existence today to that event.

Along with commemorating the survivors and those who saved them, the
effort will establish a $1 million award, to be called the Aurora Prize
for Awakening Humanity, to be given starting next year. The winners
will not keep the money, instead presenting it to the organizations
that they identify as the inspirations for their work.

The award is named after a survivor of the genocide, Aurora
Mardiganian, who as a child was forced to witness the deaths of family
members. She devoted her life to raising awareness of the genocide
and starred in a 1919 film called “Ravished Armenia.”

Mr. Vardanyan and his associates collaborated with Not On Our Watch,
an organization founded by George Clooney and other celebrities —
including Don Cheadle, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt — that seeks to
prevent mass atrocities. Its principal undertaking in the past few
years has been to document, through satellite imagery, evidence of
possible atrocities in parts of Africa; the effort is known as the
Satellite Sentinel Project.

In a statement, Mr. Clooney said his group shared a common goal with
the Armenian sponsors, “to focus global attention on the impact of
genocide as well as putting resources toward ending mass atrocities
around the world.”

Members of the selection committee for the prize, which has yet to
be finalized, resembles a Who’s Who of personalities in human rights
advocacy and Armenian success. They include Mr. Clooney as well as the
Nobel Peace Prize winners Elie Wiesel and Óscar Arias; Mary Robinson,
a former United Nations high commissioner for human rights; Gareth
Evans, an adviser to the United Nations on genocide prevention; and
Vartan Gregorian, an Iranian-born American academic who is president
of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Mr. Clooney is to award the inaugural prize at a ceremony to be held
in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, on April 24, 2016, the sponsors
said in a statement.

EUROVISION 2015: WHO GUY SEBASTIAN HAS TO BEAT

Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
March 9 2015

by Peter Vincent, National Music Editor
March 9, 2015 – 5:42PM

Much has been written about Australia’s Eurovision pick Guy Sebastian,
a singer we know is richly-talented but suspect is lacking in dazzle.

And razzle too, for that matter.

It might be unfair to say so, but that doesn’t augur well for the
world’s glitziest and kitschiest show.

Sebastian’s chances of success though will, in part, come down to
whether he can make enough of his strengths – especially his ability
to tug heart-strings with his undoubtedly velvety voice. A good song
is essential and we may not know what he’s singing until March 16.

But in a contest that rewards attention-seeking behaviour, how his
opponents are received will surely be the deciding factor. So what
do we know about his rivals?

A quick glance at the other contestants announced so far reveals a
clear trend. There are more glamorous solo female performers than
ever (among them: Spain, Iceland, Greece, Ireland, Georgia, The
Netherlands, Albania, Hungary, Malta, Portugal) and fewer novelty
acts than ever. That said, one does stand out…

‘Retro polyester’ may have been more apt. The unheralded duo –
comprising unsuccessful reality TV contestant Bianca Nicholas and Alex
Larke, singer for Rolling Stones tribute act ‘The Rollin’ Clones’ –
will perform an up-tempo electric swing song that has been received by
critics as little more than a novelty track harking back to the final
days of The British Empire. The Guardian’s Stuart Heritage lamented
it as “hopefully… a nadir” in British Eurovision entries, believing
the logic behind it to be: “We’ve tried everything and we’ve failed,
so here’s something that sounds like a million ragtime-era dentist
drills going off in unison. Hope you choke on it.” Unmissable, for
all the wrong reasons.

Germany – Ann Sophie

Deutschland should have been represented by the wonderfully talented
but unphotogenic Andreas Kummert (Voice of Germany winner from 2013).

But after winning the right to perform in Vienna, he pulled out on
live television saying: “I’m not really in the right shape to accept
this,” before nominating the runner-up. Ann Sophie, a London-born
ballet dancer and wildcard entry, is that runner-up and she will sing
Black Smoke in Vienna. But the news hasn’t excited online bookies,
who now rate Germany a rank outsider.

Finland – Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät

Choosing PNK, a punk band whose members have learning disabilities,
autism and Down Syndrome, might sound like a bad pub joke, but this
looks like a double winning move. There’s an authenticity to it
which could be a vote-winner and even if it’s not, the Fins have
been courageous enough to use the huge television audience to put
Down Syndrome on the agenda in front of millions. Completely risky
move that you just feel could pay off no matter what happens.

Slovenia – Maraaya

The secret weapon behind Slovenian entry Maraaya’s chances is New
Orleans-born songwriter Charlie Mason, who co-wrote Conchita Wurst’s
winning song last year, Rise Like a Phoenix. Maraaya (Marjetka Vovk
and AleÅ¡ Vovk) will perform his new song, Here For You – and as you’d
expect, it’s a real earworm and already has the attention of bookies.

Italy – Il Volo

Italy are represented by a polished pop-opera trio, Il Volo (The
Flight), featuring nerdy tenor Piero Barone, smiley tenor Ignazio
Boschetto and devilish baritone Gianluca Ginoble. They won the right
to compete after winning the Sanremo Song Contest, which doubled as
Italy’s Eurovision qualifier. Il Volo would make opera purists wince,
but their dashing looks, powerful vocals and melodramatic performances
are about perfect for Eurovision. Is it too late for Guy Sebastian
to be cloned?

Armenia – Genealogy

If the phrase ‘Armenian supergroup’ leaves you scratching your head,
imagine trying to run band meetings between the members of Armenia’s
Eurovision entry Genealogy, who come from the United States, Japan,
Ethiopia, France, Australia and yes even Armenia. The Australian member
is Houston-born soprano Mary-Jean Anais O’Doherty , who studied in
Sydney and was a recipient of the ABC Symphony Young Vocalist Award in
2007 and the Australian International Opera Award in 2008. There is
of course no guarantee Genealogy will survive the first semifinal in
the Wiener Stadhalle, but it would terrific to see another Australian
in the final.

Ireland – Molly Sterling

Sixteen-year-old Molly Sterling, from Puckane in County Tipperary, is
a teen talent show veteran and bound to win votes for her youthfulness
if she can handle her nerves in front of over 100 million viewers.

Rated an outside chance, but has to qualify from the second semifinal.

Iceland – María Ôlafsdóttir

The tiny 21-year-old singer/actress, who often performs barefoot,
has a powerhouse ballad (Unbroken) that is exactly the kind of song
that could rise above voting blocks. A real dark horse.

Estonia – Elina Born and Stig Rasta

Estonia is already being tipped by bookmakers as a contender and it’s
down to the quality of their song, Goodbye to Yesterday, which sounds
like a ubiquitous international pop song with just enough retro appeal
to feel weirdly familiar – unlike Britain’s song which is too strong
on the retro flavour.

Georgia – Nina Sublatti

Moscow-born model/calligrapher/singer Nina Sulaberidze will sing her
own song, Warrior for Georgia. She has plenty of influences to, ahem,
draw upon including Janis Joplin, Bjork and Placebo’s Brian Molko.

Armenian Apostolic Church of Crescenta Valley – Education Committee
6252 Honolulu Ave.
La Crescenta, CA. 91214
Tel: 818-244-9645
E-mail: [email protected]

On Sunday, March 22, 2015, the Educational Committee of the Armenian
Apostolic Church of Crescenta Valley will host a lecture on the
“The Cut’ Film and Mardik Martin’,
presented by Mr. Mardik Martin. The lecture will begin at 1:00 p.m., at
the conclusion of Divine Liturgy, at the Prelacy `Dikran and
Zarouhie Der Ghazarian’ Hall (6250 Honolulu Ave, La Crescenta,
CA 91214).

Mr. Mardik will provide detail of his involvement in production of the
film `The Cut’ for which he co-wrote the screenplay. He
traveled to Armenia for the first time in January 2015 with acclaimed
director Fatih Akin for the premiere of the film, which follows the
quest of an Armenian Genocide survivor to find his lost daughters.
The film was
also premiered in the Competition at the ‘Venice International Film
Festival’ in 2014.

Mr. Mardik Martin is in the elite group of screenwriters on the Writer’s
Guild of America’s list of 101 Greatest Screenplays ever written. He
immigrated to the United States from Iraq to attend New York University.
He won the Mahler award and graduated with a Master’s degree in
Screenwriting in 1968, then went on to teach at NYU from 1968 to 1973.
Mr. Mardik moved to Hollywood after
Mean Streets
(1973), which he co-wrote with
Martin Scorsese,
became a huge success. He has written screenplays like New York, New
York (1977),
Valentino (1977), Revenge is my Destiny and collaborating with Scorsese
on multiple projects before writing the
Raging Bull
(1980). Among his documentaries are Italianamerican (1974), American Boy
(1978) and The Last Waltz (1978). His more recent project is the
documentary Mardik: From Baghdad to Hollywood which was released in
2011.

Mr. Mardik Martin teaches at the prestigious ‘USC School of Cinematic
Arts’, having mentored and taught thousands of the brightest young
luminaries in the movie business.

We invite our parishioners and the greater community to attend Divine
Liturgy and the presentation to follow. The event is free of charge to
the public. Those who would like to receive more information on or
sponsor the Educational Committee’s future lecture series are
encouraged to contact the Church at [email protected]
.

Below is the YouTube video on `Jesus’ Teaching on
Fasting in the Gospel of Matthew’ presented by Rev. Fr. Boghos
Tinkjian at the Crescenta Valley Armenian Apostolic Church in
LaCrescenta, California on Sunday 3/8/15.

RUSSIA RATIFIES AGREEMENT ON ARMENIAN CITIZENS’ STAY FOR 30 DAYS WITHOUT REGISTRATION

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
March 9 2015

9 March 2015 – 4:29pm

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law the ratification
of the agreement with Armenia allowing the two countries’ citizens
to stay in Russia and Armenia for 30 days without registration.

The same approach is being applied to citizens of Belarus and
Kazakhstan.

The agreement with Armenia was signed on July 11, 2014 in Sochi.

Armenia joined the Eurasian Economic Union of Russia, Belarus and
Kazakhstan on January 2, 2015.

GEORGIAN AND ARMENIAN JUSTICE MINISTRIES SIGN MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
March 9 2015

9 March 2015 – 6:33pm

Armenian and Georgian justice ministers Ovannes Manukyan and Tea
Tsulukiani signed a memorandum of understanding during a visit by an
Armenian delegation to Georgia on March 6-7. The document stipulates
cooperation in the notarial system, registration of legal bodies,
execution of court rulings and registration of acts of civil status,
Armenia Today reports.

The ministers called the memorandum the first principle agreement their
ministries have signed in the last 5 years, allowing the countries
to exchange experience and stimulate the development of the judicial
and legal systems.

TWO MAJOR FORCES IN ARMENIA’S POLITICAL ARENA – ARMEN BADALYAN

16:55 * 09.03.15

In an interview with Tert.am expert in political and election
technologies Armen Badalyan noted that two parties now remain in
Armenia’s political arena.

As regards the leadership of the Prosperous Armenia party, which
has declared itself an opposition force, he said that it was a
leader-chaired force under Gagik Tsarukyan, whereas it is not the
case after Naira Zohrabyan was elected party chairperson. This is a
time-consuming process.

“Armenia’s society is marginalized and at best 5-7 percent is somewhat
active. The rest 90 percent is not interested in this country, and
natural formation of opposition structure is impossible under the
circumstances,” Mr Badalyan said.

“There are forces in Armenia’s political arena now. The first is the
ruling Republican Party of Armenia, despite its unchanged political
ratings and number of members. Since the Prosperous Armenia party is
weaker now, the RPA, with its control and influence, has acquired a
high status, gained influence and new resources.”

As regards other forces, Mr Badalyan said that the Armenian National
Congress, though in Armenia’s political area, is rather weak as well.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) party is
active as well. Supportive of the idea of ‘Armenia from sea to sea,’
this party is losing its members.

“The Heritage party, which is an extremely weak political unit now,
could be considered a political force when it was part of the trio. To
sum up we can say that two major political forces – RPA and ANC –
are active in Armenia’s political arena.”

Asked what he thinks about the Prosperous Armenia party’s possible
role as a new opposition force, the expert said he finds that
political force to be a completely different structure from what
it used to be under its former leader, Gagik Tsarukyan. “Naturally,
all [the political parties] apart from the Republican are opposition
forces. As for the PAP, its influence under the leadership of Gagik
Tsarukyan was different from what it is under [current leader] Naira
Zohrabyan. And it’s not only due to the change of top figures. Under
Tsarukyan, the PAP was leader-chaired force, but it cannot be the case
with Zohrabyan. She her self has to shape a new image. If [the party]
manages to do so, it will have a certain degree of influence, if not,
they won’t have it. And I have to say that this is a time-consuming
process requiring huge financial means and professional resources. It
isn’t something to be done in just a couple of months or even years.

As for the opposition figures, a mechanical process is ruled out here.

If those forces have split apart or become weaker, it is possible
to mechanically create a new one. It isn’t practically difficult to
create a new force as far as the principles of political engineering
are concerned; the problem has to do with the society. The Armenian
society can be said to be marginalized; some 5%-7% at best are active
to a certain extent.

“The remaining 90%-95% no longer care for the country: very strong
is the psychology of either the potential emigrant or an outsider.

Opposition forces never emerge from a natural process in such
conditions,” Badalyan explained.

EXPERT CRITICIZES CHANGES TO TURNOVER TAX

YEREVAN, March 9. / ARKA /. Harutyun Mesrobyan, a management expert,
has criticized today a set of changes to the law on turnover tax, which
allow small and medium-sized companies to choose one of the two options
to pay their turnover tax, saying the law benefits only oligarchs.

The changes in question propose that turnover tax be levied from
businesses with annual sales of up to 113.4 million drams, up from
58.35 million set by the current law.

The turnover tax was earlier lowered by the government from 3.5
percent to 1 percent for small companies with annual sales of up to
58 million drams, but the amended law obligated the small business
owners to provide tax authorities with documentary evidence of their
wholesale purchases made from larger firms or face heavy fines.

The new law was to come into force on February 5 but after protests
the government postponed its enforcement until July 1. The latest
changes set a 5% turnover tax for companies with annual sales of
up to 113.4 million drams, which will refuse to provide documentary
evidence of their wholesale purchase. Those that will provide it will
pay a 1 percent tax.

Speaking at a news conference Mesrobyan said the proposed changes
passed by the parliament in the first reading are ridiculous,
‘because the oligarchic economic system in Armenia makes all laws
increases the tax burden on medium and small businesses.’

According to him, ‘normal’ oligarchs, who usually have close
connections with all the branches of power, do everything to make
laws serve their narrow interests.

According to the Union of Armenian Employers, there are about 70,000
SMEs in the country, of which 58,000 are micro and small enterprises,
10,000 are medium companies. Together they account for 43% of Armenia’s
GDP and 5 percent of tax revenues. -0-

WHY DOES TURKEY CONTINUE TO DENY ARMENIAN GENOCIDE?

13:00, 09 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

The Boston Globe has published an articpel by Armenian novelist
Chris Bohjalian:

One night in November, 2009, I heard Gerda Weissmann Klein speak at
the University of Texas. A Holocaust survivor, Gerda’s 1957 memoir,
“All But My Life,” chronicles her harrowing ordeal in labor camps and
death marches during World War II. During the question and answer
period, someone asked, “What do you say to Holocaust deniers?” She
shrugged and said, “I really don’t have to say much. I simply tell
them to ask Germany. Germany doesn’t deny it.”

I recalled that exchange last month when President Recep Erdogan
of Turkey was asked about the Armenian genocide. He responded,
“Let’s remove the 1915 events from the area of politics and refer
to science and scientists.” He then chastised the Armenian president
Serzh Sargsyan for rejecting his invitation to visit Turkey on April
24 for the centennial commemoration of the Battle of Gallipoli,
saying the rebuff “violated protocols of courtesy.”

Why did the Armenian president pass on the chance to join Erdogan on
the site of the battle? Because April 24 is also the centennial of
the start of the Armenian genocide, and he will be at the Armenian
Genocide Memorial that day. It was the night of April 24, 1915, when
the Armenian intellectuals, professionals, editors, and religious
leaders in Constantinople were rounded up by the Ottoman authorities,
and almost all of them were executed. In the years that followed,
three out of every four Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were
systematically annihilated by their own government: 1.5 million
people. The majority of Armenians alive today are descendants of
those few who survived.

But Turkey denies the facts — as does oil-rich Azerbaijan. (Moreover,
some of Turkey’s allies, including the United States, find euphemisms
for the word “genocide.”) And while there are many thousands of Turkish
citizens who want their country to face its past and acknowledge
the crimes of its World War I leaders, no one expects Ankara to
follow Berlin’s lead anytime soon and build — to use the name of the
poignant and powerful Holocaust monument near the Brandenburg Gate —
a Memorial to the Murdered Armenians of the Ottoman Empire.

The reality is that for nearly a century, Turkish leaders have worked
fanatically to falsify the historical record. President Erdogan asking
scientists or historians to weigh in on the genocide is rather like
asking scientists to weigh on global climate change. They have. The
International Association of Genocide Scholars unanimously considers
the cataclysmic ethnic cleansing of the Anatolian Plains genocide.

Just last month, a Kurdish member of the Turkish Parliament, Ahmet
Turk, acknowledged his Kurdish ancestors’ role in the nightmare and
apologized to the Armenians for the “blood on our hands.” Even the
first postwar Turkish government convicted the three architects of
the genocide of “crimes against humanity” in 1919 and sentenced them
to death in absentia. It was not until the second postwar government
took over in 1924 — the government led by Gallipoli hero Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk — that Turkey began to rewrite history and sweep under
the rug the death of 1.5 million people.

And why do they get away with it? It’s not merely that our memories
are short and news cycles move on; it’s the political reality that
so many Western nations viewed Turkey as the last stop against Soviet
expansion during the Cold War.

Holding the Gallipoli commemoration on the very day that is
acknowledged by Armenians around the world as Genocide Memorial Day
is too offensive and obvious to be Machiavellian. It’s appalling. It
is emblematic of the Turkish government’s aggressive and insulting
approach to reconciliation with Armenia.

But it does raise a question: Where will our American leaders be on
April 24? Will they be in Armenia, standing in memory for those whose
stories were silenced in Der-el-Zor and Ras-el-Ain and the Dudan
Crevasse? Or will they be in Turkey, at a commemoration designed
specifically to keep those Armenian voices forever stilled?

Chris Bohjalian is the author of 17 novels, including one about the
Armenian genocide, “The Sandcastle Girls.”