The Real Tragedy is What Hasn’t Happened After the Earthquake

 Ara Khatchatourian

Once again we are commemorating the anniversary of the tragic earthquake that hit Armenia on December 7, 1988. As we honor the victims of that tragedy, we must tell ourselves that we, as a nation, have failed to rebuild the earthquake zone, which almost 30 years later is still labeled the “disaster zone.”

Some 550 families are still homeless victims of the earthquake, living in makeshift metal containers scattered around Gyumri, Spitak, Akhourian and other rural areas that were devastated by the earthquake. Yet some 47 miles from Spitak, the epicenter of the earthquake, cranes dot the skyline of Yerevan, with new residential and commercial building mushrooming in a city that has become a virtual construction zone.

Politics of Development within the Country

Razmig Shirinian

 

In a recent summit of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian advised the member countries not to politicize the organization by discussing the Karabagh war as leverage in economic relations. In the midst of poverty, two sons of Armenia’s Finance Minister bought an $11 million mansion in Westwood, CA. (*) These and similar diplomatic and economic incidents would provide an opportunity to reflect on the current Armenian political predicament.

Armenia's anti-corruption council accused of lavish spending

Marianna Grigoryan

A much-touted anti-corruption drive in Armenia has got off to a bad start as questions are raised about the spending and income of leading government members of the committee – including its chair, the prime minister.

The Anti-Corruption Council, which receives funds from the European Union and the United States Agency for International Development, formally began operations at the end of July. It is supposed to have opposition and civil society members as well as government officials on its ranks, but so far no one from the opposition or non-governmental organisations has joined – largely because of scepticism about its credibility.

Lavish ‘Donations’ To Armenian Officials Not Investigated

Sargis Harutyunyan

 

Senior Armenian state officials tasked with combatting corruption have faced no investigations into millions of dollars in financial aid which they and their wives claim to have received from undisclosed sources in recent years.

The officials running the “oversight services” of President Serzh Sarkisian, Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian and the Armenian parliament have reported such lavish financial contributions in their annual asset declarations filed with the state Commission on the Ethics of High-Ranking Officials.

So far none of them has been accused by the commission of using their position to enrich themselves and their relatives. Nor are law-enforcement authorities known to have investigated the origin of the “donations” which Armenia’s leading anti-graft watchdog believes carry serious “corruption risks.”

How Azerbaijan is Like "The Godfather"

Michael Weiss

 

Few developments speak so well of how far Caucasian dictatorships have come since the grey days of the Soviet Union as the fabulously wealthy and incredibly investment-savvy 15-year-old male heir of Azerbaijan's ruling family.

When he was a mere 11 years old, Heydar Aliyev, the son of Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, purchased $44 million in luxury mansions on Palm Jumeirah, the elite artificial archipelago built by Dubai and known for housing both holidaying British soccer players and thieving Russian tax officials. $44 million is, in the words of the Washington Post's Andrew Higgins, who broke the story in 2010, "roughly 10,000 years worth of salary for the average citizen of Azerbaijan." But young Heydar wasn't the only member of his family engaged in Gulf property speculation. His two older sisters, Leyla and Arzu, were also listed as owners in Dubai's Land Department registry. Together, the three Aliyev children invested in $75 million in Dubai real estate, which certainly is impressive considering that their father's official annual income as a public servant is just $228,000. When asked for comment by Higgins, who showed how the date of birth and name for the listed Dubai owner was the same as Ilham's dauphin, Aliyev's spokesman Azer Gasimov replied: "I have no comment on anything. I am stopping this talk. Goodbye."

"Save Teghut" Redefines Environmental Activism in Armenia

Mary Matosian

 

Young Armenians concerned with environmental threats in Armenia created the Save Teghut civic initiative in Nov. 2007. Many participated in successful actions to save Kacharan, in the Syunik region, from harmful mining and Trchkan waterfall from destruction. These activists are not affiliated with any organization or political party and they insist on covering their expenses either through their own means or donations from the general public. While they started with about 20 activists, today Save Teghut has over 6,000 followers on Facebook, and many more supporters in the regions of Armenia without internet access. Groups who support the Save Teghut movement have so far been established in Moscow, Germany, and Los Angeles.

Save Teghut addresses the disastrous environmental situation in Armenia. It aims to raise awareness among Armenians of the environmental dangers looming over our country, as well as the irresponsible, illegal, and secret activities of mining companies in collaboration with the oligarchic system in Armenia. The group works to protect the ecosystem and promote public health by ensuring that Armenia’s water, air, and land are clean. In the Teghut forest, specifically, the civic initiative demands the end of the mining project.

Unfortunately, environmental restrictions are not enforced in Armenia for most of the major mining operations, which results in damages to the ecosystem of the surrounding areas. Often corruption originates at the stage of issuing licenses and acquiring permits. Corruption in the forest sector is widely believed to be associated with businesses sponsored by high-level government officials. The government’s actions have been insufficient to stop the destruction of Armenia’s forests as a result of illegal logging. In addition, the government has recently reclassified many forest areas without due justification, and has allocated them to local communities or private individuals.

The Armenian Copper Program (ACP), whose majority shareholder is the Vallex F.M. corporation, has been awarded a 25-year exploitation license by the Armenian government to extract the copper and molybdenum ore buried in the Teghut mountains. ACP is in the process of developing an open pit mine. The amount of forested land the company plans to clear cut is around 1,500 hectares (approximately 650 football fields). Several rivers will be polluted or dry up. It takes around 200 years for a forest to recover. Armenia has lost 7-12 percent of its forests since 1998.

Furthermore, villagers relate that they received miserable remuneration. One villager stated that he applied to the mining company for a job and was offered a salary of 60,000 AMD ($155) per month for very hard work, and had to decline the job offer. He complained that parcels of lands were announced as eminent domain and were bought by the mining company for 38 AMD ($0.9 cents) per 1 square meter. No effort has been made by the government to develop agriculture or to invest in the area.

Since November 2007, environmentalists have tried to halt the further development of copper and molybdenum processing near the village of Teghut in the Lori province, which, they say, will irrevocably damage the ecology and surrounding villages. Twenty-five years from now, when the Vallex Corporation finishes mining in the region, the arable and surrounding land will no longer be fertile or usable.

The health risks of mining are quite apparent, especially in Armenia where no regulations, safety standards, and monitoring are implemented. Irresponsible mining in Armenia has created devastating health problems for the population, including unnaturally high rates of birth defects, developmental defects, and chromosomal disorders accompanied by increased respiratory diseases, allergies, and other health problems.

Many environmental problems in Armenia—including those related to water resources, mining, forests, and protected areas—are closely associated with corruption. The exploitation of natural resources takes place without due justification of decisions and with restricted public access to information. Furthermore, decisions can typically be traced to special interest groups and are made without due attention to the declared long-term sustainable development goals of the government.

The Zhoghovurd Daily, for example, reported that a 148-hectare forest was allocated to Arab Sheikh Mohammed Musallam by Armenian Nature Protection Minister Aram Harutyunyan, but in return for what, it asked.

The construction of the ore processing plant, as another example, and the exploitation of the copper-molybdenum mine in Teghut will ostensibly result in a breach of 77 Armenian laws and a range of international conventions signed and ratified by the Republic of Armenia, such as the UN Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee. In 2009, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ACCC/C/2009/43) condemned the decisions of the government of Armenia regarding its exploitation of the mine in Teghut and adjacent territory since it does not comply with the Aarhus Convention.

The 44 members of the UN Economic Commission for Europe have strongly condemned Armenia’s continuing violations of international obligations and demand that all decisions regarding the Teghut mining exploitation be considered invalid. On Jan. 25, 2012, the members also signed a declaration condemning the flagrant human rights violations associated with the exploitation, and demanded a stop to mining in Teghut forest.

Armenia’s laws do not allow the exploitation of areas populated by endangered species, nor do they allow damage to archeological sites. Teghut forest houses 19 animal and plant species that are part of Armenia’s Red Book of Endangered Species, and an archeological team from Armenia’s Academy of Sciences uncovered many artifacts dating back to the Bronze Age and many other Christian-era monuments. If mining continues, these will be completely lost.

Activists, energized by the results from Trchkan and Kacharan, have undertaken the defense of the Teghut forest. On Jan. 15, around 250 people visited the area in a hiking action initiative to familiarize people with the issue. Media coverage was significant, and the Teghut issue was featured in articles, TV interviews, and YouTube clips. The country has finally taken notice of the damage created by the ACP/Vallex group and the environmental dangers awaiting us. Irreversible environmental damage, unfortunately, has already resulted from the lack of strict mining regulations, coupled with barbaric exploitation and corruption, as government and interested parties have proved they are only concerned with making a profit.

Activists were able to energize the Armenian youth in Moscow and many have extended their support. The Save Teghut movement is proud of this achievement and is in the process of involving diasporan youth into the civic movement in Armenia. The “Shant” AYF Western U.S. Region has already been active in supporting the movement, raising awareness among diasporans, and extending various skills to support the group. Save Teghut activists have contacted German environmental activists and groups and are working in unison to raise awareness in international organizations about the ecological and environmental disasters in Armenia.

The young activists ask that Armenians in the diaspora create support groups and pressure the Armenian government to obey the laws and environmental conventions it has signed, and to condemn its harmful mining policy. Soon, Save Teghut will launch its website and an online petition. Donations to the group are helpful to organize future initiatives and disseminate information. The group is also appealing to businesses in the diaspora to look into investment options in the Teghut region, so that they can help protect the ecosystem of the forest and the fundamental rights of the local population to live in a healthy and safe environment.

"The Armenian Weekly," February 21, 2012

Just doom and gloom?

Vartan Matiossian

An anonymous writer who disseminates articles and commentaries hiding behind the moniker "Arevagal" has sent a piece with his comments about a "doom and gloom film" (his label) on Armenia shot by an Austrian. Some of these comments are worthy of reflection (underlining is from the original):

Corruption by the Numbers

 Garen Yegparian

We hear a lot about corruption, and see various forms of it in our daily lives. Sadly, in some places, such as Armenia, it is present at a disturbing, probably economically disruptive, scale.

For the last two decades, Transparency International and Goettingen University have compiled a “Corruption Perception Index” which is a “poll of polls” as they describe it. They amass others’ studies of corruption in countries throughout the world and produce an annual tabulation of countries with a rating, on a scale of 0-10, where 10 means corruption free and 0 totally corrupt. They require that a minimum of three (formerly four) surveys/studies include a country for that to be included in their index. They have used at least twelve surveys/studies since 1999 (earlier years had fewer). Polling done over the preceding three years is considered valid for inclusion in any year’s compilation. For these reasons, they caution that year-to-year comparisons should not be made easily. But take a look at the accompanying table, and you’ll note the trends in our homeland and its neighbors are pretty consistent.