I found the above titled article on the Hetq website. This touched a nerve with me as someone who looks to perhaps begin a future in Armenia. It really is a testimony to how the goodwill of people can be abused anywhere in the world, but how Armenia’s “system” can leave us all disillusioned. I am not one to focus on negatives, but I just hope this can make us all think a little. The hunger for money, greed, excess and status seems to have reached epic proportions in Armenia these days, especially since many can now “just” afford to show off, it seems that more people are inclined to do it. I speak as someone who has sometimes felt compelled to do this myself. Why is it in Armenia, suddenly the make and model of my mobile phone becomes important? Why is it always necessary to assert authority wherever I go? Maybe it’s a weakness in me, or Armenians in general, or maybe we just all get pulled into the way things are these days in Armenia. Either way, it is ridiculous, and it has to stop. I quote the article from here forward:

“Today I am sad. Thirteen years ago I decided to leave France, my third homeland, and relocate to Armenia, with the intention to invest in the fatherland, which I did by creating the Le Cafe de Paris. I invested my time, energy, health and resources, so that our little Parisian cafe could illuminate Abovyan Street.
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Over time the Cafe has become a favorite place to do business, meet friends and just relax. However my little dream has turned into an unending nightmare. Not wishing to delve into my personal problems, I’d just like to simple note that due to my faith, perhaps misplaced, in my fellow man I gave a loan to a person. This person claimed that he couldn’t repay the loan while actually he just refused to do so. When I took this person into my business, out of a sense of charity, I realized that he was periodically stealing from me along with other employees he had won the loyalty of. These employees, like their patron, had become corrupted, one more than the other. I could say that this is a fairly commonplace occurrence that can happen anywhere. But everywhere else there is a system of justice that serves as strong defender of one’s rights and interests. The justice system is there to grab the hand of the thief…This is the reality everywhere except in my beloved Armenia where the practice of justice is corrupt to the very core, where compromises are made with the guilty party, where the weak are preyed upon for all they have, the spoils to be split with the powerful, and where money is valued more than the truth. This is the reason for my grief. I am sad that our beloved Armenia, so dear to our hearts, has ceased to function normally. I am sad because in the event that things continue in this way I will be forced to close the Cafe and return to France.

Valerie Gortzounian”

After a few weeks of work in Yerevan, I am happy to return to rural Armenia. The greater Yerevan area is getting harder and harder to enjoy and the expense of staying there is becoming unreasonable. Sadly, in my time in the capital, I went visiting old friends in my favorite part of the center which is Tigran Mets past St. Gregory. It is part of Yerevan that still has some neighborhood charm with Tashir being the only major blight on the area. However, that is about to change.

My dear friends are beside themselves as what happened in the area of which is now North Avenue is due to repeat itself with the recently passed law allowing the government to use eminent domain for development purposes. The area from Tashir to the Erebuni area border on Tigran Mets will soon be seized by the government and auctioned off. The area’s best known residents are the owners of the large meat market that starts opposite the Gyum Shuka. Plans are even calling for the ripping down of the triangular shaped apartment building that starts on the south corner across from Tashir which would displace hundreds of families. Will these families receive $200,000 so they can buy a similar apartment in the center? I doubt it.

Rumors are thick but it is suspected the Sarkissiyan family is behind this push as it is the last area of the center of Yerevan that is populated by local Yerevansti. Of course, knowing the current leadership’s business interest it is also a power grab as some of the most successful small meat merchants reside in this area. As we know, most of the current oligarchs have major interest in the food chain as it provides great cash flow. Again, we see the use of the government to condense power for a few and remove the ability for small business owners to make a reasonable living.

My friends have condemned the current building spree that seems to be fueled by investment from outside Armenia. I am constantly asked, “Who is buying these apartments in the center?” Most people who read this blog are Diaspora or like myself care greatly for the country. Many people from this love wish to live in Armenia some of the year so they buy a modern apartment in the city center but it seems most remain ignorant of the social injustices that occurred to build that apartment. At the same time, as Onnik talks about today, there doubts about the structural integrity of those buildings.

The locals are angry and they are frustrated because at every turn they are loosing the opportunity to compete. Many feel they are being pushed out of the center and even the areas of Komitas, Barikamutsun and Monument, people are realizing they can no longer afford property but foreign peoples can easily buy the property for what by developed nation standards is a bargain. My friends, if you are investing in Armenia, be sure you are investing in a way that makes you part of the community. What makes Armenia strong is its sense of community. Having the whole center of Yerevan full of rich people will quickly end the culture which people have come to be a part of.

We cannot say the market will take care of itself due to the lack of freedom and the use of law to force people out. If you are investing or have invested, look at your motives. Would you be better giving that money in rent then continue to encourage the oligarchs to rip apart what was five years ago one of the nicest city centers I have ever seen.

YEREVAN, March 28. /ARKA/. Armenia ranks 96th among 122 countries in the Network Preparedness Index says the 2006-2007 IT Global Competitiveness Report prepared by the Economy and Values Research Center.

According to the report, the strong points of Armenia’s network preparedness are the companies’ capability to apply new technologies, availability of scientists and architects, as well as the number of patented inventions and discoveries per each million of residents.

Among the weak points are high prices for Internet communication, the number of subscribers and on-line services.

I personally take it as a failure for a country which announces IT as a strategic aspect of economy, to be on the 96th place.

Wow! I spoke of my dream of having Armenia covered by a technology such as wimax which is a long range computer networking technology. In short, it is like taking your current home wireless router and giving it 10,000 times more power. Today, Cornet seems to be announcing plans to move head with wimax installation.
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RFE/RL reports phenomenal figures in Armenia’s tourism industry.

…The increased influx of tourists, most of them foreign nationals of Armenian descent, was particularly visible last year. Virtually all hotels in central Yerevan and flights to and from the Armenian were fully booked from August through October, the traditional peak period for travel to Armenia… more…

2006 Global Integrity Report proved rather intersting. The report which places Armenia among the very week rating countries comes just a day after Armenia occupied a surprizingly high 32nd Place in World Rating of Economic Freedoms. Not to go into details about why I find the letter result so surprizingly high I’ll just link to Onnik Krikoryan’s post, where the matter is discussed at length.

As Armenia heads into the elections of May 2007, and in the context where absence of any ethical standards in government, inefficiency of the laws and practices designed to combat corruption and prevent abuses of power in the country prevail, the report by the Global Integrity undoubtedly provides information of wide public interest to Armenia.

The country uniformly ranks among countries with week and very week indicators as can be seen in the following indexes. And this time it’s not the discredited Armenian opposition speaking, but rather the results of a major investigative report released by Global Integrity, an international nonprofit organization that tracks governance and corruption trends around the world. more…

Hayk Newspaper reports, that the Forbs - Armenian service soon to be launched in Armenia, will publish the following list of ten richest people in Armenia in the first issue of the magazine. Hayk draws readers attention to the fact, that 6 of the 10 people in the list are high ranking state officials. more…

Today as I read the newspaper, Serzh Sarkisyan’s comments struck me as unbelievably short sighted and almost comical. I was reading a week old paper and in it Serzh said that he does not see Russia’s acquiring of Armenia’s utilities as dangerous. He continued to say that he does not see Russia using its economic interests, implying that Russia is not using its economic power to control Armenia. What? Serzh, are you living in the same country as I am?

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I was very happy to see that Air Arabia is now serving Yerevan! In my opinion, this is a very important link for business. The fact is air links equate business expansion and opportunity. If you look at most any major economic development initiative in Europe or America, there is an emphasis on having air links with business hubs. Air Arabia has many links with up and coming business centers which could truly add to real, knowledge economy expansion in Armenia.

Why do I see this as such a good thing? The main reason is the fact this past week we saw a huge issue made about the lack of skilled technology professionals in the developed world and even more of a surprise was the projection of a huge shortage in India. Just imagine if Armenia can continue to increase its knowledge work force especially in high technology to become a destination for knowledge work! A cheap air link with the knowledge centers of India could boon well for true economic expansion. Of course the jewel in the cap of the Armenians is the fact that Armenians are excellent linguists, picking up languages easier than most due to the difficulty of Armenian. Couple language with increasing technical know-how and we have a strong mix for future growth!

This is a wonderful thing! I hope that Armavia sees the competition and picks up its own expansion. Yerevan could become a hub of engineering excellence and if served by solid air links it could grow tremendously fast! Here is to open borders and expansion of ties!

On October 18, the “Haykakan Zhamanak” newspaper published a report by Hayk Gevorgyan, entitled: “They are deceiving us again”. In this article, we read: “The regular session of the inter-parliamentary commission of the Armenian parliament and the Russian Federation Council was held in Yerevan in recent days and a delegation led by the chairman of the commission, Nikolay Ryzhkov, arrived in Yerevan to take part in the session. They brought a document called “Trade and economic relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia”. The fifth page of the document says: “ArmRosgazprom will buy from the Armenian government a 40km sector of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline which is under construction and the incomplete 5th unit of the Razdan power plant… The deal should be implemented by 1 January 2007.”
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Armenia is in a very interesting part of the world. As most of you know it is in the Southern Caucuses but this is a new designation. As I travel around the country and see the 1000 year old monuments of the silk trail with Armenian and Arabic languages, it brings up a time when Mother Russia was an unknown neighbor and Armenia was very much part of what is today called the Middle East.

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As I travel through out rural Armenia, I am realizing that there is too much educational capacity. In the typical town, there are over 15 schools. Each school has a large half used building, a director, two vice directors, a director of grounds and a full compliment of teachers. In Europe or the US, similar areas would have at most two primary schools and two secondary schools. It is estimated by various international organizations that Armenia has a 63% public employment and for a country of 2.5 million people, that is a huge public sector. It is easy to see much of that capacity exists in the education sphere.

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Assuming the role of information is to help people make correct decisions which will make their life better, the only correct decision the citizens of Armenia can make, after looking at this charts and the comments to them by the Head of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Tigran Sargsyan, is to ask their relatives not to send any USD Money Transfers to Armenia, and investors: not to invest USD in Armenia, and the Millennium Challenges Corporation: not to grant $235 Million USD to Armenia.
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It is good to see that the national budget is increasing the salaries of public employees but there seems to be no initiative to improve responsiveness of the public sector and reduce corruption. There are the various aid organizations that have programs but none of them seem to be making a dent in the environment of corruption and payoffs.

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Armenia occupies the 82nd place by economic competition indices among 125 countries of the world, one position down as compared to 2005. (Source: Prime Business News)
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Top banker in Russia says investment in Armenia attractive from purely profit motive Suren Deheryan & Suren Musayelyan / ArmeniaNow reporters
The Moscow business journal Profile recently named Garegin Tosunian the sixth most influential financier in Russia, and the only Armenian in the top 10.
The 50-year-old, who in 2002 was elected president of the Association of Russian Banks (ARB) says ratings don’t impress him, and he attributes the accolade to the fact that he never refuses to speak to the media.

Born in Yerevan, Tosunian moved to Moscow in 1971 to study at Moscow State University, where he earned a PhD in physics and then a doctorate in law.
“I am grateful to this country as Moscow gave me everything to shape my personality,” he says. “I don’t accept it when my friends of different nationalities speak of Russia as ‘this’ country. I correct them that it is ‘our’ country.”

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Yerevan, 17.05.06 ArmInfo. According to the information distributed by an Indian News Paper Economic Times Vedanta Resources is planning to enter the precious metal business in Armenia.
The Economic Times also informs that the intention of Vedanta - India’s major player in non-ferrous metals, in investing in gold mining industry is based on an all-time high current prices of gold. The Vedanta Resources listed in London Stock Exchange may make an investment in Sterlite Gold, controlled by Agarwal family through Volcan Investments. For expansion of their gold mining project Sterlite needs $70-80 mln. Vedanta is likely to step in by investing the money and thereby picking up a stake in the company.

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Microsoft has opened its office in Armenia, with the well-known IT specialist Grigory Barsegyan appointed as director. The office will be officially presented, after a number of organizational and technical preparations. CIS HUB Director John White and CIS Business Development Manager Yuri Omelchenko paid a short visit to Armenia recently. Mr. White, who is responsible for big corporate projects, donor organizations and education, has kindly agreed to give an interview to ARMINFO.

Would you tell me please what are the functions of Microsoft CIS HUB?

The key function of Microsoft CIS HUB is to support Microsoft’s business development in the CIS, that is, in the countries where there is no developed Microsoft business. In the CIS, besides Russia, we have big offices in Kazakhstan and Ukraine, which are some kind of autonomies, while in Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Belarus we are actively working to develop our business. Grigory Barsegyan is our new man, whom we have appointed to direct the Microsoft Armenia Office, and we are here to help him to start up. Now he has to solve some small administrative tasks to lay a basis for our future business in Armenia. We hope that in the coming months this all will be solved and we will organize a special event to publicly announce the opening of the office.

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MICROSOFT OPENS OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE IN ARMENIA
ARKA News Agency / May 17 2006

Official representative office of Microsoft Corporation was opened in Armenia on May 16. Director of the Armenian representative office of the company Grigor Barseghyan said coming
plans of Microsoft in Armenia envisage enlargement of the circle of its partners, instruction in high technologies and cooperation with the RA Government.

According to the Vice-President of Microsoft in the region of Central and Eastern Europe Vahe Torosyan, opening of the corporation’s office in Armenia is of great importance for the country, especially in the light of recent success in the sphere of economy of the republic and
particularly in the IT sphere.

The Chairman of the Union of IT Enterprises Hovhannes Avoyan said opening of Microsoft’s representation in Armenia will enable Armenia to take its deserving place and use elaborations of the corporation in the proper way.

Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975. At present it is the world leader in the sphere of software development and servers,service rendering and elaboration of Internet-technology.Its production is being sold in more than 80 countries of the world and was translated into more than 45 languages. Microsoft’s representative offices exist in CIS countries as well, including Ukraine, Kazakhstan,
and Azerbaijan.

President Kocharyan has sent Serge Sargsyan, Defense Minister, to Sochi to investigate the plane tragedy. This is cited as the worst in Armenia’s history. Mr Kocharyan has also declared today a National day of Mourning, and two more official days are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

President Putin also reportedly discussed the issue with Kocharyan today, declaring it a joint Russian-Armenian tragedy. The deputy director of Armavia was on board, as well as a number of influential businessmen, and many Armenian civilians , as well as a number of Georgian and Ukranians.

Once again, I hope we can all offer condolences to all victims of this terrible tragedy, and their families.

On a personal level, reading the list of the perished , number 1 on the list was a man with my surname, Azarian and the same first name as my Uncle.. (luckily it wasn’t ) It really brings home how personal this feels. May everyone rest in peace.