Reading yesterday’s headlines I came across a major news story of a Kajaran mayor in Syunik, Rafik Atayan, resigning from his position and from the Republican party in protest to the government’s decision to confiscate 181 hectares of land in the [...]]]>

Upper Syunik, Armenia (photo Christian Garbis)

Reading yesterday’s headlines I came across a major news story of a Kajaran mayor in Syunik, Rafik Atayan, resigning from his position and from the Republican party in protest to the government’s decision to confiscate 181 hectares of land in the area. The land will be turned over to the German-owned mining company, Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC). The lands will become an “open-pit mine,” meaning that all the dust created in the excavation process will drift and pollute the surrounding areas. Water supplies and agricultural lands will be ruined as well. The Armenian MP living the village, a former executive of the mining company, is obstinately indifferent.

The mayor’s protest is admirable but will ultimately prove nothing since his replacement will obligatorily sign the paperwork formalizing the new mining initiative.

Land has already been given to the Chinese in Syunik in a different government-backed plan, ironically nit to far from Tatev, which was anticipated to be Armenia’s top tourist attraction when it opened just over a year ago. There are still other controversial projects that are stalled or about to get underway in Teghut and Hrazdan.

The justification for opening the mine (and others) is the following, quoted from an article published by RFE/RL:

The German group [Cronimet, the parent company] insisted that the planned expansion of the ZCMC’s mining operations stems from “a number of agreements” with the Armenian government. That will also boost Armenian exports and “economic stability in the country, it said.

These types of statements have become totally laughable and even insulting. The monthly minimum wage in Armenia is absurdly low at 32,500 dram ($83) and a bill introduced by the ARF last month to nearly double it was shot down by the Republican controlled National Assembly. In other words, most people in Armenia — factory or mining workers being no exception — live hand to mouth. Most people can’t save up and have little or no pocket money to spend to benefit the economy.  ZCMC prides itself as supposedly being the top tax paying corporate institution in Armenia (untold sums of collected taxes are, in turn, eaten), but that doesn’t mean government officials will not reap the benefits of kickbacks from profits. The money made in this deal (and others) will not be vested in the Armenian economy realistically simply because it will end up in several peoples’ pockets and foreign bank accounts instead at the expense of Armenia’s fragile environment. That’s the way things work in capitalist Armenia.

So let’s stop kidding ourselves that high exports in metals are good for the economy. When rural areas are still underdeveloped in and around Armenia, with some new settlements in Armenian-controlled territories doing without roads, running water and electricity as I wrote in a previous post, these statements from government officials are paradoxical. Mining businesses benefit the elite, while the rest of the country’s potential along with its ecological longevity suffer.

Time to wake up.

At last count 1,251 people signed the online petition demanding his release from jail, and [...]]]> I just wanted to make yet another point that when a collective group of individuals campaigning for the same cause protest hard enough, their demands will eventually be met, sooner or later. In Nareg Hartounian’s case it only took a few days.

At last count 1,251 people signed the online petition demanding his release from jail, and the “Free Nareg” Facebook page received 1,624 “likes,” with 2,041 users discussing the issue. Although the Ministry of Diaspora declined to comment on Nareg’s arrest, Minster Hranoush Hakobyan undoubtedly received myriad complaints. We know that he and his associates were released per the order of an official in the Prosecutor General’s office, but it’s still unclear what additional pressure was placed on the authorities to free Nareg from jail, not that it matters much at this point.

Kudos to the activists tirelessly pushing for Nareg’s freedom from incarceration. Now we can only hope that the the controversial, on the surface incredulous, tax evasion case he is embroiled in will be resolved without additional drama.

One week has passed since the assault accusations against Syunik governor Surik Khachatryan were revealed to the public. On Monday, November 14, while leaving the Marriott Hotel in Yerevan Silva Hambardzumian, a businesswoman, was allegedly hit on the head by Khachatryan, who later denied any wrongdoing. Naturally, [...]]]>

Serge Sarkisian, left, and Surik Khachatryan (Photolur photo)

One week has passed since the assault accusations against Syunik governor Surik Khachatryan were revealed to the public. On Monday, November 14, while leaving the Marriott Hotel in Yerevan Silva Hambardzumian, a businesswoman, was allegedly hit on the head by Khachatryan, who later denied any wrongdoing. Naturally, no one working at the hotel saw anything, not even the doorman apparently. The parliamentarian Khachik Manukian who happened to be there and purportedly witnessed everything according to Hambardzumian later said that he had arrived on the scene just moments after the incident of violence took place. Now the Special Investigative Service (SIS) is looking into the matter, although its unlikely it will hold Khachatryan accountable.

The issue stems from an allegation made by Hambardzumian that equipment worth 100 million dram had essentially been stolen from her mine then found its way to a different mine owned by Khachatryan, and she passed blame on him, who besides being a regional governor is a feared thug (and, according to former defense minister Vasken Manukian, an “uneducated criminal”).

Khachatryan is no stranger to controversy. He is believed to have embezzled about $1.5 million in state funds in 2008, as determined by the Audit Chamber of the National Assembly, and got away with it.

Apparently Khachatryan is well connected to President Serge Sarkisian and has even been described as his “protégé.” He apparently ran an election campaign for the president’s brother Alexander in 2007. His relations with former president Robert Kocharian are also excellent. For these reasons alone, there is a very good chance that he will not face prosecution and walk away scot-free.

Not unless, of course, the president wants to add to the credibility of his legitimacy. President Sarkisian has been cleaning house lately, forcing several high-level officials to resign. In the last month both the Yerevan mayor Karen Karapetyan and National Assembly president Hovik “Moog” Abrahamyan stepped down (the press insists they left their posts because of their ties to Robert Kocharian, who supposedly wants to run for president in 2013). A year ago Sarkisian fired then mayor Gagik Beglaryan for slapping around one of his assistants. The president not only has to give the impression that he is not tolerating any nonsense from any of his officials, he also has to show the world that governmental corruption or ethical misconduct cannot be tolerated on any level.

Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian claimed that the authorities are waiting for a final determination from SIS before action is taken against Khachatryan. But the right thing for the president to do would be to replace the governor. The accusation of assault in a public setting is reason enough to fire him.

The position of regional governor should be an honor to hold. But for Khachatryan, his post is nothing more but a conduit to do unchecked business and even get away with misappropriating state funds. President Sarkisian, do the Armenian citizenry good service by promptly sacking Khachatryan and make sure that his replacement will actually respect his governing role. Armenia certainly doesn’t need another mafia boss in a position of power.

All photos of Aghveran, Kotayk, Armenia by Christian Garbis

Thanks.

To read about my ordeal, visit my other blog, Notes From Hairenik.

On May 27, 9:30 am, I happily went to Noragavit custom agency in the outskirt [...]]]> I just ran across an article published on Hetq Online about a recent repatriate named Dro Tsarukyan going through hell with the Armenian customs agency to retrieve some goods that he had sent to Armenia. Below is the text in full.

On May 27, 9:30 am, I happily went to Noragavit custom agency in the outskirt of Yerevan, to pickup my car that I had shipped from Los Angeles two months prior to repatriating to Armenia. In the back of my car I had placed my personal items such as my used construction tools, computer/printer and sports supplies.

Upon arrival, I was told that I would have to wait for all other car recipients to arrive at the custom agency so that the Georgian transport trucks could be opened in front of the eyes of all car recipients. Of course later on, I found out that the only logical purpose for making us wait to open the transport trucks, was for the workers to get tips in order to give priority of who’s car comes out first and tips for recharging the dead batteries of the cars.

After a 4 hour wait, my car was finally pulled out of the truck and handed to me, however, my personal items from inside my car were removed and placed in the truck along with the items of another person. The truck was then locked up and I was told to go to the custom house in the city of Abovian in order to retrieve my personal items, despite my angry protest at the ridiculous idea of removing my items from the car and sending it to another place. Of course their excuse was that “Noragavit’ is the custom house for cars and “Abovian” is the custom house for personal items.

After driving to Abovian city’s custom house and waiting for another hour for the transport truck to arrive, I was handed a piece of paper by the custom agent that detailed my personal items in the truck. I was then told to take that piece of paper to the “Araratian” custom house near lake Yerevan, in order to apply for permission for my items to be removed from the truck and placed in a warehouse in Abovian.

However, they also said, I would have to coordinate with the other person who had items in the truck so that both of us would be in Abovian at the same time with our stamped permissions, in order for our belongings to be removed and stored. The items would then stay in the warehouse until a future date for taxes to be determined and items handed to the owners.

During this time, I received a call from the shipping company that said if I was not able to remove my items from the truck on that day, the shipping company would charge me extra fees for keeping the Georgian truck in Armenia longer than necessary. After much struggle to find the phone number of the other person with items in the truck, I was able to coordinate and go to the “Araratian” custom house near lake Yerevan and apply for permission for removal and storing of my items.

Upon getting the permission letter from near lake Yerevan, I drove back to Abovian, waited for the other person to arrive with his permission letter, paid a storing fee of 7000 drams and then watched my items be removed from the truck and placed in a warehouse. I was then told to go to the main custom house on Khorenatsi street in Yerevan to apply for possible tax break as a repatriate sending his personal car and items. It has now been a week since my items arrived and they are still stored in Abovian as I await answer from the main custom house on Khorenatsi regarding taxes.

Above story is only one small example of the unnecessary bureaucratic torture regular people in Armenia go through daily in order to retrieve their personal items sent from abroad. Besides the difficult retrieval process, there are thousands of horror stories of arbitrary taxation on used products, which often makes Armenia’s custom tax higher than the product purchase price from abroad.

Such example is common on car parts being sent from junk yards in America bought for minimal costs, but people in Armenia having to pay taxes based on the kilo weight of the product which often ends up being several times more than the purchase price. Armenia desperately needs to simplify its custom’s systems with humane taxation for retrieval of personal items that are not meant for resale. Until then, I hope everyone could hold up a good sense of humor at the comedy they must go through with the custom’s agency in order to obtain their personal belongings in the Republic of Armenia.

A few questions for Dro:

1. Why didn’t you simply bring the items along with you in separate suitcases?  As far as I remember, it only costs about $150 to bring aboard an additional piece of baggage other than the two-suitcase limit for international flights that is granted by most passengers. In the past I have shipped printers, some tools and various other bulky personal items in my suitcases by first wrapping them tightly in a couple layers of bubble wrap so that they would survive the trip without damage, and they always have. No one from customs at the airport has ever made a fuss about what was contained in my suitcases.
2. Did you offer or even consider paying a bribe at Noragavit to avoid all these hassles? Often that’s the best solution to circumvent such nightmares. It’s how the system works in Armenia, unfortunately, as absurd and unacceptable the practice is. However, sometimes offering bribes will not work, especially at the Customs House near the airport which intercepts anything shipped by freight carriers like UPS, FedEx, DHL and others. I hate paying bribes/fees/donations, the term changing depending upon which agency or organization you run up against, but after several years of living here I have come to accept that sometimes, in order to avoid going insane with bureaucratic red tape, it’s the only solution.
3. Did you consider shipping these items via the United States Post Office? I have often had items transported to Armenia that way but I never needed to pay any taxes, bribes or anything else using the USPS. I have only had problems with sending or receiving items via FedEx.

In retrospect, what would you have done differently, or others reading this entry for that matter?

The real purpose of Footprints, however, is to [...]]]> I would like to welcome you to Footprints, a Armenian blog presented by Hetq Online. The aim of Footprints is to discuss various issues pertaining to Armenia in the realms of society, politics, culture and the environment. Occasionally topics outside of these spheres will also be talked about.

The real purpose of Footprints, however, is to create an interactive virtual round table discussion conducted amicably by the readers of this blog. In order for this to happen your own ideas and opinions about Armenian issues presented here should be expressed in the comments section. Tell us what you think, leave your mark by letting your viewpoints be known to the world here.

Footprints will be updated as frequently as possible, so be sure to visit often. Remember that you will also be actively contributing to this blog by keeping relevant Armenian issues presented here fresh and alive. With your pertinent written contributions the discussions will could potentially have an investigate nature to them.

We all look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Christian Garbis

Editor, Footprints