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.

Just after the signing of the agreement to introduce the protocols last August, the ARF-D Bureau Chairman Hrant Markarian claimed that the party would do everything necessary to [...]]]> The Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun (ARF-D) has managed to change its position on the government’s signing and subsequent expected ratification of the protocols at least four times since October.

Just after the signing of the agreement to introduce the protocols last August, the ARF-D Bureau Chairman Hrant Markarian claimed that the party would do everything necessary to stop the anticipated signing of them. RFE/RL reported the following on September 16, 2009 alluding to the end of Serge Sarkisian’s reign should the protocols be signed:

President Serzh Sarkisian will lose power if he presses head with the signing of controversial agreements with Turkey, a top leader of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) warned on Wednesday.

“I think that he must finally sober up and refuse to sign them just because of his own interests,” said Hrant Markarian, the de facto head of the hard-line opposition party’s top governing body, the Bureau. “You must not cut the tree branch on which you are sitting.”

Markarian claimed that a deal with Turkey negotiated on the existing terms would the last straw for a considerable part of Armenia’s population unhappy with the government. “The people would sooner or later hold him accountable, and the price would be heavy,” he said, adding: “I believe that we would not be able to carry on.”

On October 8, Markarian gave even harsher criticism, calling to seek regime change should the protocols be signed.

Dashnaktsutyun, which was represented in Armenia’s ruling coalition until April, has so far refrained from seeking to unseat Sarkisian despite its harsh criticism of the two Turkish-Armenian protocols finalized by Ankara and Yerevan. It has instead proposed several amendments to the documents and tried to prevent their unconditional ratification by parliament.

“We will fight and are even ready to find a way out with the authorities,” said Hrant Markarian, the de facto head of Dashnaktsutyun’s top decision-making body. “But if we don’t meet with a corresponding attitude, we will not hesitate to go to the end, to go for regime change.”

The ARF-D reiterated this tough stance on October 12 shortly after the protocols were signed two days before.

The most vocal critic of the deal, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), said it will fight against the protocols’ ratification by parliament “by all possible means” and again threatened to campaign for President Serzh Sarkisian’s resignation.

“The Armenian Revolutionary Federation is determined to fight for the scuttling of the protocols,” the nationalist party said in a statement. “To that end, Dashnaktsutyun will resort to all political and constitutional means, including regime change.”

On October 23, ARF-D Supreme Body leader Armen Rustamian again supported the idea of seeking the president’s resignation.

“We are preparing for regime change,” declared Rustamian. “Regime change has a broader meaning than a resignation demand. The country has deviated from its course and everything must be changed: the president, the National Assembly, the government and all those who deal with the Turkish-Armenian protocols.”

“We are preparing for regime change with this platform. This is going to be our plan for regime change,” he added, referring to a manifesto released by Dashnaktsutyun on Friday. The 6-page document speaks of “forthcoming national elections” and reaffirms the party’s position on a wide range of internal and external challenges facing Armenia.

Rustamian declined to elaborate on the announced preparations, saying only that Dashnaktsutyun will seek to “increase our support day by day.” “Regime change can’t come out of thin air,” he said, adding that Sarkisian would quit only after he feels that “there are things worse than resignation.”

The ARF-D had already submitted proposed changes to the protocols, but Prime Minister Nalbandian in an address before the National Assembly said that there was no way of modifying them while being debated for ratification. Yet the ARF-D carried on with its demands.

Then on January 13, the ARF-D backtracked on its hardline stance and said it would only seek regime change if the protocols were to be ratified.

This was announced a day after Armenia’s Constitutional Court ruling on the legitimacy of the protocols. Its ruling was made on the premise that the legality of protocols could not inhibit Armenia’s continued pursuit of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. This naturally infuriated the Turkish leadership and doubt has been cast as to whether the protocols will indeed be ratified, as I pointed out in a previous post.

Two days ago the ARF-D claimed that it was responsible for influencing the Constitutional Court ruling, suggesting that President Sarkisian was essentially pressured by the party to persuade the court to make its decision. However, the ARF-D once again changed its mind and said it would only seek regime change during the next presidential elections, as Markarian noted.

Markarian reiterated in that regard Dashnaktsutyun’s calls for Armenia’s parliament to ratify the protocols with corresponding “reservations.” He indicated that his party will not seek to unseat Sarkisian with a campaign of street protests should the National Assembly ignore those calls.

“We are trying to achieve regime change by means of elections, regular or non-regular,” said Markarian. “Going beyond elections is a different thing which we don’t seek at the moment.”

So basically the ARF-D has decided that it is OK with President Sarkisian as well as the protocols after all. It took them nearly five months to figure that out, though. Why the party went back on its promise is anyone’s guess. Rumors have been spreading that the party–which is supposedly in opposition–was cooperating with the Sarkisian administration behind the scenes all along, so something apparently is going on.

All of the information conveyed above was reported in meetings and interviews with the press. Nothing has been taken out of context, as should be obvious when you read the original reports.

Incidentally, yesterday in an address before the Chattem House in London President Sarkisian announced that he would immediately urge the National Assembly to move forward with the ratification of the protocols, even though everyone was waiting for the Turkish parliament to do it first. I have yet to read the ARF-D’s reaction to this decision. Seems all its leadership can say at this point is to agree that it’s the right thing to do.

The questions are the following: Why isn’t the ARF-D concerned that it is looking hypocritical by changing its stance so many times before the Armenian public? Is it just me or does the party leadership look foolish? And who can really take the party seriously anymore?

With each passing day my faith in the Armenian political system and the fostering of democratic values in Armenian society are submerging deeper into oblivion.

Sure, there’s always cultural events happening—concerts, plays, ballets and so forth. But I can’t manage to attend them most of the time, so obviously there’s nothing to write about. Jazz guitarist and singer George Benson is [...]]]> I’ve been silent lately because there aren’t really any exciting topics to discuss lately, whether in politics, culture or economics.

Sure, there’s always cultural events happening—concerts, plays, ballets and so forth. But I can’t manage to attend them most of the time, so obviously there’s nothing to write about. Jazz guitarist and singer George Benson is coming soon, which is a first-time event in Armenia. Rock star Arthur Meschian is making a comeback tour after three years, and I’m definitely going to attend his concert to be held at the Opera House on November 15.

The political situation at the moment is rather dull it seems. The ARF-Dashnaktsutiun in Armenia mentioned last week in a press conference that it would be seeking regime change, but without calling for President Serge Sarkisian’s resignation, which doesn’t make much sense to me—this holds true for the majority of the decisions the party has been making for several years now. The Armenian National Congress has changed its tune from being supportive of the rapprochement process between Armenia and Turkey to being highly critical of the deal, having recently rejected the protocols. Yet there are no anti-protocol rallies to speak of lately. Seems that politicians are waiting for something to happen, but what?

One thing that I’ll bring up which I also talked about on my other blog is the new law prohibiting people of Yerevan to jaywalk–in other words, to cross the street anywhere they like to. Now they must go to crosswalks or use pedestrian bridges and underpasses, wherever they are available. It’s made driving a lot easier for sure, I no longer find myself having to steer around people standing in the middle of the street—or even between lanes of traffic. This was a huge problem and now it seems to have been curbed, although a few adamantly stubborn jaywalkers are still out and about.

Unfortunately because of my office job I am not able to get out as often as I would like during the day, in search of something interesting to post about. However, I’m past due on tax payments on land that I own in the Aragatsotn region, not far from the town of Kuchak, and I’m anxious to get to Aparan so I won’t have to think about paying them anymore. I will be required to pay late fees for sure, but I can’t assume how much in advance. I’ll definitely post something about my experience here.