BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN
Armenia’s ruling Republican Party of Armenia’s trampling on the Armenian Constitution continues without impunity, as party members pushed forward an agreement in the National Assembly that effectively sells off Armenia’s interests in the gas company and dodges questions of misappropriation of funds by government agencies.
Despite the parliamentary opposition’s strong objections the controversial Russia-Armenia gas agreement was put to a vote with only the ruling coalition’s Republican Party of Armenia and Country of Law parties taking part in deliberations and voting.
Opposition forces, among them the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, called the vote invalid claiming that several parliamentary laws were ignored during the vote.
“Our nation, our country and our national values are in danger and the elimination of that danger is a national imperative,” said ARF Western US Central Committee chairman Dr. Viken Hovsepian, in response to Monday’s vote on Russian-Armenian gas deal.
“There are times that nuances and all kinds of explanations become meaningless and the true crimes are revealed,” said Hovsepian.
“Five years ago they [the Armenian government] took us down the path of the enslaving Armenia-Turkey protocols attempting convince us that it was a high-level diplomatic maneuvering in the name of Armenia’s national security,” said Hovsepian. “Today, they are doing the same in the name of Russian interests and bow to imperialism.”
“Finally the time has come for all of us—every Armenian—to realize that the struggle against anti-national and irresponsible acts must be unwavering, uncompromising and complete,” said Hovsepian.
The country’s national resources and wealth are not the property of the ruling elite. The people of Armenia and the entire Armenian nation must hold the government accountable for their self-serving actions.
LOOK AT THE FACE OF PARLAMET MEMBERS OF ARMENIA????? KASH, KOBAB, KHASHLAMA , EATEN ROUND FACES WITH NO BRAIN WHAT SO EVER. SEIOUSLY , DO THEY REPRESENT EDUCATED OR INTELECTUAL PEOPLE OF ARMENIA . WITH EXEPTION OF FEW ABSLUTLY NOT. ARMENIAN PARLAMENT IS OCCUPIED BY BUNCH OF DUMB . UNEDUCATED. OLIGARKS .AND SELLOUTS.WHO DO NOT CARE ABOUT ARMENIA OR ARMENIAN PEOPLE . CULTER OR VALUES , LOOK AT TO THE FACES OF HOVIK ABRAMIAN, GALUSTIK SAHAKIAN , MISS GEGAMYAN, AND LIFIK SAMO , AND SOME MORE , HOW CAN THEY RUN A COUNTRY? OFCOURS THEY CAN. AND PRESENT ARMENIA IS A RESULT OF THEIR INABILITY TO BE A LEADER AND EDUCATED POLOTICIAN.
the republican party is pro-Russian, not pro-Armenian. they are the most corrupt party Armenia has ever seen.
This is sensationalism of the worst kind. The title and article itself read like something out of an extremist communist publication. Firstly there is nothing in the Armenian Constitution which prohibits commerce involving state infrastructure. It was legal when the Russians acquired partial a stake, it remains legal now that the Russians have acquired the remaining shares.
Of course we all know this is not about ArmRusGazprom, this is about geopolitics and the ARF serving as a tool to promote western interests. The main giveaway is the fact that the “opposition” comes only from the west’s favorite tools in Armenia, namely the Heritage Party led by the clown zaruhi postanjian and the would-be “revolutionary”/autocrat raffi “saakashvili of Armenia” hovannisian. These same voices would have remained silent had a French, American, British, Israeli or any other foreign government purchased Armenian assets; yet since their shepherds and financiers in Washington are determined press a futile campaign to drive an artificial wedge between Armenia and Russia, they are out screaming bloody murder. When the Greeks, French, Lebanese entered the Armenian Telecom market in the past, or when the Americans or British entered the energy distribution market, or the Dutch took over Armenia’s postal service, or the French took over Armenia’s water distribution or alcohol production we did not hear a peep out of these pseudo-patriots about Armenia’s Constitution.
On a more technical note, Armenia’s energy production and distribution networks were designed, built and paid for by Moscow, and the Armenian government does not have the expertise or resources to maintain those networks in an efficient and competitive manner. That is a task which only Russia’s Gazprom has the resources and interest to fulfill. Who else cares to develop Armenia’s gas network, the jackals in BP who are too busy anyway building azerbaijan into a petrostate?
As for Dr. Hovsepian, it is ridiculous at best to compare Armenian-turkish diplomacy in any way to the allied relationship between Russia and Armenia. In fact, Armenia is able to stand up to a regional giant like turkey because Russia is firmly implanted within Armenia and has tons of investments and owns assets within Armenia and Russia is therefore more inclined to protect Armenia. Had Russia acted purely out of economic motives, it would have sold Yerevan to the paying customers waiting in ankara and baku, rather than sinking billions investing in Armenian infrastructure. It is hysteria such as this which has resulted in the ARF having virtually insignificant support among Armenia’s citizenry.
You’re EXACTLY RIGHT.
The last refuge the incompetent scoundrel: LIES lies and more lies. lie long enough sooner or later they’ll find the fools will believe you. this is what ARF has been reduced too. real PATHETIC.
Same old baseless hysterics by so called opposition. This is the only skill. that sure as hell have NO real ideas. .,
Oh, the humanity!!!
I wonder why our Western led propaganda outlets have been totally silent about European and American control over certain sectors in Armenia. Two examples: Several years ago it was reported that a Western mining firm in southern Armenia was caught spying on Iran from Armenian territory – but not a peep was heard from our Western led “news” press. We know how our Western led “environmental” activists go hysterical over the cutting down of trees in Armenia – but the same are totally silent when Western organizations such as USAID have been pumping GMOs into Armenia for the past twenty years.
Could it be that our Western led propaganda outlets and activists are serving a Western political agenda in Armenia by spinning and skewing developments there?
Armenia’s energy sector (including the atomic power plant) was build, financed and is being maintained in large part by Russia – and this has been so from the very beginning. Moreover, ArmRusGazProm, as the name suggests, gets 100% of its natural gas supplies gas from Russia. Therefore, how can Yerevan be expected to have any real say or leverage in the company?
Bringing up Iran is a moot point. Tehran has been giving mixed signals about pricing of its gas supplies and Tehran is in no position to finance the building of an alternative energy distribution network in Armenia. Besides which, Moscow will object to it.
We all know that Russia has been supporting Armenia and helping it turn it into a regional power on the condition that Yerevan stays faithful to Moscow. Knowing well that Armenians cannot be trusted, energy and weapons supplies is how Moscow keeps control over Yerevan.
Similar to a vast majority of nations on earth today, we dont have full independence – nor do we Armenians deserve full independence. This whole situation is depressing on a certain level but quite understandable for those who are under no illusions about Armenians and those who are well versed in geopolitics and our national history. At the end of the day, after seeing all that needs to be seen of Armenians, I’ll trust Russian officials over Armenian officials. Anyway, this is our reality and this is the reality we need to learn to work with and exploit for Armenia long term benefit.
Very well stated, Harutik! Excellent observations. I’d just like to add that it is obvious these “activist” protestors/rioters for the most part don’t even understand what they want. You mentioned how they are oblivious to the role the USAID plays in spreading cancerous and ruinous GMOs in vulnerable companies like Armenia; well after the Armenian government (despite all of its flaws) courageously and foresightedly declared Armenia a GMO-free zone, NOT A SINGLE WORD OF SUPPORT WAS UTTERED BY THESE SO-CALLED ACTIVISTS! You can rest assured that the reptiles in suits at the state department were piling the pressure on Yerevan to reverse the Armenian ban on GMOs, after all the ultra-corrupt US government has a revolving door system where corporate executives from destructive agro-industrial monopolies like Monsanto and DuPont shuffle back and forth between the private and public sectors, and Monsanto and DuPont stand to lose billions if countries follow the precedants against GMOs established in Yerevan and Moscow.
I’d also like to remind everyone of the case of Armenian Railways. For a decade and a half after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it stagnated and decayed while under Armenian control. In 2007 the Armenian government decided to sell it to a more capable foreign operator, and it placed advertisements in the British Economist newspaper (the Economist is influential in global business, but it is rabidly pro-turkish, anti-Russian and anti-Armenian, and occasionally questions the Armenian Genocide in their propaganda pieces). The only offers came from Russia and India, and Russia won. Since 2008 Armenian Railways, renamed South Caucasian Railways in line with the grand ideas Russia has for turning Armenia into its regional powerhouse and base of operations, has undergone hundreds of millions of dollars of repair and renovations. Not surprisingly, this has both increased Armenian commerce, travel comfort, lowered travel costs and created jobs for Armenian citizens.
Similarly, Russia took over Armenia’s ArmenAl aluminum plant in the 2000s, renovated it, and made it so efficient and productive that the EU launched a court case against tiny Armenia of “dumping” large amounts of aluminum on the European market and driving down prices.
Anyway once the Russians step in and cleanup ArmRusGazprom, and drive prices down to domestic Russian levels (less than half the market price Europe pays for the same gas), these protestors will disappear… Of course Washington and Brussels will always be on the lookout for some red herring to get rioters back on the streets of Yerevan. That’s been the modus operandi of the globalist west for decades.
Harutik, I personaly know 2 people sent to Armenia from California and paid to do propaganda and destabilize the country and create anti Russian sentimments and orange revolution.
So you’re saying there are problems with Armenian officials? You have low trust in them? Don’t you want this to change? If so, when?
Geopolitics understandable? Yes. Acceptable? No. Armenia needs to improve and be more independent. But your post seems to suggest you want Russia to control Armenia. But Russia is supporting Armenia for its own interests and interests change over time. So I think your trust in Russia is misplaced Am I reading your post correctly? If not please let me know.
I am more pro-Western because of the standards of living they have accomplished and the other positive sides of that world that I would want to see in Armenia. And yes there are shortcoming of the West, and they can’t guarantee Armenia’s security (and I don’t think anyone suggests this, even before the war in Georgia).
Armenia must have very close relations with Russia. At the same time with very good relations with the West as well. Why was Sarkissian and company working on an economic relationship with EU for the past 3 years? Why are they still trying to have some sort of connection or even agreements with the EU, even after the sudden U turn towards the Customs Union?
My issue is a lot of people are completely being blindly Pro-Russia anti-West. Russia is a major power and such entities will always look at their own interests first. The most Armenia can offer Russia is a foothold and presence in the Caucusus. Resources? Imports? Exports and a large market? Technology? None of these add up. Turkey and Azerbaijan can offer more than Armenia. And Armenia becomes a foil against those two for Russia.
I don’t have solutions to offer to improve Armenia’s situation. I’m not an economic expert. So don’t take what I wrote as judgemental 🙂
Also, cutting down trees is known to be harmful and a security issue for Armenia. GMOs are still an uncertainty.
Sure materially the West is better off. But the immaterial, the spiritual, they are rotting at the core. Adherence to Christianity or another religion is at an all time low in most of the EU states, with the exception of Poland. Inserting so called ‘gay rights’ as a part of human rights is another way officials in Brussels and Washington are pushing their cultural imperialism upon the 2nd and 3rd world. I would not be so quick to jump on the Western bandwagon.
Here is some thoughts about the gas deal that has become an issue here.
Russia has been giving gas to Armenia for $189 per c/m for years, few years ago the price went up to 240 now we will get customs duties free with CU and back to 189. however, the armenian customer was and still pays $332. armrussgasard who owned 20% and basically controlled the situation inside was stealing. i happen to know a lot of their managers and all live very well considering their salaries. not only they stole, they also managed to accumulate 300 million debt. which is a subject now in the parliament. i think gasprom knowingly took over that 20% and will install their people to stop stealing. they want those savings to pass to the customer not some crooks. Right after gasprom’s CEO Miller said the prices will go down in Armenia, some politicians here came out and said no the price will stay the same. this whole affair is another example that we better have russians checking the books instead of leaving it to our managers who don’t mind to leave people in cold and cut their gas for non payment for their own profit. we can assume that by acting so these people also make a wedge between russian and armenian people. Just imagine Putin comes and signs agreements to help our people and our own are not willing to pass those savings to common people.
TK, very revealing. What you said basically proves me correct that Armenians do not deserve full independence and we are much better off having Russians looking over the shoulders of our chobans. Anyway, had the political opposition in Armenia not been so dangerous for the fledgling republic, I would be amongst the first to call for the Armenian president’s downfall. Unfortunately, under our circumstances, President Sargsyan’s administration is clearly the lesser of the evils and we simply have to find a way to work with them.
Without Russia Armenia will be erased from the map. The opposition leaders are either ignorant or traitors or paid by the those who organize orange revolutions.
No Russia in Armenia means no Armenia in the South Caucasus. It’s that simple. Any Armenian today that espouses anti-Russian sentiments is either an imbecile or a traitor to Armenia. There is no other way to explain it anymore.
Thank you Sarkis and Harutik for your very lucid take on this matter. I mean just look at the title of this article, if that’s not incitement and Western style political spin I don’t know what is…
So sad to see some of the above Armenians have not only embraced their servitude mentality, but can no longer think outside of the Russia=Armenia, Armenia=Russia prism.
I love it. Instead of getting our own house in order, we give it to someone else to take care of it for us not taking into account that those “caretakers” will throw us under the bus at any second. Blind devotion will destroy us all. Keep up the good work, guys. Russia! Russia! Russia!
I don’t think that is what anyone here is proclaiming. What I gather by reading between the lines of their comments (and I agree with) is that Armenia is at present incapable of governing itself properly due to:
1. Incompetent leadership
2. Limited resources both financial and political
Constantly posting negative trash about the current government and supporting revolutionary activity is not only dangerous but treacherous because the alternatives in Armenia’s political landscape are very scary. Even with all it’s faults the current government has managed to do the most important two things correctly. Which are:
1. Develop a strong and capable Army (via strong strategic and military links to Russia)
2. Develop long term economic agreements with Russia (via the customs union) and thus bypass the disastrous EU proposal which would not have turned Armenia into nothing more than a market for Turkish goods and a giant mining pit.
The only “investments” the Europeans would have made in Armenia would have been in mining to extract the metals. Russia on the on other hand has a well established market for Armenian produced goods and Russia is the process of developing large scale military industrial complexes in Armenia. Name one European country which will do such a thing. As someone already posted above, it is Russia that has invested hundreds of millions in Armenia’s railways. It is Russia that will provide Armenia with gas at half the price of Europe. Soon it will be Russia which will open the Railway link via George and establish a railway link through to Iran making Armenia a major transport hub and counteracting the Azeri-Turkish east west railway.
The current government is by no means ideal but they have done the above 2 things correctly. It is up to the next government over the next 10-15 years to work out the kinks and under the umbrella of Russian support to cleanse itself of the following the oligarchic chobans and the western funded opposition in Armenia and all western funded NGOs.
This can only happen if Armenia is fully in the Russian orbit. Otherwise it will always be politically unstable and under the threat of extinction from Turkish & Azeri invasion. Don’t think for one minute that the Turks would not invade if Russia removes it’s presence.
The only real power broker inside the caucuses is Russia. Better to have the bear on your side than against you. Better to work with the bear to your advantage than to be in conflict with it.
Anyway, sorry for my essay but the results of the stronger Russian ties will be seen in the next 5-15 years. Be patient. And internal choban cleansing will come during this time period too. Thank God for Russia’s presence.
Bravo Gurgen. I am very impressed, whoever you are.
The realities of the geopolitical situation and the fate of the ultimate survival of our nation is to keep strengthening the strategic partnership, alliance, bonds ,with our historically friendly neighbor Russia. What is more Armenia should be striving , together with our partner, to eventually link up and create a common border with orthodox Russia. The diasporan Armenians who trumpet and peddle the Washington-London Paris-Tel Aviv message of ” reconciliation” with turkey and other universally brotherly themes with our mortal enemies, and at our peril and expense, are genuinely confused and misguided. They better keep their anti armenian and universal brotherhood mantras , feelings and prescriptive recipes at home in the USA or wherever they are. Armenia is a land for the armenians. And for better or worse our survival hinges on keeping the turkish enemy away, at arms length, at bay. Reconciliation, and other politics can only happen when the turks devolve our primordial rights, lands and possesions. This is not going to happen through hypocritical, pseudo friendly reaprtess and diplomatic calisthenics.