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('node', 'news', 0, 398, 734, 'und', 0, '<h4><strong><a href=\"http://www.armenianow.com/economy/35737/wb_armenia_2012_economic_growth\">ArmeniaNow</a></strong></h4><h4><strong></strong></h4><p>February 17, 2012</p><p>Head of World Bank (WB) Yerevan office Jean-Michel Happi stated on Friday, that according to their predictions in 2012 the economic growth of Armenia will be 4.2 percent. This is progress as compared to last year&rsquo;s three percent growth; nevertheless, experts forecast serious challenges of Armenia&rsquo;s &ldquo;economic collapse and default&rdquo;.&nbsp;</p><p>Last year, Happi predicted almost a 5- percent economic growth for Armenia in 2012, however now he notes that &ldquo;In 2012, the world economy will slow down, which cannot but have its negative influence upon the economies of developing countries.&rdquo;&nbsp;<br style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; \" /><br style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; \" />Early this week Policy Forum Armenia (PFA) announced the publication of a Special Report on &ldquo;Armenia: Averting an Economic Catastrophe&rdquo; which is about Armenia&rsquo;s economic problems. The report presents all the economic-political challenges that Armenia faces now.&nbsp;<br style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; \" /><br style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; \" />&ldquo;Unless drastic changes in the economic policy direction and political-economy landscape are carried out, within the next three years, Armenia will be forced to undergo a large and painful devaluation of its currency, the dram, and/or an external sovereign debt restructuring or default,&rdquo; the report reads.<br style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; \" /><br style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; \" />PFA experts warn that since the collapse in 2009 the rapid rise in state debt of Armenia makes 40 percent of Armenia&rsquo;s gross domestic product (GDP), which &ldquo;has approached the limit of debt default for developing countries&rdquo;. Meanwhile, &ldquo;the policy of factual fixed exchange rate adopted by the Central Bank resulted in loss of three-quarters of the external reserves.&rdquo;<br style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; \" /><br style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; \" />The report says that the extremely poor state of the economy is connected with &ldquo;inner political will landscape and not with lack in resources or unfavorable geographical problems.&rdquo;&nbsp;<br style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; \" /><br style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; \" />&ldquo;The elements of the same crony capitalist practices&mdash;where a select few have used their disproportionate access to power and influence over economic decision-making for their personal gain&mdash;have been reinforced, at the expense of growth, public health, education, and national security. This is not only immoral but in many ways also illegal and needs to change. Armenia&rsquo;s window of opportunity to build a viable economy and address its severe social and demographic problems is closing rapidly,&rdquo; the authors of the report warn.&nbsp;</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'news', 0, 399, 823, 'und', 0, '<h2><a href=\"http://asbarez.com/101734/teghood/\"><strong>Asbarez&nbsp;</strong></a></h2><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">BY GAREN YEGPARIAN</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">March 12, 2012</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">I have intentionally used Western Armenian pronunciation and an otherwise differing spelling of a very threatened forest&rsquo;s name. I have to address a minor point that&rsquo;s a major irritant to me. It&rsquo;s one thing to use Eastern Armenian pronunciation to transliterate Armenian words to English. It is, after all, the official, linguistic, convention to do so. No problem there. What&rsquo;s ridiculous is the rendition, in this case as Teghut instead of Teghoot, leading to a pronunciation similar to the first part of the word &ldquo;utter,&rdquo; and looking like a Turkish mutilation of one of our place-names!</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">On to the substantive stuff&mdash; Teghoot, a forest in the north-eastern part (Lori Provice) of the Republic of Armenia (RoA), was last in the news half a decade ago. But it seems the money ran short in the land-rapists&rsquo; pockets until recently, and the problem went dormant. The issue is mining of copper and molybdenum in what is now an old growth forest with all its attendant biodiversity and natural service provision (clean water, food, recreation, etc.). And, to my best understanding, it would be a strip mining operation.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">Policy Forum Armenia (PFA) addresses the Teghoot issue in a recent publication on environmental issues in the Republic of Armenia. Between that, some blog postings on Armenian Environmental Network&rsquo;s website, and the panel discussion organized by the ARF Shant Student Association last Sunday (for full disclosure&mdash; I was a speaker at that event), I&rsquo;m left with a heightened sense of disgust and inclination to fight this abomination-in-the-making.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">The consequences of this mining operation would be devastating to the agrarian economy of the area&mdash; the villages of Shnogh &amp; Teghoot, and the ecology&mdash; destruction of the forest, mining wastes and tailings stored untreated and unsafely, pollution and other damage of the rivers in the area. Of course, there is an up-side. There would be a roughly two-decade period of employment for the locals, but&hellip; then what? The ruin of their environment would leave future generations bereft of any viable local economy, leading to more rural-urban (Yerevan) migration) and subsequent expatriation. Is that what we want as a nation?</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">Yet, the locals&rsquo; desire for jobs is very legitimate, understandable, and reasonable. We must support the area through eco-tourism, and fast. All those traveling to Armenia this summer should make it a point to go there, spend some money, and be sure to make known to the locals that it&rsquo;s the local beauty which attracted you. In the longer term, more structured trips with hikes, animal watching, perhaps water-sporting, even hunting, etc. must be organized. Meanwhile, massive public pressure must be brought upon the government of the RoA, both internally and internationally. PFA cites dozens of laws and international agreements being violated by this mining project as currently being implemented, so there&rsquo;s a good basis for heat to be applied.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">But that&rsquo;s not enough. The greed that leads to this kind of destructive behavior must be checked. The anticipated income over the life of this project is well above $20 billion. Yet the benefits to the country are a paltry $600+ million. Meanwhile, the hastily and inadequately prepared Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) would lead to locals being compensated in pennies for their lost trees, property, and livelihood. The full glare of public scrutiny and sunshine on these outrageous inconsistencies is another avenue of slowing down this process to a manageable pace. If there&rsquo;s mining to be done, let it be done in a safe, environmentally sound, human-health-neutral, and non-destructive way.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">There&rsquo;s also shadiness to this whole proposition. The outfit that will do the mining is Armenian Copper Program. It is a subsidiary of Vallex which, in turn, is owned 19% by Valeri Mejlumyan, and the rest&hellip; Who knows? It is registered in Lichtenstein (think about what you know of how money is &ldquo;hidden&rdquo; in Switzerland), therefore ownership is masked. Rumors, impossible to confirm or refute because of the secrecy enabled by Lichtenstein, attribute some interest in this firm to President Sarkissian&rsquo;s family. Meanwhile, the EIA was prepared by Lernametalurgiai Institute cjsc (LMI), which evidently has a de facto monopoly on preparation of these documents for all mining projects in the RoA. It is also a wholly owned subsidiary of Vallex Group and ACP. Can you say &ldquo;conflict-of-interest&rdquo;?</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">You get the idea. It&rsquo;s sickening how a project that could be a boon for all concerned&mdash; local population, RoA&rsquo;s economy, and its investors&mdash; can be perverted into a monster.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">Applying public pressure, insisting on full application of the appropriate procedures (relevant laws seem to be in place in RoA), and exposing the greed and shadiness of the companies proposing to implement this project, buy time to develop viable, sustainable options and alternatives while educating all concerned about them.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">Watch for action alerts emanating from the homeland and the Diaspora. Start contacting RoA&rsquo;s diplomatic establishments (embassies, consulates) in your area expressing your concerns. Let&rsquo;s build a movement to save this forest, provide for the locals, and build up and entrench the rule of law in the RoA. After all, a despoiled, desolate country is useless as a homeland. We can stop this ruinous process!</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'news', 0, 400, 740, 'und', 0, '<div class=\"node\" style=\"margin-top: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 2em; margin-left: 0.1em; font-size: 12px; overflow-x: visible; overflow-y: visible; border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; \"><div class=\"content\" style=\"margin-top: -0.1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-left: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; padding-top: 0em; padding-left: 0.4em; white-space: normal; \"><div class=\"contentBook\"><h3 style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968\"><strong>SOCIAL WATCH</strong></a></h3><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.cdcs.am/about.htm\"><strong>Center for the Development of Civil Society, CDCS Armenia</strong></a><strong></strong><br />Dr. Svetlana Aslanyan</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><em>Despite recent economic growth, Armenia continues to confront economic, social and environmental challenges. The Government launched a Sustainable Development programme, but at the same time made substantial investments in mining and other extractive industries. The Teghut copper-molybdenum mining project in particular poses a threat both to the environment and to sustainable development. The Government has also failed to address pollution, deforestation, soil degradation, and other environmental issues, making the effective implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, as well as increased transparency and public participation in policy-making essential.</em></p><table align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"5\" style=\"border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 1em; \"><tbody style=\"border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; \"><tr><td><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/sites/default/files/armenia2012_eng.pdf\"><img alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/sites/default/files/diamantes/2011/en/arm.gif\" style=\"border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-right: 0.1em; padding-right: 0.2em; margin-top: 0em; margin-bottom: 0.2em; \" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \">Armenia&rsquo;s &nbsp;&ldquo;Sustainable Development Programme (SDP) for 2009-2012,&quot;<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[1]</a>adopted in 2008, includes a series of measures designed to reduce poverty through: a) stimulation of economic growth and improvement of the business environment; b) increased employment and promotion of medium and small business; c) greater public access to infrastructure services; d) enhanced social assistance programs for the poor; e) expanded access to and consumption of culture; f) more extensive social assistance programs for youth; g) a reduction in corruption within State Government, the health and education systems, the judiciary system and&nbsp; local government.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \">Implementation of the SDP was set back by the impact of the 2008-09 global economic crisis.&nbsp; Reduced investment in construction hurt small and medium-sized businesses, and the proportion of the population living below the poverty line jumped from 27% to 47%. While per capita GDP had soared from USD 3,576 to USD 11,916 from 2004 to 2008<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[2]</a>&nbsp;the impact of the economic crisis was negative (see chart), particularly for sustainable development. Although economic growth resumed in 2009 and 2010,<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[3]</a>&nbsp;in most cases this has helped realize only short-term economic objectives. Policies set up for the environmental and social spheres have been neglected,<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[4]</a>&nbsp;and the Government has decided to pursue sustainable development only in selected areas.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><strong>Environmental issues</strong></p><table align=\"left\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"5\" style=\"border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 1em; \"><tbody style=\"border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; \"><tr><td><img alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/sites/default/files/arm1.gif\" style=\"border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-right: 0.1em; padding-right: 0.2em; margin-top: 0em; margin-bottom: 0.2em; \" /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \">One of the country&rsquo;s most pressing environmental concerns is limited access to clean water.<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn5\" name=\"_ftnref5\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[5]</a>&nbsp;In many cases, aging and corroded infrastructure allows sewage to seep into freshwater pipes. Yerevan, the capital, still lacks a fully functional wastewater treatment plant. In the northern part of the country, rivers such as the Debed have alarming concentrations of lead, while in places such as the Ararat Valley, most water pollution comes from pesticides containing pollutants such as arsenic and cadmium.<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn6\" name=\"_ftnref6\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[6]</a>&nbsp;Experts predict that the most likely climate change scenario will cause severe drinking water shortages in the coming decades.<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn7\" name=\"_ftnref7\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[7]</a></p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn7\" name=\"_ftnref7\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \"></a>Air pollution is also increasing at an alarming rate. Yerevan, for example, is located in a geological depression in which stagnant air exacerbates heavy pollution, 90% of which is caused by vehicles.<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn8\" name=\"_ftnref8\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[8]</a>&nbsp;The other 10% is highly toxic, containing smoke filled with the residue of plastics burned at industrial and mining facilities near the city. The atmosphere in other cities is also heavily polluted. Alaverdi, for example, has had 11.4 times the permitted level of sulfur dioxide in recent years.<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn9\" name=\"_ftnref9\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[9]</a>&nbsp;Between 2001 and 2005, recorded cases of respiratory disease jumped 45%; experts believe the real incidence of diseases such as asthma is actually far higher.<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn10\" name=\"_ftnref10\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[10]</a></p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \">Air pollution is exacerbated by the common practice of burning waste in the open. Unauthorized burning releases dioxins, furans and other toxic chemicals that can cause a wide range of health problems, including skin disorders, liver problems, immune system impairment and certain types of cancers.<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn11\" name=\"_ftnref11\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[11]</a></p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn11\" name=\"_ftnref11\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \"></a>Deforestation, which has escalated to an unprecedented level, is another concern. Only 7% of the territory remains forested, down from 35% two centuries ago, and much of this is degraded. The leading causes include use of wood for fuel, due to a lack of alternatives, and the Government&rsquo;s decision to allow mining in ecologically sensitive areas, which shows the lack of official recognition of the importance of natural forests.<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn12\" name=\"_ftnref12\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[12]</a></p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn12\" name=\"_ftnref12\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \"></a><strong>Corruption and the environment</strong></p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \">Many environmental problems in Armenia are closely linked to corruption, especially in forestry and mining. For example, environmental restrictions are not enforced in most mining operations; in the period from 2001 to 2007, the then-Minister of Nature Protection issued several mining licenses to relatives.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \">It is widely believed that cases of corruption related to businesses sponsored by high level Government officials are abundant.<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn13\" name=\"_ftnref13\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[13]</a>&nbsp;Certainly Government actions have not been able to stop the destruction and degradation of the forests due to illegal logging. Also, many forest areas have been improperly reclassified and allocated to private individuals. In 2007, for example, the Government changed the status of the central part of the Khosrov Reserve to allow private construction and agricultural activities; it made this decision without consulting experts in the field.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><strong>The Teghut mountains: a case study in unsustainable exploitation</strong></p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \">The Government is pursuing an extraction-led development model, as evidenced by its willingness to allow massive investment in mining. The Armenian Copper Program (ACP), for example, has been granted a 24-year license to extract copper and molybdenum ore from the Teghut Mountains. ACP is developing an open-pit mine with a surface area of 240 ha, all of which is forested land.<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn14\" name=\"_ftnref14\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[14]</a></p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn14\" name=\"_ftnref14\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \"></a>The village of Teghut, located in the Lori Region in the northeast has 3,600 residents, many of whom rely on subsistence agriculture. The surrounding forest is home to many rare and endangered plants and animals; species found there include 260 insects, 86 birds, 55 mammals and 10 reptiles.<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn15\" name=\"_ftnref15\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[15]</a></p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn15\" name=\"_ftnref15\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \"></a>ACP has already built numerous forest access roads for exploratory drilling sites, indiscriminately ravaging several areas. Ultimately, according to ACP, the project will require 670 ha, of which 510 ha are currently forested.&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn16\" name=\"_ftnref16\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[16]</a></p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn16\" name=\"_ftnref16\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \"></a>ACP has declared that it will compensate for the damage by planting trees in Yerevan, but this plan is inadequate and unrealistic. New trees cannot replace established forest habitats; mature trees may not survive a move.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \">The mining operations will produce waste rock and tailings, which may contain silver, gold, rhenium, lead, arsenic, copper, molybdenum, zinc and sulfurous chemicals. In the inefficient extraction process that will be used, valuable metals such as renium will be lost; much worse, it will leave tailings that will pollute both local water and the air. If leakage occurs, toxic chemicals could get into the nearby Kharatanots River, already polluted by the copper tailing dump in the village of Aghtala, and where numerous downstream communities get their drinking water.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \">The deleterious environmental impact of the mine will hardly be offset by economic benefits. The project&rsquo;s economists estimate that it contains ore worth more than 20 billion USD, of which the country will receive only 1.2-1.7% in taxes and fees and suffer severe, long term environmental problems costing USD 6.5 million. So far, there is no independent economic analysis of the potential environmental damage.<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn17\" name=\"_ftnref17\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[17]</a></p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftn17\" name=\"_ftnref17\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \"></a>As currently planned, construction of the ore processing plant and exploitation of the copper-molybdenum mine will breach 77 laws, as well as a range of international conventions signed and ratified by the Republic of Armenia, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UN Convention on Biodiversity, the UN Convention on Combating Desertification and the European Landscape Convention. However, the Government has designated the Teghut mining operation a high priority for its contribution to &ldquo;economic development,&rdquo; reflecting its short-term perspective, as well as its corrupt practices. It also reveals its lack of expertise, respect for the law, care for the environment and interest in pursuing a long-term sustainable development model.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><strong>Conclusions</strong></p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \">The rapid growth of some sectors of the economy, along with the lack of appropriate government management, have created serious environmental problems and challenges. To promote sustainability, the country must make environmental protection a priority.<br />Armenia has ratified many international conventions on issues such as biodiversity, climate change and desertification. These commitments, as well as the voice of civil society, have been largely ignored. Improving environmental governance will require effective implementation and enforcement of existing environmental laws, as well as greater transparency and public participation in policy-making. This, in turn, will require a concerted effort to increase popular awareness of environmental issues.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \">&nbsp;</p><div><div id=\"ftn1\"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[1]</a>&nbsp;Full text available from:&nbsp;<em>&lt;</em>www.nature-ic.am/res/pdfs/documents/strategic/SDP_01_eng_20081030.pdf&gt;</div><div id=\"ftn2\"><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[2]</a>&nbsp;Index Mundi,&nbsp;<em>Armenia</em><em>&nbsp;GDP real growth rate (%)</em>, (2010), &lt;www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?c=am&amp;v=66&gt;.</p></div><div id=\"ftn3\"><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[3]</a>&nbsp;Ibid.</p></div><div id=\"ftn4\"><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[4]</a>&nbsp;Edita Vardgesyan,&nbsp;<em>The exploitation of the Teghut Copper-Molybdenum Mining (Republic of Armenia) and the Concept of Sustainable Development</em>, (2009),<em>&lt;</em>www.cerdi.org/uploads/sfCmsContent/html/323/Vardgesyan.pdf&gt;</p></div><div id=\"ftn5\"><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref5\" name=\"_ftn5\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[5]</a>&nbsp;Policy Forum Armenia,&nbsp;<em>The state of Armenia&rsquo;s environment</em>, (2010), &lt;www.pf-armenia.org/fileadmin/pfa_uploads/PFA_Environmental_Report.pdf&gt;.</p></div><div id=\"ftn6\"><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref6\" name=\"_ftn6\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[6]</a>&nbsp;Ibid.</p></div><div id=\"ftn7\"><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref7\" name=\"_ftn7\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[7]</a>&nbsp;Ibid.</p></div><div id=\"ftn8\"><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref8\" name=\"_ftn8\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[8]</a>&nbsp;This Month in Armenia,&nbsp;<em>Car emissions causing more respiratory problems in Yerevan</em>, (July 2009), &lt;<a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/thismonth.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/july-09-car-emissions-causing-more-respiratory-problems\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">thismonth.wordpress.com</a>..</p></div><div id=\"ftn9\"><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref9\" name=\"_ftn9\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[9]</a>&nbsp;Policy Forum Armenia,&nbsp;<em>The state of Armenia&rsquo;s environment</em>, (2010), op cit.</p></div><div id=\"ftn10\"><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref10\" name=\"_ftn10\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[10]</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Marianna Grigoryan, &ldquo;Armenia: Environmental Change Spurs Respiratory Diseases,&rdquo; (19 October&nbsp; 2006), &lt;www.eurasianet.org/departments/environment/articles/eav102006.shtml&gt;.</p></div><div id=\"ftn11\"><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref11\" name=\"_ftn11\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[11]</a>&nbsp;Ibid.</p></div><div id=\"ftn12\"><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref12\" name=\"_ftn12\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[12]</a>&nbsp;Ibid</p></div><div id=\"ftn13\"><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref13\" name=\"_ftn13\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[13]</a>&nbsp;See: &lt;en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_Armenia&gt; and &lt;www.armeniatree.org/environews/enews_hakobyan070707.htm&gt;.</p></div><div id=\"ftn14\"><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref14\" name=\"_ftn14\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[14]</a>&nbsp;Policy Forum Armenia,&nbsp;<em>The state of Armenia&rsquo;s environment</em>, (2010), op cit.</p></div><div id=\"ftn15\"><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref15\" name=\"_ftn15\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[15]</a>&nbsp;Ibid.</p></div><div id=\"ftn16\"><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref16\" name=\"_ftn16\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[16]</a>&nbsp;See: &lt;www.foe.org/pdf/Teghut_Fact_Sheet.pdf&gt; and &lt; news.mongabay.com/2008/0129-hance_armenia.html&gt;</p></div><div id=\"ftn17\"><p style=\"margin-top: 0.7em; margin-bottom: 0.6em; \"><a href=\"http://www.socialwatch.org/node/13968#_ftnref17\" name=\"_ftn17\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(120, 100, 72); \">[17]</a>&nbsp;Ibid.</p></div></div></div></div><div id=\"ARfooter\" style=\"clear: both; font-size: 14px; padding-right: 0em; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; height: 22px; margin-top: 0.5em; 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('node', 'news', 0, 401, 743, 'und', 0, '<p><a href=\"http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/02/21/save-teghut-redefines-environmental-activism-in-armenia/\">The Armenian Weekly</a></p><div>February 21, 2012</div><div>&nbsp;</div><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">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.</p><div class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" id=\"attachment_18003\" style=\"margin-top: 4px; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245); display: inline; float: left; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; max-width: 460px !important; width: 360px; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \"><a href=\"http://www.armenianweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/save-teghut.jpg\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 122, 201); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \"><img alt=\"1x1.trans Save Teghut Redefines Environmental Activism in Armenia\" class=\"wp-image-18003 \" data-lazy-loaded=\"true\" height=\"210\" src=\"http://www.armenianweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/save-teghut.jpg\" style=\"margin-top: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; height: auto; max-width: 460px; display: inline; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \" title=\"save-teghut\" width=\"360\" /></a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 11px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(50, 50, 50); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">Save Teghut addresses the disastrous environmental situation in Armenia. (Photo by Photolure)</p></div><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">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&rsquo;s water, air, and land are clean. In the Teghut forest, specifically, the civic initiative demands the end of the mining project.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">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&rsquo;s actions have been insufficient to stop the destruction of Armenia&rsquo;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.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">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.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">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.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">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.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">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.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">Many environmental problems in Armenia&mdash;including those related to water resources, mining, forests, and protected areas&mdash;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.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">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.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">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.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">The 44 members of the UN Economic Commission for Europe have strongly condemned Armenia&rsquo;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.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">Armenia&rsquo;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&rsquo;s Red Book of Endangered Species, and an archeological team from Armenia&rsquo;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.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">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.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">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 &ldquo;Shant&rdquo; 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.</p><p style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; \">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 eco-system of the forest and the fundamental rights of the local population to live in a healthy and safe environment.</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'media_gallery', 0, 406, 748, 'und', 0, 'Policy Forum Armenia held its 2nd Annual Forum in Washington, DC on February 28-March 2, 2010.', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'site_page', 0, 407, 749, 'und', 0, '<p>Hayk Sargsyan, Johns Hopkins University Arnenia&#39;s Investment Climate and Diaspora&#39;s participation in development policies /Users/rafihovsepian/Desktop/Sarksyan_PFA.pdf</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'profile', 0, 457, 800, 'und', 0, 'Vladimir Airapetian is a research associate at the National Aeronautics and Space (NASA) and is a faculty member at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Mr. Airapetian is an active member of the International Astronomical Union. Since 2008, Vladimir Airapetian has been a research associate professor in the Department of Computational and Data Sciences at George Mason University.\r\n ', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'media_gallery', 0, 459, 802, 'und', 0, 'Roundtable on Karabakh at the Carnegie Endowment', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'media_gallery', 0, 461, 804, 'und', 0, 'PFA Diaspora Report Presented at a UC Berkeley Symposium', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'profile', 0, 475, 818, 'und', 0, 'Stephan Astourian is Executive Director of the Armenian Studies Program and Adjunct Assistant Professor of History at the University of California-Berkeley. Prior to and after earning his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, Dr. Astourian has taught at California State University, Long Beach, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and UCLA. He has been at UC Berkeley since the fall of 1998. Dr. Astourian has published a number of articles about the Armenian Genocide, Armenian Ottoman and Azerbaijani history and politics, and current issues relating to Armenians in the homeland and the Diaspora. He was the past editor of \"JUSUR: The UCLA Journal of Middle Eastern Studies\". He is a member of the Academic Board of the Zoryan Institute, of the Advisory Committee of the Caucasus and Central Asia Program (Institute of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, U.C. Berkeley), and of the Center for Contemporary Armenian Studies (Paris, France).', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'profile', 0, 476, 819, 'und', 0, 'AnnaLee Saxenian is professor and dean of UC Berkeley\'s School of Information and has a joint faculty appointment with the Department of City and Regional Planning. Professor Saxenian has made a career of studying regional economics and the conditions under which people, ideas, and geographies combine and connect into hubs of economic activity. She is a member of Board of Advisors at the National Science Foundation, and Directorate for Social, and Behavioral & Economic Sciences since 2009. She served as a consultant at the Center on Transnational Corporations of United Nations in New York. Professor Saxenian holds a Ph.D. in political science from MIT, a master\'s in regional planning from UC Berkeley, and a B.A. in economics from Williams College. ', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'home_page_feature', 0, 477, 1074, 'und', 0, 'Authorities in Armenia Put a New Face on Election Fraud', '', NULL),
('node', 'document', 0, 485, 870, 'und', 0, '<p>PFA&rsquo;s Special Report on &ldquo;Armenian&#39;s 2012 Parliamentary Election,&rdquo; provides an overview of political-economic and legislative developments in the period preceding the 2012 election and summarizes the reactions of key stakeholders&mdash;the opposition parties, foreign observers, and local civil society groups&mdash;to the election outcome. It conducts a range of statistical tests to provide evidence of election fraud and to point out the main beneficiary of these corrupt practices. The findings suggest that the election fraud in Armenia during the 2012 Parliamentary Election was not gone but instead transformed into less obvious and observable forms, while remaining largely outcome-neutral, a phenomenon that is becoming common in the region as well as other countries with authoritarian leaderships. Finally, the Report offers recommendations to the opposition, civil society, foreign observers, and the Diaspora.&nbsp;</p><p><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/PFA%20-%20Report%2012.12%20ARM.pdf\"><strong>Armenian version of the Report</strong></a><strong></strong></p>', 'PFA’s Special Report on “Armenian\'s 2012 Parliamentary Election,” provides an overview of political-economic and legislative developments in the period preceding the 2012 election and summarizes the reactions of key stakeholders to the election outcome.', 'full_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 486, 1001, 'und', 0, '<div style=\"text-align: left; \"><div><div>For Immediate Release</div><div>December 12, 2012</div><div>Contact: <a href=\"mailto:forum@pf-armenia.org\">forum@pf-armenia.org</a></div><div>Web: <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/\">http://www.pf-armenia.org</a></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><strong><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/PR%20in%20Armenian%20final%20.pdf\">Press Release in Armenian</a></strong></div></div></div><div style=\"text-align: -webkit-auto;\"><p align=\"center\">&nbsp;</p><p align=\"center\"><strong>AUTHORITIES IN ARMENIA PUT A NEW FACE ON ELECTION FRAUD</strong></p><p>Washington/Los Angeles/Yerevan&mdash; Earlier this year, under mounting pressure by the international community and civil society, the government of the Republic of Armenia took measures to reduce fraud and manipulation going into the 2012 parliamentary election. However, according to a special report released today by Policy Forum Armenia (PFA) &mdash; a U.S.-based international think tank and advocacy organization &mdash; true election reform in Armenia has, once again, been hijacked, only this time by even more inventive and well-concealed methods of falsification.</p><p>The report, <strong><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/document/armenians-2012-parliamentary-election\">&ldquo;Armenia&#39;s 2012 Parliamentary Election,&rdquo;</a></strong> provides an in-depth analysis of the political-economic and legislative developments leading up to the 2012 election. It also summarizes the reactions of key stakeholders &mdash; the opposition parties, foreign observers, and local civil society groups &mdash; to the election outcome.</p><p>What particularly sets the report apart from other analyses, however, is the range of statistical tests, conducted by professional analysts, that support stakeholder reactions. These tests not only yielded ample evidence of persistent and strategic election fraud, but also pinpointed the beneficiary of such corrupt practices, namely the ruling party.</p><p>Commenting on the report&rsquo;s findings Adam Hug, the Policy Director at London-based Foreign Policy Centre, said, &ldquo;This important and detailed report shows that Armenia still has a long-way to go to before its elections can be called free and fair. In particular, the results of the statistical analyses&nbsp;would seem to indicate that the election authorities successfully managed to adapt to the changes in laws and outside pressures (via&nbsp;illegal use of identities of Armenian citizens who have emigrated and violations in vote counting),&nbsp;which is&nbsp;deeply concerning. Armenia will have to improve its election processes if future results are to command the confidence of the international community and most importantly the Armenian public.&rdquo;</p><p>PFA Senior Fellow, Armine Ishkanian of the London School of Economics, went on to say that, &ldquo;The growing sophistication of fraud techniques and mechanisms, which are artfully concealed, make it difficult for outside observers to cite and document specific instances.&nbsp; It is electoral fraud 2.0. The authors of this report have had to bring to bear all the tools of research and analysis available to shed light on these techniques and provide stakeholders with statistical back-up that election fraud is alive and well in Armenia. The question is, what are the prospects for the forthcoming presidential elections early next year?&rdquo;</p><p>PFA Executive Board member and a Los Angeles-based attorney, Edgar Martirosyan, pointed out that achieving free and fair elections is not an end in itself. &ldquo;Better elections are likely to result in better governance and stronger social cohesion,&rdquo; he asserted. &ldquo;And it is an internationally accepted conclusion that good governance is the primary driver of economic development and progress in developing countries like Armenia.&rdquo;</p><p align=\"center\"># # #</p><p><strong>Policy Forum Armenia</strong> is an independent, professional non-profit association aimed at strengthening discourse on Armenia&#39;s economic development and national security and, through that, helping to shape public policy in Armenia. This special Election Report and other PFA reports, which provide assessments of critical developments taking place in Armenia and the Diaspora, are available at <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/reports\">www.pf-armenia.org/reports</a>.</p><p>&nbsp;</p></div>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'profile', 0, 506, 907, 'und', 0, 'Sassoon Kosian has been in the field of Decision Analytics for 13 years. Currently he is Assistant Vice President and Head of Methodology Group in the consulting branch of EXL Service, a NASDAQ listed global company. Sassoon’s group is responsible for the company’s statistical/predictive modeling methodologies, R&D initiatives and training the company’s professional pool. In his tenure Sassoon has advised numerous US corporations on analytical/modeling methodologies that help to improve business effectiveness and efficiency. Sassoon holds master’s degrees in Economics, Political Science and Physics, and has presented at national and international conferences. Apart from his professional career Sassoon is the founder and administrator of a Facebook activist group Campaign Against Oligarchy that focuses on critical issues of criminal oligopoly and corruption in Armenia.', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'site_page', 0, 507, 945, 'und', 0, 'PFA Special Report: Armenia\'s 2012 Parliamentary Election\r\n', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'site_page', 0, 531, 986, 'und', 0, 'The report in Armenian', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'news', 0, 532, 1038, 'und', 0, '<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \"><a href=\"http://www.bne.eu/story3284/Yelling_at_Yerevan\">Business New Europe</a>&nbsp;Magazine</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">February 27, 2012</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">If a series of reports on the Armenian economy are any indication of the country&#39;s fiscal health, it&#39;s going to be a tough year for Yerevan.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">A February report from the <strong>US-based think-tank Policy Forum Armenia (PFA)</strong>, entitled <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/documents/files/PFA_Crisis_Special_Report_0.pdf\">&quot;Armenia: Averting an Economic Catastrophe,&quot;</a> paints a dire picture of the country&#39;s prospects heading into 2012.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">It details a laundry list of economic ills that could create turmoil in the tiny South Caucasus nation, especially homegrown problems such as the probable devaluation of the dram and the government&#39;s tarnished legitimacy. &quot;An unsustainable de facto exchange rate peg and structural policies are resulting in massive external imbalances, which will eventually lead to abandonment of the peg with very serious implications for the over-exposed banking sector and already high public debt levels,&quot; the paper notes. &quot;The elements of the same crony capitalist practices&hellip; have been reinforced at the expense of growth, public health, education and national security.&quot;&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">&quot;Armenia&#39;s window of opportunity to build a viable economy and address its severe social and demographic problems is closing rapidly,&quot; it warns.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">PFA&#39;s negative assessment of the economy is just the most recent in a series of efforts to sound an alarm about Armenia&#39;s problems.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">In July,&nbsp;</span><i style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">Forbes&nbsp;</i><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">magazine named Armenia the second worst economy in the world, after Madagascar. With inflation at 7% in 2011 and the economy still shaky after a 15% contraction in 2009, Armenia is &quot;struggling to keep up with the rest of the world,&quot; according to the magazine. Transparency International also weighed in, ranking Armenia at 129 out of 183 countries in its 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index. The World Bank&#39;s 2012 &quot;Doing Business&quot; report was only slightly more positive, bumping Armenia up six slots to rank 55 out of 183 economies due to reforms in starting a business, dealing with construction permits and getting credit. But the country continues to rank near the bottom of the list in paying taxes, resting at a low number 150.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">Yerevan&#39;s struggles to control rampant tax evasion and an entrenched &quot;cronyism capitalism&quot; have amplified the country&#39;s problems, according to the PFA report. &quot;There are widespread concerns about corruption in the tax and customs agency, as well as about failures to collect taxes from government-connected oligarchs,&quot; the report states, noting that tax reforms stop short of forcing &quot;top government officials and parliamentarians&quot; to comply. &quot;In all, several hundred million dollars are embezzled annually in the form of non-payment of taxes and outright budgetary theft,&quot; it estimates.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">Tax revenue is just 16.3% of GDP in Armenia, compared with 24.9% in Georgia and 31.4% in Moldova, according to IMF statistics provided by the report.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">Tax evasion is &quot;now a direct threat to the state,&quot; notes analyst Richard Giragosian, the director of the Regional Studies Center (RSC) in Yerevan. &quot;The so-called oligarchs&hellip; are not paying taxes,&quot; he says, noting they are mainly commodities-based cartels that control the supply of imported goods. &quot;They are undermining the state.&quot;&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">New tax reform is good on paper, but bad on implementation, Giragosian notes. &quot;The [tax] reforms are quite good on paper. The problem is in the implementation, not in the formulation. They are not implemented adequately across the board. They are not fairly implemented because of the political weight of the oligarchs [help them get around the law].&quot;&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">Giragosian adds that while there is political will to combat tax evasion, the government is threatening its own support base by going after the oligarchs &ndash; something that might be possible following the May parliament elections, but not before.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><b style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">Debt burden</b><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">The country&#39;s large amount of outstanding foreign debt is adding to the problems by exacerbating the country&#39;s lack of income.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">Tatoul Manasserian, head of the Alternative Research Center in Yerevan, said in an October presentation at the Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS) that the country&#39;s debt is near &quot;dangerous&quot; levels and requires more effective tax and customs policies.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">The PFA report says the government borrowed heavily following the 2008 crisis, but said it did little to bring economic relief to the country over the past three years. &quot;Armenia reacted to the crisis by a massive fiscal stimulus that was largely financed through external borrowing. However, not only did the stimulus not prevent the economy from nose-diving in 2009, but its effects were short-lived,&quot; the report states, noting the foreign debt is now 40% of the country&#39;s GDP.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><br style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \" /><span style=\"font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">Giragosian stresses that the staggering debt has left Armenia without a &quot;cushion&quot; for future shocks. &quot;The Armenian government&#39;s immediate response to the financial crisis was not typical &ndash; it did not [attempt] stimulating the economy or creating jobs programmes. It was an immediate response to seek foreign loans [from] the World Bank, IMF, Russia, Persian Gulf, China,&quot; he says. &quot;Now there is no one left to lend to the Armenian government&hellip; so there is no more cushion or source of [financing].&quot;&nbsp;</span></p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'profile', 0, 533, 1000, 'und', 0, 'Diana Khachaturyan holds a graduate degree from Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University. Currently, she is a graduate student at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy in North Carolina, USA. She specializes in International Development Policy, a program designed for mid-career professionals. While attending the school she also works as Teaching Assistant for both Economic Foundation for Development course at Sanford School, and executive training program for Kazakh governmental officials at Duke Center of International Development. Prior to starting her graduate studies Diana had worked in development and security field focusing on such issues as peace-building, conflict management, human rights, human trafficking, child sexual abuse, HIV/AIDS prevention, women empowerment and community mobilization. Her current professional and research interests include peace and security, demographic security, migration, diasporas for development, energy security, education, women and children empowerment.', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'event', 0, 534, 1007, 'und', 0, '<p>On January 19, 2013, Policy Forum Armenia made a presentation entitled &ldquo;To Be or Not To Be: Elections, the Rule of Law, and Governance in Armenia&rdquo; during the Armenian Bar Association&rsquo;s 2013 Winter Meeting in Las Vegas. The presentation, which largely drew upon PFA&#39;s latest reports on the&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/document/armenians-2012-parliamentary-election\">2012 parliamentary election</a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/document/armenia-averting-economic-catastrophe\">economic conditions</a>, and&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/document/state-armenias-environment\">the state of the environment</a>, aimed to demonstrate that the fraudulent elections taking place in Armenia in recent years and the resulting lack of accountability and poor governance are the primary factors behind the country&#39;s dismal social/economic conditions and ongoing mismanagement of environmental resources.</p><p>The presentation followed by a lecture by Professor Richard Hovannisian (UCLA) as well as luncheon speaches by ABA Chairman, Garo Ghazarian, former Chairman, Edvin Minasian, and Armenian National Committee of America&#39;s&nbsp;Government Affairs Director,&nbsp;Kate Nahapetian. &nbsp;</p><p><strong><a href=\"http://www.armenianbar.com/\" target=\"_blank\">The Armenian Bar Association (ABA)</a>&nbsp;</strong>was formed in 1989 to provide an arena for lawyers of Armenian heritage to come together socially and professionally and to address the legal concerns of the Armenian community. With the creation of an independent Republic of Armenia, the Association undertook the task of helping to build and encourage the growth of democratic institutions in Armenia. More information about the event is available from&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"http://www.armenianbar.com/events/details/161\" target=\"_blank\">the ABA&rsquo;s website</a></strong>.</p><p>Pictures from the event are available from the&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/media-gallery/presentation-pfa-reports-aba-meeting\"><strong>Photo Gallery</strong></a>.</p>', '', 'full_html');
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('node', 'press_release', 0, 544, 1064, 'und', 0, '<p style=\"\"><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/Letter%20to%20International%20Observers%20January%202013_1.pdf\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: bold;\">For the list of addressees download the original letter in PDF</span></a></p><p align=\"center\">&nbsp;</p><p align=\"center\"><strong>AN URGENT APPEAL TO INTERNATIONAL ELECTION MONITORS&nbsp;</strong><strong>TO ENHANCE FRAUD DETECTION IN ARMENIA</strong></p><p><strong>De</strong><strong>ar Fellow Stakeholders:</strong></p><p>In light of the upcoming February 2013 Presidential election in the Republic of Armenia, we are writing to bring to your urgent attention the latest Special Report by Policy Forum Armenia (PFA). The findings therein highlight our concerns about the integrity of the electoral process in the country&mdash;as observed during the May 2012 Parliamentary Election&mdash;and its implications going forward.</p><p>The Report, entitled &ldquo;Armenia&rsquo;s 2012 Parliamentary Election&rdquo;, is available in its entirety at <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org\">http://www.pf-armenia.org</a>. In sum, it demonstrates that the election fraud in Armenia has taken subtle and sophisticated forms that are difficult to detect because it occurs mostly outside of the polling stations. In fact, while acknowledging some marginal improvements, we believe that the systematic fraud applied by the authorities (and uncovered in the Report via the use of statistical techniques) was sufficient to materially alter the election outcome.</p><p>In addressing the international observer community, the Report makes the following recommendations:</p><p>&bull; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Election fraud in Armenia has adapted to monitoring pressures and is now nearly impossible to detect through typical monitoring approaches. To substantially reduce it, new criteria for assessing election conduct should be established and more candid assessment of the political will, or lack thereof, to conduct freer elections should be made.</p><p>&bull; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; International observers could benefit from a more comprehensive briefing about Armenia&rsquo;s political-economic landscape and history of election fraud.</p><p>&bull; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Resources permitting, more observers should be dispatched to areas outside of Yerevan, where incidents of fraudulent voter counting and voter list abuse were found to be the highest.</p><p>Given the growing sophistication of election fraud in Armenia, the country&rsquo;s electorate and the Armenian Diaspora will likely rely on international observers more than before to properly assess election results in the country.</p><p>However, if these new methods of election fraud are allowed to persist the legitimacy of the election outcome in Armenia will continue to be questioned despite declared &ldquo;progress&rdquo;. Moreover, the credibility of international observers as a force for positive change may be undermined when assessments fail to point that bribery, voter intimidation, and voter list fraud are effectively used as counterweights to free and fair elections.</p><p>This situation in Armenia is unlikely to remain sustainable. Disenfranchised citizens may lose faith in the election process altogether and seek alternative ways to express their constitutionally granted right to govern the country, potentially leading to political instability. Yet, unless remedies are put in place prior to Election Day, we expect the well-concealed abuses of the electoral system to continue during the February 2013 presidential election.</p><p>To that end, PFA is prepared to assist you and your colleagues in these specific areas:</p><p>&bull; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Identify the worst-offender polling stations based on the 2012 election outcome to help the observer missions zoom in on them;</p><p>&bull; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Provide a list of suitable potential observers, who speak and understand fluent Armenian and English;</p><p>&bull; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Conduct voter list audits prior to the upcoming election.</p><p>All in all, we hope you will have an opportunity to study PFA&rsquo;s report and urge you to take concrete steps to enhance your fraud-detection techniques in time for the February election. We and other concerned stakeholders worldwide would appreciate being informed of those steps.</p><p>We thank you for your consideration of this urgent appeal and look forward to hearing from you regarding our offer to assist. Please contact us directly by email at <a href=\"mailto:forum@pf-armenia.org\">forum@pf-armenia.org</a> or at the mailing address above.&nbsp;</p><p>PFA is an independent professional non-profit organization aimed at strengthening discourse on Armenia&#39;s economic development and national security and through that helping to shape public policy in Armenia. Its main objective is to offer alternative views and professional analysis containing innovative and practical recommendations for public policy design and implementation.</p><div><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/executive-board\">PFA Executive Board</a></div><div>Washington/Los Angeles/Yerevan</div><div>&nbsp;</div>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'event', 0, 550, 1065, 'und', 0, '<div style=\"text-align: center; \"><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"line-height: 14.25pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; \">A roster of prominent local and Armenian speakers, at the maiden public gathering of the nascent Armenian Renaissance of Toronto (ART) movement on Feb. 8, called for a &quot;One Nation&quot; unified effort by the Diaspora and Armenia to help bring about a democratic, strong and prosperous Armenia. The nascent ART is a founding member of the new Diaspora movement whose aim is the peaceful promotion of good governance in Armenia.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">The speakers--Aram Adamyan, Dr. Berge Minassian, Viken Attarian, and Dr. Zareh Ouzounian (from Canada); Dr. David Grigorian and Dr. Zaven Kalaydjian from the Washington-based&nbsp;Policy Forum Armenia think tank; as well as activists Yeghia Nersesian and Alec Yenikomshian of Armenia agreed that the Diaspora can help bring about positive and fundamental change in Armenian governance.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">Adamyan, who also acted as MC, said that the separation, which had existed between Soviet Armenia and the Diaspora, continued following Armenia&#39;s independence, despite hopes that the Armenian nation would finally become one. He said the Diaspora has extensive and multifarious resources which Armenia desperately needs. It&#39;s time for Armenians in the Diaspora to connect through people-to-people links with their brothers and sisters in the Armenian homeland.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">Dr. Zareh Ouzounian, one of the key figures in the establishment of Armenian Renaissance in Canada, said: &quot;The very destiny of our nation is directly dependent on the survival of our motherland. Not the mere survival of the Armenian state, but its growth and development into a just, prosperous and powerful state.&quot;</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">He called for equal rights in Armenia, for truly democratic elections, improved governance and a responsible approach to environmental issues.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">The words &quot;change&quot; and &quot;hope&quot; have reappeared in the lexicon of the Armenian street and dozens of civic and reform movements have already emerged and are starting to raise their voices, said Dr. Ouzounian. &quot;Their sympathizers already number in tens of thousands...they are taking full advantage of modern technology and social media to raise their concerns,&quot; he added.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">These reform movements have created a new structure in the form of an all-inclusive pre-parliament (&quot;nakhakhorhrdaran&quot;) whose first objective is &quot;to develop and to articulate the platform of policies to govern the New Future Armenia...&quot; he said.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">While pointing out that meaningful change can only come from within Armenia, a strong, committed and engaged Diaspora support &quot;would go a long way in providing a supportive network, specific expertise and advice,&quot; said Dr. Ouzounian and added that the new, energized, engaged Diaspora is the Armenian Renaissance. Associate groups similar to ART are now sprouting in Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin, and Beirut.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">He admitted that the Armenian Renaissance of Toronto and AR movements around the globe do not have precise medium- or long-term road maps of actions they would take, but that they are working to develop strategies consistent with their mission. &quot;Whether it is by organizing informative lectures and debates, whether by signing petitions or organizing protests, whether it is by participating with our individual expertise and skills, Renaissance will be an action network, and not a discussion forum,&quot; stressed Dr. Ouzounian.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">&quot;Wherever we live, the New Future Armenia is our collective responsibility. If we truly believe we are ONE Nation, we, in the Diaspora, have the right and the duty to support the grass-roots civil society movements that will shape the New Future Armenia,&quot; he said.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">Viken Attarian, a prominent intellectual and community leader in Montreal pointed out to the audience that the challenge in Armenia, as elsewhere, is how to maintain democratic rule. Once established, democracy requires constant care and attention, otherwise it could vanish. Social activism, civic movements, the free exchange of ideas are signals of a healthy democracy. &quot;The hundreds of thousands of Armenian citizens, who are committed to these ideals, are the guarantors of the flourishing democracy in Armenia,&quot; he said.&nbsp; Attarian cited the work of scholar and author Daron Acemyan, an Armenian citizen of Turkey as a key in understanding why certain contemporary states succeed while others fail.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">Because for centuries many Armenians have lived outside Armenia, a significant percentage of Diaspora Armenians don&#39;t consider Armenia their homeland.&nbsp; &quot;We should feel that we are a successful movement when most Diasporans regard Armenia as their homeland,&quot; he said.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">He also defined the sharp difference between the concept of citizenship and nationality. Because for centuries many Armenians have lived outside Armenia, most Diasporans consider themselves citizens rather than members of the national group of the countries they reside.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">Attarian drew the audience&#39;s attention to a prominent and worrisome difference between the Canadian Charter of Rights and freedoms and the Armenian Constitution. He said that there were so many exceptions or &quot;notwithstanding clauses&quot; in the Armenian Constitution that a future law could easily nullify the freedoms and rights &quot;guaranteed&quot; by the Constitution. He called for inviolable rights and freedoms to be imbedded in the Armenian Constitution.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">Dr. Berge Minassian, a founding member of Armenian Renaissance, said that a state governed democratically and with the rule of law is essential to the survival of Armenia, and therefore to the Armenian nation. &quot;We believe such a state will come about through the efforts of Armenians living in our homeland. The Armenian Renaissance movement is a reaction to the realization that Diaspora Armenians can buttress, support, and sustain the civil society movements for peaceful change taking place in Armenia.&quot;</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">Dr. Minassian said that positive change is necessary and urgent. &quot;The Diaspora can&#39;t abdicate its responsibility to help those working in Armenia to effectuate democratic change.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">&quot;</span><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">Dr. David Grigorian and Dr. Zaven Kalaydjian, who were scheduled to address the gathering, could not attend in person due to a severe snowstorm. Speaking via Skype, they presented an informative forensic analysis of the 2012 parliamentary elections in Armenia and cited the various research activities, conferences, and reports that the PFA undertakes. Dr. Grigorian said the PFA is comprised of more than 60 professionals across the globe, who volunteer their expertise and time to analyze Armenia-related developments and offer alternative views on those. Through YouTube, environmental activist Yeghia Nersesian and Sardarapat spokesman, Alec Yenikomshian, described their activities in Armenia.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">Nersesian invited Diaspora Armenians to join Armenians in the homeland to realize a &quot;renaissance of the Armenian nation.&quot; Echoing the other speakers, Yenikomshian also emphasized the key role of the Diaspora in rebuilding a progressive and democratic political system in Armenia.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 14.25pt; \">Flyers, including the vision and mission statement of ART, as well as links to democratic, civic, environmental group websites, were distributed to the audience which had braved one of the worst storms in the city&#39;s recent history.</span></div><div style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 19px; font-size: 0.875em; font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; \"><span style=\"line-height: 14.25pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; \">For other inquiries, please check the Armenian Renaissance website:&nbsp;</span><a href=\"http://www.armenian-renaissance.org/\" style=\"line-height: 14.25pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; outline: none; text-decoration: initial; \"><span style=\"color:#31827D\">www.armenian-renaissance.org</span></a></div><div style=\"margin: 6pt 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left; \"><o:p></o:p></div><p style=\"margin: 0.5em 0px; font-size: 0.875em; text-align: left; \">&nbsp;</p></div>', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'news', 0, 551, 1083, 'und', 0, '<p>&nbsp;</p><p>In a report entitled&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"http://www.nuim.ie/nirsa/diaspora/PDFs/Armenia%20report%202011.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Diaspora Strategies in Transition States: Prospects and Opportunities for Armenia</a></strong>,&nbsp;presented to the Armenian government in 2011, professors Rob Kitchin and Mark Boyle of the National University of Ireland listed the following as Priority No. 1 for Armenia in its efforts to enhance cooperation with the Diaspora: &quot;<em>Armenia needs to continue to work collaboratively with the diaspora so to harness to the resources, energy and self-organizing capacities of the diaspora. Its new and strong institutions capacities notwithstanding, it must work find a way to bring its new diaspora planning infrastructure into partnership with the diaspora.&nbsp;<strong>Policy Forum Armenia (PFA)</strong>&nbsp;which has hosted two conferences thus far in Yerevan (2009) and Washington (2010) provides an important vehicle for dialogue</em>&quot; (p. 34).</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'profile', 0, 552, 1084, 'und', 0, 'Julia Nikogosian is a graduate student of the interdisciplinary Master’s program - “Europe: Integration and Globalization” - at the Philipp University of Marburg. Her interests include international trade and international security issues. For her Master’s thesis she does research on determinants of economic sanctions’ success and failure. She has a B.A. in Political and Social Studies from the Julius-Maximilian University of Wuerzburg.\r\n', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 565, 1401, 'und', 0, '<p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</p><p>Policy Forum Armenia (PFA) just concluded its preliminary analysis of the official results of Armenia&rsquo;s 2013 Presidential Election based on the data provided by the Central Election Commission. Consistent with eyewitness accounts and a large body of local media reports, our analysis&mdash;which we summarize below&mdash;confirms the following:</p><ul><li>Presence of a significant and systemic effort to artificially inflate the voter turnout (<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/Figure%201.pdf\"><strong>Figure 1, Panel 1</strong></a>). The deviations from the expected pattern (i.e., the normal or Gaussian distribution) appear to be larger than those found in our analysis of the 2008 Presidential Election (see Figure 1 in PFA&rsquo;s Report on &ldquo;<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/documents/files/PFA_Election_Report--FINAL.pdf\">Armenia&rsquo;s 2008 Presidential Election: Select Issues and Analysis</a>&rdquo;).</li></ul><ul><li>This turnout-enhancing fraud was conducted on behalf of the incumbent, Serge Sargsyan, and against the main challenger, Raffi Hovannisian (<strong><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/Figure%201.pdf\">Figure 1, Panels 2 and </a>3</strong>). The deviations from the expected pattern are massive and exceed the range found during the 2008 election (see Figure 2 in PFA&rsquo;s Report on &ldquo;<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/documents/files/PFA_Election_Report--FINAL.pdf\">Armenia&rsquo;s 2008 Presidential Election: Select Issues and Analysis</a>&rdquo;).</li></ul><ul><li>In addition to artificially inflating the voter turnout, votes cast in favor of Raffi Hovannisian and other opposition candidates were fraudulently assigned to Serge Sargsyan: for every 100 ballots cast in polling stations with artificially high voter turnout, Serge Sargsyan received 105 votes (as measured by the slope of the straight line on <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/Figure%202.pdf\"><strong>Figure 2, Panel 1</strong></a>).</li></ul><ul><li>Voter turnout was inflated by ballot stuffing, among other means. As shown on <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/Figure%202.pdf\"><strong>Figure 2, Panel 3</strong></a>, the number of invalid ballots declined asthe voter turnout increased, a clear sign of ballot stuffing. This result contrasts with the findings of the 2012 Parliamentary Election, where ballot stuffing was not found to be a major factor (See PFA&rsquo;s report on &ldquo;<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/document/armenians-2012-parliamentary-election\">Armenia&rsquo;s 2012 Parliamentary Election</a>&rdquo;).</li></ul><ul><li>There are indications that invalid ballots were counted in favor of the incumbent (<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/Figure%202.pdf\"><strong>Figure 2, Panel 4</strong></a>). The share of votes assigned to Serge Sargsyan is larger in polling stations where the ratio of ballots treated as &ldquo;invalid&rdquo; is lower.</li></ul><ul><li>There is strong evidence of vote-counting fraud in polling stations in rural areas. The digit tests (<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/Figure%203.pdf\"><strong>Figure 3</strong></a>) reveal signs of human interference in voter counting (e.g., reassigning of ballots from one candidate to another, etc.) as measured by a significant deviation from the uniform distribution (of votes cast in favor of two front-runners) in polling stations outside of Yerevan and Gyumri.</li></ul><p>All in all, we conclude that in polling stations not affected by falsifications, the main opposition candidate, Raffi Hovannisian, shows a lead of at least 4 percent of the vote. This, however, is likely to be the lower bound of the difference between the two front-runners, because of the extent of violations in favor of Serge Sargsyan, as mentioned earlier.</p><p>This analysis challenges&mdash;in the strongest possible way&mdash;the official version of the events, the statement of the OSCE-ODIHR observer mission, and the reports in Western media outlets about the extent of violations that took place on February 18, 2013.</p><p>Our results strongly indicate that the final outcome of February 2013 election was subject to massive manipulations and interference and did not reflect the free will of the Armenian citizens.</p><p>They also call into question the role of foreign election observers in the Armenian context, specifically their impartiality and ability to detect election fraud that is becoming ever more sophisticated.</p><p>We strongly encourage Raffi Hovannisian and his supporters to forcefully pursue either a system-wide recount of ballots (which would undoubtedly reduce the share of the incumbent&rsquo;s votes and lead to the second round election) or a complete annulment of the election outcome, as the only ways forward for the country and its people.<br /><br /><strong><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/2013%20Election%20Statement-3.pdf\">Download the full text of the Press Release with Figures</a></strong>. &nbsp;<br />&nbsp;</p><div style=\"color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">&nbsp;</div>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'site_page', 0, 566, 1133, 'und', 0, 'Policy Forum Armenia (PFA) just concluded its preliminary analysis of the official results of Armenia’s 2013 Presidential Election based on the data provided by the Central Election Commission. Consistent with eyewitness accounts and a large body of local media reports, our analysis—which we summarize below—confirms the following:', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'blog_entry', 0, 571, 1136, 'und', 0, 'PFA Fellow and Communications Director Tamar Gasparian is reporting from New York City on a recent protest organized by a group of Armenian activists against the massive presidential election fraud in Armenia. ', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 574, 1156, 'und', 0, '<p>PFA releases the list of 20 top violator polling stations. &nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/Pre-Election%20Statement%202013--FINAL.pdf\">Download the press release in Armenian. </a></p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'blog_entry', 0, 576, 1157, 'und', 0, 'While supporting Raffi Hovanissian\'s hunger strike and encouraging everyone to support him, PFA Fellow Sassoon Kosian suggests alternative ways of changing power in Armenia and outlines the steps in his text. ', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'webform', 0, 577, 1158, 'und', 0, 'Test petition text ', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'event', 0, 578, 1159, 'und', 0, '<p>PFA Fellow Sassoon Kosian and Civil Society Activist Alex Sardar participated in a public discussion and Q&amp;A concerning the recent Armenian Presidential Election and the post election developments in Armenia.</p><p>Sassoon Kosian presented&nbsp;PFA&rsquo;s analysis&nbsp;of February 2013 presidential election in Armenia that shed light on the mechanics of the election fraud and supplemented it by findings of other independent analysts.&nbsp;</p><p><strong><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/Presidential%20Elections%202013-2_0.pdf\">See Sasoon Kosian&#39;s Presentation.</a></strong></p><p><strong><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/media-gallery/election-fraud-discussion-nj\">Pictures form the event are available frome the Photo Gallery.</a></strong></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 579, 1167, 'und', 0, '<p align=\"center\"><strong>A Challenge to the Armenian Diaspora:</strong></p><p align=\"center\"><strong>Help Lead the Armenian Homeland in a New Direction</strong></p><p>The time has arrived for organizations, communities, and individuals of the Armenian Diaspora to urgently act to address the troubling events unfolding in the Republic of Armenia in the wake of the February 2013 election.</p><p><strong>Public criticism of the Armenian government is growing from all corners.</strong></p><p><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/press-release/pfa-publishes-results-its-preliminary-analysis-presidential-election-armenia\">Recent analysis</a> conducted by Policy Forum Armenia and other independent experts using official election data provides statistical evidence of massive election fraud and indicates that in several hundred polling stations not affected by falsifications the main opposition candidate was ahead of the incumbent.</p><p>The <a href=\"http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/99931\">interim report</a> issued by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights on March 2, 2013 notes that its analysis of official results &ldquo;raises concerns regarding the confidence over the integrity of the electoral process.&rdquo;</p><p>Despite the current administration&rsquo;s attempts to hide this pervasive election fraud, as observed by independent observers and the media alike, Diaspora communities are weighting in on the matter. In recent days, activists throughout the Diaspora are coming forward to show their support for free and fair elections in Armenia. Criticism has come from prominent Diasporans, grassroots members, and organizations united behind one principle: it is the people&rsquo;s collective will&mdash;and not the self-interest of the authorities&mdash;which is paramount and needs to be secured.</p><p><strong>We all are stakeholders in the future of Armenia.</strong></p><p>Without justice and respect for the constitutional rights of people, what kind of a country will future generations inherit? Will the core values of decency, dignity, and honesty be allowed to take root in our homeland or just be deflected? Will corruption and cynicism at all levels continue to undermine Armenia&rsquo;s economic and demographic viability? Aren&rsquo;t we undermining our demands for justice for the Genocide that happened <em>nearly</em> <em>a century ago</em>, if we allow protesters on the streets of Yerevan to be shot and killed <em>today</em>? Denial of rights and liberties at any level originated in, and perpetuated by, any nation&rsquo;s government requires civil response of intolerance.</p><p>Achieving free and fair elections is not an end in itself. Better elections will lead to better governance and stronger social cohesion. These in turn are the primary drivers of economic development and progress in developing countries.</p><p><strong>What has &ldquo;looking the other way&rdquo; for two decades actually achieved?</strong></p><p>We have one homeland to cherish and to serve, a homeland which emerged from a decades-long history of institutional resistance to the people&rsquo;s freedoms of speech, expression, and assembly. That history has been hard to shake in the first two decades of Armenia&rsquo;s independence, with a continuing tradition of judicial system depending on executive order and an economy monopolized by the very few, who covet their seats in parliament and the prosecutorial immunity that those seats provide. All of the good that the country has experienced with your generous help tilt ever-so-slightly against the Armenian government&rsquo;s poor governance and neglect of fundamental human rights.</p><p>The mass migration of population out of Armenia is a serious national security threat, commensurate with that posed by Armenia&#39;s foreign enemies, today and almost 100 years ago. Any administration whose policies&mdash;willingly or unwillingly&mdash;lead the country down the path to an Armenia without Armenians cannot be supported by the Diaspora.</p><p><strong>It&rsquo;s not about taking sides. It&rsquo;s about making a stand for what&rsquo;s right.</strong></p><p>There are many crisis points in the life of a nation. Here, in the 21<sup>st</sup> century, we have reached ours. Citizens of Armenia are organizing to challenge what has been widely perceived as flawed presidential election and to refute the illusory reports of the State regarding the results. They need all the help and solidarity they can get from us. Our assistance and solidarity do not come at a price for us since it is the Armenian citizenry, not us, who run the risk of reactionary repercussions for trying to express their inalienable right. We enjoy those rights without fear and consequence.</p><p>Some foreign governments were quick to congratulate the incumbent. We do not deny them the right to pursue their own interest in our region. We do not need to buy into them though. Interestingly, those interests have been linked with leaderships in Armenia that have denied their people the freedom to choose their own future. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>This begs the question as to the role of Diaspora institutions in this quest for truth and justice. The Armenian Church has remained on the sidelines on issues that speak to the core Christian tenets.&nbsp; Speaking truth to power follows in the footsteps of Jesus Christ himself. But today, our church leaders refuse to speak against the effort to deprive Armenian voters of the fundamental right to choose their own future. It should be incumbent on the Church to encourage people to be more confident, more courageous, and more conscious of their social responsibilities and rights.</p><p>As for Diaspora organizations involved in economic development in Armenia, it is in their best interests to operate in an environment free of corruption and shadow economics. Yet, they often looked the other way and have accepted top members of Armenia&rsquo;s corrupt regime as members of their governing bodies. Standing up for principles is not the same as being political.</p><p>Cultural and educational organizations also have a part to play. Instead, they have so far said little on behalf of truth and freedom. &nbsp;As put by Holocaust scholar Elie Wiesel, &ldquo;Neutrality always helps the oppressor, never the oppressed.&rdquo;</p><p>The lobbying groups, too, have been eerily silent when it comes to promoting the fundamental rights of Armenians in Armenia. While exercising the rights given to them by the constitutions of the countries in which they live and pursuing historical justice, they would be doing injustice were they not to hold the Armenian government to safeguarding the rights of our brothers and sisters in Armenia</p><p>Ironically, many of these same entities have been quite vocal in calling for the people to refrain from their struggle for true freedom and better governance. Siding with the regime publicly, sometimes even verging on demagoguery, and remaining silent when the people need backing is not the hallmark of a proud and prosperous Diaspora.</p><p><strong>Patience is only a virtue when accompanied by thoughtful action.</strong></p><p>We believe that no self-respecting Diaspora institution or community group, except those involved in health, medicine, and emergency humanitarian relief, can afford to sit on the sidelines or claim that making public statements about internal politics is &ldquo;not within the scope of their mission&rdquo; or &ldquo;Armenia needs time to work things out&rdquo; or blame outside forces for all the country&rsquo;s ills.</p><p>As stakeholders in the homeland and as leaders in their respective communities, Diaspora organizations have a responsibility to help lead the way in bringing about meaningful and positive change.&nbsp;</p><p>Ultimately, however, it still comes down to the people there in Armenia. Here in the Diaspora, it is the responsibility of every Armenian to challenge his or her community leaders to do the right thing, at the right time, and for the right reasons.</p><p>The world has changed. The people can no longer be made to believe that black is white. Nor they can be forced to live that way. The youth is on the rise&mdash;the real hope of a small nation beset by massive emigration. The Citizens of Armenia have decided in large measure that they will no longer passively accept what the ruling regime imposes on them. They have shown that they will take individual responsibility for the destiny of the nation to ensure that sovereignty rests with the people. &nbsp;</p><p>The people of Armenia have been asking for our support for years. Our voices and open acknowledgement that things must change for the better can&rsquo;t come fast enough. We, the Diasporans, have the responsibility before history and our own collective conscience.</p><p>To start, we, the undersigned, strongly encourage you to take the following actions:</p><p>1) If your organization&rsquo;s mission is to promote Armenia&rsquo;s development, issue a public announcement denouncing the unacceptable tactics of ballot stuffing, multiple voting, and vote count fraud used massively during the presidential elections to keep Serge Sargsyan in office.</p><p>2) Openly support a system-wide ballot recount or the annulment of the election outcome.</p><p>3) Spread the word in your social circles and online using information provided by independent media sources in Armenia. We can only provide a balance to misinformation from the official Armenian and international media sources if we become the carriers and couriers of truth.</p><p><strong>The clock has stopped at now or never. Let the challenge begin. &nbsp;</strong></p><p><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/PFA%20Appeal%20to%20the%20Diaspora%20-%2001.pdf\">Download the appeal in English</a></p><p>Download the appeal in Armenian</p><p>Download the appeal in Russian</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'event', 0, 584, 1172, 'und', 0, '<p style=\"text-align: left; \">On April 8, 2013, Policy Forum Armenia (PFA) organized a roundtable discussion on &ldquo;Election Fraud, Civil Society Awakening, and the Diaspora&rsquo;s Role&rdquo;, which took place at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC. Speakers included PFA Executive Board Member, Dr. Zaven Kalayjian, Chairman of Armenian Bar Association, Garo Ghazarian, Esq., and Civil Society Activist, Alex Sardar. Dr. Hrach Gregorian, President of Institute of World Affairs, moderated the discussion.</p><p style=\"text-align: left; \"><span style=\"text-align: left; \">In his presentation PFA&rsquo;s Dr. Kalayjian presented<strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/2013%20Election%20Statement-3.pdf\">PFA&rsquo;s analysis</a></strong>&nbsp;of February 2013 presidential election in Armenia that shed light on the mechanics of the election fraud and supplemented it by findings of other independent analysts. ABA&#39;s Chairman Garo Ghazarian talked about violations that he observed during the election campaign, like illegal use of public buildings for campaign posters and abuse of administrative power by the ruling party.&nbsp; Civil Society Activist Alex Sardar talked about fraud and intimidation at the polling stations during the election, as well as the role of activists and the Diaspora in the future of Armenia.</span><strong style=\"text-align: left; \">&nbsp;</strong></p><p style=\"text-align: left; \"><strong style=\"text-align: left; \"><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=IYdP5Sqce8g\">A lively question-and-answer session followed (</a></strong><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=IYdP5Sqce8g\"><strong>video).</strong></a></p><p style=\"text-align: left; \"><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/GWU_PFA_3.pdf\"><strong>Download Zaven</strong><strong>&nbsp;Kalayjian</strong><strong>&#39;s Presentation</strong></a>.</p><p style=\"text-align: left; \"><strong><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/media-gallery/election-fraud-civil-society-diaspora\">Pictures from the event are availabel from the Photo Gallery.</a></strong></p><p style=\"text-align: left; \">&nbsp;</p><p style=\"text-align: left; \">&nbsp;</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 589, 1185, 'und', 0, '<p>On April 8, 2013 Policy Forum Armenia (PFA) organized a roundtable discussion on Election Fraud, Civil Society Awakening, and the Diaspora&rsquo;s Role which took place at the George Washington University Law School. Speakers included PFA Executive Board Member Zaven Kalayjian, Ph.D., Chairman of Armenian Bar Association Garo Ghazarian, Esq., and Civil Society Activist Alex Sardar. Hrach Gregorian, Ph.D., and President of Institute of World Affairs moderated the discussion.</p><p>In his presentation PFA&rsquo;s Zaven Kalayjian talked about analysis conducted by PFA and other independent analysts that shed light on the mechanics of the election fraud. Garo Ghazarian and Alex Sardar talked about fraud and intimidation observed by them at the polling stations during the Presidential Election on February 18th, as well as the role of activists and the Diaspora in the future of Armenia.</p><p><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=IYdP5Sqce8g\">To see the full video recording of the roundtable discussion please click here</a>.</p><p><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/multimedia\">For photos visit our media gallery</a>.</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'event', 0, 604, 1208, 'und', 0, '<p style=\"text-align: left; \">On June 3, 2013 Policy Forum Armenia invited the Heritage Party leader<strong>&nbsp;Raffi Hovannisian</strong>&nbsp;- independent Armenia&#39;s first minister of foreign affairs,&nbsp;recent presidential candidate, chief executive of the Armenian Center for National &amp; International Studies, and founder of the Armenian Bar Association - for a conversation on foreign and domestic policy travelogue with up-front views of the political and civil society landscape. Raffi Hovannisian was a leading candidate in Armenia&#39;s disputed 2013 presidential elections, garnering a significant mandate of the Armenian people&#39;s individual votes and collective confidence.</p><p style=\"text-align: left; \">The event was co-organized by Policy Forum Armenia in collaboration with the George Washington University Law School, the&nbsp;GWU&#39;s Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at the Elliott School of International Relations, and the Armenian Bar Association.</p><p style=\"text-align: left; \"><strong><a href=\"http://pfarmenia.wordpress.com/2013/06/19/armenias-quest-for-a-democratic-identity-a-conversation-with-raffi-hovanissian-on-armenia/\">Read our Blog post about the event</a></strong>.</p><p style=\"text-align: left; \">Pictures from the event are available in our<strong> <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/media-gallery/conversation-armenia-raffi-hovannisian-gwu\">Media Gallery</a></strong>.</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'event', 0, 606, 1210, 'und', 0, '<p>On May 7, Policy Forum Armenia joined forces with the Atlantic Council to hold an off-the-record roundtable discussion with Washington-based senior experts on NATO and the South Caucasus. Armenia is a participant of the European Union&rsquo;s Eastern Partnership program and has had some engagement with NATO, which is in the midst of rethinking its partnership policy in the aftermath of the May 2012 Chicago Summit.</p><p>The discussion focused on the Armenia-NATO relationship and Armenia&rsquo;s defense and security, including military reform and other cooperation; NATO&rsquo;s objectives in the Black Sea and the Caucasus region and how Armenia relates to them; and Russia&rsquo;s and Turkey&rsquo;s role in the region and their relationship with Armenia. The discussion also touched upon Armenia&rsquo;s domestic political and economic situation and how they relate to Armenia&rsquo;s foreign policy and its regional standing as well as its overall progress.</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'profile', 0, 623, 1230, 'und', 0, 'Christina Najarian interned with Policy Forum Armenia as a part of the Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship program. Christina is a student at Cornell University\'s School of Industrial and Labor Relations where she is working towards a degree in Labor Relations and Applied Economics. Christina spent her first year of university at McGill University in Canada where she studied economics in the Faculty of Arts. Outside the classroom, Christina is a competitive pianist and has performed both in the United States and internationally. While at PFA, Christina analyzed the 2013 presidential election fraud in Armenia, drawing information from Raffi Hovanissian\'s conversational lecture co-organized by PFA. ', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'blog_entry', 0, 624, 1231, 'und', 0, 'PFA Summer Intern, Christina Najarian, talks about her impressions from a recent speech by Raffi Hovannisian at the GWU Law School in Washington in her PFA blog post.', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'blog_entry', 0, 625, 1232, 'und', 0, 'November summit in Vilnius between the EU and six members of the European Partnership program (Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan) is expected to produce some tangible results—signing of the Association Agreements—for Ukraine and Moldova and provide “a light at the end of the tunnel” for the rest of the group by way of updated timelines for signing. What does this mean for Armenia especially now when regional developments are becoming scary to watch.', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 626, 1241, 'und', 0, '<p>&nbsp;</p><p style=\"text-align: left; \">On August 29, 2013, Policy Forum Armenia held a discussion on conditions of Armenians in Syria. The featured speaker was Arménag Aprahamian, the President of Paris-based <a href=\"http://www.haybachdban.org/\">National Council of Armenians from Western Armenia</a>, an organization accredited by the United Nations to represent one of the indigenous people of Western Armenia. Mr. Aprahamian started his address by providing an overview of the vision and operations of the National Council and putting these in context of the wider fight for the Armenian cause. While discussing conditions of Armenians of Syria, he impressed upon the participants the gravity of the situation, especially of those communities that are close to the lines of infighting between government and rebel forces. He singled out the inability of the world-wide Armenian Diaspora to join forces as the main reason behind continued challenges faced by Armenians in Syria. He discussed the potential for political and diplomatic solutions to the security threat faced by many Armenian communities in Syria and emphasized that more innovative thinking and hard work would be required to provide the necessary protection for Armenians in Syria. He stressed that&mdash;due to differences in conditions facing different Armenian communities across that country&mdash;communities themselves should decide which response to choose (ranging from relocating abroad, including to Armenia, to organizing their own defense) and called upon the members of the Washington community to stay tuned and be ready to assist. A lively question-and-answer session followed.</p><p style=\"text-align: left; \">Born in France, Arménag Aprahamian first visited Armenia following the 1988 Earthquake in Spitak to assist children traumatized by the quake via exposure to physical education and martial arts. Since 1991, he fought in the Artsakh war initially along side of Leonid Azgaldyan, whom he helped found the Liberation Army becoming its chief instructor. He participated in all major military operations in Shushi, Mardakert, and Kelbadjar. Between 1999 and 2003, Mr. Aprahamian was active with the Organization of Veterans of Artsakh war and was its representative in France. On December 17, 2004, he formed the National Council of Armenians from Western Armenia. In that capacity, he also oversaw the formation of the executive body of Western Armenia&mdash;a government in exile&mdash;in March 2011. Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria, the issue of security of Armenians there was in the center of his attention. He visited the country on several occasions during 2012-13 to help the local Armenian communities organize and care for their own economic and security needs.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>', '', 'full_html');
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('node', 'event', 0, 627, 1234, 'und', 0, '<div><p style=\"text-align: left; \">On August 29, 2013, Policy Forum Armenia held a discussion on conditions of Armenians in Syria. The featured speaker was Arménag Aprahamian, the President of Paris-based&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.haybachdban.org/\">National Council of Armenians from Western Armenia</a>, an organization accredited by the United Nations to represent one of the indigenous people of Western Armenia. Mr. Aprahamian started his address by providing an overview of the vision and operations of the National Council and putting these in context of the wider fight for the Armenian cause. While discussing conditions of Armenians of Syria, he impressed upon the participants the gravity of the situation, especially of those communities that are close to the lines of infighting between government and rebel forces. He singled out the inability of the world-wide Armenian Diaspora to join forces as the main reason behind continued challenges faced by Armenians in Syria. \r\n\r\nMr. Aprahamian discussed the potential for political and diplomatic solutions to the security threat faced by many Armenian communities in Syria and emphasized that more innovative thinking and hard work would be required to provide the necessary protection for Armenians in Syria. He stressed that&mdash;due to differences in conditions facing different Armenian communities across that country&mdash;communities themselves should decide which response to choose (ranging from relocating abroad, including to Armenia, to organizing their own defense) and called upon the members of the Washington community to stay tuned and be ready to assist. A lively question-and-answer session followed.</p><p style=\"text-align: left; \">\r\n\r\nBorn in France, Arménag Aprahamian first visited Armenia following the 1988 Earthquake in Spitak to assist children traumatized by the quake via exposure to physical education and martial arts. Since 1991, he fought in the Artsakh war initially along side of Leonid Azgaldyan, whom he helped found the Liberation Army becoming its chief instructor. He participated in all major military operations in Shushi, Mardakert, and Kelbadjar. Between 1999 and 2003, Mr. Aprahamian was active with the Organization of Veterans of Artsakh war and was its representative in France. On December 17, 2004, he formed the National Council of Armenians from Western Armenia. In that capacity, he also oversaw the formation of the executive body of Western Armenia&mdash;a government in exile&mdash;in March 2011. Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria, the issue of security of Armenians there was in the center of his attention. He visited the country on several occasions during 2012-13 to help the local Armenian communities organize and care for their own economic&nbsp;and security needs.</p></div><h5 style=\"text-align: left; \"><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">Pictures from the event are available in our</span><strong style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font: inherit; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/media-gallery/discussion-conditions-armenians-syria\"><font color=\"#00436f\"><span style=\"font: inherit;\">Media Gallery</span></font></a></strong><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); \">.</span></h5><div>&nbsp;</div>', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'news', 0, 633, 1349, 'und', 0, '<p>WASHINGTON, DC.&mdash;On July 2<sup>nd</sup>, the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council hosted an off-the-record workshop on Armenia&rsquo;s relationship with the West and the future vision for the Caucasus organized jointly with Policy Forum Armenia. The workshop built upon the discussions that took place in May 2013 (on Armenia-NATO relations), which brought together a prominent line-up of experts and policymakers with interest in Armenia and the Caucasus. Participants of the workshop included high-level representatives from the State Department, Pentagon, National Security Council, main foreign policy think tanks headquartered in Washington. A Position Paper entitled &quot;Armenia and the West: A New Vision for the Caucasus&quot;, shared by PFA with the participants ahead of the workshop, helped kick off the discussion.&nbsp;PFA was represented by members of its Executive and Academic Boards. More details about the workshop will be released soon. Pictures from the event are available in our <strong><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/media-gallery/joint-workshop-atlantic-council-armenia-and-west\">Media Gallery</a></strong>.</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'news', 0, 635, 1303, 'und', 0, '<table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"float: left; text-align: left;\"><tbody><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ptk7PYTpLSU/UPkbl6v2JdI/AAAAAAAAAKs/uW0N6SAcZ6E/s1600/p-022221-00-43.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"231\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ptk7PYTpLSU/UPkbl6v2JdI/AAAAAAAAAKs/uW0N6SAcZ6E/s320/p-022221-00-43.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">EU-Armenia, Foto:&nbsp;<a href=\"http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/index.cfm?sitelang=en\" target=\"_blank\">Photographic service of the Council of the EU &copy;</a></span></span> <span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><a href=\"http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/index.cfm?sitelang=en\" target=\"_blank\">European Communities</a></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><b>Elections in the Post-Soviet space </b><b><span class=\"b4\">are i</span><span class=\"b3\">ncr</span><span class=\"b2\">easin</span><span class=\"b1\">gl</span>y an European task and respon<span class=\"b1\">si</span><span class=\"b2\">bilit</span><span class=\"b3\">y but mostly are </span><span class=\"b5\">leaving everything the</span><span class=\"b4\"> wa</span><span class=\"b3\">y it</span><span class=\"b4\"> is.</span></b><span class=\"b4\"> Just take a look on Ukraine. Armenia is also preparing to hold elections in 2013. The European Union is getting ready for surprises but is more prepared after the Ukraine&#39;s election in 2012.</span> Perhaps...<i><b> </b></i></span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">There are more &quot;sticks&quot; than &quot;carrots&quot; for EU support of EU-Armenian relations. But Russia </span>is offering <span class=\"b3\">more &quot;security carrots&quot; than &quot;democracy sticks&quot;.</span> But everything depends on Armenia.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">On February 18, 2013 Armenia is going to be asked to elect a new President. </span><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">The 2013 Presidential election campaign officially launched today (21 January 2013), <a href=\"http://www.armenianow.com/vote_2013/42692/presidential_election2013_candidates_campaign_officially_launched\" target=\"_blank\">as ArmeniaNow.com reported</a>. And the candidates are already known: <a href=\"http://www.elect.am/serzh-sargsyan/\" target=\"_blank\">Serzh Sargsyan</a> (see his campaign platform <a href=\"http://www.serzhsargsyan.am/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>), the Armenian President in office; <a href=\"http://www.elect.am/hrant-bagratyan/\" target=\"_blank\">Hrant Bagratyan</a> (see his </span><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">campaign platform <a href=\"http://bagratyanpresident.am/index.php/am/2013-01-14-16-16-09/2013-01-14-16-23-40#\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>), a former prime minister and the leader of Freedom party; <a href=\"http://www.elect.am/raffi-hovannisian/\" target=\"_blank\">Raffi Hovhannisian</a> (see his </span><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">campaign platform <a href=\"http://raffi4president.am/en\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>), a former foreign minister and the leader of Zharangutiun (Heritage) party; <a href=\"http://www.elect.am/paruyr-hayrikyan/\" target=\"_blank\">Paruyr Hayrikyan</a> (see his </span><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">campaign platform <a href=\"http://hayrikyan.com/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>), a prominent Soviet-era dissident and the head of the National Self-Determination Party; <a href=\"http://www.elect.am/arman-melikyan/\" target=\"_blank\">Arman Melikyan</a>, a former foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; <a href=\"http://www.elect.am/andreas-ghukasyan/\" target=\"_blank\">Andrias Ghukasyan</a>, a political analyst and head of Radio Hay; <a href=\"http://ru.sedrakyan.net/ob-avtore\" target=\"_blank\">Vardan Sedrakyan</a>, a specialist in epics, and <a href=\"http://www.elect.am/aram-harutyunyan/\" target=\"_blank\">Aram Harutyunyan</a>, leader of National Consent party will compete for the Presidency.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">However, <b>Stepa Safaryan, general secretary of Zharangutiun (Heritage) party pointed out Serzh Sargsyan and Raffi Hovannisian as most likely vote-getters in the presidential elections</b>, cited by <a href=\"http://arka.am/en/news/politics/opinion_serzh_sargsyan_and_raffi_hovannisian_most_likely_vote_getters_in_armenian_presidential_elect/\" target=\"_blank\">Arka News Agency</a>. Of course, the other candidates could seek avenues to mount a challenge to the present president. But the opposition is so fragmentated and n</span><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">o one of the candidates is going to back any of the eight candidates running for president in Armenia, <a href=\"http://www.armenianow.com/vote_2013/42641/armenia_presidential_election_2013_single_candidate_search\" target=\"_blank\">as ArmeniaNow.com reported</a>.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">It is inevitab<span class=\"b1\">le</span><span class=\"b2\"> that</span><span class=\"b3\"> there </span><span class=\"b2\">would</span><span class=\"b1\"> b</span>e disputes about the outcome of the election. But the Justice Minister Hrayr Tovmasyan points out in advance that the 2013 presidential election will be most democratic in Armenia&rsquo;s history. &ldquo;I am convinced that this election will be most stainless and democratic and that it will leave behind all the previous elections,&rdquo; <a href=\"http://arka.am/en/news/politics/minister_2013_presidential_election_to_be_most_democratic_in_armenia_s_history/\" target=\"_blank\">he was quoted</a>. </span><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">Armenian Police Vladimir Gasparyan speaking at the opening of a three-day workshop for prosecutors and defense attorneys in Yerevan stated that </span><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">Armenia will pass the upcoming election test with brilliance, <a href=\"http://www.armenianow.com/vote_2013/42602/armenia_presidential_elections2013_police_chief_vladimir_gasparyan\" target=\"_blank\">he was quoted</a>.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b5\">Does Europe tru</span><span class=\"b4\">st</span><span class=\"b3\"> them t</span><span class=\"b2\">o pl</span><span class=\"b1\">ay</span> their part correctly as guardian of the Justice? Or does Europe trust Foreign Minister </span><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">Edward Nalbandian who also <a href=\"http://www.armenianow.com/vote_2013/42438/armenia_presidential_election_osce_odihr_observation_mission\" target=\"_blank\">stated</a> that the Armenian government is committed to holding next month&rsquo;s presidential election in conformity with European standards. Election in conformity with European standards will be the key, but <span class=\"b5\">it seems to me</span><span class=\"b4\"> </span><span class=\"b3\">a</span><span class=\"b2\"> </span><span class=\"b1\">ma</span>tter of great urgency that there will be another reality.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">Of course it is hard to expect from Non-EU member to compete with standards within the European Union, although member states faces many difficulties coming from membership. &quot;(T)he expansion of EU decision making limits the range of party policy positions at elections. Policy convergence means parties taking positions in the issue space closer to those held by their rivals and that consequently the distribution of party positions becomes more compact. EU legislation restricts the policy alternatives available to governments and, due to the electoral link, to parties and citizens. The more responsibility is assigned to the EU, the less room there is for parties to offer credible policy alternatives that differ markedly from EU legislation,&quot; </span><a href=\"http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-6765.2012.02063.x/pdf\" style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\" target=\"_blank\">Kyriaki Nanou and Han Dorussen argue</a><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">T</span><span class=\"b2\" style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">he</span><span class=\"b3\" style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\"> EU </span><span class=\"b4\" style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">would b</span><span class=\"b5\" style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">e well advised t</span><span class=\"b4\" style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">o </span><span class=\"b3\" style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">set </span><span class=\"b2\" style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">very</span><span class=\"b1\" style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\"> a</span><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">mbitious targets for its Eastern Partnership policy as the evident risks to democracy in the immediate neighbourhood call for greater sustainability and consequence.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">What is happening with freedoms in Armenia?</span></b></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><b class=\"b3\">The </b><b class=\"b2\">truth </b><b class=\"b3\">is</b><b class=\"b2\"> that </b><b class=\"b3\">time is ru</b><b class=\"b2\">nnin</b><b class=\"b1\">g</b><b class=\"b2\"> out <b class=\"b2\">and</b><b class=\"b1\"> the</b><b class=\"b2\">re is st</b><b class=\"b1\">il</b>l a lot to be done in Armenia</b><b class=\"b2\">.</b><span class=\"b2\"> </span>Recently <a href=\"http://www.freedomhouse.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Freedom House</a>, <a href=\"http://www.controlrisks.com/Pages/Home.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Control Risks</a>, <a href=\"http://www.fraserinstitute.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Fraser Institute</a>, </span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><a href=\"http://www.weforum.org/\" target=\"_blank\">World Economic Forum</a> and <a href=\"http://www.pwc.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Price Waterhouse Cooper</a> published their recent reports on freedoms in the world. But a<span class=\"b1\">ct</span><span class=\"b2\">ual r</span><span class=\"b5\">esults </span><span class=\"b4\">di</span><span class=\"b3\">ffe</span><span class=\"b2\">r fro</span><span class=\"b1\">m </span>those reflected in the forward-looking statements.&nbsp;</span><br /><ul><li><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">Regarding Freedom House report &quot;<a href=\"http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FIW%202013%20Booklet.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Freedom in the World 2013</a>&quot; Armenia is a partly free country, the net is partly free, but the press is not free. The regime is classified as a semi-consolidated authoritarian regime.</span></li><li><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">Due to the &quot;<a href=\"http://www.controlrisks.com/RiskMap/Pages/Security.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">RiskMap Report 2013</a>&quot; Armenia is presented as a country with high political and security risks. On issues related the economy for Armenia </span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">is s</span><span class=\"b4\">om</span><span class=\"b5\">e light a</span><span class=\"b4\">t </span><span class=\"b3\">the</span><span class=\"b2\"> end of t</span><span class=\"b3\">he tunnel.</span></span></li><li><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">The Fraser Institute report &quot;<a href=\"http://www.fraserinstitute.org/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=4051\" target=\"_blank\">Economic Freedom of the World</a>&quot; ranks Armenia #53 and considers it as a relatively free country. The 2013 election should be a signal to Europe: We are carrying out our European path.</span></span></li><li><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">The World Economic Forum report &quot;</span></span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"js-wrap\"><a href=\"http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-enabling-trade-report-2012\" target=\"_blank\">The Global Enabling Trade Report 2012</a>&quot; </span>ranks Armenia #13 worldwide for market access and #59 in terms of the overall extent to which it has developed institutions, policies, and services facilitating the free flow of goods over borders.</span></li><li><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">Price Waterhouse Cooper, in its most recent &quot;<a href=\"http://www.pwc.com/am/en/assets/pdf/am_doing_business_guide_2011-2012.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Doing Business in Armenia guide</a>&quot;, reported that, &ldquo;Armenia encourages foreign trade and investment,&rdquo; and that, &ldquo;(s)urveys suggest that Armenia is a relatively easy country in which to do business.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\"> </span></span></li></ul></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif;\">Concerns are coming from other sides, too.</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><ul><li><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\"><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Policy Forum Armenia</a> r</span>eport, entitled <a href=\"http://pfa-dr.ectostarpark.com/press-release/pfa-special-report-armenias-2012-parliamentary-election\" target=\"_blank\">&ldquo;Armenia&rsquo;s 2012 Parliamentary Election&rdquo;</a> summarizes: &quot;(The report) demonstrates that the election fraud in Armenia has taken subtle and sophisticated forms that are difficult to detect because it occurs mostly outside of the polling stations. In fact, while acknowledging some marginal improvements, we believe that the systematic fraud applied by the authorities (and uncovered in the Report via the use of statistical techniques) was sufficient to materially alter the election outcome.&quot;</span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">&nbsp;</span></li><li><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">A delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has already </span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">concerns mainly about the &ldquo;continuing substantial inaccuracies in the voter lists&rdquo;, as <a href=\"http://www.armenianow.com/vote_2013/42643/armenia_presidential_election_2013_pace_observers\" target=\"_blank\">ArmeniaNow.com reported</a>. Head of the PACE election monitoring mission Karin Woldseth said that &ldquo;the delegation was disappointed to see that the previous recommendations regarding the voter lists have not been implemented&rdquo;, whereas &ldquo;accurate voter lists are an essential prerequisite for any proper election.&rdquo;</span></li></ul></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><b class=\"b3\">So</b><b class=\"b2\"> ther</b><b class=\"b1\">e ar</b><b class=\"b2\">e a </b><b class=\"b3\">lot</b><b class=\"b2\"> of </b><b class=\"b1\">issues to be solved before the election. Analyzing the results&nbsp;I conclude: In terms of democratic freedoms Armenia demonstrates a lack of political commitment on democracy progress. In terms of economic freedoms Armenia is making some valuable progress.</b> These developments could have </span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">consequences for the relations with the European Union and Russia. But is the European Union prepared for surprises?</span></div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">Shuttle diplomacy and reassurement over European path</span></span></b><br />&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;</div><table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;\"><tbody><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eZpq_ziuXtw/UPkqWKUjvYI/AAAAAAAAAK8/yssoqeF7yM0/s1600/Shuttle+Diplomacy.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"221\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eZpq_ziuXtw/UPkqWKUjvYI/AAAAAAAAAK8/yssoqeF7yM0/s320/Shuttle+Diplomacy.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">Shuttle Diplomacy, Graphic: <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/pages/EU21Global/122136604509551\" target=\"_blank\">@Hristofor Hrisoskulov</a></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">A lot of diplomats &quot;shuttled&quot; between Brussels and Yerevan and vice versa in 2012 and at the beginning of 2013. On the European side, <a href=\"http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_PRES-12-315_en.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Herman van Rompuy</a>, <a href=\"http://www.armradio.am/en/2012/12/01/jose-manuel-barroso-it-is-amazing-to-see-what-armenia-has-given-to-the-civilization/\" target=\"_blank\">Jose Manuel Barroso</a>, <a href=\"http://eunewsletter.am/eu-armenia/stefan-fule-in-armenia-ongoing-reforms-discussed\" target=\"_blank\">Stefan Füle</a> and <a href=\"http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/131321.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Catherine Ashton</a> visited Yerevan.</span> <span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">The EU member states Bulgaria, Sweden and Poland supported the EU in this context. In December 2012 <a href=\"http://www.mfa.government.bg/en/events/6/1/603/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslav Sikorski paid a visit to Armenia</a> during a trip in the South Caucasus.<b> </b>On the Armenian side, <a href=\"http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-12-159_en.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Serzh Sargsyan</a> (President of Armenia), <a href=\"http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-11-873_en.htm?locale=en\" target=\"_blank\">Tigran Sargsyan</a> (Prime Minister), <a href=\"http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-8_en.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Hovik Abramyan</a> (Speaker of the Armenian Parliament), <a href=\"http://www.armenianow.com/news/politics/41688/presidential_election_gagik_tsarukyan_prosperous_armenia_party_brussels\" target=\"_blank\">Gagik Tsarukyan</a> (Leader of the Armenian political party &quot;Prosperous Armenia&quot;) and <a href=\"http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/video/player.cfm?ref=91243\" target=\"_blank\">Edward Nalbandian</a> (Armenian Foreign Minsiter) visited Brussels.</span></div><br /><p><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">The question is: <b>What is hidden behind all the statemnets made after every meeting?</b> In order to answer the question I picked up four words, namely <b>elections</b>, <b>Association Agreement</b>, <b>visa </b>(agreement, facilitation and liberalization) and <b>Europ+EU</b> as repeated in the statements attached as a link behind the mentioned names above. <b>In this way a specific picture of EU-Armenia relations shifted</b></span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><b><span class=\"b3\"> into t</span><span class=\"b4\">he </span><span class=\"b5\">foreground</span><span class=\"b4\"> as</span><span class=\"b3\"> a model of future relations: <u><i>There are more &quot;sticks&quot; than &quot;carrots&quot; for EU support of EU-Armenian relations</i></u>.<i>&nbsp;</i></span></b></span><br /><br /> <span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">The </span><span class=\"b3\">words<b> </b>&quot;Association Agreemnet&quot; and &quot;visa </span></span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">(agreement, facilitation and liberalization)&quot; have been used by the officials 17 times, whereas the word &quot;elections&quot; - 19 times. <b>&quot;Association Agreement&quot; and &quot;visa&quot; appear in the context of offering something, of rewarding some performance done, whereas &quot;elections&quot; has been used in the context of advising and instructing the other part (in this sense Armenia) to be crucial on the upcoming events in the country.</b> With regard to &quot;Europe+EU&quot; (counted 66 times) I </span>should like briefly to go into the common proposals in the statements which now come wit<span class=\"b1\">hi</span><span class=\"b2\">n a w</span><span class=\"b3\">ide</span><span class=\"b4\">r context; </span><span class=\"b3\">thi</span><span class=\"b2\">s app</span><span class=\"b1\">li</span>es, for example, to the proposal on supporting the European path of Armenia and </span></span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\"><span class=\"b2\">c</span><span class=\"b1\">on</span>firming the appro<span class=\"b1\">ac</span><span class=\"b2\">h alr</span><span class=\"b3\">ead</span><span class=\"b4\">y taken</span>.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><br /> <span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">It seems that &quot;European officials are still skeptical about the Armenian government&rsquo;s intention to integrate with the European community. <b>They do not completely trust these assurances as all steps taken by Armenia so far in this direction have mostly been of a declarative nature.</b> Meanwhile, democratic reforms that are a condition for European integration have not become tangible in Armenia yet. (...) Still, political analyst Levon Margaryan thinks that the relations between Armenia and the EU have been taken to a new level where Armenia should prove that it is ready to bring not only its laws, but also practices in line with European standards,&quot; <a href=\"http://www.armenianow.com/news/42460/armenia_eu_hovik_abrahamyan_visit_brussels\" target=\"_blank\">as ArmeniaNow.com reported</a>.</span></span><br /><br /> <b><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">Growing competition between the West and Russia for influence in Armenia: Economy and democracy vs. Security?</span></span></b><br /><br /> <span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">A lot of diplomats &quot;shuttled&quot; between Yerevan and Moscow, too. <a href=\"http://massispost.com/archives/6375\" target=\"_blank\">Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan visited Russia</a> </span></span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">attending the <a href=\"http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_12_19/Moscow-to-host-three-CIS-related-summits-today/\" target=\"_blank\">summits of the CIS and the Russia-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)</a>, Vladimir Putin, </span></span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">Dmitri Medvedev and Chairman of both Chambers of the State Duma and ministers visited on their side Yerevan. And Mr. Putin goes further: &quot;I want to reiterate that the countries of the Commonwealth are our most intimate &ndash; in the true sense of the word &ndash; strategic partners. Virtually all aspects of interaction with you are vital for our country,&quot; Putin said <a href=\"http://massispost.com/archives/6375\" target=\"_blank\">cited by Massis Post</a>. </span></span><br /><br /> <span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b2\">I</span><span class=\"b4\">t w</span><span class=\"b5\">as not wi</span><span class=\"b4\">thout </span><span class=\"b3\">rea</span><span class=\"b2\">son t</span><span class=\"b1\">ha</span>t US Foreign Minister Hillary Clinton warned on the situation in the Post-Soviet space and the rising attempts of Vladimir Putin to get closer </span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">to Russia </span>all the neighbouring countries. As she stated: <b>&quot;There is a move to re-Sovietise the region.&quot;</b> Andrew Weiss, who served on the National Security Council under President Bill Clinton and now is at the US Rand Corporation think-tank, said Mr. Putin made clear when he returned to the presidency this year that he planned to focus on bolstering Russia&rsquo;s influence in its neighbourhood. But he added: &quot;Elites in the neighbouring states show little enthusiasm for simply handing over their autonomy and sovereignty to Moscow,&quot; </span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><a href=\"http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a5b15b14-3fcf-11e2-9f71-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2IUXTW3Cf\" target=\"_blank\">Charles Clover writes in the Financial Times</a>.</span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">&nbsp;</span></span><br /><br /> <span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">&quot;</span></span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">2012 has showed that Armenian authorities feel like developing closer relations with the West, but are not going to spoil relations with Russia. Moreover, a certain division of labor could be noticed &ndash; Armenia seems to have entrusted its security to Russia, as a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, but is seeking to integrate with the European Union and develop closer ties with the United States in terms of economy and democracy,&quot; <a href=\"http://www.armenianow.com/news/politics/42304/armenia_foreign_policy_karabakh_azerbaijan_russia_eu_usa_genocide_2012\" target=\"_blank\">ArmeniaNow.com reported</a>. And </span></span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">Secretary of Armenia&rsquo;s National Security Council Artur Baghdasaryan </span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">believes that <b>Armenia&rsquo;s integration into the European Union (EU) should not be contrasted with its integration into the Eurasian Union</b>, <a href=\"http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/01/11/eurasian-union-european-union/#.UPOmK5JoSm0.facebook\" target=\"_blank\">Tert.am reports</a>.</span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\"><b>&nbsp;</b></span></span><br /><br /> <span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\"><b>In relations with countries in the Post-Soviet space Russia&#39;s approach differs from the EU&#39;s approach. <u><i>There are more &quot;security carrots&quot; than &quot;democracy sticks&quot;</i></u>.</b></span></span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">&nbsp; So just let me give few examples of how Russia is trying to integrate Armenia into Russian-led organizations:</span></span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">&nbsp;</span></span></p><br /><ul><li><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">Russian news agencies, citing the Kremlin, disseminated a slightly odd piece of information saying that &ldquo;Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed with the government&rsquo;s proposal to hold talks with Armenia for the signing of the agreement on the development of military-technical cooperation&rdquo; and that &ldquo;after the conclusion of the negotiations the Government has been instructed to sign an agreement with this country&rdquo;, <a href=\"http://www.armenianow.com/karabakh/42571/armenia_russia_military_cooperation_azerbaijan_karabakh_defense_treaty\" target=\"_blank\">as ArmeniaNow.com reported</a>.</span></span></li><li><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">And </span></span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><a href=\"http://english.pravda.ru/world/ussr/11-01-2013/123447-russia_armenia-0/#.UPj8hbxEu1c.facebook\" target=\"_blank\">Lisa Karpova in Pravda.ru</a>: &quot;To further develop Russian-Armenian cooperation, President Vladimir Putin&#39;s Government appointed the Russian Transport Minister, Maxim Sokolov, as co-chairman for the bilateral commission, which has the task of drafting a roadmap of Russian-Armenian economic relations until 2020.&quot;</span></li><li><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\">A joint document was signed after Dmitri Medvedev visited Armenia. It envisaged Russian military presence in Armenia and joint protection of Armenia&rsquo;s borders by the Armenian and Russian armed forces, <a href=\"http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/01/11/eurasian-union-european-union/#.UPOmK5JoSm0.facebook\" target=\"_blank\">as Tert.am reported</a>.</span></li></ul><p><br /><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">Due to its geographic location Armenia is really concerned on security issues. For sure, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and other conflicts in the immediate neighbourhood are topics that should be taken into consideration regarding Armeian foreign policy. <a href=\"http://nationalinterest.org/profile/gordon-n-bardos\" target=\"_blank\">Gordon N. Bardos</a> in his article <a href=\"http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/spectre-separatism-haunts-europe-7979#.UPgbT6UNC1c.facebook\" target=\"_blank\">&quot;</a></span></span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><a href=\"http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/spectre-separatism-haunts-europe-7979#.UPgbT6UNC1c.facebook\" target=\"_blank\">Spectre of Separatism Haunts Europe</a></span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><a href=\"http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/spectre-separatism-haunts-europe-7979#.UPgbT6UNC1c.facebook\" target=\"_blank\">&quot;</a> in <a href=\"http://nationalinterest.org/\" target=\"_blank\">The National Interest</a> argues that &quot;<span class=\"b3\">Balkans and the Caucasus (are) the stuff of nightmares for cartographers and diplomats trying to reconcile competing ethnic claims to territory. In the Caucasus and eastern Anatolia, Abkhazia, Chechnya, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, the Kurds of eastern Turkey and northern Iraq, and the Turks of northern Cyprus have all declared some form of independence or autonomy&quot;.</span></span><br /><br /> <span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\">Of course, in accordance with Russian offers the European Union is asked to do more than statements: &quot;<span class=\"nannbl\">The EU has a strong interest in a stable neighbourhood; this is the raison d&#39;etre of our European Neighbourhood and Eastern Partnership policies. The EU actively supports the mediation process of the OSCE Minsk Group, we have important assistance projects to build confidence between the parties to the conflict, while the efforts of our EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the conflict in Georgia, Ambassador Lefort, fully support the efforts of the Minsk Group in a complementary way&quot;, </span></span></span><a href=\"http://www.mediamax.am/en/news/interviews/6368/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\"><span class=\"nannbl\"><span class=\"nannbl\">Jose Manuel Barroso stated in a interview with </span></span></span></span></a><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><span class=\"b3\"><a href=\"http://www.mediamax.am/en/news/interviews/6368/\" target=\"_blank\"><span class=\"nannbl\"><span class=\"nannbl\"><span class=\"nannbl\">Mediamax</span></span></span></a>.</span></span><br /><br /> <span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><b><span class=\"b3\"><span class=\"b2\">It is</span><span class=\"b1\"> t</span>herefore my view that the European Union<span class=\"b3\"> would </span><span class=\"b2\">have be</span><span class=\"b3\">en </span><span class=\"b4\">well</span><span class=\"b3\">-advised </span><span class=\"b2\">to </span></span></b></span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><b><span class=\"b3\"><span class=\"b2\"><b class=\"b5\">precisely </b>f</span><span class=\"b1\">ol</span>low the thinking in Armenia, but </span></b></span><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><b><span class=\"b3\"><span style=\"font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;\"><b><span class=\"b3\">consequently and sustainable </span></b></span>to</span> stand up for rights, international conventions and democracy<span class=\"b3\"> and </span></b><b>als<span class=\"b1\">o </span><span class=\"b2\">stron</span><span class=\"b3\">gly</span><span class=\"b4\"> reaffirm </span><span class=\"b3\">as </span><span class=\"b2\">a pre</span><span class=\"b1\">ss</span>ing requiremen<span class=\"b1\">t </span><span class=\"b2\">of free and fair elections.</span></b></span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>See the original article <a href=\"http://eu21global.blogspot.com/2013/01/armenia-reloaded-2013-elections-and.html\">here</a>.</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'news', 0, 636, 1253, 'und', 0, '<p><span style=\"color: #333333\">Since last week&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_presidential_election,_2013\"><span style=\"color: #333333\">presidential elections (February 18) in Armenia</span></a>&nbsp;there have been&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/25/us-armenia-election-idUSBRE91O0T820130225\"><span style=\"color: #333333\">protests around the country</span></a>&nbsp;alleging widespread election fraud. The presidential campaign was certainly eventful, with one candidate going on a hunger strike and another being shot (non-fatally). The officially reported electoral returns came as a surprise to many. The American-born Raffi Hovannisian from the oppositional Heritage Party, got 37 percent of the votes. Considering that in last year&rsquo;s parliamentary elections the party got only 3.8 percent of the seats, this can be considered quite a feat. Many questions arise, one of which concerns the extent of election fraud in the 2013 elections compared with last year&rsquo;s parliamentary elections. I find that there are indications of more fraud in last week&rsquo;s elections.</span></p><p><span style=\"color: #333333\">First, examining indications of outright fabrication I note a suspicious deviation from the expected uniform distribution in the vote counts for the ruling party in 2013. There is no such pattern in the 2012 data, supporting the hypothesis that there was more fraud in 2013. In the absence of manipulation of vote totals the last digit should follow a uniform distribution of 10 percent in each of the 0-9 digit categories &ndash; the vertical bars in the graph (Beber &amp; Scacco, 2012). The deviation from uniform is significant at the 0.1 percent level in the 2013 elections, while non-significant in 2012 (<em>p</em>-value = 0.981)</span></p><p><span style=\"color: #333333\"><a href=\"http://themonkeycage.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Armenia_1.png?343c0a\"><span style=\"color: #333333\"><img alt=\"\" height=\"400\" src=\"http://i2.wp.com/themonkeycage.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Armenia_1.png?zoom=1.5&amp;resize=550%2C400\" width=\"550\" /></span></a></span></p><p><span style=\"color: #333333\">There is anecdotal evidence of fraud from domestic election observers, like the crowdsourcing platform&nbsp;<a href=\"https://iditord.org/\"><span style=\"color: #333333\">iditord.org</span></a>. There are only four incidents of calculation errors or falsification, constituting 1 percent of the 390 incident reports that were categorized. Actually, the most frequently occurring types of incidents reported where either intimidation (11 percent) or vote buying (10 percent). Fraud forensics based on digit-tests would not be able to capture such phenomena.</span></p><p><span style=\"color: #333333\">For the latter type of electoral manipulation we can graph turnout as a kernel density plot to detect anomalies. A Kernel plot is a non-parametric estimation of the probability density function of a random variable. Such a smoothing of the distribution helps us spot irregularities compared with the expected normal distribution. Examining the plots visually reveal an &lsquo;unnatural&rsquo; hump at the right-hand tail as we would expect if there was ballot stuffing, or other blatant forms of fraud that would increase turnout. The hump is certainly more articulated in 2013 compared to 2012, again suggesting that there was more fraud in 2013.</span></p><p><span style=\"color: #333333\"><a href=\"http://themonkeycage.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Armenia_2.png?343c0a\"><span style=\"color: #333333\"><img alt=\"\" height=\"400\" src=\"http://i2.wp.com/themonkeycage.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Armenia_2.png?zoom=1.5&amp;resize=550%2C400\" width=\"550\" /></span></a></span></p><p><span style=\"color: #333333\">In a context where authorities claim that there was no fraud and the opposition alleges widespread fraud, such forensics tools can be helpful as a piece of evidence. These are only diagnostic tools though and should be interpreted with caution. Other organizations have put out similar analyses, for instance&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/press-releases\"><span style=\"color: #333333\">Policy Forum Armenia (PFA)</span></a>. It remains to be seen whether the citizens of Armenia overcome the&nbsp;<a href=\"http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&amp;aid=1300800\"><span style=\"color: #333333\">well-known collective-action problem</span></a>&nbsp;of whether or not to protest. Who knows, the spring might come early to Armenia this year?</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style=\"color: #333333\">See the original article <a href=\"http://themonkeycage.org/2013/03/01/the-protesters-are-right-evidence-suggests-more-election-fraud-in-last-weeks-elections-in-armenia/\">here</a>.</span></p>', '', 'full_html');
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('node', 'news', 0, 637, 1252, 'und', 0, '<p><span style=\"color:#000000\">Arthur Pogosyan, a Los Angeles-area psychiatrist and co-founder of the non-profit family welfare organization Haikproject told the minister that they are not going to let Armenia be divided and exploited into parts and pieces used for mining.</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">&ldquo;We think it&rsquo;s time that we no longer let anyone harm our water and our lands, so that people have no way of living,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Is this why we fought to free our country? So that a few people can become millionaires and the rest be poisoned?&rdquo;</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">Sargsyan expressed happiness that the environmental movement is gaining strength in both Armenia and its diaspora and said that they are more than willing to discuss and engage with activists over these issues in the near future.</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">Nersesian, who said he was there to create a bridge between Armenia and its diaspora said his time in Los Angeles has proven that despite the distance, the Armenian-American community has shown immense support for their cause.</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a school of thought that has been strongly spread in Armenia that the diaspora is indifferent, that they can&rsquo;t change anything,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But I can see a generation that puts no borders between us. They&rsquo;re not with us physically, but they really are with us. They breathe and they live whatever we live.&rdquo;</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">He also encouraged diasporans to come back to Armenia.The protest comes at a crucial time&nbsp; for Armenia, who is facing a large ecological threat as its once abundant forests now only cover less than 10 percent of the entire country and its unregulated mining industry, controlled largely by foreign companies and members of parliament, threatens the country&rsquo;s unique biodiversity and health of&nbsp; poor, rural populations.</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">A main component of the activist&rsquo;s agenda for years has been Teghut Forest in Armenia&rsquo;s northern region, where a massive open-pit copper mine is set to be build by the Armenia Copper Program (ACP), a division of the Valex group, which is registered offshore in Lichenstein. In addition to the mine potentially destroying the region, activists say the decision to exploit the area was illegitimate and have called for lawfully prosecuting officials responsible for it.</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">Officials&nbsp; and security staff lurked around the group, which numbered close around 20 to 30 people, and at various points said they were shaming the country and inventing narratives that didn&rsquo;t exist. In response, activists called the mining situation the &ldquo;Armenian reality.&rdquo;</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">&ldquo;They&rsquo;re wolves,&rdquo; one protestor shouted. &ldquo;They are eating Armenia and drinking its blood.&rdquo;</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">Holding up a sign with a quote from Sargsyan about the large scale emigration out of Armenia, Karen Karslyan was one of the protestors at the event. As a diasporan,&nbsp; supporting activists in Armenia by staging the demonstration was important to show Armenian officials that those outside Armenia also know about the environmental issues impacting it today, he said.</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">&ldquo;This protest is against the Armenian government that is doing nothing to save Teghut,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a long term issue, because it may not have any impact right now, tomorrow or the day after, but in the long term it may be disastrous for a tiny republic like Armenia. We cannot afford to allot so many areas in our little territory&nbsp; for mining.&rdquo;</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">Toxic tailings from the mines have the potential to impact citizens who live in the country&rsquo;s capital of Yerevan, but also neighboring Caucasus countries like Georgia and Azerbaijan as well, who share nearby water sources, like the Dbed river.</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">The local water resources will be polluted to the extent of rendering them useless, said Anne Shirin, the English language coordinator for the Green Unions of Armenia in a<a href=\"http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0129-hance_armenia.html#RHCld12aookQV7fg.99\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">&nbsp;2008 interview</span></a>.</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">According to a&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=2&amp;ved=0CEAQFjAB&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pf-armenia.org%2Ffileadmin%2Fpfa_uploads%2FPFA_Environmental_Report.pdf&amp;ei=2bjGUK7rLaP_igKb5ID4BQ&amp;usg=AFQjCNF67Dy5SbGzoocTDNNB7iSa-RqCNw&amp;sig2=7mT6Peb9vIyp_EGow1M9qg&amp;bvm=bv.1354675689,d.cGE&amp;cad=rja\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=2&amp;ved=0CEAQFjAB&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pf-armenia.org%2Ffileadmin%2Fpfa_uploads%2FPFA_Environmental_Report.pdf&amp;ei=2bjGUK7rLaP_igKb5ID4BQ&amp;usg=AFQjCNF67Dy5SbGzoocTDNNB7iSa-RqCNw&amp;sig2=7mT6Peb9vIyp_EGow1M9qg&amp;bvm=bv.1354675689,d.cGE&amp;cad=rja\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">2010 report</span></a>&nbsp;[PDF] released by think-tank Policy Forum Armenia, the same company spearheading the Teghut mining project, ACP has also managed a copper smelter in Alaverdi, a little less then 200 km from the country&rsquo;s capital, Yerevan. The smelter, operating without sufficient safety filters had released more than 20 times more sulfuric anhydride than is legally permitted under state regulations in 2006 and 2007. Health issues like respiratory diseases were also recorded by the health ministry.</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">&ldquo;ACP acknowledges that there will be extensive environmental damage caused by the mining process but states that the economic benefits from this mine exceed the cost of the environmental impacts,&rdquo; the report says.</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">A protestor, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was at the protest to support two goals &ndash; the halting of mining in forested areas of Armenia and the controversial private ownership of the mines by the country&rsquo;s tycoons who directly profit from them.</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">Addressing Sargsyan and the government of Armenia, he urged the abandonment of short term profit and asked them to think about their nations future, instead.</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">As the sun began to set and a few more protestors trickled in, former Yerevan mayor Gagik Belgaryan who had accompanied Sargsyan on visit, appeared from the church&rsquo;s meeting hall, staying several feet away from the crowd.</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">Belgaryan, who is infamously known for a brawl between himself and presidential staff during a Placido Domingo concert in Yerevan, slowly smoked a cigarette as Nersesian and a few others approached him for a private conversation.</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">Belgaryan&rsquo;s brother reportedly owned boutique shops that were meant to be assembled in one of Yerevan&rsquo;s last remaining green spaces, Mashtots Park before activists staged protests that halted the operation.</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\">Activists who watched the scene unfold from afar yelled at him to put his cigarette out, citing the city of Burbank&rsquo;s second hand smoke ordinance which prohibits smoking in public places, trying to send home the message that, in their city, the rule of law applies to everyone. Earlier, he had approached Nersesian to complain about his face being on the posters of oligarchs. &ldquo;Your face is here because I know you as an oligarch,&rdquo; Nersesian replied.</span></p><p><span style=\"color:#000000\"><em><strong>See the original article with photos <a href=\"http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/2012/12/16/armenian-activists-protest-prime-ministers-arrival-in-california/\">here</a>.</strong></em></span></p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'document', 0, 640, 1266, 'und', 0, '<p>This is the third <strong>State of the Nation Report</strong> by Policy Forum Armenia and the eighth one in total,&nbsp;all focused on issues of critical importance for Armenia. The report brings to light many peculiarities of both wholesale and retail corruption in Armenia and offers mechanisms to reduce corruption.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><div style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><u>Testimonials</u></strong></div><blockquote><div>&quot;Some say that Armenia is doomed to fail economically because of its geography or location in the world. But like so many other countries around the world and throughout history, its failure is due to corruption, unscrupulous politicians and weak institutions. It&#39;s not lack of opportunities but squandered opportunities that are at the root of Armenia&#39;s ills, and it can make progress only by confronting this fact and holding accountable those responsible for the failures. This wonderful report is a first step.&quot; &nbsp;<strong>Daron Acemoglu,&nbsp;Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,&nbsp;Author of &quot;Why Nations Fail: Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty&quot;</strong></div></blockquote><div><blockquote><div>&quot;This data-rich study penetrates the realities of governance in Armenia&mdash;realities that have long been obscured. It confirms that political reform is essential to the national economic and social development.&quot; &nbsp;<strong>AnnaLee Saxenian,&nbsp;&nbsp;Dean and Professor in the School of Information&nbsp;and Professor in the Department of City and&nbsp;Regional Planning&nbsp;at the University of California, Berkeley, Author of &quot;The New Argonauts: Regional Advantage in the Global Economy&quot;</strong></div></blockquote><blockquote><div>&quot;This comprehensive report is an important tool for Diaspora&#39;s understanding of the systemic corruption and viable solutions for Armenia&#39;s continuing economic and social deterioration. Those solutions, to have any chance of success, must be rooted in the establishment of a truly independent judiciary with a strict adherence to the rule of law, and an unwavering respect for civil rights.&quot; &nbsp;<strong>Garo Ghazarian,&nbsp;Dean and Law Professor,&nbsp;Peoples College of Law,&nbsp;Los Angeles, California</strong></div></blockquote></div>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 641, 1304, 'und', 0, '<p>For Immediate Release<br />October 21, 2013<br />Contact: forum@pf-armenia.org<br />Web: http://www.pf-armenia.org</p><p>Policy Forum Armenia (PFA)&mdash;a Washington-based international think tank&mdash;announces today the publication of its <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/documents/files/PFA_Corruption_Report.pdf\">State of the Nation Report on &ldquo;Corruption in Armenia&rdquo;</a>. A product of a multidisciplinary team of researchers and practitioners, the report brings to light many peculiarities of both wholesale and retail corruption in Armenia and offers mechanisms to reduce corruption.<br /><br />The report&rsquo;s main finding is that corruption&rsquo;s negative impact on Armenia&rsquo;s economy is substantial. Focusing on corruption faced by companies, for example, the report finds that &ldquo;with an estimated cost to large companies of approximately five percent of sales per year&mdash;the highest among the comparator countries&mdash;corruption in Armenia erodes productivity and competitiveness of firms.&rdquo; On the policy side, the report makes a compelling case that the design and implementation of public policy in Armenia often serve the interest of the entrenched corrupt elite and not the country or its citizens.<br /><br />PFA&rsquo;s Executive Board member, Dr. Zaven Kalayjian, noted: &ldquo;By its nature, corruption is very difficult to detect, which is why the choice of methods and areas of study was made carefully to maximize the value added of the report. The team employed both quantitative techniques and case studies to help effectively gauge the extent of corruption and bribery taking place in various segments of the economy and public life in Armenia, from the judiciary and military to money laundering and petty crime. The most striking finding was that corruption in Armenia is highly concentrated and puts in place insurmountable barriers for economic development and progress in the country.&rdquo;<br /><br />The overarching message of the report is that &ldquo;an effective handling of challenges facing Armenia should begin by forming a legitimate authority to oversee the new policy course on behalf of the people. This can be achieved only by a political power with incentives and capacity to spearhead a systemic change. At the moment, the feedback mechanism between power and people is broken in Armenia. This makes the country&rsquo;s ruling regime immune to any pressures from the electorate to perform better and fundamentally changes the incentives of individuals at the top of the ruling pyramid.&rdquo;<br /><br />Daron Acemoglu, Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author of a recent bestseller &ldquo;Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty&rdquo; noted: &ldquo;Some say that Armenia is doomed to fail economically because of its geography or location in the world. But like so many other countries around the world and throughout history, its failure is due to corruption, unscrupulous politicians and weak institutions. It&#39;s not lack of opportunities but squandered opportunities that are at the root of Armenia&#39;s ills, and it can make progress only by confronting this fact and holding accountable those responsible for the failures. This wonderful report is a first step.&rdquo;<br /><br />Echoing the same sentiment, Professor AnnaLee Saxenian, Dean of UC Berkeley&rsquo;s Department of Information noted: &quot;This data-rich study penetrates the realities of governance in Armenia&mdash;realities that have long been obscured. It confirms that political reform is essential to the national economic and social development.&quot;<br /><br />Going forward, the report offers a strategy of reducing corruption in Armenia, which is built on a principle of boosting individuals&rsquo; opportunities and freedoms otherwise restricted by corruption. In addition, the report provides detailed recommendations on how to fight corruption and mismanagement in sectors with highest corruption risks. It notes that assistance from the international community and the Diaspora are required for the people of Armenia to improve governance while forcing the entrenched corrupt elite to either reform or leave. Internally, credible actions would be required to prosecute senior level abuses; reform the judicial system; and institute a mechanism for re-claiming stolen assets.<br /><br />On the latter, the Report lays out a blueprint for the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative. Modeled on experience of other countries and international laws and regulations that govern this area, the proposed initiative offers a framework for identifying illegally acquired assets held both in and outside of Armenia; seizing those assets; and holding and redistributing those assets (or the proceeds from their sale).<br /><br />The report is intended to spur a debate on the issue of high-level corruption in Armenia and serve as a warning for corrupt officials that civil society organizations are ready to help identify and recover stolen assets&mdash;irrespective of their location&mdash;and return them to their rightful owners.<br /><br /># # #<br /><br />Policy Forum Armenia is a 501(c)3 non-profit think tank aimed at strengthening discourse on Armenia&#39;s economic development and national security and, through that, helping to shape public policy in Armenia. This State of the Nation report and other PFA reports, which provide assessments of critical developments taking place in Armenia and the Diaspora, are available via www.pf-armenia.org/reports.</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'home_page_feature', 0, 642, 1371, 'und', 0, 'The report brings to light many peculiarities of corruption in Armenia  ', '', NULL),
('node', 'document', 0, 643, 1271, 'und', 0, 'For the Armenian version of the press release, see link below.', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 644, 1315, 'und', 0, '<p>Dear Friends:</p><p><strong>Our homeland has been through a great deal of ordeal in the passing year.&nbsp;</strong>Fraudulent presidential elections, massive protests, rising emigration, the misguided commitment to join the Russia-led Customs Union, and mass arrests of activists protesting Russia&rsquo;s Vladimir Putin&rsquo;s visit to Armenia have all contributed to that. The economy has slowed down significantly and recorded practically no growth in the second and third quarters of 2013 compared to the same periods a year ago. According to the official statistics, one in every three Armenian residents lives in poverty. Unofficial estimates are much higher. In the meantime, the ruling regime continues to control in excess of an estimated 60 percent of the country&rsquo;s Gross Domestic Product.</p><p><strong>Although this may have been one of the worst years for Armenia since independence, we have much reason for enthusiasm.&nbsp;</strong>The civil society is stronger than at any point before. Those on the barricades are determined to not only force the regime to leave but are also eager to build institutional foundations for a freer and independent Armenia. Our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora today are better informed about the conditions on the ground in Armenia and the true factors behind the misery and devastation observed outside of downtown Yerevan. As never before we are united with the understanding that with hard and persistent work we can turn Armenia into a country that we all could be proud of and will one day return to live.</p><p><strong>We believe we have contributed to this positive message.&nbsp;</strong>By visiting our <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/\">website</a>&nbsp;you can see that with only modest resources (coming mostly from our members) we have been able to maintain a high level of analytical output and inform our stakeholders of the true problems faced by people of Armenia and the country itself. Only when you have the right diagnosis you can expect to find the right cure for the illness. We are the only organization in the Diaspora that produces consistent and professional output on completely volunteer basis without being paid for what we do.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Highlights of our 2013 effort are as follows:</strong></p><ul><li><strong>Election Research:</strong> within days from Armenia&rsquo;s presidential election on February 18, 2013, PFA issued its <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/press-release/pfa-publishes-results-its-preliminary-analysis-presidential-election-armenia\">analysis of the election outcome</a> using statistical and econometric methodology and helped reveal massive fraud in favor of the incumbent.</li></ul><ul><li><strong>International Relations:</strong>&nbsp; In May 2013, PFA joined forces with the United States Atlantic Council to hold a <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/event/joint-seminar-atlantic-council-armenia-nato-relations-0\">high level round-table discussion</a> with Washington-based senior experts on Armenia&rsquo;s relations with NATO.</li></ul><ul><li><strong>Post-election Developments:</strong>&nbsp;In June 2013, jointly with the George Washington University Law School and Elliot School of International Affairs, PFA hosted Armenian presidential candidate <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/event/conversation-armenia-raffi-hovannisian\">Raffi Hovannisian for a conversation on foreign and domestic policy</a>, and to hear his views of the political and civil society development in Armenia.</li></ul><ul><li><strong>Diaspora:&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong>In August 2013, we hosted <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/event/pfa-hosted-discussion-conditions-armenians-syria\">a discussion on the conditions of Armenians in Syria</a> by Arménag Aprahamian, the President of Paris-based National Council of Armenians from Western Armenia, an organization accredited by the United Nations to represent the indigenous people of Western Armenia.&nbsp;</li></ul><ul><li><strong>Economic and Social Issues:&nbsp; </strong>In October 2013, we released our third State of the Nation Report on&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/document/corruption-armenia\">Corruption in Armenia</a>&rdquo;</em> where we focused on wholesale and retail corruption and offered mechanisms of reducing the cancer of corruption in&nbsp;Armenia.</li></ul><ul><li><strong>Environment:</strong>&nbsp;Subsequently we hosted a group of environmental activists and scientists, who brought to the US a documentary showing the extent of desecration caused by open mining in Armenia&rsquo;s Southern Syuniq region.</li></ul><ul><li><strong>Institutional Development:</strong> we are extremely fortunate to have been able to put together a world-class <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/academic-board\">Academic Board</a>, which serves as the main quality-controller of our research, and receive a 501(c)3 tax-exempt status from the US Internal Revenue Service.</li></ul><p><strong>However, there is one area that leaves more to desire this holiday season.&nbsp;</strong>It is the knowledge that we could have doubled the amount of work we do to benefit Armenia and its people if only we had slightly more financial resources at our disposal. Therefore, please consider making a&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/site-page/support-pfa-0\">tax-deductible donation</a> to enable us to continue to serve our mandate of providing independent, high-quality analysis of issues of true concern for Armenia today and tomorrow. A nation without a forward-oriented think-tank is bound to remain on the sidelines of history and is unlikely to make the jump forward that we are all dreaming about.</p><p>In closing, we would like to thank you for staying engaged with Armenia and with us. We wish you all Happy Holidays! May the New Year bring joy and new opportunities for Armenia, its residents, and every Armenian around the world.</p><p>Sincerely Yours,</p><p>Management and Fellows of Policy Forum Armenia</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'profile', 0, 645, 1316, 'und', 0, 'Arminé Nalbandian holds a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in Political Science and Communication Studies (Rhetorical Theory) from Northeastern University and a Master of Science in Development Studies from the London School of Economics. Arminé spent a year researching in Armenia from 2008-2009 as a Fulbright Fellow and returned to Armenia a year later to work as a Project Manager for the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia (NCFA), Armenia’s first private-public partnership. At NCFA, she was responsible for developing a large-scale economic development master plan focused on tourism in the southern corridor of Armenia. Arminé is currently studying toward her Master of Commerce degree at the University of Sydney with a focus on Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Her primary research interests center on diaspora and repatriate knowledge networks and their role in economic development.', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'profile', 0, 646, 1317, 'und', 0, 'Lusine Jagharian holds an MBA and an MS in Computer Science and currently works as a Technical Project Manager at Goold Health Systems in Augusta, ME. Her prior work experience includes managing the Quality Assurance operations at a Maine-based geospatial software development company, leading the Business Development, the Training and Curriculum Development departments at a Small Enterprise Development project in Armenia with the International Organization for Migration. Ms. Jagharian comes with a background in Information Technology, Business and Project Management and specializes in Software Development Life Cycle and Software Release management.', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'news', 0, 647, 1319, 'und', 0, '<div id=\"above\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 17px;\"><div class=\"switchtoheader\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 8px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.167em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.354em;\">VILNIUS, November 24, 2013 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- New format for EU-Armenia cooperation requires Armenia to seriously fight corruption.</span></div><div class=\"switchtoheader\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 8px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.167em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.354em;\">Ahead of the Vilnius Summit on the EU&#39;s Eastern Partnership (EaP) on 28/29 November 2013, one impression is that a huge possibility has been lost for the EU to strengthen the ties with its eastern neighbours. First, there is the situation regarding the Ukraine. European leaders will most likely veto any deal on free trade as long as former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is not released from prison. Second, there is the situation regarding Armenia, arguably one of the more unfortunate setbacks in the run-up to the summit.</span></div><div class=\"switchtoheader\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 8px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.167em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.354em;\">During a meeting with Vladimir Putin on 3 September 2013, President Sargsyan announced that Armenia would join the Russian-led Customs Union with the intention to be involved in the further formation of the Eurasian Economic Union. Therewith, negotiations on an Association Agreement with the EU were off the table. What remains is the question whether there is still room for the EU to engage in closer economic cooperation with Armenia in order to gain a new partner in the Caucasus region.</span></div><div class=\"switchtoheader\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 8px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.167em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.354em;\">Many argue that the ball is now in Armenia&#39;s corner. In this regard, the reform path that Armenia has declared to pursue would be a necessary precondition to base economic cooperation on a new foundation. First, the democratisation of political structures within the system needs to be an on-going process. Second, market reforms must be thoroughly implemented to make the economy more attractive for foreign investors. A first step to launch a new format for EU-Armenia trade relations could be the liberalisation of the EU&#39;s visa regime with Armenia - and other Eastern Partners - with the ultimate goal to drop visa requirements for EaP citizens.</span></div><div class=\"switchtoheader\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 8px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.167em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.354em;\">However, despite several important achievements, many obstacles for economic cooperation outside the scope of DCFTAs (Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements) - which require democratic and market reforms - remain. One of these obstacles, especially with view to Armenia, is the level of government corruption. The &quot;Policy Forum Armenia&quot; in Washington (&nbsp;</span><a data-ls-seen=\"1\" href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/\" style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.167em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.354em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; color: rgb(0, 65, 118);\">http://www.pf-armenia.org</a><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.167em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.354em;\">&nbsp;), a renowned Think Tank of the Armenia diaspora, recently published a report titled &quot;Corruption in Armenia&quot; (&nbsp;</span><a data-ls-seen=\"1\" href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/document/corruption-armenia\" style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.167em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.354em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; color: rgb(0, 65, 118);\">http://www.pf-armenia.org/document/corruption-armenia</a><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.167em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.354em;\">&nbsp;). A team of interdisciplinary scientists and country experts analysed the level of corruption by focusing on different areas. According to the report, the results are rather alerting: &quot;Corruption threatens to destroy Armenia&#39;s economy and remains one of the major problems in the Caucasus republic.&quot;</span></div><div class=\"switchtoheader\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 8px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.167em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.354em;\">The report refers to bribery costs in large companies that amount up to 5% in annual turnover. Daron Acemoglu, economic professor at the&nbsp;</span><span class=\"mandelbrot_refrag\" style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.167em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.354em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px;\"><a class=\"mandelbrot_refrag\" data-ls-seen=\"1\" href=\"http://www.marketwatch.com/organizations/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology?lc=int_mb_1001\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; color: rgb(0, 65, 118);\">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a></span><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.167em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.354em;\">&nbsp;(MIT) comes to a drastic conclusion: &quot;Some say, Armenia&#39;s economy is doomed to fail due to its geographical position...to be blamed, however, are corruption, ruthless politicians and weak institutions&quot;. Dr Zaven Kalayjian, member of the &quot;Policy Forum Armenia&quot; executive board, identifies the lack of interests of government elites in public opinion as the key problem: &quot;[c]orruption in Armenia directly benefits the very top layers of the country&#39;s ruling regime.&quot; Political decisions are made in favour of corrupt elites rather than in favour of the Armenian citizens. &quot;For that reason the regime is immune against electoral pressure.&quot;</span></div><div class=\"switchtoheader\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 8px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.167em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.354em;\">The decision to join the Eurasian Customs Union, particularly in the light of remaining reform deficiencies in the country, overshadows the upcoming Summit in Vilnius and puts a questions mark over Armenia&#39;s willingness and capacity to develop closer economic relations with the EU. As regards the latter, a commitment to fight corruption would be a first signal for the EU that cooperation with Armenia has not reached its destination.</span></div><div class=\"switchtoheader\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 8px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit;\"><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.167em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.354em;\">SOURCE NaTV Natalie Schulz / EU-Reporting</span></div><div class=\"switchtoheader\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 8px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit;\">Read the article <a href=\"http://www.marketwatch.com/story/vilnius-summit-which-way-forward-for-the-european-eastern-neighbourhood-policy-2013-11-24\">here</a>.</div></div>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'event', 0, 648, 1320, 'und', 0, 'On July 1, 2014, Policy Forum Armenia (PFA) hosted Ara Papian, Director of Modus Vivendi research center in Yerevan. Mr. Papian’s presentation on \"Woodrow Wilson\'s Arbitral Award as the Main Basis for Armenian Territorial Rights\" was based on years of in-depth research on US President Woodrow Wilson’s Arbitral Award of November 22, 1920 entitled: “Decision of the President of the United States of America respecting the Frontier between Turkey and Armenia, Access for Armenia to the Sea, and the Demilitarization of Turkish Territory adjacent to the Armenian Frontier.” \r\n\r\nIn his opening remarks, PFA’s co-founder Dr. David Grigorian noted that Mr. Papian’s research offers solid foundations both for broader academic inquiry into the issue and also for any future legal and foreign policy action on the part of Armenia’s government and Diaspora institutions.\r\n\r\nMr. Papian’s work focuses on the Arbitral Award in the context of international law in general and the United Nation’s official methodology in particular. Apart from its historic value, the speaker talked about the potential practical implications of President Wilson’s Award for the Armenian cause going forward. In this regard, he stressed that the Arbitral Award offers a strong foundation for pursuing the Armenian claims in international courts of law and that the attention of world-wide Armenian communities and Armenia should not focus on Genocide recognition efforts alone. However, while the upcoming Genocide Centennial offers an opportune moment, the efforts along these lines have been disappointing due to lack of coordination, vision, and resources.\r\n\r\nA lively question and answer session followed, with members of Washington’s Armenian community expressing their frustration with lack of a coherent vision among the traditional Diaspora structures and lobbying groups on the practical issues related to Armenian claims beyond the Genocide recognition.\r\n\r\nPrior to establishing Modus Vivendi center, Mr. Papian was the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia to Canada in 2001-06 and served as the spokesperson and the Head of Public Affairs Department at the Armenia’s Foreign Ministry. In addition to focusing on the Arbitral Award, Mr. Papian’s and his colleagues’ current research bring to light other aspects of the US involvement in, and assistance to, Armenia during the Genocide and its aftermath.\r\n\r\nThe event was held at the Soorp Khatch Armenian Apostolic Church, in Bethesda, Maryland (a suburb of Washington, DC).', '\"Woodrow Wilson\'s Arbitral Award as the Main Basis for Armenian Territorial Rights\"\r\n', 'full_html'),
('node', 'event', 0, 649, 1321, 'und', 0, 'Policy Forum Armenia will host a joint Atlantic Council meeting entitled Armenia and the West: New Vision for the Caucuses? \r\nPolicymakers and academics from Washington with interest in Armenia and the region will be participating. \r\n', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'profile', 0, 653, 1325, 'und', 0, 'Hrach Gregorian is President of the Washington, D.C.-based research organization, the Institute of World Affairs. He is member of the Graduate Faculty, School of Peace and Conflict Management, Royal Roads University; Adjunct Professor and Research Fellow, Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, University of Calgary; Adjunct Professorial Lecturer, School of International Service, American University; Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Global Studies, University of Victoria; and Senior Fellow, Canadian Defense and Foreign Affairs Institute. For over three decades Gregorian has been active in deep cultural and risk analysis in fragile states, with field experience in Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans, Central and East Asia. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at Brandeis University, and B.A. at Boston University. \r\n\r\nDr. Gregorian served as one of the founding directors of the United States Institute of Peace. He developed the Institute’s first professional training program in conflict analysis and negotiation. The course was offered to senior members of the US State Department, USIA, Voice of America, and USAID. He is also one of the co-founders of the Alliance for Peacebuilding, the largest US-based membership organization of institutions and professionals in the field of peace and conflict management. Dr. Gregorian’s work on stability and peace operations in fragile states has taken him to twenty five plus countries. His recent publications have focused on interagency coordination in peace operations, capacity-building in fragile states, and energy and conflict. He is the recipient of American University’s Capital Area Peacemaker Award and a Boston University Distinguished Alumni Award. He sits on various boards.', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'event', 0, 654, 1328, 'und', 0, 'WASHINGTON, DC.—On July 2nd, the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council hosted an off-the-record workshop on Armenia’s relationship with the West and the future vision for the Caucasus organized jointly with Policy Forum Armenia. The workshop built upon the discussions that took place in May 2013 (on Armenia-NATO relations), which brought together a prominent line-up of experts and policymakers with interest in Armenia and the Caucasus. Participants of the workshop included high-level representatives from the State Department, Pentagon, National Security Council, main foreign policy think tanks headquartered in Washington. A Position Paper entitled \"Armenia and the West: A New Vision for the Caucasus\", shared by PFA with the participants ahead of the workshop, helped kick off the discussion. PFA was represented by members of its Executive and Academic Boards. Pictures from the event are available in our <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/media-gallery/joint-workshop-atlantic-council-armenia-and-west\">Photo Gallery</a>.', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'profile', 0, 672, 1348, 'und', 0, 'Yelena Gyulkhandanyan interned with PFA in the Spring of 2014. During her internship she worked on a report on the geopolitical challenges facing Armenia. Currently Yelena is pursuing a Master of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Waterloo. She graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in International Development from the University of Toronto in 2013.', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 673, 1353, 'und', 0, '<p><strong><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">For Immediate Release</span><br style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\" /><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">July 13, 2014</span><br style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\" /><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">Contact:&nbsp;</span><a href=\"mailto:forum@pf-armenia.org\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 67, 111); text-decoration: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">forum@pf-armenia.org</a><br style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\" /><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">Web:&nbsp;</span><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 67, 111); text-decoration: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">http://www.pf-armenia.org</a></strong></p><p><strong>Dr. Hrach Gregorian joins Policy Forum Armenia&rsquo;s Academic Board</strong></p><p>Policy Forum Armenia (PFA) is pleased to announce that <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/profile/hrach-gregorian\">Dr. Hrach Gregorian</a>, a member of the Graduate Faculty of the School of Peace and Conflict Management at Royal Roads University and a Research Fellow at the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary, has joined the organization as the newest member of its&nbsp;Academic Board. Dr. Gregorian served as one of the founding directors of the United States Institute of Peace and developed the Institute&rsquo;s first professional training program in conflict analysis and negotiation. He is also one of the co-founders of the Alliance for Peacebuilding, the largest US-based membership organization of institutions and professionals in the field of peace and conflict management.</p><p>Dr. Gregorian&rsquo;s work on stability and peace operations in fragile states has taken him to over twenty-five countries. For over three decades, he has been active in deep cultural and risk analysis in various parts of the world, including in Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans, and Central and East Asia. Dr. Gregorian&rsquo;s recent publications have focused on interagency coordination in peace operations, capacity-building in fragile states, and energy and conflict. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at Brandeis University and B.A. at Boston University.</p><p>PFA&#39;s co-founder Vladimir Shekoyan noted that PFA is proud to have an academic and practitioner of Dr. Gregorian&rsquo;s caliber join the organization. &ldquo;Hrach&rsquo;s knowledge and experience is invaluable and we look forward to working with him to advance PFA&rsquo;s objectives of offering innovative analysis and practical recommendations for public policy design and implementation in Armenia,&rdquo; said Shekoyan.</p><p>&ldquo;It is an honor to be joining an organization with the vision and commitment to humanistic values that are hallmarks of PFA,&rdquo; said Dr. Gregorian. &ldquo;PFA is a thought leader in the fight for freedom, democracy, and economic modernization in Armenia. I hope to contribute in some small way to its work in advancing peace and genuine security for our people.&rdquo;</p><p align=\"center\">###</p><p><em>Policy Forum Armenia is an independent non-profit association dedicated to strengthening discourse on Armenia&rsquo;s economic development and national security and through such efforts helping to shape public policy in Armenia.</em></p>', '', 'full_html');
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('node', 'news', 0, 675, 1382, 'und', 0, '<a href=\"http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2014-07-16-from-stateless-thinking-to-the-forum-of-independent-minds-\">Published by the Armenian Reporter</a>\r\n\r\nAny strategic thinking in international politics starts from asking the right questions. In Armenia\'s case these questions have so far at best been asked on individual level yet without institutionalized consistency.\r\n\r\nAdvocacy groups in Washington would do their job with tangible success only as far as what has been perceived as the newly independent republic\'s immediate needs. It was either well-organized stop-gap measures that at some point made Armenia second in the world per capita recipient of US assistance and gained it a most favored nation status-the first positive example of lobbying for; or time and effort consuming lobbying against-the introduction and preservation of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, the adoption of the Humanitarian Corridor Act and repeated attempts to pass a Genocide resolution on the Hill.\r\n\r\nThe miraculous passage of the direct aid for Nagorno Karabagh in 1998 was both a promising sign of the growing sophistication of Armenian advocacy and the result of a well-calculated political trade-off, when an exemption in Section 907 allowed TDA, OPIC and ExIm Bank to do business in Azerbaijan. Armenia\'s successful qualification for Millennium Challenge Account in 2000-2001 was probably as good as it could get for our country especially after the program was frozen following the very much questioned presidential election in 2008.\r\n\r\nDecline of democracy building and absence of strategic thinking in Yerevan made it impossible for US-Armenian relations to become systemic. On the other hand, America\'s laid-back criticism, not to say lenient acceptance of the process and results of the 2008, 2012 and 2013 national elections in Armenia did not help to raise the bilateral relations to a new level either.\r\n\r\n<strong>Enter a Forum</strong> \r\nPolicy Forum Armenia is not only a new Washington-based Armenian think-tank, but, first and foremost, a new mind-set.  This is a group of outstanding professionals posing strategic questions about Armenia\'s future and unified by the need to address its past without prejudice. More importantly the PFA is in a constant, institutionalized search to prioritize Armenia\'s foreign and domestic policy issues, re-inventing the almost extinct ability to perceive itself as an independent country.\r\n\r\nThe closed-door seminar at the Atlantic Council on Armenia\'s relations with the West held on July 2, well attended by high-ranking representatives of the State Department, DOD and NSC as well as academic and think tank communities clearly demonstrated that several years of hard-work and sophistication yielded tangible results.  It should be noted that a similar event on Armenia-NATO relations sponsored by the PFA and the Atlantic Council last summer was also a successful attempt to break away from the prison of traditional thinking and graduate beyond the current modality of US-Armenian relations. \r\n\r\nThis year\'s seminar was preceded by the preparation and introduction of a detailed position paper, where emphasis was put on asking the right questions about the future of Armenia\'s independence rather than on seeking hasty answers. It is also noteworthy that in the previous case an analytical review was produced after the event summarizing and building on expert opinions expressed during the seminar itself.  In both cases it will not be an overstatement to say that the PFA raised the discussion on Armenia in Washington to a completely different level at the crucial time for our country.\r\n\r\n<strong>The three perfect failures</strong> \r\nThis is not only the time to act, but also the time to re-think Armenia\'s sovereignty. One can describe the foreign policy of Armenia in recent years as a chain of perfect diplomatic failures.\r\n\r\nThe signed but not ratified Zurich protocols are probably the first and most telling example why the failure was perfect for each and every participant of football diplomacy. All countries, including the mediators that participated in the Turkish-Armenian normalization epic, looked good internationally. The only exception was Azerbaijan, which was perceived as the main obstacle for successful completion of the deal. Yet it did not have to look good but strong. Therefore the failure was perfect for Azerbaijan as well. \r\n\r\nThe successfully completed but eventually not signed Association Agreement and DCFTA can be characterized as another perfect failure of Armenian foreign policy.\r\n\r\nThe third perfect failure is currently in the making. It takes shape in Armenia\'s constantly delayed participation in the Eurasian Union. The circumstantial twist of geopolitical choice imposed from without would most probably continue to drag the country into playing a peripheral role of a second-rate member in an organization with an unclear geopolitical future.\r\n\r\n<strong>Crimea and Karabakh: a study in contrasts</strong>  \r\nPerfect failures are usually accompanied by selective misinterpretation of major international events.  The current turmoil in Ukraine is particularly dangerous for countries, which have deceptively similar problems. \r\n\r\nFor Nagorno Karabakh, the danger of capitalizing on the Crimean referendum is that its own argument for self-determination risks being belittled. According to Richard Giragossian and other leading experts in the Black Sea/South Caucasus region, there are several reasons for this. They can be summarized as follows:\r\n\r\nFirst, there was no clear and present danger for Crimea\'s security. The events there were largely instigated by a most aggressive twist of Russia\'s near abroad policy. Ukraine\'s attempt to sign the Association Agreement and DCFTA with the EU, and its decision not to join the Customs Union with Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus were the main reasons behind Moscow\'s sudden concerns about the Russian speaking population in Crimea.  In contrast, the underlying cause of Nagorno Karabagh\'s struggle for self-determination has always been physical security and a dire need to protect the region from external aggression and ethnic cleansing.\r\n\r\nThe second important difference can be found in the very modality of the referendum. The Crimean population, distinct from nearly all other cases of self-determination, never sought any degree of national independence. Instead, the people voted to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. Against that background, Karabagh\'s current embrace of Crimea as an inspiration is more likely to devalue and belittle the essence of its own quest. Such a dangerous twist of wishful thinking would only harm Karabagh\'s case before the international community and weaken its position at the negotiation table. Russia itself is very reluctant to draw any parallels between what happened in the Crimea and other territorial/ethnic disputes in the FSU.\r\n\r\nThird, the Crimean referendum itself was never really a question of \"national\" self-determination. It can rather be defined as \"regional\" self-determination, with no attempt to use Ukrainian laws, political negotiations and constitutional process for this purpose. In contrast to the Crimean example, Nagorno Karabagh\'s political choice of the early 90s to use the existing legal framework and the Soviet Constitution to achieve independence, make the national referendum there significantly different.\r\n\r\nIt is high time to think about small but manageable steps aimed at the preservation of Armenia\'s sovereignty and strengthening its security. They have to replace wishful thinking and the short-term comfort of perfect failures.  To do that not just a new policy, but also the new mind-set is needed. Along with courageous outcries of concerned individuals both in Armenia and Diaspora this presupposes the forum of free thinkers unified through institutionalized network.\r\n\r\nRouben Shougarian, former Ambassador of Armenia in the US \r\n ', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 677, 1384, 'und', 0, 'For Immediate Release\r\nOctober 1, 2014\r\nContact: forum@pf-armenia.org \r\nWeb: http://www.pf-armenia.org \r\n\r\n\r\nPolicy Forum Armenia (PFA)—a Washington-based international think tank—announces today the publication of its State of the Nation Report on <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/documents/files/Armenia%20and%20the%20West--FINAL%20%281%29.pdf\">“Armenia and the West: A New Vision for the Caucasus”</a>, an earlier version of which was presented as a background paper during a <a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/event/joint-workshop-atlantic-council-armenia-and-west\">high-level workshop at the Atlantic Council</a> in Washington on July 2, 2014. \r\n\r\nThe report is intended for policymakers with interest in strengthening Armenia and its ties with the West. It offers some out-of-the-box thinking that challenges prevailing views about Western involvement in Armenia and the Caucasus. The report essentially sets aside a critical handicapping factor—Armenia’s leadership and governance—and lays out a vision for the country’s role in the region under a leadership that would enjoy widespread support among its people; understand and stay current with global trends; and maintain a reasonable degree of independence from foreign interference. The report states that, if implemented in practical terms, a leadership change of this nature will unleash Armenia’s developmental potential and effectively lead to the proposed foreign policy reorientation.\r\n \r\nThe report notes that, while Armenia owns its current problems, the West has lost a valuable opportunity to steer Armenia toward more democracy and better governance. However, recent developments in the wider region bring new opportunities for the West to forge stronger ties with Armenia. Yet, as argued in the report, this cannot be done with the current ruling regime, which has squandered the country’s economic and geopolitical potential and brought Armenia close to a point of no-return. \r\n\r\nThe report provides a thorough review of Armenia’s bilateral relations with all its neighbors and Russia. While it recognizes the gravity of the current status quo that relies heavily on Russia’s meddling in Armenia’s domestic and foreign policy choices, it proposes a way out. The report notes that the Russia’s control of Armenia is working against the long-run interests of both countries. This state of affairs is not sustainable. The challenge is to convince Russia to step back and allow Armenia to build bridges with other countries/blocks, as dictated by its own strategic interests, while still maintaining an exclusive relationship with Russia.\r\n\r\nIn his remarks, Armenia’s first Ambassador to the United States, Rouben Shougarian noted that: \"The report that followed the multifaceted discussion at the Atlantic Council is both a gratifying result of a comprehensive insight into Armenia’s foreign and security policy and a creative after-thought to the discussion itself. It is also a rare attempt to put Armenia’s future into strategic perspective, which helps it to graduate beyond one-dimensional dependence on Russia and opens the door for alternative political thinking. Foreign policy problems and challenges are rightfully linked to better governance and democracy building.\"\r\n\r\nWhile analyzing the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement, the report lays out three possible scenarios. The most attractive scenario for Armenia—one that requires strengthening the country’s economy and defense capabilities to retain control over Nagorno-Karabakh—is one that would also bring stability to the region and allow the creation of a Transcaucasian economic market for the benefit of all players. In terms of Armenia’s attractiveness for the West, the report lays out a vision in which Armenia plays a role of a key corridor for de-blockading Iran, when the Western sanctions are lifted; acts as a reliable partner for Georgia in an otherwise very volatile region; and presents itself as a potential buffer against Turkey’s neo-Ottoman aspirations in the region. \r\n\r\n“I have been following the activities of Policy Forum Armenia for some time, and find the work of this small but outstanding group of professionals truly impressive. PFA’s ability to think outside the established norms and clichés, its perseverance and its well researched and thorough reports on difficult and hard-hitting subjects have always met the highest professional standards. Their latest report on Armenia and the West is no exception. One may or may not agree with all its conclusions, but the report stands as one of the most thoughtful and possibly consequential works on the subject of Armenia’s foreign relations.” said Vahan Zanoyan, author and retired Chairman of PFC Energy International, a global energy advisory firm. \r\n\r\n# # #\r\n\r\nPolicy Forum Armenia is a 501(c)3 non-profit think tank aimed at strengthening discourse on Armenia\'s economic development and national security and, through that, helping to shape public policy in Armenia. This State of the Nation report and other PFA reports, which provide assessments of critical developments taking place in Armenia and the Diaspora, are available via www.pf-armenia.org/reports.', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'home_page_feature', 0, 678, 1390, 'und', 0, 'This report lays out a roadmap for Armenia’s relations with the West and a new vision for the Caucasus', '', NULL),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 679, 1388, 'und', 0, 'For Immediate Release\r\nOctober 21, 2014\r\nContact: forum@pf-armenia.org\r\nWeb: http://www.pf-armenia.org\r\n\r\nPolicy Forum Armenia condemns in strongest possible terms the brutal treatment of Alec Yenigomshian, a blind political activist, by police in downtown Yerevan on October 19, 2014. According to media reports, Yenigomshian was forced out of a car and left standing on a busy section of a street despite his numerous warnings that he cannot see, while the car and its driver were taken into custody.   \r\n \r\nWe urge human rights organizations and our partners in Armenia to help identify the perpetrators and hold them accountable and stand ready to assist. Police brutality in Armenia should end. These and other politically motivated repressions against prominent activists will not diminish our people’s resolve to bring down the regime in Yerevan and put Armenia on a path to development and progress.\r\n \r\nAs the Genocide’s Centennial approaches, the Diaspora communities around the world will be watching closely how the regime treats its subjects today, especially those who kept the flames of the Armenian cause alive for years and played a major role in our nation’s latest victory in the war in Artsakh, both against all odds.\r\n', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'document', 0, 680, 1391, 'und', 0, '<p>The report offers some innovative thinking about Armenia&rsquo;s geopolitical potential and challenges the prevailing views about Western involvement in Armenia and the Caucasus. It explicitly ignores Armenia&rsquo;s main handicapping factor&mdash;its leadership and governance problems&mdash;and lays out a vision for the country&rsquo;s role in the region under a popular, clean, and independent government.</p><h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">Testimonials</h4><blockquote><p>&quot;The report&nbsp;Armenia and the West: A New Vision for the Caucasus&nbsp;that followed the multifaceted discussion at the Atlantic Council on July 2, 2014 is both a gratifying result of a comprehensive insight into Armenia&rsquo;s foreign and security policy and a creative after-thought to the discussion itself. It is also a rare attempt to put Armenia&rsquo;s future into strategic perspective, which helps it to graduate beyond one-dimensional dependence on Russia and opens the door for alternative political thinking. Foreign policy problems and challenges are rightfully linked to better governance and democracy building.&quot; <strong>Rouben Shougarian, Armenia&#39;s First&nbsp;Ambassador&nbsp;to the US.</strong></p></blockquote><blockquote><p>&ldquo;I have been following the activities of Policy Forum Armenia for some time, and find the work of this small but outstanding group of professionals truly impressive. PFA&rsquo;s ability to think outside the established norms and clichés, its perseverance and its well researched and thorough reports on difficult and hard-hitting subjects have always met the highest professional standards. Their latest report on Armenia and the West is no exception. One may or may not agree with all its conclusions, but the report stands as one of the most thoughtful and possibly consequential works on the subject of Armenia&rsquo;s foreign relations.&rdquo; <strong>Vahan Zanoyan, Author and Retired Chairman of PFC Energy International.&nbsp;</strong></p></blockquote><blockquote><p>&ldquo;Policy Forum Armenia has rendered an invaluable service to scholars and the general public in issuing the report &ldquo;Armenia and the West,&rdquo; a detailed exploration of the foreign and domestic policies of the newly-independent Caucasian republic. These are evaluated in the context of all of Armenia&rsquo;s neighboring states, with special attention to Russia &ndash; a vital inclusion in the light of the recent Ukrainian confrontation. The report pulls no punches in its examination of Armenia&rsquo;s faltering economy and governance in general, and displays total objectivity in its dissection of Armenia&rsquo;s problems. It is a unique document and mandatory reading for anyone preoccupied with Armenian affairs.&quot; <strong>Edward Alexander, Author of &ldquo;A Crime of Vengeance: An Armenian Struggle for Justice&rdquo; and Retired US Diplomat.</strong></p></blockquote>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'profile', 0, 681, 1392, 'und', 0, 'Eduard Abrahamyan is a regional security and defense strategy expert focused on Greater Black Sea affairs. He graduated from the Yerevan State University, Department of International Relations and Politics (where he subsequently also completed his PhD) and subsequently from the University of Westminster, London. Eduard is one of the founders of analytic center “Mitq” and has conducted research in Armenia, United Kingdom, Belgium, Russia, US on various issues, such as, political and military threats and risks in the Eastern Europe and the Black sea, the prospects of political and military partnership between South Caucasus states and NATO, among others. Currently, Eduard lives in London, where he is broadening his expertise in international relations and regional security of the Balkans, South Caucasus and Eastern Europe at the University of Leicester. ', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'blog_entry', 0, 682, 1394, 'und', 0, '<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https://pfarmenia.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/pastpresent-future.jpg\" style=\"width: 313px; height: 300px;\" /></p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 683, 1397, 'und', 0, '<p><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">For Immediate Release</span><br style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\" /><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">March 24, 2015</span><br style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\" /><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">Contact:&nbsp;</span><a href=\"mailto:forum@pf-armenia.org\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 67, 111); text-decoration: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">forum@pf-armenia.org</a><br style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\" /><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">Web:&nbsp;</span><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 67, 111); text-decoration: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">http://www.pf-armenia.org</a></p><p><em>Policy Forum Armenia considers the recent issuance of the $500 million Eurobond by the government of Armenia as irresponsible and damaging for the country. </em></p><p>Armenia is undergoing a serious balance-of-payments crisis of its own making. Over-reliance on remittances from Russia, unwillingness to allow the exchange rate to adjust, and continuous interventions on the foreign exchange market have resulted in significant overvaluation of the dram, serious loss of competitiveness, and significant decline in the Central Bank&rsquo;s foreign reserves. The aggregate activity, including exports, has slowed down considerably in recent months and the fiscal conditions are deteriorating rapidly as a result.</p><p>Deep reforms are needed to move Armenia&rsquo;s economy from an imminent collapse. Issuing expensive foreign debt and attempting to pay one&rsquo;s way out of the crisis will only delay the inevitable and result in even bigger losses for consumers, banks, and the sovereign balance sheet. The regime&rsquo;s desire to avoid policy changes until the Genocide Centennial on April 24 will thus have serious consequences for the country and its population, a significant portion of which already lives in extreme poverty.</p><p>We call upon the international community and capital market participants to cease funding the regime in Yerevan in light of the overwhelming evidence of embezzlement of the proceeds and of the disastrous economic and social policies carried out by the incompetent and corrupt government of Hovik Abrahamyan. Future democratic governments of Armenia will have every reason to declare these debts illegitimate and stop servicing them.</p><p>PFA Executive Board</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 685, 1405, 'und', 0, 'For Immediate Release\r\nApril 9, 2015\r\nContact: forum@pf-armenia.org\r\nWeb: http://www.pf-armenia.org\r\n\r\nPolicy Forum Armenia (PFA) condemns in strongest possible terms the arrests of prominent opposition leaders, members of the Founding Parliament, and harassment of PFA Executive Board Member Garo Yegnukian by Armenia’s ruling regime in the early morning hours of April 7th.\r\n\r\nWe are deeply disturbed by actions against these individuals carried under the pretense of \"preempting mass disturbances,\" despite several public announcements by the Founding Parliament to the contrary. Such actions by the Armenian security apparatus, targeting influential opposition leaders and taken without securing material evidence, inflict fear upon Armenian citizens and severely limit political freedoms.\r\n\r\nPFA expresses its support to the civil society in Armenia and calls upon Armenians in the Diaspora to put all possible pressure on the regime in Yerevan to stop persecutions of civil and political activists.\r\n\r\nPFA Executive Board', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 687, 1420, 'und', 0, 'For Immediate Release\r\nJune 26, 2015\r\nContact: forum@pf-armenia.org\r\nWeb: http://www.pf-armenia.org\r\n\r\nPolicy Forum Armenia (PFA) condemns police brutality and arrests of peaceful protesters, who were exercising their Constitutional rights of freedom assembly and speech to protest against electricity tariff hikes in Armenia on June 23, 2015.\r\n\r\nFor years, the constant defrauding of the citizenry and the Diaspora by Armenia\'s current and past regimes has been a subject of PFA\'s research. Unprecedented state capture, rigged elections, devastating social and economic policies, and uncontrolled exploitation of Armenia\'s natural resources have been hallmarks of the ruling oligarchy and subjects of PFA\'s reports.  It is our position that these abuses constitute the primary threat to Armenia’s stability and national security.\r\n\r\nTwo years ago, the citizens of Armenia united in a widespread grassroots campaign against a proposed bus fare increase – and won.  Today, the citizens are again united against exploitation and poor energy policy through the “No to Plunder!” civil campaign and street demonstrations. \r\n\r\nThe protesters demand cancellation of the energy tariff hike scheduled to go into effect on August 1, 2015.  An outcome of years of corruption and mismanagement in the electricity network and tariff-setting policies of government, the proposed tariff hike and subsequent trickle-down effects are expected to markedly worsen the social conditions of the majority of Armenia’s population, at least 40 percent of which live under the poverty threshold. \r\n\r\nTherefore, Policy Forum Armenia calls upon:\r\n\r\n•	the demonstrators to stand firmly on their demands for electricity tariff freeze, set up a structure capable of consolidating the protest across the country, and start forming demands for systemic change beyond the electricity tariff issue;\r\n\r\n•	the institutions, organizations, and individuals in Armenia and the Diaspora to publicly condemn the abuses by the police and put the pressure on the regime to reform or leave;\r\n\r\n•	the Armenian Church not to ignore the daily injustices faced by people of Armenia and stand by her flock.\r\n\r\nPFA stands with the freedom-loving citizens of Armenia and reaffirms its commitment for building a free, independent, united, and prosperous homeland.', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 690, 1424, 'und', 0, 'Armenia is standing at one of the most important crossroads since independence in 1991.  The situation is dire: victorious in the 1994 liberation of Artsakh, but defeated by homegrown corruption, criminality, and incompetence, the people of Armenia are leaving their homeland in tens of thousands per year. Poverty is likely in excess of the official number of nearly 40 percent, and the economy shows no signs of growth. Unless profound systemic changes take place in the way the country is governed, Armenia will not survive another war or severe economic shock. Unfortunately, the proposed Constitutional changes are likely to make the matters even worse.\r\n\r\nWhile current polls show an overwhelming support for the “No” vote, this will not stop the regime from attempting to falsify the final results.  PFA expects the constitutional referendum to follow similar patterns of fraud that have plagued past presidential and parliamentary elections, as we have demonstrated in our reports.\r\n\r\nAs demonstrated in the outcome of the 2013 Presidential Election, the regime has a capacity to secure at least 850 thousand votes through a combination of approximately 500-550 thousand fraudulent votes (obtained via ballot stuffing, multiple and carousel voting, as well as intentional miscounting) and reliance on its 250-300 thousand loyal “Yes” voters, consisting mainly of government officials, police, army, and those employed by the oligarchs and their family members, who vote “Yes” regardless of own position/conviction.  The regime needs only 638 or so thousand votes to pass the proposed amendments. \r\n\r\nThe chances of the opposing sides to counter this are very slim. Despite official figures, Armenia’s current population and number of people eligible to vote are unlikely to be more than 1.6 million and 1.2 million, respectively. After netting out the regime’s loyal “Yes” base and assuming a participation rate of 80 percent the opposition can at best secure 700 thousand votes. Therefore, striking down the referendum would require an unprecedented mobilization of opposition forces and civil society.  PFA believes that most efforts should be directed at reducing fraud in its various forms.  We, therefore, call on opposition forces to:\r\n\r\n•	Promote a “get out and vote!” campaign.\r\n\r\n•	Join efforts to set up an effective monitoring system (inside and outside of the polling stations) to limit all forms of fraud.  To this end, select polling stations based on past fraud history and collaborate with friendly local civil society groups and international monitors to secure adequate manning/coverage of those stations.\r\n\r\n•	Promote an awareness campaign among the regime’s loyal “Yes” voters to explain that the carousel system can be defeated: a voter who is forced to engage in a carousel voting should invalidate the pre-marked ballot given to them by the current ruling regime before throwing it into the ballot box.\r\n\r\nPFA believes that the constitutional amendments proposed by the regime in Armenia should not be adopted, as the amendments will only entrench those who have usurped democratic processes and exploited their positions and offices for their own gain. Armenia’s current Constitution states that “power belongs to people.”  It is thus up to the citizens of Armenia—with the support of all Armenians worldwide who look to the homeland for inspiration and pride—to use this power in such a way so as to stop Armenia’s slide toward extreme underdevelopment and poverty, mass migration, and weak national security. The time to act is now.  \r\n\r\nPFA Executive Board', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'blog_entry', 0, 691, 1425, 'und', 0, 'A December 6 referendum that transforms Armenia into a parliamentary form of government is seen as an attempt to extend the rule of President Serzh Sargsyan who, at the end of his second and final term in office, is likely to be appointed Prime Minister. (Reuters/David Mdzinarishvili)', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 693, 1430, 'und', 0, 'April 2, 2016\r\nContact: forum@pf-armenia.org\r\nWeb: http://www.pf-armenia.org\r\n\r\nPolicy Forum Armenia profoundly mourns the loss of civilian and military life and offers its deepest condolences to the families of victims of this latest Azerbaijani aggression.\r\n \r\nWe place the blame for the escalation of the situation entirely on the Aliyev regime, whose bellicose rhetoric of recent months has become even more aggressive, as a way of diverting attention of own population from worsening economic and human rights conditions in the country.\r\n \r\nWe note the futility of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and Russia—Armenia’s “strategic” partner and weapons’ supplier to Azerbaijan—which underscores the need for Armenia to reduce its reliance on these arrangements by further strengthening its own defenses and diversifying its security arrangements to include its western partners. \r\n \r\nWe reiterate that the Sargsyan regime remains the ultimate reason for Armenia’s weaknesses on diplomatic and security fronts, which have left the enemy unchecked, both diplomatically and militarily. A de facto client state of Russia, marred with systemic corruption and human rights abuses, Armenia has lost its international standing in recent years and remains extremely vulnerable economically, a problem that requires an urgent solution.\r\n \r\nFinally, we fully support the people of Armenia in their aspiration to build a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic country in Armenia proper and Artsakh, and remain committed to contributing to these objectives in any way consistent with our mandate. \r\n \r\nPFA Executive Board', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'event', 0, 694, 1432, 'und', 0, '<p>&nbsp;</p><p>Washington, DC.&mdash;On April 21, 2016, Policy Forum Armenia held a round-table discussion on the &quot;4-day war&quot; between Armenia and Azerbaijan that brought together experts from Modus Vivendi center (Yerevan), National Defense University, Brookings Institution, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), American University (SIS), and Carnegie Foundation (all Washington), as well as members of Washington Armenian community. What follows is a summary of the discussions that took place during the seminar.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Opening remarks</strong></p><p>The events of the&rdquo; 4-day war&rdquo; debunked two critical myths in Armenia:</p><p><strong>Myth #1:</strong> The regime is capable of preserving the status quo in Artsakh (Armenian name of Nagorno-Karabakh) by maintaining a viable army. We know now this is not true: systemic corruption and incompetence were in many ways behind the failures of intelligence, adequate supply of arms, and diplomacy.</p><p><strong>Myth # 2:</strong> Russia is an effective partner and can at least guarantee the peace in the region. This too proved wrong. Moreover, concern now is that Russia is preparing a defeatist peace for Armenia, involving deployment of peacekeepers in the region and forcing Armenia to give away some territories.</p><p>It is only due to the effort of the troops on the line of contact that the situation was saved. As a result, the view commonly shared within the society is that the regime needs to go as it cannot perform its key functions anymore.</p><p>This war is not a minor issue and it can draw in other regional power.</p><p><strong>Developments during April 2-5 </strong></p><ul><li>The conflicting sides engaged each other on a scale unseen since the ceasefire of 1994. Armenian side had nearly 100 deaths and over 200 wounded. On the Azerbaijan&rsquo;s side, the numbers are likely to be multiples of that, but the official data are unreliable.</li><li>Main questions on people&rsquo;s minds: what happened, why now, and what is awaiting Armenia down the road? Factors such as low oil prices, growing tension between the ethnic groups and between the Sunnis and Shias, as well as Panama Papers could have been behind Aliyev&rsquo;s actions. The intention could have been to divert the attention of public from the internal problems toward the enemy, Armenia.</li><li>While Russia blames Turkey for the renewed hostilities (presenting the latest escalation as a proxy war between Russia and Turkey), it is clear that Russia failed to provide any tangible support to Armenia, causing frustration in Armenia. Much of this frustration was aired during the demonstrations in front of the Russian embassy, which accompanied (Russian Foreign Minister Sergey) Lavrov&rsquo;s visit to Armenia. More specifically, Russia&rsquo;s supplies of advanced weapons to Azerbaijan are seen as contributing to the hostilities. In the past few years, Russia sold Azerbaijan nearly $5 billion worth of weapons, which dwarfs the amount of equipment it sold to Armenia. In fact, Russia&rsquo;s supply of weapons to Armenia during the past 3 years has been minimal and some recent purchases (to be funded by $200 million Russian loan) are yet to be delivered. There is a strong correlation between the supply of weapons in the region and this war. Both the frequency of clashed and the number of casualties have gone up with Azerbaijan&rsquo;s acquisition of modern weapon: Armenian combat losses were 53, 76, and 94, in 2014, 2015, and so far in 2016, respectively. There is a concern that in the near future there will be a much bigger war between Armenia and Azerbaijan with usage of advanced armament.</li><li>There are two reasons why the &ldquo;4-day war&rdquo; was a strange one. First, the Armenian side didn&rsquo;t use any advanced weaponry (e.g., rockets and launchers). Only ground operations were conducted and there was no order made to use any type of advanced weapons. Second, the rear army units (from Armenia proper) were not used on the frontier. These observations made some analysts suspicious that this was a staged performance/war to make Armenian army look defeated, so some territories can be annexed from Artsakh followed by a Russia-brokered peace and deployment of peacekeepers. This plan failed due to the (heroic and unexpected) pushback of Armenian soldiers on the ground.</li><li>Finally, there is also a very big and growing dissatisfaction with the Armenian government. It has become clear for the general public that corruption that we were speaking about for so long (including PFA&rsquo;s report on this) exists on a large scale and has had an impact on the army&rsquo;s battle-readiness.</li></ul><p><strong>A view from the West</strong></p><ul><li>After the fall of the Soviet Union, the borders of the independent states remain unstable and divided, with violence remaining just below the surface. Russia&rsquo;s borders have become places of violence because of internal regime instability or change. In the NKR case, the disorder rooted in Soviet heritage, which has not been resolved, being a result of both presence and absence of Russian power in the region. On the one hand, Russia has more pressing issues to worry about right now (e.g., low oil prices, sanctions, Ukraine, and economic contraction) and probably wants to avoid any deep long-time commitment in such an unstable region. On the other hand, Russia has a desire in preventing the nations on its borders from becoming strong, independent, and functional states (e.g., Ukraine, Poland, and Armenia are examples from the past and present. In early-1920s, Russian policy did not do any good to Armenia and Azerbaijan). In Belarus and Kazakhstan, Russia has partnered with authoritarian regimes run by strong men, who enrich themselves while impoverishing and repressing their people through institutionalized theft and corruption. Continuous conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is an obstacle to the progress of both countries, societies, and their foreign affairs. It keeps them isolated and justifies Russia&rsquo;s role as a mediator. While preventing Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan from becoming economically viable entities in the South Caucasus region. In a continuation of its policies, Russia might be playing Armenia and Azerbaijan against each other. Forcing Armenia to abandon its aspirations of signing the European Association treaty (the lessons of which Ukrainians learned the hard way) was a move in the same direction.</li><li>Armenia needs to establish a more stable equilibrium with regard to the issue of Artsakh, which may require concessions and will allow the US and the EU to play a more prominent role. From the Western/American perspective, there is a little interest in choosing sides. Both governments are authoritarian and dependent. But contributing to an understanding between Armenia and Azerbaijan is in the interest of American policy makers if they want stability. Constructive American involvement will also undercut Russian influence and its ability to play Armenia against Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani actions on April 2-5 were designed to demonstrate the unsustainability of the current status quo and their ability to overturn it. Armenia is not well positioned in the long run to resist these developments. In addition, the extent of Russian friendship (in light of military supplies to Azerbaijan) is often a question: Armenia is used as a tool of Russia&rsquo;s policy rather than an ally. Armenia needs to recalibrate its foreign policy so it can sustain itself instead of relying on Russia for political, economic, and diplomatic support. American and European involvement is essential in this context and can also help domestic progress in Armenia towards greater political freedom and economic functionality.</li><li>The Armenian side needs to do a better job at explaining the relevance and importance of continued problems in Artsakh to the Western&mdash;especially American&mdash;audience. The conflict has potentially far-reaching implications for the US: violence in the Caucasus affects international oil and gas markets, and can draw in Russia and US (as co-chairs of the Minsk group) as well as Iran and Turkey (a NATO member). In this context it is important for the US to take a leading role to ensure stability. If the US fails to do that, Russia will fill in the void and portray itself as a unilateral peacekeeper. This will undermine the US leadership in the organizations, such as OSCE, and may eventually lead to situations similar to that in Syria, where the overall US absentee policy generated poor results (e.g., ongoing conflict, refugees, and rise of ISIS).</li></ul><p><strong>A view from Georgia</strong></p><ul><li>Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan are important for Georgia both in terms of trade, transit, and respective communities living in Georgia. The escalation of this conflict is obviously very bad for Georgia both economically and strategically. Georgian leaders had several conversations with their counterparts on both sides in recent days. Georgia tries to play a constructive role in this conflict, but it is beyond its ability to facilitate resolution of the conflict.</li><li>The strategic reality of the South Caucasus is changing, which makes the status quo around Artsakh difficult to maintain. The relevant elements are: (i) Russia is playing a more aggressive role in the neighborhood; (ii) there is a relative disengagement of the US from the region; (iii) the EU is occupied with its own problems; (iv) developments in Syria are having an impact (Russia-Turkish tensions is the most important development, with citizens of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and other neighboring countries, including Russia, fighting for ISIS in Syria and Iraq); (v) population change in Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan (with Azerbaijan having almost double that of people actually living in Georgia and Armenia combined); and (vi) relative economic strengths (75 percent of the region&rsquo;s GDP is produced in Azerbaijan despite low oil prices. Azerbaijan is also the biggest investor in Georgia).</li><li>A recent invitation by the US administration for President Aliyev to visit Washington marked a change in otherwise rather cold relations between the West and Azerbaijan of recent years. From this standpoint, it is difficult to see how Aliyev would willingly jeopardize this progress and start a war, which is guaranteed to be unpopular in the West. Hence, Russian may have played a role here.</li><li>All three countries of the South Caucasus are victims and hostages of the situation when the outside power manipulates conflicts, which do not serve the interests of the people of the region.</li><li>During the past two millennia, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Georgians lived more under the same statehood then under different statehoods. This suggests that if relationships between people are not manipulated they can co-exist. There are some proposals on the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict that are on the table now, but compromises from both sides are required to make them stick. It is absolutely essential to solve this conflict for the well-being of all three countries. The party that is not interested in the resolution of this conflict is Russia. Russia is not interested in major war, but Russia is also not interested in solving the conflict that would reduce its leverage over Armenia and Azerbaijan.</li></ul><p><strong>A view from Turkey</strong></p><ul><li>It is highly unlikely that Turkey encouraged and/or endorsed Aliyev&rsquo;s actions leading to the 4-day war. Erdogan&rsquo;s subsequent reaction (in support of the Azerbaijan&rsquo;s moves) has to do more with the domestic politics. While the &ldquo;two-countries-one-nation&rdquo; slogan is often used, there are many disagreements between Turkey and Azerbaijan over key issues (see Valday paper by Sergey Markedonov). With respect to the military partnership, Turkey burned its hands badly over Georgia-Russia war in 2008 and would not want a repeat of that in a different context. It is advisable not to take the &ldquo;news&rdquo; that Turkey is behind the Azeri belligerence at face value; applying a dose of skepticism can go a long way in preserving the (limited) gains made in relations between Turkey and Armenia in recent years.</li><li>It is not inconceivable that Turkey would welcome a possible peacekeeper deployment by Russia in Artsakh, since from Turkey&rsquo;s standpoint this will bring an element of stability in the newly erupted conflict. However, this would be very hard for Russia to pull off, because Armenia is a part of the CSTO treaty organization, while Azerbaijan is not. Russia&rsquo;s attempt to do this via the UN will face Turkey&rsquo;s resistance. However, there is a clear understanding that Azerbaijan increasingly needs Russia, inter alia precisely because of the Russia-Turkey conflict in Iraq and Syria since November 2015. Lastly, due to the lessons that Turkey had drawn from Syria, Turkey does not intend to compete with Russia in the Caucasus.</li><li>Regarding the Turkey&rsquo;s direct involvement in the conflict, except for a case of a direct attack on Turkey, this is highly unlikely. In reality, the NATO will violently discourage Turkey from becoming involved in any military sense, for reasons including the Russian presence a few kilometers away from the Turkish border.</li><li>Putin did to Turkey what Joseph Stalin did in April 1945: he pushed Turkey in the arms of the West. The challenge here that the establishment and the current leadership of Turkey view these things differently.</li><li>From a strategic point of view, Russia messed-up completely Turkey&rsquo;s foreign policy, which led to a near complete loss of markets for Turkey (i.e., all except the EU). The only one that is left is the 90 km corridor from Turkey to the Caspian Sea and then to the Central Asia, as all other routes have been closed by Russia. The focus of the Turkish establishment will be to maintain the life of this corridor.</li></ul>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'profile', 0, 695, 1434, 'und', 0, 'Tatevik Khudinyan interned with PFA in Spring of 2016. She holds a Bachelors degree in International Relations from Ohio Wesleyan University and will be pursuing her graduate studies at University College London in the Fall of 2016. While at PFA ,Tatevik helped organize events and contributed to PFA blog. ', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'profile', 0, 696, 1435, 'und', 0, 'Ani Harutyunyan is a Research Analyst at the AidData, and a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Theory & Practice of International Relations at the College of William & Mary. Prior to that, Ani was a researcher at LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance at KU Leuven, and has also worked with the World bank, International Monetary Fund, and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Ani Harutyunyan holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Leuven and Southern Methodist University. Her doctoral research, focusing on issues in international development and long-run economic growth, has been presented in numerous conferences worldwide and published in high-impact academic journals. You can learn more about Ani’s research and background from her personal website at www.AniHarutyunyan.com.', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'home_page_feature', 0, 698, 1440, 'und', 0, 'Conservative estimates show that the companies involved in importing wheat and selling flour on the Armenian market charge approximately double what it costs them to import, transport, mill, and sell the wheat/wheat flour.', '', NULL),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 699, 1444, 'und', 0, 'July 18, 2016\r\nContact: forum@pf-armenia.org\r\nWeb: http://www.pf-armenia.org\r\n\r\nThe corrupt and criminal regime of Serge Sargsyan and his partners have exhausted all the means and avenues for peaceful and legitimate development processes in Armenia. For years they have used election fraud, political oppression, and physical violence to maintain their grip on power and amass humongous personal wealth. Yesterday\'s action by a group of civil leaders and former freedom fighters is merely an outcome of these policies and a reflection of absence of alternative ways to stop the destruction of the economy and prevent future military defeats. \r\n\r\nWe, therefore, put the responsibility for the events at Erebuni Police Station in Yerevan in early hours of July 17 on the regime in Yerevan and call upon people of Armenia to use their Constitutional right to impose a change of the country\'s governing system. \r\n\r\nPFA Executive Board ', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'blog_entry', 0, 700, 1445, 'und', 0, 'At early hours of July 17, a group of gunmen attacked a large police compound in Erebuni district of Yerevan and took several police officers hostage. All hostages were subsequently released within days in a show of good will, including a general, deputy police chief of Armenia, and a colonel, deputy chief of Yerevan police. One senior police officer was killed in a shootout, having reportedly fired nine bullets at the attackers despite repeated warnings to cease fire.', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'home_page_feature', 0, 702, 1576, 'und', 0, 'At early hours of July 17, a group of gunmen took control over a large police compound in Erebuni district of Yerevan and took several police officers hostage. ', '', NULL);
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('node', 'profile', 0, 703, 1450, 'und', 0, 'Davit Davtyan is the founder and CEO of Arizet Labs, an Atlanta based start-up that provides Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning solutions for research analysts and investment professionals. Prior to that, Davit spent four years at Cornerstone Investment Partners as US equity research analyst and then as the Director of Systems Engineering. Prior to moving to the US, Davit was Head of Group and Senior R&D Developer at HPL and Synopsys, Armenia. He lectured on Application Design and Operation Systems at Yerevan State University, department of Applied Mathematics. Davit holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and MS in Mathematics and Computer Science from Yerevan State University. ', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'event', 0, 704, 1451, 'und', 0, '<p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">Washington, DC.&mdash;</span>On September 6, 2016, Policy Forum Armenia held a <strong><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/photo/geopolitical-implications-pro-democracy-movement-armenia-what%E2%80%99s-stake-us\">discussion on &quot;Geopolitical Implications of Pro-Democracy Movement in Armenia: What&#39;s at Stake for the US?&quot;</a></strong> at the George Washington University&#39;s School of Law that brought together prominent experts and participants from think tanks, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and the Armenian community of greater Washington area. Below is a summary of the discussion that transpired.<span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">&nbsp;</span></p><h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">Summary of the Discussion</h5><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Background</strong></p><p>Armenia is caught in a perfect storm of domestic and foreign policy crises that have been in the making for well over a decade. For years, the national security threats over the physical survival of Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) have forced ordinary Armenians to tolerate corruption and mismanagement of successive governments in the name of security and stability. However, this has come at a cost of entrenchment of a deep oligarchic system (incorporating the members of political elite unchanged since independence in 1991) and has turned Armenia into perhaps the most disappointing case of the former Soviet Union (despite the promising start).</p><p>The current oligarchic system, ubiquitous corruption, and the resulting economic hardship have led to mass exodus (nearly half of the population emigrated since 1991) and undermines the very national security of Armenia. After two contested presidential elections, in December 2015 Serge Sargysan presided over a referendum to transform Armenia from a presidential into a parliamentary republic, potentially allowing him to rule the country as a prime minister indefinitely. In sum, Armenia is moving along an unenviable path of steady erosion of democratic and economic freedoms.</p><p>Public protest against Sargysan&rsquo;s rule took a dramatic turn in July during the events in Yerevan. These were notable not only for their apparently broad public support, but also their anti-Russian tone (see below). It is possible that widespread political instability in Armenia and the South Caucasus could develop into a stronger protest movement as the population is dissatisfied with a lack of economic progress, corruption, and shrinking liberties. In turn, this may lead to further crackdowns by the government and instability.</p><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Russia&rsquo;s Role</strong></p><p>Initially, it may have been the Turkish threat that has pushed Armenia into the arms of Russia following Armenia&rsquo;s independence in 1991. However, the political elite has abused this card over the years, using it to manipulate the public opinion. This has gradually led to Russia gaining control over Armenia and keeping it politically weak, internally divided and economically dependent. This has provided a perfect cover for the Armenian ruling elite to move toward more autocratic rule at home.</p><p>Following the U-turn on its EU integration plans in September 2013 and rapid accession into the Russia-led Eurasian Union, Armenia has locked itself in an asymmetric relationship with Russia, allowing Moscow to dictate the terms of everything of consequence.</p><p><em>Political and economic arm-twisting</em></p><p>It looks increasingly obvious that Russia is aiming to exert political control in the region as it did during the Tsarist Empire and the Soviet Union. Doing so involves undermining Armenia&rsquo;s economic self-sufficiency, creating military insecurity, and keeping political control in the hands of strongmen, who are either beholden to Putin or sympathetic to his broader agenda.</p><p>Russia is taking advantage of the virtual absence of the US and EU in the South Caucasus to tighten its grip on Armenia and Azerbaijan and encircling Georgia, which has been making significant progress with its EU and NATO integration in recent years.</p><p>The grooming of an oligarchy and tolerating Russia&rsquo;s overly assertive policies towards Armenia for the sake of security and economic wellbeing may have backfired. Armenia is suffering from very high rates of poverty, while the threat of a new large-scale war is the highest since 1994 when the ceasefire was signed.</p><p><em>Military influence</em></p><p>Russia has maintained a large military base in Armenia and its formal role is increasing. In June, the Armenian parliament ratified an agreement to create a joint Russian-Armenian air defense system, thus allowing Russia to take the control over Armenia&rsquo;s air defense. Furthermore, its arms trading has been instrumental in undermining the military balance of power between Armenia and Azerbaijan since 2013 in favor of Azerbaijan. This may have emboldened Azerbaijan to stage a large scale attack and the &ldquo;4-day&rdquo; war in April 2016, claiming hundreds of lives on both sides.</p><p><em>Nagorno Karabakh </em></p><p>Events taking place in Armenia and the NK today should be viewed in conjunction with Syrian and Eastern Ukrainian conflicts, as parts of Russia&rsquo;s geopolitical agenda to use conflicts as levers on the West. Russia is keen to have a lead role in the NK conflict resolution process, except it is not seeking a conflict resolution but management to expand its influence and eventually the Russian-led Eurasia Union in the South Caucasus. Russia&rsquo;s interests in NK mean perpetuating the conflict or resolving it in a manner that will leave Armenia without defensible borders and, therefore, more dependent on Russia.</p><p>Since April, Russia has been involved in a shuttle diplomacy, to advance its own version of the conflict management&mdash;previously known as &ldquo;Madrid Principles.&rdquo; which Russia succeeded in modifying into &ldquo;Kazan Principles&rdquo;&mdash;whereby the Armenian side will transfer control of five regions to Azerbaijan in return for a temporary status for the NK. This is an attractive solution for Azerbaijan, which has tried and thus far failed to regain NK with military means.</p><p>In addition, Russia has made it clear that Azerbaijan needs to agree to the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in NK, which will tighten Moscow&rsquo;s control over Armenia as well as Azerbaijan. If the Armenian side fails to comply with the plan, Azerbaijan would be less constrained by Russia to launch another military campaign to change the status quo in NK.</p><p><em>The changing perceptions</em></p><p>For the first time since Armenia&rsquo;s independence there is a strong drive among ordinary Armenians to revisit the country&rsquo;s geopolitical orientation. The April war became a watershed moment for ordinary Armenians, prompting them to reassess their long-held views on partnership with Russia and the oligarchy. Russia&rsquo;s heavy-handed policy towards Armenia and neglect of its developmental and security needs led to an unprecedented anti&ndash;Russian sentiment and triggered a debate on possible Euro-Atlantic integration.</p><p>Many ordinary Armenians are losing faith in Russia as an ally, which provides a massive amount of the most modern armament to Azerbaijan but was slow to deliver a small shipment of armament to Armenia. They are losing faith in Russia as an economic partner realizing that Moscow sells its natural gas to Armenia for higher rate than to Ukraine, while barring Armenia from buying gas from the neighboring Iran. Finally, they are losing faith in Russia as a developmental partner, where many ordinary Armenians are critical of the Kremlin&rsquo;s support for successive nepotistic and corrupt governments.</p><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>The United States&rsquo; Interests</strong></p><p>The desire of Russia to reassert and maintain its influence in the region is critical both for understanding developments in the region and the strategic interests of the United States. So where do the recent developments leave the interests of the United States?</p><p>First, the South Caucasus are a long way from the United States, both in terms of geography and the focus of American policymakers. This is a reality, at least with the current US administration and its stated priorities in Asia and the Middle East. However, this is an oversight and more attention should be given to the region for two reasons:</p><ol><li>Interests of the US are not served by the reestablishment of the Soviet Union by another name. The proliferation of autocratic regimes in the mold of Putin&mdash;dictatorships of Lukashenko in Belarus or Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan&mdash;which are dependent on Putin&rsquo;s Russia for their hold on power is a testament to that.&nbsp;</li><li>The natural focus in the US on events in Ukraine (and the pessimistic scenarios about the vulnerabilities of the Baltic countries) ignore the strategic reality that there are closer, more strategically significant, and far more vulnerable states in the South Caucasus. If Russia wants to push its borders to the extent of the Soviet Union or imperial Russia, continuing to undermine the sovereignty of Armenia and Georgia is far less difficult than pressuring NATO members like Estonia, Latvia, or Lithuania.</li></ol><p>In addition to the <em>realist </em>reasons, there is a more <em>idealistic </em>reason. Democratic reform in countries like Armenia is a good thing for the United States, while a path towards soft dictatorship, totalitarianism, and economic and diplomatic dependence on Putin&rsquo;s Russia is not. The US should support free and fair elections and free markets, reject the referendums that support one-party or one-man rule, and help fight systemic corruption and oligarchy. Apart from the reasons that it shares these values, the US should pursue these objectives (in Armenia and the region) because democratic nations are less likely to fall under the control of Putin&rsquo;s Russia.</p><p>Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US invested significant development funds in Armenia, in per capita terms exceeding the funding made available to Ukraine. However, Armenia chose a different path largely due to a greater degree of dependence on Russia. Ironically, at present, the State Department may be comfortable with the status quo of Russian&ndash;Armenian relationship as it becomes one less issue for the administration to worry about. However, if the pro-democracy movement in Armenia gets stronger, it will have chances of changing the geopolitical landscape of the region and get the attention it deserves.</p><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Going Forward</strong></p><p>Armenia and the region are in a vulnerable position. Therefore, better policies by the West should be put in place so that an explosive regional crisis can be averted. Russia is unlikely to change its expansionist policy in the region any time soon, suggesting that the people of Armenia are facing an uphill battle in their fight for a better system of governance.</p><p>The systemic corruption is undermining Armenia&rsquo;s path toward self-sustainability. However, good governance&mdash;the only factor that drives economic progress across the world&mdash;could come only from a democratic society.</p><p>The United States should engage more actively in the region to support democratic forces in Armenia and to hold the current government to account more energetically. The half-hearted condemnations of the practices of the Sargsyan regime, or worse, of silence, in the face of its failures is no longer sufficient.</p><p>An internationally secured and mutually acceptable compromise on NK may break Armenia free of Russia&rsquo;s stranglehold. However, as claims of beheadings, mutilation of elderly and mortar attacks on school children by Azerbaijan&rsquo;s armed forces during the April war emerge, the enforcement of unilateral concessions (in return for an intangible status for the region or some vague security guarantees for the Armenian population) is unrealistic at best.</p><p>Finally, a possible normalization of relations with Turkey may offer another channel for reducing reliance on Russia. In principle, by addressing the problems with Turkey, Armenia can decrease its dependence on Russia, since the threat from Turkey keeps Armenia under Russia&#39;s influence and &quot;protection&quot;. Earlier attempts by Turkey to improve its relations with Armenia were torpedoed by Azerbaijan, which threatened to undermine Turkish-Azeri relations, which Turkey was not ready for. However, the recent domestic developments in Turkey and its rapprochement with Russia will likely undermine the prospects of Turkish-Armenia reconciliation and will not change the current status quo. It is in the US interests to continue to encourage Turkey to find a way forward with Armenia even at the expense of its relationship with Azerbaijan.</p><p><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">Pictures from the event are available in our <strong><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/media-gallery/geopolitical-implications-pro-democracy-movement-armenia-0\">Photo Gallery</a></strong>. Voice of America&#39;s coverage of the event can be viewed <strong><a href=\"http://www.amerikayidzayn.com/a/3497940.html\">here</a></strong>.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 706, 1473, 'und', 0, '<p>For Immediate Release<br />September 13, 2016<br /> Contact:&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:forum@pf-armenia.org\">forum@pf-armenia.org</a><br /> Web:&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/\">http://www.pf-armenia.org</a></p><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Statement in Connection with the Arrest and Detention of PFA Executive Board Member Garo Yegnukian</strong></p><p>We, the undersigned members of Academic and Executive Boards of Policy Forum Armenia (PFA), are gravely concerned that Mr. Yegnukian&mdash;a member of PFA&rsquo;s Executive Board, a repatriated Diaspora activist, intellectual, and father of five&mdash;continues to be held in pre-trial detention since July 19, 2016 despite the nature of charges brought against him and deteriorating health conditions.</p><p>As we learn from his attorney, Mr. Yegnukian is being accused by the investigative body for engaging in the following four activities:</p><ol><li>On July 18, 2016, after hearing from the members of the armed group &ldquo;Daredevils of Sassoon&rdquo; that the police were moving armored vehicles toward the occupied buildings, Mr. Yegnukian publicized that fact on Facebook;</li><li>On July 19, 2016, he encouraged the movement of protesters from Liberty Square toward the area close to the police compound occupied by the &ldquo;Daredevils&rdquo;;</li><li>Mr. Yegnukian spread disinformation (suggesting that food provided to the &ldquo;Daredevils&rdquo; by the police might be poisoned), thus discrediting the police; and</li><li>He <em>aspired</em> to provide radio communication from outside to the &ldquo;Daredevils&rdquo;.</li></ol><p>It is our understanding that these activities can in no way be construed as criminal, including under the Armenian legal code. Such charges undermine the individual&rsquo;s right of free speech and reinforce the atmosphere of fear and intimidation in Armenia. Sadly, these trumped-up charges are merely an excuse for Armenia&rsquo;s law-enforcers to exercise the much abused right to pre-trial detention used extensively to stifle political dissent.</p><p>Having said this, <strong>we join the Armenian Bar Association&rsquo;s Armenian Rights Watch Committee</strong> in condemning the unlawful pre-trial detention of peaceful protesters in Yerevan, including that of Mr. Yegnukian. Our colleague&mdash;a well-known civil activist, who contributed so much to Armenia&rsquo;s independence since late-1980s&mdash;should be released from prison immediately pending trial, if one ever takes place considering the nature of the above charges.</p><p><strong>We call upon Armenia&rsquo;s bilateral and multilateral partners</strong> to impress upon the regime of Serge Sargsyan that systematic repressions of political activists and dissidents cannot be tolerated and that the empty rhetoric about &ldquo;political reform&rdquo; will no longer be acceptable.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>We stand with the people of Armenia</strong> as they continue their struggle for a more inclusive political system and better governance, against massive election fraud, systemic corruption, and oligarchy, factors that have prevented the economy from growing and weakened its defenses against external threats.</p><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/profile/gregory-aftandilian\">Gregory Aftandilian</a>,&nbsp;Member of the Academic Board</p><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/profile/vladimir-airapetian\">Vladimir Airapetian</a>, Member of the Academic Board</p><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/profile/viken-attarian\">Viken Attarian</a>,&nbsp;Member of the Academic Board</p><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/profile/hrach-gregorian\">Hrach Gregorian</a>,&nbsp;Member of the Academic Board</p><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/profile/annalee-saxenian\">AnnaLee Saxenian</a>,&nbsp;Member of the Academic Board</p><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/person/david_grigorian\">David Grigorian</a>,&nbsp;Member of the Executive Board, Co-founder</p><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/profile/lusine-jagharian\">Lusine Jagharian</a>,&nbsp;Member of the Executive Board</p><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/profile/zaven-kalayjian\">Zaven Kalayjian</a>,&nbsp;Member of the Executive Board</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Cc: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The United Stated Embassy in Armenia</p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Human Rights Watch</p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Freedom House</p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; International Federation for Human Rights</p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Amnesty International</p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Council of Europe&#39;s Human Rights Commissioner</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 740, 1510, 'und', 0, '<p>For Immediate Release<br />October 3, 2016<br /> Contact:&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:forum@pf-armenia.org\">forum@pf-armenia.org</a><br />Web:&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/\">http://www.pf-armenia.org</a></p><p>The anti-regime protests of the past 18 months in Armenia were accompanied by excessive use of police force, widespread crackdown on civil and opposition leaders, and declining standards of legal due process, with discretionary use of pre-trial detention. The ensuing police brutality, unseen since the events of March 2008, and a growing number of political prisoners will have long-lasting implications for Armenia both internally and abroad and provide a poor backdrop for the <strong><a href=\"http://www.invest-armenia.com/\">international investment forum</a></strong> scheduled for October 10 in New York City.</p><p>To raise the international community&rsquo;s awareness of Armenia&rsquo;s deteriorating human rights conditions and discuss approaches to preventing the country&rsquo;s slide into a police state, Policy Forum Armenia (PFA) will hold a panel discussion on October 13, 2016. The participants&mdash;senior practitioners and academics from George Washington University Law School, Human Rights Watch, National Endowment for Democracy, American Bar Association, and the United States Agency for International Development&mdash;will assess the trends and current conditions on the ground in areas of human right and the rule of law and discuss potential policy actions going forward.</p><p>More details are available via <strong><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/event/human-rights-and-rule-law-armenia-police-brutality-political-prisoners-and-potential\">PFA website</a></strong>.</p><p><strong>Policy Forum Armenia</strong> is an independent non-profit association aimed at strengthening discourse on Armenia&#39;s economic development and national security and through that helping to shape public policy in Armenia.</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'event', 0, 741, 1505, 'und', 0, '<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">&nbsp;</p><p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">On October 13, 2016, Policy Forum Armenia hosted a panel discussion on <strong><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/photo/human-rights-and-rule-law-armenia-police-brutality-political-prisoners-and-potential\">&quot;Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Armenia: &nbsp;Police Brutality, Political Prisoners, and (Potential) International Response&quot;</a></strong>, which&nbsp;brought together speakers from the Armenian Helsinki Committee, Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center, Human Rights Watch, National Endowment for Democracy, American Bar Association, and George Washington University Law School. The following is a summary of the discussion that followed.</p><p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">The panelists highlighted the deteriorating human rights and rule-of-law conditions in Armenia in recent years. The shortcomings of the constitutional framework, which allows ultimate concentration of power in the hands of a single individual, and corruption were seen as key factors behind the trend. The latter is exacerbated by its systemic nature, convergence between the political and business elites, and the lack of independent judiciary. The panelists also noted the importance of the geopolitical context, particularly Armenia&rsquo;s dependence on Russia, for understanding the conditions on the ground. The 4-day war in April left many in the society unsure about the security situation going forward and ability of Russia to act as a guarantor of stability in the region.</p><p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">Regarding the July events that followed, the panelists noted the outpouring of the popular support&mdash;in a &ldquo;Robin Hood&rdquo; effect&mdash;an outcome of frustration with poor economic and social conditions as well as the lack of political will to fight against corruption and undertake reform.</p><p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">The panel stressed that the accompanying protests were overwhelmingly peaceful. Instead, police used excessive force (especially on July 29), giving no warning to disperse the crowd, other than the punitive and indiscriminate attacks and beatings. Singling out journalists was especially troubling and the use of police in civilian clothing raises the issue of accountability. Panelists noted that these events have been overwhelmingly condemned by the international community.</p><p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">The panel called for the actions of the police in July 2016 in Yerevan to be thoroughly investigated. It noted that in the past investigations rarely led to any prosecutions. However, the panelists stated that mere dismissals of officials accused in wrong-doings is insufficient to restore public trust and ensure true accountability. Besides, it leaves an impression that the power is concentrated in a few hands, who can decide &ldquo;who stays and who goes.&rdquo;</p><p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">The panel condemned the beatings and inhumane treatment of protesters following their arbitrary detention, including depriving detainees of food, medication as well as access to legal help and family members for extended periods of time, against the legal requirement. &nbsp;It noted that international best practice requires that peaceful protests be tolerated, even if they are unauthorized.</p><p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">At least 40 individuals&mdash;including protest leaders&mdash;have been charged with organizing &ldquo;mass disorder&rdquo;, a charge that carries a possible prison sentence of up to 10 years. Panelists noted that these charges are disproportionate and unjustified, given that the protests were non-violent. The number of political prisoners in Armenia has increased significantly in connection with the July events, the most prominent of them being Shant Harutyunyan, Hayk Kyureghyan, Andreas Ghukasyan, Jirayr Sefilian, Garo Yegnukian, and Gevorg Safaryan. &nbsp;</p><p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">Related to this, the panel criticized the sweeping use of pre-trial detention by the law-enforcement, and noted that in the (pre-trial) hearings the prosecutors did not provide sufficient facts that would support the need for custody. The panelists called on the authorities to review these decisions and replace them with the least restrictive measures, consistent with charges brought forth. &nbsp;</p><p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">The panelists stressed that the July events provide an alarming backdrop for the April 2017 election in Armenia, where several issues remain unaddressed and the low trust towards political parties and processes is widespread. They noted that one of the ways the Diaspora can help is by taking part in the election monitoring effort on the ground and helping to analyze election outcomes.</p><p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">The panel concluded that Armenia has a strong, active, and educated civil society willing to fight for its rights and push for a change. However, their actions remain isolated and often the technical and material support is lacking to make their efforts more effective. On a positive side, the formation of the Chamber of Advocates and the Public Defender&rsquo;s office were seen as positive developments, aiding the protection of human rights and individual freedoms in the country. &nbsp;</p><hr /><p><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">Visit our&nbsp;multimedia page&nbsp;for&nbsp;</span><strong style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: inherit; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\"><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/media-gallery/panel-human-rights-and-rule-law-armenia\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; color: rgb(0, 67, 111); text-decoration: none;\">photos</a></strong><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">&nbsp;and&nbsp;</span><strong style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: inherit; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\"><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/site-page/video\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; color: rgb(0, 67, 111); text-decoration: none;\">videos</a></strong><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">&nbsp;from the event.&nbsp;</span></p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 756, 1547, 'und', 0, '<p><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">For Immediate Release</span><br style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\" /><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">October 16, 2016</span><br style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\" /><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">Contact:&nbsp;</span><a href=\"mailto:forum@pf-armenia.org\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: inherit; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(0, 67, 111); text-decoration: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">forum@pf-armenia.org</a><br style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\" /><span style=\"color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">Web:&nbsp;</span><a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: inherit; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(0, 67, 111); text-decoration: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\">http://www.pf-armenia.org</a></p><p>On October 13, 2016, Policy Forum Armenia hosted a <strong><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/photo/human-rights-and-rule-law-armenia-police-brutality-political-prisoners-and-potential\">panel discussion on human rights</a></strong> that brought together speakers from the Armenian Helsinki Committee, Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center, Human Rights Watch, National Endowment for Democracy, American Bar Association, and George Washington University Law School.</p><p>The panelists highlighted the deteriorating human rights and rule-of-law conditions in Armenia in recent years. The shortcomings of the constitutional framework, which allows ultimate concentration of power in the hands of a single individual, and corruption were seen as key factors behind the trend. The latter is exacerbated by its systemic nature, convergence between the political and business elites, and the lack of independent judiciary. The panelists also noted the importance of the geopolitical context, particularly Armenia&rsquo;s dependence on Russia, for understanding the conditions on the ground. The 4-day war in April left many in the society unsure about the security situation going forward and ability of Russia to act as a guarantor of stability in the region.</p><p>Regarding the July events that followed, the panelists noted the outpouring of the popular support&mdash;in a &ldquo;Robin Hood&rdquo; effect&mdash;an outcome of frustration with poor economic and social conditions as well as the lack of political will to fight against corruption and undertake reform.</p><p>The panel stressed that the accompanying protests were overwhelmingly peaceful. Instead, police used excessive force (especially on July 29), giving no warning to disperse the crowd, other than the punitive and indiscriminate attacks and beatings. Singling out journalists was especially troubling and the use of police in civilian clothing raises the issue of accountability. Panelists noted that these events have been overwhelmingly condemned by the international community.</p><p>The panel called for the actions of the police in July 2016 in Yerevan to be thoroughly investigated. It noted that in the past investigations rarely led to any prosecutions. However, the panelists stated that mere dismissals of officials accused in wrong-doings is insufficient to restore public trust and ensure true accountability. Besides, it leaves an impression that the power is concentrated in a few hands, who can decide &ldquo;who stays and who goes.&rdquo;</p><p>The panel condemned the beatings and inhumane treatment of protesters following their arbitrary detention, including depriving detainees of food, medication as well as access to legal help and family members for extended periods of time, against the legal requirement. &nbsp;It noted that international best practice requires that peaceful protests be tolerated, even if they are unauthorized.</p><p>At least 40 individuals&mdash;including protest leaders&mdash;have been charged with organizing &ldquo;mass disorder&rdquo;, a charge that carries a possible prison sentence of up to 10 years. Panelists noted that these charges are disproportionate and unjustified, given that the protests were non-violent. The number of political prisoners in Armenia has increased significantly in connection with the July events, the most prominent of them being Shant Harutyunyan, Hayk Kyureghyan, Andreas Ghukasyan, Jirayr Sefilian, Garo Yegnukian, and Gevorg Safaryan. &nbsp;</p><p>Related to this, the panel criticized the sweeping use of pre-trial detention by the law-enforcement, and noted that in the (pre-trial) hearings the prosecutors did not provide sufficient facts that would support the need for custody. The panelists called on the authorities to review these decisions and replace them with the least restrictive measures, consistent with charges brought forth. &nbsp;</p><p>The panelists stressed that the July events provide an alarming backdrop for the April 2017 election in Armenia, where several issues remain unaddressed and the low trust towards political parties and processes is widespread. They noted that one of the ways the Diaspora can help is by taking part in the election monitoring effort on the ground and helping to analyze election outcomes.</p><p>The panel concluded that Armenia has a strong, active, and educated civil society willing to fight for its rights and push for a change. However, their actions remain isolated and often the technical and material support is lacking to make their efforts more effective. On a positive side, the formation of the Chamber of Advocates and the Public Defender&rsquo;s office were seen as positive developments, aiding the protection of human rights and individual freedoms in the country. &nbsp;</p><p style=\"text-align: center;\">* &nbsp;* &nbsp;* &nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Policy Forum Armenia is an independent non-profit association aimed at strengthening discourse on Armenia&#39;s economic development and national security and through that helping to shape public policy in Armenia.</p><p>Visit our&nbsp;multimedia page&nbsp;for <strong><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/media-gallery/panel-human-rights-and-rule-law-armenia\">photos</a></strong>&nbsp;and <strong><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/site-page/video\">videos</a></strong> from the event.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 758, 1560, 'und', 0, '<p>For Immediate Release</p><p><span style=\"text-align: right;\">December 6, 2016</span></p><p>Contact:&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:forum@pf-armenia.org\">forum@pf-armenia.org</a><br /> Web:&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.pf-armenia.org/\">http://www.pf-armenia.org</a></p><p>December 6, 2016 marks the first anniversary of the 2015 Constitutional Referendum in Armenia. On that date, citizens of Armenia went to the polling stations to express their views on constitutional amendments proposed by the executive branch, aimed at transforming the country&rsquo;s governance structure from a presidential to a parliamentary system.&nbsp;</p><p>The referendum was seen by critics as an avenue for perpetuating the rule of Serge Sargsyan&mdash;who occupies the president&rsquo;s office following two fraudulent elections and cannot run for a third term&mdash;by making him Prime Minister with stronger powers for an indefinite period. Sargsyan&rsquo;s rule since 2008 has been marred by an unprecedented degree of systemic corruption, cronyism, and poor economic/developmental policy-making, providing ground for skepticism toward the constitutional reforms package spearheaded by him.</p><p>Policy Forum Armenia&rsquo;s <a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/documents/files/December%202016%20Special%20Report_0.pdf\"><strong>Special Report &ldquo;Armenia&rsquo;s 2015 Constitutional Referendum&rdquo;</strong></a> issued today provides evidence of systemic election fraud that took place on December 6, 2015. Specifically, it provides detailed statistical and econometric evidence, which can be summarized as follows:</p><ul><li>The officially reported voter turnout is unrealistically high and grossly misrepresents the reality on the ground.</li><li>Statistical distribution of the Yes and No votes are highly abnormal. The distribution of the Yes vote is the most anomalous of any pro-government vote cast since 2008.</li><li>Abnormally high voter turnout benefited the (pro-government) Yes vote.</li><li>The (artificially inflated) voter turnout is correlated with factors that are highly susceptible to fraud.</li><li>There exists a sizable and statistically significant &ldquo;observer effect&rdquo;, which indicates presence of fraud.</li><li>The share of invalid ballots is correlated with the (pro-opposition) No vote, suggesting strategic behavior and fraud.</li></ul><p>International and local observers as well as numerous eyewitness accounts and social media reports support our empirical findings, that is, the presence of widespread irregularities and systemic fraud during the Referendum. The integrity of the process was clearly jeopardized and the final outcome did not express the will of people of Armenia.</p><p>As noted by PFA Executive Board member Dr. Zaven Kalayjian: &ldquo;Based on the results provided in our report, the Constitutional amendments suggested by Sargsyan administration were in all likelihood rejected by the Armenian voters. Our analysis is consistent with other instances from Armenia&rsquo;s recent history where the ruling regime has manipulated the polls for its own benefit.&rdquo;</p><p>The report serves as a reminder of the degree and sophistication of election fraud in Armenia and a warning that a much stronger monitoring and recount efforts are needed to put a dent in the Sargsyan administration&rsquo;s election fraud machine to influence an otherwise predictable outcome.</p><p>While Armenia presents itself as an electoral democracy, the experience of the past quarter century has shown that conventional political mechanisms for change in Armenia are broken. Elections have merely become a tool of authoritarian power holders&rsquo; attempts to legitimize their rule. In this regard, PFA welcomes the recent <strong><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/documents/files/December%202016%20Special%20Report.pdf\">statement </a></strong>by the US Embassy in Yerevan suggesting that the existence of electoral fraud in Armenia is &ldquo;a matter of political will.&rdquo;</p><p>The 4-day war in April and July events in Yerevan demonstrated that the social contract between the Sargsyan administration and people of Armenia is broken. While the population at large has endured substandard social conditions and human rights abuses as the price for peace in Artsakh and some economic growth, it has become clear that the Sargsyan administration is no longer capable of delivering on its part of the bargain. The events also showed that there exist political and societal forces in Armenia, who will go to great lengths to try to stop Armenia&rsquo;s slide towards dictatorship and total control by Russia.</p><p>More than a new constitution Armenia needs a new breed of leaders with education, integrity, and vision, who could turn the existing laws into a workable mechanism for providing the good democratic governance required for the development, prosperity, and security of our homeland. The current status quo is unsustainable and will undoubtedly lead to new instability and social upheaval.&nbsp;</p><p style=\"text-align: center;\">* * *</p><p>Policy Forum Armenia is a 501(c)3 non-profit think tank aimed at strengthening discourse on Armenia&#39;s economic development and national security and, through that, helping to shape public policy in Armenia. This Special Report and other PFA reports, which provide assessments of critical developments taking place in Armenia and the Diaspora, are available via https://www.pf-armenia.org/.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>PFA Executive Board</p><p>Washington, DC</p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'document', 0, 759, 1554, 'und', 0, '<p>December 6, 2016 marks the first anniversary of the 2015 Constitutional Referendum in Armenia. On that date, citizens of Armenia went to the polling stations to express their views on constitutional amendments proposed by the executive branch, aimed at transforming the country&rsquo;s governance structure from a presidential to a parliamentary system. The referendum was seen by critics as an avenue for perpetuating the rule of Serge Sargsyan&mdash;who occupies the president&rsquo;s office following two fraudulent elections and cannot run for a third term&mdash;by making him Prime Minister with stronger powers for an indefinite period. Sargsyan&rsquo;s rule since 2008 has been marred by an unprecedented degree of systemic corruption, cronyism, and poor economic/developmental policy-making. PFA&rsquo;s Special Report on &ldquo;Armenia&rsquo;s 2015 Constitutional Referendum&rdquo; provides evidence of systemic election fraud that took place during the Referendum. It should serve as a reminder of the degree and sophistication of election fraud in Armenia and a warning that a much stronger monitoring and recount efforts are needed to put a dent in the Sargsyan administration&rsquo;s election fraud machine to influence an otherwise predictable outcome during the April 2017 parliamentary elections.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong><a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/sites/default/files/documents/files/Rapport%20Spe%CC%81cial%202015%20%28French%20Translation%29_2.pdf\">French version of the Report</a></strong></p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'profile', 0, 760, 1561, 'und', 0, 'Kristin Cavoukian holds a doctorate in political science from the University of Toronto, where she works as an adjunct instructor. Her research focuses on the Armenia-diaspora relationship, with emphasis on Armenians in the former Soviet space. Her current book project is entitled, “Identity Gerrymandering: How the Armenian State Constructs and Controls ‘Its’ Diaspora.”', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 762, 1574, 'und', 0, '<p>To help enhance the integrity of election process in Armenia, Policy Forum Armenia, Transparency International Anticorruption Center, and Citizen Observer Initiative, with the financial support of the European Endowment for Democracy, developed a database entitled the &ldquo;Wall of Election Falsifiers.&rdquo;</p><p>It is available at <a href=\"https://transparency.am/en/elections/falsifiers\">https://transparency.am/en/elections/falsifiers</a> and includes information about 72 individuals and violations they committed during Armenia&rsquo;s December 2015 Constitutional referendum.</p><p>The Wall features members of electoral commissions, election proxies as well as individuals without a formal role in the process. It contains data about the individuals&rsquo; profession, work place, position, photo, the polling station where the violations took place, description of the violation, registration of the complaints related to the violation and/or initiation of criminal proceedings and the process of the legal case, in many cases accompanied by photo and video evidence.</p><p>Finally, information collected by the Citizen Observer Initiative, media coverage, and the official data published by law enforcement agencies was used for the compilation of the Wall. Based on our research, we:</p><ul><li>Strongly urge the Central Electoral Commission to prevent individuals contained in the Wall from involvement in election commissions or having any other role in the electoral process;</li><li>Encourage the media, election observer groups, and individual voters to seek out those individuals to help safeguard the electoral process during the upcoming elections of the National Assembly on April 2 2017 and beyond;</li><li>Call upon the foreign embassies and organizations accredited in the Republic of Armenia, who help pursue democracy and the rule of law in Armenia, to take note of the Wall in order to block individuals contained therein from receiving any funding from them and to consider imposing other sanctions.</li></ul><p>The Armenian version of the press release can be found <a href=\"https://transparency.am/hy/news/view/1895\">here</a>.</p>', '', 'full_html');
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('node', 'press_release', 0, 764, 1573, 'und', 0, 'FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\r\nJuly 17, 2017\r\n\r\nOn the anniversary of the takeover of Erebuni police station in Yerevan by “Sasna Tsrer”, we reiterate our commitment to the ideal of a free and independent Armenia, where every citizen is treated equally by the law and the government has the best interest of the country at heart.\r\n\r\nWe note that systemic corruption and human rights abuses regularly committed by the ruling regime will continue to produce resistance by Armenia’s citizenry, a right given to them by the Constitution and the history of developed nations worldwide.\r\n\r\nWe join the Armenian Bar Association in demanding to halt police brutality and abuse against “Sasna Tsrer” and other political prisoners, as well as members of their legal defense teams and supporters.\r\n\r\nWe urge the US authorities to pressure the Armenian regime to free activist and lawyer Garo Yegnukian, a US citizen and a father of five, from a year-long unlawful detention.\r\n\r\nFinally, we call on Armenians around the world to support Armenia’s civil society groups in their effort to reinstate the rule of law and help Armenia regain its sovereignty.\r\n\r\nPFA Executive Board\r\nWashington, DC', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'news', 0, 765, 1575, 'und', 0, 'EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: \r\n\r\nIn late 2015, the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) pushed through wide-ranging constitutional changes to transform the country from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary republic by 2018. The December 2015 referendum on the changes was heavily contested, and international and local observers documented serious violations, including alteration of voting results at the precinct level, by HHK supporters to ensure the referendum’s passage. The year 2016 was supposed to be dedicated to smooth preparation for the 2017 parliamentary elections, which HHK has been confident of winning in the absence of any effective opposition. Instead, it was an unprecedented year full of crisis and upheavals in which both external and internal actors challenged Armenia’s equilibrium.\r\n\r\nIn April, Azerbaijan launched an attack of surprising intensity and temporary effectiveness on the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, a de facto independent state internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan and supported by the Republic of Armenia. Although the most intense fighting lasted only four days, Azerbaijan’s assault had significant political repercussions in Armenia, generating a public outcry over corruption in the military and shattering trust in the Armenian authorities’ ability to ensure security.\r\n\r\nWithin a few months, the “four-day war,” as the escalation came to be called, generated serious political aftershocks. On 17 July, a small group of veterans of the 1992–94 war in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Sasna Tsrer, who are associated with the radical opposition movement Founding Parliament, seized a police station in the Erebuni district of Yerevan, killing two police officers and taking hostages. The hostage takers demanded the release of their leader, who had been arrested in June, and the resignation of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan. The Sasna Tsrer justified their actions by blaming the country’s leadership for incompetence in handling the war and international negotiations over the future of Nagorno-Karabakh. In what is becoming a pattern, a small group of nonviolent protesters gathered in the streets in sympathy with these criticisms only to meet a violent crackdown by police, which in turn brought thousands more into the streets. Protests only diminished after a large scale violent police operation in Sari Tagh neighborhood in July 28th that resulted dozens of injured protesters. The hostage takers surrendered on July 31.\r\n\r\nThe inept handling of the protests and the country’s poor economic performance resulted in the president drastically changing the cabinet in September, including replacing the prime minister. The appointment of new faces to key positions, and their promises of rapid reform in the fields of economy and governance, as well as some initial actions, had an appeasing effect, at least in the short term. These major changes were also perceived as a move to improve the HHK’s image with fresh faces in advance of the crucial parliamentary elections in April 2017, and to advance cadres loyal to President Sargsyan.\r\n\r\nDespite these setbacks, the HHK and Sargsyan remained dominant. Indeed, in some ways the crisis strengthened their support from certain opposition parties: for example, the opposition Armenian National Congress and its leader, Armenia’s first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan, agreed to support Sargsyan following the four day war. HHK’s dominance, as well as occasional concessions and cooperation with different opposition parliamentary parties, enabled HHK to pass important legislative changes building on the constitutional referendum of 2015 that will redefine the most important formal rules of the game for the upcoming years. Some of the changes were improvements (further liberalization of reporting and funding of nongovernmental organizations, criminal punishment for officials’ illicit enrichment, publication of signed voter lists, etc.) or at least eliminated harmful regulations, such as those partially removing limitations on observer and journalist access at polling stations. However, a majority of the legislative changes were drafted behind closed doors and quickly passed in the parliament without sufficient time for political parties and civic society organizations to have meaningful discussions and input. The changes in 2016 codified a new system of apportioning seats following parliamentary elections that will likely result in the HHK retaining its power even if it underperforms expectations.\r\n\r\nAs the country prepares for parliamentary elections in April 2017, a newer generation of politicians is attempting to establish a different type of political parties based on grassroots support, more accountable and transparent operations, inclusion of a new generation of politically active groups, and mass fundraising. Nonetheless, it seems the elections are going to be largely contested between the representatives of the old guard, led by the same cast of economically and politically influential individuals and their family members as before.\r\n\r\nOutlook for 2017: With the new constitution having shifted power to the parliament, the parliamentary elections scheduled for April will be the most important event of the upcoming year. The fragmented and disorganized opposition might attempt to change the dynamic in the upcoming months, but it is unlikely to be able to oust the ruling HHK due to the formal and informal rules of the game. If the HHK succeeds in the parliamentary elections, the power struggle within the party will become the main topic for attention, since it will determine the trajectory of the country’s leadership and development for the next five years. Armenia’s poor economic performance as well as regional instability will continue to contribute to the volatility of the system.\r\n\r\nFor the full test visit: https://freedomhouse.org/report/nations-transit/2017/armenia ', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'profile', 0, 766, 1577, 'und', 0, 'Astghik Grigoryan is a legal analyst with A. J. Gallagher, a Fortune 500 global HR and Risk Management Company. She analyses and reports on social security, pension systems, employee benefits, and global mobility laws and regulations in 21 countries.  Previously she had been consulting with the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, USAID and Millennium Challenge Corporation. Astghik also held posts in the Government of Armenia. She holds LLM in Comparative Constitutional Law from Central European University and MA in International Relations and Political Science from the American University of Armenia.', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'news', 0, 767, 1579, 'und', 0, '<p><em>By Philippe Raffi Kalfayan (reprinted from the Armenian Mirror-Spectator)</em></p><p>Recent news from Armenia is rather distressing. We witnessed the selection of a single candidate and his election as president of the Republic of Armenia by the sole will of the Prince. Choosing the prime minister will take place only after April 9, when the current president&rsquo;s term will end, and Parliament will have eight days to propose candidates and elect one. Already, the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) has announced that it supports the principle of an open and nominal ballot, which is a considerable means of pressure on the deputies. The votes of the Republican Party and those of its ally, the Dashnak Party, form a majority at the Parliament and that leaves little doubt about their candidate&rsquo;s election. In the run-up to joining the coalition, the ARF insisted on the necessity to reform the constitution and strengthen democratic governance through transition from a semi-presidential regime to a parliamentary one. The present scenario comes to prove that democracy has once more been defeated. In addition, it perpetuates the contempt against the citizens, weakens the image of Armenia on the international arena, and weakens its leaders, including the new president, domestically and abroad.</p><p><strong>A president with a considerably affected legitimacy</strong></p><p>The Minister of Justice, who led all the legislative drafting efforts to comply with the new constitution, says Armenia considers credible the statement of President-elect Armen Sarkissian that he renounced his British citizenship in 2011 and adds that no further confirmation would be needed, in any case, from another country because Armenia is a sovereign state. This statement is not only an affront to the good sense of the whole Armenian nation, it is also characteristic of the opacity of political life in Armenia, and it is, above all, a thinly-veiled admission that the elected president does not satisfy one of the requirements of the new Constitution: to have been a citizen only of the Republic of Armenia for the last six years. A quick analysis supports that assertion: (1) in 2011, it is unlikely that Armen Sarkissian could foresee that the new Constitution would be adopted in 2015 and that it would be chosen by President Serzh Sargsyan in 2017; (2) who can believe for a moment that he renounced his British citizenship in 2011 and convinced Prince Charles to visit Armenia in 2013, a chain of events that would have been shocking to say the least for the British Crown? (3) Having lived in Britain for the last 30 years (with the exception of the period when he was Prime Minister), he is likely to return to live in the UK sooner or later.</p><p>A coalition of NGOs also reacted on March 5 to the news about the failure of new president &ldquo;to dispel the doubts about his citizenship&rdquo; (Read Transparency statement).</p><p>Lawyer Vahé Grigoryan supports a more daring analysis, which relates to the process of electing the new president (see http://www.ilur.am/news/view/66500.html; http://www.ilur.am /news/view/66627.html; http://www.ilur.am/news/view/66818.html). He considers that the new Constitution is not yet in force, and that consequently the election of the President should have been in accordance with the terms of the 2005 Constitution, namely by the direct vote of the population, and not by not by Parliament, which would have exceeded its constitutional powers as defined in 2005.</p><p>Whatever the angle of analysis, and whatever his personal qualifications and skills, which are not in question, the new president starts his mandate with a handicap: an illegitimate election. Moreover, Britain&rsquo;s diplomatic silence on the status of his citizenship can become a weapon that can be used against him. Domestically it can reduce his ability to manoeuver compared to his predecessors while internationally, in terms of foreign policy, it poses an even bigger threat.</p><p><strong>Sovereignty for the People, not the State</strong></p><p>Despite the continuously alarming diagnosis that has been repeated throughout the last 25 years of the Third Republic of Armenia, the population hemorrhage continues and endangers the foundations of the state. In the wake of constitutional reforms adopted in December 2015, the distressing spectacle of the election of a single candidate for the presidency, under questionable eligibility conditions, by the Armenian Parliament, the concentration of all executive and legislative powers in the hands of the future prime minister, the hidden control of the judiciary. For example, is it conceivable in a lawful state for an attorney, a member of the Bar Council, to be a partner in a company with a High Magistrate of the Court of Cassation and a Bankruptcy Judge? Lawyers defending political prisoners are caught between multiple disciplinary measures instituted by their Chamber&rsquo;s President and the new law that allows judges to directly sanction lawyers, making the performance of their duties all the more challenging economic and technical wise, with the aim of discouraging them. The overwhelmingly harsh treatment of the most radical political opponents, such as the members of the Founding Parliament, manifests the political sickness of Armenia. The propaganda of Armenian organizations and media in diaspora cannot change this cruel reality.</p><p>The disregard for the citizens is total: the economic and social conditions are such for the vast majority that everything is for sale, including the ballot papers, whether on national elections [see the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reports for the last legislative elections and Public Forum Armenia (PFA) report for the constitutional referendum of December 2015 or on professional [the website of the Bar of Armenia mentions the financing by an Armenian sponsor of the diaspora of annual fees of hundreds of registered lawyers; this measure is unbecoming of a lawyer because it is an attack on his independence and on the very foundations of the profession. In countries where lawyers cannot fund their fees, the bar grants exemptions] or partisan elections. The clientelism in such a social environment is another form of contempt for human conscience.</p><p>The state of war with Azerbaijan and the aggressive and hateful behavior of the latter towards Armenia seems to be an effective argument to silence the diaspora on the domestic political life by brandishing its threat to national security, but it no longer interferes with the families&rsquo; willingness to leave the country and protect their children as they approach the age of conscription.</p><p>The famous French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 noted in its preamble that &ldquo;ignorance, oblivion, or contempt for human rights are the only cause of public misfortune and of government corruption.&rdquo; It was not until 1948 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that the community of states, through the United Nations, established conventions and international pacts. They have become essential legal and political instruments. They are the foundation of the rule of law. The state is recognized as the legally obliged subject and guarantor of their implementation, but the universal principles belong to the citizens and become weapons against the abuses of those who hold the powers.</p><p>It is worth remembering, as does the Constitution of the United States of America, that the people are sovereign and not the state: &ldquo;We the People of the United States &hellip; do ordain and establish this Constitution for &hellip;&rdquo;</p><p>The Universal Declaration went further and gave birth to the right to rebellion. The preamble &ldquo;considers it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law&rdquo;.</p><p><strong>Virtuous Yet Flawed UN Discourse</strong></p><p>The absence of democracy and respect for human rights refers to a certain form of structuring and formation of the state, which reflects the balance of forces and the assertion of arbitrariness.</p><p>The temptation of relativisation with Turkey and Azerbaijan in terms of human rights records is easy but not acceptable because the issue at stake is neither more nor less than the political survival of the country and its security. Some denounce human rights as a weapon used by Western states and international NGOs, and complain that there are double standards. There are many both in Armenia and in the Diaspora who regard human rights as superfluous and prefer a priority focus on economic development. The first statement contains some truth and is debatable, but is this the essential? The second statement shows an unawareness that economic, social and cultural rights are &ldquo;inseparable, interdependent, and interrelated&rdquo; with civil and political rights. The World Conference on Human Rights in 1993 enshrined this principle. Thoughtful observers know, as an example, that an Armenian entrepreneur, from Armenia or from the Diaspora, has no chance to defend his rights fairly if he is confronted with an adversarial dispute with one of the oligarchic clans that reign over the economy.</p><p>As a result of a total mistrust in the institutions and indifference to political life, citizens developed a survival reflex that is deeply individualistic and materialistic. These injustices and disparities generate individual and collective violence. The small size of the country adds to the political, economic and social pressures as well as fears of violence, especially in the provinces. The individual prefers to negotiate rather than confront. Human life has a price in prosecutors&rsquo; offices, even if this subject is taboo in Armenia. This observation is certainly dark but it is reality. And finally, there is the issue of emigration.</p><p>International aid does not solve corruption, but on the contrary, in its current form, feeds it. Tens of millions of dollars and euros are being invested unabated in justice reforms, human rights training and the establishment of the rule of law, by USAID and EUROPAID, did not help reversing the trend but just enrich Armenian civil servants and some offshore consulting companies under the tolerant eye of these international institutions.</p><p><strong>Create National Cohesion to Better Deal with External Threats</strong></p><p>The recent speeches of the Armenian Foreign Minister and President before the UN and European Assemblies promoting human rights principles are noteworthy and laudable, but what about their effective application in Armenia itself?</p><p>There is no alternative to the establishment of the rule of law in Armenia and the restoration of the sovereignty of the people. It is a small state, without energy resources, heavily indebted, without prospects for economic development at the current rate of emigration. Armenia is under the influence of the great powers; the question of Nagorno-Karabakh and its latent conflict is weighing on its diplomatic relations and on foreign investments. It is the vital interest of the Republic of Armenia to mobilize and hold together its citizens and the Diaspora around a democratic, just and sovereign society project. Domestic peace, based on values to which the whole nation adheres, is the unique remedy to economic welfare and effective ability to counter external threats.</p><p>Successive country leaders failed in this mission for different reasons and circumstances. Today it is no longer possible to ignore it. The organizations of the diaspora as well as some personalities selected as interfaces by the Armenian government turn a blind eye, hiding behind the principle of non-interference in the domestic politics of Armenia. We also witness indifference, complacency and even complicity, not to mention the personal interests of some.</p><p>The good will of associations and individuals in the diaspora, who engage selflessly, without waiting for any reward of their actions, is not questioned, but those people must face the obvious: bright projects and good intentions are not enough to stem the emigration of the population.</p><p>The actions of the commando group Sasna Tzrer and its deadly results are in itself regrettable [the circumstances of the deaths of the three police officers are still unclear], it is nonetheless understandable. It was an expression of rebellion, although one may question if the undefined criteria of tyranny and oppression were met or not. Armenians of the diaspora who have allowed themselves to judge these men, many of whom are veterans or heroes of the Karabakh war, had absolutely no right to do so; only the people living in Armenia can express themselves on this subject and they did it either by expressing their sympathy or by keeping quiet for the majority. The repression of the government was all the more strong and arbitrary against the political leaders of this movement and its supporters.</p><p>Remarkably, the murderers of March 1, 2008 demonstrators have still not been arrested and the commissioners of the attack on parliament on October 27, 1999 were never brought to justice. Meanwhile, the public prosecutor demands that Jirayr Sefilyan, Garo Yeghnukian, Gevorg Safarian, be prosecuted, seeking long prison sentences for their vehement criticism of the regime and their desire to put an end to it by organizing mass protests in 2015 or resisting the police (Safarian case).</p><p>Whichever scenario is to be played in April, this article is an appeal to the current and future leaders of Armenia and to all political forces to reconsider the mode of governance, to bring new political leadership from inside and outside Armenia, and to free, on the occasion of the implementation of the new constitution, all political prisoners.</p><p><em>(Philippe Raffi Kalfayan is a regular columnist for the Mirror-Spectator. He is an international legal expert, the former secretary general of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), an associate researcher at the Paris Human Rights Center at the University of Paris 2 Pantheon Assas.)</em></p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 768, 1582, 'und', 0, 'The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Council, which operates under the political dictate of the Russian Federation, on April 14th, 2018 issued a statement that among other things called the missile attack on the chemical weapons depot and other structures by the US, French, and British coalition forces illegal and against the international law. The statement also mentioned that the United States and its allies are endangering the anti-terrorist campaign in Syria and leading that country to destruction. The CSTO also includes the Republic of Armenia as a member.\r\n\r\nGiven that the Armenian authorities have for many years formed based on illegal and fraudulent elections and clan principles, have turned Armenia into a Russian colony, destroying all institutions of independent statehood, we—US-based Armenian organizations—note that the Armenian authorities are illegal, do not represent the interests of the state and the population of the Republic of Armenia, therefore have no right to make statements on behalf of the Republic of Armenia, and by doing so endangering the partnership between the US and Armenia as well as Armenia’s security, by putting Armenia on a path to full political isolation.\r\n\r\nSigned/\r\nPolicy Forum Armenia\r\nGeopolitical Club\r\nArmenian Renaissance Los Angeles Chapter\r\nArmenian American Civil Support Center', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'news', 0, 769, 1586, 'und', 0, '<p><strong>Reprinted from <a href=\"https://eurasianet.org/s/in-wake-of-armenias-peaceful-uprising-diasporas-clout-is-questioned?utm_source=dlvr.it&amp;utm_medium=twitter \">Eurasianet.org</a>&nbsp;</strong></p><p>April 23, 2018</p><p>The huge anti-government protests in Yerevan that toppled longtime leader Serzh Sargsyan on April 23 may have united Armenians. But they also brought into sharp relief long-standing tensions between Armenia&#39;s wide diaspora and Armenians in the country itself, with the diaspora&#39;s detachment from the protest movement giving rise to accusations that it stood on the wrong side of history.</p><p>Since protests in Yerevan began on April 13, rallies in solidarity took place in the global centers of the Armenian diaspora. In Glendale, a suburb of Los Angeles, an estimated 5,000 locals marched to the Armenian consulate. In Marseilles, demonstrators burned Sargsyan&rsquo;s portrait in the consulate&rsquo;s courtyard. In Moscow, protesters gathered outside St. Cross Armenian Cathedral, but were quickly dispersed by police.</p><p>In the diaspora, support for the protests was far from universal, however, and some of the biggest diaspora organizations kept quiet or endorsed Sargsyan until his resignation.</p><p>The diaspora&rsquo;s single biggest organization, ARF Dashnaktsutyun, largely sat out the protests and thus now appears set to lose influence in Armenia, said Richard Giragosian, director of the Yerevan-based Regional Studies Center, in an interview with Eurasianet. The Dashnaks&rsquo; &ldquo;short-sighted allegiance to the ruling Republican Party has greatly diminished their standing in Armenia,&rdquo; Giragosian said. &ldquo;With a few meager cabinet positions, their influence is minimal and their political role is now marginal.&rdquo;</p><p>As a ruling coalition partner with Sargsyan&rsquo;s Republican Party, the ARF &ndash; which functions as a traditional political party in Armenia &ndash; endorsed his bid to become prime minister and stood by him until his resignation. Its various branches abroad have taken different stances.</p><p>On April 23, shortly before Sargsyan announced he was stepping down, the ARF-affiliated Armenian Youth Federation of Australia issued a statement in support of those protesting in Yerevan. Earlier last week, the Armenian Youth Federation&rsquo;s chapter for the Western United States produced a similar statement that fell short of endorsing the protests but condemned the use of force. The next day, that ARF branch called on all sides to &ldquo;work together.&rdquo;</p><p>Part of the variation is geographical. &ldquo;Diaspora reactions are defined by their country of citizenship,&rdquo; Karen Aghekian, a Minsk-based editor for Hamatext, an online magazine covering Armenian politics, told Eurasianet. &ldquo;As the Russian media coverage of revolutions in post-Soviet countries is extremely negative, Russian Armenians in general tend to be apprehensive about similar events in Armenia.&rdquo;</p><p>Last week, the Union of Armenians of Russia said the protest leaders&rsquo; &ldquo;real goals&rdquo; are the &ldquo;destabilization of the political situation&rdquo; in Armenia and economic stagnation. The organization&#39;s founder and chairman, businessman Ara Abrahamyan, prides himself on his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.</p><p>Two of the biggest American diaspora groups, the competing Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and Armenian Assembly of America, rarely comment on Armenia&rsquo;s domestic politics. They focus primarily on achieving formal recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the U.S. and on securing aid to Armenia and to Nagorno-Karabakh, the unrecognized territory carved out of Azerbaijan that is controlled by Armenians. Both groups hailed Sargsyan&rsquo;s resignation after the fact.</p><p>Other, newer groups in the U.S. have taken more critical approaches to Sargsyan&#39;s rule. One, <strong>Policy Forum Armenia</strong>, <a href=\"https://pfarmenia.wordpress.com/2018/04/21/velvet-revolution-diaspora-response/\">released a statement in support of the protests</a>. <em>The statement called for a &ldquo;massive shake up&rdquo; in the ARF Dashnaktsutyun &ldquo;that results in a replacement of the current leaders by a young and Armenia-centric team.&rdquo; It also said that the &ldquo;main traditional diaspora organizations were largely complicit with the regime and worked against the best interests of Armenia and its citizens.&rdquo;</em></p><p>Another relatively new player on the diaspora scene is Armenian Renaissance, a grassroots organization uniting chapters in a number of countries. After the Yerevan protests began, its members were instrumental in organizing &ldquo;Reject Serzh&rdquo; rallies in Los Angeles, New York and Boston. The group also has taken aim at ARF Dashnaktsutyun: One Facebook post by the Los Angeles chapter shows three ARF leaders with the caption: &ldquo;Dashnaks should decide &ndash; are they with people in Armenia or against ???!!! Simple!!!! And if yes, then FIRE this [sic] 3 dogs in Armenia and save your name.&rdquo;</p><p><strong>&lsquo;They keep losing significance&rsquo;</strong></p><p>It remains an open question how much influence the diaspora has on politics in Yerevan. Armenian politicians have long subscribed to the idea of the &ldquo;Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora triumvirate,&rdquo; envisaging a greater Armenia uniting the population of Armenia, the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (known as Artsakh in Armenian), and ethnoreligious Armenian communities further afield, from Moscow to Beirut to California.</p><p>On April 22, a day before Sargsyan&#39;s resignation, President Armen Sarkissian issued a statement urging &ldquo;all the citizens and our compatriots in the diaspora to refrain from straining the situation and exercise restraint.&rdquo; Yet it&#39;s unclear how the diaspora could have done either.</p><p>&ldquo;The role of the diaspora in Armenia&rsquo;s political life and especially in this crisis is almost non-existent,&rdquo; Aghekian, the Minsk-based editor for Hamatext, said. &ldquo;Some of the diaspora&rsquo;s richest businessmen have access to government, but I doubt they can sway decisions in any way. As for the diaspora organizations, they only keep losing significance and authority, and for good reason.&rdquo;</p><p>But a consistent strain in Armenian politics is the hope for aid from the diaspora. Protest leader Nikol Pashinyan, addressing the crowd at one of the nightly rallies on Republic Square, called on diaspora celebrities including American rock musician Serj Tankian, Canadian actress Arsinée Khanjian, and French signer Charles Aznavour to come to Armenia and join the protest.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a two-way street. There are people in Armenia who are looking for outside support. And that&#39;s natural, to seek reassurance from Armenians living overseas,&rdquo; said Hrant Gadarigian, an editor for Hetq, a Yerevan-based nonprofit news outlet. &ldquo;But ultimately, people in Armenia are the agents of change. Because they are the ones who are suffering. Charles Aznavour is not sitting in a marshrutka [crowded minibus] every day.&rdquo;</p><p>Aghekian agreed. &ldquo;Any form of participation is welcome, but in my opinion Armenian citizens shouldn&#39;t be seeking the support and moral authority of celebrities such as Serj Tankian or Charles Aznavour. Quite the opposite: Conscious and responsible Armenian citizens must themselves become such an authority for the diaspora.&rdquo;</p><p>An executive at an Armenian organization in the U.S., who spoke with Eurasianet on condition of anonymity, said that there&rsquo;s no chance for the diaspora to present a coherent agenda for Armenia.</p><p>&ldquo;The diaspora has no real agenda in Armenia,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s so fragmented and polarized between different groups, organizations, political parties. In real terms, where the diaspora stands &ndash; who knows?&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;After the Armenian Genocide, members of the diaspora have never lived in Armenia and thus do not know the complexities of modern Armenian statehood. Most of the diaspora&#39;s involvement, if any, is based on sentiments and emotions &ndash; nothing practical or concrete.&rdquo;</p><p><em>Grigor Atanesian is a freelance journalist who covers Armenia.</em></p>', '', 'full_html'),
('node', 'press_release', 0, 770, 1606, 'und', 0, 'The founder of the Artsakh’s independence movement, Igor Muradyan, died on Sunday, June 17 in Yerevan after a prolonged illness. He had interrupted his medical treatment in Washington to return to Yerevan to witness the aftermath of Armenia’s “Velvet Revolution” and only lived two days before passing away at a local hospital. We lost a very close friend, a mentor, and a visionary, who spared nothing to see his country be united and free.\r\n\r\nMr. Muradyan was a selfless leader, who has spearheaded the idea of unifying Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian-populated autonomous region within Azerbaijan), with Armenia back in early-1980s. The mass movement that sparked in 1988 gathered tremendous force—at times bringing together in excess of one million demonstrators—and soon spread to other republics of the Soviet Union, eventually resulting in its collapse.\r\n \r\nEven after stepping down as the leader of the movement and following the end of the war of 1991-94, which he played a leading role in, he never stopped working for Armenia and devoted the rest of his life to its independence and enhancing its role in the world. His contributions to Armenia\'s sovereignty would stand second to none, making him a role model for that generation. \r\n\r\nMr. Muradyan was a good friend of Policy Forum Armenia and a strong supporter of our activities and vision. He constantly encouraged us to think “outside the box” and be bold and daring. For him, the groundbreaking <a href=\"https://www.pf-armenia.org/event/joint-workshop-atlantic-council-armenia-and-west\">high-level roundtable discussion “Armenia and the West”</a> co-organized by PFA in Washington in 2014 was a testament of our maturity and ability to put forth serious solutions that undermine the outdated status quos. During his final months at the George Washington University hospital he was under constant care of PFA Fellows, which was our way of paying back for all his good deeds.\r\n\r\nAs the father of “Armenian Atlanticism,” he was respected by the expert communities in Washington, London, and Brussels. It is his unparalleled integrity, intellectual brilliance, and ability to foresee things that would take others years to realize, which brought him the acclaim. \r\n\r\nUnfortunately, it is these same characteristics that made Igor Muradyan an outcast under the successive administrations in Yerevan—the leaders of which he despised for their corruption record and inability to address the country’s fundamental problems—leaving him with little, if any, means to care for his health and conduct professional activities, which often required travel. \r\n\r\nIndependent Armenia lost a Founding Father, a true patriot, who has given his life for Armenia and the generation of the 1980s. He will continue to live in our hearts and guide us to new achievements.\r\n\r\nRest in peace, dearest Igor, rest in peace.\r\n\r\nYours friends from Policy Forum Armenia\r\n', '', 'filtered_html'),
('node', 'news', 0, 771, 1604, 'und', 0, '<a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2018/05/02/armenia-escapes-its-post-soviet-malaise/?utm_term=.9aa26fe1b77a\">Armenia Escapes Its Post-Soviet Malaise</a>\r\nBy David Ignatius, The Washington Post Columnist \r\n\r\nArmenia appears at last to be breaking with its post-Soviet malaise and embracing democratic change, thanks to a grass-roots movement that has found a way, for now, to straddle Russia and the West.\r\n\r\nTens of thousands of people thronged Yerevan’s central square Wednesday night, chanting “Victory! Victory!” in what one Armenian reform supporter in the United States told me was “a celebration of the country as much as a protest.” The movement’s mass street demonstrations over the past month have deposed the prime minister, Serzh Sargsyan, and this week appeared ready to topple his long-entrenched ruling party.\r\n\r\nVideos circulating on social media Wednesday captured a country embracing the reform movement headed by Nikol Pashinyan, who is seeking to replace Sargsyan. Responding to Pashinyan’s call to shut down the capital, conservatory students played classical music at one intersection; protesters did a line dance at another; a small boy blocked a street with a lineup of toy cars, in a photo circulated by CNN.\r\n\r\nPashinyan made what sounded almost like a victory statement Wednesday, when he told the crowd, “Now, we will stop our actions for a while and rest.” On Tuesday, the Armenian parliament, controlled by Sargsyan’s party, had narrowly defeated Pashinyan’s bid to form a new government. But another vote is scheduled for May 8, and the ruling Republican Party signaled it won’t oppose the reformer.\r\n\r\nIf Pashinyan succeeds in establishing a new government, it will be in large part because the police and army refused to open fire on the protesters who turned out in huge numbers to support him. This refusal to kill fellow citizens is often the fulcrum of social change; it’s especially powerful in Armenia, which last month commemorated the anniversary of the 1915 genocide by Ottoman Turks that left more than a million Armenians dead.\r\n\r\nArmenia’s basic political dilemma over the past 25 years has been how to reconcile its pro-Western political sympathies with its military dependence on Russia. This impasse helped foster a circle of pro-Moscow oligarchs around Sargsyan, who siphoned much of the country’s wealth. For all the entrepreneurial spirit of its people, a corrupt and authoritarian Armenia never achieved the capitalist takeoff of some other former Soviet republics and Warsaw Pact countries following the Soviet Union’s demise in 1991.\r\n\r\nReformers asked why Armenia ranked below many other former Soviet-bloc countries in measures of political freedom, rule of law and economic growth. The Policy Forum Armenia, an activist group based in Washington, has compiled a series of well-documented reports on corruption, human rights and legal-reform issues.\r\n\r\nThe popular uprising has been tolerated, so far, by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He seems to have decided that it was better to sacrifice his ally, Sargsyan, than to risk losing Armenia itself. “He wanted to avoid another Ukraine,” a reform leader told me Wednesday. Because of the long kinship between Russia and Armenia, the images of protest in Yerevan may have a galvanizing effect in Russia, too.\r\n\r\nPashinyan broke through the post-Soviet morass for several reasons, his reform movement colleagues argue. First, his movement has been nonviolent and broadly based, from young people to grandmothers; “Arms up,” symbolizing civil disobedience, became a slogan of the protesters who joined Pashinyan’s march on Yerevan last month that culminated in Sargsyan’s resignation. Second, Pashinyan avoided taking sides between Russia and the West. He has walked a narrow line in what one reform leader told me was an “Armenia-centric” approach. He has reassured Moscow by saying that he doesn’t intend to withdraw from military and trade pacts with Russia if he becomes prime minister. At the same time, his pro-democracy movement has roused sympathy in Europe and the United States, offering the prospect of wider friendships for the small, embattled nation.\r\n\r\nThe Armenian reform movement has been building for the past two years, ever since armed protesters seized a police station in Yerevan in July 2016 and held it for two weeks, to protest what rebels claimed was the government’s political repression, corruption and vacillation on the emotional issue of Karabakh, an Armenian-populated enclave seized from Azerbaijan in a bloody war in 1994.\r\n\r\n“We refuse to become a region of Russia,” proclaimed one of the rebels allied with Jirair Sefilian, a Lebanese-born former Armenian military leader who was one of the organizers of the 2016 protest, which took the name “Founding Parliament.” Sefilian would be a candidate for defense minister if Pashinyan succeeds in forming a new government, though his strong pro-Western sympathies might antagonize Moscow.\r\n\r\nPashinyan’s movement promises change, but as is often the case with grass-roots uprisings, the details are fuzzy. His group is called “Civil Contract,” built on a pledge that a new government will deliver specific reform commitments to the people. Even his movement’s supporters admit they aren’t sure yet what that agenda might include. But in the excitement of Wednesday’s mass protest, the details could wait.\r\n', '', 'filtered_html');

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