I Googled for something completely different, but found your page…and have to say thanks. nice read.

Stability does not mean safety of investment.

Why?

1. Today’s stability means rule of 2 people in Armenia, who after this turmoil cannot control the economic climate in Armenia, and they have to let the oligarchs and corrupt-government officials to own more businesses and to deepen the corruption. Otherwise in 2-3 years the change will happen from inside of todays government.

2. Secondly, there are many examples that foreigners came and wanted to be in “fair game” business, and they could not because the corrupt system made them to flee the country.

3. Of course there are some successful foreign investments too. Those successful investments are either protected by the government officials “as co-investors”, or they are protected by the foreign governments (like Russian Investments in Armenia).

Let’s take 2 spyurqahay investors. First is the GAFESTCHIAN. I do not see any difference between GAFESTCIAN, and DOD_I GAGO. WHY? Becuase they all connected with either Serje or Robert. The Gafeschian owns the 50% of “Armenia TV”. Do we have any use from “Armenia TV”?, of course not. It is even worse than Public TV. I am personally against this kind of investments, because they are strengthening the corrupt system that now exists in Armenia. I would personally prefer that those 100-200 people who work in Armenia TV be unemployed, than 3 million people watch that TV canal. I think the foreign investors should NOT be part of corruption system, and for me Gafeschian is another corrupt stealer (talanchi), like Dod-i Gago, Nemec Rubo or others.

The second example, is the Hovnanyan. What happened with his busines project. He bought 275 hectars of land in Armenia, without any bid or auction, for 2 dollars per meter square. Now he is selling the same land for $140 dollars per square meter. Then he shares the profits with officials.

Common guys, these are not investments. This kind of foreign-investors are the same corrupt oligarchs that we have in Armenia.

To Sev

Do not worry, tell your cousin to come and invest in Armenia. He will be approached by the “Tax officials”, then he will understand what is “Stable” Armenia. You are just one of those who do not have enough information to make subjective points, and you judge only from one side.

I promis you that your cousin will have the same problems in Armenia, either Serje is in power or LTP. But in the long-run if the nowadays corrupt system changes and new governments comes to power, the thing will be a lot better than now with your “Stable” Armenia.

Or maybe you actually did invest in Armenia (once anti-investment Levon was ousted 10 years ago) and have made millions as the economy has grown? For your sake, I hope the latter.

Please let your cousin contact me. I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell to him, or maybe some nice swamp land in southern Florida. Investing in Armenia is completely crazy. He might as well burn his money or just start throwing it out the window. Serzh and his mafia thugs will get your cousin’s money, just as they steal from anyone who even exchanges a dollar for drams. Is your cousin so dumb that he wants to lose his money? Tell him to invest someplace where there is the rule of law, not in the pitiful nest of thieves that Kocharian, Serzh, and the other nicknamed criminals have created in Armenia. Investment + Armenia = LOST MONEY, unless you’re one of Serzh’s toadies.

I respectfully disagree with you. First of all, Georgia did not seem “bad in the eyes of the world” when they were doing their revolution. We should think about our national interest rather than what the world thinks especially when we know that all countries in the world act based on their national interests and often use double standards depending on what’s good for them (look at the issue of Kosovo recognition).
I disagree that because someone is too stubborn and slow to grasp that the game is over, people should put up with it and continue to live in fear for the sake of “stability”. Just an example, when I was serving in the Army in Karabakh (not during the war), on the first day 60 of us, privates, were in the barracks when 3 bullies entered. They were non-athletic and uneducated guys, and we were 60 guys all with graduate degrees. So these 3 started to beat and take money from us one-by-one, and as I was looking at the faces of people – they were afraid and chose the strategy to just be quiet, hoping that maybe the bullies would not hurt them. But they did hurt everyone except the Gyumrecies, and you know why, because they were the only ones that united from the first moment and were ready to fight for each member of their team. I joined them (although I am not Gyumreci) as I needed to survive. But this is the same thing happening in Armenia’s real life – every day the bullies f— the people one-by-one using the fear tacktics. If we want to ever be respected by the world that you care so much about, we need to show that we deserve the right to be free. I would not worry about your cousin, he will do his investment after a while. I am not LTP supporter but I know that he is extremely careful not to let a single drop of blood, otherwise he would already do what Vazgen Manukian allowed to happen several years ago when he let the people to try attacking the National Assembly building. I stronly believe that PEOPLE would benefit a lot from the change of the status quo (I noted some of the reasons in my earlier post). Again, we need to earn our right to be free, and albeit LTP is not the ideal leader, he is what we got, mainly because the current authorities did everything in the past several years to not let any new, undiscredited politicians with real political and economic platforms to emerge in Armenia. Believe me, if they stay, they will make sure that such “mistakes” as LTP do not happen again.

Patrick from Sweden accused me that I work for corrupt international organization.

In my previous postings I have stated that I work for very respected international organization (jsu do not want to mention the name, you all know this organization) and my job allows me half a year to be in USA, and half a year to be in Armenia. This Patrick from Sweden accused me that I am racist and added that all international organizations are corrupt.

Secondly, as I stated that half a year I am in US, so I do know better how the Armenians in US follow the Armenian news. I know very FEW people who follow the Armenian events very closely and day by day bases. Most of the American Armenians (99.5% whether spyurqahay or Hayastanci) do not follow the Armenian Events very closely. So based on this, and the arguments by the bloggers from here who live outside of Armenia, I feel that these guys to not have enough information to be at least objective, even if they have better internet access. Most of the Armenians here have Armenian channels are the H1 and Armenia, and I see the influance of the STATE PROPGANDA from Armenia.
I go to Armenian Church every Sunday (in USA), where at least 300-400 people gather at a time, I have rarely heard that American Armenians inclusing those from Hayastan discuss Armenian matters. IN my 5 years experience being in USA (again half of the year) I have experinced just 2-3 discussions of Armenian events. Cultural events discussed more often, but no political or economic or Social issues.

So, dear observer I am not generalizing and it is just truth. If you read and analyze all of the postings of the Armenians from abroad blogging here you will also come to the same conclusion.
That is why it does not mean if they have better access to Armenian Free-Interenet-media, then they have better knowledge. They just do not follow very closely and on the daily basis.

For everybody – please note, that Haik is a different person from Hayk – although they both support LTP. Seizing the occasion, I would like to thank Haik for the link to humour-post.

Onnik – I fully agree with HiRebel – that your blog is excellent :)

Hayk – I really appreciate the way you clearly state and classify your points when you make them. However – I think you are overgeneralizing – and I think people abroad have more access to basically free media like: a1plus, lragir.am, zhamanak.com, taregir, then we do here in Armenia, with expensive and slow internet and exposure to state propaganda, which I’ve written about in the main article here. I would also like to clarify – who do you mean by saying: “working for the corrupt international organization”, as I don’t see anyone on this blog matching that criteria.

I just want to understand the inner psyche of your thinking. What makes one “hayastanci” in your opinion and why? While I can somewhat understand, Erevanci, Gumreci, or Stepanakertci. I fail to see “hayastanci”, “krabakhsci” because a person from Goris is more like one from Stepanaker than one from Erevan.

All are sent from readers. I am happy that Armenians still manage to keep the good sense of humour
Enjoy them.

I was the one who told in this forum that Russian Alpha troops are in Armenia.

To PATRICK from SWEDEN

I said that the Russian Alpha forces are in Yerevan now, and this guy from Sweden responds with attacks to another blogger with the same name (Haik), and this guy from Sweden started to attack me personnaly, as if I am working for the corrupt international organization.

I am not going to defend myself now, it useless for some people.

The Russian Alpha is in Yerevan, from February 19 (source is Yerkrapah high ranking Army official).

But I want to talk about something else.

I noticed that those who have not been in Armenia for a long time, they all hate LTP.

There are many reasons for this

1. They have not been in Armenia for a long time, and do not really understand what was happening in Armenia after LTP. They just hear that the economic situation is better now, people have electricity, natural gas, and some basic income, and they think that everything is great.
You guys do not have full picture and you cannot be objective, because you did not feel and follow the events of the last 10 years.

2. They hate LTP, because when they were here in Armenia the times were bad, because of many objective and subjective reasons, and they really lived bad and ran away from Armenia caused by either low income or new opportunities abroad. I DO NOT BLAME THEM, but at least they have to have objective points, not subjective.

3. Those who are now abroad really do not understand that this time people are more important than LTP. LTP is just the leader. Besides that with LTP there are many other parties (23), inlcluding Demirchyan, Raffi Hovhannisyan, Aram Sargsyan (whose brother ousted LTP), Aram Karapetyan, HNCHAKYAN Party and etc.

4. This guys hate so much LTP, that they are ready to close eyes on 100s of thousand people who do not want this REGIME anymore. This guys do not see that Serje uses the administrative force to bring people to his Rally, but then most of this people go to “Azatutyun Square”, and support those who are gathered there.

5. These guys (the LTP haters) just do not want to get that this is about people, who want to live in normal country, and they want to be free and not to be forced to do something in nowadays corrupt Armenia. I will bring 2 facts to prove this argument.

a. The Serje Sargisyan did not have more than 50% (860,000 votes). If he had this much support, he could have at least 100,000 people going to his rally today VOLUNTARILY. He used his all administrative power and could gather less than 50,000 folks from all Armenia, and at least half of those later went to “Azatutyun Square”.

b. People who go to LTP’s Rally, they go VOLUNTARILY and nobody forces them to go there. Moreover, they go their knowing that the Police may use force.

6. Last thing I want to mention is this.
If before elections one could argue and bring arguments that LTP wants just the power, after elections it is not true anymore.
I know that LTP falsified the 96 elections, and in that year I voted against him. But I do not see anything wrong if somebody has done many mistakes now wants to correct. This will sound naive of course, but I have never seen any political leader in my life that will stay and spend many nights with thousands of people in the “Azatutyun Square”. I have never seen any political leader who has been so close to people for so long time with day and nights. Six month ago I wanted that Vazgen Manukian or Raffi Hovhannisyan could be the leader of the opossition, but now I do not regret for a second that LTP is.
Of course many of you will say, that your argument is naive, but I will bring you counter argument. In general I do not believe in any political leader, NO ONE. But I will choose the one who really spends more time with thousands of people, who is close to people, because at least one can hope that this leader can be affected by the ordinary people, and will not pursue only his political agenda.

So, now it is about the people, who do not tolerate this REGIME. LTP is just the leader, and I mean JUST the leader nothing else. People want change, people do not like the “ELECTED” president who was not elected actually.

My last word is directed to those who are living abroad now in their comfortable apartments and houses, who do not listen every day the “State Propaganda”, who do not live in 2 realities, one presented by authorities via media, and the other one the real life that people see everyday, who do not see 100% corrupt and mafia-style institutionalized government, who do not have income problem and have their guaranteed minimum life style, who come to Armenia every 1-5 years and see new buildings and cafes and think that all Armenians live better, who come to Armenia just to spend their time and have fun.
So, all these people (Spyurqahays) at least have to be objective, at least have to have the full information and understand the full picture of Armenia and Armenian livelihood,
TO EXPRESS THEIR OPINION.

Other wise if you do not have full information and do not judge by the facts (I mean nowadays facts), then SHUT THE FUCK UP YOUR MOUTH.

Onnik I like your blog

HiRebel, it’s not my blog. It’s Observer’s.