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16 The Armenian Reporter | February 6, 2010ArmeniaGrigorian, Kharatian – newest chess stars appearYerevan – Avetik Grigorian tookthe Armenian chess crown withone tour left to go in the nationalchampionship, Armenian newsagencies reported on January 30.As of January 1, 2010, 20-yearoldGrigorian was rated thirteenthamong Armenia’s chess players.22-year-old Anahit Kharatyanbecame the winner of the women’schess championship, winning inthe final round on January 31.In the men’s championship Mr.Grigoryan did better than halfa dozen better rated players, althoughthe country’s four highestrated chess masters, Levon Aronian(the 2002 champ), GabrielSargsian (2000 and 2003), VladimirAkopian (1996 and 1997) andArman Pashikian (2009), did notparticipate.The men’s championship was70th in Armenia’s history. Thewomen’s was 65th.fYerevan police drop case against opposition youthsGrigorian (right)and Kharatian.Photo: Photolure.by Irina HovannisianPolice in Yerevan said on Mondaythat they have failed to collect sufficientincriminating evidence toput a young opposition activist ontrial despite keeping him prison formore than three months on highlycontroversial charges.Tigran Arakelian was one of severalyoung members of the oppositionArmenian National Congress(HAK) who clashed with plainclothespolice last July as they publicizedan HAK rally held in Yerevanthe next day. He and two otheryouths were injured in the incidentand required hospitalization. Theysaid they were punched, kicked andpistol-whipped for informing cityresidents about the rally.The police insisted, however, thatlaw-enforcement officers themselvescame under attack whenthey tried to stop a brawl involving60 young people. Arakelian wasarrested and charged with assaultinga “representative of the stateauthority,” a charge punishable byup to ten years in prison. The diminutiveactivist was released frompre-trial detention in October, ostensiblyfor health reasons, amida mounting uproar from the HAKand local human rights groups.Hrach Sargsian, a senior police officerleading the criminal investigationinto the incident, told RFE/RLthat the criminal case against Arakelianand two other young oppositionists,who were never put underarrest, has been closed for lack ofevidence. He said the investigatorshave arrived at the conclusion thatthe suspects did not know for certainthat they are clashing with lawenforcementofficers because thelatter did not wear uniforms.The conclusion sharply contrastswith statements made by other,more high-ranking police officials.Alik Sargsian, the chief of Armenia’snational police service, insistedin September that Arakelian’sguilt is already a proven fact, beratingmedia for claiming the opposite.“It was the third time that TigranArakelian raised a hand against apoliceman,” he said.Ashot Karapetian, the chief ofthe police department of Yerevan’scentral administrative district, assuredRFE/RL at the time thatinvestigators have photographsof the opposition youths kickingan overpowered policeman in thehead. Karapetian said on Mondaythat Armenian courts would notview the pictures as a piece of evidencebecause they were taken by“non-legitimate means.” He did notelaborate.Arakelian’s lawyer, meanwhile,told RFE/RL that she is not satisfiedwith the mere closure of theArmenia faces meat crisis as sheep exports boomcase and believes that her clientshould have been formally declaredinnocent. Vartuhi Elbakian said shewill lodge a corresponding appeal toa prosecutor overseeing the inquiryand, if necessary, to local courts.Armen Khachatrian, an HAK officialdealing with arrested oppositionactivists, also downplayed thepolice move. He said the oppositionalliance plans to appeal to theEuropean Court of Human Rightsto declare Arakelian’s arrest andprosecution illegal.f© 2010 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with thepermission of Radio Free Europe / RadioLiberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W.Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.orgby Karine Simonian andHovannes ShoghikianA sudden upsurge in exports ofArmenian sheep to Iran observedsince last spring has drasticallypushed up the cost of lamb in Armenia,raising fears of dwindlinglivestock numbers that could eventuallycost local farmers dearly.Some Armenian sheep breederssay they have sold off the bulk oftheir animals to wholesale buyersdoing business with Iran at pricesconsiderably higher than in thedomestic market. The retail priceof lamb has more than tripled tobetween 3,000 and 4,000 drams($10.6) per kilogram since May.According to the NationalStatistical Service, Armenianexports of livestock and meatsoared by 65 percent to $13.7million in January-November2009. The surge is particularlynoteworthy when set against a37.4 percent fall in the country’soverall export revenue recordedduring the same period.Agriculture Minister GerasimAlaverdian clarified on Tuesday thatArmenia exported some 117,000sheep to Iran and some Arab countriesin 2009. He said the figure accountsfor roughly one-fifth of thecountry’s sheep population, dismissingfears that the export boomcould wreak havoc on Armenianagriculture unless it is reined in bythe government.Sheep stocks appear to havefallen below a minimum level necessaryfor their reproduction in atleast one Armenian village, Zvartnots.Located about 20 kilometerssouth of Yerevan, Zvartnots ismainly populated by Yezidi Kurdswho have traditionally specializedin sheep breeding. Local residentssaid as much as 80 percent of theirsheep was sold off last year.“We have stopped breeding animalsand can therefore be deemedArmenians,” joked one man. “Wedon’t have livestock anymore.”“The Iranians have taken what wehad and left us sitting at home anddoing nothing,” he said.“Why do you blame the Iranians?We ourselves gave away our sheep,”said another one of his neighbors.Zahar Ravoyan, the deputychairman of the Union of Yezidisof Armenias who also lives in thevillage, had a simple explanationfor that. “Everyone was in debtand they seized upon the chanceto quickly repay the debts,” he toldRFE/RL.“Hay is expensive, there is no waterand it’s hard to keep sheep. Soif someone offers a good price whyshouldn’t people sell?” reasonedone farmer. “They have now startedshipping cattle to Iran,” he said,referring to livestock buyers.Hrachya Berbedian, chairmanof the Armenian Agrarian Union,sounded alarm over these developments,alleging that the government’sfailure to step in testifiesto its “ineptness.” “There is a largescaleexport of sheep to Iran andArab countries, which is a ‘welcome’development,” he told RFE/RL.“We’re like a factory selling its machinesand equipment after emptyingits production inventories.”Alaverdian, the agriculture minister,insisted, however, that the exportedsheep were mainly “unfit forreproduction” and that Armenia’ssheep stocks will grow by 200,000already by this summer. He saidthe Ministry of Agriculture hasdevised a plan of actions aimed atraising the total number of sheepto 1.5 million by 2020. Speaking ata news conference, Alaverdian alsoannounced that Armenia will soonstart also exporting live cattle andbeef to Iran.Such a prospect is causing seriousconcern among local meat traderswho fear that a resulting surgein the prices of beef, which is consumedin Armenia in far greateramounts than lamb, will dramaticallycut their sales. About a dozentraders in a Yerevan food markettemporarily shut down their meatshops on Wednesday to demand agovernment ban or restrictions onbeef exports.“They must not take cattle abroad,”one of them told RFE/RL. “We riskrunning out of meat. It’s beneficialfor farmers to sell cattle at ahigher price. But they don’t thinkabout what they are going to eattomorrow.”“If things continue like this, therewill no meat one month later,”claimed another protester.The retail price of beef has slightlyrisen over the past month and currentlyaverages 1,700-1,800 dramsper kilogram in Yerevan food storesand markets.f© 2010 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with thepermission of Radio Free Europe / RadioLiberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W.Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.orgUS sponsors vocational school building renovations in MaralikYerevan – The BRIDGE PublicWorks Program, implemented bythe Cooperative Housing FoundationInternational (CHF) and fundedby USAID, carried out the renovationof the Maralik VocationalSchool Building during the 2009program year. The official openingceremony of the project site tookplace on January 25, 2010 and wasattended by the Acting Directorof the USAID/Armenia Social ReformOffice Volodymyr Yatsenko,Maralik Mayor Artak Gevorgyan,representatives of the AnoushavanAbrahamyan Educational Fund andlocal community.The renovation of the VocationalSchool was made possible thanksto the cooperation and support ofthe Anoushavan Abrahamyan EducationalFund, which had earlierrenovated the roof of the building,replaced the windows and doorsand installed a new heating system.To increase the number of classroomactivities, the college neededthe renovation of seven roomsand the main foyer (a total of 400square meters) on the third floor.The designated area was completelyrenovated by the USAID BRIDGEPublic Works Program and will nowserve around 80 students.The USAID BRIDGE program alsoorganized vocational training for21 socially vulnerable communitymembers in Painting and Plasteringand Tiling. After the completionof the theoretical part of the trainingcourse, the graduates gainedon-the-job experience by renovatingthree rooms and the foyer floorin the Vocational School under thesupervision of the constructioncontractor.fTell us what you think.Write to letters@reporter.am