"Exotic" Armenia

By AzerNews

One in every ten family goes to bed hungry in Armenia, Head of independent research center Sosiometr Agaron Adibekyan said recently.

"The number of absolute poor is 47 percent in the country," he said.

"Official indicators show that 37 percent of Armenian families are poor, and 7 percent are beggars," he noted.

Adibekyan also said each 80 per 100 families in Armenia spend all their income on food and utility costs, and almost 50 percent have funds only for food.

Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsiyan believes that he takes his utmost so that to prevent "anyone to go to sleep hungry".

He is saying this on the background of problems existing in Armenia's energy security, gas scandal, and wild mining industry, leading to environmental disasters, Armenian media outrages.

The Armenian authorities also "suffer" the complicated situation, as Head of Constitution Court Gagik Arutyunyan is "homeless".

Since his taking the position in 1996 Arutyunyan has amassed serious fortune. However, in his declaration of 2012, Arutyunyan pointed out 3.8 million drams, 2.2 million dollars, 1.7 million euros on his bank accounts, but there was not any movable or immovable property. So, he is homeless, Armenian media reported.

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, in turn, wastes state budget.

"His last special flights cost the state budget at $200,000. Such waste of money is impermissible, when more than a million people live below the poverty in the country," the oppositional parliamentarians criticized Sargsyan.

As seen, while the population lives in poverty Armenian authorities enjoy abundance.

Furthermore, hike in consumer prices is inevitable in Armenia in case of the country's accession to a Moscow-led Customs Union.

"Prices for many goods may rise, including for essential goods, including sugar, vegetable oil, chicken. It is a possible scenario, and is an expected loss," Armenian Economy Minister Vagram Avanesyan said earlier.

There is also a decline in catering customers in the capital Yerevan, which is explained by tough social state and high emigration rate in the country, according to media reports.

The Armenian authorities, however, feast despite hunger and social crisis. They even mock the co-citizens, who suffer difficult social conditions. So, a supermarket which belongs to Armenian MP, really surprises the society selling smoked crocodiles at 380,000 drams ($938). Armenian media believes that it is not logical to import to Armenia crocodiles and sell them for $938, when hundreds of people do not have money to buy even bread.

This imitated welfare of the nation is infuriating, as there are yet no buyers for this expensive strange product, as media reports say.

Smoked crocodiles still can be the first step of the imitated welfare, but what will be the next exotic step to wipe "crocodile tears" of people living in poverty in the country is a good question...