Friday, June 5, 2020
Armenian Government Still Hopes To Avoid Another Lockdown
Armenia -- A doctor adjusts a protective face mask at the Grigor Lusavorich 
Medical Centre in Yerevan on May 27, 2020.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on Friday that despite the continuing rapid 
spread of coronavirus in Armenia his government still hopes to contain the 
epidemic without imposing a fresh nationwide lockdown.
Pashinian insisted that while renewed lockdown restrictions are one of the 
options currently considered by the government they are not necessarily a 
panacea for ending the country’s deepening coronavirus crisis.
“Suppose that coronavirus indicators in Armenia are miraculously reduced to zero 
with the help of administrative levers,” he told a daily news briefing. “But … 
if there is no change in our individual behavior, as soon as we open up to the 
outside world potentially infected people will come to Armenia and we will have 
to do everything all over again.”
“So I’m thinking along these lines: we must together solve this problem with 
mass changes of our individual behavior,” he said. “In this regard, I believe in 
Armenia’s citizens and believe that solutions to this and other problems lie in 
our consciousness and we should follow the path of changing our consciousness 
and behavior.”
Armenia -- Young women stroll in the center of Yerevan, May 25, 2020.
Accordingly, Pashinian repeated his calls for the population to practice social 
distancing, wear masks in all public and enclosed spaces, frequently wash hands 
and stay away from large gatherings. Citizens should also alert help authorities 
fight against violations of these safety rules, he said.
Critics of the government are skeptical about the effectiveness of this 
strategy. They say that only a renewed lockdown can make a difference.
Pashinian admitted earlier this week that the Armenian health authorities are 
also favoring such a drastic solution. He voiced misgivings, saying that it 
could cost the Armenian economy dearly. He also argued that the government had 
already issued stay-at-home orders, banned public transport and shut down most 
businesses in late March.
Critics counter that the authorities never properly enforced the lockdown and 
ended it too soon. They cite the example of many European countries and 
especially neighboring Georgia whose government only recently began easing 
serious curbs on people’s freedom of movements and reopening the domestic 
economy.
The Georgian authorities have so far reported 805 coronavirus cases and only 13 
deaths caused by them, compared with 11,817 cases and at least 183 fatalities 
registered in Armenia.
On Thursday alone, the Armenian Ministry of Health recorded about 600 single-day 
COVID-19 infections. By contrast, only 4 people in Georgia tested positive for 
the virus.
Health Minister Arsen Torosian warned on Thursday that Armenia’s healthcare 
system is now so overstretched that hospitals may soon be unable to admit all 
infected people in need of urgent treatment.
Pashinian Criticized For Shaming People In Anti-Coronavirus Drive
        • Robert Zargarian
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks at a news briefing, Yerevan, 
June 4, 2020.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian faced accusations of ethics and privacy 
violations on Friday as he continued to publicize photographs of people not 
following safety rules designed to stop the spread of coronavirus in Armenia.
Pashinian urged supporters to send him such material earlier this week as part 
of his efforts to get Armenians to practice social distancing, avoid large 
gatherings and wear face masks. He has since received and posted on his Facebook 
page dozens of photographs and even videos of unprotected people partying, 
hugging each other, riding overcrowded buses or dangerously queuing up outside 
various offices.
Some of these posts have prompted criticism from civic activists, opposition 
figures and social media users. They were especially upset with a close-up photo 
of a young woman riding a commuter bus in Yerevan. The mini-skirt clad woman did 
not wear a protective mask, unlike two other youths who sat next to her.
Pashinian sarcastically captioned the image as “Unhidden beauty.” Some of his 
followers denounced the woman and even made offensive comments about her.
But many other Facebook users accused the prime minister of disrespecting the 
commuter and breaching her privacy.
Shushan Doydoyan of the Yerevan-based Center for Freedom of Information said 
that Pashinian’s posts run counter to an Armenian law on personal data 
protection even if they pursue a legitimate goal.
“It is obvious that the photos and videos depict concrete people,” Doydoyan told 
RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “I believe that in this case identifying people to 
make them recognizable is not at all necessary for achieving the goal [of 
containing the coronavirus epidemic.]”
Pashinian was also criticized by the mainstream opposition Bright Armenia Party 
(LHK). “Even if you sincerely want to fight the epidemic, it is inadmissible to 
violate other citizens’ dignity and intrude into their private lives with that 
fight,” said Taron Simonian, a senior LHK parliamentarian.
Armenia’s human rights ombudsman, Arman Tatoyan, also voiced serious concerns. 
“I am calling on all social media users to not disseminate the girl’s 
photograph, regardless of whether or not her face is covered,” he wrote on 
Facebook. “If you have already disseminated the photograph please delete it and 
screenshots containing offensive comments.”
“When posting material public figures must bear in mind that no matter how 
legitimate their goal is it could violate a concrete person’s rights,” added 
Tatoyan.
Pashinian deleted the controversial Facebook post later in the day, saying that 
he did not mean to offend anyone. “I apologize to all compatriots who have been 
the targets of harsh words on my page,” he wrote. “But this campaign of public 
oversight will continue.”
Gayane Abrahamian, a parliament deputy from Pashinian’s My Step bloc, defended 
the prime minister’s online “flash mob.”“There are no breaches of personal 
data,” she said.
Over the past week Pashinian has appealed to citizens on a daily basis amid the 
rapidly growing number of new coronavirus cases and deaths registered in 
Armenia. He has said that the epidemic will be defeated if they follow the 
safety rules set by the health authorities.
Pashinian has also repeatedly complained about widespread noncompliance with the 
rules. Opposition members and other critics have responded by accusing him of 
trying to shift the blame for his government’s mishandling of the coronavirus 
crisis to the public.
The Armenian Ministry of Health said on Friday morning that the number of 
confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 596 to 11,817 over the past day. It also 
reported 7 more deaths caused by the virus. The official death toll from the 
epidemic thus reached 183.
Pashinian announced on Monday that he and members of his family have tested 
positive for the virus. He said on Thursday that none of them has shown any 
symptoms of the disease so far.
Armenian Tax Service Explains Chief’s Surprise Resignation
        • Artak Khulian
Armenia -- Davit Ananian, head of the State Revenue Committee, arrives for a 
news conference in Yerevan, April 3, 2019.
Davit Ananian, the head of Armenia’s State Revenue Committee (SRC), has resigned 
after refusing to obey Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s orders to fire one of 
his subordinates, the national tax service said on Friday.
The SRC’s press office said that Pashinian and Ananian had “differences of 
solely working nature related to a personnel issue.” “Mr. Ananian preferred to 
resign, rather than fire one of the efficient cadres with long experience in the 
[taxation] sphere,” it said in a statement.
The statement, which is highly unusual for an Armenian government agency, did 
not name that official or give other details.
An SRC source told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that Ananian objected to the 
sacking of Mher Martirosian, the chief of a major customs terminal outside 
Yerevan which drew Pashinian’s ire earlier this week.
As part of his efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus in Armenia, the prime 
minister shared on his Facebook page a photograph of people standing in a line 
at the terminal and failing to observer social distancing. He demanded that 
Ananian deal with the problem.
Pashinian’s spokeswoman, Mane Gevorgian, declined to confirm or deny that 
Ananian quit because of rejecting the premier’s demand.
Pashinian was reticent about the resignation when he addressed lawmakers via a 
video link later on Friday. He thanked Ananian for his performance before 
promising “new changes” within the tax and customs service.
“We hope that the substantive changes, which began during Mr. Ananian’s tenure, 
will deepen and expand further,” said Pashinian. He did not say whom he will 
appoint as new head of the SRC.
Ananian gave no reasons for his unexpected resignation when he announced it on 
Thursday.
Some media outlets claimed afterwards that several other senior SCR official 
have also decided to step down. The SRC did not comment on those reports.
Ananian, 48, promised a tough crackdown on tax evasion when he took over the SRC 
in May 2018 shortly after the “Velvet Revolution” that brought Pashinian to 
power. The Armenian government’s tax revenues have risen significantly since 
then, a fact regularly touted by Pashinian.
The premier declared on Friday that “2019 was a historic year for Armenia in the 
budgetary sense.” He argued that the SRC exceeded its tax revenue target by 104 
billion drams ($215 million).
The SRC collected about a total of 1.5 trillion drams ($3.1 billion) in various 
taxes and customs duties last year, up by 16.4 percent from 2018.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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