Month: July 2020

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 07/01/2020

Arpi Talalian 
                                        Wednesday, July 1, 2020


Pashinian Concerned By Armenia’s Coronavirus Crisis

        • Naira Nalbandian

Armenia -- A healthcare worker in protective gear tends to a COVID-19 patient at 
the Surp Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center, Yerevan, June 5, 2020.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on Wednesday that the novel coronavirus is 
continuing to spread in Armenia despite his government’s efforts to get people 
to follow its anti-epidemic rules.

Pashinian reported a nearly 30 percent year-on-year surge in the total number of 
deaths registered in the country in June.

“Of course changes in these mortality statistics are not fully connected with 
the coronavirus, but the coronavirus situation definitely has a significant 
impact on them,” he told a daily news briefing in Yerevan.

The Armenian Ministry of Health reported earlier in the day that 10 more people 
died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 453.

The figure does not include the deaths of 149 other people who were also 
infected with the virus. The ministry says that these deaths were primarily 
caused by other, pre-existing diseases.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country of about 3 million rose 
by 523 to 26,065. Ministry data shows that almost 29 percent of coronavirus 
tests carried out on Tuesday came back positive.

“Unfortunately, we are still not succeeding in achieving our main strategic goal 
in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic,” said Pashinian. “Our main 
strategic goal is to learn to live with the coronavirus.”

The prime minister again complained that many Armenians still do not practice 
social distancing or wear face masks in public areas despite his and other 
officials’ persistent appeals. He said that on Tuesday alone police fined almost 
2,700 citizens for not complying with these requirements.


Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian at a news conference in Yerevan, July 
1, 2020.

Opposition politicians and other critics of Pashinian blame his government for 
the continuing coronavirus crisis. Some of them say that the government never 
properly enforced a nationwide lockdown imposed in late March and lifted it too 
soon.

Pashinian indicated his continuing opposition to renewed lockdown restrictions 
in the country. “We are continuing to put the emphasis on changing the personal 
behavior of each of us because this is how we are going to overcome the 
coronavirus epidemic with minimum economic losses,” he said.

Meanwhile, the European Union and the World Health Organization (WHO) donated 
10,000 test kits to Armenia on Wednesday. In a joint statement, they said that 
the donation “will allow wider testing for COVID-19 across the country free of 
charge.”

The Armenian health authorities carry out an average of over 2,000 coronavirus 
tests on a daily basis. They are expected to start using soon coronavirus tests 
manufactured by the Yerevan-based Institute of Molecular Biology.

The director of the state-run institute, Arsen Arakelian, announced that it will 
produce at least 2,000 tests a day. Armenia will not have to import them 
anymore, he said.



Armenia's Central Bank Sees Economy Contracting 4% In 2020


Armenia - Workers at a commercial greenhouse in Ararat province, 19Apr2017.

(Reuters) - Armenia’s economy will contract by 4 percent in 2020 due to the 
negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but is expected to recover and grow 
5.5 percent next year, Martin Galstian, the country’s Central Bank head, said on 
Tuesday.

The Central Bank had previously forecast a contraction of 0.7 percent this year 
after growth of 7.6 percent in 2019. The worst-affected sectors of the economy 
are services and construction as well as international tourism, Galstian said 
while presenting the bank’s quarterly inflation report.

Inflation is expected to be around 1.9 percent in 2020. Armenia’s consumer price 
index declined 0.1 percent in May month-on-month, but rose 1.2 percent 
year-on-year.

In the report, the bank said the amount of private remittances would decline by 
22-25 percent this year due to the drop in oil prices in Russia, Armenia’s main 
trade partner, and Moscow’s ban on migrant workers during the pandemic.

However, it said that would not have a significant impact on GDP.

The Central Bank cut its key refinancing rate to 4.5 percent from 5 percent last 
month, citing weakening external and internal demand as well as a slow pace of 
recovery.

The country of around 3 million people had reported 25,542 cases of the 
coronavirus as of Tuesday, and 443 deaths. It is the worst-affected country in 
the South Caucasus region.



Armenian President Objects To Property Tax Hikes


Armenia -- President Armen Sarkissian addresses an international online seminar 
on the coronavirus pandemic, Yerevan, June 24, 2020.

President Armen Sarkissian has voiced serious objections to a government bill 
that will sharply increase property taxes in Armenia while agreeing to sign it 
into law.

In a statement released late on Tuesday, the presidential press office said 
Sarkissian believes the bill passed by the Armenian parliament last week is 
“untimely” given the continuing coronavirus crisis in the country and its dire 
socioeconomic consequences.

“Even if the law is not going to be immediately enforced [in full,] the 
moral-psychological consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and resulting 
financial and economic problems will be felt for a long time,” it said.

The statement added that Sarkissian signed the bill only because it does not 
seem to contradict the Armenian constitution. It noted that “unfortunately” the 
constitution does not allow the largely ceremonial head of state to veto bills 
or send them back to the National Assembly for further discussion.

The two parliamentary opposition parties as well as other critics of the 
Armenian government have also spoken out against property tax hikes, saying that 
they will put a heavy financial burden on low-income families.

The government and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s My Step bloc dismiss the 
criticism. They say that the measure will lead to a more fair income 
distribution and significantly boost local community budgets.

Government officials have also argued that proceeds from the property tax are 
currently equivalent to just 0.2 percent of Armenia’s Gross Domestic Product, 
compared with 1.1 percent in neighboring Georgia and 1.2 percent in Russia.

The controversial bill will gradually introduce a complex progressive scale of 
property taxation over the next four years. For example, the owners of small 
apartments worth an estimated 23 million drams ($48,000) will pay 18,000 drams, 
while ownership of larger properties that cost 58 million drams will translate 
into 108,000 drams ($224) in annual taxes.

Tax authorities will levy at least 326,000 drams from apartments worth 100 
million drams or more. The owners of large and expensive houses will have to pay 
even more.

The expensive properties include Soviet-built apartments located in the center 
of Yerevan. Many of their owners inherited them from their parents and are not 
necessarily affluent. Critics say that they will be hit hardest by the higher 
taxes and could even be forced to sell their homes. Some of these homeowners 
circulated late last week a petition urging the government to reconsider the 
measure.



Japan Donates Medical Equipment To Armenia


Japan -- Ambulance workers in protective gear prepare to transfer coronavirus 
patients from the cruise ship Diamond Princess at in Yokohama, February 12, 2020.

Armenia has received a $3.7 million grant from Japan to buy sophisticated 
medical equipment that could be used in its fight against the coronavirus.

An agreement on the release of the Japanese government grant was signed on 
Tuesday by Armenian Finance Minister Atom Janjughazian and Japan’s Ambassador to 
Armenia Jun Yamada.

The Armenian Finance Ministry said the money will be spent on the purchase of 
Japanese-made magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines and other medical 
equipment. It said some of that equipment will be installed in four ambulance 
vehicles catering for residents of the country’s remote communities.

“This project aims to assist Armenia in its fight against the COVID-19 epidemic 
by strengthening its mid- to long-term healthcare and medical system,” read a 
statement released by the Japanese Embassy in Yerevan.

“I sincerely hope that the new equipment from Japan will contribute to 
significantly upgrading the capacity of healthcare and medical institutions in 
the country,” it quoted Yamada as saying.

Health Minister Arsen Torosian thanked the Japanese government for the donation, 
according to the statement.

Since the start of the coronavirus epidemic, Armenia has also received medical 
equipment and other supplies from the United States, the European Union, Russia 
and China.

U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy told RFE/RL’s Armenian service on June 4 that 
Washington has allocated $5.4 million in fresh coronavirus-related aid to 
Armenia. She said much of that aid will be channeled into Armenian laboratories 
and healthcare services dealing with “the most severe cases” of COVID-19.

Japan is also the main foreign donor of the Armenian Rescue Service (ARS), 
having provided it with several dozen fire engines and other firefighting 
equipment, worth a combined $22 million, over the past decade.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2020 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Turkey: Verdict expected in trial of high-profile human rights activists facing up to 15 years in jail

Vardan Badalian 
Amnesty International

Turkey: Verdict expected in trial of high-profile human rights
activists facing up to 15 years in jail

July 2, 2020

A verdict is expected tomorrow in the cases of 11 human rights
defenders, including two former Amnesty Turkey leaders, who have spent
nearly three years fighting trumped-up charges and could face up to 15
years behind bars if found guilty.

Ahead of the hearing in Istanbul, Amnesty International said only the
acquittal of all 11 could deliver justice for the activists who face
baseless terrorism charges.

“From the start, this has been a politically motivated trial, just
like so many others against other human rights defenders, journalists,
lawyers, academics and activists,” said Idil Eser, former Amnesty
Turkey Director and one of the human rights defenders on trial.

“These prosecutions aim to silence those in the dock and send a
message to the rest of society: fight for human rights or speak the
truth at your peril. We’ll be hoping for the best, but ready for the
worst.”

Over the course of the past 11 hearings, the ‘terrorism’ allegations
made against all 11 defendants have been repeatedly and categorically
disproven, including by the state’s own evidence. The prosecution’s
attempt to present legitimate human rights activities as unlawful acts
has comprehensively failed.

After more than 14 months in prison, former Amnesty Turkey Chair and
now Honorary Chair Taner Kılıç was released on bail in August 2018.
Eight of the others spent almost four months each behind bars before
they were released in October 2017. But thousands of others caught up
in Turkey’s deep and far-reaching crackdown on dissent remain in jail.

At the tenth hearing in November 2019, the prosecutor requested
acquittal for five of the 11, and convictions for the remaining six.

“This verdict matters, not just to these 11 women and men and their
families but to everyone who values human rights, in Turkey and
beyond. No matter where you live, no matter which government rules
you, you may need to have your rights defended one day,” said Nils
Muižnieks, Amnesty International’s newly-appointed Europe Director.

“Tomorrow, the eyes of the world will be on the courtroom in Istanbul.
Any verdict other that acquittal for the 11 would send a shiver down
the spines of those who believe in peaceful civil society activism.
But whatever happens with our friends and colleagues in the Büyükada
case, we will continue to fight for justice for all in Turkey.”


BACKGROUND

At the hearing in November 2019, the state prosecutor presented his
final opinion requesting convictions against Taner Kılıç for
“membership of a terrorist organization”, Idil Eser, Özlem Dalkıran,
Günal Kurşun, Veli Acu and Nejat Taştan for “knowingly and willingly
assisting a terrorist organization”. He requested that the court
acquit Nalan Erkem, İlknur Üstün, Şeyhmus Özbekli, Ali Gharavi and
Peter Steudtner.

At the last hearing in February, seven of the human rights defenders
and their lawyers presented their final defence statements. At the
hearing on 3 July the four remaining human rights defenders and their
lawyers will present their final statements before a verdict is
announced.

For more information about the case visit
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2020/01/turkey-istanbul-human-rights-activists-justice/__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!7lnxqmy1S08ChiwN_wUcl0oXYBlhKlabe696A7bnWfBdT26ED8MvXyptw1Q0uw$
 

For an analysis of the case against Taner Kılıç visit:
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur44/7331/2017/en/__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!7lnxqmy1S08ChiwN_wUcl0oXYBlhKlabe696A7bnWfBdT26ED8MvXyqHZjaajQ$
 

Over the past three years more than 2 million people spoke out to call
for justice for the 11. Well-known figures who signed open letters (in
2017) include: Edward Snowden, Catherine Deneuve, Ai Weiwei, Angélique
Kidjo, Anish Kapoor, Peter Gabriel, Zoë Kravitz, Nazanin Boniadi, Don
Cheadle, Marisa Tomei, Adam McKay, Paul Haggis, Joshua Malina, Fisher
Stevens, Claire Danes, Ben Stiller, Whoopi Goldberg, Mike Farrell, Eva
Orner, Peter Sarsgaard, Tim Roth, Kathy Najimy, Mark Ruffalo, Zach
Galifianakis, Bruce Cohen, Shira Piven, Mike White, Tim Kring, James
McAvoy, Francois Morel, Elif Shafak, Bianca Jagger, Juliet Stevenson,
Juliette Binoche, Jane Birkin, Isabelle Huppert and Tanita Tikaram.

Armenia: Limited access to education – the unseen consequence of conflict

Nyrie Kalashian
JAM News
July 1 2020
01.07.2020
    International Committee of the Red Cross Delegation to Armenia

The ICRC has been present in communities located on both sides along the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, helping the affected populations mitigate the consequences of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Our activities have addressed some of the primary concerns of people living in these areas, such as security, access to farmland and water, emergency health care as well as issues of economic, social and psychological well-being. In 2019, we embarked on a process of enhancing meaningful and permanent access to education for children living in villages on both sides of the border. It is critical that children receive quality and competitive educational services despite the insecurity and volatility of their situation.

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

Here’s Satenik, one of the kids who surrounds us as we arrive at Khndzorut, an Armenian village situated on the border with Azerbaijan. Her first question is if we speak English. Learning that we do, she looks at us with delight and then shares her dream of becoming an English interpreter and traveling to the United States.

But, her school has no English teacher.

Being cut off from the humdrum of a busy life, the tiny border village of Khndzorut does not have much to offer, and the school epitomizes that. While the school routine of around a hundred children may look anything but unconventional, its conditions are striking.

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

The ramshackle building hasn’t been renovated in five decades, turning into a gloomy and cold place. This dullness is even more stark during winter, when there is no heating or hot water. Humidity is also a problem here – grass and roots inhabit the classrooms as much as the kids do, and moss paints the corridor walls a deep green.

We can smell the mould and hear the floor crack under our feet in the sports hall. With temperatures dipping very low during winter, it’s impossible to use the space for any physical education classes.

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

The half-destroyed school buffet is no better. The gadgets don’t function properly and water freezes in the tap. A part of this space is used to serve food to younger students during summer. For the remainder of the year, the tiny place under the stairs turns into a dining area.

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

The poor condition of Khndzorut school adds to the vulnerability of living along the border, which needless to say, has a tremendous impact on children.

In a large concert hall, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has walled in windows for heightened safety. It is a temporary refuge in case of shooting or shelling. The cracks in the walls intersect with posters about danger of landmines and how to stay safe. It’s been 27 years since the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted and the border schools in both Armenia and Azerbaijan feel the need to keep their children secure.

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

When we speak to Satenik’s mother Varsik, we realize how vague the future looks in this border village.

If it continues this way and there is no English teacher next year too, I will send Satenik to Vayk, which is the closest town to us to take private classes. I will do everything to help my daughter fulfil her dream.

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

Satenik’s grandfather, however, tempers her optimism. Having spent his entire life in the village, he says he cannot remember the last time there was a wedding in Khndzorut. “Thirty houses stand empty,” he says, adding, “The new generation is very promising, but we are cut off from everything. People move to towns with their kids in search of a better life. This is an ageing village close to destruction.”

Most men in Khndzorut earn their livelihood by doing contractual military service. Satenik’s father has also been a contractual serviceman for 13 years.

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

War seems to lurk everywhere – one can sense it in each house and even at school. Alvard Mikayelyan, the librarian, says children are assigned to read biographies of people killed during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict of 1990s.

One way or another, our children are prepared for war.

The locals have lived through periods of tumult and peace since the 1990s, which has had an impact on this remote village.

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

“There is nothing interesting to do here,” says Anna, a 15-year-old student. “We cling to our phones all day long.”

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

There are no extracurricular activities, no clubs or playgrounds. An abandoned football field that blends into the landscape now serves as a grazing area for cows and horses.

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

Idleness is visible aplenty in Khndzorut, and it becomes particularly salient as the lack of choices emerge. If you are a boy, you either become a shepherd or a contractual serviceman. Hrayr Ohanyan is a teacher of informatics and sometimes takes sheep to the mountains. If it coincides with his teaching days, Hrayr skips classes. During summer, children occasionally join their fathers in this routine.

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

When Onik’s father is away on army duty, the 10-year-old dons the cap of the “man of the house”. When he grows up, Onik wants to become a doctor or a teacher of literature and as to whether he too will be a contractual serviceman, he exclaims, “Oh, no!” but then takes a pause and continues, “We will see…”.

“When I turn 18, I will have to do my military service,” says another young boy, Hovik Khachatryan. “After that, I am not sure what life holds for me.”

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

For the little girls in this village, there are just two paths to choose from – either a teacher or a homemaker after getting married.

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

Back at the school, we meet Satenik’s classmate Manvel from the seventh grade. He rushes to get on a Soviet-era bus to travel a couple of kilometres to the neighbouring Nor Aznaberd. There was a time when Azerbaijanis lived in that village. Things changed with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, making the villagers swap their homes with Armenians who left their abodes on the other side of the border.

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

As there is no school in Nor Aznaberd, Manvel, his two brothers and other children travel to Khndzorut every day to study. The bus is old, has no heating and often breaks down.

Manvel is full of dreams and tries to study well. His parents think about leaving the village one day in search for a better future for the kids. His father Vagharhak Antonyan is also a contractual military man and spends two weeks in service and other two weeks with the family. These shifts define almost everything in their life, including the waiting and joy upon the father’s return home.

We are afraid to send our children to school. They wake up very early and have to cross the road exposed to military positions, which is risky.

As a 12-year-old, Manvel stares at the realities of his existence every day, and his mother says, “I know he is disappointed.”

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

Holding similar views are Arakel Hayrapetyan and his brother Zohrak, who live in a house on the edge of the village together with ten other family members. For them, their life choices were made early in life and the pattern seems to be repeating for their five little sons. Both work in the military and do alternate shifts so that one of them can be home. Accordingly, some of the kids cheer up while the others become sad every two weeks.

We enter a spacious room covered with rags all around. The entire family is gathered around the wood stove, closer to light and warmth.

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

Beyond all this feeling of isolation and restriction, love also blooms in the air of Khndzorut. While the daily struggles of the grown-ups might bring dismay, the dreams of their children radiate optimism. In the middle of both these extremes lies the reality. And the reality is that life in this border village is dictated by conflict-related risks and consequences, thus putting basic facilities like education on the backburner.

Photo: Areg Balayan, ICRC

Summer conscription kicks off in Armenia

Anna Tamamian
Panorama, Armenia
July 1 2020

The summer 2020 military draft has launched in Armenia, with the first conscripts drafted to the compulsory military service on Wednesday, Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said on Facebook.

In parallel with the proper implementation of the summer conscription process in the Republican Central Military Assembly Point, strict anti-coronavirus measures are in place to prevent the spread of the infection in the armed forces, she said.

All conscripts are tested for Covid-19 before joining the military and taking part in the lottery, the spokeswoman added.

“Thus in the next two months, hundreds of young people, including athletes, musicians and future economists, will wear the uniform of the national army and become soldiers, continuing to keep the borders intact,” Stepanyan said, wishing the best of luck to all draftees.

Earlier in June Tovmasyan Charitable Foundation donated a large number of coronavirus tests to the Armenian army, which will be used for testing the conscripts.



PM’s wife: Armenia to soon have first department of palliative care for pediatric cancer

Emil Lazarian
News.am, Armenia
July 1 2020
                (PHOTOS)

14:12, 01.07.2020
                  

Situation gets tense nearby Amulsar gold mine of Armenia

Hagop Kamalian
News.am, Armenia
July 1 2020

13:55, 01.07.2020
                          

There was a moment of tension Wednesday between civil activists, residents of Jermuk town, and police at the checkpoint nearby Amulsar gold mine of Armenia, and a shoving match ensued.

The thing is that an agreement was reached Tuesday that the staff of Amulsar's new security organization leave the area, and only those who are on duty remain, but this staff has not left yet.

The residents of Jermuk were demanding not only the staff of this security organization leave, but also take out their cars. The head of this security service said that the agreement was in force, they would take it out during the day, but they just needed some time to find houses for rent in Jermuk so that their employees could stay there.

An agreement has not yet been reached on removing the cars.

The chief of the provincial police department said that everything would gradually be resolved, and there was no need to cause tension.

Negotiations continue.

Media Advocate: Police again used against journalist and media outlet

Ani Kharatian
Panorama, Armenia
July 1 2020

Media Advocate initiative reacted to the recent incident involving the editor-in-chief of Ankakh.com media outlet. Below is a statement issued by the initiative on Wednesday.

“Ankakh.com editor-in-chief Varduhi Ishkhanyan wrote on her Facebook page: “I was recently called by the criminal police department and very politely invited to the police to provide an explanation about my post on Jhangiryan. I of course refused noting that if they are really interested in revealing election fraudsters, they should apply to the CEC (Central Electoral Commission) and demand the data of the opposition proxies of 1995-1996, members of the commissions, opposition parliamentary candidates and investigate the cases in order to find the culprits.”

Media Advocate initiative states that the police is once again used against a media outlet and a journalist, and an attempt is being made to stand against freedom of speech again, to restrict the professional work of the media.

We urge to stop this vicious practice, to pursue the detection of physical and cyber attacks against the media, instead of inviting journalists to the police for their publications."

Competition for the development of Gyumri Friendship Park architectural solutions kicks off in Armenia

Manouk Vasilian
Public Radio of Armenia
July 1 2020

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The Initiatives for Development of Armenia (IDeA) Foundation launches an open international competition for the development of architectural solutions for the recreational infrastructure of Gyumri Friendship Park. Applications are open on July 1-29, 2020.

The competition makes part of the integrated development and restoration of Gyumri within Armenia 2020 Initiative. The renovated park will not only become a new public venue for the Gyumri people and guests of the city but also a symbol of friendship and gratitude to the countries that have supported the city’s rehabilitation after the devastating earthquake in 1988.

The competition is aimed at selecting the best architectural and planning solutions reflecting the city’s identity and conveying the idea of international collaboration. The design of the recreational infrastructure elements will help talented architects from across the globe to co-create the modern public venue and diversify the territory of the city.

The competition will be held in 2 rounds. Based on the results of the first round, the jury will shortlist 20 participants for the development of architectural solutions. The participants will get technical task containing the necessary information about the park’s design project and the terms of reference for the development of the objectives. Following the second round, the jury will select the finalists of the competition in 3 nominations.

In October 2020, the winners will be announced and the park’s final design project will be presented. The finalists will have the opportunity to realize their architectural designs in the new public space in Gyumri.

The jury is comprised of renowned experts, including Andrei Ivanov, architect and researcher, Nune Petrosyan, Deputy Chair for the Urban Development Committee of Armenia, Udo Dagenbach, Landscape architect and Founder of “Glaßer und Dagenbach GBR” office, Fedor Rashevsky, Chief Architect and Partner of OFFCON Bureau, Emma Baghdasaryan, Aide to the Head of Shirak Regional Administration.

The park is located in the northern part of the city, between the historical center and residential and industrial areas. The central street links all the main sights and public spaces of Gyumri. The renovated park will become the first modern green area in the city center on this itinerary, popular among locals and tourists.

“The restoration of the Friendship Park is very important for the people of Gyumri. It will become a unique project, fostering the development of the tourism and the city’s infrastructure. We are glad that the people of Gyumri have accepted the project and embraced its significance. This project brought people together and this truly will be a park of friendship and gratitude,” says Ruben Vardanyan, Co-Founder of IDeA Foundation.

$300,000 donated to Armenia’s ambulance service

Toneyan Mark
Public Radio of Armenia
July 1 2020

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The “Tashir” foundation has donated $300,000 to the “Hayastan” All Armenian Fund to provide one-time financial assistance to all 1,786 doctors, nurses, support and sanitation staff, dispatchers and drivers of the Armenian Ambulance Services.

Today senior, middle, junior and support staff of the Armenian Ambulance Service received financial assistance according to the distribution list provided by the RA Ministry of Health:  Yerevan- 36,930,000 AMD, Kotayq- 16,020,000 AMD, Lori- 16,645,000 AMD, Shirak- 13,330,000 AMD, Ararat- 11,740,000 AMD, Armavir- 9,795,000 AMD, Gegharquniq- 9,985,000 AMD, Syunik- 8,630,000 AMD, Aragatsotn- 7,960,000 AMD, Tavush- 7,925,000 AMD, Vayots Dzor- 4,890,000 AMD.

The ongoing cooperation between the “Tashir” foundation and the Hayastan All Armenian fund as part of the Pandemic campaign began in April 2020 with a donation of  $ 100,000 . The funds were allocated to measures taken to overcome the Pandemic and financing the return of Armenian citizens from Russia.

Launched on March 18th, the global Armenian fundraising campaign “Covid-19 Armenia: United Against the Pandemic” is undertaken with the support of President of the Republic of Armenia, the President of the Republic of Artsakh, the Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs and the Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia. To streamline the process all financial support from the Diaspora will be coordinated by the “Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund.

As of today, $ 770,000 has been raised, of which approximately $ 600,000 has already been used to purchase large-scale medical supplies and equipment, to provide financial assistance to the staff of the Armenian Ambulance Services, to deliver monthly food packages to the vulnerable elderly citizens and to bring back to Armenia many compatriots.

The Fund has also received large-scale in-kind contributions of medical goods from various countries, which were provided to the Ministry of Health. During the fundraising campaign, the global Armenian network continues to expand, and new collaborations are being established with various organizations both in Armenia and the Diaspora.