Thursday,
Russian Envoy Meets Serzh Sarkisian
'
Armenia -- Former President Serzh Sarkisian holds a news conference in Yerevan,
August 19, 2020.
The Russian ambassador in Yerevan, Sergei Kopyrkin, reportedly met with former
President Serzh Sarkisian on Wednesday to discuss political developments in
Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Armen Ashotian, the deputy chairman of the former ruling Republican Party of
Armenia (HHK), said on Thursday that the meeting took place “at the initiative
of the Russian side.”
He said Sarkisian thanked Russia for helping to maintain the ceasefire regime in
the conflict zone and providing humanitarian assistance to Karabakh.
The ex-president also stressed the importance of continued Russian involvement
in international efforts to achieve a “final peaceful settlement” of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani dispute, Ashotian wrote on Facebook.
“At the ambassador’s request, President Sarkisian addressed issues relating to
the internal political situation as well as new geopolitical realities in the
region,” he said, adding that Kopyrkin presented Moscow’s positions on the
issues discussed by the two men. He gave no other details.
The conversation came one day after Sarkisian and several other leaders of an
Armenian opposition alliance met to discuss their joint efforts to force Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian to resign over his handling of the recent war in
Karabakh. Former President Robert Kocharian, another bitter critic of Pashinian,
was also in attendance.
Two of those leaders said on Wednesday that the alliance called the Homeland
Salvation Movement will resume anti-government protests soon.
Meanwhile, Kocharian was due to visit Moscow for the second time in less than
two months. A spokeswoman for the ex-president said he will attend a meeting of
the board of a major Russian company.
Kopyrkin met with another former Armenian president, Levon Ter-Petrosian, on
January 25. A spokeswoman for Ter-Petrosian said the meeting focused on the
current situation in the Karabakh conflict zone.
Finance Minister Downplays Armenia’s Rising Debt
• Sargis Harutyunyan
Armenia -- Armenian Finance Minister Atom Janjughazian speaks during a cabinet
meeting in Yerevan, February 4, 2021.
Finance Minister Atom Janjughazian on Thursday acknowledged that Armenia’s
growing public debt is a cause for concern but insisted that the government can
bring it to a “more manageable level.”
The debt rose by $647 million, to almost $8 billion, in the course of 2020 amid
a steep recession primarily caused by the coronavirus pandemic. According to
government projections, it will likely pass the $9 billion mark by the end of
this year.
“It would be strange if the body tasked with public debt management was not
concerned [about the rising debt,]” Janjughazian told reporters after a weekly
cabinet meeting in Yerevan.
In his words, the debt will be equivalent to around 70 percent of Gross Domestic
Product if the Armenian economy grows in 2021 at a 3.2 percent rate forecast by
the government. Slower economic growth, anticipated by the country’s Central
Bank and the International Monetary Fund, would translate into a higher
debt-to-GDP ratio.
“As a rule, for developing countries a debt-to-GDP ratio exceeding 70 percent is
considered a high or at least medium level of risk when it is not clear … how
the authorities plan to bring it back to a more manageable level,” said
Janjughazian.
“We must make every effort to return to that level. We must think not about
reducing the debt in absolute terms but about achieving faster GDP growth, which
is part of our programs,” added the minister.
Tao Zhang, the IMF’s deputy managing director, said in December that the
authorities in Yerevan “remain committed to taking measures to safeguard debt
sustainability.” The Armenian debt should fall to around 60 percent of GDP “over
the medium-term” as a result of those measures, he said in a statement.
The debt rose further last week after Armenia issued its fourth Eurobond worth
$750 million. Janjughazian confirmed that the money will be mostly used for
covering the government’s 2021 budget deficit projected at 341 billion drams
($658 million), or at least 5.3 percent of GDP.
Speaking at Thursday’s cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian touted
the fact that the 10-year dollar-denominated bonds were sold at a record-low
yield of 3.9 percent because of a strong interest from foreign investors.
“This is certainly a very important signal for our economy. A guarantee of
macroeconomic stability has thus been created,” claimed Pashinian.
Pro-Government Lawmakers Seek Curbs On News Reporting
• Robert Zargarian
Armenia - TV and radio microphones set for a news conference in Yerevan.
In a bill criticized by press freedom groups, several pro-government members of
Armenia’s parliament have proposed restrictions on the use of anonymous sources
in news stories reported by the Armenian media.
The bill publicized this week would specifically ban broadcasters, newspapers
and online publications from citing websites and social media accounts belonging
to unknown individuals.
In an explanatory note attached to the proposed amendments to an Armenian law on
mass media, the lawmakers affiliated with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s My
Step bloc say that disseminating information from “sources of unknown origin”
could endanger the country’s national security.
“The proposed amendments cannot be regarded as a restriction of the freedom of
expression or an obstacle to the work of mass media,” they say.
Representatives of Armenian media associations disagree. Boris Navasardian, the
chairman of the Yerevan Press Club, criticized the authors of the bill putting
the emphasis on sources of news reports, rather than their veracity.
Navasardian said media outlets could thus be banned from reporting accurate
information. “If there are no problems with the content [of news reports] then
there must be no legal consequences whatsoever,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian
Service.
Shushan Doydoyan of the Center for Freedom of Information said the draft
amendments seem to be at odds with an existing article of the media law which
essentially allows journalists not to disclose their anonymous sources to state
authorities. “First of all, they must abandon the term ‘anonymous’ and come up
with a different definition,” she said.
Doydoyan suggested that the authorities are primarily concerned about Telegram
channels attacking Pashinian and his political team. Scandalous claims made by
such social media sources are regularly cited by the Armenian press.
My Step’s Artur Hovannisian, the main author of the bill, mentioned the Telegram
channels when he defended the proposed restrictions.
“What we are saying is: ‘Let’s not advertise those sources whose origin is not
known to anyone,’” said Hovannisian. The former journalist insisted that media
outlets would not be banned from quoting their own confidential sources.
Naira Zohrabian, a senior lawmaker representing the opposition Prosperous
Armenia Party (BHK), condemned the bill as an unconstitutional attempt to curb
press freedom and attributed it to “Nikol Pashinian’s fears” of losing power.
“Today I appealed to the president of the [Council of Europe’s] Venice
Commission, Gianni Buquicchio, and am ready to use all possible instruments to
fight against Nikol’s fears together with my media partners,” Zohrabian wrote on
Facebook on Thursday.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Month: February 2021
Security chief: Artsakh working on formation of professional army units ‘on contractual basis’
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 4 2021
The state institutions of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) are working on the formation of professional army units on a contractual basis to ensure the defense of the country’s borders, Secretary of the Artsakh Security Council Vitaly Balasanyan said in a statement released by the Artsakh Public TV on Wednesday.
He strongly denied media reports alleging the Azerbaijani flag will be hoisted at the buildings of government agencies in the Renaissance Square of capital Stepanakert and the Artsakh army will be disbanded.
Also, the security chief said the fears that Azerbaijanis may settle in Krkzhan and Ajapnyak districts of Stepanakert or the village of Ivanyan in Askeran region in the future are “groundless”.
“Dear people of Artsakh, on behalf of the Artsakh authorities, I assure you that despite the irreparable losses we suffered in the wake of the war, the state is constantly committed to fulfilling its obligations to ensure the security and normal life of the population. Therefore, I urge you not to fall for fake news and rest assured that everything possible is being and has been done to create and expand the necessary conditions for the Artsakh people’s dignified life,” the statement said.
3,900 people left Armenia by air in three days, deputy PM says
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 4 2021
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hailed the successful launch of the Travel without COVID-19 program despite some issues that emerged during its implementation.
“I asked for the statistics today, and it turned out that only seven citizens faced obstacles while leaving the country," Pashinyan told a cabinet meeting.
Ignoring the fact that many people are leaving the country, the premier assured that a large number of people are also arriving in Armenia, considering it an important economic factor.
Addressing the issue at the request of Pashinyan, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan said that the travel model with the Travel without COVID-19 app was considered as a pilot program for a month. Since Russia has decided to resume air service with Armenia on a reciprocal basis starting February 15, four flights per week will be performed between Moscow and Yerevan, he said.
"During these three days, 3,900 people left Armenia by air and 3,400 people came to Armenia. 1,423 of the departed passengers were citizens of Armenia, while 1,263 of the passengers who arrived in the country held Armenian passports. In fact, the application is fully functional,” the deputy PM said.
Armenian director’s film included in competition program of prestigious French film festival
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 4 2021
“Beyond the Threshold”, an Armenian short film directed by Angineh Isanians has been selected for the International Competition of the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, a prestigious French film festival held annually in Clermont-Ferrand.
The film which is the director's debut work is a social drama that received the financial support of the National Cinema Center of Armenia in 2019, the center said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
9 Armenian films have been submitted to the film festival, 5 of which were made with the financial support of the Cinema Center.
Artsakh denies rumors about shutting down its permanent representation in Russia
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 4 2021
The Permanent Representation of Artsakh in Russia will not cease its operations, the Artsakh Foreign Ministry told Artsakhpress, denying reports that it will allegedly be shut down.
“Such information is false. The Permanent Representations of the Republic of Artsakh functioning in foreign countries continue their activities normally, aimed at the protection of the interests of the Republic of Artsakh and its citizens in the host countries, the development and advancing of mutually beneficial ties in various sectors and other functions envisaged by law,” the ministry said.
UAV crews of the Russian-Turkish Centre exercise control over the observance of the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 4 2021
The personnel of the Joint Russian-Turkish Centre continues to fulfill the tasks of monitoring compliance with the ceasefire and military operations in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Russia Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.
According to the source, Russian military personnel are monitoring the ceasefire using unmanned aerial vehicles Forpost and Orlan 10.
It is noted that the servicemen of the Joint Centre continuously receive images from unmanned aerial vehicles to the control center, where all movements of military equipment, personnel are analyzed, and all facts of crossing the line of contact of the parties are recorded.
The duty shifts of the Joint Centre collect, summarize and check information on violations of the agreements reached, consider any complaints on issues or problems related to the failure of the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to comply with the agreements reached.
Requests on interim measures under ECHR Rule 39 concerned 228 Armenians and 13 Azerbaijanis
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 4 2021
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) received the complete applications in the inter-State cases Azerbaijan v. Armenia and Armenia v. Azerbaijan on 15 January and 1 February 2021, respectively. According to the press release issued by ECHR, previously, the Court received requests for interim measures, lodged respectively by Armenia and Azerbaijan on 27 September and 27 October 2020. On 29 September 20201 it granted an interim measure under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court.
Taking the view that the developing situation gave rise to a risk of serious violations of the Convention, it called upon both Armenia and Azerbaijan to refrain from taking any measures, in particular military action, which might entail breaches of the
Convention rights of the civilian population, including putting their life and health at risk, and to comply with their obligations under the Convention, notably in respect of Article 2 (right to life) and Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment). In a statement of 4 November 20202, the Court clarified that the States were under an obligation to respect also the Convention rights of those captured during the conflict.
In addition, the Court has received numerous requests under Rule 39 concerning alleged captives, lodged by the Government of either Armenia or Azerbaijan or by relatives of the captives. The requests received so far concern 241 individuals, 228 Armenians and 13 Azerbaijanis. The Court has invited the respondent Government to provide information on the individuals concerned.
Simultaneously, the Court has either suspended the examination under Rule 39 when the respondent Government have provided adequate information on their captives or applied Rule 39 when the Government have not given sufficient information or have not given any information at all.
It is noted that the above-mentioned inter-State applications contain allegations of widespread violations of the Convention during the hostilities starting on 27 September 2020, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians as well as civilian and public property and infrastructure; executions, ill-treatment and mutilations of combatants and civilians; the capture and continued detention of prisoners of war.
Imagine what Pashinyan may concede to satisfy Aliyev’s appetite – Larisa Alaverdyan
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 4 2021
"The ruling regime in Armenia is well trained and instructed in line with the most primitive formulas," Armenia's former Human Rights Defender Larisa Alaverdyan told a press conference on Thursday. In her words, the ruling force comprises of a group of people, a fifth column, which has obtained some knowledge over the time.
"Today, we have that group of people in power, which is not only ashamed of its deeds, but is proud of own achievements since they are not accountable to people who are concerned with preservation of national values, but to those who have brought them to power," said Alaverdyan.
In the words of the former Ombudswoman, efforts to improve Armenian-Turkish relations were on the agenda of all leaders of Armenia.
"During the tenure of both the second and third presidents there were discussions on the topic. The Armenian people never opposed to the idea of having normal relations with neighbors. However, because of Turkey[s policy to dictate its rules, we have never agreed to that," said Alaverdyan, adding: "There is an agreement now. I am confident there are circles in the Armenian public who are serving to that fifth column. Others do not fully perceive the existing reality. The level of civic conscious we have today does not comply to the complexity of problems we are facing."
Alaverdyan suggested centers with the most vicious geopolitical ideas are extremely active in Armenia.
"We have descended the zero level of internal resistance. We have lost our ideological, health and physiological immune. When we repeatedly voice about the need for the authorities be held responsible, they are scared of the changes. The think about the responsibility they may face in the future which makes them not to leave."
In Alaverdyan's words, there is another reason for the authorities not to leave. "They have a plan to sign two more agreements, one with Turkey, the other – with Azerbaijan. I suppose the plan is there. It means Azerbaijan wants to sing peace pact with Artsakh within its borders. Apart from that, they have chosen Syunik province as another target. Azerbaijan's appetite for Zangezur is well-known. By the way, Azerbaijan has territorial claims to all of its neighbors, including Turkey," said Alaverdyan.
She also blamed Pashinyan for the fact of having numerous captives in Azerbaijan. "Aliyev also knows about Pashinyan's guilt and will always make use of that fact. One may only guess what Aliyev may demand against the prisoners. It could be territories and agreements. We see only the top of the iceberg," said Alaverdyan.
As to unblocking of communication routes, the speaker pointed to the complexity of the process which has a direct impact on security. "Imagine what citizen Pashinyan may concede to satisfy Aliyev's appetite," Alaverdyan concluded.
Pashinyan dismisses the head of State Tourism Committee
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 4 2021
Susanna Safaryan has been dismissed from the post of the Chairperson of the State Tourism Committee of Armenia. The dismissal came upon Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s decision.
In a Facebook post, Safaryan clarified that the dismissal was on the grounds of lack of professional capability and her work.
The post also listed all the programs implemented by the Tourism Committee led by Safaryan in 2019-2021.
Tigran Abrahamyan: What purpose serve formal updates on the border situation if not to mislead the public?
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 4 2021
Political Scientist Tigran Abrahamyan questions on Facebook the logic of daily border updates by the Ministry of Defense.
"The Ministry of Defense of Armenia has recently started daily updates on the situation across the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, citing the National Security Service (NSS) report about the situation on Vorotan-Davit Bek road section which is under the protection of NSS border troops," Abrahamyan wrote, reminding of another news that came days ago from the Russian Defense Ministry.
It said that on January 30, two Azerbaijani servicemen had been arrested in Tegh village of Syunik province by NSS officers, however the news was not covered in the Armenian MoD's updates.
"Is there any reasonable answer for hiding the news about the border violation by the Azeris and the process of their handover? Why does the Ministry releases disinformation every day, insisting no incidents are reported across the length of the border when we have the incident with the two Azeri servicemen?" Abrahamyan wrote, adding that the National Security Service didn't report about the incident either.
"What purpose do the formal press releases serve if not to mislead the public? Are they aimed at distorting the reality, fooling the people or degrading the image of your structures and messages? When will we leave this frivolous approach," Abrahamyan wrote.