17:26,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Toakyev has appointed new Ambassador to Armenia, AKIpress reports.
Bolat Imanbayev has been named the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to Armenia, replacing Timur Urazayev.
Prior to his appointment, Bolat Imanbayev was serving as Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Malaysia and Brunei.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
17:20,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. The documentary Truth To Power about soloist of System of a Down Serj Tankian and the 2018 Armenian Revolution will premiere on February 19.
Before the premiere Rolling Stone has released a short clip about the film.
In the clip, Tankian visits the close-knit Armenian community (Little Armenia) hidden in the heart of Hollywood. “My own family came here to Los Angeles, migrated in 1975,” Tankian says while driving through the neighborhood. “Right in the middle of Hollywood, the Armenian community had a school, a church, different cafes, bakeries, restaurants. It was a settlement with Armenians from all over the world.”
Truth to Power, out on VOD and in theaters on February 19th, examines the singer’s role in the 2018 Armenian Revolution, as well as his history of activism.
“With exclusive interviews, adventures, and original footage personally filmed by Serj, Truth to Power allows audiences backstage access to an international rock star whose faith in music not only revolutionized heavy metal but also world events,” Oscilloscope Laboratories said of the documentary as quoted by Rolling Stone. “Throughout his life, the musician has pursued social justice, harnessing the power of his songs and celebrity for real political change. Serj’s voice is equally likely to take on American corporate greed as lambast the corrupt regime of his homeland. His decades-long campaign for formal U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide was finally approved by Congress last year. Governments hate him. People love him.”
17:15,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. The European Union and the WHO Regional Office for Europe will work together in a major effort to support the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination in Armenia, the WHO Armenia Country Office said in a statement.
The project funded by the European Union and implemented by WHO will cover all phases – constituting “end-to-end” support – of COVID-19 vaccine deployment and vaccination and will serve as a major investment to strengthen the routine immunisation system.
The project will be implemented by WHO over a three-year period as part of a €40 million European Union-funded initiative to support six countries in the WHO European Region in preparing, deploying and monitoring rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
“Vaccines bring us closer towards the end of the pandemic. However, we will never beat the pandemic if the vaccination coverage concentrates only in certain parts of the world. The European Union stands by Armenia also during the process of vaccination to ensure we soon can meet together without the fear for lives of ourselves and our close ones. Together, we will beat this pandemic faster”, said the Ambassador of the European Union to Armenia, Andrea Wiktorin.
“COVID-19 knows no borders; it unites and demands united solutions. It is noteworthy that the solidarity principle made the world stand together to fight this calamity in unity. The long-lasting cooperation and the continuity of common projects between the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia, the European Union and the World Health Organization is a valid proof for this. Throughout the pandemic, our country faced yet another challenge. The disastrous war was a serious ordeal not only for the state but also for the healthcare system. Despite WHO’s urges to end the war, Armenia was forced to go through a 44-days long hell. Nevertheless, during the intensification of the pandemic and the war, Armenia has always felt the results of the strong support and cooperation. Even today, our colleagues are standing strong next to us and are willing to assist in the process of procuring vaccines. We are full of hope that “Health and Peace” joint initiative will help member states endure all the challenges that this pandemic has posed”, said Anahit Avanesyan, Minister of Health of Armenia.
Egor Zaitsev, the WHO Representative and Head of the WHO Country Office in Armenia, said: “Vaccines offer hope and protection to those fighting on the frontlines of this pandemic and to those at highest risk living in fear of its devastating impact. Thanks to this generous support, WHO can strengthen its collaboration with the Government of Armenia to ensure that vaccines can reach those who need them most, as soon and as efficiently as possible”.
The funds will be used initially to support the first phase of preparedness and deployment, with an emphasis on imminent needs in strategic programmatic areas such as planning, equipment/supplies, training of health workers and information campaigns.
The project builds on the European Union’s and WHO’s ongoing support to countries’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the joint €35 million EU Solidarity for Health Initiative, aimed to support the partner countries in their fight against the virus and address better the needs of the most vulnerable people.
17:13,
YEREVAN, 12 FEBUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 12 February, USD exchange rate up by 0.21 drams to 524.28 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.79 drams to 634.80 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.05 drams to 7.06 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 1.97 drams to 722.82 drams.
The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.
Gold price down by 30.54 drams to 31016.71 drams. Silver price down by 1.58 drams to 457.22 drams. Platinum price down by 42.20 drams to 20834.01 drams.
15:13,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. Armenian public-political circles consider “an act of vandalism” and strongly condemn the desecration of the memorial honoring the victims of the genocides of the Jewish and Armenian peoples which is located in the Circular Park of Yerevan City, and call for a swift investigation to bring the vandals to account. Yerevan law enforcement agencies launched an immediate investigation and city authorities have sent specialists to restore and clean the memorial from the paint.
Vice Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan strongly condemned the vandalism of the “Live and Not Forget” memorial. In a statement, Simonyan called for a proper investigation to apprehend those who committed the “vicious” act.
“We strongly condemn the desecration of the memorial of the Genocides of the Jewish and Armenian Peoples located in the Yerevan Circular Park,” Simonyan said in a statement. “This manifestation of vandalism is nothing else but a crime against universal values, and it should be properly investigated, and those who committed this crime should be held to account in order to rule out and prevent the repetition of such incidents in the future,” Simonyan said.
Photo – Vice Speaker Alen Simonyan laying flowers at the memorial on January 27, 2021 - Holocaust Remembrance Day
The Vice Speaker noted that such “vicious” acts are deprived of any morals and do not have a place within a society which survived genocide and is the most vocal advocate of fighting against this crime.
In turn, Mayor of Yerevan Hayk Marutyan expressed hope that law enforcement agencies will give a swift and adequate response to the incident.
“Such an encroachment against any memorial is an unequivocally unacceptable and condemnable act which should be ruled out from our city. Representatives of various nationalities have been living side by side in Yerevan for centuries, proudly bearing the honorable title of being a Yerevantsi together with their ethnicity, and no any motive can disrupt this solidarity. I hope that law enforcement agencies will give a swift and adequate response,” the Yerevan Mayor said in a statement.
Photo – Flowers and a wreath seen at the memorial after a commemoration event honoring Holocaust victims on January 27, 2021
Honored Artist of Armenia, Jewish-Armenian composer William Weiner said he sees “a foreign trace” in the vandalism and that he is certain that this couldn’t have been committed by an Armenian. “As a citizen of Armenia, as a native Yerevantsi, I very much regret that things like this are happening here. I don’t understand it, I don’t want to understand it, this is the country where never before have things like this happened, and I cannot understand who organized this. This is unacceptable for me. I am sure this wasn’t committed by an Armenian. I am certain that this is from outside,” Weiner told ARMENPRESS.
Prosperous Armenia Party Member of Parliament Naira Zohrabyan, who is a member of the parliamentary Armenia-Israel friendship group, also condemned the vandalism. “This is vandalism. Regardless what our attitude is (it is definitely negative) for the Israeli arms sales and overt military and political support to Azerbaijan during the latest Artsakh War, the Holocaust memorial can’t be desecrated. We publicly express our protest to Israel’s policy, but desecrating the memory of victims is vandalism, and I think it doesn’t befit us. I condemn Israel’s military support to Azerbaijan and the Israeli foreign ministry’s statements supporting the Turkish-Azerbaijani military aggression, but I bow before the memory of the innocent victims of the Holocaust,” Zohrabyan said.
The “To Live and Not Forget: To the Memory of the Victims of the Genocides of the Armenian and Jewish Peoples” memorial in the Circular Park of Yerevan was vandalized on February 12.
Yerevan police said they have launched proceedings to find and apprehend the suspects who vandalized the memorial.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
14:35,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sent congratulatory letters to China’s President Xi Jinping and Premier of the State Council Li Keqiang on the Chinese New Year – the Spring Festival, the Armenian PM’s Office told Armenpress.
The letter addressed to the Chinese President reads:
“Your Excellency,
On behalf of the Armenian people and myself personally I address my warm congratulations and wishes to you and the good people of China on the occasion of the Chinese New Year – the Spring Festival. I wish that the Spring Festival brings peace and welfare to all families.
Armenia attaches great importance to the consistent development and strengthening of the traditional friendly relations with China.
Your Excellency, please accept my best wishes of good health and success”.
The Armenian PM’s letter addressed to the Premier of the State Council of China reads:
“Your Excellency,
On behalf of the Armenian government I address my warm congratulations and wishes to you and the State Council of China on the Chinese New Year – the Spring Festival. Let the Spring Festival bring peace, welfare and fulfillment of the set goals.
Armenia highlights the consistent development of the traditional friendly relations and practical cooperation with China.
I wish you and your family good health and all the best”.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
14:08,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. A bipartisan coalition of 54 US Senators addressed a letter to President Joe Biden, expressing their concern over a deteriorating human rights record in Turkey. The letter cited Turkey’s recent trends towards authoritarianism, in particular the jailing of journalists that oppose the government and its military involvement in Syria and Armenia, Massis Post reports.
According to the Senate letter, since the failed coup against him in 2016, Erdogan has been cracked down on domestic opposition, by systematically “[silencing] or [coopting] critical media outlets, [purging] independent judges and [replacing] them with party loyalists and [jailing] scores of journalists.
The Senators do specifically mention Turkish involvement in Azerbaijan’s aggressions against Nagorno Karabakh. “This war is just one piece of Turkey’s broader geopolitical goals in the region. Turkey and Azerbaijan are closely allied, in part due to their shared ethnic histories as Islamic Turkic nations. Armenia is the oldest Christian nation in the world, and sits directly in between Turkey and Azerbaijan, hindering the unification of the two Turkic nations”, as quoted by Massis Post.
The Senators hope that the United States will be able to bring an end to these abuses in Turkey.
13:07,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. Russia has documented 15,089 COVID-19 cases in past 24 hours, with the overall case count reaching 4,042,837, TASS reports citing the anti-coronavirus crisis center.
The daily increase rate has reached about 0.38%.
In the past 24 hours, 2,139 COVID-19 cases have been documented in Moscow, 1,134 in St. Petersburg, 842 in the Moscow Region, 439 in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, 359 in the Voronezh Region and 345 in the Rostov Region.
Currently, there are 404,501 active cases of COVID-19 in Russia.
12:16,
STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan visited today the Office of the Prosecutor General to introduce new Prosecutor General Gurgen Nersisyan to the staff, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.
In his remarks the President of Artsakh said despite the current complex post-war situation the functions on fighting against crime and protecting the state interests remain a priority on the path of building a lawful state.
He wished success to the new Prosecutor General, expressing hope that his experience and knowledge will greatly contribute to effectively solving all the problems facing the structure.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
11:37,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian has sent a congratulatory letter to President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping on the Chinese New Year – the Spring Festival, the Armenian President’s Office told Armenpress.
In his congratulatory letter President Sarkissian said Armenia highly values the stable and consistent development of the traditional friendly relations and cooperation with China. He wished good luck and success to the Chinese President, and peace and welfare to the good people of China.
On behalf of himself and his wife Nouneh Sarkissian, the Armenian President thanked Xi Jinping and his wife for their words of support directed to their recovery.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan