Author: Adrine Hakobian

Armenian opposition party MP: No parliament of the world introduces rejected bill again

Adrine Hakobian
News.am, Armenia
April 7 2020

17:08, 07.04.2020

Head of the Bright Armenia faction of the National Assembly of Armenia Edmon Marukyan today went live on Facebook and addressed the Prime Minister of Armenia and the administration of the National Assembly, asking them to withdraw the highly criticized 30% bonus funds and only the bonuses of top officials, including ministers, deputies and heads of various government agencies and gear all the funds towards the created and to-be-created social support programs so that unemployed citizens and citizens working per diem can benefit from them.

Marukyan also offered the government to make large expenditures to fix the socio-economic situation a little.

He also talked about the extraordinary parliamentary session during which it was proposed to locate people with phones and said this won’t have any impact on the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. “The chairperson of the parliament’s health committee also talked about this and stated that there can’t be any impact. The opposition voted against the bill, and it didn’t pass. Afterwards, the ruling party convened another session and passed the bill. This is regression in terms of democracy and has nothing to do with saving lives. A rejected bill isn’t introduced in any parliament of the world.”

Armenpress: Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 01-04-20

Adrine Hakobian

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 01-04-20

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 18:05, 1 April, 2020

YEREVAN, 1 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 1 April, USD exchange rate is up by 0.49 drams to 504.96 drams. EUR exchange rate is down by 1.38 drams to 552.07 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate is down by 0.06 drams to 6.40 drams. GBP exchange rate is up by 1.72 drams to 624.08 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price is down by 126.31 drams to 26121.04 drams. Silver price is down by 1.81 drams to 226.15 drams. Platinum price is up by 27.67 drams to 11802.73 drams.

Azerbaijani press: BERNAMA: "Elections" in occupied territories of Azerbaijan a violation of international law-Azerbaijan

Adrine Hakobian

Thu 02 Apr 2020 15:19 GMT | 19:19 Local Time

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The Malaysian national news agency BERNAMA has published an article on illegal “elections” held in the Azerbaijani territories occupied by the Armenian armed forces, AzerTag reports.

Headlined “Elections” in occupied territories of Azerbaijan a violation of international law-Azerbaijan”, the article analyzes the country’s Foreign Ministry’s statement on the so-called “elections”.

The article reads: “The recently-held “elections” in the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Tuesday constitutes a clear violation of the Constitution of Azerbaijan and the norms and principles of international law, said Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In a statement made available to Bernama on Thursday, the ministry said that these include the United Nations (UN) Charter, CSCE Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and the related UN Security Council Resolutions and, therefore, the “elections” (“presidential and parliamentary”) in the Nagorno-Karabakh region shall have no legal effect whatsoever.

The ministry pointed out that the international community has unequivocally and consistently rejected the previous “elections” orchestrated by Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, and thus, clearly invalidated whatever pretexts that Armenia cynically uses to justify its overt disrespect to international law, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, as well as the human rights of the expelled population of the occupied territories.

The ministry further said that the international community has consistently deplored in the strongest terms the use of military force against Azerbaijan and the resulting occupation of its territories.

In 1993, the UN Security Council adopted resolutions 822 (1993), 853 (1993), 874 (1993) and 884 (1993), condemning the occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan and reaffirming respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the inviolability of its internationally-recognized borders, it said.

“In those resolutions, the Security Council also confirmed that the Nagorno-Karabakh region is an integral part of Azerbaijan, and demanded the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian occupying forces from all the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Other international organizations have adopted a similar position,” it said.

The ministry said that elections in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan may be held only within the Constitutional framework of the Republic of Azerbaijan and full participation of the entire population of the region.

“Any election will be possible only after the withdrawal of the Armenian occupying forces, return of the expelled Azerbaijani population to their places of origin, and restoration of dialogue and cooperation between the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of the region,” it said.

The Azerbaijan Foreign Affairs Ministry reiterated that resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is possible only on the basis of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders.

“The military occupation of the territory of Azerbaijan does not represent a solution and any attempt to impose fait accompli, including through organizing sham “elections”, will never produce a political outcome desired by Armenia, nor will it bring any positive perspective for this country. Azerbaijan will never reconcile with the occupation of its internationally-recognized territories,” it said.

The conflict between the two countries started in 1988 – three years before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 – following Armenia’s territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

And in 1992, war broke out between the two former Soviet states, resulting in Armenia’s occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts. All these areas are internationally recognized, including Malaysia, as part of Azerbaijan.”

MP from Bright Armenia questioned the reasonability of the hot button bill

Adrine Hakobian
Arminfo, Armenia
April 3 2020

ArmInfo. The MP from “Bright Armenia” Armen Yeghiazaryan questioned the feasibility of the hot button bill, according to which law enforcement officers had the  opportunity to track the location and calls of patients with coronavirus.

According to the party’s statement, on April 1, Yeghiazaryan sent his  inquiries to VivaCell-MTS, UCOM and Beeline with a request to provide  information on whether it is possible to determine the exact location  of a mobile phone or smartphone via GPS and triangulation. In  particular, he was interested in whether it is possible to establish  the exact movement of subscribers living on the second, fifth and  fourteenth floors of a 15-storey building in 3D (X, Y, Z) format. < Based on the answers received, it becomes clear that it is  impossible to establish the exact location, or the deviation is from  20 to 100 meters. In fact, the bill cannot solve the task, in  connection with which the Government should give explanations  regarding its adoption>, the statement said.

To recall, according to the bill, the Police and the NSS, through a  special system, are able to track the location and calls of patients  with coronavirus. This, in turn, will help in establishing the circle  of contacting people and their timely isolation if necessary.  Subsequently, all received data is subject to destruction. According  to the Ministry of Justice, the law does not provide for wiretapping  and access to text messages.  The possibilities for establishing  geolocation provided by the bill are valid only in the event of an  emergency declared in connection with the threat of an epidemic.

CIVILNET.Armenia Does Not Expect But Is Readying for The Worst Case Scenario of COVID-19

Adrine Hakobian
CIVILNET.AM

2 April, 2020 20:10 
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan paid tribute to fallen soldiers of the 2016 April War at the Yerablur Military Pantheon in Yerevan. “High-quality elections were held in Karabakh, and the official results of the elections prove that,” stated Nikol Pashinyan. According to Armenia’s Health Minister Arsen Torosyan, the government is taking all efforts to avoid the scenario where hospitals would have to choose who to treat first in case of a sharp increase of coronavirus cases.
 

Armenian volunteers join international initiative to help elderly people amid coronavirus pandemic

Adrine Hakobian
Panorama, Armenia

Number of Armenian charity organizations and volunteers have joint an international online platform “We Join Hands” which aims to bring together elderly people, people with special and volunteers ready to provide help and assistance amid the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.

The initiative is an online platform created by Munich-based Waldheim International GmbH company where people can ask for or offer help and support, receive important information, overcome the anxiety of loneliness in the face of the novel challenges and feel that all are closer and more united than ever.

People who need help or are ready to offer their helping hand to others are encouraged to register using the applicable form at .  The platform is active in Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Armenia, Russia and the US.  

Masis Mayilyan: My cooperation with Samvel Babayan is another example of uniting the healthy forces of Artsakh

Adrine Hakobian
Arminfo, Armenia

ArmInfo.The difference between the upcoming elections in Artsakh and all the previous ones is not only the number of candidates, but also the emergence of a real  alternative, NKR Foreign Minister, Artsakh presidential candidate  Masis Mayilyan expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.

The main competitors in the upcoming March 31 presidential and  parliamentary elections in Artsakh are former Minister of State, one  of the richest people in the country Arayik Harutyunyan and incumbent  Foreign Minister Masis Mayilyan. Harutyunyan is supported by the  current authorities of Artsakh, while Mayilyan is supported by  Commander of the Artsakh Defense Army Samvel Babayan and several  other political forces. In total, 14 presidential candidates  registered in the Artsakh CEC.

“In view of the unprecedented increase in resources and control tools  over the electoral process, this time we can’t talk about the  predetermination of the election results. In this light, in my  opinion, today in our country there is an exceptional situation for  holding normal, democratic elections. A situation, in which  administrative resource is limited, and the results depend solely on  voters, “Mayilyan noted.

According to the presidential candidate, this situation gives impetus  to his team to actively unite the healthy forces of society in order  to implement fundamental reforms in Artsakh. Mayilyan also expressed  confidence in the upcoming fruitful cooperation of the Armenian  authorities with the legitimately elected President of Artsakh. In  case of victory, he intends to do everything to make Artsakh more  open to the international community.

Mayilyan considers cooperation with the former Minister of Defense of  Artsakh Samvel Babayan as another example of uniting the healthy  forces of society. He emphasized that this cooperation was not  directed against anyone, and had the aim of consolidating the people  of Artsakh around the idea of ensuring a prosperous future for the  country. The presidential candidate stated that his own approaches in  conducting fundamental reforms are in line with those of Babayan and  his United Homeland party. The basis of these approaches lies in  further strengthening the combat effectiveness of the army,  overcoming economic stagnation and solving social problems.

Commenting on the demographic situation, Mayilyan noted his  readiness, in case of coming to power, on the basis of public  discussions, to begin to adopt and implement a new, clear and  targeted strategy for the populating of all regions of the republic.  At the same time, he considers that the change in the demographic  situation is linked with the development of the Artsakh economy,  which will create the necessary infrastructure and communications in  the areas where new settlers will settle.  “Our common development  strategy for Artsakh is based on ensuring national security, defense  and economic self-sufficiency. Moreover, nobody canceled the  prospects for reuniting Artsakh with Armenia.  ”Miatsum” was at the  heart of the Artsakh liberation movement and the departure from this  slogan had exclusively objective reasons and the need for protection  of our right to self-determination. Today saying Armenia we mean one  country and two states with a common future, accordingly, intending  to intensify integration processes “, Mayilian concluded. 

Russia’s border restrictions not to affect cargo transportation to Armenia

Adrine Hakobian
Public Radio of Armenia


Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin.

The heads of government of the two countries discussed the process of organizing cargo transportation between Armenia and Russia, taking into account the decision by Russia to impose new restrictions on the borders.

Nikol Pashinyan and Mikhail Mishustin agreed that cargo transportation from Russia to Armenia will continue on a regular basis and the above restrictions will not affect the transportation of Armenian cargo.

The heads of government of the two countries also touched upon issues concerning the Armenian-Russian trade and economic cooperation and emphasized the importance of maintaining the full volume of cargo transportation between Armenia and Russia.

The interlocutors agreed to continue regular contacts to respond quickly to further issues.

More than 60 passengers to arrive to Armenia from Ukraine on charter flight

Adrine Hakobian

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 12:06,

YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. 62 passengers are being flown in to Armenia from Ukraine on board a charter flight operated by the Ukrainian SkyUp Airline, Armenian Ambassador to Ukraine Tigran Seiranian said on social media.

He said the number of passengers is preliminary and that the vast majority of them are Armenian nationals. “It is planned that around 95 people will depart Yerevan to Kiev on the same aircraft,” he said.

 Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan