Armenia considers temporary total hunting ban to restore wildlife

Armenia considers temporary total hunting ban to restore wildlife

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16:46,

Photo: National Police Chief Colonel Valery Osipyan, left, and National Security Service Director Colonel Arthur Vanetsyan, right, at a Cabinet meeting

YEREVAN, MAY 10, ARMENPRESS. The May 10 Cabinet meeting featured some noteworthy debates regarding wildlife preservation, as the Government of Armenia approved to bring forward a proposal on enforcing a 100,000,000 dram fine for poaching of the endangered Caucasian leopard.

Moreover, National Security Service Director Arthur Vanetsyan, who was in attendance, suggested to enforce a 3-5 year total nationwide hunting ban.

“Let’s ban hunting for 3 to 5 years in Armenia in order for the wildlife population to be restored. I myself was a very active hunter in the past, but I haven’t hunted for already 6-7 years and I am speaking about this all the time. Let’s introduce this initiative, let’s ban hunting generally, and for the ban to be not only through these laws that we are adopting, but also, for example, by a temporary ban on hunting cartridges. Because they are doing irregular hunting,” Vanetsyan said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan tasked to deal with the matter, but to study the issue comprehensively.

“We must do something like that because this idea is a very good and appropriate one. But we must look at this problem comprehensively. I suppose there are animals whose population is of no problem. Let us carry out an expert study”, he said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan




Saudi Arabia will financially sponsor Armenian Genocide resolution in U.S.

Public Radio of Armenia


PanARMENIAN.NetSaudi Arabia will financially sponsor the U.S.Congress Resolution to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide, a press release posted on Senator Adam Schiff’s website reveals.

Schiff met the Saudi ambassador to the U.S., Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, at a party hold in the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington on Friday, April 26. In the two-hour meeting, the negotiation was mostly focused on bilateral cooperation and the Saudi investment in California. Furthermore, Sen. Schiff’s Resolution to Congress to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 was introduced and on the proposal of Sen. Schiff, the Saudi ambassador to U.S. agreed to financially sponsor the Resolution.

Princess Bandar said that “Saudi Arabia was also under severe oppression during the Ottoman Empire, and no pleasant recollection has been left in our history during the Ottoman era. The Saudi government policy has always been and continues to be insisting on the protection of human rights. Inquiry about historical events is every nation’s right and no one should worry when the truth comes out. Turkey is the main accused of the Armenian Genocide and cannot claim concern about human and civil rights protection until the truth comes out.”

Schiff and Gus Bilirakis, two Republican representatives, have introduced a Resolution to Congress. If the motion is passed, the US government officially recognizes Armenian Genocide by Turkey.

April 24, 1915 is the day when a group of Armenian intellectuals was rounded up and assassinated in Constantinople by the Ottoman government. On April 24, Armenians worldwide commemorated the 104th anniversary of the Genocide which continued until 1923. Some three dozen countries, hundreds of local government bodies and international organizations have so far recognized the killings of 1.5 million Armenians as Genocide. Turkey denies to this day.

Vazgen put his hand on the table to turn it on you. Vahan Shirkhanyan’s letter to Robert Kocharyan

  • 20.03.2019
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  • Armenia:
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Vahan Shirkhanyan, the former Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, provided an open letter to the second President of the Republic of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, to the publication of “First News”.


Robert, since you in no way want to see, understand, understand your real place, value and role in the Armenian reality, you call the collection of lies a book, I want to refresh your memory with a few episodes.


1. 1992 number, June. Stepanakert square and stadium were filled with 35,000 refugees from Shahumyan and Martakert. I came to you and said that all of them should be accommodated in the five liberated villages around Stepanakert, in Shushi and Khojalu, and I will make an agreement with the Armenian government to provide assistance to every family, because after the earthquake, there were no free hostels, hotels, or schools in Armenia after the Azerbaijani-Armenian refugees. I left for Lachi, where another group of refugees was gathered, spent the night there, and returned to Stepanakert in the morning. I had just passed from Lisagore, I saw that the road was full of refugees, barefoot, shaggy old people and children, hungry and thirsty. When I asked where are you going, they answered: Kocharian said to go to Armenia, there is no place in Karabakh. The sight was terrible. I arrived in Stepanakert, went to you and said, “You are an animal.” With your fists on the table, your head down, you couldn’t answer anything. As a result, Artsakh lost 35,000 inhabitants, and the number of refugees in Armenia increased by the same amount. Most of them later emigrated from Armenia. Maybe it was a manifestation of your undisguised hatred towards the people of Artsakh. I was convinced that day that a person does not represent value for you, that you lack a state mentality.


Well, of course, Stepanakert, Lachin, Vank, Martuni, Sarsang, Karintak, Fizuli, Jabrayil, Kubatli and other settlements, where I have been hundreds of times, are 50-100 km “far” from the border, as you write in your “pisulka”. It turns out that you have no idea about the geography of Artsakh.


I still deliberately miss the pre-98 details, even though they are not details at all.


2. 1998 March 30, the 2nd round of presidential elections. You turned the 27% vote given exclusively to Vazgen Sargsyan’s speech into 59% for yourself and declared yourself the President of the Republic of Armenia. And you “generously” gave 41% to Karen Demirchyan, who received 73%, promising also the post of prime minister at Vazgen’s request. And, of course, you cheated, as always.


3. In 1998 December 10. The murder of Vahram Khorkhorunu made possible the execution of the nationalistic crime of October 27. By the way, did you mention in your many-suffering case about the more than strained relationship between you and NKR Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Vahram Khorkhorun, who was sent from Armenia? If you forgot, I can remind you.


4. Two months after you declared yourself the president, Vazgen invited me to his place. He was more than concerned. He said: Shirkhanyan, what did we do? This man is not Armenian, he does not love Armenians, Armenia. At the end of the conversation, he instructed to choose a party with an acceptable ideology and start the work of creating it. He decided to free Armenia from you through an open and honest political struggle, not through terror.


4. By deceiving Karen Demirchyan, you pushed Vazgen into an alliance with the latter. You were terrified of that alliance because you were terribly afraid of both of them. Your cowardice or arrogance did not allow you to participate in the founding congress of the “Unity” bloc, which was held in the Opera House, which Vazgen and Demirchyan accepted with a smile.


5. 1999 Vazgen didn’t want to present you personally, because he didn’t want to see your face, and sent the materials to me. You were angry, you came to the session, and no one welcomed you in the Ministry of Defense. Such a thing had never happened, that the Commander-in-Chief was not personally met by the Minister. But you, with your arrogant and self-willed character, continued to imagine yourself as the Commander-in-Chief.


6. 1999 In April, Vazgen categorically refused to go with you to Washington to participate in the 50th anniversary assembly of NATO, and forced me to go. Armenian and Azerbaijani planes arrived in Washington on the same day. We were met by a dumper bus, taken to the hall, where my, yours and Vardan Oskanyan’s belongings were thoroughly checked, and your bodyguards were disarmed. The next day, I saw in the “Washington Post” that Aliyev was greeted by Albright himself, near the plane, on the red carpet. I entered your room with that newspaper and demanded to return. A deep insult was inflicted on Armenia and the state of Armenia, but you began to convince me otherwise, saying that the whole world is coming, which one should they welcome? You once again proved that you have no sense of responsibility, honor or respect for Armenia and the Armenian people. I wonder if this episode is in your “book”, as well as how you were embarrassed in front of Armenians on April 24 with your “English” speech in the church.


7. 1999 in June, when the government was handed over to Vazgen Sargsyan, it was announced that the budget had a gap of 37 billion drams, but a week later it turned out that the budget gap was… 137 billion drams. Where did that huge amount of money go during your two-year rule? A week later, it turned out that 400 million dollars, the amount of gas given by the Russian Federation to Armenia in exchange for the gas supply network, was also lost, which was supposed to be entered into the budget, but the budget did not receive a penny. And you’re talking about scams and scammers?


8. 1999 June Vazgen Sargsyan announced at the government session that he forbids ministers to communicate with you without his permission. This order was carried out by all the ministers, except one, Serzh Sargsyan, who was quickly deprived of the status of super minister, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs was handed over to Suren Abrahamyan.


9. 1999 July By order of Vazgen Sargsyan, a commission was created to verify the legality of the sale of “Hayoski”, “ArmenTel” and the Brandy factory enterprises. You were the author of the sale of these three, and you caused a loss of $1.5 billion to Armenia with these three alone. Many frauds were revealed in the actions of this merchant, on the basis of which you, at least, should have been dismissed, normally you should have been tried, but the 27th prevented the completion of the works. The relationship between you and Vazgen became more strained day by day.


10. 1999 from August, Vazgen took over the appointment of all key personnel.


11. 1999 September Vazgen returned furious from the American business trip (by the way, before leaving, he appointed me as acting prime minister, as in other cases when he was on a business trip), invited him to his place and literally said the following: “this scum (about you) agreed to exchange Meghri with Lachin. Albert Gor noted that he is very happy that the Karabakh problem will finally be settled. I told him that such an exchange would never happen. The conversation ended very badly.” Karen Demirchyan shouted at you with the same non-diplomatic lexicon for the same Meghri issue and, slamming the door, left your office.


12. 1999 in September, 8 juchoks were found in the government apartment of Vazgen. Do the consequences yourself, how did they get there? Listening devices were also found in the prime minister’s office.


13. 1999 September Vazgen was concerned about another problem during his visit to the USA. They sent him a list, in which there were Armenian officials with serious money of unknown origin in various banks. The whole nation knew that there were such people in Armenia, but what the stranger said about it deeply offended him. He warned me that he would send people to me who would “voluntarily” invest in the industry. Your closest people came, one of them committed to invest 200 million dollars, Serzh Sargsyan, another – 70, the next – 20. They came to the Prime Minister sweaty and scared. Vazgen had started the looting process that was going to reach you too, but it also failed on October 27th. To the question of who needed to fail the process of recovery of looted money, maybe you can answer it yourself.


14. 1999 A few days before October 27, Vazgen and I were at your place to discuss the sale of the “Shoghak” factory. Your proposal and claim, which harms the interests of Armenia, angered him so much that he cursed you and said, “What do you want from this country, tell us to get rid of it?”, he threw his hand on the table to turn it on you, but he restrained himself. I will not describe your appearance, it did not suit the “only man” at all. You write that Vazgen was your friend. There has never been a case in the history of mankind that an arrogant and self-righteous person has a friend, there can only be flatterers, moles, and people without dignity in his circle. You say Leonard was your friend, then why did you and Serge ignore his wise advice, his plea not to go for the presidential post, accurately predicting that it would lead to deep contradictions between the two parts of Armenia, which we all witnessed and were the bearers of damages and losses.


15. On October 27, I was in the National Assembly when shots were still heard. I clarified the situation from Smbat Ayvazyan, who was in the hall, and immediately called your assistant Alik, informing him that the scum will vacate the hall only after meeting with you personally. Then I called four more times because you didn’t come. You finally came three and a half hours late. Your delay was caused by:


1. You were afraid that Vazgen’s team would destroy you.


2. You were waiting for the reaction of what happened, hoping that the people would make the criminal a hero.


3. You were waiting for the continuation of the operation with the involvement of new forces.


4. You hoped that Vazgen’s team would attack the hall, destroy the scum, and you would have all the grounds to destroy the team.


5. Delay your meeting with the scum for 13 hours, so that they would be bleeding, and if there was a wounded person among them, there would be no chance to save them. Only you could make such a calculation.


16. All these causes of delay were together, and you killed them all by your delay, leaving no hope for the salvation of any one. After coming to the National Assembly, you waited for another 9 hours and only then encountered the miscarriage. Who was playing with the blood of the victims, my list or you personally?


17. When you arrived, the situation in the National Assembly was long and completely under the control of the Military Police, and the “confusion” you described is a blatant lie. You invited me, Jhangiryan and Gorik Hakobyan to Demirchyan’s office, where Gorik Hakobyan presented you with the operative case file of NSS agent Nairi Hunanyan. Maybe you can find out who ordered the destruction of that case, which we saw with four pairs of eyes on the table of Karen Demirchyan’s office.


18. About the “Alpha” division. “In an hour I was informed that they are waiting from Russia


Upon the arrival of the “Alpha” unit, which was coming on the instructions of Yeltsin. I ordered them to be placed with our special forces in national security.” You are lying again. You yourself asked Yeltsin to help, but you did not see “Alpha”, did not talk to them, did not accommodate them, none of your people communicated with them, because we blocked your opportunities, they immediately came under Vagharshak Harutyunyan and returned to Moscow the next day. Of course, you would very much like “Alpha” to attack the National Assembly hall, destroy the criminals, along with several others, after which the whole world would blame the Russians for October 27, and no one would look for the real organizers anymore. Of course, it was a brilliant and, again, a terrible plan.


19. 9 hours after coming to the National Assembly, you met the criminal, the traitor of the nation, violating all existing rules for such cases, without a recording and without a witness, but there is a paragraph in your “work of the century” that you either did not read or did not understand. “Infinite and unrealized


Being a person with ambitions, believing that he deserved much more, Hunanyan explained his failures by the fact that the “rotten system” does not allow him a way. He convinced himself that the government was purposefully preventing him from establishing himself as a political leader, and he considered Vazgen Sargsyan to be the main threat to him.” With this, you have completely exposed yourself as his sympathizer and sympathizer. These words were a reflection of your state of mind at that moment. Well, of course, Vazgen was also the main threat for you. I do not rule out that during your warm conversation you yourself suggested this to him as a motive for the crime.


20. Now about the list, which was handed to you at midnight, not at 8 o’clock in the evening, as you, as usual, lie. You turned that list into a flag for 18 years, without realizing that you can neither justify yourself with that list nor prove your innocence in 27.


Moreover, you show yourself as a mediocrity and incapable of leadership. You had to immediately, immediately appoint temporary officials to prevent the crisis of the management system, you had to introduce a state of emergency in the country, immediately relieve Serzh Sargsyan from the post of Minister of Defense, bring the army to the 1st level of preparation, address the people with a message. You didn’t do any of these things, but you mobilized the ambassadors of the USA, the Russian Federation, the Catholicos and others who had expectations from you, whom you sent to us and begged them not to use violence against you and Serzh. We did not implement it and made a mistake. As for the persons mentioned in the list, all of them are Vazgen’s closest friends and high quality specialists. Those appointed by you were ten times inferior to them in terms of professionalism, services rendered to Armenia, patriotism and morality.


21. However, after the meetings between the Ministry of Defense and Dacha, you accepted the idea that resignation was inevitable, and you asked us for time to allow you to participate in the Istanbul assembly, to return and resign. We agreed, being used to taking our word for it. I don’t want to talk about the profiteering entry into the Ministry of Defense that you described, which is basically a lie, after all, a person should have at least a little shame. You went to Istanbul, put your signature under the document confirming the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, came back and applied your favorite rule: “divide and rule”, which you know perfectly. You gave a general title to some, positions, promises to others, and you managed to tear down, divide, destroy, and remove the issue of resignation from the agenda, using the paved road of fraud and deceit that you have always used. I wonder if you have written about this in your Nobel prize-winning “book”.


22. Now one more quote from the flash of your creative mind. “By the way, about Shirkhanyan


I told Vazgen several times, don’t you see that he is a fraud and a swindler? What did you find in it?’ If that was your belief.


1. Why did you personally appoint me as a minister three times in one year, namely as the first deputy prime minister, and twice when Vazgen was no longer there? Didn’t you have so much courage and manhood, at least once to hit your hand on the table and refuse to appoint me minister-deputy prime minister? Instead, you were gossiping in Vazgen’s ear from behind, right? Now who is the talker and deceiver?


2. If I was 100 or 50 km away from the border, have you been to Armenian border villages to the extent of one percent of my villages in Artsakh, or did you not understand until now that the conflict was primarily Armenian-Azerbaijani, and from Noyemberyan to Meghri, all border villages were targeted, shelled and bombed by Azerbaijan?


3. Why were you running around in Stepanakert to treat me properly, toasting loudly at the table?


In general, have your work and speech ever been combined?


23. 1999 December In my speech at the Congress of the Communist Party of Ukraine, I said that the limit of trust in the government has been reached, and it is necessary to hold new presidential elections. The hall greeted with applause. You and Serge were in a panic, maybe it was a conversation?


Now you say that you are returning to politics. Are you coming to hand over Meghri to the Turks, to hand over the liberated lands to your former boss, to declare in Tiflis that Armenia has no problem in Javakh, or to continue looting? And who is waiting for you? You didn’t realize that Armenians hate you, Diaspora does too. Didn’t you feel once in 10 years that you are not in your place, that you are ridiculous in the role of president? Now you should have said the following to the people: I’m sorry, Armenians, I did a scam, I accumulated billions by robbing you, I caused you a lot of damage, now I’ve brought back what’s left, if you can, forgive me. If you are Armenian, you should do this. Don’t you feel uncomfortable that instead of you and Serzh, it is Pashinyan who is apologizing to the people, a man who has neither killed, robbed, nor forged, and you and Serzh, with your faces turned to the other side, are striving for power again?


That’s it for now, I’ll wait for Munchausen’s new exploits to be published.

168: PM hopeful of launching Armenia-made military serial production soon

Category
Society

The Armenian government is making structural and content changes in the military industry sector, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a news conference.

“I am sure we will have significant achievements in this sector. Today, we have important new products that will soon, I hope, be placed on serial production tracks, we have projects that are in final stages of discussion, we have projects that are under discussion, we have projects that are still ideas. I believe that Armenia must truly be a technologically advanced country, and we are headed this way,” Pashinyan said.

As an example, he repeated a statement made earlier by him when he said they shouldn’t focus on having a tank, but the objective that will be solved by having it.

“And we must understand what is this technology that will enable us solving this issue,” the PM said.

“There was a time when in order to transfer information from one place to another people needed paper, a pen, an envelope, a post stamp, a mailman, a horse or a car for reaching the information quickly to its destination. If we were to continue focusing on the paper, the pen and the post stamp, there wouldn’t be any e-mail. And today, the same is done without paper, without a pen or stamp, even without a mailman or transportation, it is done more quickly and efficiently. Therefore, the mechanism of our thinking must undergo the kind of change that this itself will be placed at the foundation of development of our military-industry complex,” he said.

Armenian sapper wounded in Syria transported to Moscow

Panorama, Armenia

The Armenian sapper who was injured in a landmine explosion in Syria in early March was transported to Moscow. As the defense ministry reported, Major General Artak Davtyan, the Chief of General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces who is paying working visit to Moscow,  visited the sapper at the hospital.

As reported earlier, the de-miner who dispatched to Syria as part of the Armenian humanitarian mission, suffered injuries in the right foot after a booby trap landmine with a plastic back exploded while he was carrying out his duties.

He was immediately hospitalized and underwent a surgery. The sapper has no life-threatening complications. The de-mining activities of the Armenian mission continue.

Turkish Press: Turkish court orders re-arrest of Dink murder suspects

Anadolu Agency (AA), Turkey
Friday
Turkish court orders re-arrest of Dink murder suspects
 
by Muhammed Enes Can and Mustafa Hatipoglu |
 
Prosecutors balked at conditional release of 2 suspects in 2007 murder of Armenian-Turkish journalist
 
ISTANBUL
 
An Istanbul court on Friday accepted prosecutors’ appeal for the re-arrest of two suspects in the 2007 murder of Hrant Dink, a prominent Armenian-Turkish journalist.
 
Following the suspects’ conditional release on Thursday, prosecutors asked the court to have them re-arrested, and the 15th High Criminal Court in Istanbul agreed.
 
Ercan Gun and Muharrem Demirkale had been released with a ban on leaving the country, while the court ordered the continued detention of Ramazan Akyurek and Ali Fuat Yilmazer.
 
Other suspects in the case include U.S.-based Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) leader Fetullah Gulen, FETO-linked former prosecutor Zekeriya Oz, former Zaman daily Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanli, and journalists Adem Yavuz Arslan and Faruk Mercan.
 
They are all charged with premeditated murder and attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.
 
Dink, the editor-in-chief of Armenian-Turkish newspaper Agos, was killed outside his office on Jan. 19, 2007.
 
In 2011, Ogun Samast was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the killing. Samast, who was 17 years old in early 2007, claimed he killed Dink for “insulting Turkishness.”
 
Although Samast is the only person to be jailed for the murder, speculation on the involvement of others has persisted.
 
Last year, FETO — which plotted the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Turkey, leaving 251 people martyred — was officially tied to the case.
 
A 120-page indictment said soldiers and police involved in the Dink murder later played an active role in the defeated coup.
 
*Writing by Dilara Hamit and Busra Nur Bilgic

Press release – EBRD is responsible for the Amulsar crisis in Jermuk. EBRD / EBRD Shares Responsibility for the Amulsar Mine Crisis in Jermuk. AEF:

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X:please publishattached Armenian and Englishthe articlepreserving all active links։
EBRD Shares Responsibility for the Amulsar Mine Crisis in Jermuk

Sincerely –Best regards,
Armenian Environmental Front (AEF) Civil Initiative

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Armenian FM, European Commission Vice President discuss digital cooperation agenda

Armenian FM, European Commission Vice President discuss digital cooperation agenda

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18:30, 7 March, 2019

YEREVAN, MARCH 7, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan met with European Commissioner for Digital Single Market and Vice President of the European Commission Andrus Ansip on March 7.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia, greeting the guest, Minister Mnatsakanyan noted that Armenia and the EU have accumulated vast experience of partnership and joint work during the last years and the recent visit of PM Nikol Pashinyan to Brussels was a good opportunity to outline the future practical steps aimed at expanding multidimensional cooperation.

The sides referred to the cooperation prospects over digital agenda. In this context the Armenian FM emphasized that the development agenda of the Government is based on fostering the development of IT, innovations and creative education.

Referring to the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership, Minister Mnatsakanyan noted that the Armenian side which has always been actively involved in Eastern Partnership format, will have its contribution also to the marking of the 10th anniversary of the Partnership, initiating an event dedicated to the youth and innovations.

The Armenian FM presented the preparatory works of the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT-2019) to be held in Yerevan in October, underscoring that the conference is a major international event of that sphere.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan




President Bako Sahakyan addresses congratulatory message on Artsakh Revival Day

President Bako Sahakyan addresses congratulatory message on Artsakh Revival Day

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09:33,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. President of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan on February 20 sent a congratulatory message on the Artsakh Revival Day, his Office told Armenpress.

The message runs as follows: 

“Dear compatriots, 

On behalf of the Artsakh Republic authorities and myself personally I extend the most heartfelt congratulations to you on the Artsakh Revival Day. 

20 February 1988 was a historic day for our people, which became an outbreak of discontent and complaint shaped up over the decades, a focal point of the struggle woven for years against injustice, oppressions and violence. This could not last any more. The Artsakh people went out to the square to defend their rights, to take charge of their own destiny, to live freely on their own land and maintain their identity. 

The subsequent developments proved that we had embarked upon the right path. The massacres of Armenians in Baku and Sumgait demonstrated once and for all the true character and intentions of tyrannical and dictatorial Azerbaijan, laid bare its hideous plans to annihilate the Armenians of Artsakh. 
The Armenians united, took up arms, consolidated and defended their land and history, their faith and dignity in the war imposed on them, prevented the second Genocide and forged glorious victories. 

Dear compatriots, 

The Artsakh Revival Day is one of the most significant victories of the Armenians all over the world. It is the victory of nation-wide will and morale, the victory of justice and unity, the victory of boundless commitment to the Homeland and self-confidence. 

I once again congratulate all of us on this memorable day and wish peace, good health and all the best. 
Eternal glory to those who sacrificed their lives for the cherished dreams and goals of our people, for the realization of our lofty ideals!”

Belarus decries delayed appointment of CSTO secretary general

BelaPAN news agency
Feb 14 2019
Belarus decries delayed appointment of CSTO secretary general

Minsk, 14 February: Delaying the appointment of a new secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is detrimental to the Organization, Anatol Hlaz, spokesman for the Belarusian foreign ministry, told reporters in Minsk on Thursday.

“The CSTO has had no secretary general for a long time,” Hlaz said. “This situation is not good for the Organization and needs to be resolved as soon as possible, the more so as at meetings in both Astana and Saint Petersburg, heads of state spoke in favour of a candidate representing Belarus.”

Hlaz noted that in December 2018, at the request of the president of Kyrgyzstan, who chaired the Collective Security Council, the CSTO Secretariat drew up a draft directive appointing Stanislaw Zas, state secretary of the Security Council of Belarus, to serve as secretary general of the CSTO.

Zas immediately held meetings with heads of state in five capital cities and all the presidents approved of his candidacy, the spokesman said. “In view of the fact that Armenia held parliamentary elections in December last year and then the country formed a government, the fact that the prime minister of Armenia had no opportunity to meet with the Belarusian candidate was met with understanding from us,” Hlaz said. “Now this period is over, and therefore we expect the Armenian side to soon notify us of a possible date for such a meeting.”

Minsk aims to maintain constructive cooperation with Yerevan in this regard, Hlaz stressed. “We hope we’ll reach a mutual understanding,” he said. “The post of secretary general in an international military and political organization is not a hotel room that can be booked.”

On 21 December 2018, Alyaksandr Lukashenka formally approved the potential appointment of General Zas as secretary general of the CSTO following Zas’ visits to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia.

Zas told the Belarusian leader that the presidents of those CSTO member countries had given their consent to his appointment.

“I formerly said that Belarus had several candidates for the position, but I eventually chose to nominate Zas in order to show that our organization should switch from appointing retired generals – I don’t want to say anything bad about them – to appointing young and promising active generals in order to give weight to the organization,” Lukashenka said.

However, the Armenian foreign ministry’s spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan made it clear that Yerevan was not going to give its consent to the appointment of Zas. She said in December that Armenian authorities were still discussing the issue, and that Zas was not expected to visit Armenia soon.

While speaking to reporters in Saint Petersburg on 6 Decembe, Lukashenka claimed that the issue of the appointment of a new CSTO secretary general had been resolved.

“Unexpectedly, we almost held a CSTO meeting today and actually solved the problem regarding the appointment of a secretary general,” Lukashenka said. “A representative of Belarus [will become the new secretary general], as [Kazakhstan’s President] Nurusltan Abishevich [Nazarbayev] said earlier.”

Lukashenka’s allegation was denied by Arman Yeghoyan, spokesman for the acting prime minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan.

“There was no CSTO meeting,” Yeghoyan said. “Armenia’s position on the matter remains unchanged.”

The previous CSTO secretary general, Yuri Khachaturov of Armenia, was recalled by Yerevan on 2 November after just a year and a half in the position instead of three years.

General Khachaturov, who was chief of staff of the Armenian Armed Forces from 2008 to 2016, was recalled because the new Armenian government had charged him with an attempted state coup, along with former President Robert Kocharyan.

Yerevan intended to propose another candidate for the job, but the CSTO rules of procedure did not have a clear provision as to what should happen if someone is recalled from the position.

Following the CSTO’s 8 November summit in Kazakhstan’s Astana, the Kazakh president said that a representative of Belarus should become the new secretary general of the Organization because Armenia is followed alphabetically by Belarus.

The issue of the appointment of a new secretary general was expected to be discussed at a CSTO summit in Saint Petersburg on 6 December, but the summit was cancelled at the request of Armenia.

Pashinyan said on 2 December, the issue of the appointment of a new CSTO secretary general would not be resolved until after the end of 2018. “There is no consensus on this issue,” he said.

Yerevan would like a representative of Armenia to hold this position in the remaining year and a half.