Author: Greg Madatian

UK Creating Network to Counter ‘Russian Disinformation’ in EU, US – Anonymous

Greg Madatian
Sputnik, Russia
Jan 5 2019

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The UK Integrity Initiative project, engaged in information campaigns targeting Russia, is creating a branch network in the former republics of the Soviet Union and in European countries, and has also suggested to the UK government to create branches in the US, according to documents from the hacktivist group Anonymous.

According to one of the documents, the Integrity Initiative, whose stated goal is  to “track, expose and counter the increasing current of Russian malign influence and disinformation throughout the West”, plans to open new clusters to disseminate information on the “growing problem from Russia” in Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Malta, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The clusters will be tasked with helping the general public to “understand better” the alleged threat coming from Russia via providing information, including through social media. Such clusters already operate in France, Lithuania, Italy, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Greece, Serbia, Montenegro, Moldova, Malta, and Jordan, and unite governmental officials, scientists, and representatives of the media.

The Integrity Initiative also cooperates with a range of international organisations, including the European Union and NATO, on this matter.

It also plans to expand its activities in the United States in order to “contribute to changing the attitude towards Russian malign influence and disinformation by enriching the public discourse with facts about Russian malign behaviour”.

For this purpose, the Integrity Initiative’s Institute for Spacecraft will open an office in Washington, and the project will also establish centres in other major cities across the United States.

Russia has repeatedly denied all accusations of meddling in any state’s internal affairs. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Integrity Initiative’s goal was to damage Russia’s reputation.

UK Integrity Initiative Mentions ‘EU Disinformation Unit’ in Docs

The UK Integrity Initiative project mentions a “Brussels-based EU Disinformation Unit” in its documents, according to a scan that the Anonymous hacktivist group released late on 4 January.

One of the documents related to Integrity Initiative’s activities in Moldova, dubbed “Moldova —suggested priorities for consideration by clusters and UK staff in light of recent and ongoing developments”, suggests to “cascade” various publications “on how Moldova’s internal situation is exploited for the purpose of building Russian and Russian speaking influence in the EU” “through relevant clusters, especially Spain, Portugal, France and Italy, but also Belgium (Brussels based EU Disinformation Unit, and NATO) and Netherlands (Europol)”.

In 2015, the EU’s East StratCom Task Force unit was created to tackle “Russian disinformation”. The task force unites communication experts from EU institutions that fund their activities for short-term projects.

Documents on Integrity Initiative’s Operations in Armenia

Hackers from the Anonymous group have published a new batch of leaked documents about the activities of the UK’s state-funded Integrity Initiative project in Armenia, including a list of disloyal journalists, publications timetable, contacts’ list and payment documents.


The documents, revealed by Anonymous late on 4 December, include a timetable of activities of the Institute for Statecraft, which funds Integrity Initiative, for March-June 2016, including a list of media publications on Russia and its alleged negative role in the world. The batch also featured an article by a researcher, Eduard Abrahamyan, on the recent protests in Armenia, called “Moscow Worries Armenian ‘Velvet Revolution’ Could Lessen Its Leverage Over Yerevan”.

The hackers also published an invoice for a payment of 250 pounds ($329) to this researcher, which reads that he has “briefed the audience about the ongoing dynamics of Armenia’s domestic and foreign policy”.

Notably, the Production Timetable of the Institute for Statecraft, published by the hackers, includes “eight complaints forwarded to [UK media watchdog] Ofcom on RT’s failure to ensure impartiality with a request to launch a formal investigation”.


Late on Friday, the group published documents and invoices, which it claims are evidence showing that the Integrity Initiative project carries out analysis on the activities of the UK’s opposition Labour Party and its leader Jeremy Corbyn, as well as the RT broadcaster, with the use of UK taxpayer money. The documents, particularly, concern the coverage of the Salisbury poisoning incident and the situation in the Middle East, namely in Syria. The UK Foreign Office has recognised the authenticity of the documents, which were released by Anonymous last year, concerning London’s interference in EU countries’ affairs and waging an information war against Russia. The documents include reports on RT’s activities and invoices for Integrity Initiative.

One of the documents, released by Anonymous on 4 January, is a report on the coverage of the recent protests in Armenia, showing that the Integrity Initiative’s staff emphasized Russia’s alleged negative role in them. Moreover, the comments and examples of the publications include their criticism toward journalists who covered the protests from the pro-Russian point of view.

The hackers also leaked a list of “activists in Armenia that contribute to Russian interests, propagandising and promoting Russia’s official posture and intentions, while positioning themselves as ‘analysts’, ‘experts’, ‘politicians’”.

On 20 December, Ofcom said that RT had breached the regulator’s broadcast rules by failing to provide impartial news coverage in seven programmes aired in March and April, a decision in which RT, has expressed its disappointment, suggesting that the regulator had not taken its reasoning into account. Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of RT, noted that the watchdog had found the violations six months after UK Prime Minister Theresa May said she would “expel the Russian propaganda as she calls it”.

Documents, subsequently revealed by the hackers, showed that the complaints had been written by an employee from the Institute for Statecraft, Ben Nimmo, a senior fellow at the London-based group.

The hacktivist group published the first batch of documents on the activities of the Integrity Initiative project, funded by the Institute for Statecraft, in November. Anonymous said that the programme, launched in 2015, was financed by the UK government, as well as NATO, Facebook and the US State Department. The hacktivist group described the programme as a “large-scale information secret service” created by London to “counteract Russian propaganda”.

Anonymous also claimed that the Integrity Initiative included covert structures to interfere in the domestic affairs of several European countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Norway, Serbia, Spain, and Montenegro.

According to the hackers, the Institute for Statecraft’s programme has not been renewed since 2017 while there was no information on its employees and contact details in the public domain. The source code for its online publications allows us to assume that they have been issued automatically, according to the hackers.

EAEU has passed a very difficult, but important path – Tigran Sargsyan’s congratulatory message on New Year

Greg Madatian

EAEU has passed a very difficult, but important path – Tigran Sargsyan’s congratulatory message on New Year

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19:37, 28 December, 2018

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS.  Board chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission Tigran Sargsyan has released a congratulatory footage on New Year.

ARMENPRESS reports Sargsyan said that the Ney Year gives an opportunity to sum up the works and outline new initiatives. “On the eve of the New Year our hearts are filled with warmth and love. The Ney Year gives an opportunity to sum up the works and outline new initiatives.  We have passed a very difficult but also important stage of the creation of our union. We unite for the goal of making the people’s lives more comfortable so that they are able to freely move in the territories of our countries, get adopted, find a job, and implement business initiatives so as to increase the life quality of our peoples.

We live in a complex era when the changes take new pace. New issues are included in our agenda that were absent in the past. Life becomes unpredictable”, Sargsyan said.

According to him, in the New Year people should learn to live in the era of changes, should be ale to respond to global challenges, at the same time preserving human dignity and all the values that unite us.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan


The seven most important events in Armenia in 2018

Greg Madatian
JAM News
Jan 4 2019
Gevorg Ghazaryan, Yerevan
Naira Martikian
January 4, 2019

Calls for one step forward resulted in leaps for Armenia

The main, crucial event of the year, the Velvet Revolution, began with the Take a Step campaign.

The initiator of the protest movement and leader of the Civil Contract opposition party, Nikol Pashinyan, went from the second largest city of Armenia, Gyumri, to the capital by foot. The march transformed into round-the-clock protests, and then into a mass protest movement.

• Velvet Revolution leader elected PM of Armenia

• Op-ed: EU-Armenia relations after Velvet Revolution – why no breakthrough has occurred

• Just what’s happening in Armenia? Main players, who wants what

The motto of the protest movement was the phrase “Reject Serzh”, referring to Serzh Sargsyan who had served as president for 10 years. On 23 April, under pressure of tens of thousands of people, Serzh Sargsyan announced his resignation. The ruling Republican Party then made concessions in the parliament and elected Nikol Pashinyan as prime minister.

After the revolution, a new government was formed in Armenia. It declared that the fight against corruption and the corrupt top echelon of the previous government, in addition to their closest circles and relatives, to be one of its main tasks.

Another promise of the government that came to power after the revolution was the release of all who were considered political prisoners in Armenia.

Under the previous authorities, the political prisoners issue raised a lot of questions and caused discrepancies, such as human rights activists holding contradictory views on the issue of whether there are people in Armenia who are imprisoned for their political views.

• Political prisoners by definition

• Armenia: hundreds of prisoners freed on amnesty 

The human rights activists, who nevertheless were inclined to believe that there were political prisoners in Armenia, put out different numbers. In general, according to their lists, there were possibly up to 25 people. However, not one of them was recognised as a political prisoner by the Council of Europe.

From 2016, members of the armed Sasna Tsrer group, who seized a Patrol Police station in Yerevan, joined the list. They were the first to demand a change of power, having resorted to an armed seizure of a public institution. However, their attempt failed.

As a result of their actions, three policemen were killed. Two weeks after they seized the station, members of the armed group surrendered and were arrested. Some residents of the country considered them political prisoners, while others thought them terrorists.

However, society demanded the release of all political prisoners after the revolution, and in 2018 they were also set free.

The second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, celebrated his New Year in a prison cell. He has been charged with ‘overthrowing the constitutional order’ in the country in 2008.

 

Among the main promises of Pashinyan’s “revolutionary” government was a fair investigation of the events of 1 March 2008.

 

In 2008, there were two main candidates in the presidential election – Serzh Sargsyan and the first President of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan. The latter did not recognize the official results of the vote – that is, his defeat. His supporters took to the streets and protests lasted two weeks. They later turned into large-scale clashes with law enforcement agencies, as a result of which 10 people were killed.

During these events, President Robert Kocharyan was the President of Armenia, and introduced a state of emergency in the country.

 

• Armenian and Russian leaders meet to discuss array of pressing issues

• Former president of Armenia placed under arrest again

Nikol Pashinyan was a member of Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s campaign headquarters at the time. After the tragic events of 1 March, the opposition figure was accused of organizing mass riots. He hid for a year and four months, then voluntarily surrendered and was sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of “using violence against a representative of the authorities”.

After being released during his active political activities, Pashinyan consistently declared his intention to bring Robert Kocharyan and other perpetrators of the 1 March events to justice.

Kocharyan himself does not recognize the charges against him. Supporters of the second president consider him a political prisoner.

The criminal prosecution of the second president of the republic has made Armenian-Russian relations tense.

“In France, poets never die,” said French President Emmanuel Macron at a farewell ceremony for French singer of Armenian origin Charles Aznavour.

In Armenia, many have perceived the passing of their favorite singer as a personal tragedy.

However, having lost Charles Aznavour, a friend and benefactor, the people of Armenia found him again in his son: Nicolas Aznavour.

Very soon after the death of his father, Nicolas arrived in Yerevan. He heads the Aznavour Foundation and will continue his father’s work in educational, social and cultural projects.

In December, Nicolas and his wife visited the second largest city in Armenia, Gyumri, and donated apartments to families who lost their houses during the 1988 earthquake. Nicolas, who is a dual citizen of France and Armenia, participated in the early parliamentary elections. He recently announced that he intends to move to and settle in the homeland of his ancestors.

Charles Aznavour was also a central figure at the 17th Francophone Summit this year. He was going to be the “ambassador” of Armenia at this event. However, he managed to become the unifying symbol of the world of the Francophonie, without even being physically present, say summit participants.

The summit was the largest event ever held in Armenia in the period of independence. It was attended by delegations from more than 80 countries, 38 of them represented at the presidential or the prime ministerial level. Among them, in particular, were French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

• Delegates from 80 states arrive in Armenia for Francophonie summit

The summit was held under the slogan “Living Together”, and at the end of it a declaration with the same name was adopted. It enshrined the following principles: respecting solidarity, humanitarian values and diversity as the basis for peace and prosperity in the countries of the Francophonie.

The summit allowed for meetings between the new authorities of Armenia with the heads of France and Canada. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also noted the importance of establishing close ties with African states.

The last chord of the Velvet Revolution were the snap parliamentary elections held in December.

The ‘revolutionary’ government, from the first day of its formation, worked in conditions of sabotage, said Nikol Pashinyan before the elections.

The opposition force that formed after the revolution did not have a majority in parliament – rather, parliament was still dominated by the old guard. Given that Armenia is now a parliamentary republic, it was extremely important for the new government to have a majority in the National Assembly.

Nikol Pashinyan and his My Step bloc won more than 70% of the vote. They now have an absolute majority in parliament.

However, in the National Assembly, there will be no serious opposition. One of the two other forces that made it into the parliament – the Bright Armenia party – was an ally of Pashinyan’s in the previous convocation of parliament.

The Prosperous Armenia Party has never been perceived in the political arena as a serious opposition party.

• Armenian revolutionary leader’s bloc scores big win in parliamentary elections

• Elections in Armenia – a potential solution to the crisis?

One of the surprises of the election was that the former ruling Republican Party was unable to gain the necessary number of votes to get into parliament. However, representatives of the party said that despite the defeat, they would continue the struggle.

The most important sporting event of the year was the 21st World Football Championship, which was held in Russia.

It was the first time that the golden cup of the FIFA World Cup was brought to Armenia. The cup was brought to Armenia by the former Real Madrid player Christian Carambo, who in 1998 became world champion while playing for France.

• FIFA World Cup trophy arrives in Armenia

Since 2006, FIFA has been organizing a cup tour before each World Cup. The famous cup weighing 6.2 kg is put up on display in front of football fans in different countries. This year the cup visited 50 countries, and for 24 of them, this was a first appearance.

Countries that have never been able to participate in the world championships were able to feel the spirit of the football seasons thanks to the World Cup tour.

‘Year of growing global reputation’, ‘difficulties’: lawmakers recap 2018 in Armenia

Greg Madatian

‘Year of growing global reputation’, ‘difficulties’: lawmakers recap 2018 in Armenia

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13:12,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Some Members of Parliament find 2018 to be a year of growth for Armenia’s reputation, while others say it was a tense year of difficulties. However, all of them vow to realize their promises of the past year in the coming year.

“In 2018, Armenia made history in global political science as a country where a bloodless revolution took place. 2018 was Armenia’s year, it was the year of bloodless change of power in our country. And in this context I find this to be the biggest achievement. While the upcoming events of next year greatly depend on each of us. It will depend on the government and the work of each of us whether we will be able to transform the revolution that concluded with the December 9 early election of parliament into an economic revolution, in order for every citizen themselves to feel the positive results of this revolution also in the economy of the country,” Tsarukyan faction MP Naira Zohrabyan told ARMENPRESS.

In turn, Yelk faction MP Alen Simonyan also noted that this year the political life of Armenia was marked with the most honest, fairest elections that have ever taken place. “We still have to create so many precedents for it to become a usual thing. From now on, the foundation for new different political cultures was laid, and Armenia’s reputation grew in the global arena,” MP Simonyan said. He noted that now people have faith for their own strengths and the government. Simonyan added that they must try to exceed the achievements of this year.

Republican Party (HHK) MP Armen Ashotyan, however, says he finds 2018 to be a rather difficult and tense year for both the country and their party. “New challenges facing Armenia are not getting eliminated and solved simply by the fact that a change of power has taken place. That’s why in 2019 the main function of our party will be to be the most principled fundamental political power in the opposition political arena, by trying to raise through criticism and alarms the issues that we see concerning Armenia’s security, the future of Artsakh and strengthening of our positions in the region”, Ashotyan said.  The HHK failed to garner minimum required votes in the general election and will not be represented in the next parliament in 2019.

He noted that not being in parliament will deprive them from certain influence tools, namely from parliamentary supervision for the government. “However in today’s informational environment it isn’t a mandatory condition for being engaged in public politics. Our team consists of skilled people and we know how to supervise the government without being in parliament,” Ashotyan said.

Lusavor Hayastan (Luminous Armenia) Party President Edmon Marukyan says 2018 is a great achievement in terms of finally a change having happened in the country, opening new opportunities for truly capitalizing these changes and reaching serious results. “I believe this is a very important fact. New elections, new results and a new parliament happened due to this. For us, a big achievement is our new faction with the name of Lusavor Hayastan. A year full of new expectations awaits us,” Marukyan said.

He emphasized that they must justify their campaigning messages – be opposition, a counterbalance, a checks and balance.

ARF (Dashnaktsutyun) MP Ruzan Arakelyan said their party was able to accurately navigate at times when various situations were developing in 2018. “The steps that we took, I believe, were right for both the party and Armenia. We didn’t [get elected] to [next parliament], but the significant part of the people that voted for us has expectations from us. And that is why in the coming year we must be able to justify the expectations of our voters with right steps, by choosing the country’s security as a starting point,” she said.

The lawmakers also extended holiday greetings and congratulations on New Year and Christmas to everyone.

Interviews by Anna Grigoryan

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan




Russian, Armenian Troops To Hold 20 Joint Drills, Tournaments At Gyumri Base In 2019

Greg Madatian
UrduPoint News
Dec 30 2018
 
 
Russian, Armenian Troops To Hold 20 Joint Drills, Tournaments At Gyumri Base In 2019
 
Faizan Hashmi
 
ROSTOV-ON-DON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – 30th December, 2018) ON-DON, December 30 (Sputnik) – Russian troops stationed near Armenia’s second-largest city of Gyumri will take part next year in some 20 drills and competitions together with Armenian personnel, the Russian military said.
 
“Russian service members at the Southern Military District’s military base in Armenia will take part in over 20 joint exercises, competitions, championships and tournaments in 2019,” the military district’s press office said.
 
The military base near Gyumri marked on Saturday 77 years since it was established during the Soviet times. Armenia’s acting Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan said during the celebrations that Russian deployment there was in the strategic interest of both countries.
 
 

Pashinyan more interested in CSTO substance than the issue of the secretary general

Greg Madatian
Panorama, Armenia
Dec 22 2018

The substance of the Collective security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is more important than the issue of the secretary general, acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated on Saturday at a briefing with reporters. In his words, the issue should be solved through consensus as the all parties should try to reach a consensus.

“As I said earlier, the post of CSTO has not been passed on Armenia permanently and secretary generals are appointed on a rotational basis. It means our term was to end at some point.
What matters to us is not the post and the status of the CSTO secretary general but the substance of the organization. More specifically, it is about clarification of mutual commitments and reaching a consensus,” the acting PM said, adding the relevant discussions are currently underway.

To remind, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko signed on Friday a draft resolution of the CSTO on appointing Stanislav Zas as the secretary general of the organization.

Earlier, the CSTO Collective Security Council relieved Armenia’s Yuri Khachaturov of his duties as the organization’s secretary general in November at the initiative of official Yerevan, following charges brought by Armenian Special Investigative Service against Khachaturov with overthrowing the constitutional order in 2008. Armenia earlier insisted on keeping the top CSTO post until 2020, however, the CSTO stated that due to the political situation in the country, it would be inappropriate to give up the post again to Armenia.

Sixty day church service keeps hope alive for asylum family at Christmas

Greg Madatian
The Guardian(London), UK
Friday 5:00 AM GMT
Sixty day church service keeps hope alive for asylum family at Christmas
Family facing deportation to Armenia are protected by medieval Dutch law as long as church service continues
 
by  Daniel Boffey in The Hague
 
 
The pastors and volunteers at Bethel church, a small Protestant chapel tucked away on a quiet street in a residential district of The Hague, are preparing for what looks likely to be an unusually busy and anxious Christmas.
 
They worry that they will need to turn away some of the faithful at the door, and there are even tentative plans to live-stream the services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, such is the expected level of interest.
 
The main concern, though, is to keep a flicker of hope alive among the Tamrazyan family – Sasun, his wife Anousche and their children Hayarpi, 21, Warduhi, 19, and Seyran, 15 – who have been holed up in the church for nearly two months, protected by a medieval law that says immigration authorities cannot enter while a religious service is ongoing.
 
The Tamrazyan family have been fighting to stay in the Netherlands since arriving from Armenia in 2009. They turned to the church in late October when their asylum application reached the end of the line and deportation appeared imminent.
 
The claim that their lives would be at risk in Armenia due to Sasun Tamrazyan’s political activism has fallen on deaf ears, as has an application for a kinderpardon, a dispensation available to families with children who have lived in the Netherlands for more than five years.
 
With nowhere to go, the Tamrazyans put their fate in the hands of the Bethel church community in The Hague’s Segbroek district. It was quick to respond. By Christmas Eve, a service in the chapel will have run continuously for 60 days and nights, or for more than 1,400 hours. It is thought to be the longest “asylum service” in Dutch history.
 
Through day and night, pastors hold services for six or seven hours at a time, always with a congregation of at least three people so they can justifiably describe their efforts as a religious service.
 
A list of phone numbers of neighbours ready to join the congregation at a moment’s notice has been compiled should there be a danger of the chapel emptying, but it has never been needed.
 
The case has become something of a cause célèbre but visitors have generally been kept away from the family members, who have struggled to deal with the attention and uncertainty over their future.
 
In her first interview with a British newspaper, Sasun’s eldest daughter, Hayarpi, a student of econometrics at Tilburg University, said it was only hope that was sustaining them. “If we don’t have that then I don’t know. I need hope to keep going,” she said.
 
“We can’t go outside here because there is a risk of being arrested and we don’t want to take risks”, she added. “There may be police and in one minute we could be arrested. It is dreadful we can’t be free and do what you want – study, attend lectures, do the things you normally do.
 
“We don’t know what is going to happen and that is very difficult. We are trying to do the things that we always did, online lectures, my brother is doing homework, and we get support from his school and people here. That strengthens us.”
 
Since the first service started at 1.30pm on 26 October, more than 650 pastors from the Netherlands, Germany, France and Belgium have done their bit, offering meditation, preaching, readings or even “cleaning services”, where hoovering is combined with song.
 
The pastors say they are doing it not only for the Tamrazyans but for all the children of asylum seekers, who the Dutch Protestant church says are being poorly served by the government. For some, the case has come to symbolise a falling away of the traditional tolerance in Dutch society – and the church’s resistance to it.
 
“I received a call on 24 October from a colleague who had a phone call from someone close to the family,” said Derk Stegeman, a pastor at the church, recalling the moment he was made aware of the case. “They asked whether they [the family] could get asylum in our church.
 
“Of course there were doubts. We had a thorough discussion about it and got lots of information to be sure that the story was a good one that symbolised their fate and that of the families of the 400 children or or so who should be given amnesty.”
 
“What was special for this family was that it was the state that appealed against the family,” Stegeman said. “Two times the courts decided they could stay, and the state appealed two times. They applied for a kinderpardon, which was denied, and they had to wait almost two years for this decision.”
 
“The first reason for the service is the child amnesty regulation, because we think they have been here for nine years and if they are not applicable for the kinderpardon, who would be?”
 
Stegeman said the church would keep on going as long as there was hope that the state would reconsider.
 
“I think we can go on very long time but we don’t want this to be a game or a fight,” he said. “It is not about who is the strongest, it is about hope for the family. We started this by saying we respect our government and the courts … If there is no hope for us and the family to see, I think it would be difficult to go on”.
 
“Our idea at first was that this would be a burden”, Stegeman added, “but it in effect it has become our campfire.”
 

What for others is just a business, for us is a lethal tool: Armenia’s MFA responds to Lukashenko

Greg Madatian
Aysor, Armenia
Dec 20 2018

What for others is just a business, for us is a lethal tool, MFA spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan said at a briefing today, referring to the statement of president of Belarus about sale of weapon to Azerbaijan. She stressed that Armenia’s foreign ministry always keeps in the limelight the agenda of prevention of arms race in the region.

“I also want to add that the arms race results in growth of instability. It is a principal position for us that the arms race in the region should be prevented,” Anna Naghdalyan said.

“We may state for sure that the Armenian armed forces have high sense of responsibility and high level of preparedness to guarantee the security of Armenia and Artsakh. We simply realize the consequences of growth of escalation in the region,” Anna Naghdalyan said.

Sports: Armenia to hold a four-day cycling race in 2019

Greg Madatian
MediaMax, Armenia
Dec 20 2018
Armenia to hold a four-day cycling race in 2019
Deputy Director of Armenian Cycling Federation Martin Sharbatyan has revealed that they plan to hold a four-day cycling race among junior athletes in 2019.
“It will consist of 11 stages and carry the name Tour de Armenia. We want to invite 10 teams from other countries. Of course, we’re going to need a substantial sum, around AMD 15 million, but we’ll try to make it happen,” he told the press.

Sharbatyan emphasized that the federation has discussed the initiative with acting Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs of Armenia Gabriel Ghazaryan, who he gave the approval.

Sports: Spanish manager Ginés Meléndez joints Armenia’s Football Federation

Greg Madatian
Public Radio of Armenia
Dec 19 2018
Spanish manager Ginés Meléndez joints Armenia’s Football Federation

2018-12-19 14:33:23 
                           

Famous football manager Ginés Meléndez will assume office as technical director of the Football Federation of Armenia from January 1st.

Meléndez will coordinate the work of all national teams and will work out the policy of development of children’s and women’s football and mini-football.

He will be jointed by two other Spanish specialists.

Meléndez, a former footballer, stopped playing at age 21. He has since long worked as coach at Albacete Balompié.

He has been a UEFA and FIFA technical instructor since 2008 and 2011, respectively. Between 2011 and 2018, he held the position of the Technical Director of the Spanish Football Federation and was a national coach coordinator.

As manager of the Spanish national teams of different age groups, he has coached Xavi Hernandez, Andes Iniesta, Iker Casillias, David Villa, Cesc Fàbregas, Juan Mata, Gerard Pique, Isco and others.