Author: Jane Topchian

Lydian Announces Acceptance of Lawsuit for Appeal Hearing of Environmental Order

Jane Topchian
Lydian International, UK
Tuesday
Lydian Announces Acceptance of Lawsuit for Appeal Hearing of Environmental Order
 
 
TORONTO – Lydian International Limited (TSX: LYD) (‘Lydian’ or ‘the Company’) is pleased to announce that the Administrative Court of the Republic of Armenia (the ‘Court’) has accepted the Company’s lawsuit appealing a directive issued by Mr. Artur Grigoryan, the head of the Republic of Armenia’s Environmental and Mining Inspection Body, to refrain from any mining-related activities at the Amulsar project.
  
The acceptance of the lawsuit by the Court results in an automatic suspension of Mr. Grigoryan’s directive, under the Republic of Armenia’s Administrative Procedure Code, which suspension will remain in place until the appeal is heard and determined.
 
Joao Carrelo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lydian, stated, ‘We are pleased that the Court has agreed to accept Lydian’s lawsuit. We are confident that the Court will rule in Lydian’s favor based on studies concluded by the Ministry of Nature Protection that conclusively established no basis for Mr. Grigoryan’s assertions of ‘new ecological factors’ and Mr. Grigoryan’s inherent conflict of interest that lead to this lawsuit.’
 
As previously announced, Mr. Grigoryan had directed the Company to refrain from any mining-related activities until the Ministry of Nature Protection conducted a study to determine if Mr. Grigoryan’s assertion that new ecological factors had arisen due to sightings of newly found red-listed plants and animal species, specifically, the fact that Acantholimon caryophyllaceum Boiss plant species and Parnassius apollo animal species had been identified at the Amulsar Project site for the first time.
 
After the issuance of Mr. Grigoryan’s directive, a group commissioned by the Ministry of Nature Protection confirmed the non-existence of the red-listed plant and animal species and concluded that the Amulsar project site did not include the necessary habitat to support either species. These findings were officially communicated by the Minister of Nature Protection and clearly invalidated Mr. Grigoryan’s conclusions. The Company had appealed Mr. Grigoryan’s directive, based on these findings as well as other grounds, including Mr. Grigoryan’s conflict of interest, and included such contradictory evidence with the initial appeal. The administrative appeal of the initial directives was to be heard by the Chairman of the Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Agency, a role held by Mr. Grigoryan himself. Lydian requested that Mr. Grigoryan recuse himself from acting as reviewer of the initial directive due to his conflict of interest. However, Mr. Grigoryan refused to recuse himself and subsequently rejected the Company’s appeal of his own directive. Lydian subsequently appealed the decision to the Court, which accepted the lawsuit for the appeal hearing and thereby suspends Mr. Grigoryan’s directive pending the determination of the appeal.
 
Despite the suspension of the directive, the illegal blockades continue to prevent Lydian from accessing site to resume full construction activities. However, Lydian has secured short-term access to undertake winterization and preservation work on process and mobile equipment, as previously disclosed. Lydian continues to retain all of its legal rights and options with respect to the appeal of Mr. Grigoryan’s directive, as well as all other matters related to the Amulsar project, including the ongoing illegal blockades.
 
About Lydian International Limited
 
Lydian is a gold developer focusing on construction at its 100%-owned Amulsar Gold Project, located in south-central Armenia. However, illegal blockades have prevented access to Amulsar since late June 2018. Amulsar will be a large-scale, low-cost operation with production targeted to average approximately 225,000 ounces annually over an initial 10-year mine life. Open pit mining and conventional heap leach processing contribute to excellent scale and economic potential. Estimated mineral resources contain 3.5 million measured and indicated gold ounces and 1.3 million inferred gold ounces as outlined in the Q1 2017 Technical Report. Existing mineral resources beyond current reserves and open extensions provide opportunities to improve average annual production and extend the mine life. Lydian is committed to good international industry practices in all aspects of its operations including production, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility.
 
Contact:
 
Tel: +1 720-307-5087

Armenia’s Democracy Strong, Parliamentary Elections Praised by International Observers

Jane Topchian

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date:

Contact: Danielle Saroyan

Telephone: (202) 393-3434

Web: www.aaainc.org

 

ARMENIA’S DEMOCRACY STRONG,
PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS PRAISED BY INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS

 

WASHINGTON,
D.C. – In a proud moment for the Republic of Armenia, the will of its citizens
for a more democratic and transparent government has prevailed in open
parliamentary elections, consolidating the previous gains registered during the
peaceful protests for change in April this year. The Armenian Assembly of
America (Assembly) congratulates Nikol Pashinyan and the citizens of Armenia, and
is invigorated by the future in store for the nation.

 

“Armenians living in Armenia and around the world should
take great pride in the country’s successful elections. Since Armenia’s Velvet
Revolution began last April, my heart has been full watching Armenians from all
walks of life engage politically, make demands of their government, and spur
progress towards a truly representative democracy. I look forward to continuing
to work with Prime Minister Pashinyan, other Members of Congress, and the
Armenian people as we strengthen Armenia’s democracy and our nations’ ties,” Congressional
Caucus on Armenian Issues Co-Chair Congresswoman Jackie Speier told the
Armenian Assembly.

“There was a remarkable change in Armenia and at the
ballot box yesterday. The way Armenia conducts itself going forward has changed,
and we have the Armenian citizens and their political will for a fully free,
just, and equal nation to thank. Yesterday’s elections marked an important step
forward towards establishing a stronger and more robust democratic framework
for Armenia, which stands in sharp contrast to the bordering hostile nations of
Azerbaijan and Turkey whose governments’ corruption and unjust imprisonment of
journalists worsen by the day. Armenia represents hope, and the Armenian
Assembly of America will do everything in its capacity to foster this courageous
optimism and work with the United States Government to strengthen not only the
hope but the prosperity of Armenia,” stated Armenian Assembly Co-Chairs Anthony
Barsamian and Van Krikorian.

 

With initial results released, the United States
Embassy to Armenia stated: “Congratulations to the Armenian people on a
successful election yesterday!”

 

“The winners in yesterday’s elections were clearly
the people of Armenia, who brought good spirit and energy to this election,” said
Peter Osusky, Special Co-ordinator and leader of the short-term Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observer mission. “Democracy
cannot proceed without trust, so I am pleased that broad public trust was the
central characteristic of this election. Now that voters have delivered their
message, it is up to the political leadership in Armenia to ensure that this
momentum is maintained, and further reforms are implemented to fully
consolidate the positive assessment we are making today.”

 

During the press conference, Osusky added that the
observers praised the “open atmosphere” during the political campaigns that
enabled real substantive debate. “Members of our own team noted with regard to
the leaders’ debate held last week that they would like to see similar debates
in their own countries,” Osusky said.

 

“Our assessment of these elections highlights that
fundamental freedoms were respected, along with many other positives,” said
Ambassador Urszula Gacek, Head of the election observation mission from the
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

 

Published in the initial report of the OSCE Office
for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly (OSCE PA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
and the European Parliament (EP), observers affirmed that “election day
proceeded calmly and free of pressure on or intimidation of voters, and voting,
counting, and tabulation were assessed positively by almost all observers.”

 

“These elections were very well organized, with
minimum irregularities and free of pressure on voters. I am very happy that, as
a result, public trust in the electoral process was high,” said Heidi Hautala,
Head of the delegation from the European Parliament. “We congratulate the
Armenian authorities and participants in these elections and encourage the
government and the National Assembly to further improve the legislation ahead
of future elections.”

 

According to the preliminary election results
released by the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan’s
My Step Alliance won 70.1% of the votes; the Prosperous Armenia Party won 8.2%;
and Bright Armenia won 6.3%.

 

Other parties and blocs running for the elections
failed to meet the 5% threshold to make it into the 101-seat National Assembly
with the Republican Party (HHK) scoring 4.7%; the ARF-Dashnaktsutyun party with
3.9%; Menk Alliance with 2%; Sasna Tsrer Party with 1.81%; Rule of Law Party
with 1%; Citizen’s Decision Party with 0.68%; Christian-Democratic Renaissance
Party with 0.5%; and National Progress Party with 0.33% of the votes.

 

Having won a majority of the seats in parliament,
Pashinyan has a strong mandate to continue the path of political and economic
reforms ushered in by Armenia’s own Velvet Revolution.

 

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of
America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting
public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a
non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

 

###

 

NR#
2018-055

 

Available
online:

Preliminary voting results caused panic and decadent sentiment among the majority of race participants.

Jane Topchian
Arminfo, Armenia
Dec 9 2018

ArmInfo. The ruling “My Step” bloc positively assesses the voting process, the MP candidate from the bloc Hrach Hakobyan said in an interview with ArmIfno.

Referring to the low turnout, he explained this by saying that people  had stopped carrying people to polling stations on microbuses and  that ”dead souls” had ceased to vote. “We very much hope that the”  My step “bloc will overstep the 70% barrier”, Hakobyan stressed.

In turn, Acting First Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia, a candidate  for MP from the “My Step” bloc, Ararat Mirzoyan does not at all  consider that turnout was low this year. “Actually, the turnout was  neither high nor low. There is a lot of talk in social networks that  the actual number of voters, that is, those who are in the country,  is much less than the percentage that was previously represented  after the elections. In addition, also were very deplorable weather  conditions – it was raining. Well, you should not forget that in a  free democratic society there is no very high voter turnout”,Mirzoyan  assured.

MP from the “We” bloc, Angela Khachatryan, qualified the voting  process as “normal”. “Voting went quite normally, without any  irregularities. As for the turnout, I want to note that it is not so  low. The fact is that people stopped bringing people to the polling  stations at microbuses. I really hope that our voters expressed their  political will, and the “We” bloc will be properly represented in the  National Assembly”, Khachatryan concluded.

Gevorg Gorgisyan, who is a candidate for the “Enlightened Armenia”  party, also appreciated the “normal” voting process. “Voting went  well, in any case, better than voting in the elections of 2017. I  hope that we will take second place in the Armenian parliament”,  Gorgisyan said.

Gevorg Petrosyan, a candidate for MP from the “Prosperous Armenia”  Party, said that turnout is low, since the emigration rate has  increased significantly. He also explained the low turnout by  disappointment of people and the absence of any intrigue. It is  noteworthy that the PPA did not want to evaluate the voting process  at all, as well as predict their outcome. However, ArmInfo sources in  the party say that the “prosperous” are so disappointed with the  preliminary results of the voting that they don’t even want to talk  about it. “Decadent mood prevails in the party”, the source notes.

A similar situation is also in the ARF “Dashnaktsutyun”.  “Dashnaktsutyun” members also avoid commenting on various “good”  pretexts.

Not better things in the Republican Party. As a source told ArmInfo  in the RPA, the results of the voting in the regions are simply  discouraging. “In the capital, they didn’t go anywhere, but in the  regions things are just awful, but let’s hope that at the expense of  votes in the capital, it will be possible to get about 7% of the  votes,” the source hoped. Officially, the outcome of the vote from  the RPA agreed to comment on only 9 number of the list of Menua  Harutyunyan, stating that the entire election campaign of the  authorities was built antipire against RPA.

 “In fact, Nikol Pashinyan does not want to see us in parliament; he  doesn’t need a real opposition, which will raise important issues.  Many representatives of the RPA, who were village elders and mayors,  left the party during the election campaign. I think the  administrative resource is used, and when the authorities change, and  the environment of fear disappears, they will be able to tell  everyone about it. As for voter turnout, which was less than 50%, I  want to emphasize that Pashinyan’s next lie suffered a fiasco. He  insisted that the number of voters would be unprecedented, but this  did not happen. It became obvious that he was a very mediocre  politician, who came to power only because of luck. For this, he  postponed the elections from May to December”, Harutyunyan said.

The Nile crocodile in Yerevan Zoo has died

Jane Topchian
Panorama, Armenia
Nov 26 2018

Yerevan zoo confirmed the information Panorama.am had concerning the death of the crocodile at the zoo.

 “In the morning, one of the crocodiles of the zoo has been found dead. The cause of the animal’s death will be revealed after the autopsy and laboratory tests.

At this point the zoo cannot provide any additional information, ” said Ruben Abrahamyan, the zoo spokesman.

Karen Martirosyan, who has been taking care of the crocodile for over 20 years and who has been dismissed, told Panorama.am that the reason was illiteracy.

“It was the jewel of our zoo. I recently left my job, the animal was completely healthy. Completely. I saw the crocodile grow up, I was the head of the division, it was 4-5 cm in my hands, and now it’s a 3-meter crocodile, ” he said.

Martirosyan said he was anxious and stressed; he had taken care of the animal for 20 years day and night.

 “There were two crocodiles in the zoo, one was hybrid, and the other one that died was the Nile crocodile. I feel a great deal of pain. The 25-year-old crocodile died while the animal can live for up to 80 years. It was a very healthy crocodile. All our foreign guests admired the way we were taking care of it,” said the expert.

 He was concerned that there are no specialists in the zoo, so the other animals may die as well.

Whether Henrikh Mkhitaryan will play in Ukraine, which announces military situation in country

Jane Topchian
  • 20:23 | November 27,2018 | Sports
  • Armenian:
  • Rus

The Ukrainian Football Federation has issued a formal statement regarding the military situation in the country.

“At the moment, the Football Federation has not received any suggestions or orders from law enforcement agencies or other state bodies to restrict or to ban the games in Kiev and in 10 other provinces where military martial was declared. The Ukrainian Football Federation has not received any documents from UEFA at all, on transferring or postponing the Champions League or Europa League,” the federation said in a statement.

To note, on November 29, Ukrainian Vorskla will host London Arsenal in the group stage of the Europa League, in which Armenia’s captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan plays. It should be noted that the English team has not yet made an official statement.

A1+: Lydian gets opportunity to carry out wintering work in Amulsar

Jane Topchian
  • 14:08 | November 29,2018 | Official
  • Armenian:
  • Rus

Lydian informed that temporary access to the Amoulsar gold mine site, technological and mobile equipment for the preparation and conservation of the winter zone. These works are implemented to reduce the damage to the equipment and to ensure the effective resumption of construction, mining and operation after ensuring permanent access to the project area.

Armenia and UAE intend to develop a concept for the development of medical tourism between the countries

Jane Topchian
Arminfo, Armenia
Nov 22 2018
Armenia and UAE intend to develop a concept for the development of medical tourism between the countries

Yerevan November 22

Alina Oganesyan. The Ministry of Health of Armenia signed a memorandum with the Arab company Bainona Engineering Consultancy (UAE) on cooperation in the design, construction, equipment and management of medical institutions. This is stated in the official statement of the Ministry.

Within the framework of the memorandum, the parties undertake to develop a concept for the development of medical tourism between Armenia and the United Arab Emirates. At the same time, a roadmap will be jointly defined, indicating the next steps, required resources and deadlines for implementation.

“The cooperation will contribute to the development of the sphere, and will serve as a stimulus for attracting foreign investment in the health sector of Armenia“, – noted in the source. Note that LLC “Bainona Engineering Consultancy” was founded in 1994 in the UAE. The company specializes in design, construction and design consulting.

Absence of public’s demand among reasons why no U-turn will take place in Armenia’s foreign policy – Yelk faction

Jane Topchian

Absence of public’s demand among reasons why no U-turn will take place in Armenia’s foreign policy – Yelk faction

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14:20,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. There was no demand on changing the foreign policy during the rallies in Republic Square, and this is also among the reasons that there will not be a U-turn in Armenia’s foreign policy, according to Yelk faction leader Lena Nazaryan.

“When we were rallying in the square, there was no political demand from citizens addressed to us on changing the foreign policy. And this is the reason that we aren’t going to make any U-turn of foreign policy. The order of the citizens given at the square was for justice to be established, for state resources not to be misappropriated and for the corruption risks that have been known by the society for many years but didn’t have consequences to be uncovered,” she said.

She noted that previously there have been instances in foreign policy that have been silently passed, in many cases also by ignoring the interests of Armenia.

“Now, when concrete responses are given by Armenia, and it is expected that our partner states must consider our interests, for some reason anger is created. Why should we be silent and reckon with the situation when we are treated unfairly? I think it is very correct that we are voicing our issues,” she said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan




Despite all efforts, Azerbaijan’s policy on isolation of Artsakh fails – official

Jane Topchian
Panorama, Armenia
Nov 20 2018

A new wave of hysteria has risen in Azerbaijan against the backdrop of the recent visit of Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan to France to attend annual Telethon and Phonathon in the country. 

Sahakyan’s meetings held in Paris have angered Baku, which in turn, has sent a note of protest to the French Foreign Ministry over the visit. 

In a statement released on 17 November, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said, “France’s constant double standards approach makes Azerbaijan reconsider its ties with that country.”

In a separate statement, Baku promised to also present a note of protest to the US for issuing a visa to the Artsakh leader. 

Panorama.am correspondent has talked to David Babayan, a spokesman for the Artsakh president, over the possible reasons behind such a conduct of Azerbaijan.

The official stressed this is Azerbaijan’s yet another failed attempt to isolate Artsakh from the international community.

“Azerbaijan is apparently trying to impede any steps and policies of Artsakh aimed at establishing cooperation with different countries. The country spends huge sums – billions of dollars – on it, but all in vain,” Babayan said, meantime stressing Armenia shouldn’t be relieved and not take Baku’s steps seriously.

“But this is the reality: spending huge sums, they fail to achieve a desired end. It irritates Azerbaijan, causing uproar in the country,” he stressed.

The spokesman strongly believes the attempts of the adversary to isolate Artsakh are continuous, and Azerbaijan will not abandon its policy.

“We should clearly realize this and never give up, thinking that Azerbaijan has changed its policy line or ultimate goal. For better or worse, no one shall take deterrent measures instead of us. First of all, we must continue strengthening our trinity – the unity of Mother Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora,” he said, stressing the need to carry out works inside the country and prepare best professionals to work on international platforms.

“We have that potential, we have talented and patriotic diplomats, including within various structures of the Diaspora,” the Artsakh official said.

Babayan stressed despite all the anti-Armenian activities of Azerbaijan, Artsakh doesn’t feel isolated either in France or US thanks to the great support of Armenia and the Diaspora.

“However, the adversary works in multiple channels. Let’s take the example of France: according to reliable sources, Azerbaijan together with Turkey constantly threatens the leaders of those French sister cities which have cooperation agreements with Artsakh. We know about it for sure. In fact, they have declared jihads our friends who are either MPs or social and political figures in different cities,” he said.

“Azerbaijan runs the same policy also in the US, that is why we must preserve the trinity and be united,” the spokesman stressed.

Summing up, he noted Armenia shouldn’t follow the aggressive workstyle of Azerbaijan which is agreed with the fact that Baku has no legal, political or moral truth on its side. According to him, this is the reason why Azerbaijan puts the emphasis on its interests, bribery and terrorism.

“They stay focused on money, while we – on values,” he said.