17:06,
YEREVAN, MARCH 20, ARMENPRESS. The National Health Commission of China reported that as of March 20 70 million vaccinations against COVID-19 have been carried out in the country, reports Reuters.
China, which confirmed the first case of COVID-19, has registered four new cases on March 19.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Artsakh’s FM, Armenian Defense Minister discuss security issues in Artsakh
19:53,
YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh David Babayan, who is on a working visit in Yerevan, met with Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Vagharshak Harutyunyan on March 16.
As ARENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Artsakh, the sides touched upon issues related to the security of Artsakh, the implementation of the peacekeeping mission, and the current political and military developments in the region.
Humanitarian issues were also discussed at the meeting. The Ministers, in particular, emphasized the need to intensify efforts to retrieve the bodies of the Armenian servicemen killed during the Azeri-Turkish armed aggression unleashed against the Republic of Artsakh on September 27, 2020, as well as to release all the Armenian prisoners of war and hostages, highly appreciating the role of the Russian Federation peacekeeping forces in this process
Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan on Monday took part in a remote meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Hayastan All Armenian Fund.
“A topic of discussion was the issue of reporting 52 billion drams transferred by the All-Armenian Fund to the Armenian government during the war in Artsakh. The impressions of the discussion are disappointing. The prime minister unambiguously stated that 52 billion drams were contributed to the budget and spent with the general budget expenditures, making it impossible to specify what exactly the charitable funds were spent on,” Kocharyan wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
The ex-president said according to the agreement between the government and the fund, the government is obliged to provide reports on the funds received. The funds were supposed to be sent to a special account of the government, specifically created for this purpose, and spent from this account on urgent needs dictated by the situation caused by the recent Artsakh war, excluding the possibility of the issue on reporting, Kocharyan noted.
“I am not aware whether this was done intentionally or through negligence, but in fact, the reputation of the All-Armenian Fund is seriously damaged precisely because of the government’s actions.
“The prime minister’s verbal assurances on the expenditures do not inspire any confidence. I cannot believe the assurances of the government, who deceived its own people about the real situation throughout the entire war, and continues to hide the number of deaths, missing people and prisoners of war even 4 months after the war.
“I do not understand the statement made on behalf of the Board of Trustees in this context. How can one be confident in advance of the fund’s targeted spending in the absence of all supporting documents? Given the setting, it is obvious that no audit will clarify the situation, but will only enhance the existing doubts. The only correct solution I see is to consider 52 billion drams as a government debt to the fund to be returned within 3-5 years. The All-Armenian Fund, in turn, should spend these funds on numerous programs to cover the needs in Artsakh,” the former president added.
By Mark Dovich
Talk of early parliamentary elections has dominated political discourse in Armenia following its military defeat in the conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh late last year. But while polling suggests that the majority of Armenian citizens support snap elections, deep divides have emerged across the country’s political spectrum as to how exactly that vote should be conducted — and particularly whether Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan should remain in power during what promises to be a fierce and chaotic election campaign.
The Homeland Salvation Movement, a newly-formed alliance of 17 opposition parties that is referred to as “the street opposition” in Armenia, called for Pashinyan’s dismissal after the disastrous September-November 2020 war, and, since then, has repeatedly demanded that Pashinyan resign before snap polls are held. Most recently, former Prime Minister Vazgen Manukyan, whom the Homeland Salvation Movement has put forward to lead an interim government of national unity to oversee early elections, reiterated those demands in a March 15 speech, saying that “snap elections under [the current] government must be avoided at all costs.” Only one of the alliance’s 17 parties, Prosperous Armenia, has seats in the current parliament.
The next day, former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan backed that call by Manukyan, a former electoral rival in Armenia’s 1996 presidential election, arguing that “the only way out [out of the current crisis] is the resignation of the prime minister and the holding of elections under a non-partisan deputy prime minister.” In doing so, Ter-Petrosyan joined a long list of prominent Armenian institutions and individuals calling for Pashinyan’s dismissal, including current President Armen Sarkissian, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the National Academy of Sciences, the Armenian General Benevolent Union, and the leaders of Armenia’s Armed Forces. Ter-Petrosyan has previously warned that the ongoing political crisis threatens to escalate into civil war.
Meanwhile, Pashinyan and his My Step alliance, whose overwhelming majority in Armenia’s legislature has largely shunned efforts to oust the incumbent prime minister, have repeatedly flip-flopped on their willingness to hold snap elections. But in Pashinyan’s most recent public comments on the issue earlier this month, he again signaled his openness to the idea, saying that “we will agree to pre-term parliamentary elections if that offer is accepted by the parliamentary forces.”
The “parliamentary forces” in question are the Bright Armenia and Prosperous Armenia parties, the two other parties with seats in the National Assembly. Edmon Marukyan and Gagik Tsarukyan, the two parties’ respective leaders, have both indicated their support for holding snap polls under a government of national unity, rather than under Pashinyan’s administration. But talks on the matter between My Step, on the one hand, and Bright Armenia and Prosperous Armenia, on the other, have mostly stalled. Marukyan has called for elections to be held by June, while Tsarukyan has said they should happen in May or June. In contrast to Prosperous Armenia, Bright Armenia is not associated with the Homeland Salvation Movement.
The ongoing debate over how exactly to hold snap polls is complicated by stipulations in the Armenian Constitution that early elections can be held only after the prime minister resigns and the National Assembly fails twice to elect a new leader. Pashinyan has called on Bright Armenia and Prosperous Armenia to sign a memorandum of understanding, committing themselves not to nominate their own candidate following Pashinyan’s hypothetical resignation. Bright Armenia has committed to doing so, while Prosperous Armenia has not done so — yet.
Swirling talk of early elections has also refocused attention across Armenia’s political divides on the issue of electoral thresholds. Under the country’s current electoral code, individual parties must receive at least 5% of the vote to enter parliament, while political alliances, like My Step and the Homeland Salvation Movement, need 7% to gain seats in the legislature. Hamazasp Danielyan, a My Step lawmaker, has backed an amendment, currently up for debate in the National Assembly, to lower the threshold for individual parties from 5% to 3% — even though a survey last month suggests that the majority of Armenians, across all demographic categories, are opposed to such a move.
In that same poll, conducted by the International Republican Institute, a U.S.-based NGO, 33% of respondents said they would vote for My Step “if national parliamentary elections were held next Sunday,” while 42% of those polled said they would not vote for any party, a deeply worrying sign for Pashinyan’s future political prospects. By comparison, in a September-October 2019 IRI poll, 55% of respondents answered “My Step” when asked the same question, while only 10% of respondents said “none,” a clear indication of the hit Pashinyan’s once sky-high popularity has taken following the outcome of last year’s war.
Nonetheless, My Step’s 33% level of support in the February 2021 survey is a whopping 30 percentage points higher than any other party’s, suggesting that, despite the ongoing crisis, Pashinyan remains Armenia’s most popular politician. In fact, no other parties received more than 5% of the respondents’ support, meaning that they would not be able to enter parliament under the current electoral code if those same levels of support were to be replicated at the ballot box.
YEREVAN, March 13. /TASS/. Armenian President Armen Sarkissian and Lilit Makunts, the leader of the My Step ruling parliamentary bloc, focused on the current situation in the country, the solutions to the political crisis and an early parliamentary election at their meeting on Saturday, the presidential press service said.
“Today during the talks with parliamentary and non-parliamentary political forces, President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian held a meeting with Lilit Makunts, the leader of the My Step ruling parliamentary faction,” the statement says. “They discussed the situation in the country and the ways to resolve it and end the internal political crisis. In this context, the sides emphasized the significance of agreements to call an early parliamentary election.”
Earlier in the day, Sarkissian and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting to focus on the political situation in the country and considered holding snap parliamentary elections, the presidential press service said.
2nd Army Corps Commander reports to PM “successful implementation of mission on ensuring security”
13:32, 9 March, 2021
YEREVAN, MARCH 9, ARMENPRESS. The 2nd Army Corps Commander Arayik Harutyunyan reported to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that they are successfully implementing their mission on ensuring security, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
During a meeting at the Gegharkunik Province government headquarters, Harutyunyan told Pashinyan that their next important objective is the improvement of frontline infrastructures and implementation of engineering works.
“It was briefed that the situation at the frontline is calm and is under complete control.”
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
We have information according to which police troops are being brought from all provinces of Armenia to Yerevan for the past two to three years. This is what coordinator of Armenia’s opposition Homeland Salvation Movement Ishkhan Saghatelyan declared on Demirtchyan Street in Yerevan today.
Saghatelyan told the police chief and all police officers who try to make provocations during the night that they will be fully responsible for the provocations. “We will continue our peaceful demonstrations. We’re fighting for the army, the state and statehood, Artsakh and our children,” he added.
Saghatelyan called on citizens to join the acts of civil disobedience tomorrow at around 8:30-9:00 a.m. “Today, Nikol Pashinyan is trying to distort constitutional order. With your presence, you are observing the Constitution of Armenia. Tomorrow we will hold our major rally at 4 p.m. Let’s stand with Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), maintain the Constitution and get rid of this evil power,” Saghatelyan said.
Saghatelyan also declared that the opposition is giving Nikol Pashinyan until 12:00 tomorrow to resign. According to him, Pashinyan’s statements about his intention to hold snap elections are phony.
Today at 6 p.m. marked the end of the term until which President Armen Sarkissian could apply to the Constitutional Court to challenge Nikol Pashinyan’s petition to dismiss Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia Onik Gasparyan from office, but Armen Sarkissian didn’t apply.
March 3, 2021
Vazgen Manukyan
Homeland Salvation Movement Condemns “Politically Motivated” Move
Armenia’s law enforcement authorities on Wednesday have pressed criminal charges against Homeland Salvation Movement’s candidate for prime minister Vazgen Manukyan for public statements allegedly calling for the overthrow of Armenia’s constitutional order.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee spokesperson Rima Yeganyan told Armenpress on Wednesday that Manukyan allegedly made calls to usurp power and overthrow Armenia’s constitutional order during a rally at Yerevan’s Freedom Square on February 20.
“At any moment — it could be today, one week later or ten days later — we must be ready for revolting and taking power at lightning speed,” said Manukyan said during the February 20 rally, describing it as a “Plan B” for the opposition, which has been campaigning for Prim Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation since he signed the November 9 agreement that ended military actions in Karabakh, but stipulated the surrender of territories in Artsakh and Armenia to Azerbaijan.
“We will follow Plan A but must always be ready for Plan B,” said Manukyan during the February 20 rally.
In a statement, the Homeland Salvation Movement announced the reported indictment of Manukyan and said that he has been called to the Investigative Committee at 11 a.m. local time on Thursday.
Homeland Salvation Movement leader and Armenian Revolutionary Federation member Gegham Manukyan condemned the move, calling it “politically motivated” to silence the opposition.
Sure, Armenian Lunch Truck’s second location resides in a propane shop parking lot, but the Kirakosyan family prefers charcoal fire to gas. It’s a key differentiator from most kebab spots, and it helps propel the Kirakosyans’ skewers to greatness.
The family relocated from Armenia to L.A. just two-and-a-half years ago, and none of its members had any restaurant experience prior to launching Armenian Lunch Truck. Petros, the family’s patriarch, and younger daughter Lusine were driving for Uber Black and Uber Lux, for example, but they’ve made it work. They know what Armenian people like to eat, and their food’s resonating with people beyond the diaspora.
The Kirakosyans launched their concept in late 2019 on high-traffic Sherman Way in front of Royal Fresh Super Market. Their colorful truck sports colors of the Armenian flag—red, orange and blue—and the family sets up an adjacent charcoal grill on the sidewalk. To end 2020, Armenian Lunch Truck occupied a stainless steel structure with a corrugated metal roof in Propane Spot’s parking lot on an industrial stretch of San Fernando Road in Sun Valley.
Kabobs cooking over the coals at Armenian Lunch Truck
Both locations showcase their meat in butcher shop-like display cases featuring marinated, ready-to-grill skewers. North Hollywood has three exclusive items—chicken and pork shawarma and French fries—but other than that, the menus match.
“My father was always good at preparing Armenian food,” Lusine says. “We tried so many different places to eat something, but we didn’t liked it so we decided to do our own recipes.”
The family jointly decided which dishes to feature from their homeland, and Petros developed the recipes. To marinate the meats, he goes simple and savory with salt, red pepper, black pepper, and onions. Screaming-hot charcoal and careful grilling impart beautiful sears and smoky notes to the skewers.
The business really is a family affair. Petros purchases and preps all the meat. His wife Liana and older daughter Arsine execute all the orders. Lusine is in charge of shawarma, takes orders at the register, and runs their Instagram page. Petros and Liana’s son—also named Petros—helps too.
Pork ribs and pork belly are on the menu at Armenian Lunch Truck
While neighboring Turkey is approximately 98 percent Muslim, Armenia has an inverse percentage, just 2 percent, so the population is much more open to eating pork. Armenian Lunch Truck skewers and grills the animal’s ribs and cubed belly meat. In North Hollywood, they also spit-roast pork sirloin aboard the truck. Pork shawarma works well in lavash wraps. The soft, thin flatbread cradles crusty pork shavings and spicy tomato sauce folded with chopped tomatoes and onions.
Chicken also gets plenty of love. Wings grace the grill and breast meat powers kebabs and shawarma. Luscious lule—ground beef or chicken—is also popular.
Plates cost $15 and come with grilled tomato and jalapeño, rice, lavash, Armenian salad (featuring cucumber, onion, and tomato), tangy tzatziki (yogurt blended with cucumber), and spicy tomato sauce. Extra skewers cost $8 and are wise investments, since Armenian Lunch Truck tends to leave customers wanting more.
Armenian Lunch Truck; 12811 Sherman Way, North Hollywood; and 9365 San Fernando Rd., Sun Valley, 818-482-7515.
Leader of the opposition Bright Armenia faction of the National Assembly of Armenia Edmon Marukyan posted the following on his Facebook page:
“Nikol Pashinyan declared that Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia Onik Gasparyan has fulfilled the order of Serzh Sargsyan by issuing the statement that he issued.
We demand that Nikol Pashinyan immediately publish evidence stating that Onik Gasparyan has fulfilled Serzh Sargsyan’s order.
My proposal for snap elections is still in effect.”
During the rally held at Republic Square in Yerevan, Nikol Pashinyan declared that third President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and the former authorities had pushed Onik Gasparyan to make the statement that he made as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.