Citizens have been taken by minibuses from Yerevan to support Nikol Pashinyan during his election campaign rallies in Syunik towns and villages on Tuesday.
In a video released by News.am, a woman sitting in a minibus with the logo of Pashinyan’s Civil Contract Party confesses that she came to Syunik from Yerevan.
According to the woman, her family members also came to the region with her.
Video at link:
19:23, 15 June, 2021
YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. 2nd President of Armenia, Prime Minister’s candidate of Armenia Alliance Robert Kocharyan is confident that his team will be able to rapidly develop the country, ARMENPRESS reports he said in a meeting with the citizens in Vedi.
Listening to the citizens and the issues they raised, he talked about their plans in the sphere of agriculture. Particularly, he referred to irrigation issues, announcing that they will change the subsidization amount for a term of 3 years. ”The calculations are not yet final, but I think you will pay symbolic sums for irrigation for 3 years’’, Kocharyan said, adding that he knows that many of them have loans and it’s difficult to pay them back without assistance.
Robert Kocharyan reiterated that they are the only political force that has experience, confidence, knowledge and will. ”If you trust us, we will stop this down-falling tendencies and will move forward in a fast pace. I am confident of that, otherwise, I would never take this responsibility. We will justify your expectations”, Kocharyan said.
STEPANAKERT—Following three months of intensive training sessions, Verelk Business Bootcamp launched on June 14 with 13 finalist teams learning pitching preparation techniques in order to make presentations on Friday. The best proposals will receive financial support and continual mentorship through the process of implementing their proposals.
Verelk is a “Capacity + Capital + Capabilities” hybrid entrepreneurship program initiated and organized by the Youth Office of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and the Armenian Youth Federation of Artsakh in collaboration with Revolve Consulting and other specialist groups. It is a program for aspiring young entrepreneurs and change-makers in Artsakh with a mission to accelerate the economic reconstruction at a local scale and ensure increased and sustainable living standards for 18- to 35-year-old youth, in the aftermath of the 2020 war. Its purpose is to develop and scale a set of complete skills and technical knowledge for aspiring micro-entrepreneurs to start and scale their micro-business in order to leverage the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Artsakh.
The “Verel” Bootcamp agenda
The vision of the program lies in the cultivation of a series of micro-business successes that will act as a testimony for a new definition of national economic success in the most hostile surroundings. The format of the Verelk program was broken down in three different phases: Capacity building, Capital Injection (the bootcamp period), and Capabilities (performance monitoring).
To date, the Verelk program has completed its first phase, which took place from March to May with 109 participants. During this period, the program organized 12 training sessions that included 6 on entrepreneurial fundamentals and 6 sector-focused. These sectors included:
After the conclusion of phase I, the top candidates entered the 5 day reinforcement business bootcamp which began on June 14, 2021. The primary objective is to cultivate the ideas created in Phase I into entrepreneurial concepts. The top pitch performers of this bootcamp will receive financial support and continuous mentorship throughout the process.
Ultimately in phase III, the pitch laureates will enter a 24 month period of monitoring to assist their concept’s developments towards active market penetration. Verelk Program partner, Riviera Capital, will work along with the selected candidates this Capability booster phase (Phase III) throughout a 2 year period.
Through this initiative, the ARF Youth Office is actively working to address some of the dire issues the youth of Artsakh face following the 2020 Artsakh War. Among these include the risk of emigration, the disparity, and the need to reconnect diaspora Armenians and their expertise with the youth of Artsakh. The 2020 War also revealed limits of traditional philanthropic schemes. Therefore, through the efforts of the Verelk program and all of its volunteers who have already spent months in Artsakh, the ARF Youth Office hopes to produce long term and sustainable solutions for the youth of Artsakh.
The Verelk Business Program was established through the donations and support of the “Artsakh Fund” of the Eastern Region USA. For any investors, entrepreneurs, and young professionals interested in contributing to any of these programs, please contact the ARF Youth Office at [email protected]. Additional information will be provided in the coming weeks.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks following his cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, May 17, 2021. Photo: VCG
Azerbaijan and Turkey signed a declaration of alliance on Tuesday, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Shusha, a city in Karabakh, after the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Erdogan, the first foreign leader to visit Shusha after Azerbaijan regained control of the city last November, was accompanied by his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev. Seated in the same car, Aliyev and Erdogan traveled to Shusha from Fuzuli.
Speaking at a joint press conference, Aliyev described the signing of the declaration as a historic event which “guarantees our future cooperation.”
“A new era starts today,” said the Azerbaijani leader, adding that the declaration elevates the relations between the two countries to the highest level.
He said the declaration highlights key issues of cooperation between the two countries at the international level, in terms of political, economic and commercial relations, culture, education, sport, energy security, as well as the importance of the South Caucasus.
Aliyev said the declaration particularly focuses on cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey in the field of defense industry, and mutual military assistance.
“It also provides for the opening of a new transport line between the two countries which became possible after the second Karabakh war,” the Azerbaijani leader added.
Erdogan said Azerbaijan will get the opportunity to embark on the manufacture of defense industry products of Turkey.
The Turkish leader also revealed his country’s plans to open a consulate general in Shusha.
Erdogan arrived in Azerbaijan on Tuesday for a two-day official visit.
Erdoğan speaks about plans to open Turkish consulate in Shushi
18:36,
YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced about his plans to open a consulate in Shushi, ARMENPRESS reports Turkish Anadolu agency informed.
The Turkish president arrived in Baku on June 14. On June 15, together with Azerbaijani president Ilahm Aliyev he visited Shushi, which is under Azerbaijani occupation, where the sides signed a declaration on bilateral cooperation.
After signing the leaders of the two countriesgave a press conference,where the Turkish president announced about their plans. ”We plan to open a consulate in Shushi in the near future”, he said.
Independent MP, representative of the Elections Oversight Committee of Armenia Naira Zohrabyan has addressed a letter to Head of the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission Owen Murphy, as reported the Elections Oversight Committee.
The letter reads as follows:
“Dear Mr. Murphy,
During his campaign meetings, candidate of Civil Contract Party for Prime Minister, acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan continues to use unacceptable terms, including calls for hatred, violence, split of society and to lead people to fight against each other.
During a meeting with voters in the city of Abovyan today, Pashinyan showed up with a hammer and declared the following: “This is a very important symbol; it represents who should be removed and who should be nailed.”
The Elections Oversight Committee demands that the OSCE/ODIHR either responds to this and publicly condemns the behavior of candidate of Civil Contract Party for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, or substantiates, with facts, that showing a hammer and threatening political opponents with that is an acceptable and ordinary behavior for leaders in Europe.
Let us record that, to date, the OSCE/ODIHR has not responded to the unacceptable words and phrases and calls for violence in society that are heard during the election campaign.”
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
Washington, D.C. – Key members of Congress expressed serious concerns about the waiver of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, during hearings with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken regarding the State Department budget request for Fiscal Year 2022, this week, reported the Assembly.
During today’s U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the State Department’s budget, Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ) pressed Secretary Blinken about the Administration’s decision to waive Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, which has been law since 1992 and restricts assistance to Azerbaijan “until it takes demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Chairman Menendez stated he was “disappointed” that the Administration renewed the 907 waiver renewal “despite Azerbaijan’s attack on Nagorno-Karabakh.”
After receiving the waiver, Chairman Menendez said Azerbaijan began “interfering with the actual territorial sovereignty of Armenia” and has “not released Armenian prisoners of war, which is in violation of international law.”
“When we [the Administration] waived it, we gave them the green light,” said Chairman Menendez.
In response, Secretary Blinken said the Administration will “continue taking a look at this.”
“I’ve been working actively on this, particularly getting the return of the prisoners, and getting engaged in an actual process discussion and negotiation over an actual resolution,” said Secretary Blinken. “It’s my hope we can get a little bit of traction there, but I think we’ll have to continue looking and relooking at this in the future.”
Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA)
Yesterday, senior House Foreign Affairs Committee Member, Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA),reiterated the critical need to reverse the Section 907 waiver and stop U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan during the State Department’s Foreign Policy Strategy and budget request hearing. He stated: “In 2019 Congress recognized the Armenian Genocide, I want to commend you and the Administration for doing the same in April of this year, however the Administration has issued a Section 907 waiver to allow for sale of weapons to Azerbaijan, and I hope you would reconsider that in light of Azerbaijan’s violations of the territorial integrity, not of Nagorno-Karabakh, although that is important, but of Armenia itself and [Azerbaijan’s] unprovoked aggression.”
House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-CA)
House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), also voiced her concerns about the waiver. During the Department of State and Related Programs budget request hearing, Rep. Lee emphasized that she would follow up with a written question. She stated: “[Regarding] your recent decision to extend the waiver to Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, I would appreciate the State Department’s prompt response.”
“Given Azerbaijan’s unprovoked war last Fall, the use of Syrian mercenaries, the unjust holding of prisoners of war, the deliberate destruction of Armenian religious and cultural heritage sites, as well as the repeated border incursions in violation of Armenia’s sovereignty, we commend Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Menendez, along with Chairwoman Lee and Congressman Sherman for raising these concerns, and urge the Administration to rescind the waiver,” stated Assembly Congressional Relations Director Mariam Khaloyan.
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.
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NR# 2021-49
Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) of Armenia Arman Tatoyan on Friday deplored the statements of the political forces during the campaign for the June 20 snap parliamentary elections.
“Instead of substantive issues, mutual accusations of various political forces and figures, including officials, use of foul language coupled with violent rhetoric prevail in the election campaign,” the ombudsman wrote on Facebook.
“At the same time, it so happened that even the public has already got used to it, and when one side insults or accuses the other, the public begins to look forward to the response of the other side.
“It seems that the stronger is the one who voices more accusations, swears or insults with a louder voice using new words. Then, supporters of the political forces or public figures use the same words to trade insults and swear words.
“However, the election campaign is not intended to provide people with public scenes of mutual accusations, insults and swearing.
“As a result of all this, the public discourse is almost entirely filled with topics of struggle for power.
“During the election period, issues of concern to people in real life, which have been raised by the annual and special reports of the human rights defender for years, should become the subject of discussions,” Tatoyan said.
18:14,
YEREVAN, JUNE 10, ARMENPRESS. Justice Minister of Armenia Rustam Badasyan received the delegation led by Acting U.S. Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker on June 10, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Justice Ministry.
Ambassador of the USA to Armenia Lynne Tracy also attended the meeting. Rustam Badasyan welcomed the visit of the high-ranking U.S. official to Armenia and said that it shows the close cooperation between the governments of the two countries. The Minister thanked the U.S. government for supporting the democratic agenda of Armenia.
Philip Reeker thanked for the meeting, highlighted the cooperation with the Justice Ministry of Armenia for strengthening rule of law and noted that he has visited Armenia for getting familiarized with the challenges facing the country resulted by the pandemic and the tragic developments of 2020.
During the conversation the American official assessed the early parliamentary elections of 2018 impressive and hoped that the upcoming elections will also be democratic, free and fair.