Author: Khondkarian Raffi

Amid COVID-19, Old and New Conspiracy Theories Multiply in Armenia

Khondkarian Raffi
Jamestown Foundation

05:52 PM Age: 6 mins

(Source: Sputnik News)

The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated the ongoing disinformation campaign in Armenia. Old and new false claims and biased narratives have been actively promoted in recent weeks by multiple actors, foreign and domestic. A Russian propaganda campaign pursuing geopolitical objectives has, to a large extent, overlapped with the interests of various groups pursuing domestic political goals.

One narrative is directly related to disinformation about the Center for Public Health Research (Lugar Center), in Tbilisi, which, according to Russian media and high-level officials, is supposedly to blame for the COVID-19 outbreak in Russia. Earlier, there had been allegations that the facility was a biological weapon testing ground (see EDM, May 5). Remarkably, although the Lugar Center first opened in 2011, Russian officials attempted to retroactively blame it for causing, “from the territory of Georgia,” the African swine fever outbreak, which actually began in 2007 (Rossiyskaya Gazeta, October 4, 2018). Similar allegations about United States–sponsored biological research laboratories in Armenia started as soon as these labs opened in 2016: right away, several Armenian organizations, as well as EADaily, Regnum and other Russian websites, speculated that the laboratories could be carrying out biological weapons–related experiments (Uic.am, June 16, 2017).

Last year, Moscow and Yerevan prepared to sign a memorandum on cooperation in biomedicine, which, notably, would allow Russian military experts to access the Armenian laboratories. But the decision was postponed in the fall (see EDM, November 21, 2019). Recently, however, the press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia stated that the memorandum was still being discussed among governmental bodies in order to agree upon a common approach, and it would deal with a range of issues of common interest regarding biological safety, rather than allow unilateral inspections (Mfa.am, April 30).

Months ago, rumors about the US-funded bioresearch laboratories in Armenia became part of a coronavirus-related disinformation campaign launched by Russian media and proxy groups in Armenia. EADaily published a sequence of interviews with Grigor Grigoryan, who, for three months in 2011, served as the director of the State Food Safety Agency of Armenia. The Russian media outlet presented Grigoryan as an “international expert on zoonotic diseases.” He claimed that COVID-19 could not have appeared as a result of a spontaneous genetic recombination and instead must be a biological warfare tool originating from the US; he expressed hope that the Russians, Chinese, Indians or Iranians would prove this contention (EADaily, March 24). Furthermore, the former official maintained that hazardous activities at US-sponsored labs in Armenia are targeting Russia and Iran, and that Armenia had resisted US expansion only during Robert Kocharyan’s presidency, in 1998–2008 (EADaily, March 25). Grigoryan’s claim about the artificial origins of the COVID-19 resembled an earlier statement by a Russian military expert, who asserted that unless the US allowed international inspections of their regional biological laboratories, it would be the main suspect (Radio Sputnik, March 13).

Moskovsky Komsomolets alleged that the laboratories could be the source of COVID-19 infection in Armenia, hinting about biological weapon research: “like the Guantanamo jail, the laboratories may be involved in activities that are illegal on US territory” (Moskovsky Komsomolets, April 8). A rather marginal Armenian non-governmental organization (NGO) led by a former deputy minister for youth and sports affairs, Khachik Asryan (in office in 2007–2018), used that article as a reference point for a statement demanding the expulsion of the laboratories. That, in turn, was cited by EADaily, Zavtra.ru, and a number of other Russian outlets, which claimed that Armenian society at large opposed the bioresearch centers. COVID-19-related disinformation originating from Russia has also been republished by a number of Armenian websites (Media.am, April 30), mostly related to former president Robert Kocharyan and other officials from the previous regime (see EDM, September 19, 2019). In addition, several Russian publications have been promoted for the Armenian audience via social media. An Armenian-language Facebook page titled “No to Virus-Producing American Laboratories,” created on April 28 and so far followed by a few hundred people, has been actively advertised. In addition to Russian narratives, the page promotes Chinese and Iranian anti-American statements (Facebook.com [1], [2], April 30).

A number of other false narratives and conspiracy theories are also circulating in the Armenian media and social networks: including about the potential dangers of 5G telecommunication technology; that Bill Gates was indicted in India for sponsoring a defective polio vaccine that had paralyzed about 400,000 children; that Gates has planned for 60,000 people in Armenia to die from COVID-19; and that Armenian health authorities bribe the relatives of deceased persons to accept falsified statements about the cause of death. One of the most active domestic proponents of such claims is a known IT specialist, Karen Vardanyan, whose professional background helped him become a social media influencer. Last year, he had a bitter dispute with the government because of a disagreement over the financing of some projects (Media.am, May 5).

When it comes to domestic sources of the current coronavirus-related propaganda campaign, the role of the leading figures of the former regime and their media, affiliated NGOs, and other groups (see EDM, September 19, 2019) is particularly noteworthy. Even before the infection began spreading in Armenia, their network had already started panic mongering, spreading rumors about imminent hunger and mass revolts. Later, these same outlets and individuals began alleging that the health authorities were not reporting truthful information about the numbers of infection cases and deaths (Tert.am, April 9). These groups’ activities further intensified in recent weeks, likely in response to the government’s adoption of a law allowing for the confiscation of illicitly acquired assets (Azatutyun.am, April 16), as well as the initiation of legal proceedings against one of the network’s de facto leaders, former president Serzh Sargsyan’s son-in-law, Mikayel Minasyan. The latter was indicted for illicit enrichment and money laundering on March 23 (Azatutyun.am, April 22) and has been in hiding (probably in Russia).

These attempts to destabilize the socio-political situation in Armenia have, so far, not been successful. The government has mostly managed to keep the pandemic under control while providing relatively sufficient social aid to deal with the associated economic consequences (see EDM, March 30). However, such attempts will need to further intensify over the coming months. Meanwhile, the authorities face the challenge of combining competent crisis management with effective public communication, all while preparing for possible provocations or even direct street actions by members and supporters of the former regime.


Bangladesh’s last Armenian dies

Khondkarian Raffi
The Independent of Bangladesh
End of an era
Independent Online/ AFP

Michael Joseph Martin, Bangladesh’s last Armenian, has died aged 89, bringing an end to the more than 300-year presence of the once thriving and powerful minority Christian community.

Martin spent decades as custodian of the Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection which was founded in 1781 in what was once the heart of the Armenian community in Dhaka.

Armen Arslanian, the church’s warden who is based abroad, said Martin “was instrumental in maintaining the survival of the Armenian Church in Dhaka.

“Without the many personal sacrifices and complete devotion to the church, the premises and the history of the Armenians in Dhaka would not have survived today,” he added as he announced Martin had died on April 11.

The Bangladeshi capital was once home to hundreds of Armenians who first arrived in the 16th century and became major traders, lawyers and public officials in the city.

Martin came to Dhaka in 1942 following in the footsteps of his father who had settled in the region decades earlier. He was originally a trader.

Martin — whose Armenian name was Mikel Housep Martirossian — went on to look after the church and its graveyard where 400 people are buried, including his wife who died in 2006.

When their children left the country, Martin became the sole remaining Armenian in Dhaka and lived alone in a mansion in the church grounds.

“When I walk, sometimes I feel spirits moving around. These are the spirits of my ancestors. They were noble men and women, now resting in peace,” Martin told AFP in an interview published in January 2009.

– Palatial homes –

The marble tombstones he tended display family names such as Sarkies, Manook and Aratoon from a time when Armenians were Dhaka’s wealthiest merchants with palatial homes who traded jute, spices, indigo and leather.

“The earliest surviving Armenian tombstone is that of Khojah Avietes Lazar who died in Dhaka on June 7, 1714, this makes the known Armenian presence in Bangladesh to be over 300 years, similar to that of the community in Kolkata,” Liz Chater, who did extensive research on the Armenian presence in South Asia, told AFP.

Martin had said the Armenians, persecuted elsewhere, were embraced in what is now Bangladesh first by the Mughals in the 16th and 17th centuries and then by the British Empire.

“Their numbers fluctuated with the prospects in trading in Dhaka,” Muntasir Mamun, a historian at Dhaka University, told AFP in 2009.

But they dominated business. “They were the who’s who in town. They celebrated all their religious festivals with pomp and style,” he said.

The decline came after the British left India and the subcontinent was partitioned in 1947 with Dhaka becoming the capital of East Pakistan and then Bangladesh after it gained independence in 1971.

In his last years Martin worried about who would take over as the church caretaker after his death.

“This is a blessed place and God won’t leave it unprotected and uncared for,” Martin said.

“When I die, maybe one of my three daughters will fly in from Canada to keep our presence here alive,” Martin said, speaking broken Bengali with a thick accent.

“Or perhaps other Armenians will come from somewhere else.”

The present warden of the Armenian Church visits Bangladesh every two to three months.

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 07-05-20

Khondkarian Raffi

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 17:26, 7 May, 2020

YEREVAN, 7 MAY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 7 May, USD exchange rate up by 1.17 drams to 483.14 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.94 drams to 521.74 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.07 drams to 6.55 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.77 drams to 597.26 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 61.12 drams to 26274.59 drams. Silver price up by 5.60 drams to 234.16 drams. Platinum price down by 219.90 drams to 11572.32 drams.

Armenia parliament staffer infected with coronavirus

Khondkarian Raffi

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 15:11, 6 May, 2020

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. An administrative staffer at the Armenian parliament has tested positive for COVID19, Speaker of Parliament Ararat Mirzoyan announced during a session.

The Speaker told lawmakers to take all safety precautions, noting that although wearing face masks is optional, it is an effective way of preventing transmission.

“The infected person is isolated, the direct contacts are traced, they too are quarantined, we are expected to continue our work normally by taking safety precautions,” Mirzoyan said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 04/29/2020

Khondkarian Raffi 
                                        Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Azeri Mortar Fire Reported In Karabakh
April 29, 2020
Nagorno-Karabakh -- Karabakh Armenian soldiers fire a mortar during a military 
exercise, April 22, 2020.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian-backed army said on Wednesday that Azerbaijani 
forces have fired mortars on its frontline positions for the first time in 
almost a year.
In a statement, the Defense Army said that the shelling did not hurt any of its 
soldiers and stopped after its troops returned fire. It did not specify whether 
they also used mortars in response.
“It has to be noted that this is the first instance of the Azerbaijani army’s 
use of mortars against Armenian positions since June 2019,” the statement said, 
adding that “the situation on the frontline is calm at the moment.”
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry did not immediately comment on the claim. It said 
earlier in the day that Armenian troops continued to violate the ceasefire along 
the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the Karabakh “line of contact” with small 
arms in the past 24 hours.
Nagorno-Karabakh -- An official photograph that purportedly shows the wreckage 
of an Israeli-made Azerbaijani military drone shot down on April 21, 2020.
The Karabakh Armenian army claimed to have shot down an Azerbaijani military 
drone just hours before the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers as well 
as international mediators held a video conference April 21. In a joint 
statement, Foreign Ministers Zohrab Mnatsakanian and Elmar Mammadyarov pledged 
to continue looking for ways to resolve the Karabakh conflict despite the 
coronavirus pandemic.
According to the statement, during the conference the U.S., Russian and French 
mediators co-heading the Minsk Group renewed their calls for the conflicting 
parties to “strictly” observe the ceasefire and “avoid provocative actions in 
the current environment.”
Truce violations in the conflict zone have decreased significantly since Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met for the 
first time in September 2018. The two leaders and their foreign ministers have 
held regular talks since then.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on April 21 that the two sides have 
been “actively discussing” a peace plan which he presented to Mnatsakanian and 
Mammadyarov at a trilateral meeting held in Moscow a year ago. Lavrov said the 
plan calls for a phased settlement that would start with Armenian withdrawal 
from “several districts around Karabakh.”
Mnatsakanian implicitly denied this. He said that for the last two years Baku 
and Yerevan have only exchanged views on “some elements” of a possible peace 
deal.
By contrast, Mammadyarov echoed Lavrov’s claims when he spoke to journalists in 
Baku on Tuesday.
Textile Plants Allowed To Resume Work Despite COVID-19 Fears
April 29, 2020
        • Karine Simonian
Armenia -- Gloria factory owner Bagrat Darbinian (L) and his employees argue 
with a police officer, Vanadzor, April 21, 2020.
The Armenian government has allowed two textile plants employing about 3,000 
people to resume their operations suspended last month due to the coronavirus 
outbreak.
The permissions given on Tuesday to the Gloria and Sarton companies based in the 
northern city of Vanadzor are conditional on their compliance with anti-epidemic 
measures required by a government body enforcing the coronavirus-related state 
of emergency in Armenia.
With some 2,600 workers, Gloria is the country’s largest textile factory. Its 
owner, Bagrat Darbinian, said on Wednesday that he has pledged to have its 
premises disinfected twice a day and to provide all workers with hand 
sanitizers, medical masks and rubber gloves. Darbinian said company buses 
transporting his employees to work and back home will also be disinfected on a 
daily basis.
Some of those workers interviewed by RFE/RL’s Armenian service said, however, 
that they cannot wear masks and gloves all day long and will frequently wash 
their hands and avoid physical contact with each other instead.
Despite the continuing spread of the virus, the government has gradually 
reopened various sectors of the Armenian economy in the last two weeks. Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian said on April 12 that the domestic textile industry 
should also be able to restart its activities despite being “the main driving 
force” of coronavirus cases recorded in the country at that point.
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (C) visits new textile factories 
opened by businessman Samvel Aleksanian (R), Yerevan, November 1, 2019.
Hundreds of such cases originated in one textile factory located in Yerevan. 
Health authorities believe that its workers were infected by a visiting Italian 
specialist in early March.
Following Pashinian’s statement, the government task force set concrete social 
distancing rules and other precautions for the export-oriented sector. Darbinian 
claimed that those requirements are too strict as Gloria’s employees defied the 
government ban and returned to their workplaces on April 21.
The mostly female workers said they want the factory to immediately resume its 
work because they cannot support themselves and their families after the 
month-long lockdown. Authorities shut it down again the following day.
Darbinian told his protesting workers at the time that they should not be afraid 
of contracting COVID-19, the potentially deadly respiratory disease caused by 
the virus. “If we get infected, we’ll recover,” he said. “There are 2,600 people 
here, and [the disease] is so widespread that someone may catch it.”
“Neither I nor anybody else can give you guarantees. So you must be prepared for 
that,” added the company’s owner.
Pashinian announced on Tuesday that his government is planning to reopen all 
remaining businesses, including cafes and restaurants, within the next 10 days.
Meanwhile, the Armenian Ministry of Health reported 65 new coronavirus cases on 
Wednesday morning. The total number of people who have tested positive for the 
virus in Armenia thus reached 1,932. Thirty of them have died from the disease 
so far, according to the ministry.
Speaking to RFE/RL’s Armenian service on Sunday, Health Minister Arsen Torosian 
warned that due to the daily number of new infections the authorities will soon 
be unable to hospitalize or isolate most infected people.
Armenian Hospital Attacked After Deadly Shootout
April 29, 2020
        • Naira Nalbandian
Armenia -- A view of the town of Gavar.
Armenian law-enforcement bodies made at least 15 arrests on Wednesday after an 
angry mob stormed a provincial hospital guarded by police and tried to kill its 
patients hospitalized as a result of a shootout that left two people dead and 
several others wounded.
They also beefed up security in Gavar, the administrative center of Armenia’s 
eastern Gegharkunik province and the scene of the gun battle that broke out on 
Tuesday evening for still unclear reasons.
The deadly clash reportedly involved two groups of armed men living in Gavar and 
the nearby village of Noratus. Two of them were shot dead while six others 
seriously wounded and rushed to a Gavar hospital.
Three hours later, the hospital was attacked by several hundred friends and 
relatives of the two murdered men, local officials said. The attackers, most of 
them reported to be Noratus residents, broke through a police cordon and burst 
into the building, smashing its doors, windows and even an inner wall.
According to Armenia’s Investigative Committee, they stabbed two of the wounded 
individuals and another man who they believed were responsible for the killings.
A senior hospital doctor, Aram Avetisian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that 
the attackers linked to “one of the rival sides” left the medical facility after 
finding “the persons they were looking for.” The latter suffered severe stab 
wounds and were taken to Yerevan in a critical condition, said Avetisian.
In a statement, the Investigative Committee said that 15 persons were arrested 
on suspicion of participating in the “mass disturbances.” It said 
law-enforcement authorities are now trying to identify more participants of the 
violent incidents in Gavar.
Armenia - Gnel Sanosian, the governor of Gegharkunik province, speaks to RFE/RL, 
Gavar, April 29, 2020.
The Gegharkunik governor, Gnel Sanosian, spoke of “quite a large number” arrests 
already made by investigators but gave no numbers. “The process is continuing,” 
he said, noting that the attack was caught on the local hospital’s security 
cameras.
Sanosian said that the Armenian police have sent reinforcements to Gavar and 
Noratus to prevent fresh violence there. “The police fully control the situation 
in the town, around the hospital and, of course, in Noratus,” he told RFE/RL’s 
Armenian service.
Critics of the Armenian government pounced on the fact that the hospital was 
seized by the mob despite being guarded by armed police officers and the arrival 
in Gavar of the national police chief, Arman Sargsian. They portrayed this as a 
gross security failure highlighting Armenia’s rising crime rate. Some of them 
also demanded Sargsian’s resignation.
Sanosian dismissed the criticism, saying that the policemen deployed in the 
hospital were greatly outnumbered by the attackers. The provincial governor 
estimated the number of the attackers at around 500.
“There were several hundred of them,” Avetisian, the hospital doctor, said for 
his part.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2020 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Court postpones examination of motion to arrest Armenia ex-finance minister’s son

Khondkarian Raffi
News.am, Armenia
May 1 2020
Court postpones examination of motion to arrest Armenia ex-finance minister’s son Court postpones examination of motion to arrest Armenia ex-finance minister’s son

21:59, 01.05.2020
                  

Armenia’s PM, law enforcers ready to conceal crime: Arsen Babayan

Khondkarian Raffi
Aysor, Armenia
May 1 2020

To cast a doubt on the devotion of an officer like former director of the National Security Service Arthur Vanetsyan is devoid of any moral rules, advocate Arsen Babayan told the reporters today outside of the office of Prosecutor General.

He demanded that deputy Hrachya Hakobyan, who is brother-in-law of Armenia’s PM Nikol Pashinyan, be subjected to responsibility.

Babayan demands from the prosecutor’s office legal assessment to the statement of the deputy.

“As a circle fighting against crimes, the Prosecutor’s office must at least check all the reported information by criminal-forensic procedure,” Babayan said, adding that in his statement Hakobyan does not ask question but confirms information.

“It appears that the prime minister or law enforcement forces of Armenia may conceal a crime. On the other hand, it appears that Hrachya Hakobyan makes false accusations,” Arsen Babayan said.

Opposition LHK party recommends government to pay more coronavirus relief to citizens

Khondkarian Raffi

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 12:13,

YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. The Bright Armenia (LHK) opposition party is recommending the government to provide more coronavirus relief to citizens.

“The international community, different leading countries have taken this path. We are suggesting to set aside 100 billion drams for May and provide 100,000-dram in assistance to 500,000 families from this sum, as well as pay additional pensions to 470,000 pensioners,” LHK party leader Edmon Marukyan said in a statement on social media.

Marukyan said this assistance should not be provided to public sector or public service employees.

So far, the government has already initiated 14 different relief packages.

Editing and translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Karabakh President-elect: I will be everyone’s president and will do my best

Khondkarian Raffi
News.am, Armenia
Karabakh President-elect: I will be everyone’s president and will do my best Karabakh President-elect: I will be everyone’s president and will do my best

15:10, 26.04.2020
                  

President-elect of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) Arayik Harutyunyan has posted the following on his Facebook page to express gratitude for the congratulatory remarks that have been addressed to him.

“Dear compatriots,

I have received several congratulatory messages and letters and phone calls after receiving the votes of confidence of the people in the presidential elections held in the Republic of Artsakh. I must admit that all the kind wishes conveyed warmth and were binding. I would like to assure you that I will be the president of every citizen of Artsakh and will do my best to meet the expectations of all voters and all Armenians around the world. Unquestionably, we will be capable of achieving this through combined efforts and with responsibility. Thus, I also have expectations from each of you to help us record successes that we haven’t even dreamed of.

I would also like to apologize to all those whose letters or phone calls I couldn’t reply to or answer due to lack of time. I thank each and every one of you and feel obliged before you all. Be healthy!” the message reads.

The silence of Covid-19 and 105 years since the Armenian genocide

Khondkarian Raffi
Asia News, Italy
by Pierre Balanian

Virtual pilgrimages to the Mausoleum. Patriarch Karekine II makes a lone prayer visit. The speech of Prime Minister Pashinian. Silence, darkness and light. Turkish denial.

Yerevan (AsiaNews) – The mausoleum of the Armenian genocide located on a hill near the capital Yerevan has never been as empty as yesterday, April 24, the anniversary of the genocide (photo 3).

Every year, the mausoleum – erected on the occasion of the 50th anniversary – is invaded by millions of mourning Armenians. Yesterday was completely empty due to the Covid-19 emergency. For the first time ever, all roads leading to the memorial were closed until 10 this morning, with the only possibility that of a virtual pilgrimage.

From 8 am yesterday morning, anyone who wanted to participate even with a sign, could send a text message, even from abroad. The names of the people who sent the text message were projected onto the 12 columns of the mausoleum which represent the 12 provinces of western Armenia.

For all Armenians this region was occupied by the Turks who in 1915 perpetrated the most horrible crime against humanity. They then took possession of the goods, the monasteries, destroyed precious secular manuscripts, occupied 90 percent of the homeland of the Armenian people.

The genocide not only caused the annihilation of most Armenians in western Armenia, but deprived them of their homeland, also their spiritual and religious heartland, condemning to oblivion irreplaceable treasures not only in material terms, but also in terms of music, language, culture and even the language of some dialects now lost forever.

At 9 o’clock in the evening of April 23, the eve of the commemoration, the bells of all the churches in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh rang in unison for 3 minutes, followed by the turning off of all the lights in the streets and squares of Yerevan and all the provinces of the country. At the same time, the entire population, each at the window of their home, lit candles, smartphone lights, all joining in the minute of collective silence across the country (photo 1).

Meanwhile, on live television and on social media sad melodies and moments of silence were broadcast from the mausoleum. Suffrage masses for the victims in empty churches were streamed via the web.

The first to arrive and lay down a wreath of flowers, praying before the eternal flame in memory of the one and a half million victims, was the Katholicos of all Armenians, Karekine II (photo 2).

He was followed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, accompanied only by his wife. In a speech broadcast live from the mausoleum, the premier recalled “the policy of armenophobia conducted by the Ottomans” in 1915.

“The Armenian people – he added – have not only suffered the loss of a huge number of human lives, but also the forced deportation and cultural genocide … This crime is not only against our ethnic identity; it is a crime against human civilization”.

“We are grateful – said Pashinian – to the countries and peoples who recognized him. But why our feelings do not subside, rather they are more vivid after 105 years? Simply because the consequences of the genocide have not yet been eliminated. To date, Turkey has not asked for forgiveness for what it has done.”

The Armenian genocide, the only genocide against Christians, and the first of the last century – called “the century of genocides” by John Paul II – continues to be denied by today’s Turkey. A Turkish law penalizes anyone who claims that it ever happened. In a statement two days ago, the Democratic People’s Party – in the opposition in Turkey – criticized the Ankara government for failing to address its responsibilities after more than a century, and proposed to name squares and streets in Turkey in honor of the Armenian victims of the genocide.