Author: Markos Nalchajian

Turkish Press: Armenia’s ex-president released on more than $4M bail

Markos Nalchajian
Anadolu Agency, Turkey
June 18  2020
 
 
Armenia’s ex-president released on more than $4M bail
 
Robert Kocharyan accused of overthrowing country’s constitutional order, bribery, orchestrating post-election violence
 
Jeyhun Aliyev   | 18.06.2020
 
 
ANKARA
 
Former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan was released from jail Thursday by the Criminal Court of Appeals on a bail of 2 billion Armenian drams ($4.16 million).
 
Kocharyan, 64, along with three former officials on trial for overthrowing the constitutional order and bribery, is also accused of orchestrating post-election clashes between police and protesters March 1, 2008, which claimed 10 lives.
 
He was arrested in 2018 but released months later. He was taken into custody last year.
 
Kocharyan, served as president for a decade, is currently undergoing treatment at a clinic in the capital of Yerevan.
 
His lawyers welcomed the decision for release but called the bail amount “unprecedented.”
 
The second president of Armenia, Kocharyan was elected March 30, 1998 and re-elected March 5, 2003. He served until 2008.
 

Tiran Khachatryan appointed first deputy chief of General Staff of Armed Forces

Markos Nalchajian

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 16:59,

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian signed a decree on appointing Tiran Khachatryan first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

According to another presidential decree, Komitas Muradyan has been relieved from the position of first deputy head of the general operative department of the General Staff.

Karen Abrahamyan has been appointed head of the general operative department of the General Staff – deputy chief of the General Staff.

The President signed the respective decrees based on the prime minister’s proposal.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

It sure looks like Trump and Adelson have cut a deal on annexation

Markos Nalchajian 
Mondoweiss
By Philip Weiss and James North June 12, 2020
Sheldon Adelson, the Israel-loving, Iran-war-craving casino baron,
talks to Donald Trump all the time, and for good reason, he and wife
Miriam are the biggest Republican donors, poised to give as much as
$200 million this year. Now that the White House appears to be lying
down for the Israeli government as it moves to annex portions of the
West Bank despite a growing chorus of international condemnation, the
focus should be on Adelson. He has always been a strong supporter of
Israeli expansion, a man who says, “There’s no such thing as a
Palestinian.”
So far, the Adelsons have gotten everything they’ve wanted from our
transactional president: tearing up the Iran deal, moving the embassy
to Jerusalem, defunding Palestinians, recognizing the Golan
annexation, treating settlement expansion as legitimate, even a
presidential medal of freedom for Miriam, etc. Right up to yesterday —
a Trump attack on the ICC in the name of Israel. As Trump once said
when a Republican rival was getting Adelson’s money, Adelson wanted a
“perfect little puppet.”
Most important, the Adelsons got the Trump “peace plan,” which paves
the way for annexation of the West Bank. When Trump announced his
“vision,” there they were in the front row.
[Photo] Sheldon and Miriam Adelson in the background, center left,
applaud as Trump announces his peace plan with Netanyahu at his side,
Jan. 28, 2020. Screenshot.
Especially if Trump loses in November, as appears more and more likely
— this is the Adelsons’ last chance to get annexation. “They speak to
Trump all the time,” Dan Raviv reported on i24 News.
Look at it from Trump’s point of view. He doesn’t care about peace in
the Middle East or Palestinian human rights. He wants one thing, to
win in November, and he needs money.
Why would the Adelsons risk $200 million on a loser? Well, because
it’s not a losing cause; they get their payback now. They figure that
Israeli annexation is permanent no matter what happens to Trump.
“Facts on the ground” is the Israeli way of expansion. The embassy
move will never be reversed by a Joe Biden. So let’s annex.
Today, Sheldon’s Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom is promoting
annexation. “[A]nnexation is Israel’s right, and. . . it poses no
threat to the interests of either the United States or the Jewish
state.” That paper is an important rightwing voice in Israel, and the
Adelsons have been big supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu. So they may
also play a role in Netanyahu’s zeal to annex, when he had a lot of
opportunities to dismiss that policy.
The Guardian said in February that insiders expect the Adelsons to
donate between $100 and $200 million to Trump’s reelection hopes this
year. If that seems like a big lift, look at their track record: The
Adelsons gave more than $100 million to Republican causes in 2016 and
another $123 million during the 2018 election cycle.
McClatchy reported last year that the Adelsons were putting off their
big donations in 2020 until as late as possible, so as not to excite
negative publicity.
And here’s another tell, as we say in poker. Sheldon Adelson is a
funder and board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition; the RJC
calls Trump the most pro-Israel president ever and, big coincidence,
the RJC “is launching a lobbying effort on Capitol Hill to rally
support for Israeli annexation,” according to Jewish Insider. Says the
Guardian:
    The RJC is chaired by the ex-senator Norm Coleman. . . who is said
to have strong ties to Adelson that benefit the RJC and other Super
Pacs and dark money outfits where Coleman is a big player.
    Coleman helps lead fundraising for a Super Pac, the Congressional
Leadership Fund, and a dark money outfit, the American Action Network,
that respectively back Republican House members and their policies and
have received seven-figure checks from the Adelsons in recent
elections.
The Adelsons have seemed to have their way on annexation so far.
Annexation of large parts of the West Bank are greenlighted in Trump’s
deal of the century. Just look at this incredible map in the plan:
[Illustrations] Map of the future Israeli state in the Trump
administration plan. Map of Israel alongside Palestinian “future
state” in green, in the Trump administration plan. (Image: The White
House)
The Adelsons wanted the plan out well ahead of the election, Dan Raviv
of i24 said, so that Israel would be freed to set its own border this
year before November comes and possibly limits its autonomy.
Which is to say, the Adelsons may be the most important actors in this
entire foreign policy discussion. Maybe the media should be telling us
more about them now. . .

Food: Gasia Mikaelian shares recipe for favorite Armenian-American meal

Markos Nalchajian
KTVU – Fox News
By Gasia Mikaelian
Published 4 hours ago
Recipes
KTVU FOX 2
article

Gasia Mkaelian shares her family’s forgiving recipe for shish kebabs.

I learned to cook from the best of the best: my mother.

I was lucky to grow up in a family where dinnertime was an event every evening. My sister and I would fight over who had to set the table. As soon as my dad came home from work we’d all sit down for a family meal.

My siblings and I grew up eating almost exclusively homemade Armenian food. These were things that were considered “exotic” in Livermore back in the 80s. Sarma (stuffed grape leaves), shish kebab and pita bread were (and are) some of my favorites. I especially liked scooping up tabbouleh with potato chips when Mom wasn’t looking.

I learned everything I know about cooking from observing and helping my mom, and it is because of her that cooking to feed my own little family is now one of my greatest joys.

I try to make Armenian food at least once a week. Sometimes it’s just hummus and pita bread. Other times, it’s what I call “Armenian feast:” shish kebab, pickled turnips, tabbouleh, and roasted vegetables.

Usually, it’s something in between: these pictures show the most “Armenian-American” meal I can think of – shish kebab and apple pie. My boys love both, and I do too.

This isn’t a quick meal, but I’ve found it’s more than worth the time, if you have it. If you are able to involve the help of your little ones, it may take a little longer to get dinner on the table but you will be encouraging the next generation of home cooks, and sharing your love of nourishing, delicious food as well.

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The recipe for shish kebab is (of course) my mom’s. This is what we grew up with, and what my dad would grill in our backyard while we all played and fought over who had to set the table.

To this day, when we have a family gathering, this is usually the centerpiece of the meal. My brother has now taken the lead in helping to make and shape the shish kebab and often tends to the grill while my parents play with their grandchildren. The rest of us set the table without fighting.

When I asked my Mom for her recipe several years ago she said she just did it by sight, feel and taste. I am glad I pressed her for some specifics. Too many people I know say they never thought to ask their mom or dad to write down a “family recipe” until it was too late. Of course, my mom’s shish kebab tastes better than anything I’ve ever made and always will.

The recipe is very forgiving – I’ve used minced red, yellow, white or green onions depending on what I have at home, and have even substituted ketchup for the tomato paste. I am sure purists would shudder at those swaps, but I find them perfectly acceptable. I encourage you to tinker with the recipe, to find your preferred balance of flavors and to accommodate whatever you have in your fridge or pantry.

As for the apple pie, I am truly my mother’s daughter in saying: I don’t use a recipe. I use whatever apples I have on hand, lots of fresh lemon juice, and I eyeball the sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon, plus a pinch of salt for the filling.

I always do an all-butter crust, and my boys like to “help” whenever they can. Now that we are all together all the time, they’re joining me in the kitchen more often than before, and I hope that continues even when they have more options to fill the seemingly endless afternoon hours. I am hoping to give them the ability to make Armenian-American meals when they’re on their own. Already, I can report they’re carrying on the tradition of fighting over who has to set the dinner table.

We always say “anoush ellah” before we eat – which means “let it be sweet” in Armenian. I hope you are having lots of delicious meals with your loved ones and that the trend continues, long after these difficult times are over. Anoush ellah!

Gasia’s Mother’s Recipe for Shish Kebab

per pound of ground beef or lamb add:

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes (you can find this in spice shops and some markets —  ¼ teaspoon or so of “pizza topping” pepper flakes would work, as would a hefty pinch of cayenne)
  • ½ teaspoon allspice
  • pinch of cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon minced onion
  • 1 tablespoon minced parsley

Mix by hand as gently as possible.

Shape on skewers (the “shish” in shish kebab means the metal skewer that is traditionally used in Armenian cooking).

I’ve also cooked these as patties on the stove, or under the broiler – you can cook them as you would a hamburger

Enjoy with pita bread, roasted vegetables, hummus, pickled turnips… and apple pie


Armenia confirms 566 new coronavirus cases in past day

Markos Nalchajian
TASS, Russia
In early June, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the scope of violations of epidemiological safety standards was disastrous and the country was on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe
© Vahram Baghdasaryan/Photolure/TASS

YEREVAN, June 11. /TASS/. Coronavirus cases in Armenia grew by 566 in the past twenty-four hours compared to 428 the day before, the republic’s Health Ministry reported on Thursday.

“In the past twenty-four hours, 566 new coronavirus cases were identified and 240 patients recovered from the illness. As many as 5,466 patients have recovered from the illness to date while the total number of infected individuals stands at 14,669,” the ministry said in a statement.

Eighteen coronavirus patients died at Armenian hospitals in the past twenty-four hours, bringing total fatalities in the republic to 245. Yerevan hospitals conducted over 2,200 coronavirus tests in the past day and their total number reached 75,389 since the start of the pandemic in the republic, the Health Ministry’s data indicate.

The situation with the coronavirus spread in Armenia remains tense. In the past week, the republic would register from 200 to 400 new coronavirus cases daily and the total number of infections surpassed 14,600, the latest data show.

Armenia registered the first coronavirus case on March 1. On March 16, the Armenian authorities introduced a state of emergency and a strict lockdown regime. On May 18, the Armenian government lifted all economic restrictions and public transport, the subway, restaurants and shopping centers resumed operation. After the restrictions were lifted, the number of coronavirus cases grew significantly. On May 25, the Armenian authorities introduced mandatory regime of wearing face masks.

In early June, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the scope of violations of epidemiological safety standards was disastrous and the country was on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe. Amid these statements, he dismissed on June 8 the heads of the country’s law enforcement agencies, saying that they had failed to keep the situation under control. Armenia’s Health Ministry has said that the hospitals are swamped and hundreds of people are on the waiting lists for hospitalization.

In early June, Pashinyan announced that he and his family members had contracted the coronavirus. A week later, it was reported that all of them had recovered.

In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus — named COVID-19 by the WHO — have been reported in every corner of the globe.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 7,471,190 people have been infected worldwide and more than 419,260 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 3,788,860 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.




Armenpress: PM urges citizens to share responsibility for controlling pandemic-linked situation

Markos Nalchajian

PM urges citizens to share responsibility for controlling pandemic-linked situation

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 19:53, 3 June, 2020

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan urges citizens to join the process of public oversight and post photos on their Facebook pages about the violations of anti-pandemic rules, PM Pashinyan said in a briefing following the session of the Commandant’s Office.

‘’Starting from yesterday we were able to understand the scale of the problem and I want to thank all the citizens who participated in the flashmob of public oversight. I think that we were able to carry out a very small revolution and witnessed at least some improvement of people’s behavior.  I plan to continue this process and there will be a broad coverage of this issue on my Facebook page every day. I urge the citizens to allocate some time every day for public oversight. I can say that with this we launch the establishment of the public oversight team’’, ARMENPRESS reports the PM as saying.

He added that the Police are unable to struggle against all the violations on its own, since the violations turned to be excessively much.

Referring to the reasons of carrying out a flashmob like that, PM Pashinyan noted that he was not satisfied with the reports of the state bodies. ‘’For that reason I relied on one of the best methods so that the public could discover the violations of anti-pandemic rules.  As a result we discovered a monstrous reality that we deal with a huge and ubiquitous phenomenon of violations of rules’’, Pashinyan said, adding that the Police are able to effectively act if the violations are limited to some level, but if the majority of people violate the rules, it’s impossible to keep control of the situation.  

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

Police officers use force against a person not wearing protection mask: Armenia’s PM refers to the incident (video)

Markos Nalchajian
Aysor, Armenia
June 5 2020

Head of an NGO formed to participate in the four-day war in April 2016 Manuel Manukyan posted on Facebook today a video on how police officers “humiliate a citizen for not wearing mask.

“Look how he puts his leg on his neck. Each of us may appear in his place. What was done to this person may be done to each of us,” he wrote, urging to unite and demand that the police officers be subjected to responsibility.

Deputy head of public relations department of the Armenian Polcie Edgar Janoyan told Aysor.am that the citizen was apprehended for not implementing the lawful demand of the police.

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan referred in his Facebook post to the incident, stressing that police is a power structure and may and should apply force against those demonstrating open indifference toward the set rules.

“This is my demand from the police, this is also public’s demand from the police,” he stressed.

Video at

Most COVID-19 patients in Armenia “show positive dynamics” from hydroxychloroquine – ministry

Markos Nalchajian

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 15:45,

YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Healthcare Ministry says the efficiency of the use of hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19 patients aren’t yet fully summed up, but “according to preliminary data positive dynamics is observed in significant portion of patients”.

The healthcare ministry said the use of hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) is included in COVID-19 treatment guidelines of numerous countries – Spain, Italy, Belgium ,France, Switzerland, Russia and more than 26 clinical studies are underway in the world. “The 70 years of experience of applying hydroxychloroquine, including in rheumatology, shows that the drug has proven to have a good safety profile”, the ministry said.

It said that Armenia uses hydroxychloroquine for patients who are at higher risk and those who have developed pneumonia, including in severe cases. It is not administered in asymptomatic or mild cases. “hydroxychloroquine is used only in a hospital setting, if there are no contraindications”.

Patients who are given the drug undergo Electrocardiography every day. Patients with diabetes are especially monitored for glucose levels. It is cautiously administered to patients with kidney disease and the decision to do so is made during a medical consilium.

“Only one case of arrythmia was registered during the entire time of treating COVID-19 and the administration of the drug was immediately stopped,” it said, adding that according to preliminary information most of the patients who are given it show positive dynamics.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Petition on recognition of Armenian Genocide launched on Ukraine’s President’s website

Markos Nalchajian
Panorama, Armenia
May 15 2020

A petition calling on the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to recognize the fact of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Turkey was launched on the President’s official web page. The author of the petition is Suren Petrosyan, the Head of Mons Pius NGO.

The document urges the Ukrainian president to support the Armenians at the state level in their 100-year-old struggle of restoring historical justice and the truth.

“Persecution, oppression and massacre of entire nations on racial, religious or any other basis is a crime against humanity and has no statute of limitations. Such actions should receive an adequate assessment from the whole civilized world to prevent similar tragedies in the future,” the petition reads in part.

The document also calls on the president to officially recognize the fact of the mass murder of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1922 and declare April 24 as a day of Armenian genocide remembrance. The petition can be signed

Solving Constitutional Court crisis with any formula in Parliament being discussed – Pashinyan

Markos Nalchajian

Solving Constitutional Court crisis with any formula in Parliament being discussed – Pashinyan

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 15:59,

YEREVAN, MAY 16, ARMENPRESS. Due to the current situation caused by the novel coronavirus in Armenia it wouldn’t be possible to hold the constitutional amendments referendum for at least a year, but the state is discussing of solving this issue in the parliament, with any option, partially or completely, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during an online press conference today, asked whether it is possible to solve the Constitutional Court crisis through Parliament, not through a referendum.

The reporter also said that the Armenian government has also sent inquiries to the Venice Commission over the CC crisis and asked why this option was chosen.

“As part of the referendum, we also planned to apply to the Venice Commission as a result of our discussions. But our prediction is that the coronavirus will exist in our reality for at least a year, which means that we cannot hold a referendum for at least a year because we have stated that for us the interest of public health is higher from any political interest. Thus, it’s impossible to hold a referendum during the coronavirus pandemic. But on the other hand, we cannot wait for the solution of the situation around the Constitutional Court, until the end of the coronavirus. Even if we wait, we have formed a commission on Constitutional amendments: constitutional amendments should take place in the future, and in this context we will solve, which, according to the preliminary calculations, may be put up to referendum in June 2021”, the PM said.

“But now we have applied to the Venice Commission, and the issue of solving the CC crisis in the parliament with any formula, partially or completely, is being currently discussed”, the PM said.

He said nothing hinders the work with the international partners aimed at receiving effective and also consensus-based solutions as much as possible.

Armenia was planning to hold a referendum on constitutional amendments on April 5, 2020. The referendum was proposing to suspend the powers of president of the Constitutional Court Hrayr Tovmasyan and 6 judges. However, the referendum didn’t take place as the country declared a state of emergency to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan