Author: Nahapetian Samvel

A protest rally took place in front of Ministry of Education: Protesters demanded Arayik Harutyunyan`s resignation

Nahapetian Samvel
Arminfo, Armenia
Aug 24 2020

ArmInfo.On August 24, in the afternoon, in front of the building of the RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, a protest rally was held. Protesters  demanded resignation of Minister Arayik Harutyunyan.

The protesters noted their dissatisfaction with the reforms in the  field of education, in particular, the planned reduction in the  number of hours of the “Armenian language” subject, and the  withdrawal from the school curriculum of “History of the Armenian  Church”. In addition to this, the Lanzarote Convention was  criticized, the ratification law of which was approved by the  parliament and signed by the President in May this year. The  protesters assured that the protests will continue in the coming days  in the capital, and on August 28, in front of the Ministry building,  they will hold a larger protest. At the same time, they promised that  if the minister did not fulfill their requirements, he would end up  in the urn, which they specially brought with them to the protest  action. “Armen Ashotyan, being the Minister of Education, destroyed  the education system, and today they want to completely destroy it,”  the protesters said.

To note, during the protest action, several citizens were detained.

As it was reported earlier, the “Armenian language” subject will be  reduced in schools by redistributing them at the expense of other  subjects. As for the “History of the Armenian Church”, its separate  sections will be included in the curriculum of the high school.  According to the Minister of Education, 49 of the 50 articles of the  Lanzarote Convention are aimed at combating pedophilia and protecting  children from this.  Only one article – the 6th – concerns the sector  of education, and it is its meaning that many, intentionally or  unknowingly, distort. Harutyunyan noted that all statements about the  new methodology and supposedly developed textbooks on sexuality  education for Armenian schools are false. According to the article,  each party to the Convention must take the necessary legislative or  other measures to ensure that children, during primary and secondary  education, are informed about the risks of sexual exploitation, abuse  and the necessary means of self-defense. The above information,  according to the Convention, must be provided in accordance with the  age of the children.



Why did scammers fail to steal the savings of ECOS M clients?

Nahapetian Samvel
OpenPR
Aug 17 2020
08-17-2020 04:15 PM CET | IT, New Media & Software

ECOS M company suffered a phishing attack. The scammers, on behalf of ECOS M, tried to steal the clients personal information and savings. They used private Telegram messages to inform the users about a nonexistent ECOS ICO and offered to receive 1000 tokens for free. Thanks to the company’s security system and the prompt response of the team, not a single client was hurt. The fake resource was blocked within an hour.
 The scammers revealed the information in the Internet about the release of the ECOS M own token on the ERC-20 platform. The spam mailing stated that ECOS has already been testing the token, and any user of the service can get it almost for free. The cost of 1 token was set at $ 0.2 and to receive it the client was asked to go to his personal account through an external domain address.

ECOS M disclaims the information:
“The so-called ECOS ICO, acting on behalf of ECOS, are scammers! Be aware that ECOS has not released any tokens! We continue to mine only bitcoins! Do not register on any external “ECOS” web sites! Our main domain for registration is still mining.ecos.am”

The aim of the criminals was to steal the clients credentials and then to withdraw their mined bitcoins.

 The technical specialists of ECOS M were able to quickly restrict the activity of the phishing platform, and ECOS M management, together with law enforcement agencies, has already started the prosecution.
 
“We are proud of our team and the reliability of the ECOS M personal wallet system. This situation has shown once again that any attempts of external attacks are absolutely useless and are very quickly repelled,” said Ilya Goldberg, Managing Partner of ECOS M.
The professionalism of the company’s specialists as well as the invulnerability of the ECOS M platform helped to significantly increase the clients confidence.

But the company warns its customers to be more careful and vigilant and not to disclose their credentials and any other sensitive information to the third parties!
We are reminding that ECOS M is a resident of a large infrastructure project with its own data center in the Free Economic Zone (FEZ) in the Republic of Armenia. The company was founded in 2017 with the support of the Government and has a valid agreement with the Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant (Hrazdan city, Armenia) to supply the ECOS data center with up to 200 MW of electricity for cryptocurrency mining.

 The most modern equipment, uninterrupted power supply, and own software allow ECOS to provide mining services at a high level, and ECOS clients to earn more than in competitive companies, using a convenient interface for tracking payments and calculating income.

2302, Armenia, Hrazdan, Gortsaranain street, 1/5

ECOS M is a large infrastructure project with its own data center in the Free Economic Zone in Armenia. The company is providing services of cloud mining (ECOS Cloud Mining), ensured by the equipment installed in the Free Economic Zone.( https://mining.ecos.am/)

 ECOS is an innovative ecosystem based on the Free Economic Zone in Armenia, which includes: data centers, an industrial mining center, a venture fund, an R&D laboratory for the development of innovations, an educational platform, acceleration programs and the Armenian Blockchain Forum. ()

This release was published on openPR.

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 18-08-20

Nahapetian Samvel

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 17:12,

YEREVAN, 18 AUGUST, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 18 August, USD exchange rate down by 0.44 drams to 484.21 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.76 drams to 576.26 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.02 drams to 6.62 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 2.42 drams to 637.80 drams.

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

Gold price вup by 409.94 drams to 30712.76 drams. Silver price вup by 2.89 drams to 419 drams. Platinum price down by 44.60 drams to 14789.33 drams.

Armenian envoy briefs UN chief on inter-ethnic clashes incited by Azerbaijan

Nahapetian Samvel
Public Radio of Armenia
Aug 13 2020

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Ambassador Mher Margaryan, Permanent Representative of Armenia to the UN, has sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General, condemning the instigation of inter-ethnic clashes and violence against the Armenian communities in various parts of the world.

Ambassador Margaryan noted that the recent provocations at the border were mirrored in inter-ethnic clashes, encouraged and condoned by the leadership of Azerbaijan, whose frustration about the failed attempts of aggression against Armenia continued to grow.

 “Such clashes began with the infliction of economic harm by some members of the Azerbaijani diaspora in unlawful and discriminatory attempts to obstruct the export and retail of Armenian products and goods in other countries – rather distasteful and ill-advised acts of unconcealed racism,” the Ambassador wrote.

“These actions were soon followed by violent attacks perpetrated against ethnic Armenians in different parts of the world, involving the deliberate damage and destruction of property belonging to Armenians, including the vandalization of a school and other disruptive acts of ethnically motivated violence and aggression,” the letter continued.

Amb. Margaryan stressed that “such acts, carried out with the direct participation of Azerbaijani officials, have come to demonstrate a most irresponsible intention to spread violence and radicalization to third countries, reflecting the policy and rhetoric of the Azerbaijani leadership aimed at inciting animosity against the Armenian people.”

He noted that “the hateful and racist rhetoric dominating the political discourse of the Azerbaijani leadership constitutes all elements of incitement to violence and represents a significant indicator of risk of atrocity crimes.”

“Armenia reiterated the inadmissibility of using such rhetoric to incite inter-ethnic clashes and the imperative of focusing on de-escalating tensions to prevent violence in the future,” the letter concluded.











Asbarez: Armenia’s First Humanitarian Flight to Beirut Takes Off

Nahapetian Samvel
August 8,  2020

The first humanitarian flight carrying emergency assistance to Lebanon was loaded and took off from Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport Saturday night.

Accompanying the flight to Beirut is Armenia’s High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan, who told reporters at the airport that he will tour Armenian communities in Lebanon, meet with His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, as well as Lebanese government officials in an effort to become closely acquainted with the needs of the country.

He said that the first cargo of supplies will be directly given to the government of Lebanon, adding that two more flights are scheduled—on Sunday and on Tuesday.

The cargo of supplies to Lebanon will include 20,400 medical masks produced in a factory in Tavush, Armenia, which was damaged last month when Azerbaijan began a brazen attack on civilian and military targets in Tavush on July 12.

“Tavush, which became the center of attention, care and humanity, was naturally one of the first to respond to the tragedy of brotherly Beirut, to bring its participation to the support of the Republic of Armenia to the friendly country and the Armenian community,” said a post on the Tavush Governor’s Facebook page.

The plane that departed Saturday is carrying 12 tons medicine, medical equipment, food and other supplies.

Deputy Prime Minister Avinyan on Friday detailed the government’s plan to send assistance to Lebanon, as part of a pledge made by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan immediately after a massive explosion at the Beirut port that rocked Lebanon causing destruction. At least 154 people died and thousands have been injured, among them members of the large Armenian community, whose leaders reported that 13 Armenians had died and hundreds were injured.

Pashinyan called Lebanon one of Armenia’s closest allies this week, saying that Armenia could not turn a blind eye to the suffering of the “brotherly people of Lebanon.”

ANN/Armenian News Week in Review – 08/09/2020

Nahapetian Samvel

Armenian News Network / Armenian News

Armenian News: Week in Review

ANN/Armenian News

August 9, 2020

Table of Contents

Introduction

Listen to us on…

Your Hosts

Special Guest

Resident Panelists

Topics This Week

The Massive Explosion in Beirut

Overview

Sources

Lightning Round from our Headlines

Turkey-Azerbaijan Military Exercises

Mashtots Park

Cyber Security Intrusion

Law on Media Regulation

Sources

The Beirut Explosion

Headlines in the News

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

People in the News

Gregory E. Areshian

Nazar Najarian

Wrap-up

Hello, and welcome to Armenian News Network, Armenian News.

This Week in Review we will focus on the catastrophic explosion in the Port of Beirut. The unprecedented destruction centered at the port, which is especially close to many Armenian community neighborhoods, has deeply affected the Lebanese Armenian community, leaving over a dozen of its members dead, hundreds injured and tens of thousands without means or shelter. The damage to Lebanon and its people is incalculable. For this story we turn to Asbed Bedrossian.

YouTube          Apple           Google         Spotify       Facebook

  • Hovik Manucharyan

  • Asbed Bedrossian

  • Yeghia Tashjian

  • Asbed Kotchikian

  • Emil Sanamyan

  • Alen Zamanyan

On August 4th a massive explosion hit Beirut’s harbor, completely obliterating the port and creating a disaster area with a 20-mile radius. While the investigation into the causes of the explosion is still underway, one thing is certain that Lebanon now needs major foreign assistance. With over a year of economic and health issues compounded, Lebanese society is on the brink of collapse. As part of the country’s socio-economic and political fabric, the Armenian community in Lebanon has also found itself on a crossroad regarding its future.

In this segment we explore the challenges and opportunities that Lebanon in general, and the Lebanese Armenian community, is facing amidst these turbulent times.

We have with us today:

Asbed Kotchikian who is a senior lecturer of political science and international relations at Bentley University in Massachusetts where he teaches courses on the Middle East and former Soviet space. Prof. Kotchikian is also a consultant for international organizations on issues of judicial reform, ways to combat radicalization and on ethnic and religious minorities. 

and

Yeghia Tashjian, who is a regional analyst and researcher based in Beirut, with expertise in China’s geopolitical and energy security interests in Iran and the Persian Gulf. He is the Regional Officer of Women in War, a gender-based think tank and a contributor to various media outlets. Tashjian is the presenter of “Turkey Today,” a weekly program on Radio Voice of Van in Lebanon.

  • See the links in the daily Headlines below.

The Turkey-Azerbaijan military exercises, named the TurAz Eagle Exercises, which started on July 29th and are planned to end on August 10 have had a very wide geographic scope: from Baku, to Nakhichevan, to Ganja, Kurdamir, Yevlakh. That’s basically all over Azerbaijan. There have been videos released on Twitter from the Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense about these exercises which Armenia says it is following extremely closely.

What’s the message Turkey and Azerbaijan are sending, and what’s the message that Armenia and Russia are receiving?

This week Baku accused Serbia of selling to Armenia; then Serbia’s president replied that since Armenia was not under any sanctions, Serbia had sold arms to them, and then ten times as much more to Azerbaijan as well, in order to keep Serbia’s military industry alive. Since we’re talking about just a few million dollars’ worth of armaments. Is this something or is it Much Ado About Nothing?

This week the Mashtots Park came back into the headlines as mayor Marutian authorized the building of a new café. To me this incident was interesting because it is sometimes seen as one of the precursors or prototypes to 2018.

Alen, can you tell us more about what happened?

This week Cyber security specialist Samvel Martirosyan announced that Azerbaijani hackers had penetrated into government servers, getting access to 55 terabytes of information. The NSS investigation continues. What do we know about this intrusion? What should be our main concerns? And what steps can be taken towards securing the government cyber infrastructure?

On Wednesday president Armen Sarkissian’s office said that he had signed a new law governing media in the “public digital multiplex”. Among other things, the law restricts operation of foreign channels in public multiplex, and requires bilateral agreement between countries; it limits the number of channels that can be part of the multiplex, which raised concern from opposition media that the intention is to deprive pro-opposition media from license; it defines penalties for violating hate speech; and more.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the National Commission on TV and Radio stated that the dominance of foreign broadcasters in cable networks threatens the country’s information and language security, but the commission does not take an anti-Russian position.

What issues arise with such laws?

Meanwhile, Turkey’s parliament passed a law regulating social media, that critics said will increase censorship and help authorities silence dissent. The law requires foreign social media sites to appoint Turkish-based representatives to address authorities’ concerns over content and includes deadlines for removal of material.

Is media censorship on the rise globally?

  • THE LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA – ON TELEVISION MEDIA

  • Media Advocate: Under new law TV and Radio Commission becomes a censor and a judge – Panorama.am

  • Armenia Adopts Law Limiting Broadcast of Foreign Media – SputnikNews.com

  • Turkish parliament passes social media law to regulate content – Cyprus-Mail.com

A personal as well as regional reflection on the situation in Beirut post-explosion, and we touch upon Armenia’s strategy and response to the tragic situation there.

  • In July Azerbaijan complained that Serbia sold arms to Armenia. Now the president of Serbia has informed that Serbia sold Azerbaijan ten times as much Arms as it did to Armenia.

  • The Armenian Ministry of Defense has denied a press report that Turkish F-16’s were at one point “within striking distance” of Yerevan, “56 Km”, during their transit to Baku.

  • Last week Armen Papikyan, Armenian Ambassador to the IAEA, gave an interview to Energy Intel. Ambassador Papikyan notes that he has briefed the IAEA Director General about threat from Baku to the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, and that the IAEA has not done enough to provide a nuclear threat-free environment, particularly when the threat Metsamor is coming from a member state of the IAEA.

  • Famous archaeologist Gregory Areshian, who co-led discovery of world’s oldest winery, died at 71

  • The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the second largest group in the Euro Parliament, has called to impose sanctions on Azerbaijani officials, as a sanction against Aliyev using the pandemic and war as an excuse to destroy his opposition.

  • PM Pashinyan and Speaker Mirzoyan have proclaimed solidarity with Yezidis on the 4th anniversary of the Sinjar massacre in northern Iraq.

  • The Justice Ministry has unveiled a bill on amending the Judicial Code and the Rules of Procedure of Parliament that envisage the creation of an Anti-Corruption Court.

  • Armenian Ambassador to Latvia Tigran Mkrtchyan’s article “Armenia and Armenians worldwide will not tolerate another genocide!”

  • The government is developing a legislative package to preempt the need to extend the coronavirus-related and currently active State of Emergency but still be able to implement required anti-pandemic restrictions when needed by declaring an “emergency situation”.

  • DM Tonoyan told Lebanese PM Zeina Akar that Armenia will continue its military participation in UNIFIL.

  • German Armenians rallied over the weekend in Berlin  in front of the German Chancellor’s Office on Saturday to demand that Germany stop arms delivery to Turkey and Azerbaijan.

  • Armenian Bar Member Lucy Boyadjian Solimon was appointed as Judge of the Second Judicial District Court, serving Bernalillo County by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.

  • A court in Yerevan denied law-enforcement to arrest Yerevan’s former deputy mayor Vahe Nikoyan, who is indicted in an ongoing criminal investigation into Ruben Hayrapetian, a wealthy businessman linked to Armenia’s former leadership.

  • The AGBU says it is closely following the process of making qualitative changes in the Armenian education system initiated by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports and has made a set of proposals.

  • Romanos Petrosyan (formerly governor of Kotayk province) appointed as minister of Environment and Nature Protection.

  • A major explosion rocked Beirut, killing over 100 people and injuring 4000. It appears to have been negligent storage of 2750 metric tons of Ammonium Nitrate for over 6 years that exploded upon a fire that broke out in a nearby hangar. The Secretary General of the Kataebs, Nazareth Najarian was killed in the blast. A young Armenian nurse was also killed. Antelias sustained was damaged. There is more damage in the community which HH Aram I visited later in the day. PM Pashinyan, and Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan both declared solidarity with Lebanon, and readiness to help. LHK/Bright Armenia party’s Anna Kostanyan is urging the government to help repatriate any Lebanese Armenians who wish to move to Armenia. Beirut has been declared a disaster zone.

  • Ruben Hayrapetian, an influential businessman linked to the former leadership has been a Russian citizen since 2003, prosecutors in Yerevan said on Tuesday. As a result Russian may not be extraditing him to Armenia where he would face a string of charges.

  • President Armen Sarkissian nominated Artur Vagharshian, chair of jurisprudence at YSU, to the Constitutional Court. 

  • Mashtots Park came back into the headlines as mayor Marutian authorized the building of a new café.

  • Joe Biden’s Ethnic Engagement Director Has Ties Turkey and Erdogan.

  • Dilijan Medical Center’s coronavirus unit was decommissioned as active cases have dropped in Armenia.

  • The head of the Military-Industrial Committee of the Ministry of High-Tech Industry Artak Davtyan met with CEOs of the drone industry in Armenia. The recent experiences were discussed.

  • Armenia appointed Anna Aghajanyan to replace Tatul Margarian as the new Ambassador to Belgium, EU.

  • NASA JPL granted license to Armenian company to make VITAL ventilators used for COVID-19 treatment.

  • In the aftermath of the explosion in Beirut: H.H. Aram I visited the Armenian community in Bourj Hammoud, There is widespread community damage. The death toll is at 11, the injury toll is 250 in the Armenian community. Armenia assessing scenarios of potential humanitarian aid to Lebanon. Artsakh Republic has offered to repatriate 100-150 families from Lebanon immediately, and the Office of High Commissioner for Diaspora starts needs assessment of Lebanese-Armenian community. Meanwhile French President Emmanuel Macron is heading to Beirut. According to nuclear scientist Areg Danagoulian the explosion amounted in strength to 10% of the Hiroshima bomb. 

  • Since August 1, there have been problems with the broadcasting of H1 in Los Angeles by PanArmenian TV. People have complained all the way to PM Pashinyan, and suspect political motives.

  • Cyber security specialist Samvel Martirosyan announced that Azerbaijani hackers have penetrated into government servers, getting access to 55 terabytes of information. The NSS investigation continues.

  • PM Pashinyan has submitted to President Armen Sarkissian to dismiss Deputy Chief of Police Hayk Mhryan and Deputy Chief of Police, Tigran Yesayan.

  • President Sarkissian signed a law limiting the broadcast of foreign media in Armenia.

  • Deputy PM Tigran Avinyan said Armenia will extend the state of emergency for another month, but will lift certain of the limitations.

  • In the aftermath of the explosion in Beirut: Many more Armenian politicians have expressed solidarity and support with the people of Lebanon, e.g. Yerevan Mayor Marutyan. Armenia’s High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, Zareh Sinanyan, will visit Beirut. The Hayastan All Armenian Fund launched a fundraiser for Lebanon. An Armenian emergency aid flight to Lebanon to take place Saturday, August 8. A third Russian plane carrying aid arrived in Beirut, with emergency doctors, rescuers and mobile hospitals. The European Commission has allocated over €33 million for Lebanon.

  • BHK leader Edmon Marukyan has asked the government to address the issue of security of “huge amounts” of chemicals stored at the premises of the currently defunct Vanadzor Chemical Combine.

  • Italy’s Chamber of Deputies ratified the Armenia-EU CEPA.

  • The Armenian Government has allocated 278 million drams to rebuild Tavush towns after Azerbaijani shelling.

  • The former head of the Public Services Regulatory Commission Robert Nazarian has been arrested on charges of having fraudulently issued privileges to a business operator which resulted in significant damages. Nazarian is also a former Mayor of Yerevan.

  • Deputy Chief of Police Hayk Mhryan was dismissed.

  • Ashot Zakaryan was appointed the new Chief of the Military Police of the Defense Ministry.

  • New developments continued to be leaked surrounding the scandal around Hayk Sargsyan’s participation in a party at the White Shorja resort on the shore of lake Sevan. Romanos Petrosyan, newly appointed minister of Environment and Nature Protection indicated that the resort was illegal and all structures on it will be dismantled. He also said that there are hundreds of such illegal constructions that will also receive similar treatment. 

  • Anna Hakobyan, the prime-minister’s wife gave an interview to Azatutyun addressing questions from Facebook users. 

  • Former president Serge Sargsyan released a series of short videos addressing criticism of his handling of the 2016 war. He has promised a more comprehensive press conference after the state of emergency is lifted.

  • The Prosperous Armenia, ARF, and Hayrenik troika of opposition parties held a press conference indicating that they will file a complaint in the courts against Armenian government and parliamentary majority My Step faction on several counts, including toppling of constitutional order. They also promised further legal action to defend citizens who have been fined for not wearing masks. Their argument is that if the government is mandating masks then they should be responsible for providing them free of charge to citizens. 

  • For the fourth day, protests against the development of the Amulsar gold mine continued; Earlier in the week Restructured Lydian, which is essentially the former Lydian Armenia, brought in cranes and removed the wagons installed by Jermuk residents and Ecofront activists and installed its own wagons, in an effort to begin the mining process. Protesters have now undone company installations while the standoff continues.The fact that the government is a no-show and avoids clarifying its position is complicating matters

  • Add something about education reform (even if we’ll cover it in a separate segment).

  • Last week, the SIS launched a criminal case against Arthur Danielyan  for hooliganism as a result of the fistfight between him and Alen Simonyan. This week Simonyan gave an interview to Azatutyun, answering questions on the matter repeating the claim that he was provoked. Shortly after this, a video was leaked showing camera footage of the actual incident showing Simonyan clearly approaching Danielyan and physically attacking him. The video also contained audio of Simonyan’s 911 call where he claimed that he was attacked. 

  • Ministry of Health commented on the  resignation of Mher Davidyants, head of the Yerevan infectious disease hospital, who resigned as part of the restructuring of Republican Center for the Prevention of AIDS and the Nork Infection Clinical Hospital into a single entity. Reportedly Mr. Davidyants first accepted, but later declined a deputy general director position in the restructured organization.

  • On Friday, Covid-19 cases in Armenia topped 40,000.

  • Today, August 8,  The Promise becomes available on Netflix. You can Google for its reviews.  Cher, Kim Kardashian have called on their followers to watch the film.

  • Director of Armenian Forests NGO, Nazeli Vardanyan strongly condemned the recent tree felling in Mashtots Park in downtown Yerevan. Vardanyan notes that under Armenian code land in these parks cannot be privately owned and this is the position of the current authorities. And if they’re unwilling to enforce this, then the authorities must be making backroom deals like the former regimes.

  • The first humanitarian flight carrying emergency assistance to Lebanon was loaded and took off from Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport Saturday night. Zareh Sinanyan is accompanying the aid to be given to the Lebanese government, with second and third plane loads to follow in the next 3 days. Sinanyan will tour the Armenian community, and meet with HH Aram I.

  • Former Police Chief Vladimir Gasparian threatened two RFE/RL Azatutyun journalists and obstructed their work on a report about government plans to dismantle private houses illegally constructed near Lake Sevan.

Dr. Areshian passed away on August 1. He was the inaugural Director of the UCLA Research Program in Armenian Archaeology and Ethnography, who co-led the excavations that in 2007 unearthed the world’s oldest winery, Areni 1, in the village of Areni in Vayots Dzor. Areni 1 is estimated to be 6100 years old.

Sources

  • Remembering Gregory E. Areshian – Asbarez.com

  • Gregory Areshian, archaeologist who co-led discovery of world’s oldest winery, dead at 71 – Armenpress.am

Mr. Najarian was the Secretary General of the Kataeb (Phalangist) party of Lebanon, and was killed by the Beirut explosion.

Sources

  • Lebanese Kataeb Party’s Secretary-General Nazar Najarian killed in Beirut blast – ArmRadio.am

  • Montreal businessman among victims of Beirut explosion – Montreal.CTVNews.CA

 

That concludes our program. We hope it has helped your understanding of some of the issues from the previous week. We look forward to your feedback, and even your suggestions for issues to cover in greater depth. Contact us on our website, at Armenian News.org, or on our Facebook Page “ANN – Armenian News”, or in our Facebook Group “Armenian News – Armenian News Network”. 

Please subscribe, like and share our content on your favorite social media platform to help us reach a wider audience. We’re available on most popular platforms, including YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, and Spotify.

I’m Hovik Manucharyan, and on behalf of everyone in this episode, I wish you a good week. Thank you for listening and talk to you next week.

Establishing Joint Armenia–China Peacekeeping Training Center in Armenia

Nahapetian Samvel
IndraStra Blobal
IndraStra Global Sunday, Armenia                              
By Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan
Chairman, Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies, Yerevan, Armenia

Peacekeeping operations are one of the key domains of international relations. They play a paramount role in securing stability and fostering international cooperation. Currently, 14 peacekeeping operations around the globe are led by the UN Department of Peace operations. Several other international organizations are involved in peacekeeping missions, but the UN is the ultimate authority in this sphere. 

Immediately after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 Beijing was not interested much in peace operations as it concentrated its efforts on domestic issues and bilateral relations with regional and global powers. However, the launch of China’s “Reform and opening-up policy” has brought significant changes. Peacekeeping contributions have steadily become an important part of China’s soft power strategy, allowing Beijing to advance its interests abroad while fostering collaboration with other nations, as it undergoes its peaceful rise. Peacekeeping proves an uncontested method of proving China’s commitment to global stability. China recognizes that upholding international stability, as well as international institutions and mechanisms, is vital to Chinese economic and political interests.
In December 1981 China agreed to fund UN peacekeeping operations for the first time, in April 1990 country joined its first military peacekeeping operation by deploying five observers to the UN Truce Supervision Organization in the Middle East, and in April 1992 sent nearly 50 military observers and 400 military engineers to the UN Advance Mission in Cambodia. As of late 2019, China is the second-largest contributor to the UN’s peacekeeping budget, accounting for 15.22 percent of about $7 billion in 2019, up from 10.28 percent in 2018. Currently, China has 2,534 military and police peacekeepers in seven of the 14 on-going UN peacekeeping operations, ranking 11th among the 122 contributors to UN peacekeeping and the largest contributor of peacekeepers among the five permanent UN Security Council members. In 2002 China opened a civilian peacekeeping police training center in Langfang, in 2009 military peacekeeping training center was established in Huairou (Beijing suburbs), and the first international training course for instructors from 14 countries took place there in 2011.

Peacekeeping operations are one of the strategic directions of Armenia’s defense policy. The small landlocked nation under the permanent threat of military incursion both from Azerbaijan and Turkey views peacekeeping operations as a significant tool to contribute to international security and stability and to transform itself from security consumer to security provider. Armenia formed its peacekeeping battalion in 2001 which was transformed into peacekeeping brigade in 2007. The first mission was launched in cooperation with NATO in Kosovo in 2004. Armenian peacekeepers served in Iraq in 2005 – 2009 and since 2010 they have been deployed in Afghanistan. Currently, the Armenian peacekeepers – more than 200 servicemen, are conducting missions in cooperation with NATO in Kosovo and Afghanistan and since December 2014 they have joined the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon.

Since 2001 Armenia has received significant assistance from NATO to foster its peacekeeping capacities. NATO and individual Allies have supported Armenia’s efforts to develop interoperability with NATO forces of the Armenian Peacekeeping Battalion and enable it to become a brigade with associated combat support and combat service support units. Through joint Armenia – US funding peacekeeping training center was established near Yerevan in 2017 and became operational in 2018 providing necessary training services to Armenian peacekeepers.

Meanwhile, Armenia has not restricted its peacekeeping partnership only with NATO and NATO member states. Recently Yerevan made several efforts to increase its military cooperation with China. In April 2017 Rear Admiral Guan Youfei, the head of the Office for International Military Cooperation under China’s Central Military Commission visited Armenia and met the leadership of the Ministry of Defense. Then Armenian Minister of Defense Vigen Sargsyan visited Bejing in September 2017, and an Armenian Ministry of Defense delegation, headed by then Commander of the Peacekeeping Brigade Col. Vaghinak Sargsyan paid a visit to the UN Peacekeeping Missions Centre in China in March 2018. During the visit, an agreement was reached to expand the cooperation between the peacekeeping forces of the two countries. As recently as in October 2019 Armenian Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan participated in the 9th Beijing Xiangshan Forum held in Beijing.

Thus both China and Armenia have emphasized the significance of peacekeeping operations and have made tangible actions to increase their relevant capabilities. Both countries have established peacekeeping training centers and have made initial steps to increase military cooperation including peacekeeping.

Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization along with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The organization has its own peacekeeping forces, a set of peacekeeping contingents designed to participate in CSTO peacekeeping operations. Each year CSTO peacekeeping forces organize military drills “Unbreakable brotherhood” to increase their capacities and representatives of Armenian peacekeeping brigade participate in these drills.

Armenia has been a dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization since 2016. SCO was established in 2001 and originally was comprised of Russia, China, and four Central Asian states (except Turkmenistan) later joined by India and Pakistan with the key goal to foster security cooperation among members. The secretariats of CSTO and SCO signed a Memorandum of understanding of cooperation in October 2007. The memorandum confirms the readiness of both organizations to combine efforts to ensure regional and international security and stability, counter-terrorism, combat drug trafficking, suppress illicit arms trafficking, and resist organized transnational crimes.

Partnership in peacekeeping capacity building can be one of the effective tools to further the CSTO – SCO cooperation. Given the Armenian and Chinese vast experience in peacekeeping, these two states can play a pivotal role here. As was mentioned, Armenia with the US support established a peacekeeping training center, however, due to growing US – Russia and US-China tensions, it would be rather complicated to fully exploit the potential of this center as a hub for bringing CSTO and SCO member states peacekeepers together. 

In this context, the establishment of the joint Armenia – China peacekeeping training center in Armenia will be beneficial for CSTO, SCO, Armenia, and China. It would strategically increase Armenia’s position in the world map of peacekeeping and raise its capacities and capabilities. It will substantially improve the cooperation between CSTO and SCO giving new breath to the 2007 memorandum of understanding and creating new bonds between member states. 

The establishment of joint Armenia – China peacekeeping training center will contribute also to Armenia’s interests of defense security diversification, adding China to the pool of partners already including Russia and the US. Given the evolving comprehensive strategic partnership between Moscow and Beijing, this step should not raise concerns in Kremlin regarding possible negative implications. Through establishing a joint center in Armenia China will reinforce its position as a global power committed to international peace and stability. Simultaneously, the deployment of Chinese peacekeepers in Armenia on a rotating base will strategically increase the Chinese footprint in the South Caucasus, which borders Iran, Turkey, and Central Asia – regions where China has vital interests. 

Thus, time is ripe to start bilateral Armenia – China as well as multilateral negotiations within CSTO and SCO to establish the joint Armenia – China peacekeeping training center in Armenia.

About the Author:
Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan is Founder and Chairman, Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies and also, Executive Director, Political Science Association of Armenia since 2011. He was Vice President for Research – Head of the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense Research University in Armenia in August 2016 – February 2019. He joined Institute for National Strategic Studies (predecessor of NDRU) in March 2009 as a Research Fellow and was appointed as INSS Deputy Director for research in November 2010. Before this, he was the Foreign Policy Adviser of the Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia. Dr. Poghosyan has also served as a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences and was an adjunct professor at Yerevan State University and in the European Regional Educational Academy.
His primary research areas are the geopolitics of the South Caucasus and the Middle East, US – Russian relations and their implications for the region. He is the author of more than 70 Academic papers and OP-EDs in different leading Armenian and international journals. In 2013, Dr. Poghosyan was appointed as a “Distinguished Research Fellow” at the US National Defense University – College of International Security Affairs and also, he is a graduate from the US State Department’s Study of the US Institutes for Scholars 2012 Program on US National Security policymaking. He holds a Ph.D. in History and is a graduate from the 2006 Tavitian Program on International Relations at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.


8 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Latvia

Nahapetian Samvel

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 17:43,

YEREVAN, JULY 11, ARMENPRESS. 8 new cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed in Latvia in one day, RIA Novosti reports.

The total number of confirmed cases has reached 1,173.

30 people have died so far from coronavirus.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Garo Paylan. The decision of turning Hagia Sophia into a mosque will make life difficult for Christians

Nahapetian Samvel
Panorama, Armenia
Society 12:34 11/07/2020Region

Istanbul-Armenian MP Garo Paylan, representing the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), has reacted to the Turkish authorities decision stripping the Hagia Sophia of its museum status and turning into a mosque.

“This is a sad day for all Christians who believed in Turkey’s pluralism. The decision to turn the Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque will make life difficult for Christians living here, likewise the Muslims living in Europe. The Hagia Sophia is the symbol of our rich history, and its dome was large enough for all of us,” Paylan wrote on is Facebook page.

Number of users both Christians and Muslims commented under the post. “As a Turk, I feel ashamed of this day,” one Turkish user wrote.

To remind, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the conversion of the city’s historic Hagia Sophia back into a mosque after a court annulled a 1934 presidential decree that made it a museum.
The UN’s cultural agency UNESCO said it deeply regretted Turkey’s decision, while Greece’s culture minister decried the move, calling it “an open provocation to the entire civilized world.”

Two Israeli ministers self-quarantined due to COVID-19

Nahapetian Samvel

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 15:36, 9 July, 2020

YEREVAN, JULY 9, ARMENPRESS. Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz has been self-quarantined after coming into contact with a confirmed coronavirus carrier, The Times of Israel reports citing the minister’s Office.

Gantz’s office said he feels well and will stay in quarantine until the results of his test will be ready.

Minister for Jerusalem affairs and heritage Rafi Peretz also has been self-isolated after his adviser tested positive for COVID-19. He will soon past a test for coronavirus.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan