Senator Paul Scarr adds his voice of support for Australian recognition of Armenian, Assyrian and Greek genocides
Armenian government thinks of legal regime on keeping the same rules after state of emergency
14:00, 7 July, 2020
YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government plans to extend the state of emergency, but it also thinks about having a legal regime on keeping the same rules after lifting it, Minister of Healthcare Arsen Torosyan said at a press conference in Armenpress, asked whether he sees a necessity of extending the coronavirus-related state of emergency.
“I personally see its necessity. The Prime Minister has already announced that the state of emergency will be most likely extended. But we also think of having a legal regime to keep the same rules out of the state of emergency. In other words, if the state of emergency is lifted, we should have a chance to legally force our people to keep the rules, that is to wear a face mask, keep the social distance, as well as other regulations for economic entities and responsibility measures”, Torosyan said.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Church leaders in Jerusalem: Israeli court ruling threatens Christian presence in holy city
Azerbaijani press: Italy magazine highlights deplorable political situation in Armenia
- REGION
Italian online newspaper European Affairs has published an article, entitled “Pashinyan-ruled Armenia amid an internal political crisis, COVID-19 threat and doubts about the future of the national economy.”
The article by Italian journalist Giuliano Bifolchi pointed out that Armenia is currently experiencing a deep political crisis and a severe state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, AZERTAC reports.
The author said that the economy of Armenia, which is the most affected by the pandemic in the Caucasian region, is still dependent on foreign aid and donations, as well as diaspora organizations.
“Despite the change in the Armenian leadership following 2018 “velvet revolution”, which had given hope for a lasting and stable democracy in the country, the fact that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gained more power after two years has led to deep divisions within the current government,” read the article.
The Italian journalist noted that there is an internal contrast between the current leadership, which came to power in 2018, and the old Armenian nomenclature formed by ex-presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan, who were backed by their clans/families from the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Even in his speeches, Pashinyan does not rule out possible political unrest in the country, said the journalist.
The author stressed that Armenia, which gained independence in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, has a system characterized by internal strife between “oligarchs” and clans fighting for regaining control in the country, and this factor distances the country even further from the democratic principles established by the European Union, which the post-Soviet countries are striving to cooperate.
Citing Hraparak daily of Armenia, the author wrote about the details of Kocharyan’s meeting with Sargsyan following his release from prison. He said that the former presidents consider Pashinyan to be a threat to the Armenian state, and therefore their goal is to eliminate internal conflicts and unite the opposition to end the Pashinyan regime.
The journalist said that since the seizure of power in 2018 following the “revolution”, Pashinyan has started a strong contrasting activity against Sargsyan and Kocharyan trying to divide the opposition and launch court proceedings. In this regard, he said the criminal case against Kocharyan triggered a great deal of noise, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally tried to intervene in the matter and ensured Kocharyan’s release, which led to a cooling of Yerevan-Moscow relations.
The Italian journalist also pointed out the criminal case launched against Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan on corruption charges.
The article also said that Mane Tandilyan, a member of the opposition Bright Armenia faction of the National Assembly, also criticized the Pashinyan government during the parliament’s June 25 extraordinary session to discuss the state budget for 2019. The MP slammed the Armenian government for failing to achieve any success in the field of reforms of the judicial, social and economic system.
The journalist noted that Pashkina’s initiatives to change the country’s constitution, as well as the interrogation and arrest of Sargsyan in connection with the failure of the April 2016 fighting, have met with serious opposition.
According to the article, if during the current internal politics the Armenian prime minister is facing strong opposition even within his government and witnessing the failure of his plan to arrest Kocharyan and Sargsyan, in terms of foreign policy, Armenia is slowly losing support from Russia, which is, in fact, necessary for the country’s economic survival thanks to the Eurasian Economic Union.
The author also pointed to the fact that the amendments recently made to the Constitution of Armenia provoked a protest from President of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe Gianni Buquicchio. In his response letter to Hrayr Tovmasyan, who was dismissed from the post of chairman of the Armenian Constitutional Court by Pashinyan, Buquicchio said the Venice Commission is following the recent developments in Armenia, expressing concern over the failure of Armenian authorities to fulfill the recommendations given.
The journalist added that the Council of Europe sent a 20-page document of recommendations and notes to Armenian Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan, demanding greater attention to and revision of the amendments with the ultimate goal of safeguarding the Constitution.
Expressing concern over the current political situation in Armenia, the Italian journalist said the health and economic situation is also alarming in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that Armenia is among 11 countries at great risk of the second wave of the novel coronavirus.
The author also referred to a World Bank estimate about Armenia. “According to the analysis of the World Bank, Armenia is suffering a strong influence of the pandemic which led to the collapse of commodity prices. The economic slowdown, according to the World Bank, has mainly affected the sectors that need manpower. The uncertainties about the COVID-19 pandemic will affect Armenia more, like the rest of the world, and if this situation will continue for a long time, the Caucasian country will face a serious decline in GDP,” he concluded.
Armenian Americans marching in 1918 July 4th Independence Day parade in New York
United States helps Armenia combat corruption with $1 million in assistance
18:23, 3 July, 2020
YEREVAN, JULY 3, ARMENPRESS. An online event launched the $1 million, three-year “Technical Assistance to the Audit Chamber of the Republic of Armenia” collaborative activity on June 23. The United States Government, through USAID, signed an inter-agency agreement with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Center for Audit Excellence to provide capacity building, training, and consultancy services to the Audit Chamber, the Supreme Audit Institution of Armenia. Through this activity, the GAO will also help implement the requirements of the 2018 Republic of Armenia law related to the Audit Chamber, directing them to adhere and adopt international audit standards. The Comptroller General of the United States and Head of the GAO Gene Dodaro and USAID Chief Financial Officer Reginald Mitchell who had planned to travel to Armenia for the launch prior to the COVID-19 crisis, instead virtually joined the Chair of Armenia’s Audit Chamber Levon Yolyan, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy and USAID/Armenia Mission Director Deborah Grieser to celebrate the launch, ARMENPRESS was informed from the USAID Yerevan Office.
“Today marks another significant milestone for the Audit Chamber. We now look forward to the successful partnership to help the Audit Chamber address some of the key issues identified and make improvements to strengthen its institutional policies and other procedures.” said Mr. Dodaro. This is USAID/Armenia’s second agreement with the GAO Center for Audit Excellence. Under the previous agreement, the GAO conducted a needs assessment at the Audit Chamber to evaluate its strengths, weaknesses and needs. This activity builds on the recommendations from the needs assessment and is in line with the Armenian government’s public financial management reform strategy.
“The role of the Audit Chamber is crucial in terms of strengthening the accountability, transparency and integrity of government institutions. This new activity is part of overall U.S. government support for the reforms initiated by the Armenian Government and its efforts to combat corruption. This activity will be implemented by the GAO, which is considered to be the “golden standard” for audit institutions around the world,” said Ambassador Tracy. The Audit Chamber plays an important oversight role in strengthening the accountability, transparency and integrity of government and public entities in the country, as well as influencing citizens’ confidence in public institutions and ensuring that public resources are used in ways that reduce corruption risks, maximize value for money, and deliver results. “As the head of the Audit Chamber, I would like to thank our partners for their valuable support in developing the Audit Chamber, especially in the midst of the pandemic,” said Mr. Yolyan. “This event is the result of the joint effort. We will try to get the most out of this partnership to be a more impactful institution.”
Macron names Jean Castex as new French Prime Minister
15:45, 3 July, 2020
YEREVAN, JULY 3, ARMENPRESS. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has tendered his resignation after heading President Emmanuel Macron’s government for three years, reports BBC.
The president swiftly named centre-right mayor Jean Castex to lead a new team of ministers after a reshuffle.
Although Mr Philippe was considered more popular than the president, the ruling party had poor local election results at the weekend.
The Elysée palace said in a statement that Edouard Philippe had “today handed in the government’s resignation to the president of the republic, who accepted it”, adding that he would stay in place until a new government was appointed.
Asbarez: ‘We Have Not Engaged in Populism,’ Says ARF Armenia Leader
In an extensive Facebook Live interview with Azatutyun.am on Monday, the chairman of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Supreme Council of Armenia Ishkhan Saghatelyan answered a wide range of questions from Facebook members and anchor Narine Ghalechyan about the current constitutional impasse, the party’s posturing on domestic issues as well as the situation in Artsakh.
Late last week, the ARF announced that Saghatelyan has met with the chairman of the Prosperous Armenia Party Gagik Tsarukyan and the chairman of the newly-established Homeland party, former head of Armenia’s National Security Service Arthur Vanetsyan to form a working group that will create a roadmap for the country to emerge from the constitutional impasse created by parliament last week, when the ruling My Step party lawmakers passed amendments to the constitution forcing the ouster of two Constitutional Court judges and the termination of the term of its chairman Hrayr Tovmasyan.
Saghatelyan said in the interview that the only way out of the current impasse is through snap parliamentary elections. This response was followed by Ghalechyan pointing out that the party did not pass the threshold needed during the 2018 elections and whether the ARF leader anticipated a different outcome.
“The issue isn’t whether we will succeed or not. There is the imperative for a new caliber of leadership, which can only be formulated by the people through new elections,” said Saghatelyan. “During the past two years, the expectations of the people have changed.” He promised that during the next parliamentary elections, the ARF will have a decisive presence.
He explained that the party’s aim is for the demands that were laid out by the people during the 2018 popular movement come to fruition and explained that the party’s participation in the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the early days after the movement was to ensure that the those expectations were addressed.
Saghatelyan candidly said that his party’s methods of communicating with the people must change, adding that there have areas for improvement. He added, however, that party might not have received enough votes because “we have not engaged in populism.”
It was pointed out that during the past two years there have been many judicial proceedings against former government officials who were charged with corruption and embezzlement, yet the ARF deems these steps as judicial misconduct.
Saghatelyan explained that the ARF has voiced concerns when the application of the law has been selective. “If the government is using them [the laws] as levers to pressure the opposition, we have a problem with that.” He said that the government has had two years to work on this matter and demanded that it present an accounting of what it has collected from the those suspected of looting the national coffers.
The ARF leader rejected the notion that it is pursuing an agenda that is based on the previous regime and the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia, calling such assertions “unacceptable.” He explained that even when the ARF was part of the ruling coalition, which he characterized as itself being a difficult process, the party never wavered from advancing its approaches to critical issues dealing with the improvement of the people’s quality of life.
On the Artsakh issue, Saghatelyan was clear and pointed out that during the more than 30 years of the movement, the ARF has never wavered from its commitment to the liberation movement, recalling its role in the liberation movement, the war, as well as its readiness during the 2016 April War, during which he said some 400 ARF volunteers showed up at the Artsakh border within hours of the Azerbaijani attack. He said any suggestion otherwise about the party is “a red line that must not be crossed.”
To a question about whether the ARF, given its current opposition status in Armenia, will discontinue its activism abroad on issues pertaining to Armenia and Artsakh, Saghatelyan was decisive in his response, saying that the ARF organization in the Diaspora has never stopped its advocacy and activism to advance issue regarding Artsakh or Armenia. He pointed out that during the Levon Ter-Petrosian presidency, when the ARF was forcibly shut down in Armenia, the party’s relevant bodies in the Diaspora continued to advance the issues of strengthening Armenia and the right to self-determination of Artsakh.
Voting on electing PSRC member begins in Parliament
10:45,
YEREVAN, JUNE 18, ARMENPRESS. The voting on electing a member of the Public Services Regulatory Commission of Armenia has kicked off in the Parliament. The voting is being carried out in a closed format.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan nominated Kamo Sargsyan’s candidacy for the PSRC member.
The voting will last until 11:30.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan