Author: Vanyan Gary

 10:22,

YEREVAN, MARCH 28, ARMENPRESS. The US State Department informs that it plans to provide aid to Armenia to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Voice of America reported.

For that purpose the State Department and the USAID will provide 1.1 million USD to Armenia aimed at improving the healthcare field, in particular developing the laboratory systems, increasing the capacities for diagnosing coronavirus, assisting the expert circles, etc.

The State Department said in the past 20 years the United States provided 106 million USD in aid for Armenia’s healthcare sector development, the overall amount of aid comprises 1,57 billion USD.

In addition to Armenia, the State Department will also provide 274 million USD in resources to 64 of the world’s most at-risk countries. 

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

Is the US decision on aiding Artsakh  final? ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian has the answer

 20:47,

YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. Over the past months, HALO Trust’s Nagorno-Karabakh demining program aided by the United States has been in the centre of different discussions. ANCA’s Executive Director Aram Hamparian shared his views and, finally, gave a precise answer to the commonly asked question: “Is the Artsakh decision final?”.

“It has been a 2 decades-long legacy of one administration after the other attacking this program. You know… This is a very heavy attack, I think, maybe the worst we have seen. But this is nothing new. This administration is following the tradition set by Clinton, by Bush, by Obama and now by Trump”,- mentioned Hamparyan.

Hamparyan stressed that before making any final assessments, it is necessary to take into account the processes taking place in the US, as well as the U.S. Constitutional system. Summing up the results of past processes, he recalled that back in 1997, when Brad Sherman brought an amendment to the House Foreign Affairs Committee in order to adopt legislation that would authorize US assistance to Nagorno Karabakh for the first time ever, the amendment was attacked at pretty much the same language that the State Department is attacking the program today. However, this process paved a way in the next several months for the adoption of the measure, the provision in the FY98 appropriations bill and with the support of many others that aid program was adopted as part of the fiscal year 1998 foreign bill.

“So that’s been back and forth because that in the course of 20 years and we have kept the program alive, it’s never ever been easy, it’s never been a walk, it’s never been without opposition from the executive branch. So when people talk about things like “well the Administration is really against it. Yeah, what else is new? They have been against this forever and it is unrelenting and in certain levels, it’s an inhumane call because it is a humanitarian aid program. The purpose of the program from the day one has been to provide humanitarian aid and in the early days it was material healthcare, later on, it was things like clean drinking water, today it is demining”, Hamparian said. 

Speaking of the most-asked question related to the final decision, Hamparian stressed: “The final say will come in the coming weeks, within months as the fiscal year 2021 of Foreign Aid bill is drafted…Is the Artsakh decision final? The answer is no. The final decision will be the result of the interplay between the executive and the legislative branches. For our part, we are working very, very hard on this front”.

Emphasizing its importance in the peace process and US’s role in it as an honest broker, Hamparian also mentioned that this is on their top priorities list in Washington. According to him, this is an opportunity in a two-decade-long history of the program for Armenians to step up and fight harder. At the same time, he mentioned that the Members of Congress are currently busy with other issues concerning the health system, economy and American people’s health. Although he assured that both Artsakh office, Armenian Embassy to the US and ANCA are teamed up, working on this issue, they need the assistance of U.S. citizens, the Armenian community in particular. “If they [legislators] don’t hear from you, they are going to assume, you don’t care. That is how it is”,- highlighted Hamparian.

He called on the Armenian community of the US to send letters to the members of Congress by visiting ANCA.org/aid, emphasizing the importance for them to continue working for the assistance to Artsakh program”.

“The process is over when we stop to try and that is not going to happen”,- concluded the Executive Director of ANCA.            

Lusine Poghosyan

 15:46, 19 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 19, ARMENPRESS. The specialists of Russia’s Smorodintsev Research Institute of Influenza have managed to decode the first full genome of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Russian Health Ministry said on March 19, reports TASS.

Acting Director of the Smorodintsev Research Institute of Influenza Dmitry Lioznov stated that genetical research would help scientists understand the nature and the evolution of the virus, which would in turn contribute to the development of a vaccine and treatment methods.

“This coronavirus is new to us, so it is crucial to have an opportunity to determine the pattern of its spread and entry on the territory of our country, and the way the virus changes. This information will help us work out vaccines and antiviral drugs to treat the coronavirus”, he said.

ArmInfo. The European Commission intends to allocate 2 million euros to non-profit  organizations established in the European Union to "strengthen freedom" of media in Armenia. This is stated in a new EC tender, the text of which was reviewed by RT.

"The global goal of this call for proposals is to contribute to the  consolidation of democracy, the development of a vibrant media  environment and the support of media freedoms by encouraging the  creation of an independent, professional, more innovative and  financially sustainable media sector in Armenia," the document  states.

According to the rules of participation in the grant competition, one  of the areas of activity under the project is the implementation of  measures aimed at increasing the number of journalistic materials,  the purpose of which is to increase the level of media literacy,  promote a deeper understanding of critical thinking and fight against  misinformation.

Also, initiatives that claim to participate in the project can be  aimed at improving the methods and standards of professional  journalism and a number of other goals.

It is expected that the result of the program will be strengthening  the capacity of the media and civil society organizations <in  facilitating dialogue on political issues, in particular in the field  of the free exchange of diverse information>, as well as increasing  the access of citizens of the country to <independent and reliable  sources of information>.

As stated in the document, NGOs established in the European Union in  cooperation with at least two organizations, co-applicants created in  Armenia, can apply for a grant.

Earlier it was reported that the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights  and Labor Relations of the US State Department plans to allocate more  than $ 640 thousand to develop a culture of democracy in Armenia. The  allocated funds, as specified, will be used to increase the  resilience of the population of the republic "to negative influence." 

No plans on halting referendum campaigning over coronavirus yet, says PM

 12:12, 12 March, 2020

JERMUK, MARCH 12, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says they will cancel the ongoing campaigning for the constitutional referendum in the event of coronavirus-related necessity.

“If the number of coronavirus infections becomes large, the government will be first to announce it. I have presented the current situation yesterday evening,” Pashinyan said, adding that the government will notify the general public in the event of a risk.

He said the direct contacts of the latest three cases are being traced and quarantined. He said some of them might be asked to self-quarantine in their homes.

Pashinyan said at this moment the campaigning for the constitutional referendum slated for April 5 continues.

“If a necessity on suspending it will emerge, we will suspend it. As long as we haven’t suspended it, it means there is no such necessity,” Pashinyan said.

On March 11, three novel coronavirus cases were confirmed in Armenia, bringing the total number to 4.

10 direct contacts have been quarantined at the Golden Palace hotel in a resort town, the disused hotel which was transformed into a quarantine zone for the 31 direct contacts of the first case on March 1.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan