Category: 2018

Lithuania Seimas ratifies ‘historic’ Armenia-EU deal: envoy

Arbi Tashjian
PanArmenian, Armenia
– 16:10 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Seimas of Lithuania has ratified the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement signed between Armenia and the European Union in late 2017, Armenia’s ambassador to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia Tigran Mkrtchyan said in a tweet.

The deal was ratified with 89 lawmakers voting in favor and one abstaining.

“Lithuania is the third EU member state after Estonia and Latvia to ratify the historic agreement,” Mkrtchyan said.

The negotiations on the new EU-Armenia partnership agreement were launched in 2015 and concluded in 2017. It was then signed by both sides in November 2017. The final agreement marks a deeper EU-Armenia political dialogue, broadens the scope of economic cooperation and provides new opportunities for closer ties on energy, transport, infrastructure, environment, trade, education and other sectors.

The European Parliament will have a final vote on the agreement in Strasbourg in July 2018.

Speaker of the Knesset: Time for Israel to Recognize the Armenian Genocide

Kajoyan Gevork
The Tablet
By Liel Leibovitz

Yesterday, Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein introduced legislation for Israel to officially recognize the Armenian genocide. The proposal was preliminarily approved, but still requires the government’s approval, which is unlikely. In his short but moving address, Edelstein argued that it was time for Israel to join the 28 nations around the world that already recognize the Armenian genocide, and criticized his colleagues who supported the measure strictly as a diplomatic move against Turkey’s anti-Israel policies. Here are his comments in full:

My fellow members of the Knesset,

I will soon call on Member of Knesset Tamar Zandberg to present a proposal to recognize the Armenian genocide. I have to say that my own feelings are mixed. On the one hand, it’s about time. I’ve been calling for years on Israel to fulfill this moral duty. More than a million people were slaughtered and murdered in such a short period of time. It’s a horror we can barely fathom.

But I’m also ashamed. I’ve heard some of my fellow legislators say openly that recognizing the Armenian genocide is the right Zionist response to Turkey’s despicable behavior this past week, in light of the events on the Gaza border. I find it very difficult to understand this position: Since when does Anakara pull the strings on our moral decisions? Does history change according to the nature of our relationship with a man like Erdogan?

I’m not interested in comparisons, and I think it’s more appropriate not to use the term “shoah” when discussing the Armenian genocide. But just think how we would’ve felt if the reactions to the Holocaust were weighed on the scales of diplomacy: Is it profitable to recognize the Holocaust or unprofitable? Had that happened, we would’ve rightly roared out against such moral failure.

The Knesset in Israel must recognize the Armenian genocide because it’s the right thing to do and because it’s the just thing to do, as human beings and as Jews.

Boris Johnson pranked in phone call by Russian posing as Armenian PM – audio

Babken Chilingarian
The Guardian, UK
Boris Johnson pranked in phone call by Russian posing as Armenian PM – video

A Russian prankster duo, Alexei Stolyarov and Vladimir Kuznetsov, known by their monikers Lexus and Vovan, appear to have gained access to the UK foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, in an 18-minute phone call. Pretending to be the Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, one of the pranksters asks for advice on how to deal with Vladimir Putin, and for information on Britain’s response to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in Salisbury

  • Russian pranksters discuss Putin and Skripal in call with Boris Johnson
Listen to the audio at

Armenian President: There should be no political prisoners in Armenia

Khoyetsian Rose
News.am, Armenia
Armenian President: There should be no political prisoners in Armenia Armenian President: There should be no political prisoners in Armenia

15:55, 24.05.2018
                  

YEREVAN. – There should be no political prisoners in Armenia, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian told reported on Thursday.

Asked whether there are political prisoners in Armenia for the time being, the president noted that he had received documents from human rights organizations in this regard and they will soon be submitted to the relevant ministries.

“And now we have to wait for the Armenian Prime Minister and the government’s decisions,” Sarkissian noted.

Armenia’s SRC expects to collect much more revenues than projected

Ara Felekian
ARKA, Armenia

YEREVAN, May 24. /ARKA/. The head of Armenia’s State Revenue Committee (SRC) David Ananyan expects his agency to collect much more revenues this year than projected.

Speaking to reporters after a Cabinet session today he said the fight against the so-called shadow economy over the past two years has been quite efficient, adding, however, that he could not describe it as ‘comprehensive.”  According to him, the current circumstances contribute to a more thorough fight against this negative phenomenon.

“We will not be satisfied with positive progress and we would not personalize it. Our goal is to carry out structural reforms so that the system operates as efficient as possible,” Ananyan said.

He said it is already certain that the Customs Service does not impose any artificial obstacles on importers, if they do not breach the law and have necessary documents.

The Armenia government’s revenue projection for this year is 1 trillion and 307 billion drams, and the spending projection is 1 trillion and 464.2 billion drams. The deficit is projected at 156.9 billion drams ($ 1- 482.48 drams). -0-


PM: There is gigantic shadow economy in Armenia

Garnik Zakarian
News.am, Armenia
PM: There is gigantic shadow economy in Armenia PM: There is gigantic shadow economy in Armenia

15:19, 24.05.2018
                  

YEREVAN. – At the end of Thursday’s Cabinet meeting of the new government of Armenia, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Mane Tandilyan, reflected on the procedures for granting people disability status as well changing and terminating status in the country, and she pointed to the irregularities in these procedures. 

In this connection, Minister of Finance Atom Janjughazyan stressed that each and every relevant amnesty had an assumed impact on this matter.

And Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan immediately jumped in. 

“It should be taken into consideration that the SRC [the State Revenue Committee] has been tasked that the revenue parts of the [state] budget must be substantially increased,” he said, in particular. “We all know that there is a gigantic shadow economy in Armenia, and our relevant [government] bodies must work and bring this shadow economy out to the bright area.

“We [Armenia] have money; it’s just that our money isn’t where it should be.”

Armenia, Artsakh to host first Armenian-American int’l dental congress

Talar Tumanian
Panorama, Armenia

The First Armenian-American International Congress of Dentists will be held in Armenia and Artsakh from 24 to 28 May.

The event organized through the joint efforts of the Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi and the Armenian Dental Association is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the First Republic of Armenia, Chief Dentist Lazar Yesayan said on Thursday.

The doctor noted the dentistry, as the other branches of medicine, is facing some issues.

“Those problems are generally inevitable across the world. One of them refers to improving knowledge, as well as mastering professional capacities and skills,” he said. “Such international conferences both in Armenia and abroad are considered one of the most important components of continuous medical education.”

Mr. Yesayan stressed similar events further enhance the knowledge in the sphere, helping experts to acquire new skills. 

The event is also expected to include practical trainings, he said.

Yerevan, Armenia’s capital is set to host the First Armenian-American International  Congress of Dentists from 24 to 26 May. The congress featuring a series of professional meetings on pressing issues of modern dentistry is shceuled for Artsakh’s Stepanakert on 28 May.

The annual meeting of the Academy of Dentistry International will also be held as part of the event, expecting to bring together renowned experts, doctor-stomatologists from Armenia, Russia, Kazakhstan and Georgia.  

In search of dragon stones in Armenia

Toneyan Mark
Public Radio of Armenia
14:48,

The Dragon Stones Archaeological Project is investigating at Karmir Sar (Red Mountain) site in Armenia at 2,850 m in altitude and 20 km from the last village situated at the bottom of Mount Aragats, with two springs in which eleven vishaps were identified, as well as burial mounds and rock engravings from the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., Research Italy reports.

The project aims at tracing the original chronological horizon of the artifacts, the oldest in the whole Caucasus area, to identify the archaeological and landscape context in which they were made as well as to understand the symbolic meaning of these artifacts for the community that generated them.

Legends tell us of how the peaks of the American mountains were populated by giant dragons, semi-god beings who had the task of guarding the sacred springs. These megalithic steles, called “vishap,” meaning «dragon» in Armenian decorated in relief, are placed between 2,000 and 3,000 metres and are thought to be offers to these legendary creatures.

They are basalt monoliths which can reach 5 metres in height and can be of two types: on the first one is the fur of a sacrificed goat, which suggests a commemoration of a religious practice. The second type is worked into the shape of a fish, with gills and fins, and is certainly related to the cult of a sacred animal in the mountain springs. In some examples, the iconographies are changing and the goat’s skin is represented on the belly of the fish, demonstrating that it is the very same artistic and cultural phenomenon.

The project coordinators are Alessandra Gilibert from the Ca’ Foscari University, Arsen Bobokhyan from the Armenian National Academy of Sciences and Pavol Hnila from the Freie Universität Berlin.

Knesset Approves Debate on Recognizing Armenian Holocaust

Emil Lazarian
The Jewish Press


By JNi.Media

The Knesset on Wednesday evening approved a motion submitted by MK Tamar Zandberg (Meretz) to hold a plenum debate on the official recognition of the Armenian genocide. The motion was carried by a vote of 16-0.

At the opening of the session, Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein (Likud) said, “I must say that I have mixed feelings: on the one hand – the time has come. For years I have been calling to fulfill this moral duty; more than a million people were slaughtered and murdered within a short time. This is a horror that is even hard to imagine. But in the past week, I’ve also been embarrassed, or at least uncomfortable.”

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“I have heard elected officials and public figures openly talking about the fact that the recognition of the Armenian genocide is an ‘appropriate Zionist response’ to Turkey’s behavior after the recent events on the Gaza border. I really have a hard time understanding this position. Since when does Ankara pull our moral strings? Does history change according the nature of relations with a leader like Erdogan?” Speaker Edelstein wondered.

“I do not deal with comparisons, and I think it’s right not to use the term ‘Holocaust’ when dealing with the Armenian genocide, but just think how we would feel if the reactions to the Holocaust were also weighed on diplomatic scales: ‘Is it worth recognizing or not? Is it convenient for us at the moment or not?’ We would have screamed [in protest]. The Knesset should recognize the Armenian genocide because it is the right thing to do, because that is the just thing, and I hope that we will eventually also do it.”

MK Zandberg said, “Time after time, this issue has fallen victim to political struggles. The failure to recognize the Armenian genocide is a moral stain on the State of Israel, especially when it is done out of political interest. The disaster of another people is not a merchant’s bargaining chip, valid only when you oppose [Turkey] or when you want to stick a finger in the eye of one leader or another (Erdogan). There are those in this house who have turned this issue into a tool for political gain.”

“It is precisely because of the fate of the Jewish people that it is our historic and moral duty to be the first to do [recognize the Armenian genocide]. Who knows better than we how it feels when big powers know about the atrocity and stand by,” Zandberg added.

“Exactly for this reason we call every year, ‘Never Again,’” she continued. “Recently, MKs from all factions of the house have announced that they would promote a bill to recognize the Armenian genocide. I will support the proposal, but today we have a chance to make history, so I ask that the matter not be transferred to the committee and buried, but rather to vote in favor of holding a debate in the Knesset.”

That would be a very significant step in the moral message that the State of Israel sends to the entire world,” MK Zandberg concluded.

Illegally enriched citizens to be named soon – Armenian National Security Service Head

Markos Nalchajian
ARKA, Armenia

YEREVAN, May 24. /ARKA/. Armenian National Security Service Head Arthur Vanetsyan said Thursday that illegally enriched citizens will be named in the next few days. 

Earlier, Vanetsyan said that there are 350 people in Armenia who don’t know that they are doing large-scale businesses and evade taxes.

The thing is that their passports have been taken and some businesses have been registered.  

“We started taking active measures on May 23 and information will be released to public in the next few days,” he said. “I haven’t said that 350 people will be detained on June 23. Yes, there are summoned and brought for explanations. Work is under way now, and the public will be informed soon. This is a complicated job.”

Vanetsyan said that the preliminary data has been confirmed. –0—