Category: 2019

The Voluntary National Report of the Republic of Artsakh on the implementation of the sustainable development goals included in the UN’s “Sustainable Development 2030 Agenda” was distributed as an official document at the United Nations (UN).

The report is a comprehensive document on the policy of the Artsakh authorities to build a democratic state based on the right of self-determination of the people of Artsakh and ensure economic, social and cultural development.

The report presents information on the progress recorded in the implementation of specific goals in the fields of sustainable development, in spite of serious security challenges from Azerbaijan, as well as threats to the physical existence of the population of the Republic of Artsakh.

The national report was prepared at the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh and approved by the National Council for Sustainable Development of Artsakh.

The text of the document was published on the official website of the United Nations and is available at the following link.

3 of the suspected patients sampled on August 20 in Geghhovit community of Gegharkunik region were also confirmed to have anthrax. In total, 8 laboratory-confirmed (PCR) cases were recorded in the community.

Patients receive appropriate treatment and have a positive trend toward improvement. Disease prevention works are ongoing. Currently, there are no new patients in Geghhovit community, the press service of the Ministry of Health informs.

The sick animal was found, sampled and sent to the laboratory for examination by the experts of the food safety inspection body of the RA CE. It was found that they skinned an animal with fellow villagers and divided the meat among themselves.

According to the results of the laboratory examination, it was confirmed that the animal was a patient with anthrax. Specialists of the inspection body collected the meat of the animal, other products in the refrigerators from 34 families, the animal’s head and skin were also found. The collected meat and products were burned in the livestock cemetery according to the established procedure. It should be noted that the disease occurred in the animal because the owner refused vaccination.

All other animals in the Geghahovit community have been temperature measured and are under the supervision of specialists, no other cases have been reported.

The Armenian government has allocated financial resources to two Armenian organizations supported by the West, particularly the American billionaire, global financial speculator George Soros’ “Open Society Funds”, to carry out an observation mission in the upcoming local government elections in Artsakh.

We are talking about the Stepanakert office of the “Union of Conscious Citizens” NGO and the “Transparency International” anti-corruption center. According to today’s decision of the executive, which was adopted unanimously, around 50 million drams will be allocated to these two organizations.

Deputy Head of Government Staff Tsovinar Soghomonyan mentioned that local self-government elections will be held in Artsakh in September 2019. Based on the principle of holding free, fair, transparent and democratic elections adopted by the RA government, it is appropriate for the civil society in Artsakh to support the implementation of the election observation mission.

Thus, the non-governmental organization “Union of Conscious Citizens” and the anti-corruption center “Transparency International” have expressed their desire to conduct an observation mission for the local government elections to be held in Artsakh on September 8. They propose to allocate 33 million 680 thousand drams to the Prime Minister’s Office in 9 months from the reserve fund of the RA government provided for in the 2019 state budget to the above organizations. in order to provide on the basis of the grant agreement. 16 million 200 thousand drams will be allocated to “Union of Informed Citizens” Stepanakert office to the non-governmental organization, and 17 million 480 thousand drams to the “Transparency International” anti-corruption center.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made the adoption of this project important. “As I have stated, the Armenian government and I personally believe that RA should provide additional support to guarantee the free expression of the people of Artsakh,” the Prime Minister said, adding that this decision is within the framework of these measures. The Prime Minister considered the decision unprecedented.

It is worth noting that these two structures fed by Soros and other western foundations made a rather serious contribution to the implementation of the “Velvet Revolution”. They and other structures financed by the Soros Foundation were working with all their infrastructure and resources for the implementation of the revolution. In addition, these two structures, and more specifically the “Union of Conscious Citizens” have been openly conducting anti-Russian propaganda for years, spreading comments, informative videos and texts on the Internet.

As for the “Transparency International” anti-corruption center, this organization, in addition to trying to carry out an observation mission, is quite closely connected with the executive.

So, let’s see who are the members of the general assembly of “Transparency International” anti-corruption center.

• Araik Harutyunyan – RA Minister of Education and Science

• Liana Ghaltaghchyan – Deputy Chief of Staff of the RA Prime Minister

• Christine Margaryan – coordinator of human resources and organizational development, TI NGO

• Lena Nazaryan – Deputy Chairman, RA National Assembly

• Sarhat Petrosyan – Head of RA real estate cadastre committee

• Heriknaz Tigranyan – Deputy Chairman, Standing Committee on Health and Social Affairs of the RA National Assembly

Trdat Khachatryan, the youngest son of former governor of Syunik Surik Khachatryan, was declared unfit for military service. This was reported by the Military Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee in response to a written inquiry by “Hetq”.

Trdat Khachatryan is charged under Article 327, Part 2, Clause 2 of the Criminal Code for forging a document or being released from military service by other means of deception.

Still last year, on August 10, Trdat Khachatryan a complex forensic medical, forensic psychiatric inpatient and military medical commission examination was appointed. We wondered if after a year the results of the examination are still not ready and whether it is possible to record on the basis of these data that Khachatryan was released from military service on the basis established by law.

“Trdat Khachatryan was declared unfit for military service according to the conclusion of the forensic medical, inpatient forensic psychological and military medical commission complex examination. As for the issue of Trdat Khachatryan’s legal release from military service, it is subject to evaluation during the final decision in the criminal case,” said the answer to the inquiry. The investigative committee also informed that the preliminary investigation in the case is ongoing.

Trdat Khachatryan wrote an open letter to Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan after appearing as an accused, explaining how he was declared unfit for mandatory military service during the winter draft of 2017.

In his letter, Khachatryan also wrote that he applied to various medical centers, after which an improvement in his health condition was noticed, and he also emphasized that he is ready to serve in the Armed Forces regardless of the results of the examination.

After receiving the status of the accused, a signature not to leave was chosen as a preventive measure.

Details at the source

The government increases the funding of the “babysitting program”. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Zaruhi Batoyan announced this today at the government meeting.

With the presented project, Batoyan proposed to allocate an additional 77,334,000 drams for the purpose of allocating money to the nanny for child care in case of returning to work to the parents who are taking care of children under 3 years old.

“There are more applicants, the number of applications is large. Last year, 200 were planned, but since this year the number of beneficiaries has become 475, we decided to increase the number of beneficiaries in the order of priorities,” said Zaruhi Batoyan, clarifying that the duration of the program is 2 years for each beneficiary, therefore, when including this year in the program, it is necessary to take into account that this amount will also be allocated in the next year’s budget, writes Sputnik.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia presiding over the government session Nikol Pashinyan highlighted the need to expand the program, noting that the program has served its purpose and should be continued with the prospect of further expansion.  

To remind, according to the decision adopted by the government in 2018, if working parents hire a nanny for children under 2 years old, the state compensates 55,000 drams of the monthly fee paid to the nanny. This is not only an additional support for working parents, but also solves the issue of nannies being provided with work.

Two or more children under the age of 2, as well as parents with a disabled child, have the right to use such support in priority.

Today, the government approved the target program of state support for the purchase or construction of an apartment or residential house by contract servicemen of the officer and senior non-commissioned ranks.

Within the framework of the program, every year 500 military personnel of the Ministry of Defense who have the ambition to participate in the program can become beneficiaries of the program and receive state support.

The operation of the program does not extend to servicemen who have improved housing conditions within the framework of the housing security defined by the law before this decision enters into force. The operation of the program does not apply to the mortgage loan agreement signed by the serviceman before this decision comes into force.

Within the framework of the program, a mortgage loan is provided to a soldier (co-borrower) for the purpose of purchasing an apartment or residential house or building a residential house. Only one of the spouses is granted a mortgage loan within the framework of the program for married servicemen.

Within the framework of the program, the maximum value of an apartment or a residential house or a residential house under construction for each borrower is 28,500,000 AMD, and the value of the residential house is defined as the lowest of the estimated and acquisition costs. In case of exceeding the specified maximum amount, the support is provided by the state only within the specified maximum value, moreover, for the purpose of building a residential house, this program works to build a residential house in the name of a serviceman with the right of ownership (joint or shared ownership) registered in the house or residential development plot. subject to a building permit.

RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan mentioned that he has received information that sometimes a 30-year-old unused building is taken over and reconstructed as a residential house.

“I received one or two letters from investors that it would be good to discuss that this type of buildings – it is a five-story building, it is not a production area, it was a hotel or I don’t know what, it was damaged for 30 years, now they are taking it, they are building a residential house. According to the regulations, such buildings are not included in the primary market formulation. We recommend that they look into this issue. we have a chance. This will also promote the development of housing construction in marzes,” said the Prime Minister.

ՀՀ կառավարության այսօրվա նիստում 3 ընկերությունների արտոնություններ տալու որոշում կայացվեց: Մասնավորապես, գործադիրը բավարարեց «ԱՖԱ» ՍՊԸ-ի կողմից ներկայացված հայտը գերակա ոլորտում իրականացվող ներդրումային ծրագրի շրջանակներում ներմուծված (ներմուծվող) տեխնոլոգիական սարքավորումները, դրանց բաղկացուցիչ ու համալրող մասերը, հումքը եւ (կամ) նյութերը ներմուծման մաքսատուրքից ազատելու արտոնությունից օգտվելու համար եւ սահմանված կարգով կիրառել համապատասխան արտոնությունը:

Minister of Economy Tigran Khachatryan mentioned that the company plans to organize the production of brake pads in Yerevan. Currently, the production is organized in the UAE and the company is in the process of moving its production to Armenia.

The cost of this project is 300 million drams. 55 new jobs will be opened with an average salary of 150 thousand drams. The total volume of the product will be 770 million drams. The value of the goods presented for obtaining the privilege is 71.9 million drams.

Another decision granted a privilege to the company “Lentex” operating in Gyumri. It is engaged in the activities of hosiery, knitwear production and thread processing. The organization has been operating since 2001, currently has 382 employees. “Thanks to this investment component, another 50-60 new jobs will be created. The volume of work is expected to be 4.5 billion drams, of which 3 billion will be exported to EU countries. Within the framework of this application, the cost of customs duty exemption is about 3 billion drams,” said Khachatryan.

The government also gave privilege to “PROF AL” company. It is engaged in the production of non-metal doors, windows, metal constructions. The company has been operating since 2002.

“Within the framework of this project, capital investments of about 1 billion drams and another 2.8 billion drams for the purchase of raw materials are planned. Currently, 281 employees work in the organization, it is planned to create another 50 jobs with an average salary of 280 thousand drams. The total volume of the product will be 20 billion drams, of which 8 billion drams will be exported to the EEA and third countries. The value submitted for obtaining the privilege is 8.2 billion drams,” Tigran Khachatryan emphasized, adding that the total investment of the three companies is 11.3 billion drams.

The issue of Araik Ghazaryan, an Armenian soldier who crossed the border of Azerbaijan, remains quite worrying. Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said this in a conversation with journalists after the government session today.

“At the moment, I have nothing new to say in the sense that the Red Cross, the Ministry of Defense, and other directly related structures are involved in this matter. The issue requires a systematic approach,” he said.

Mnatsakanyan noted that his meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan are continuing. “The negotiation process has not stopped. Operational communication with Azerbaijan is quite stable,” said Mnatsakanyan.

By the order of the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the RA Arayik Harutyunyan, the vice-rector for educational activities of the ASTU, Doctor of Economics, professor Diana Roberti Galoyan was appointed acting rector of the “Armenia State University of Economics” state non-profit organization, until the election and appointment of the rector in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.

This was reported by the press service of KGSMS.

Before that, it was Ruben Hayrapetyan, the acting rector of the State University of Economics of Armenia, who resigned from his position yesterday after meeting with the RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Arayik Harutyunyan.

The minister said that he met with the acting rector of the Armenian State University of Economics, Ruben Hayrapetyan, during which the situation around the university was discussed, in particular, the accusations about the problems in Hayrapetyan’s doctoral dissertation, some of which were publicly accepted by the acting rector.

“Given that the exclusion of such phenomena in the educational and scientific system is of primary importance for our government and for me personally, we came to a mutual agreement that the acting rector Ruben Hayrapetyan will leave his position. I think that this step should once again become proof for our citizens that the rule of law and a certain value system are the most important for us, regardless of all circumstances, they will be serious professional abilities that Ruben Hayrapetyan has, political views, personal relationships or significant successes at work” – The minister wrote on his Facebook page.

The expert opinion on Amulsar was published ahead of Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to the USA. I think this fact is at least something to think about. This was stated by Hermine Mkhitaryan, an expert of the “Hayatsk” analytical center, referring to the situation around Amulsar, writes Aysor.am.

“Just a year ago Nikol Pashinyan He expressed a very clear position on the issue of Amulsar. a new expert study will be conducted and it will be clarified whether the operation of the mine is safe for the waters of Sevan, Jermuk and the catchment basin. By the way, the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of conducting the said examination by an organization with an unquestionable international reputation. This was a year ago. Today we have a situation where the expert opinion was presented by the Lebanese “Ellard” organization, which, at least, is difficult to consider as one of the best organizations in its field. And besides, the expert opinion was not the result of a comprehensive environmental study. only the documents submitted by Lydian were subjected to professional examination by the organization. As we can see, the conclusion we have today does not correspond in any way to the standards that were set by Prime Minister Pashinyan himself a year ago,” the expert noted.

He noted that it is not excluded that Pashinyan, by granting permission to operate the mine, subordinates possible environmental problems to solving issues of external importance for the country, such as not blocking the road to Armenia for foreign investors and finding new ways of dialogue in bilateral relations with the USA.

“The United States has repeatedly referred to the situation around Amulsar in different ways. Last year, the US ambassador to Armenia also expressed himself very clearly regarding Amulsar Richard Mills: In other words, the fact that the situation around Amulsar had an important place in the agenda of Armenian-American relations is unequivocal. And in this regard, it is very interesting that the expert opinion on mine operation, and a positive one at that, is published before the visit of the Prime Minister to the USA. I think this circumstance, at least, gives reason to think,” said Hermine Mkhitaryan.