Category: 2019

ArmInfo. The initiative to send the Armenian mission to Syria belongs exclusively to Yerevan. The Deputy Minister of Defense Gabriel Balayan assured about this in  an interview with Radio Liberty.

"Russia provided only logistic assistance in this issue. The RA  Consulate in Aleppo assisted in the deployment of the mission," the  Deputy Minister said. Meanwhile, earlier, RA Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan stated that Armenia and Russia are carrying out an  important joint humanitarian mission, after which a decision was  announced to send a mission to Syria.

Responding to the charges of the former head of the Armenian  Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Armen Ashotyan that the  mission was sent to Syria without signing the relevant international  treaty regulating the activities and purpose of the mission, the  terms of its stay in Syria, Balayan said: "The issue is regulated by  the signed between Armenia and Syria interstate treaty of 2001 ".  In  response to the remark that, in the opinion of many experts, sending  a mission to Syria will have a negative impact on Armenia's relations  with the West and some Arab countries, the Deputy Minister stressed:  "In making the decision, all the pros and cons were taken into  account." At the same time, Balayan found it difficult to indicate  the duration of the mission's stay in Syria: " The mission will  remain in Syria for several months, then, depending on its  effectiveness, a corresponding decision will be made."

On February 8, a group of Armenian specialists in humanitarian  demining, medical personnel and ensuring the safety of the  specialists themselves, in a total of 83 people, arrived in the city  of Aleppo of the Syrian Arab Republic to provide humanitarian  specialized assistance to the Syrian people. According to the press  service of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, the Armenian  specialists will carry out humanitarian activities related to  humanitarian demining, mine awareness of the population, the  provision of medical assistance in Aleppo, exclusively outside the  zone of combat operations. It should be noted that Defense Minister  Sergei Shoigu at a meeting with his Armenian counterpart David  Tonoyan in Moscow thanked the latter for the humanitarian assistance  to Syria, stressing that it was Armenia that was the first to respond  to the call to support peaceful citizens of the Arab Republic. 

ArmInfo. Associations with Russia in Syria are a threat to the security of Armenia and  contradict the national interests of the republic. This is stated in the statement of the "Sasna Tsrer" party in connection with the sending of the Armenian mission to Syria.

The party recalls that the Armenian authorities had previously warned  about these threats when the decision to send a mission was only  announced.

"The Armenian authorities continue the policy of their predecessors,  putting Armenia in colonial dependence on Russia. If the new  authorities continue this policy, then Armenia will lose its  sovereignty in the international arena," the statement reads. On  February 8, a group of Armenian specialists in humanitarian demining,  medical personnel and ensuring the safety of the specialists  themselves, in a total of 83 people, arrived in the city of Aleppo of  the Syrian Arab Republic to provide humanitarian specialized  assistance to the Syrian people.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia,  the Armenian specialists will carry out humanitarian activities  related to humanitarian demining, mine awareness of the population,  the provision of medical assistance in Aleppo, exclusively outside  the zone of combat operations.

Armenian Deputy Minister of Defense Gabriel Balayan assured in an  interview Radio Liberty, that the initiative to send the Armenian  mission to Syria belongs exclusively to Yerevan. According to him,  Russia has provided only logical assistance in this matter.  Meanwhile, earlier, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that  Armenia and Russia are carrying out an important joint humanitarian  mission, after which a decision was announced to send a mission to  Syria.

In response to the remark that, in the opinion of many experts,  sending a mission to Syria will have a negative impact on Armenia's  relations with the West and some Arab countries, the Deputy Minister  stressed: "In making the decision, all the pros and cons were taken  into account." Meanwhile, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at a meeting  with his Armenian counterpart Davit Tonoyan in Moscow thanked the  latter for the humanitarian assistance to Syria, stressing that it  was Armenia that was the first to respond to the call to support  peaceful citizens of the Arab Republic. 

ArmInfo. The new government bill on the increase in environmental transport tax is absurd and does not solve environmental problems. The Head of "Driver's Friend"  NGO, a member of the council of the Armenian Motor Insurers' Bureau  Tigran Keyan stated this at a press conference.

To note, the document provides for a triple increase in the transport  environmental tax per one horsepower of engine power for cars of more  than 301 horsepower.

"The tax from 50 drams will reach 150 drams for each horsepower.  However, this does not solve environmental problems, since the engine  power does not determine its environmental hazards. In order to  determine the environmental damage, it is necessary to undergo an  appropriate technical inspection, calculate the amount of harmful  emissions into the atmosphere of a vehicle, and only with this in  mind, introduce a new tax, " the expert emphasized.

He noted that it was necessary to take into account not only the  power of the engine, but also how much fuel the car fueled, as well  as other technical characteristics.

Speaking about the prospects for the importation of electric vehicles  into Armenia, Keyan noted that they are very vague, as there are no  corresponding filling stations yet.

ArmInfo. By the end of 2018, 11344 cases of crime were registered in Yerevan, which is 9.9% more than a year ago. The increase is due to growth in the number of  crimes of moderate severity, grave and especially grave ones. 

According to the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office of  the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan Prosecutor Gevorg Baghdasaryan said  this. According to him, an unprecedented growth in the capital was  recorded in burglaries, which grew by 81.6% to 801 cases. In parallel  with this, there is a tendency of y-o-y reduction in the number of  their disclosures: according to the results of 2018, only 9.5% of the  total number of cases of apartment theft in Yerevan were disclosed.

He noted that during the reporting year there was damage of  1.981.242.023 drams, of which 623.820.833 drams were restored. The  main part of the reimbursed funds related to criminal cases in the  points of technical inspection.

In 2018, 12 murder cases were registered in Yerevan, compared to 11 a  year earlier. The rate of disclosure of these killings was 85.7%,  against 80% a year earlier.

The number of crimes related to deliberate damage to health decreased  by 19.8%, amounting to 368 cases, including 86 cases of intentional  grave injury (against 89 in 2017) and 25 cases of robbery (against 28  in 2017).

In 2018, 111 corruption cases with abuse of official authority were  registered (against 54 in 2017), 113 in bribes (against 99 in 2017).  This growth is due to the active fight against corruption.  As G.  Baghdasaryan noted, in 2018, 563 cases were registered in Yerevan  (against 335 in 2017) for moderate injuries and severe injuries as a  result of traffic rules violations. According to him fatal cases with  violation of traffic rules increased by 15.5%. 

ArmInfo. The trial on the case of choosing a measure of restraint against second president of Armenia Robert Kocharyan in the Court of Appeal took place within the  framework of the law, in contrast to the process that took place in a  court of general jurisdiction.

This was announced today at a press conference by Kocharyan's lawyer Hayk Alumyan. According to him, the judge was also elected within the law. "Initially, he perceived our  arguments, but, unfortunately, the verdict was later adopted with a  gross violation of the legislation of the country," said Alumyan. As  a justification of his words, he cited the argument that the current  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan who was passing in the same case and  another 6 people were once accused under the same article that now  Robert Kocharyan (the overthrow of the constitutional order). However  after the revision of the relevant article of the Constitution in  2009 (300.1), which tightened the punishment for this crime, these  seven were released. "Since criminal law prohibits toughening of  punishment for a person, if there was no such article at the time he  committed a crime. We emphasize that, according to the same logic,  the prosecution against Kocharyan should also be discontinued, since  in 2008, Article 300.1 of the Constitution did not work. However, the  prosecutor tells us that when the Pashinyan case was decided at the  time, the accusatory side had its position, we now have our own, and  we disagree with the above arguments. That is to say, there is a  biased interpretation of the laws and Constitution ",  Alumyan  outraged. He also considered it absurd the court's motivation to  arrest Kocharyan considering that the latter would obstruct the  investigation if released. "Kocharyan is constantly monitored by the  National Security Service officers, how he may interfere with the  investigation," said Alumyan.

Alumyan considered the version that Kocharyan could hide from the  investigation if released as absurd.  "He previously had many  opportunities for this, however Kocharyan voluntarily returned to his  homeland," he stressed.

According to Hayk Alumyan, in the case against Robert Kocharyan, the  accusation is based on the fact that the second president, before the  March 1 events during a speech to Yerevan State University students,  said:  There are only two options for the authorities: to wait for  the rallies to stop by themselves and the second to use force option  to stop the rallies. "This is the basis of the accusation, but the  question arises, what is his fault here, is there  a third option  that Robert Kocharyan didn't mention," said Alumyan, stressing that  even the investigative body does not admit that Kocharyan issued a  decree on the use of violence on March 1, 2008. "There is no such  provision in his accusation," the lawyer said, adding that Kocharyan  has not yet given testimonies and does not intend to do so, because  the charge is not clear to him.  The lawyer also said that Kocharyan  was allowed meetings, he continues to play sports in prison.