Category: 2020

ArmInfo.On August 24, in the afternoon, in front of the building of the RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, a protest rally was held. Protesters  demanded resignation of Minister Arayik Harutyunyan.

The protesters noted their dissatisfaction with the reforms in the  field of education, in particular, the planned reduction in the  number of hours of the “Armenian language” subject, and the  withdrawal from the school curriculum of “History of the Armenian  Church”. In addition to this, the Lanzarote Convention was  criticized, the ratification law of which was approved by the  parliament and signed by the President in May this year. The  protesters assured that the protests will continue in the coming days  in the capital, and on August 28, in front of the Ministry building,  they will hold a larger protest. At the same time, they promised that  if the minister did not fulfill their requirements, he would end up  in the urn, which they specially brought with them to the protest  action. “Armen Ashotyan, being the Minister of Education, destroyed  the education system, and today they want to completely destroy it,”  the protesters said.

To note, during the protest action, several citizens were detained.

As it was reported earlier, the “Armenian language” subject will be  reduced in schools by redistributing them at the expense of other  subjects. As for the “History of the Armenian Church”, its separate  sections will be included in the curriculum of the high school.  According to the Minister of Education, 49 of the 50 articles of the  Lanzarote Convention are aimed at combating pedophilia and protecting  children from this.  Only one article – the 6th – concerns the sector  of education, and it is its meaning that many, intentionally or  unknowingly, distort. Harutyunyan noted that all statements about the  new methodology and supposedly developed textbooks on sexuality  education for Armenian schools are false. According to the article,  each party to the Convention must take the necessary legislative or  other measures to ensure that children, during primary and secondary  education, are informed about the risks of sexual exploitation, abuse  and the necessary means of self-defense. The above information,  according to the Convention, must be provided in accordance with the  age of the children.

ArmInfo. Lydian Armenia’s security company- “Special Security Service” LLC – may lose its license. This is stated in the statement of the Armenian Ecological  Front.  

Green activists report that, according to official data (the  response of the RA Police to the request of the deputy Sofia  Hovsepyan), the “Special Security Service”, based on the license  issued to it, does not have permission to store and use civilian  weapons and cartridges. Meanwhile, in the first days of their  security activities in Amulsar, the employees of this organization  openly carried weapons, which local residents and activists described  as a provocation and an act of intimidation. 

“In response to the inquiry of the Armenian Ecological Front, the  Police informed that in connection with the admission of possible  violations by the Special Security Service LLC, administrative  proceedings were instituted in the Police. The results were presented  to the Licensing Commission of the Police for discussion with a  proposal to suspend the company’s license. The conclusion made  following the meeting of the licensing commission will be posted on  the official website www.azdarar.am>, activists report.

The Armenian Ecological Front reminds that the “Special Security  Service” began its work in Amulsar on June 30 this year, after which  a number of provocative actions took place on the part of its  employees. In particular, they dismantled the cabins of activists in  the approaches to Amulsar, installing their own in their place, which  resulted in clashes with local residents. Four employees of the  security company were detained on suspicion of hooliganism. As a  result, by the decision of the community, their cabins were also  dismantled, since they were located in the territory outside the  jurisdiction of Lydian Armenia.  

On August 20, in front of the RA Government, a protest action was  held by green activists and residents of Jermuk demanding to withdraw  the draft EIA (environmental impact assessment) for the Amulsar mine.   The protesters also pointed out that on August 19, the Lydian Armenia  security company used force against activists who parked their cars  near Amulsar.  The total cost of the Amulsar project is $ 370  million. 

The life of the mine is 10 years and 4 months, with an average annual  production of 200 thousand ounces of gold planned. We add that Lydian  Armenia is a subsidiary of the British offshore Lydian International.  Environmentalists and ordinary citizens are concerned that the  exploitation of the mine may lead to the pollution of the mineral  underground waters of Jermuk and Lake Sevan. In addition to the water  basin, the public is also concerned about the possible presence of  uranium manifestations at the deposit.  Environmentalists and  activists demand to invalidate the positive conclusion on the EIA  project, since it was adopted with legislative violations, and the  document itself contains problems and shortcomings. Earlier, the  European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced the  completion of its participation in the development project of the  Amulsar mine. 

ArmInfo. A public opinion survey on the COVID-19 pandemic, commissioned by the World Bank, showed that 66% of respondents in Armenia consider that economic considerations should prevail over health ones, and see the new restrictions as even greater harm to the economy. Moreover, 39% of respondents said restrictions should not be imposed even with the increase of new  coronavirus cases in Armenia.

This survey was conducted by telephone by the International Bank for  Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International  Development Association (IDA) in cooperation with the CRRC-Armenia  Foundation (Caucasus Research Resources Center), the results of which  were published on August 24. The study notes that continuous  monitoring of public perceptions of infection and institutional  responses is necessary to identify areas of greatest concern to  society, as the pandemic continues to affect the health of citizens  and exacerbate the economic crisis.

35% of the total number of respondents, either lost their jobs or  faced a decrease in income during the coronavirus pandemic. It is  noteworthy that 45% of the men surveyed noted that they either lost  their jobs or began to work according to the schedule of reduced  working hours, while the number of female respondents in such a  situation was 27%.

43% of respondents began to spend less on essential goods, 36%  reduced their spending on food, and 28% spent family savings on  essential needs. 54% of respondents noted that their financial  situation worsened during the pandemic. Nevertheless, 25% of the  respondents are optimistic in the hope that their well-being and the  financial situation of their families will improve over the next 12  months. But 30% of respondents are of the opinion that nothing will  change, 24% are pessimistic, and 9% are expecting deterioration.

When asked what challenges Armenia faces during the epidemiological  crisis, 36% of respondents pointed to the coronavirus pandemic, 33%  to a lack of jobs and unemployment, 18% to poverty and inequality,  17% to a negative impact on the economy, 17% – problems in the field  of education, and 15% – problems in the health sector.

51% of respondents noted that coronavirus is a task of the health  care system, it is noteworthy that among women there were 56% having  such an opinion and among men there were 47%. And the majority (47%)  believed that the main reason for the spread of the pandemic was the  violation of anti-epidemic canons (not observing social distance, not  wearing masks and gloves, and another 12% added to this a low level  of hygiene. Interestingly, 9% of respondents consider that the reason  of the spread of coronavirus was political / economic competition of  influential forces of the world, 6% see the reason in tourism, and 4%  see the reason in the change in ecology and climate. It is  interesting that 74% of respondents answered that they wear masks,  often wash their hands or use disinfectants. As for health risks in  the context of COVID-19 34% of respondents assessed a high risk of  contracting coronavirus, at the same time 24% of respondents  considered a high risk of a severe course of the disease when  infected with the virus. 46% responded that they would apply to  hospital in case of signs of infections, while 17% will call  ambulance.

When asked about their trust in government agencies, 54% of  respondents expressed a positive opinion of the healthcare system,  while 41% were in favor of the Ministry of Health, 43% of respondents  expressed confidence in the police, and 35% in the commandant’s  office. Of the citizens surveyed, 25% expressed complete confidence  in WHO, and another 23% said that they most likely trust this  organization. 32% of the respondents found it difficult to answer the  question about trust in international donor organizations, but 33%  expressed confidence. 42% of respondents, at the expense of  government efforts in the context of countering the spread of  coronavirus, said they would like to see a focus on the health system  in terms of mitigating the impact of the pandemic. And only 22% of  those surveyed said they would like to see more government efforts in  terms of providing direct financial assistance. Meanwhile, the  majority of respondents – 65% – noted that neither they nor their  families used any state aid program. Regarding the mitigation of the  financial situation complicated by the pandemic, 27% of respondents  expressed a desire to extend the terms of loan payments and extend  the loan maturity. 24% said that during a state of emergency they  would like to see utility bills subsidized, and another 14% would  like to receive a minimum salary compensation during the period of  forced downtime.

43% of respondents are inclined to believe that schools will start  working as usual since September. And of the respondents surveyed,  51% of parents said they would send their children to school, and 21%  of parents expressed a preference for distance learning.  To note,  9605 calls were made within the framework of the survey, and data  collection was carried out from June 21 to June 29. 31% of the  respondents had higher education, 32% – secondary education, 21% –  secondary specialized education, and 2% – postgraduate professional  education (with an academic degree).  37% of the respondents were  from Yerevan, 36% were rural residents, and 27% were from other  cities of Armenia. Of the citizens surveyed, 36% were aged 18-35, 33%  were 36-55, and 31% were 56 and older. At the time of the survey, 58%  of respondents had a job. Of these, 18% were employed in agriculture,  14% in the field of jurisprudence and law, 12% in trade. For 31% of  the respondents, income fluctuated within the range of 48  thousand-120 thousand drams ($ 98-245), and only 5% of the income  exceeded 575.001 thousand drams ($ 1178).

ArmInfo “Lydian Armenia” company informs that it has filed a lawsuit against independent MP Arman Babajanyan for libel. This is stated in the statement of the company received by ArmInfo. 

According to the source, in his last interview, Babajanyan, referring to the issue related to the Amulsar mine, which is being developed by Lydian, made statements that “the permits for the development of the  mine were acquired by criminal means”, as well as that .

“According to the company, these statements are slander, have nothing  to do with reality, they are aimed at denigrating the company’s  business reputation. In fact, we can state that a number of persons  representing various political forces, in order to discredit the  business reputation of the “Lydian Armenia” company, spread  misinformation about the Amulsar project. The latter tried to create  negative sentiments or to please certain groups in order to receive  political dividends through slander. Such statements have not only  not been proven over the past two years, but in some cases the court  as libel has already qualified them.

In the case of Arman Babajanyan, this fact of voicing irresponsible  statements is more worrisome, since we are not talking about an  activist or a protester, but about a MP representing the legislative  power of the Republic of Armenia,” the company said in a statement.

To note, Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of the British offshore  Lydian International. The total cost of the Amulsar project is $ 370  million. The life of the mine is 10 years and 4 months, with an  average annual production of 200 thousand ounces of gold planned. The  Amulsar mine is the second largest in Armenia. 

According to the company, the mine contains about 73,733 kg of gold  with an average grade of 0.78 g per tonne, as well as 294,367 tons of  silver with an average grade of 9.29 g per tonne. It is located in  the southeast of the country, 13 km from the resort town of Jermuk,  between the rivers Arpa and Vorotan.  Environmentalists and ordinary  citizens are concerned that the development of the mine may lead to  the pollution of the mineral underground waters of Jermuk and Lake  Sevan. Taking this into account, since the year before last, the  approaches to the mine have been closed by local residents and  environmental activists.

ArmInfo. Armenia’s Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan instructed to submit data on criminal cases during September 2020, in which there are grounds for filing a claim for confiscation of property of illegal origin.

As ArmInfo was told in the press service of the Prosecutor General’s  Office of Armenia, at the second stage, the Prosecutor’s Office must  provide information on criminal cases, containing the above data,  which were considered during 2010-2019, by mid-October.

It was also instructed, from the moment when the unit, endowed with  the functions of confiscation of property of illegal origin, is  considered formed, within ten days to transfer to it the data of  investigated criminal cases, in which the grounds for starting an  investigation of cases of confiscation of property of illegal origin  will be revealed.

To note, the country’s parliament at a plenary session on April 16 in  the second and final reading adopted the draft law “On the  confiscation of property of illegal origin.” The application of the  law on confiscation of illegally acquired property in favor of the  state in Armenia will be carried out in stages.  As RA Justice  Minister Rustam Badasyan said, the law provides for the confiscation  of illegal property if its value exceeds AMD 50 million. The document  allows for the confiscation of property, the acquisition of which is  not justified by legal sources of income in the volumes provided for  by the project. In relation to such property, there is a presumption  of illegal origin, which can be refuted by the defendant upon  presentation of evidence justifying the acquisition of the property.  We are talking about the unaccounted property of only politicians and  entrepreneurs.

According to the Minister, the burden of proving the illegality of  the property lies with the state. That is, it is not an official who  must prove his innocence, but the state must prove his guilt.  Inspection can be carried out on property acquired a maximum of 10  years prior to inspection. In exceptional cases, where there is  strong evidence, the investigation may cover the period from 1991. A  new competent body will operate within the General Prosecutor’s  Office, which will allow the study of assets and the confiscation of  unreasonably acquired property in favor of the state.

The President of Armenia signed the above document on May 11 this  year.