Category: 2020

Armenpress: New tender to be announced for restoration of Dvin archaeological site

Karakhanian Suren

New tender to be announced for restoration of Dvin archaeological site

Save

Share

 09:10, 6 July, 2020

YEREVAN, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS. The restoration works of Dvin archaeological site, located in Hnaberd community of Armenia’s Ararat province, have already crossed the designing stage. The designing works have been conducted by the Bedrosian Architecture Office, Executive Director of the Armenian Territorial Development Fund Artur Soghomonyan told Armenpress.

“So far, several tenders have been announced for launching the works, but they were postponed for various reasons. Now we are going to announce a new tender and hope that this time we will have a company participating in this project because the continuation of the works depends on this”, he said.

It is planned to fortify and restore three monuments in the Dvin archaeological site. They are the first and second palaces of the Catholicosate and the St. Gregory Catholic Church. The works are being carried out by the Armenian Territorial Development Fund within the frames of the local economy development project through the loan resources provided by the World Bank and the co-financing of the Armenian government. The investment at the first stage will comprise nearly 145 million drams.

“The partnership with archaeologists at this stage is in the form of verbal agreements, but these works are just impossible and impermissible without archaeologists, therefore, firstly the archaeologists will work and then the constructor company”, Artur Soghomonyan said.

He said it’s still too early to say what infrastructures this site will have from tourism perspective. “At this stage it’s too early to speak about infrastructures as we deal strictly with a unique space and we will be able to answer to this question after complete excavations and restoration of the site. This is the reason that the works have been separated into two phases: at the first phase there is a task to carefully restore the site without damaging the architectural composition after which only the works on creating tourism infrastructures will launch”, he added.

Reporting by Anna Gziryan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

The Trump White House finally — if unintentionally — invokes the Armenian genocide

Khondkarian Raffi
Washington Post
July 7 2020
 
 
 
By  Aaron Blake
July 7, 2020 at 5:41 p.m. GMT+3
 
President Trump’s close ally, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, may not be happy about this one.
 
After decades of the United States government declining to acknowledge the Armenian genocide because it would alienate Turkey, the White House on Monday invoked the term — albeit indirectly.
 
In the course of decrying protesters desecrating memorials across the country, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany referred to a memorial to the genocide by its proper name.
 
“There seems to be a lack of understanding and historical knowledge when the Armenian Genocide Memorial, remembering victims of all crimes against humanity, including slavery, is vandalized,” McEnany said.
 
McEnany appeared to be referring to the Armenian Genocide Memorial outside the Colorado state Capitol in Denver, which was vandalized several weeks ago.
 
The inclusion by McEnany was meant to reinforce the haphazard nature of the protesters’ alleged disregard for history. But it also trod into uneasy waters for an administration that, like its predecessors, has conspicuously avoided using the g-word.
 
The United States has long declined to acknowledge the Armenian genocide, owing in large part to its strategic alliance with Turkey in the Middle East. The Ottoman Empire is accused of slaughtering more than 1 million Armenians during World War I.
 
As a candidate, Barack Obama pledged to recognize the genocide for what it was, but his administration never made good on that promise over his eight years.
 
Likewise, Trump’s administration has shunned a more forceful congressional attempt to press the issue. After both chambers of Congress last year passed resolutions — each overwhelmingly — to symbolically recognize the genocide, Trump’s State Department maintained that the resolutions didn’t reflect U.S. policy.
 
Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) later said that he momentarily blocked a vote on the measure in the Senate at the express request of the White House, given that Erdogan happened to be visiting at the time.
 
“The only reason I did it is because he [Erdogan] was still in town,” Graham said, adding: “That would’ve been poor timing. I’m trying to salvage the relationship, if possible.”
 
The recognition of the genocide is indeed politically dicey. The White House will surely argue that McEnany was simply referring to a memorial by its actual name, but even using that name has been a no-go for many years inside the White House. Some Obama aides have expressed regret for not making a more principled stand on the issue. “I’m sorry,” Obama’s former United Nations ambassador, Samantha Power, said in 2018. “I’m sorry that we disappointed so many Armenian Americans.”
 
What’s more, groups that have been pushing for the recognition hailed McEnany’s comments Monday.
 
“We appreciate that the [Trump] administration has taken note that the Armenian Genocide memorial in Denver was vandalized and of the need for a better understanding of historical knowledge,” Armenian Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny said in a statement to The Fix on Monday. “This monument, dedicated on the 100th anniversary of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, ‘commemorates the victims of all crimes against humanity.’ ”
 
The Trump White House has addressed “atrocities” against Armenians, saying on Armenian Remembrance Day this year, “Today, we join the global community in memorializing the lives lost during the Meds Yeghern” — an Armenian phrase recent U.S. administrations have adopted meaning “great calamity” — “one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century.” That statement, including the use of the Armenian phrase, echoed how the Obama administration handled it. But both studiously avoided saying “genocide.”
 
The use of the actual word by McEnany is particularly striking from the Trump administration, though, given that Trump has carved out an especially close relationship with Erdogan. Among other things, Trump withdrew troops from northern Syria, which detractors, including many Republicans, argued allowed Erdogan to slaughter the U.S.-allied Kurds in the region. Former White House national security adviser John Bolton also said in his recent book that Trump told Erdogan he would intervene in a Justice Department case involving a Turkish firm — apparently Halkbank.
 
Given Trump’s posture, it would seem odd that McEnany would refer in any terms to the Armenian genocide, even if just using the proper name for something.
 
Update: The Turks are indeed pushing back, while allowing that perhaps McEnany just misspoke.
“We believe that the statement by the press secretary was an unfortunate slip of the tongue,” the Turkish Embassy in Washington told Business Insider’s John Haltiwanger. “In any case, these expressions cannot be accepted.”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

White House Press Secretary uses the term ‘Armenian Genocide’

Vanyan Gary
JAM News
July 7 2020
 
 
07.07.2020
 
JAMnews, Yerevan
 
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany used the term ‘Armenian Genocide’ during a July 6 briefing, causing quite a stir in foreign media.
 
For many years, the American presidential administration has tried to avoid using the word ‘genocide’ in reference to the massacres and mass deportation of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. Instead, they generally used other expressions, such as the ‘Metz Egern’ [Arm. Great calamity].
 
The Armenian Genocide was a massacre that took place in Ottoman Turkey in 1915. Before that, about two and a half million Armenians lived on the territory of the Ottoman Empire. As a result of the killings and mass deportation, more than half of them died. Armenia, as well as several western countries and organizations officially recognize those events as genocide. Turkey categorically denies accept this version of the story.
 
Many Western media sources have already responded to this statement, noting that this move “is contrary to the official position of the United States” and could put President Donald Trump in an awkward position regarding relations with Turkey.
 
More details about exactly what McEnany said, how foreign media and Armenian-American organizations reacted, what experts think and what Armenians are writing on social media.
 
 
What exactly McEnany said
 
Kayleigh McEnany used the term “Armenian genocide” when she spoke about the consequences of desecrating monuments across the country by members of the Black Lives Matter movement, which began after the tragic death of an African American man named George Floyd.
 
During the protests against racial discrimination a few weeks ago, the “Armenian Genocide Memorial,” which is located in Denver, was vandalized.
 
“…there seems to be lack of understanding and historical knowledge, when the Armenian Genocide Memorial remembering victims of all crimes against humanity, including slavery, is being vandalized,” said the White House Press Secretary.
 
The reaction of Western media and Armenian-American organizations
 
“[This] move goes against the US government’s official stance and could place President Donald Trump in an awkward position with the Turkish government,” writes Business Insider, which was among the first to respond to the spokesperson’s statement.
 
The American publication also asked the Department of State whether the statement by the White House spokesman means that the Donald Trump administration is already recognizing the Armenian genocide. The Department of State, in turn, advised the publication to ask the White House spokesperson for an answer:
 
“The White House did not immediately respond to [our] request,” reported Business Insider, adding that the Turkish Embassy in Washington declined to comment.
 
The Washington Post has also already responded to the situation:
 
“The Trump White House finally—if unintentionally—invokes the Armenian genocide…The White House will surely argue that McEnany was simply referring to a memorial by its actual name, but even using that name has been a no-go for many years inside the White House.”
 
The author of the article writes that the Armenian Assembly of America has also commented on Kayleigh McEnany’s statement.
 
“We appreciate that the Administration has taken note that the Armenian Genocide memorial in Denver was vandalized and of the need for a better understanding of historical knowledge,” the newspaper writes, quoting the words of the organization’s executive director Bryan Ardouny.
 
Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs must respond to statement
 
Political analyst Suren Sargsyan was the first to write a statement about the incident on his Facebook page.
 
“The term that they try so hard to avoid has (intentionally or accidentally) come directly from the mouth of an official representative of the White House. In any case, I think that the press secretary of the [Armenian] Ministry of Foreign Affairs should respond to this statement and thank them for correctly assessing a known political reality,” the expert wrote.
 
So far, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yet to comment.
 
Comments on social media
 
The statement of the White House Press Secretary has become one of the most heavily discussed topics on social media.
 
Here are some of the comments:
 
“Every word spoken by a White House spokesperson has a price, not like empty statements from our party’s spokespeople.”
 
“It is better not to make our tragedy into a bargaining chip for our political leverage. They had 100 years to recognize the genocide!”
 
“She just said the name of the memorial – nothing else.”
 
“Don’t forget that elections are coming soon in the US.”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Azerbaijani president calls into question negotiations with Armenia

Khondkarian Raffi
EurasiaNet.org
July 7 2020
Joshua Kucera Jul 7, 2020

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev gives an interview to local media in which he issued rare, harsh criticism to the international mediators helping negotiate with Armenia. (photo: president.az)

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has sharply criticized the international mediators of his country’s negotiations with Armenia, saying that the peace process has become “meaningless.”

The broadside comes as fighting along the line of contact between the two sides has been remarkably quiet, but also as diplomatic progress appears to have stalled since early hopes engendered by the 2018 coming to power of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Armenia.

Aliyev made his comments in a July 6 interview with local television following the construction of a new hospital in Baku for the treatment of coronavirus patients. It was just a week after the last meeting, via videoconference, of the foreign ministers of the two sides.

He criticized Armenia at length, calling it “fascist,” a “dictatorship,” and “a country of criminals, thieves, and bribetakers” and complaining that Western organizations instead pick on Azerbaijan because of the influence of the “Armenian lobby” and ethnic Armenian officials in Western governments. But what stood out was his attack on the OSCE’s Minsk Group, the diplomatic body led by the United States, Russia, and France that mediates talks between the two warring sides.

“Today, the negotiation process is not moving,” he said. “Video conferences of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan are meaningless. It simply is meant to show that the Minsk Group is active. But is it? To be active means to act.”

While grumbling from both sides about the Minsk Group is not uncommon, such a direct attack is rare. The last time Aliyev so directly criticized the diplomats was in February and March of 2016. In April of that year, Azerbaijan launched an attack that resulted in the worst fighting since the two sides signed a ceasefire in 1994. More than 200 were killed in what has become known as the “April War” or the “Five-Day War.”

Aliyev referred to 2016 in his July 6 comments. “Justice is on our side,” he said. “We have shown that we are right both in the international arena and on the battlefield, and let no one forget about the April War.”

“Very ominous statement,” wrote Richard Kauzlarich, a former U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, on Twitter. “Rather than serious negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, President Aliyev blames/belittles Minsk Group mediation – hints at military option.”

“Ilham Aliyev effectively presented the Minsk Group with a choice,” one analyst wrote on the website minval.az. “Either this incomprehensible structure, which has taken on the role of ‘negotiator,’ ‘mediator’ and so on, starts to really resolve this conflict and, to use the mildest phrase, call the Armenians aggressors and force Yerevan to respect international law in general and the borders of Azerbaijan in particular, or Azerbaijan will do it itself.”

The bellicose statements came in contrast to the relatively quiet situation on the ground. The coronavirus outbreak in both countries has corresponded to a lull in ceasefire violations, and June was the quietest month of the year so far, with no major incidents or casualties.

They come, however, as the Armenian side has been pushing its advantage on the ground. Pashinyan has been trying to get the Minsk Group to accept the ethnic Armenian de facto leadership of Nagorno Karabakh – the territory at the heart of the conflict between the two sides – as a third party in the negotiations. Azerbaijan has rejected the proposal.

The recent inauguration of the de facto leader of Karabakh was held in Shusha, the city that used to be the center of Karabakh’s ethnic Azerbaijani population. For Armenian officials, including Pashinyan, to celebrate in Shusha was seen by Azerbaijan as a provocation.

“Why is there no adequate reaction to this?” Aliyev asked, referring to the Minsk Group. “Why not say that this is a provocation, for which Armenia will be held responsible?”

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry – which has been conducting the negotiations that Aliyev has deemed “meaningless” – continues to face pressure from inside the government. Officers from the security services searched the building and three senior officials were arrested on corruption charges, the authorities announced on July 6.

The investigation comes as Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has been himself the subject of attacks about his effectiveness, leading to suspicions that he may be not long for his job. “[T]here is no doubt that after such an event, which has been launched at the highest level, the likelihood of the keeping Elmar Mammadyarov as a foreign minister drops sharply,” an analysis from the independent news agency Turan concluded.

 

Joshua Kucera is the Turkey/Caucasus editor at Eurasianet, and author of .

White House Indirectly Acknowledges Armenian Genocide

Garnik Zakarian
Greek Reporter
July 7 2020
By Stavros Anastasiou
–

Jul 7, 2020

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany referenced the Armenian Genocide in the context of the defacement of the Denver, Colorado genocide memorial yesterday. Photo credit: www.Twitter.com/@syriahay

In a statement made by White House Press Secretary Kaleigh McEnany on Monday, July 6, the Trump administration appeared to acknowledge the Armenian genocide, albeit indirectly.

The reference was made in regard to the Armenian Genocide Memorial, which had been vandalized several weeks earlier during protests in Denver, Colorado. As more rioters have continued to desecrate memorials across the country, McEnany cited the genocide by name.

Within her statement, the press secretary said, “There seems to be a lack of understanding and historical knowledge when the Armenian Genocide Memorial, remembering victims of all crimes against humanity, including slavery, is vandalized,” in response to the violence.

Press Secretary McEnany had meant to call out the protesters’ apparent disregard for history; however, the statement appeared to cross into the politically-fraught territory of using the name of the genocide itself.

 

The Armenian Genocide was the systematic mass murder of 1.5 million ethnic Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians conducted by the Ottoman Empire from 1914 to 1923.

The current administration and its predecessors have repeatedly declined acknowledging the genocide due to the US having an important strategic alliance with Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

During the Obama administration, the former president pledged to recognize the Armenian Genocide, but he did not follow up on the promise during his eight years in office. Similarly, President Trump has followed the same pattern, and even shunned a congressional attempt to press the issue.

After bills to symbolically recognize the genocide were passed in both chambers of Congress last year, Trump declined to sign the legislation, arguing that the measure was not US policy.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham also momentarily blocked a vote on the measure in the Senate, due to the fact that Erdogan was visiting the country at the time, stating “That would’ve been poor timing. I’m trying to salvage the relationship, if possible.”

While the White House might argue that press secretary McEnany was simply referring to the memorial by its actual name, the reference is still significant since President Trump has carved out a close relationship with the Turkish President.

The Trump administration had previously addressed what it termed the “atrocities” against the Armenian people during Armenian Remembrance Day this year, which falls on April 24.

That statement contained the sentence: “Today, we join the global community in memorializing the lives lost during the ‘Meds  Yeghern,’ one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century.” Meds Yeghern is an Armenian phrase meaning “the great crime.”

In light of the recent statement from the Press Secretary, Armenian Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny said “We appreciate that the administration has taken note that the Armenian Genocide memorial in Denver was vandalized and of the need for a better understanding of historical knowledge. This monument, dedicated on the 100th anniversary of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, commemorates the victims of all crimes against humanity.”

Armenian PM visits Kalashnikov assault rifle production facility opened in republic

Emil Lazarian
TASS, Russia
July 7 2020
The production facility was opened under an agreement between the Armenian company Neitron GAM and Russia’s Kalashnikov Group

YEREVAN, July 7. /TASS/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Kalashnikov assault rifle production facility that opened in the republic on July 3. The visit by the Armenian premier was broadcast by local news portals.

The production facility was opened under an agreement between the Armenian company Neitron GAM and Russia’s Kalashnikov Group.

“The enterprise plans to annually produce 50,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles that will be supplied to the Armenian armed forces. We also intend to export the assault rifles. We will also be producing 150 million cartridges annually. About 1,200 jobs have been created,” the enterprise’s spokesperson said.

As the press office of the Armenian prime minister reported, Pashinyan noted the importance of opening such a production facility in the republic and called its existence the best example of cooperation between Armenia and Russia in the defense sphere. Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin visited the Kalashnikov assault rifle production facility together with the Armenian premier.

President of the Armenian company Royalsys Engineering Ltd. David Galstyan and Deputy Director of the Kalashnikov Group Andrei Baryshnikov signed agreements at the Army-2018 international arms show and the National Security Week conference in August 2018 on the manufacture of the latest AK-12 and AK-15 Kalashnikov assault rifles.

The AK-12 was unveiled to the public at the Victory Parade in Moscow on May 9 last year when about 400 paratroopers of an Airborne Force consolidated regiment marched with these assault rifles across Red Square.

The new assault rifle is distinguished by its improved ergonomics compared to its AK-74M and AKM predecessors. The assault rifle’s upgrade has increased its accuracy of fire and the survivability of its barrel whose production is now based on new technology.



Argentina Embassy in Armenia presents Armenian translation of Cortazar’s "From the Observatory"

Edgar Tavakalian
News.am, Armenia
July 7 2020
Argentina Embassy in Armenia presents Armenian translation of Cortazar’s “From the Observatory” Argentina Embassy in Armenia presents Armenian translation of Cortazar’s “From the Observatory”

18:28, 07.07.2020
                  

Azerbaijan raises spectre of war with Armenia, defends right to use force against separatists

Ekmekjian Janet
Deccan Herald
July 7 2020
AFP, Baku, Jul 07 2020

 Azerbaijan on Tuesday raised the spectre of a fresh war with arch-foe Armenia and denounced stalled peace talks over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.

 The two ex-Soviet republics have for decades been locked in a simmering conflict over the breakaway territory, which was at the heart of a bloody war in the 1990s.

 Since the fragile 1994 ceasefire, peace talks between Baku and Yerevan have been mediated by the so-called Minsk Group of diplomats from France, Russia, and the United States.

 “We are trying to be constructive and tolerant but negotiations are practically on hold today,” President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with several TV stations.

 He said Azerbaijan would withdraw from the negotiations “if they yield no results.” He did not provide further details.

 Citing the right to self-defence enshrined in the United Nations Charter, Aliyev rejected the negotiators’ premise that “there is no military solution to the conflict.”

 “We have proven our case in the international arena and on the battlefield. Everyone should remember the April fighting,” he said, referring to deadly clashes in Karabakh that nearly spiralled into all-out war in 2016.

Ethnic-Armenian separatists seized Karabakh from Azerbaijan in a war that claimed 30,000 lives in the early 1990s, but the international community still views the region as part of Azerbaijan.

 Energy-rich Azerbaijan, whose military spending exceeds Armenia’s entire state budget, has repeatedly threatened to take back the breakaway territory by force.

Read more at:

Moscow-allied Armenia has vowed to crush any military offensive.

 

Armenia to produce 50,000 Kalashnikov rifles annually

Jalatian Sonya
Public Radio of Armenia
July 7 2020
 
 
 
 
Accompanied by Defense Minister David Tonoyan and Minister of High-Tech Industry Hakob Arshakyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Kalashnikov rifle factory in Armenia.
 
The Prime Minister toured the production plant of the AK-103 Kalashnikov rifle created on the base of the Neutron GAM CJSC and got acquainted with the production process.
 
The Prime Minister was informed that the factory will produce 50,000 rifles annually. It is planned to produce different nanofibers, as well as various items made of nanofiber.
 
In particular, optical-electronic devices and night thermal sights will be produced. Production will be launched after full testing, and the demand of the Armenian Ministry of Defense will be met within a year.
 
The agreement on the production of the famous Russian rifle in Armenia was signed in August 2018 by “Royalsys Engineering ltd” and “Kalashnikov” concern. Part of the product will be supplied to the Armenian Armed Forces, and the rest will be exported.
 
The Prime Minister also got acquainted with the upcoming programs of “Neutron GAM” CJSC. It was mentioned that the production of bullets by the factory has been transferred from Yerevan to the production area located in Kotayk region. After renovating the facilities and equipping them with modernized production lines, the production of 7.62×39 mm, 7.62×54 mm, 12.7 mm, 9×18 mm and 9×19 mm caliber bullets will start, as a result of which new jobs will be created..
 
Contracts worth about $24 million have been signed with Russia’s Spetsmashengineering OJSC for the purchase of modern and upgraded 7.62×39 mm, 7.62×54 mm, 12.7 mm caliber bullets.
 
Based on the base of the branch located in Kotayk region, it is planned to establish auto and armor repair factories.

Cybercriminals steal 18 million drams from Adjarabet, EasyPay and TelCell terminals in Armenia

Tambiyan Samvel
Armbanks, Armenia
July 7 2020

07.07.2020 17:46

YEREVAN, July 7. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Investigative Committee said a group of cybercriminals had used computer technology to steal more than 18 million drams from Adjarabet, EasyPay and Tel-Cell payment and settlement terminals installed in the service offices of Sabarko LLC.

It said the group consisted of a 28-year-old man and his three friends, who possessed information about the technical settings of the money transfer system on the adjarabet.am website of the Sabarko LLC.

It said also based on the totality of the evidence, the 28-year-old man and two of his friends were charged with embezzlement committed using computer technology. With respect to the third friend, he was ordered to pledge in writing not to leave the country pending the trial. Another citizen was put on the wanted list.

The preliminary investigation has been completed and the criminal case with the indictment has been sent to court, the Investigative Committee said.

A suspect or accused of an alleged crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty according to a court verdict that enters into legal force in the manner established by the Code of Criminal Procedure of Armenia. ($1 – 484.35 dram). -0-