Category: 2021

Freedom House reports decline in Armenia’s internet freedom

Emil Lazarian
PanArmenian, Armenia
Sept 23 2021
– 16:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenia’s score in the Freedom on the Net 2021 report by Freedom House has declined by 4 notches, dropping from 75 in 2020 to 71 this year, though the country continues to be classified as Free.

Scores are based on a scale of 0 (least free) to 100 (most free).

Internet freedom in Armenia declined significantly as a result of restrictions on the free flow of information the government adopted during the war launched by Azerbaijan against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in fall 2020, the report says.

“The implementation of martial law in late September 2020 placed broad restrictions on the media’s ability to report on the fighting, including by banning speech deemed to endanger national security, permitting authorities to demand content removal, and mandating fines for noncompliance. A number of Turkish and Azerbaijani websites with .az and .tr domains were inaccessible for several weeks. Users also reported problems accessing TikTok. Prominent news sites also faced technical attacks, including distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, leaving many of them temporarily inaccessible during the conflict. In a positive move, a measure that had required telecommunications companies to provide authorities with subscriber metadata in order to facilitate contact tracing, adopted in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, was lifted in September 2020 alongside a virus-related state of emergency,” the report says.

“The government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has pledged to deal with long-standing problems including systemic corruption, opaque policymaking, a flawed electoral system, and weak rule of law. Despite the government’s reformist stance, concerns about political interference in the judiciary and hostile rhetoric toward the media from government officials persist. In 2020 the country’s politics were seriously destabilized when armed conflict with Azerbaijani forces broke out over control of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.”

With a score of 77, neighboring Georgia too is classified as Free, while Azerbaijan (35), Iran (16), Turkey (34) and Russia (30) are classified as Not Free.

Freedom on the Net 2021 covers 70 countries in 6 regions around the world. The countries were chosen to illustrate internet freedom improvements and declines in a variety of political systems.

Armenia records 939 new Covid-19 cases on Sept. 23

Dabaghian Diana
Panorama, Armenia
Sept 23 2021

Armenia has confirmed 939 new cases of coronavirus in 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 255,648 as of 11 a.m. Thursday, September 23, the Ministry of Health reports.

592 more patients have recovered from the disease with the total number of recoveries now standing at 237,855.

The Covid-19 death toll has increased by 19 to 5,200. The figure does not include the deaths of 1,197 other people carrying the virus. According to the health authorities, they were caused by other diseases.

Armenia now has 11,396 active cases. As many as 1,669,977 tests have been performed in the country since the disease outbreak.

Armenia, EU successfully completed negotiations on association to the “Horizon Europe" research and innovation programme

Jane Topchian
Panorama, Armenia
Sept 23 2021

Armenia and the European Union have successfully completed the negotiations on Armenia’s association to the “Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation” programme, the foreign ministry reported. The months-long negotiations from the Armenian side were led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, with the participation of the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, and from the European side by the Directorate General of Research and Innovation of the European Commission.

As a result of the negotiations, the parties agreed on the Association Agreement with the both sides expressing hope that the internal procedures of signing and ratifying the Agreement would be completed within the set time frames.

By joining the above-mentioned programme, the Republic of Armenia will contribute to the development of the scientific potential in Armenia, providing multiple opportunities for scientific community to participate in various grant initiatives.

“Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation” is the largest EU-funded scientific cooperation programme (95,5 bln Euros). It came to replace the “Horizon 2020” programme, in which Armenia had successfully participated in 2016-2020.

Newspaper: Whose interests Armenia current government serves?

Ekmekjian Janet
News.am, Armenia
Sept 23 2021
09:59, 23.09.2021

YEREVAN. – Zhoghovurd newspaper of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: The European Court of Human Rights [(ECtHR)] has issued a decision by which it ruled in favor of the complaint filed on behalf of the Dareskizb LLC (Haykakan Zhamanak [(HZh)] daily) back in 2008 against the decree of RA second president [Robert] Kocharyan dated March 1, 2008.

In this case, the ECtHR has found that the decree violated Article 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and Article 6 was also violated against the petitioner; domestic courts were inaccessible. It means that Haykakan Zhamanak daily defeated RA government.

And in this situation, it is interesting that, in fact, [PM] Nikol Pashinyan, a person who is the owner of Haykakan Zhamanak daily, has been the head of the government for three years. And the question arises whether the RA government has served the interests of Haykakan Zhamanak for three years, whether it has submitted the government’s objections to the European Court, or, in the same way, the RA position and interests.

After all, a lawsuit was filed against the government itself, and logic suggests that Nikol Pashinyan should serve the interests of the government, not of the daily. Has the government submitted counter-arguments to the European Court [of Human Rights] in connection with HZh’s lawsuit to have the lawsuit dismissed in court? It is a question the answer to which Zhoghovurd daily has not been able to find out yet.

Let us added that, according to the European [Court of Human Rights] decision, the petitioner—Nikol Pashinyan, the owner of Haykakan Zhamanak—will receive 9,000 euros from the RA government as compensation for the moral damage caused during Kocharyan’s tenure.

Baku fires at Iranian helicopter

Mary Lazarian
News.am, Armenia
Sept 23 2021
16:34, 23.09.2021

The Azerbaijani army opened fire at an Iranian helicopter, Miran Press Telegram channel reports.

The portal reports that, according to its sources, Baku opened fire at the helicopter with a Sam-8 system, and the pilot managed to dodge the strike.

Later, Miran Press reported that the news had been confirmed.

Turkey’s Erdogan: We are receiving positive messages from Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan

Elizabeth Jabejian
News.am, Armenia
Sept 23 2021
Turkey’s Erdogan: We are receiving positive messages from Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan
22:35, 23.09.2021

During his visit to the US, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan touched upon the situation created in the South Caucasus.

“We have an option for cooperation that we refer to as the platform of five or six. Currently, we are receiving positive messages from Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan in regard to this platform. In this context, we envisage taking certain steps,” Erdogan stated.

According to him, this issue will be among the issues that he plans to discuss during his meeting with President of Russia Vladimir Putin.

“We will have the opportunity to see positive development of the issue of establishment of peace in the region. This is included in the agenda of issues that I will discuss with Mr. Vladimir Putin in late September. Thus, this will serve as a powerful impetus for the Turkish-Russian relations,” Erdogan said.

Deputy PM: No corridor issue being discussed, any passage through Armenia’s sovereign territory will imply transit

George Mamian
News.am, Armenia
Sept 23 2021
Deputy PM: No corridor issue being discussed, any passage through Armenia’s sovereign territory will imply transit
23:52, 23.09.2021

There is no discussion on a corridor. What is being discussed is the issue of unblocking of roads so that both Armenia and its neighbors open the existing infrastructures. This is what Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Suren Papikyan said during an interview with RFE/RL Armenian Service, responding to a Facebook user’s question about what is being discussed at the negotiating table.

“We say that the corridor issue isn’t being discussed, but what we constantly hear is what Azerbaijan declares,” Papikyan noted.

The Deputy Prime Minister had trouble explaining what the Azerbaijani side refers to by saying ‘corridor’.

“The reality is that any passage through the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia will imply a transit road. There are things we are afraid of and hear people say different things, but that is a different story,” Papikyan said.

Armenpress: Armenian, Serbian FMs discuss current situation caused by Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh

Khoyetsian Rose

Armenian, Serbian FMs discuss current situation caused by Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh

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 10:18,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan met on September 22 with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Nikola Selaković in New York on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, the Armenian MFA reports.

The two FMs discussed the cooperation on bilateral and multilateral platforms. The opening of the Serbian diplomatic representation in Armenia was emphasized in terms of further deepening the cooperation.

Regarding the promotion of economic cooperation, the officials stressed the importance of establishing an Armenian-Serbian intergovernmental commission. Issues on EAEU-Serbia cooperation were also discussed.

Touching upon the situation resulting from the Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stressed the urgency of the unconditional repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians held in Azerbaijan.

In the context of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the need for resumption of the peace process under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship was emphasized.

Armenian, Nicaraguan FMs highlight boosting political dialogue

Kanayan Tamar

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 10:47,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Nicaragua Denis Moncada in New York on the sidelines of the 76th UN General Assembly.

During the meeting Minister Mirzoyan underscored the readiness of the Armenian side to develop relations with the Central American states, particularly with Nicaragua. In this regard the formation of the relevant legal framework, as well as the promotion of political dialogue was mutually emphasized.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Nicaragua also highlighted the interest of the sides to deepen Armenian-Nicaraguan cooperation in international platforms.

Armenian, Greek FMs discuss issues of regional and international agenda

Garo Vardanian

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 11:47,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, in the framework of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly, held a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece Nikos Dendias, the MFA reports.

The officials discussed the issues on the Armenian-Greek rich bilateral agenda, emphasizing the need to make efforts aimed at further strengthening the mutually beneficial cooperation.

During the meeting the sides commended the mutual support within the framework of international organizations.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Greece exchanged views regarding a number of urgent issues of the regional and international agenda. Minister Mirzoyan briefed his Greek counterpart on the situation resulting from Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression against Artsakh, underlining the immediate need for repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians.

Minister Mirzoyan stressed the importance of resuming the peace process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.