Monday, June 6, 2022
Government Hints At Delay To Health Insurance Plan
• Anush Mkrtchian
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia - A newly built hospital in Vanadzor, November 10, 2018.
Citing financial constraints, the Armenian government signaled on Monday that it
will put on hold plans to introduce a system of national health insurance that
would cover the country’s entire population.
The Ministry of Health announced in January that it has drafted relevant
legislation and submitted it to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s cabinet for
approval. Ministry officials indicated that it can be put into practice already
next year.
Under the proposed bill, free healthcare would be financed by a 6 percent
personal income tax. Public and private employers would pay half of the new tax
to be levied from their workers.
Finance Minister Tigran Khachatrian said the insurance plan would still require
the government to more than double in 2023 public spending on healthcare
projected at up to 140 billion drams ($310). The government cannot ensure such a
drastic increase, he said, adding that the new system should be introduced
gradually and slowly.
“We have asked our colleagues [from the Ministry of Health] to present an action
plan on how they can follow that reform path by steadily and consistently
increasing funding volumes in the coming years,” Khachatrian told RFE/RL’s
Armenian Service.
Deputy Health Minister Lena Nanushian acknowledged that the government could
delay the new system or opt for its phased introduction. She also did not rule
out other changes in the proposed plan.
Armenia’s former governments too promised to put in place mandatory health
insurance for all citizens. But they eventually backed away in the face of
financial difficulties.
Public access to healthcare in the country declined following the collapse of
the Soviet Union as cash-strapped Armenian hospitals were allowed to charge
their patients. Most of those hospitals were privatized in the 1990s.
Only state-run policlinics are now required to provide medical services to the
population free of charge. Healthcare, including surgeries, is also supposedly
free for children aged 7 and younger. Also, over the past decade the state has
partly covered healthcare expenses of civil servants, schoolteachers and other
public sector employees.
Armenian Authorities, Opposition Blame Each Other For Clashes
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - Police detain demonstrators during an opposition rally in Yerevan,
June 3, 2022.
The Armenian authorities and opposition groups continued to blame each other on
Monday for violent clashes between security forces and demonstrators demanding
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s resignation.
The clashes broke out late on Friday after riot police did not allow thousands
of opposition supporters to approach the parliament building in Yerevan on the
34th day of nonstop anti-government protests.
The police fired stun grenades as some of the protesters tried to break through
a police cordon in chaotic scenes that left at least 60 people injured. One of
them, a protester, suffered a severe head injury and underwent surgery.
According to law-enforcement authorities, 40 police officers received medical
assistance in hospitals after being pelted with bottles, stones and other
objects and assaulted by demonstrators.
The Investigative Committee launched a criminal inquiry into “mass disturbances”
which it said were provoked by unnamed opposition leaders. It did not say
whether it will prosecute any of those leaders.
The committee brought instead criminal charges against most of at least 13
protesters arrested during or after the clashes. It said that they did not obey
police orders and resorted to violence.
Armenian courts freed several detainees, including opposition activist Vahe
Harutiunian, over the weekend and on Monday, citing a lack of incriminating
evidence.
Vahe Yeprikian, a lawyer representing Harutiunian and two other protesters, who
remained under arrest, said investigators did not present any video evidence
corroborating the accusations leveled against his clients.
Armenia - Riot police clash with opposition protesters in Yerevan, June 3, 2022.
Opposition leaders condemned the use of force as excessive and unjustified. They
singled out the use of stun grenades, saying that policemen mishandled them and
wounded their own colleagues.
“Those who fired [the stun grenades] and their commanders should be tried or
beaten up by other policemen for the fact that they are so unprofessional that
they didn’t learn how to use those special means,” said Gegham Manukian of the
main opposition Hayastan alliance.
The police insisted that only two officers were injured by stun grenades and
that other dozens of others were attacked by angry protesters. They also
released on Monday a fresh video of the clashes meant to justify the crackdown.
The police did not comment on other videos posted on social media which showed
several policemen punching protesters as the latter were dragged away and
arrested by other officers. None of those policemen was placed under
investigation as of Monday evening.
Meanwhile, Armenia’s Office of the Prosecutor-General said it has ordered an
inquiry into the use of stun grenades and other instances of police brutality
alleged by the opposition.
Opposition leaders demanded such an inquiry as they again rallied thousands of
supporters in the center of Yerevan. One of them, Ishkhan Saghatelian, said the
protests will continue in the days ahead. He said their organizers are now
discussing “tactical changes” designed to “give us new impetus and expand our
movement.”
EU Not Vying With Russia Over Karabakh, Says Envoy
• Karlen Aslanian
Armenia - Toivo Klaar (R), the EU's special representative to the South
Caucasus, meets Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, June 3, 2022.
The European Union is not competing with Russia in its efforts to facilitate a
“comprehensive settlement” of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the EU’s special
representative to the South Caucasus, Toivo Klaar, insisted at the weekend.
Klaar’s comments contrasted with what another EU official late last week. The
official, who asked not to identified, said that the EU has replaced Russia as
the lead player in international efforts to broker peace between Armenia and
Azerbaijan. He claimed that both Yerevan and Baku are now “very scared of
Moscow” because of the war in Ukraine.
“The European Union is not engaged in any kind of competition,” Klaar told
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “We are solely interested in trying to help the
process along.”
“If there are other actors, who are able to help things along, then we are very
happy,” he said. “We know that the Russian Federation has invested quite a bit
in different [Armenian-Azerbaijani] meetings and most recently in the deputy
prime ministers’ meeting.
“So from our perspective there is most definitely no competition, there is no
interest in any competition. We are simply interested in a peaceful and
prosperous South Caucasus.”
The president of the EU’s decision-making European Council, Charles Michel, has
hosted three trilateral meetings with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian
and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the last five months.
Russia has denounced the EU’s mediation efforts, saying that they are part of
the West’s attempts to hijack Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks and use the
Karabakh conflict in its standoff with Moscow over Ukraine. A Russian Foreign
Ministry spokeswoman warned Brussels last week against playing “geopolitical
games” in the conflict zone.
The EU’s peace efforts also prompted criticism from Karabakh’s leaders. They
were angered by Michel’s comments made after the latest Armenian-Azerbaijani
summit held on May 22. They claimed that he signaled support for Azerbaijani
control over the disputed territory.
A spokesman for Michel insisted afterwards that the EU’s top official did not
advocate any “predetermined outcome of discussions” on Karabakh’s future.
Klaar, who met with Pashinian in Yerevan on Friday, stressed in this regard that
Karabakh’s predominantly Armenian population should be a party to an
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal.
“It is clear that there are many people living in Karabakh who have a
fundamental interest in how ... a comprehensive settlement is shaped,” said the
diplomat. “I personally cannot see how we can arrive at such a settlement
without a process in which these people’s opinions and views are taken into
account.”
Russia Reports Progress In Talks On Armenian-Azeri Transport Links
Russia - Deputy Prime Ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan meet in
Moscow, January 30, 2021
Russia said over the weekend that Armenia and Azerbaijan narrowed their
differences on planned transport links between the two countries during fresh
talks held in Moscow.
A Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani commission dealing with the matter met late on
Friday for the first time in six months.
“The parties discussed and brought closer their positions on issues of border,
customs and other types of control, as well as the safe passage of citizens,
vehicles and goods on roads and railways through the territories of the Republic
of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia,” the Russian government said in a
statement.
The statement did not go into details of the meeting co-chaired by deputy prime
ministers of the three states. It said the parties “will continue to work on the
implementation” of relevant Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements that were brokered
by Russian President Vladimir Putin during and after the 2020 war in
Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Armenian government issued a virtually identical statement on the Moscow
meeting.
Putin, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev reported decisive progress towards opening the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border to passenger and cargo traffic after talks held in the Russian city of
Sochi in November. However, the trilateral commission failed to put the
finishing touches on their understandings at a meeting held in Moscow in
December.
Yerevan and Baku continued to disagree on the status of a road and a railway
that will connect Azerbaijan with its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia.
Aliyev said later in December that people and cargo passing through that
“corridor” must be exempt from Armenian border controls. Pashinian rejected the
demand.
Moscow moved to revive the activities of the Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani
commission in April after accusing the West of trying to hijack its efforts to
make peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The accusations followed Pashinian’s April 6 meeting with Aliyev hosted by
European Council President Charles Michel. The three leaders met again in
Brussels for follow-up discussions on the transport links, the demarcation of
the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and a possible peace treaty between the two
South Caucasus nations.
Aliyev continued to claim after the latest summit that Yerevan will open a
permanent land corridor for Nakhichevan. Armenian leaders flatly denied that. A
spokesman for Michel likewise stated last week that the Armenian and Azerbaijani
leaders agreed at Brussels that there will be no “extraterritorial claims with
regard to future transport infrastructure.”
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Category: 2022
The California Courier Online, June 9, 2022
1- Erdogan Expands Political Reach
To France and Throughout Europe
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
2- Dr. Oz Wins Republican PA Senate Primary, ANCA Calls for
Investigation
3- California’s Contemporary Artists from Joan and Jack Quinn
Family Collection Makes Debut in Boston
4- Schiff Honors Ramella Markarian as Woman of the Year
5- Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19
************************************************************************************************************************************************
1- Erdogan Expands Political Reach
To France and Throughout Europe
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
I wrote last week about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plans
to collect votes from Turkish Americans for his reelection next year
by opening an office in Washington for his ruling party (AKP) and
hiring his cousin, Dr. Halil Mutlu, as a registered lobbyist. Already,
Erdogan has scored an initial political success in the United States
with the victory of Turkish-American Dr. Mehmet Oz’s in the
Pennsylvania Republican primary for the U.S. Senate.
This week, I would like to report Pres. Erdogan’s similar political
efforts in France by planting Turkish moles in the French legislature.
This has been the long-term objective of Erdogan ever since 2010, when
he urged his compatriots in France, during his visit to Paris, to run
for political office.
Naturally, no one can object to Turks in France and the United States
to run for political office. However, when such political action is
prompted and supported by a foreign government, in this case Turkey,
and its autocratic leader, serious concerns are raised that these
Turkish politicians can become a tool in the hands of Erdogan to
export his despotic policies beyond Turkish borders and propagate
anti-Armenian positions.
Heeding Erdogan’s marching orders, Ali Gedikoglu, founder of the
Strasbourg-based Equality and Justice Party, “presented 50 candidates
in the 2017 [French] legislative elections,” Intelligence Online
reported. “Gedikoglu is also known to be a long-time close associate
of the Turkish foreign affairs minister and founding AKP member,
Mevlüt Çavusoglu.”
For the upcoming June 12 and 19, 2022 French Parliamentary elections,
the Turkish news website Medyaturk, in collaboration with the French
version of Turkish government-owned Anadolu Agency, has been promoting
three Turkish candidates: “French-Turkish dual citizens Celil Yilmaz
(for 5th constituency of Ain); Yalcin Ayvali (14th constituency of
Rhône); and Ramazan Calli (5th constituency of Saône-et-Loire),” a
candidate of the Union of French Muslim Democrats. All three are
“involved in the Strasbourg-based association Cojep (Conseil pour la
justice, l’égalité et la paix), whose name translates as council for
justice, equality and peace,” according to Intelligence Online.
Created in 1985, Cojep has an annual budget of 300,000 euros. It
“advocates for the interests of the Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ‘Turkish
Justice and Development Party’ or AKP, to which its leadership is
close.”
Candidate Celil Yilmaz is President of the Cojep association and
former town councilor for Nantua (east of France). Cojep’s director
Gedikoglu is an active denialist of the Armenian Genocide in the
European Parliament where he is registered as a lobbyist with the
Parliament’s Transparency Registry. He is also described as “the
driving force behind the AKP’s media presence and charity work in
France,” according to Intelligence Online.
Given the widespread recognition of the Armenian Genocide throughout
Europe, Turks who deny the Genocide become the laughing stock of
Europeans, just as in the United States, after both chambers of
congress and Pres. Biden recognized the Genocide. Turkish denials of
the Armenian Genocide are the equivalent of trying to prove that “the
earth is flat.”
Candidate Yilmaz was “indicted in 2018 by the Paris prosecutor’s
office for ‘incitement to hatred,’” according to Intelligence Online.
“Yilmaz demonstrated his capacity to rally people to his side when, in
just a few minutes via social media, he managed to gather a hundred
Turks to counter a pro-Kurdish demonstration in front of the Turkish
consulate in Lyon in January 2018.”
Intelligence Online revealed that “Yilmaz also arranged for Cojep
staff to meet with an official delegation from the Democratic Republic
of Congo [DRC] that had travelled to talk with senior AKP members at
its headquarters in Turkey in August 2021. The DRC party included
President Félix Tshisekedi’s brother Roger Tshisekedi. Yilmaz also
relies on Cojep’s Vice President for international relations, Sati
Arik, who is a substitute on the board of AKP’s women’s branch ‘AKP
Kadin Kollari.’ Arik, who hails from Strasbourg, is close to the
Turkish-German AKP Member of Parliament Zafer Sirakaya. According to
her biography on the party’s website, she writes reports on “Muslims
in France” for Sirakaya. The other two candidates, Ayvali and Calli,
only show their association with Cojep via social media, though Calli
is its local contact person for Montceau-les-Mines, eastern France.”
In addition to the United States and France, Erdogan has set up a
chain of lobbying groups throughout Europe. They consist of “Union of
European Turkish Democrats (Union des démocrates turcs européens)
created by the AKP in Brussels [Belgium] in 2003 to back Turkey’s
candidature to join the European Union. This entity has since become
the parent company of several micro-parties close to the AKP, such as
“Be.one” in Belgium, the Multicultural Law Party (Multicultural Recht
Partij) in the Netherlands and the Alliance for Innovation and Justice
(Bündnis für Innovation und Gerechtigkeit) in Germany,” according to
Intelligence Online.
This extensive Turkish lobbying effort should be confronted by
everyone, not just Armenians. Even though Turkey is a bankrupt
country, Pres. Erdogan, has chosen to use his country’s limited
financial resources to arm its military and disseminate Turkish
propaganda around the world.
************************************************************************************************************************************************
2- Dr. Oz Wins Republican PA Senate Primary, ANCA Calls for
Investigation
Dr. Mehmet Oz is now the presumptive GOP candidate for the open U.S.
Senate seat in Pennsylvania, per Politico. Former hedge fund CEO David
McCormick bowed out of the Republican primary which, while votes were
cast weeks ago, has been held in limbo by Oz’s razor-thin lead of
about 1,000 votes.
The Donald Trump-backed Oz declared himself the winner about 10 days
ago but, with the thin margin and votes still being counted, McCormick
understandably believed he could win.
Oz will face-off against Democratic nominee John Fetterman in November.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) called on May 10 for
a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into Pennsylvania Senate
candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz, amid growing alarm over Oz’s links to
Turkey’s dictator Recep Erdogan, his dual Turkey–U.S. citizenship, and
open association with Armenian Genocide deniers.
In a May 3 letter to the Department of Justice, ANCA Executive
Director Aram Hamparian expressed concern that Oz may be in violation
of the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) of 1938 for his
endorsement agreement with Istanbul-based Turkish Airlines, through
which Oz provides “consulting services, certain media, and in-flight
film appearances.”
“Turkish Airlines is 49.13% owned by the Turkish Government. FARA
filings show that Turkish Airlines has been a foreign principal since
at least 1975 and as recently as 2015,” asserted Hamparian.
Former U.S. Justice Department FARA unit official David Laufman told
The New York Post that an investigation into the matter is warranted.
“I think it would be appropriate for [the Justice Department] to
undertake logical, analytical, and investigative steps to determine
whether Dr. Oz acted as a public relations counsel or publicity agent
in the United States on behalf of Turkish Airlines,” Laufman
explained. “If he did, he likely would have an obligation to register
unless he qualified for an exemption.”
Hamparian outlined the full range of broader national security and
Armenian American community concerns in an op/ed in The Washington
Times. “For Americans of Armenian heritage—having spent the better
part of the past century working, successfully, to end U.S. cover-ups
of Turkey’s genocidal crimes—it would represent a betrayal of the
worst kind, a shameful rollback of America’s commitment to human
rights, to send to the U.S. Senate an ally of Erdogan, the world’s
foremost Armenian Genocide denier,” explained Hamparian.
He cited American Enterprise Institute’s Michael Rubin, who has argued
that “Oz’s dual citizenship—and his reluctance to renounce Turkish
citizenship—will keep the FBI and security managers up at night,”
adding that it’s “fair game to question Oz’s judgment embracing the
most reactionary elements in Turkish society.”
In an interview with Breitbart News, Hamparian argued “that Mehmet
Oz’s ties to Turkey put him “at odds” with putting the interests of
Pennsylvanians and Americans first.”.
************************************************************************************************************************************************
3- California’s Contemporary Artists from Joan and Jack Quinn
Family Collection Makes Debut in Boston
WATERTOWN, Mass.—The Armenian Museum of America will present its
largest contemporary exhibition, On the Edge: Los Angeles Art 1970s –
1990s from the Joan and Jack Quinn Family Collection. Included are
Lita Albuquerque, John Altoon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Lynda Benglis,
Vija Celmins, Gregory Wiley Edwards, Claire Falkenstein, Frank Gehry,
David Hockney, John M. Miller, Helmut Newton, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol,
and more.
Part of what makes the collection so unique is its foundation in
friendship between artist and collector. “Few individuals have left
such an indelible mark on the artistic landscape of Southern
California more than the Quinns,” said Rachel Wainwright who curated
the premiere of On the Edge at the Bakersfield Museum of Art.
Newly married in the 1960s, Joan and Jack took to collecting early.
“We reveled in our friendship with the artists as we brought our
communities together,” noted Quinn. Jack used his skills as a
prominent and influential attorney to help an array of emerging
artists and their dealers navigate the worlds of law and business,
while Joan found herself both muse and promoter.
The companion exhibit, Discovering Takouhi: Portraits of Joan
Agajanian Quinn, curated by Natalie Varbedian and Gina Grigorian
includes Armenian artists such as Dahlia Elsayed, Jean Kazandjian,
Silvina Der-Meguerditchian, Ara Oshagan, Zaven Sarkissian, and Aram
Saroyan. The distinctive works are a selection from Quinn’s
unprecedented collection of portraits consisting of over 300 gifts by
friends who have painted, sculpted and photographed her image in their
style.
“We are incredibly excited to exhibit these prominent works owned by
American-Armenian collector Joan Agajanian Quinn,” said AMA Executive
Director Jason Sohigian. “We are a living museum that preserves and
shares ancient and medieval artifacts and has a long tradition of also
highlighting modern art in our galleries.”
Joan is the co-host of Beverly Hills View and has been the producer
and host of the Joan Quinn Profiles for over 35 years. The Los Angeles
native was West Coast Editor of Andy Warhol’s Interview, Society
Editor of Hearst’s Los Angeles Herald Examiner, and the founding West
Coast Editor of Condé Nast Traveler. She has been appointed to an
array of city and state commissions, and in 2017 Joan received the
Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
The exhibition opens on Thursday, June 16 with a reception for Museum
members at 5 pm and a preview for non-members at 7 pm. It runs from
June 16 to November 30 and is sponsored by the JHM Charitable
Foundation.
The Armenian Museum of America’s galleries are open Thursday through
Sunday from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm, and it is located at 65 Main Street,
Watertown, MA.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************
4- Schiff Honors Ramella Markarian as Woman of the Year
BURBANK—Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) presented fourteen women in
California’s 28th congressional district with the annual Woman of the
Year Award, recognizing their myriad contributions to education,
health, housing, homelessness, and arts initiatives in their
communities.
“I am proud my district is home to so many incredible women—brilliant
and hardworking individuals, many of them leaders in their fields, who
go above and beyond to share their wisdom and passions with their
neighbors, and to enrich our communities day in and day out,” said
Schiff. “Each of these women has made a profound impact on the people
and places they love. We all benefit from their dedication and
expertise, and we can only hope to emulate their spirit of service in
our daily lives.”
Schiff celebrated the honorees at a luncheon in Atwater Village, where
he thanked them for their exemplary volunteerism and service to
communities in his district. See photos from the luncheon here.
Among the 2022 honorees is Prof. Ramella Markarian of Glendale, a
skilled healthcare professional who has served as Vice President of
Business Development at Adventist Health Glendale since 2012.
In addition to leading Adventist Health Glendale’s strategic growth
and development and overseeing various clinical and non-clinical
departments, since 2015 she has helped organize annual medical
missions to Armenia, bringing dozens of physicians, clinicians, and
surgeons together to provide surgeries and medical consults to many
Armenians living in Armenia and Artsakh. She is also the founder of
Glendale Healthy Woman, a program that provides free mammograms to
uninsured and underinsured women in the community, as well as one of
the founders of the annual Glendale Health Festival, which has been
serving the healthcare needs of many underinsured and uninsured people
in Glendale and neighboring communities for over a decade. Ramella
also serves as a guest speaker at local high schools, colleges, and
universities, where she avidly shares her expertise and knowledge to
inspire youth.
***********************************************************************************************************************************************
5- Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19
Armenia continues the fight against COVID-19. The government continues
to promote vaccinations. There were 1,716 active COVID-19 cases in
Armenia as of June 6. Armenia has recorded 423,006 coronavirus cases.
Armenia has recorded 8,629 deaths; this marks the second week where no
new deaths were recorded. 412,661 have recovered.
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************************************************************************************************************************************************
California Courier Online provides readers of the Armenian News News Service
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Armenpress: Nicolas Tavitian calls on Armenian communities in European countries to work together on Artsakh
Nicolas Tavitian calls on Armenian communities in European countries to work together on Artsakh
09:41, 30 May 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 30, ARMENPRESS. There is big untapped potential in the Armenia-Belgium relations, according to Committee of Armenians of Belgium President Nicolas Tavitian.
“There is big untapped potential in the Armenia-Belgium relations. Belgians are fine businessmen, here we can contribute to developing cooperation, there is lots to be done in the cultural and educational areas, but of course in coordination with relevant structures of Armenia,” Tavitian said, emphasizing that if Armenia were to have a resident embassy in Belgium it would have facilitated the process.
Meanwhile, the Committee of Armenians of Belgium is preparing for the June 5 community elections to form a representative committee. The previous election was held 4 years ago and the turnout was 1500 people.
“Around thirty thousand Armenians live in Belgium now. There was a large inflow to Belgium after the nineties. Corresponding work was done for our compatriots to be actively involved in community structures, programs. Now, around five thousand Armenians are represented in municipal structures. We expect many of them to be active and participate in the community elections, which forms a representative committee, which in turn forms an executive body – the Committee of Armenians of Belgium,” Tavitian explained, noting that the body will define priorities and develop a strategy.
The action plan related to foreign policy, the development of Armenia-Belgium relations, as well as internal community matters.
In terms of foreign policy, the priority is the issue of Artsakh. Tavitian said they must actively work with the legislative and executive bodies of Belgium to present and raise awareness on Artsakh. Tavitian says it is highly important for all Armenian community structures in Europe to join forces and work together over Artsakh. By doing so, there will be stronger efficiency, Tavitian said.
Concerning cultural ties, Tavitian says there is a need for stronger partnership with Armenian cultural groups: organize visits of dance, theater and concert groups and exchange experience.
Regarding education, Nicolas Tavitian said they must first of all solve the funding issue and implement training programs for teachers.
Interview by Anna Gziryan
1,006,554 full vaccinations against COVID-19 registered in Armenia so far
10:10, 30 May 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 30, ARMENPRESS. 1,006,554 full vaccinations against COVID-19 were registered in Armenia so far, the Ministry of Healthcare said.
Another 127,845 people received the first dose and 54,415 people received the booster shot.
Yerevan EUBC Men’s Elite European Boxing Championships: 3 Armenia boxers to fight for gold in finals
10:59, 30 May 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 30, ARMENPRESS. Three Armenian boxers advanced into the finals at the Yerevan EUBC Men’s Elite European Boxing Championships.
Featherweight Arthur Bazeyan will face Belgium’s Vasile Usturoi.
Light Welterweight Hovhannes Bachkov’s opponent in the finals will be France’s Lounes Hamraoui.
Cruiserweight Rafayel Hovhannisyan will fight Georgia’s Georgii Kushinashvili.
Georgia and Spain both have the most boxers who’ve advanced into the finals – 4 each.
Armenian firefighter sets new Guinness World Record
11:54, 30 May 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 30, ARMENPRESS. An Armenian rescuer-firefighter set a new Guinness World Record.
Zorik Poghosyan from the #2 Firefighting-Rescue Detachment of the Ministry of Emergency Situations lifted a 175kg barbell, placed it on his shoulders and walked for 1 meter and 90cm in the squat position, and then turned around and stood up.
This is the fifth world record set by Zorik Poghosyan, a local of Vanadzor.
[see video]
IBA President to visit fan zone at Swan Lake in Yerevan
12:15, 30 May 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 30, ARMENPRESS. The International Boxing Association President Umar Kremlev will visit the fan zone at Yerevan’s Swan Lake at 14:00 on May 30 for a ceremony of presenting boxing gloves to athletes, the Boxing Federation of Armenia said in a statement.
Yerevan is hosting the EUBC Men’s Elite European Boxing Championships.
COVID-19: Armenia reports 24 new cases, 1 death within a week
12:28, 30 May 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 30, ARMENPRESS. 24 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Armenia in the past one week, the ministry of health said.
The total number of confirmed cases has reached 422,963.
10,307 tests were conducted within a week.
One patient has died from the disease. The death toll has risen to 8625.
The number of recoveries rose by 385, bringing the total to 412,606.
The number of active cases is 48.
Louvre visitor smears cake on Mona Lisa
12:40, 30 May 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 30, ARMENPRESS. A young environmental activist has thrown a cake at Italian painter Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Gioconda (Mona Lisa) on display in the Louvre in Paris, TASS reports citing the BFM TV channel.
According to it, the incident took place on Sunday. The video footage posted on Twitter shows a young man throwing a piece of cake and smearing it on the armored glass that protects one of the world’s most famous artworks. He was able to get as close as possible by disguising himself as a disabled woman; there is a special passageway in front of the painting for wheelchair users, which is closer than the corridor for regular visitors.
“Think about the Earth. There are people who are destroying the Earth. Think about that. Artists tell you, ‘Think of the Earth.’ All artists, think of the Earth. That’s why I did this. Think about the planet”, he said in one of the videos, which shows him rolling a wheelchair accompanied by museum security.
The Louvre itself has not yet released any statement about the incident. According to the TV channel, employees of the Louvre washed armored glass, the painting was not damaged.
Demonstrators protest outside government building, opposition MPs demand meeting with Cabinet members
13:21, 30 May 2022
YEREVAN, 30 MAY, ARMENPRESS. Anti-government protesters are demonstrating outside the #3 government building in downtown Yerevan, which houses several ministries and other government agencies.
The leader of the protests – ARF’s Ishkhan Saghatelyan, the Vice Speaker of Parliament representing the opposition Hayastan faction, said they want to enter the building and inquire from different government agencies on their position regarding the opposition’s draft resolution which is included in the agenda of the June 3 emergency session of parliament.
The June 3 emergency session of parliament will be convened at the initiative of the opposition. However, the ruling Civil Contract party announced that it won’t participate in the session. If Civil Contract doesn’t take part, there will be no quorum and the session won’t be convened.
The opposition’s draft resolution of parliament states, among others, that “Armenia will support the full exercise of the right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh, Artsakh will never be part of Azerbaijan, there must be reliable land connection between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh: Artsakh will not be an exclave, the delimitation and demarcation must be carried out with the precondition of Azerbaijan withdrawing its troops from sovereign Armenian territory, Armenia is the guarantor of security and the right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh, the breach of the territorial integrity of Armenia is ruled out as a result of delimitation and demarcation, any agreement in the Armenian-Turkish normalization process that would question the Armenian Genocide is ruled out, and that the unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan and Turkey cannot happen in the logic of a corridor.”
Saghatelyan said that they want two opposition MPs to enter the building and meet with Cabinet members and demand their position on the draft resolution.
Police were not allowing the MPs to enter. Officers said they must inquire whether or not the Cabinet members are ready to receive them.
The MPs argued with the police that they are entitled to freely enter the building.
A scuffle began between demonstrators and police as demonstrators attempted to breach the line.
Saghatelyan called on the crowd of supports to block the building, stating that they will not leave until they have a meeting with the ministers.
Police then reported that 5 demonstrators were detained on suspicion of hooliganism.
UPDATE:
14:09 – Demonstrators end protest near #3 government building, start marching