Category: News

RA human rights defender Anahit Manasyan sent a message to the Yazidi community in Armenia on the occasion of New Year, Malake Taus.

“Let this holiday be a symbol of peace, happiness and well-being for Yezidis living in Armenia, bringing new achievements and success to your families and community.

I address the issues related to the Yezidi community in Armenia on a daily basis.

I always emphasize that the protection of the rights of national minorities is one of the important areas of my work. In this context, I attach particular importance to the full guarantee of the rights to the preservation and development of the national and ethnic identity, traditions, religion, language and culture of persons belonging to national minorities.

I emphasize the continuous and consistent work of each of us aimed at the full provision and effective protection of the rights of national minorities in our country.

I am confident that with joint efforts we can ensure an atmosphere of tolerance, mutual respect and solidarity in our country, where every person will have a dignified life and the opportunity to freely express their identity.

Congratulations Malake Taus,” the message reads.

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Samvel Karapetyan, a Russian-based businessman and leader of the “Strong Armenia” party, has announced that he has started the process of renouncing all other citizenships, except the Armenian one.

“Since I am participating in the elections and I am sure of my victory, I have decided to start the process of giving up those passports,” he said during the first court session.

The presence of citizenships other than Armenian is an obstacle to participate in the parliamentary elections of Armenia to be held on June 7.

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The criminal police’s department for combating illegal drug trafficking received operational information that a resident of Syunik marz was preparing methamphetamine-type narcotics at his place of residence in Yerevan using various chemicals.

On the evening of March 25, on Vilnius street of the capital, a 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of illegal acquisition, possession and sale of narcotics and was taken to Nor Nork department together with a 46-year-old resident of Noragigh district.

During the search, they found a glass flask with traces of ash, a cylinder filled with marijuana, a psychoactive pill with the inscription “Phenazepam” and a folding knife.

The 32-year-old man was presented to the investigation department of Avan and Nor Nork administrative districts, where criminal proceedings were initiated. According to the court’s decision, during the search of his residence, two packages of marijuana and one package of methamphetamine were found, as well as two containers filled with liquid masses intended for drug preparation, weighing 168 and 238 grams. According to his statement, he obtained a crystal mass of methamphetamine from that liquid through synthesis.

The investigation is ongoing.

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In the anti-corruption court, today, April 15, the prosecutor petitioned to extend the house arrest of “Strong Armenia” party leader Samvel Karapetyan for another 3 months.

There are persons on whom Karapetyan can influence, prosecutor Argam Dallakyan said.

Aram Vardevanyan, one of Karapetyan’s defenders, stated that yesterday they filed a petition to change the restraining order against Samvel Karapetyan. In the near future is the congress of the party, which should approve the first 30 names of the electoral list and their order.

Samvel Karapetyan himself described the accusation as “absurd”, saying “but I do not object to the prosecutor”.

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On April 13, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Armen Ghazaryan received the delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Lithuania Odra Plepite. This is reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Armen Ghazaryan, emphasizing the friendly relations formed between the two countries, highly appreciated the expert support of the Lithuanian side in the framework of the institutional reforms implemented under the mandate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The deputy minister presented the strategic directions for the modernization of the internal security system in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and subordinate services, the extensive works and the recorded results.

Reference was made to the process of dialogue on the liberalization of RA-EU visas. Armen Ghazaryan noted that the issuance of new generation biometric passports and identification cards in accordance with international standards will be launched in the near future, which is a crucial step in terms of ensuring data security and improving the passport system.

The deputy minister also presented the features of the operation of the 112 operational management center, noting that this center, which complies with international standards, allows to ensure maximum responsiveness to emergencies and effective interaction between services.

The parties also discussed the prospects of introducing a new model of integrated management of border control, the transformation of the educational component, as well as the introduction of preventive tools aimed at fighting crime and reducing offenses.

Armen Ghazaryan emphasized that the latest polls of prestigious international organizations, in particular, the International Republican Institute (IRI), indicate a significant increase in public trust in the police and a decrease in dissatisfaction indicators, which is the main proof of the effectiveness of sectorial reforms.

The Deputy Foreign Minister of Lithuania Odra Plepite, highly appreciating the digitalization and modernization agenda of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, reaffirmed the readiness of the Lithuanian side to expand bilateral cooperation.

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Iran is exclusively in favor of dialogue and building constructive relations with other countries, but will not tolerate their attempts to impose their will. This was announced by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian.

“Iran does not aspire to war or instability and is always in favor of dialogue and constructive interaction with different countries. However, any attempt to impose his will on [the Islamic Republic] or make him capitulate is doomed to failure. The people of Iran will never accept such an approach,” Pezeshkian was quoted as saying on his Telegram channel.

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The summary of Samvel Karapetyan’s 3-hour court session is as follows. will the court follow the path of democracy so that Samvel Karapetyan can participate in the pre-election campaign? Today, on April 15, Narek Karapetyan, the head of the electoral list of the “Strong Armenia” party, announced this in front of the Anti-Corruption Court.

“Will Samvel Karapetyan be in all cities or not?” Today’s main question is this. The Prosecutor’s Office wants to extend the house arrest for three months because they hope to prevent Karapetyan from communicating with his people. The purpose of the process of extending the house arrest is to hinder the communication between Karapetyan and the people, because they know that when Karapetyan starts going through the cities and villages of Armenia, the people will see, believe, have hope and that hope will bring a big change,” he said.

Narek Karapetyan informed that the court session was postponed for two days. “Lawyer Liana Gasparyan, in her speech to the judge, said that your decision is not just a judicial decision, this is an important decision that will affect the future of the Armenian people. The sequel will take place in two days. We hope that the judge, being an Armenian, will draw conclusions worthy of Armenians. During this important watershed for our people, there will be a big change if Samvel Karapetyan is among the people and has the opportunity to participate in the campaign. This will be a historic change.

All of us, realizing the interest of the nation, that we have started this path and are going to the end, seconding all our own interests, putting the common interest of our nation in the first place, to have a strong country,” he emphasized.

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Peace has been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which has a solid legal basis. RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced this at the session of the National Assembly on April 15, presenting the report on the progress and results of the implementation of the Government’s plan (2021-2026) for 2025.

“The peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan has binding legal force. I mean the regulation of the border demarcation commissions, which is the first bilateral international agreement signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Pashinyan said. According to Pashinyan, the fact that the Kirantsi school is only 50 meters away from the border with Azerbaijan does not scare the school’s students anymore. “They play football at a distance of 30 meters. This is peace,” the Prime Minister emphasized.

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It would be good if someone asked Arayik Harutyunyan a question: do you have the right to be the president of the Weightlifting Federation, and doesn’t Gagik Tsarukyan have the right to be the president of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia?

What do you have to do with sports in general, what is your athletic trajectory, what knowledge do you have about weightlifting?

In 2004, when Gagik Tsarukyan, at the age of 48, assumed the duties of the president of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia and Armenian sports were in a shamefully difficult condition, many people asked if he needed it. The sports schools were half-ruined, the infrastructures were destroyed, the successes in the international arena were few, the athletes were neglected. In many sports schools, there were not even basic conditions for training, athletes were emigrating, Armenian sports faced serious challenges.

But Gagik Tsarukyan’s position was clear: this is a matter of his honor and the country’s dignity and no difficulty can scare him. During the two decades of his tenure, dozens of sports schools were built and renovated, provided with sports equipment, many of the emigrant athletes returned and started to compete under the tricolor, a new culture of encouraging and rewarding athletes was established. The Armenian sports world was revived, and our compatriots around the world had many opportunities to be proud of the victories of our athletes, our tricolor was raised thousands of times on the most prestigious international platforms and the national anthem was played.

The vast majority of these victories have always been won by our weightlifters, because weightlifting has become our most medal-winning sport after years of hard work and huge investments by Gagik Tsarukyan.

Now ask Arayik Harutyunyan: how did you end up as the president of the Weightlifting Federation, what promises did you make about improving Armenia’s position in the international weightlifting family, which you never fulfilled, and in the end, did the Armenian sports world accept you as the president of the federation?
My questions are not rhetorical…

Iveta Tonoyan

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