Thursday, National Security, Police Chiefs Appointed In Armenia Arman Sargsian (L) and Eduard Martirosian have been appointed chief of police and director of the National Security Service, respectively Acting chiefs of Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) and Police have been appointed as permanent heads of the structures half a year after the dismissal of their predecessors. Armenian President Armen Sarkissian signed relevant decrees on Thursday upon the request of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. Eduard Martirosian and Arman Sargsian were appointed to act as chiefs of the two powerful law-enforcement bodies after Artur Vanetsian and Valeri Osipian were dismissed from their posts in September. Vanetsian and Osipian led the NSS and police, respectively, since the change of government in May 2018 following popular protests that brought Pashinian to power. Unlike Osipian, who has kept low profile since his dismissal, Vanetsian has been politically active, criticizing the Pashinian government. He announced plans to set up a political party in February. The new appointees, Martirosian and Sargsian, are also career officers who became deputy heads of their respective agencies shortly after the 2018 “Velvet Revolution.” Last December the pro-government majority in parliament first endorsed in the first reading but then blocked an opposition bill which would allow political appointees to run the country’s NSS and police. Armenia’s current legislation requires NSS and police chiefs to be high-ranking career officers. Relative Of Armenian Coronavirus Patient Reports Crime • Robert Zargarian The Office of the Prosecutor-General of Armenia A relative of a woman blamed for spreading the novel coronavirus in the Armenian town of Echmiadzin has filed a crime report with the public prosecutor, alleging illegal acquisition of personal data and publication in the press and social media of information about infected persons, their photographs as well as insults against them. It became known late last week that a woman who had arrived from Italy disregarded healthcare recommendations and attended a family occasion in Echmiadzin involving dozens of guests. The unnamed woman later tested positive for the novel coronavirus causing a highly contagious and potentially deadly disease known as COVID-19. After her hospitalization dozens of people from her surroundings were placed under 14-day quarantines. Along with another incident of mass infection they now account for the bulk of Armenia’s 122 coronavirus cases reported so far. Amid the news of sanitary cordons being set up around Echmiadzin to curb the further spread of the infection and later the introduction of a state of emergency countrywide many users on Facebook and other social media in Armenia gave vent to their anger over what they described as irresponsible conduct. Some have used offensive language and ridicule against the woman. Her photograph also appeared online.Armenia’s ombudsman Arman Tatoyan interfered by calling on social media users to stop insulting the women and degrading her dignity. Lawyer Gohar Hovhannisian, who represents the interests of the currently quarantined woman, said that her relative who lives abroad filed the crime report, considering that illegal actions have been committed against his relative in Armenia. She expressed confidence that the Prosecutor’s Office and the police will be impartial in investigating the case and that the offenders will be called to account. The Prosecutor’s Office said the report was forwarded to the police to investigate the matter. According to Hovhannisian, the photograph of the woman was published on both real and fake accounts. “It affects the mental state of a person. Imagine that a person is sick and such expressions are made against her or him and her or his personal data are published,” she said. Human rights activist Zaruhi Hovhannisian (no relation to the lawyer) stressed that the protection of personal data is enshrined in Armenia’s law, adding that in this case the disclosure of data made it possible to identify the person. “Moreover, under the law on medical care and public services it is forbidden to disclose medical secrets, talk about people’s medical examinations and the course of their treatment as well as to pass these data to third parties,” she said. Earlier this week, a shop owner in Yerevan filed a report with the police, alleging that he had been attacked by relatives of the Echmiadzin woman for posting a joke about her on Facebook. The police said they had identified and questioned three persons over the incident, but did not reveal their identities. Armenian Government To Subsidize Business Loans During Coronavirus Crisis • Artak Khulian The Armenian Government in session, The Armenian government has offered loan portfolios for local businesses that are likely to be affected by the economic consequences of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian told his cabinet on Thursday that companies will be able to borrow money from banks at subsidized interest rates to meet their current financial obligations. Other designated funding, he said, will be spent on social assistance. “We will launch a package of approximately 25 billion drams (over $50 million) for urgent business support. We will have another package of 25 billion drams made ready for social assistance, which will be used as needed. Also, we will set up a fund of about 80 billion drams (over $160 million) aimed at financing reorganizations and readjustments of the economy,” the prime minister said. Pashinian explained that funds will be made available for businesses that need to keep paying salaries to their employees and fulfill their tax obligations to the state during the crisis. “Commercial banks and loan organizations will cover 50 percent of the funding, and the rest 50 percent will be funded by the government. The government financing will be interest-free, and the interest rates of commercial banks and lending organizations will also be subsidized by the government. In other words, entrepreneurs will get loans at a zero percent interest rate,” he said. According to Pashinian, financing will also be provided for the purchase and import of raw materials, as well as equipment and instruments. The government will require, however, that products made from these raw materials be marketed locally and the equipment be used for expanding local production, he added. “[It will be for] incurred costs for the use of electricity, water and gas, but for each service it will not exceed 5 million drams ($10,000) per month and will not be provided for longer than three months. It will also apply to the import of foodstuffs by trading companies when the purchased or processed products are to be sold in the Republic of Armenia, the purchase or import of fertilizers, seeds, saplings and other agricultural raw materials if the whole volume of imports is to be used in Armenia.” The Armenian government expects that the total aid package conditioned by the coronavirus crisis will amount to 150 billion drams (over $300 million). At the government meeting Prime Minister Pashinian said that the proposed package will be put to public discussion for further improvements, after which it will be finally endorsed. Armenia posted a 7.6-percent GDP growth for 2019 and expected its economy to expand by 4.9 percent this year. At the beginning of the year, before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Bank forecast an even faster annual growth of 5.1 percent for Armenia in 2020. Armenian Media Deplore Restrictions On Pandemic Reporting • Ruzanna Stepanian Anna Israyelian, editor of Aravot.am Journalists and civil society representatives in Armenia have voiced their concerns over the restrictions on media imposed under the terms of the coronavirus-conditioned national emergency, calling on the government to “stop the censorship.” Under the state-of-emergency rule introduced by the Armenian government on March 16, media as well as social media users in Armenia face administrative fines for posting information on the coronavirus-related situation that “does not reflect reports from official sources.” The government said the measure was needed to prevent “panic-mongering” during the 30-day period of the national emergency declared to slow down and contain the spread of the highly contagious and potentially deadly virus. Two media outlets – the Aravot and Hraparak dailies – have already been forced to remove or edit their stories under penalty of fines between 500,000 and 800,000 drams ($1,000-$1,600). Hraparak was warned over its article about complaints of prison inmates that the newspaper claims had no connection to the coronavirus situation. The daily still removed the story, but warned that it would take some action if warned again. In a Facebook post Hraparak’s editor wrote: “The state of emergency has been introduced to put media in a straight-jacket.” After a police warning Aravot.am also edited its story that mentioned a reported concealment of coronavirus cases in Russia. Anna Israyelian, the editor of Aravot.am, noted that in a Facebook post Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian had made a comment “consonant with that report”, as he mentioned that “some countries do not provide actual figures on the coronavirus.” “Although the demand of the authorities is absolutely groundless, because I don’t think that a report about [coronavirus] cases being hidden in Russia would cause panic in Armenian society, considering that in this delicate situation we deal with a healthcare-related document, we decided not to go against the demand and edited the story on our website,” Israyelian said. The editor described the government’s response as inadequate. She said that in conditions of the absence of clear criteria for “panic-mongering”, it leaves room for arbitrary action against media. Israyelian urged the authorities to reconsider their approach. “I don’t think that forcing the media to remain silent and hide the facts not only about what is happening inside the country but also about what is happening abroad will improve the situation of those infected,” she said. Daniel Ioannisian, a representative of the Union of Informed Citizens NGO, described what is being applied in relation to media during the state of emergency as “censorship”, which he said leads to such negative consequences as the decrease in trust in the information provided by the government. Daniel Ioannisian, coordinator of the Union of Informed Citizens Ioannisian said that most democratic governments in the world that have declared national emergencies over the coronavirus pandemic have refrained from censoring their media. “In democratic countries the media must not be under censorship and restrictions,” said Ioannisian, calling on the government to lift the restrictions imposed on the media. Armenian-Azerbaijani Ceasefire Monitoring Suspended Over Pandemic Armenian military officials escort OSCE observers during a regular ceasefire monitoring at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, 16Feb2017. The monitoring of ceasefire in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict zone regularly conducted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been suspended over the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement released from Tbilisi, Georgia, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, personal representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, cited closed borders and travel restrictions as the reason for the move. “The ongoing situation following the spread of COVID-19 has led to the closure of international borders throughout the region, travel restrictions for international and local staff, as well as restrictions put in place to avoid face-to-face contact to reduce the risk of infection,” Kasprzyk said in the statement published on the OSCE’s official website. “In view of the above, and following consultations with the sides, monitoring exercises will be suspended until these restrictions are lifted. In the meantime, I continue to be in contact with the relevant military authorities,” the ambassador added. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh following a three-year war in the early 1990s that killed some 30,000 people. Despite the 1994 ceasefire, soldiers on both sides continue to be killed in sporadic border clashes. Diplomatic efforts on settling the conflict led by the United States, Russia and France as part of the OSCE Minsk Group have brought little progress in the past decades. Armenia declared a 30-day national emergency over COVID-19 on March 16, restricting international travel and putting other limitations in place. So far authorities in Yerevan have confirmed 122 coronavirus cases. Azerbaijan has reported 34 confirmed coronavirus cases, with one fatality. Armenia Reports First Coronavirus Case Among Medical Staff The number of coronavirus patients in Armenia has reached 115, with the first case reported among medical personnel on Thursday morning. Health Minister Arsen Torosian confirmed today that a nurse of the Nork infectious diseases hospital in Yerevan has been diagnosed with COVID-19, a disease caused by the novel coronavirus infection. The nurse has worked with other coronavirus patients at the hospital, he added in a Facebook post. “The woman was immediately hospitalized and her condition is satisfactory. She does not have pneumonia,” Torosian wrote. The minister reminded the public that fighting the highly contagious and potentially deadly virus puts a lot of stress on medical workers who often appear in risky situations. “They are considered to be one of the vulnerable groups to get infected. We ask you to respect their work and stay at home,” Torosian said. Armenia’s health authorities say that the bulk of the coronavirus cases reported so far are related to two primary sources of infection both traced to people arriving from Italy. According to Minister Torosian, the condition of all patients is evaluated as satisfactory. The country’s first coronavirus patient, a 29-year-old man evacuated from Iran in late February, was declared recovered earlier this week. In a bid to slow down and contain the further spread of the novel coronavirus the Armenian government declared a 30-day national emergency on March 16. Limitations that concern international and local travel, public gatherings and the activities of public institutions could potentially affect a number of private sector companies. At a government meeting on Thursday Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian proposed an aid package to businesses most affected by the pandemic. He said up to 150 billion drams (more than $300 million) would be allocated to support businesses through subsidizing loans, to provide urgent social assistance and stimulate economic activity otherwise. The prime minister said his government expected the assistance to spur business activity and economic growth beyond the current coronavirus pandemic. Armenia posted a 7.6-percent GDP growth for 2019 and expected its economy to expand by 4.9 percent this year. At the beginning of the year before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic the World Bank forecast an even faster annual growth of 5.1 percent for Armenia in 2020. Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2020 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.