Wednesday,
Ryanair Confirms Plans To Fly To Armenia
IRELAND-- A Ryanair Boeing 737 landing at Dublin Airport, September 28, 2017.
A senior executive of Ryanair on Wednesday reportedly confirmed the Irish
budget airline’s plans to launch regular flights between Europe and Armenia.
Ryanair’s chief commercial officer, David O’Brien, and director of route
development, Kate Sherry, discussed the matter with Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian during a visit to Yerevan.
An Armenian government statement cited O’Brien as telling Pashinian that
Ryanair “intends to enter the Armenian aviation market soon” and is now
negotiating with Armenia’s civil aviation authority and main airport operator
for that purpose. He presented concrete flights planned by the airline and its
“tariff policy” for them, said the statement.
Armenia -- Senior Ryanair executives, David O'Brien (R) and Kate Sherry, meet
with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Yerevan, .
Pashinian welcomed those plans, saying that Ryanair flights to and from Armenia
would benefit the country’s tourism industry. He expressed hope that the two
sides will work out a “concrete variant of mutually beneficial cooperation.”
O’Brien and Sherry held a separate dinner meeting on Tuesday with Deputy Prime
Minister Tigran Avinian and Tatevik Revazian, the head of the Armenian
government’s Civil Aviation Committee. Revazian negotiated with Ryanair
representatives in Dublin early this year before announcing in March that the
Irish carrier is planning to fly to Armenia.
Revazian, who was also present at Pashinian’s meeting the visiting Ryanair
executives, announced in July that Ryanair as well as another Western low-cost
airline, Wizz Air, are ready to launch flight services next year if they are
granted financial concessions.
Armenia -- Tatevik Revazian, head of the Civil Aviation Committee, at a news
conference in Yerevan, July 15, 2019.
She said the Civil Aviation Committee is already drafting a bill that would
exempt them from a fixed $21 tax levied from every air ticket sold in the
country. The government agency also hopes to convince an Argentine company
managing Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport to offer them discounts for airport ground
services, she added.
The cost of air travel to and from Armenia has already decreased since the
liberalization in 2013 of the domestic civil aviation sector. This has
contributed to a steady growth of the country’s international air traffic. The
total number of passengers processed by the international airports in Yerevan
and Gyumri rose by around 10 percent in the first half of this year.
Karabakh, OSCE Officials Discuss Fate Of Armenian POW In Azerbaijan
• Marine Khachatrian
Nagorno Karabakh - Bako Sahakian (R), president of Nagorno Karabakh, meets with
Andrzej Kasprzyk, personal representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office, in
Stepanakert, March 7, 2018.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s leaders have discussed with a senior official from the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe the fate of an Armenian
soldier who was taken prisoner by Azerbaijani forces last week.
The 19-year-old conscript, Arayik Ghazarian, was detained on August 12 after
crossing the Armenian-Azerbaijani “line of contact” around Karabakh in still
unclear circumstances.
The Azerbaijani military said Ghazarian claimed to have deserted his unit
because of being systematically mistreated by his comrades. Armenia’s Defense
Minister Davit Tonoyan denied that, saying that that the soldier probably
strayed into Azerbaijani-controlled territory by accident.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s president, foreign minister and top military commander
raised the issue with Andrzej Kasprzyk, the longtime head of a small OSCE
mission monitoring the ceasefire regime in the Karabakh conflict zone, in
separate meetings held in Stepanakert on Tuesday.
“I can’t go into details but all issues were discussed,” said Davit Babayan, a
spokesman for President Bako Sahakian. “These are both humanitarian and
political issues and they just had to be discussed. Of course, we are first and
foremost interested in the fate of our compatriot.”
According to his press office, Masis Mayilian, the Karabakh foreign minister,
and Kasprzyk talked about “possibilities of repatriating” Ghazarian. The issue
was also on the agenda of Kasprzyk’s meeting with General Karen Abrahamian, the
commander of Karabakh’s Armenian-backed army.
On Monday, the Azerbaijani authorities allowed representatives of the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit the soldier in
custody. An ICRC spokeswoman in Yerevan, Zara Amatuni, told RFE/RL’s Armenian
service that they spoke to Ghazarian and inquired about his health and
detention conditions. Amatuni said the ICRC is also ready to help the prisoner
of war communicate with his family in Armenia.
Investigators Stand By Corruption Charges Against Armenian Official
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia -- Davit Sanasarian, head of the State Oversight Service, attends a
cabinet meeting in Yerevan, April 18, 2019.
Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) has completed a criminal
investigation that led to corruption charges brought against a senior
government official who actively participated in last year’s “Velvet
Revolution.”
The NSS indicted Davit Sanasarian, the head of the State Oversight Service
(SOS), in April while investigating alleged corrupt practices within the
anti-corruption government agency. It arrested two other senior SOS officials
in February, saying that they attempted to cash in on government-funded
supplies of medical equipment to three hospitals.
Sanasarian was charged with abusing his powers to help his subordinates enrich
themselves and a private company linked to them. The official, who was
suspended as SOS chief as a result, has repeatedly rejected the accusations as
“fabricated.”
Sanasarian’s lawyer, Inessa Petrosian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service on
Wednesday that the NSS probe is over. She said that the investigators
essentially stand by the accusations of abuse of power leveled against her
client.
Sanasarian and the two other SOS officials will go on trial if the indictments
are formally endorsed by prosecutors.
Sanasarian, 35, is a former opposition and civic activist who had for years
accused Armenia’s former leaders of corruption. He was actively involved in
last year’s revolution which succeeded in large measure because of widespread
popular frustration with graft.
Sanasarian’s supporters, among them leaders of some Western-funded
non-governmental organizations, have strongly defended him, denouncing the NSS
and Vanetsian in particular. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian hit back at the
critics in April. He said that they place their personal relationships with
Sanasarian above the rule of law.
Press Review
“Hraparak” says that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s plans to allow the
relaunch of the Amulsar gold mining project mark his firs unpopular decision
made in office. The paper says that Pashinian is thus ignoring vehement
objections from environmental and other groups that helped him to come to power
in May 2018. “This can be described as the first rift between those who blocked
streets [during the “Velvet Revolution”] and those who came to power,” it says.
“In this case, the choice was made [by Pashinian] in favor of business and
investments. This is the first serious test for the authorities and Nikol
Pashinian in particular.”
“Aravot” deplores the “hypocrisy” of individuals involved in the controversy
surrounding the Amulsar project. The paper specifically hits out at those
residents of a village close to Amulsar who had willingly sold their
agricultural land plots to the project operator, the Lydian International
company, at high prices but are now protesting against gold mining in the area.
“The locals who did business with Lydian were happy with the sums paid to them
and used that money to buy homes and cars in Yerevan,” editorializes the paper.
“Now many of them have become enthusiastic ecologists … If you are so patriotic
you should not have sold your lands in the first place.”
Lragir.am complains that Pashinian’s “historic” speech delivered in Stepanakert
early this month has already been forgotten and offset by other developments.
The publication claims that the speech was first “shattered” by a scandalous
media report about the alleged involvement of a Karabakh general in the 2008
crackdown on opposition protesters in Yerevan. It says Pashinian’s detractors
dealt further blows to important statements made by him in the Karabakh capital.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2019 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org
Ambassador Armen Baibourtian presents Vahan and Anoush Chamlian with an Appreciation Award
Armenia’s Consul General to Los Angeles Ambassador Armen Baibourtian honored long-time community activists and well-known benefactors Vahan and Anoush Chamlian during a ceremony in Fresno on August 10
Baibourtian, who was accompanied by his wife, Yvette, presented an appreciation award to the Chamlians for the crucial role the couple played in the establishment of Armenia’s Consulate General in Los Angeles 25 years ago.
Ambassador Armen Baibourtian with Vahan Chamlian
Ambassador Armen Baibourtian, Consul General of Armenia in Los Angeles, accompanied with his wife Yvette Baibourtian, presented an Appreciation Award to prominent Armenian-American philanthropists Vahan and Anoush Chamlian at a special ceremony in Fresno, California.
A gathering of friends in Fresno
On the occasion of the Consulate’s 25th anniversary, Baibourtian praised the Chamlians for their role in the founding of the Consulate, as well as their decades of generous support to the homeland through the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, as well as their unwavering efforts to advance Armenia by sponsoring numerous projects in the mid-1990s.
Baibourtian expressed his profound gratitude to Vahan and Anoush Chamlian and stated, in presence of many Fresno Armenians, that the Chamlian family’s efforts and generosity were an inspiration to the entire California Armenian community.
Armenia's top 1000 tax payers pay 14% more taxes
11:40,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS. The taxes paid by the top 1000 taxpayers of Armenia increased by 14% in January-June 2019 against the same period of 2018, ARMENPRESS reports PM Pashinyan wrote on his Facebook page.
Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan
Apo Boghigian in Asbarez offices
The Board of the Civilitas Foundation announced Apo Boghigian as the foundation’s new director. Since its establishment in 2008, Civilitas has pioneered civil society strengthening through open public discussions and polling, reporting and analysis, collaborated in cross-border activities and most notably, established the ground-breaking, trendsetting media outlet, CivilNet.
Boghigian, who was born in Anjar, Lebanon, studied in Los Angeles, and has lived in Armenia for 18 of the last 30 years, will head both entities.
“CivilNet.am is now a globally recognized bilingual source for news and analysis, a proud achievement of the Civilitas Foundation, which was established precisely to bring meaningful change in Armenian society. This work will expand and diversify under Apo Boghigian’s able leadership and exceptional commitment to the ideals that drive us — a fair society, a welcoming country where individuals can prosper and contribute to humanity,” said Salpi Ghazarian, the founding director of Civilitas.
Boghigian was a Candidate in Philosophy, studying with the late Professor Avedis Sanjian, when he interrupted his doctoral studies in Armenian literature to take on the position of editor-in-chief of the Asbarez daily newspaper, in Los Angeles, in 1985. Under his leadership, the newspaper grew to become one of the Diaspora’s two most influential media outlets.
In 1990, in the last years of the Soviet Union, as the Karabakh movement had ushered in a political awakening, and the call for reunification and independence gained momentum, Mr. Boghigian repatriated to Armenia to establish several media outlets, including the Yerkir newspaper. He also set up the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Press Office, which provided indispensable daily reports from the frontlines of the Karabakh War and soon after, the newly independent Armenia. As founding editor of Yerkir Daily, he adopted the principles of independent journalism to satisfy an international public clamoring for news and analysis from the region.
“The movement had awakened a whole nation,” he says. “I couldn’t, with a clear conscience, appeal to the Armenian people to become a part of it, while sitting in Los Angeles.”
Upon returning to the U.S. in 2008, he assumed the editorship of Asbarez once more, and expanded the newspaper’s capacity, reach and coverage. He stayed with the Asbarez until this month.
Boghigian will lead Civilitas and CivilNet to new frontiers. “I always intended to return to Armenia. And to return as a member of the CivilNet family is a compelling and meaningful opportunity. It is also a huge responsibility. To be working among and to be defining a vision with a group of committed young professionals is very exciting,” he says.
With a staff of three dozen, CivilNet focuses on LIVE broadcasts, investigative, as well as advocacy and solutions-based journalism. Bilingual (Armenian and English) reporting, data-driven analysis from all corners of Armenia, Karabakh, and the Diaspora are at the heart of CivilNet’s work. In 2013, CivilNet was the only Armenian media organization to report from Syria. In 2018, 16 million people viewed CivilNet’s 24-hour LIVE broadcast of the “velvet revolution”. In between, it was CivilNet’s pioneering efforts to cover each of the small, targeted civil protests, which culminated in the successful political transformation of 2018.
“Civilitas was founded by former foreign minister Vartan Oskanian, at a time when civil society work needed to expand and be more impactful. Today, Civilitas can and will serve a new role as a center for exploration and analysis. CivilNet is an integral part of that operation to bring nuanced, complex understandings of the challenges facing Armenians to the public, in Armenian and in English. Apo Boghigian’s experience and passion are the perfect combination to carry forward this mission,” concluded Ghazarian.
Boghigian will step into his new position on September 1.
Hurghada-Yerevan airplane lands at Zvartnots airport
20:52,
YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. The airplane carrying the Armenian citizens from Hurghada landed at Zvartnots airport.
ARMENPRESS reports 132 people returned to Armenia.
132 Armenian citizens were left in Hurghada due to the cancellation of OTF 3703 flight en route Hurghada-Yerevan. According to some reports, the flight was cancelled because the Armenian A&R tour agency didn’t pay the Greek Orange Fly airline to carry out the flight. Hurghada-Yerevan July 29 flight has also been cancelled, which means that nearly 100 Armenian citizens will face the same problem. The flights are funded by the Government of Armenia.
The Embassy of Armenia in Egypt urges the citizens of Armenia spending their holiday in Hurghada to suspend their holiday and return to Armenia by July 29 flight. “The Armenian Embassy in Egypt informs that Hurghada-Yerevan OTF 3701 flight will be carried out at 03:00, Egypt time. At the same time we urge the passengers whose flights are scheduled on August 1 and 5 to suspend their holiday and fly to Armenia by the mentioned flight”, reads the statement.
The Government of Armenia discusses allocating 47 million and 198 thousand AMD from the reserve fund of the Foreign Ministry for organizing the return of the remaining 119 citizens.
The Police of Armenia is preparing materials over the activities of the A&R tour agency.
Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan