Author: Karapet Navasardian

 16:47,

YEREVAN, APRIL 23, ARMENPRESS. Despite the current restrictions in Armenia caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), events dedicated to the 105^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide will be held in the country on April 23-24.

“April 24 is the most sensitive event for the Armenian people, therefore a great responsibility was required from us in order to be able to overcome our physical absence in the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial in the context of current restrictions. We didn’t spare an effort and energy, by organizing the events with a logic that all Armenians would be able to ensure their symbolic presence in Tsiternakaberd on April 24”, deputy minister of education, science, culture and sport Ara Khzmalyan said at a press conference today.

He reminded that staring 21:00, April 23, the events will kick off. At 21:00 church bells will ring and the street lights in Yerevan and provinces will be switched off. “We also urge the citizens to switch off the lights in their apartments, and use mobile phone display lights out of their windows, balconies to ensure their symbolic presence in Tsitsernakaberd as a sign of unity”, the deputy minister said.

He also informed that the visits of officials to the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial will start on April 24.

Reporting by Angela Hambardzumyan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

YEREVAN, April 21. /ARKA/. The Central Bank of Armenia has issued “Gevorg Chavush” and “The 75th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War” silver collection coins, the regulator’s press service reports.

Gevorg Chavush

Sterling silver coins with a face value of 1000 drams were issued in 500 pieces. They were minted at the Lithuanian Mint.

The author of the sketches is Karapet Abrahamyan. A shield and a sword against the background of sunlight are depicted on the obverse of the coin, and a prototype of a sculptural portrait of Gevorg Chavush (a fragment of the memorial complex dedicated to Armenian hayducks by Y. Minasyan), and an eagle with a sword are depicted on the reverse side.

Gevorg Chavush (Ghazorg Ghazaryan, 1870-1907 is the hero of the Armenian liberation movement.

He studied at the school of the monastery of St. Karapet (Mush). He took part in the self-defense battles of the city of Sasun (1891-1894). In September 1894, he was arrested by the Turkish government and sentenced to 15 years in prison. In 1896, he escaped from prison in Sasun, met the Commander Andranik and became his comrade in arms.

In 1901 Gevorg Chavush participated in the Berdak and Norshen battles, in the battle at the Arakelots monastery, in 1904 in the Sasun uprising, commanded the self-defense operations of Ishkhanadzor and Talvorik.

Gevorg Chavush’s fighting detachment fought heroic battles against superior Turkish forces in various regions of Western Armenia. On May 27, 1907, Turkish troops surrounded Chavush’s detachment near the village of Sulukh (Mush Plain), on the outskirts of which near the bridge Chavush died in an unequal battle.

Chavush is one of the leaders of the Armenian Fidaini movement against the Turkish political regime, devoted to the cause of the liberation of his people and a dedicated soldier.

The monument to Chavush (sculptor – Levon Tokmajyan) is installed on the square of the same name in Yerevan. Streets, schools in Yerevan, in other regions of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh are named after him.

The 75th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War

Coins with a face value of 75 drams are made of sterling silver and issued of 500 pieces. They were minted at the Lithuanian Mint.

The author of the sketches is Karapet Abrahamyan. The monument “Mother Armenia” in Yerevan and the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree are depicted on the obverse of the coin, and a shield and the St. George ribbon on the reverse side.

The Great Patriotic War (June 22, 1940 – May 9, 1945) is the war of the USSR against Nazi Germany and its allies, the most important and decisive part of the World War II (1939-1945).

Together with other nations of the Soviet Union, Armenians heroically fought against the enemy – more than 500,000 people, of whom about 200 thousand fell in battles. As many as 106 Armenian soldiers received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 27 were awarded Orders of Glory of three degrees, more than 70 thousand received orders and medals.

The command structure of the USSR Armed Forces included more than 60 Armenian generals and one admiral who commanded large military units. –0–

 11:16,

YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. 48 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been confirmed in Armenia, bringing the total number of infected people to 1,339, the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention said today.

2 more people have died, rising the death toll to 22.

The number of people who recovered from the virus has increased by 35, and the total number of recoveries has reached 580.

At the moment the active cases are 737.

The healthcare ministry informs that the two patients who died were aged 62 and 90 and had accompanying chronic diseases.

So far, 13,373 people passed coronavirus testing in Armenia.

Reported by Lilit Demuryan

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

 11:14, 17 April, 2020

YEREVAN, APRIL 17, ARMENPRESS. 42 cases of the coronavirus were recorded in the past 24 hours in Armenia, bringing the total cumulative number of cases to 1201, the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

A 58-year-old patient with underlying health conditions died from coronavirus complications in Yerevan, raising the number of fatalities to 19.

44 people recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of recoveries to 402.

The number of active cases is 780.

Reporting and writing by Lilit Demuryan

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 15:59,

YEREVAN, APRIL 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Member of Parliament from the ruling My Step bloc  Rustam Bakoyan – representing the Yazidi community of the country, has introduced a bill envisaging the opportunity of unpaid leave for national minority representatives for celebrating their national, religious and remembrance days.

Bakoyan introduced the bill on amending the Labor Code during the plenary session of parliament, and also congratulated the Yazidi community on Malake Taus, the Yazidi New Year.

“Nearly 100 years after the Armenian Genocide, the Yazidi people were subjected to genocide on their land in the beginning of the 21st century. We are living in a very contradictory period of time, unfortunately, we – the Yazidis – are still being murdered for our national affiliation and religion in the 21st century. However, in this context, me and all Yazidis living in Armenia have a big occasion to be proud of, we live in and are citizens of a country where our rights are fully protected, our life is a supreme value here,” the lawmaker said.

The amendments proposed by the MP seek to grant no more than 4 days a year in unpaid leave for national minority representatives to celebrate their holidays and commemoration days.

Gevorg Petrosyan from the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party, however, said that he himself used to work in the private sector and there was never a case when a national minority representative from the Yazidi community would be rejected leave on those days. He says the workers are allowed to be absent for these occasions and they still keep their pay.

“This bill makes it look like they will be deprived from their salaries for these days”, he said.

Bakoyan said the issue concerns not only the Yazidi community and that the issue is significant.

He said the “brotherly attitude” of Armenians is obvious, but regulation by law are still important.

Reporting and writing by Anna Grigoryan

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 13:41, 9 April, 2020

YEREVAN, APRIL 9, ARMENPRESS. The .

“Armenia’s economy performed strongly in 2019. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and declining commodity prices lowered the 2020 GDP growth projection sharply (to 1.7 percent), provided a recovery starts in mid-summer. A pro-longed outbreak scenario, which is increasingly likely, would result in stagnant growth or contraction. A dollarized economy and narrow export base add to the challenges of managing the shock. A recovery is expected beyond 2020 as the shock dissipates. Weak growth could slow or reverse gains in poverty reduction”, the statement released by the World Bank Armenia Office says.

The statement says Armenia’s economy expanded strongly in 2019, with real GDP growth reaching 7.6 percent, the third consecutive year of robust expansion. Growth was driven by private consumption, with investment making a modest contribution. Exports grew by 10 percent year on year but were offset by an acceleration in import spending to meet growing domestic demand. On the supply side, services accounted for about 70 per- cent of total growth, while manufacturing generated about 18 percent of growth. The construction sector expanded at 4.2 percent in 2019, its fastest pace in the last decade. The agriculture sector continued to contract, though at a slower pace. Average annual inflation was 1.4 percent in 2019 (down from 2.5 percent in 2018), mostly due to higher food and beverage prices. The low inflation environment continued in early 2020, with prices declining by 0.5 percent year on year in February. In response, the central bank lowered its key policy rate twice in 2019 and again in March 2020 by a cumulative 75 basis points to 5.25 percent.

The fiscal accounts registered a  deficit of 0.8 percent of GDP in 2019, significantly lower than the deficit target of 2.3 percent of GDP. Significant over-performance on tax collection pushed the tax-to-GDP ratio to 23 percent, 1.5 percentage points higher than in 2018. In addition, overdue liabilities to businesses totaling 0.7 percent of GDP were refunded. On the expenditure side, current spending was executed as planned, while around 85 percent of budgeted capital spending was implemented, an improvement from earlier years. Government debt fell to 50 percent of GDP at end-2019, one year earlier than envisaged in the government’s medium- term plan. Public debt (including central bank debt) fell to 53.6 percent of GDP.

“The 2020 outlook has been strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the slump in commodity prices. Under the baseline scenario, envisaging the start of a gradual recovery in mid-summer of 2020, the real GDP growth rate in 2020 is expected to moderate to 1.7 percent, one-quarter of the average growth rate recorded over the past three years as exports and domestic demand are affected. This deceleration is expected to be cushioned by fiscal expansion, both by increased current spending—in health and social spending, in particular— as well as support to businesses and higher public investment. With the slowdown affecting labor-intensive sectors, poverty reduction will be modest, at best. At the same time, a prolonged outbreak scenario would result in stagnant GDP or even an economic contraction. The probability weight on that happening is rising due to worsening health, economic, and financial outcomes across the world. Poverty would increase under this scenario”, the statement says.

According to the statement, inflation pressures are expected to remain low, reflecting low global commodity prices and moderating demand. However, pressures on the exchange rate could easily push inflation up. “The external deficit will remain wide as external demand scales back and remittance inflows drop sharply due a weaker Russian economy and a depreciated ruble. This could put pressure on the exchange rate. In the first half of March 2020, the dram lost more than 2 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar. Central bank reserves and a precautionary arrangement with the IMF provide some buffers, but policies may need adjustment in case of stronger depreciation pressures.

The budget will provide some fiscal stimulus, with the fiscal deficit forecast to widen to about 4.7 percent of GDP, including a 2.2 percent of GDP fiscal stimulus package as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With government debt at near 50 percent of GDP, the escape clause of the fiscal rule may need to be invoked. GDP growth is forecast to recover over the medium term, to around 4.5 percent in 2021–22, supported by stabilizing external conditions and catch-up of delayed activities. Given historical growth elasticity, the poverty rate is expected to return to a declining path”.

The World Bank states “Armenia’s most immediate challenge is to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The country will be impacted by the temporary collapse in external demand, both for goods and services. Tourism, a sector that has been expanding robustly in recent years, is especially vulnerable. The decline in prices for copper—one of Armenia’s key exports—will further negatively affect the external balance. Remittances, (around 12 percent of GDP in 2018 and mostly from the Russian Federation) are an additional transmission channel. Efforts to contain the spread (“physical distancing” and other preventive measures, including the imposition of a State of Emergency), will dampen demand further. A dollarized economy and undiversified exports add to the challenges of managing the shock. However, a relatively healthy banking sector, a precautionary arrangement with the IMF, as well as some fiscal buffers partly mitigate the risks”.

“Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, Armenia needs to advance reforms to improve competitiveness and strengthen resilience to move to a path of sustainable export-led growth”, the statement added.

 14:40, 31 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. The United States, China and the European Union will provide aid to Armenia for combating the spread of the novel coronavirus, Deputy FM Avet Adonts said at a news conference.

“The US will provide 1,1 million dollars in aid to Armenia. The EU will provide 140 million euros to 6 Eastern Partnership countries which will be distributed among the countries. From this 140 million, 30 million will be directed for acquiring respective healthcare equipment, 100 million will be directed for supporting SMEs, and 10 million to NGOs for fighting against COVID-19. Recently FM Zohrab Mnatsakanyan received a letter from his Chinese counterpart expressing readiness to provide assistance to Armenia within the limits of their means and possibilities,” he said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan