Author: Lara Antonian

COVID-19: Armenia reports 62 new cases, 281 recoveries in one day – 2/1/2021

Lara Antonian

COVID-19: Armenia reports 62 new cases, 281 recoveries in one day

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 11:06, 1 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. 62 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been confirmed in Armenia in the past one day, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 167,088, the ministry of healthcare said today.

281 more patients have recovered in one day. The total number of recoveries has reached 157,800.

4 more patients have died, raising the death toll to 3084.

1473 tests were conducted in the past one day.

The number of active cases is 5435.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Sports: Gor Minasyan is crowned Armenia champion

Lara Antonian
News.am, Armenia
Feb 5 2021
Gor Minasyan is crowned Armenia champion | NEWS.am Sport – All about sports

By Lusine Shahbazyan

The Armenian Men's Weightlifting Championship ended in Yerevan, on the last day of which the super heavyweights (+109 kg) competed.

Gor Minasyan, silver medalist of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, was crowned the champion in this weight category, by lifting a total of 435 kg.

The champions in the other weight categories are: Garnik Cholakyan (55 kg), Andranik Papeyan (61 kg), Monte Mkhitaryan (67 kg), Nshan Antonyan (73 kg), Karen Margaryan (81 kg), Andranik Karapetyan (89 kg), David Hovhannisyan (96 kg), Arsen Martirosyan (102 kg), and Samvel Gasparyan (109 kg).

More than 100 athletes participated in the Armenian Men's Weightlifting Championships in ten weight categories.

Artsakh military releases names of 52 more fallen soldiers

Lara Antonian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 5 2021

The Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Defense Army on Friday, February 5, released the names of 52 more Armenian servicemen killed repelling Azerbaijani attacks during the 2020 war. 

Margaryan Spartak Arsen, born in 2002

Gulabyan Yurik Gurgen, born in 1999

Manucharyan Arman Arshak, born in 1997

Tadevosyan Liparit Armen, born in 2001

Seyradaryan Harutyun Yervand, born in 2002

Khachatryan Sargis Vladimir, born in 2001

Tevosyan David Arthur, born in 2001

Arakelyan Mher Sasun, born in 2000

Chobanyan Armen Ashot, born in 2001

Avetumyan Mayis Shahen, born in 2001

Akinyan Israyel Gagik, born in 2001

Poghosyan Hovhannes Varuzhan, born in 2002

Reservist Poghosyan Tigran Zhorzhik, born in 1990

Reservist Sahakyan Sasun Nikolay, born in 1990

Volunteer Gevorgyan Andranik Armen, born in 1989

Reservist Aslanyan Armen Nikolay, born in 1975

Reservist Hovakimyan Husik Grigor, born in 1996

Reservist Manucharyan Georgi Artem, born in 1986

Reservist Harutyunyan Varuzhan Yakov, born in 1976

Balayan Ara Vladimir, born in 1976

Reservist Bezhanyan Aghasi Vahram, born in 1997

Reservist Mamunts Arthur Radik, born in 1989

Reservist Teymurazyan Grigor Levon, born in 1998

Reservist Nersesyan Armen Perch, born in 1980

Reservist Manukyan Manuk Slavik, born in 1970

Reservist Torosyan Manuk Gagik, born in 1985

Reservist Matevosyan Arayik Patvakan, born in 1971

Reservist Arakelyan Hovsep Melik, born in 1995

Atoyan Melik Robert, born in 1989

Revazyan Avag Gevorg, born in 1989

Ohanyan Sevak Vardan, born in 1985

Volunteer Akoghlyan Ashot Markos, born in 1984

Volunteer Karapetyan Mikayel Gurgen, born in 1993

Reservist Shahnazaryan Andranik Martiros, born in 1983

Reservist Avetisyan Tigran Hamik, born in 1990

Reservist Mkrtchyan Harutyun Seyran, born in 1993

Reservist Arshakyan Gevorg Seyran, born in 1992

Reservist Barseghyan Garik Grigor, born in 1983

Reservist Martirosyan Armen Garegin, born in 1986

Reservist Avetisyan Smbat Miran, born in 1989

Reservist Harutyunyan Sargis Vahram, born in 1994

Reservist Margaryan Roman Surik, born in 1995

Reservist Andreasyan Harutyun Gevorg, born in 1990

Ghazaryan Arman Arsen, born in 2001

Gevorgyan Narek Roman, born in 2000

Babayan Gevorg Sevak, born in 2001

Jivanyan Vahe Mihran, born in 2001

Hovsepyan Mikayel David, born in 2000

Khachatryan Suren Seyran, born in 1979

Ghazaryan Vahe Ashot, born in 1977

Zurabyan Artush Vanik, born in 1967

Navasardyan Sargis Frunzik, born in 1978 

Tigran Abrahamyan: What purpose serve formal updates on the border situation if not to mislead the public?

Lara Antonian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 4 2021

Political Scientist Tigran Abrahamyan questions on Facebook the logic of daily border updates by the Ministry of Defense. 

"The Ministry of Defense of Armenia has recently started daily updates on the situation across the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, citing the National Security Service (NSS) report about the situation on Vorotan-Davit Bek road section which is under the protection of NSS border troops," Abrahamyan wrote, reminding of another news that came days ago from the Russian Defense Ministry. 

It said that on January 30, two Azerbaijani servicemen had been arrested in Tegh village of Syunik province by NSS officers, however the news was not covered in the Armenian MoD's updates. 

"Is there any reasonable answer for hiding the news about the border violation by the Azeris and the process of their handover? Why does the Ministry releases disinformation every day, insisting no incidents are reported across the length of the border when we have the incident with the two Azeri servicemen?" Abrahamyan wrote, adding that the National Security Service didn't report about the incident either. 

"What purpose do the formal press releases serve if not to mislead the public? Are they aimed at  distorting the reality, fooling the people or degrading the image of your structures and messages? When will we leave this frivolous approach," Abrahamyan wrote. 

Asbarez: Opposition Protesters Arrested in Front of Parliament

Lara Antonian

February 3,  2021



ARF leader Gegham Manukyan is seen being hauled off by national security forces

The National Salvation Movement staged another demonstration in front of Armenia’s parliament complex on Tuesday protesting a number of bills being debated in parliament that would drastically alter the country’s judiciary in favor of the ruling My Step bloc.

“Remember the changes the government was enacting around this time last year,” said Armenian Revolutionary Federation member and head of the news division of Yerkir Media Gegham Manukyan. “While ignoring all the problems in the country, they wanted to form a Constitutional Court that was to their liking. And now they are doing the same thing: ignoring all the problems, they are busy with something else. That is why this protest is taking place․”

In an emergency session that began at around 11 a.m. local time and lasted to the evening hours, the Armenian parliament’s ruling My Step faction unilaterally voted to alter the make up of Armenia’s courts, by deciding to appoint judges who they claimed would be neutral. The parliamentary opposition took part in the debate but voted against the measures.

Some of the protesters also complained about the recent rhetoric by My Step faction lawmakers, which they likened to “pro-Azerbaijani” statements.

Protesters clash with police on Feb. 3 in Yerevan

Kristine Vardanyan, a member of the ARF Youth Organization of Armenia Central Executive, said that she and other supporters of the National Salvation Movement wanted to strip those lawmakers who have made recent statements that call into question the Armenian origins of Shushi and Hadrut.

“We are only in favor of depriving such deputies of their mandate, despite the fact that the country has more important problems,” said Vardanyan. “They are killing our dream. They are killing our efforts to reclaim what we have lost.”

The parliament building was surrounded by a large number of police and other law enforcement officials.

The protesters marched to Republic Square, where they were also met by a large number of law enforcement, including officers of the special services.

While at parliament, Armenian special security forces detained Manukyan, as well as ARF Youth Organization Central Executive members Hovhannes Stepanyan, Gor Sargsyan and ARF “Nikol Aghbalyan” student union member Taron Manukyan and others.

On Tuesday evening leaders of the National Salvation Movemenet, Homeland Party chairman Artur Vanetsyan, ARF Supreme Council of Armenia chair Ishkhan Saghatelyan, Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan and the movement’s candidate for prime minister Vazgen Manukyan met with former presidents Serzh Sarkisian and Robert Kocharian.

Saghatelyan told 168.am that no specific changes to approach were discussed during the meeting with the two former presidents, adding the the National Salvation Movement plans to continue its protests and civil disobedience actions.

“We are going to continue out efforts with more vigor until we oust this evil—the government,” Saghatelyan told 168.am.

The ARF Supreme Council of Armenia chairman said that his party will take part in snap parliamentary elections only after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation and the installing of a temporary national accord government.

“No one is opposed to snap elections, but they cannot take place while Pashinyan is prime minister,” explained Saghatelyan, who also denied any suggestion that there were tensions among opposition forces making up the National Salvation Movement.

Kocharian and Vanetsyan have indicated that their parties would take part in snap elections called by Pashinyan, while Sarkisian has said his Republican Party of Armenia would boycott such elections.

Delay in repatriation of Armenian POWs by Azerbaijani authorities proposed to be discussed at PACE winter session

Lara Antonian
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 25 2021

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will hold its 2021 winter plenary session from January 25 to 28 in a hybrid manner, allowing members to participate remotely or attend in person in Strasbourg.

The Assembly will debate the ethical, legal and practical considerations of COVID-19 vaccines. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will address parliamentarians in the debate.

There have been requests for three urgent debates on:

– "The arrest and detention of Alexei Navalny in January 2021"
– "The worsening situation in Belarus"
– "Freedom of _expression_ (Article 10 of the ECHR) under threat by 'Big Tech' Companies".

Three current affairs debate requests have also been submitted under the titles:

– "Prohibition of Russian and other national minorities languages in Ukraine"
– “Unjustifiable delay in repatriation of the Armenian prisoners of war and other captives by Azerbaijani authorities as violation of the European International Human Rights Standards”
– “The actual human rights situation in temporary occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol during Covid-19 pandemics”.

Other topics on the agenda include ethnic profiling in Europe, restrictions on NGO activities in Council of Europe member States, and discrimination against persons dealing with chronic and long-term illnesses.

During the session, the Assembly will elect the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the Secretary General of the Assembly and the judges to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Greece and Switzerland. These elections will be held by individual electronic voting.

The European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders will address the members of the Assembly and answer their questions, as will the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, Heiko Maas (within the framework of the German presidency of the Committee of Ministers) and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić (who will present her communication).

Debates will also be held on the independence of judges in Poland and in the Republic of Moldova, and on the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. A report on parliamentary elections in Georgia will also be discussed. 

The Assembly will decide its final agenda on the opening day of the session.

Terrorist Organization, Grey Wolves, Announce School Opening in Nagorno-Karabakh

Lara Antonian
Jan 27 2021

01/27/2021 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Turkish President Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Aliyev approved the building of a Grey Wolf School in the captured Nagorno-Karabakh city of Shushi. On , they will begin to lay the school’s foundation.

The leader of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahceli gave this announcement during a Parliamentary address on January 16th. He stated, , “I said that ‘If our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan grants permission, and if the President of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, finds it appropriate, it is our goal to build a school of nine classrooms in Shusha by the Ulku Ocaklari Education and Culture Foundation on my personal instructions. I said that the name of this school will be the late Üzeyir Hajibeyli, born in Shusha and composer of the Azerbaijani National Anthem and that it will be founded on .’With the mutual agreement and approval of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the President of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, our project to build a school in Shusha was approved.”

The Ulku Ocaklari Education and Culture Foundation is an official name of the Grey Wolves, which the international community recognizes as a terrorist organization. It is often described as Turkey’s MHP’s paramilitary wing and acknowledged their presence during the forty-four-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian: Artsakh). ICC documented their role in the conflict in the recently released report entitled The Anatomy of Genocide: Karabakh’s Forty-Four Day War.

The report recommends that the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom name the Grey Wolves as an Entity of Particular Concern. It explains that the Grey Wolves have “became known as a death squad and were involved in many religious freedom violations.” It further argues that religious freedom abuses during the Nagorno-Karabakh war “were often done using the cloaked language familiar to those associated with the Grey Wolves… Both Turkey and Azerbaijan once had a vibrant, diverse society. Today freedom of conscience and identity does not exist there. This is what is at stake in Nagorno-Karabakh.”

The city of Shushi belonged to the Armenian Christian territory of Nagorno-Karabakh until the Turkish-Azeri invasion in November 2020. During the invasion, Turkey targeted, dismantled, and/or destroyed Armenian Christian sites. The Armenian name of Shushi changed to Shusha as part of the forced demographic change. The city is important as it overlooks Nagorno-Karabakh’s capital of Stepanakert and is militarily considered a linchpin.

Claire Evans, ICC’s Regional Manager for the Middle East, said, “The opening of a Grey Wolf school in Shushi further proves that this war has had strong ideological foundations from its start. Turkey has adopted a so-called peacekeeper position following the war, and we are disappointed in their approval of a school by a group that is internationally known for its extremism. It is no coincidence that some of the worst religious freedom incidents in Turkey’s history were at the hands of the Grey Wolves. This decision is completely incompatible with Turkish-Azeri promises to protect religious diversity. Unfortunately, similar decisions may be forthcoming if the international community continues to look the other way on Nagorno-Karabakh.”

FPWC: The new Caucasian leopard identified in Armenia gives hope for endangered subspecies’ survival

Lara Antonian
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 30 2021

A new Caucasian Leopard has been identified for the first time in camera trap footage from Armenia’s Caucasus Wildlife Refuge (CWR), the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) reported. 

According to the source, the latest arrival becomes just the fifth individual leopard to be recorded here since 2013, when our in-country partner, the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC), began tracking the big cats.

It is noted that there is a chance this latest discovery could gain even greater importance, as according to FPWC the new leopard may be a female. However, more footage is needed before their experts can be completely certain, but the prospect of a future breeding population in this vast protected area has caused much excitement in recent weeks.

“If true, this would mean there’s a real hope for leopards in Armenia,” says Ruben Khachatryan, FPWC’s Director. “The existence of a healthy reproductive population of leopards [would be] the cornerstone of the subspecies’ survival.”

The evidence at present is compelling. In the space of a month, this new leopard was spotted in the same area of the CWR as a known male leopard, Neo. According to FPWC, it is unlikely two males would be in such close proximity to each other.

Neo, like the potential female, is a young leopard – raising hopes that cubs may be on the horizon.  Both leopards have also been photographed by WWF Armenia in the Khosrov Forest State Reserve, adjacent to the CWR, said the source. 

Republican Party of Armenia vice-president on failure of Armenian delegation to the PACE

Lara Antonian
News.am, Armenia
Jan 28 2021
22:54, 28.01.2021

Vice-President of the Republican Party of Armenia Armen Ashotyan posted the following on his Facebook page:

“When Armenia is represented by ‘bagpipes’ of the authorities

The session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe showed that the existing ‘pack’ of conspirators is unable to pursue Armenia’s interests.

The delegation representing Armenia failed to:

1. Introduce the return of prisoners of war in the agenda of the PACE session.

2. Reach targeted statements blaming Azerbaijan in the report of the PACE Monitoring Committee.

However, I believe the third one is the biggest omission.

During the war, I had stated the need to use international mechanisms for investigation into the war in order to enshrine Azerbaijan’s military aggression and war crimes at the international level, along with all the consequences. This international mechanism first and foremost concerns the PACE, which has such a mandate and toolkit.

Moreover, through our efforts, the political message to investigate the war through the PACE was also conveyed the European People’s Party (the most influential political family in Europe) on December 7, 2020. It was stated that the need for a detailed and transparent investigation into the circumstances of the war and war crimes is important, including through the use of the toolkit and mechanisms of the PACE.

Similar statements on the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh were also included in the annual Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) Report adopted by the European Parliament on January 20, 2021, and in the annual Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) Report, the European Parliament calls for an international investigation into all the allegations regarding the existence of foreign militias and the use of cluster munitions and phosphorus bombs.

This year in Strasbourg, in its report, the PACE reiterated the alarms sounded and the need for investigation of war crimes stated during the war, that is, the following: “The Assembly expresses its serious concern about reports and allegations of violations of humanitarian and human rights law by all sides during this conflict and allegations of degradations to some religious sites and monuments, as well as destruction of private property, and expects these reports to be fully investigated and any violations to be remedied and the perpetrators prosecuted.”

One has to be perfectly insane to overlook this very prospective proposal and to be satisfied with primitive texts for the internal audience in a favorable international environment.

The PACE should have and could have launched this process that is in the interests of Armenia.

Unfortunately, Armenia was represented by ‘bagpipes’ of the authorities.”

Number of Center for Armenian Studies abroad to increase – deputy minister

Lara Antonian

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 15:02,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. The number of Center for Armenian Studies operating in different countries of the world will increase, Deputy minister of education, science, culture and sport Artur Martirosyan said at a press conference in Armenpress, adding that there are plans to add 2 more such centers to the already existing 8 ones.

“As for the location of these new centers, let me not open the brackets. It is conditioned by several factors, we are working with our Embassies. The interest of the hosting side is also very important so that they will provide co-financing and ensure the continuation of the program. I attach importance to these centers to open in influential institutions. We are thinking about new formats in cooperation with the influential structures of the Diaspora so that the expansion of these centers will not take place only at the expense of the state budget. And we have put a task for all these centers to be in network cooperation”, the deputy minister said.

The new centers will mainly run the same policy as the current ones do. The popularization of the Armenian culture and education will be the focus of their activity.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan