Author: Maral Chavushian

Armenian year-long ban on importing Turkish goods lifted

Maral Chavushian
Jan 1 2022

  • Jan 01 2022 02:41 Gmt+3
  • Last Updated On: Jan 01 2022 02:42 Gmt+3

The Armenian government announced that it would end its ban on the importation of Turkish goods that Yerevan implemented in response to Turkey’s support of Azerbaijan in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s RFE/RL Armenian Service reported on Thursday.

“A decision was made not to extend the embargo on the import of Turkish goods into the country,” the Armenian Economy Ministry announced on Facebook.

The ban will be lifted on Saturday, New Year’s Day.

It was first imposed back in Dec. 31, 2020 for six months. However, in June 2021 it was extended for an additional six months.

The Economy Ministry told RFE/RL over two weeks ago that a draft decision for extending the ban was in the works but ultimately never made it onto the government agenda.

The Armenian government’s last cabinet meeting took place on Thursday. Following that meeting, the Economy Ministry released a statement revealing that interdepartmental discussions had ended with a decision not to extend the import embargo.

“We have received many statements and requests to lift the ban on the import of Turkish goods,” read a ministry statement.

Turkey gave extensive political and military support to Azerbaijan during the 2020 conflict, during which Baku reclaimed large parts of the Nagorno-Karabakh region from Armenia. Turkish-built Bayraktar TB2 drones supplied to the Azerbaijani military played a decisive role against Armenian ground forces in that conflict.

Last June, when announcing the extension of the import ban, Armenian Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan said that Turkish imports since the imposition of the first ban dropped by about 70 percent. And while the import of raw materials continued almost no finished products were imported from Turkey during that period.

Human rights activist: Artsakh’s political elite ‘has run out of patience’

Maral Chavushian
panorama>>am
Dec 27 2021

Artsakh’s political elite “has run out of patience”, human rights activist and former Artsakh Ombudsman Ruben Melikyan claimed on Sunday, referring to the recent statements of the country’s leaders.

His comments came after the Artsakh president and human rights ombudsman harshly reacted to the statements of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the Artsakh issue, calling them “extremely dangerous” for the vital rights of the Artsakh Armenians.

In a public post on Facebook, Melikyan admitted that not all developments in Artsakh were clear to him.

“Nevertheless, I reserve the right to make a few points:

1) The Artsakh elite has completely run out of patience, with an exception of “23.65%”.

2) The confrontation is real, not "staged".

3) The vast majority of Artsakh Armenians (99% and more) are well aware that the capitulator has turned into an enemy agent and henchman,” he said, welcoming the “awakening process” in the country.

Deputy police chief: Armenia has recorded a rise in the number of crimes

Maral Chavushian
 News.am 
Dec 30 2021
23:04, 30.12.2021

Armenia has recorded a certain rise in the number of crimes across the country. This is what Deputy Chief of Police of Armenia Ara Fidanyan said during a briefing following the government’s session on Thursday, adding that there are objective and subjective reasons for this and that more details will be provided when the results of the year are summed up.

Fidanyan expressed confidence that the patrol service is well-established and that its work is rather fruitful.

“The fact that there are incidents and criminal cases goes to show that the Police of Armenia are open and don’t conceal anything. We also need to take into consideration how many crimes the Patrol Service has revealed. The public is content with the patrol officers’ work,” he stated.

Touching upon the case of a few police officers beating a man, he clarified that it would be inappropriate to blame the Police or the Special Investigation Service for this since the police aren’t investigating the criminal case. “The police didn’t beat him. I call on you to address the body carrying out preliminary investigation,” he added.


Russian MoD speaks about the necessity of undertaking strict measures against NATO’s political course

Maral Chavushian

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 20:33,

YEREVAN, 27 DECEMBER, ARMENPRESS. NATO’s confronting political course against Russia forces Moscow to strictly put forward the issue of legally binding security guarantees, which will exclude any further movement of the NATO to the East, ARMENPRESS reports Deputy Minister of Defense of Russian Federation Alexander Fominsaid.

He reminded that the draft agreement on security measures of Russia and the NATO member states was transferred to the American side on December 15, 2021.

Artsakh official: Why international leaders praise Baku for releasing Armenian captives if it’s international law duty?

Maral Chavushian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 22 2021
13:35, 22.12.2021

Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Minister of State Artak Beglaryan has reflected on the issue of captives.

“Anyone can explain [to] me why some international leaders praise Azerbaijan for releasing Armenian captives, if it is an intl law duty & AZ still keeps many of them as hostages?” Beglaryan wrote on Twitter.

“Guys, if you praise ‘good will’ of a criminal instead of punishing, you encourage deviant behavior!” he added.

RFE/RL – Georgian Service – 12/18/2021

Maral Chavushian 
                                        Saturday, 


Independent Medics Say Georgian Ex-President's Health Compromised By 'Torture' 
In Prison
 21:14 GMT
        • By RFE/RL's Georgian Service

Georgian ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili delivers a speech in the defendant's 
dock during a court hearing in Tbilisi on December 2.


TBILISI -- An independent group of doctors has examined jailed former Georgian 
President Mikheil Saakashvili and determined that his health has been seriously 
compromised as a result of "torture" and mistreatment he had allegedly 
experienced since his arrest in early October.

The doctors reported on December 18 that Saakashvili, 53, had developed several 
neurological conditions "as a result of torture, ill-treatment, inadequate 
medical care, and a prolonged hunger strike."

One member of the group, psychiatrist Mariam Jishkariani, told the AFP news 
agency that the health problems were the result of "Saakashvili's psychological 
torture in prison, which could lead to his incapacitation if he is not given 
proper medical care."

She added that he had been wrongly given unspecified "antipsychotic drugs," 
which amounted to "pharmacological torture."

The examination by a group of seven physicians was organized by the 
nongovernmental Empathy Center.

Saakashvili himself has said he was subjected to death threats, sleep 
deprivation, and physical abuse while in custody.

Last week, the Georgian State Inspectorate announced it had opened an 
investigation into Saakashvili's allegations.

The NGO Amnesty International has said Saakashvili’s treatment was "not just 
selective justice, but apparent political revenge," while the U.S. State 
Department has called on the Georgian government to "treat Saakashvili fairly 
and with dignity."

Saakashvili served as Georgia's president from 2004 to 2013. He was arrested 
shortly after returning to Georgia from self-imposed exile in Ukraine.

He conducted a 50-day hunger strike to protest his convictions on charges of 
abuse of office, which he says were politically motivated.

His arrest, coming amid a political crisis stemming from disputed parliamentary 
elections in 2020, spurred the largest anti-government protests in Georgia in a 
decade.




With reporting by AFP
        • RFE/RL's Georgian Service
RFE/RL's Georgian Service is a trusted source of politically and financially 
independent journalism in a country where much of the media is aligned with the 
government or the opposition.

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Armenia lifts requirement of wearing masks outdoors

Maral Chavushian
Public Radio of Armenia
Dec 17 2021
, 15:34

 1 minute read

Armenia lifts the requirement of wearing masks outdoors as the number of Covid cases tends to decrease, the Ministry of Health informs. It will still be mandatory to wear masks indoors.

Masks will not be mandatory for children under 5 and people with chronic respiratory diseases: asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema or bronchitis, severe respiratory failure, chronic heart failure (stages C and D) provided that the mentioned persons have a document proving the relevant medical condition.

Direct participants and speakers at events hosted by the President of the Republic of Armenia, the Catholicos of All Armenians, the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the President of the Constitutional Court and the President of the Supreme Judicial Council will also be exempt from wearing masks. The rule does not apply to journalists and service staff.

Wearing of masks will not be mandatory during exercising or cycling, as well as in specially designated areas for outdoor recreation and beaches, mountains, forests, but not in city parks, botanical gardens and zoos, historical and cultural sites.

TV hosts can also choose not to wear masks, given they are alone in the studio. People with hearing and speaking disorders, mental and behavioral disorders, cognitive disorders are also exempt from wearing masks.

Armenian parliament speaker sues opposition MP

Maral Chavushian
Panorama, Armenia
Dec 9 2021

Armenian parliament speaker Alen Simonyan has filed a defamation lawsuit against MP Aregnaz Manukyan from the opposition Hayastan (Armenia) faction, he said at a parliament sitting on Thursday.

"Over the past three months, Mrs. Manukyan kept using 4 sentences in a text, changing them in places – asphalt, Greece, bookmaker's office…I don’t remember the last one,” Simonyan said.

He expressed confidence that the court will oblige her to apologize to him for “false accusations”.

Earlier, Manukyan accused Simonyan of self-enrichment at the expense of public funds through EuroAsphalt, a company run by the speaker's brother, that won state tenders for road construction.

Biden hopes for tete-a-tete meeting with Putin

Maral Chavushian

Biden hopes for tete-a-tete meeting with Putin

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 20:41, 7 December, 2021

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. During the remote conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Joe Biden hoped for a tete-a-tete meeting with the Russian President next time, ARMENPRESS reports, citing TASS.

“I welcome you, Mr. President”, Putin said, addressing his U.S. counterpart.

“Good day. I am glad to see you again”, Biden answered.

Following the greeting, the leaders of the two countries started the conversation. Biden was the first to talk.

“Unfortunately, we did not meet during the G20 meeting, but I hope next time we will meet face to face”, Biden said.

The negotiations continued in a closed format, as announced earlier.

CivilNet: Dutch Embassy’s projects in Armenia

Maral Chavushian
CIVILNET.AM

08 Dec, 2021 09:12

Nico Schermers, the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Armenia, in conversation with CivilNet’s Emilio Luciano Cricchio about the latest projects the Dutch embassy has been implementing in Armenia. Ambassador Schermers moreover speaks on Amsterdam’s view of the POW situation, how to support Armenia’s civil society and what he enjoys most about traveling around the Armenian countryside.