Author: Maral Chavushian

Armenia’s Pashinyan was initiator of bilateral contacts, says Azerbaijan’s Aliyev

Maral Chavushian
News.am, Armenia
Feb 26 2021


16:49, 26.02.2021

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has stated that there will be no bilateral contacts with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan following his provocative statements on Nagorno-Karabakh [(Artsakh)], Azerbaijani media reported.

"My contacts with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia have stopped after his provocative statements—although he was the initiator of our contacts. He promised to make efforts to resolve the conflict," Aliyev told a news conference for foreign and local media on Friday.

According to him, the Azerbaijani side agreed to the Armenian PM’s wish.

Tiran Khachatryan relieved of his post as First Deputy Chief of General Staff of Armenia’s Armed Forces

Maral Chavushian
News.am, Armenia
Feb 24 2021
Tiran Khachatryan relieved of his post as First Deputy Chief of General Staff of Armenia's Armed Forces
23:17, 24.02.2021

Armenian President Armen Sarkissian signed a decree dismissing Tiran Khachatryan from the post of First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.

Earlier the Yerevan.Today published remarks by Tiran Khachatryan in connection with the statement of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan regarding the Iskander.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made a statement that arouses disputes in both Armenian and Russian media and political circles.

He commented on the statement of third President Serzh Sargsyan, as the latter was surprised why the Russia-made Iskander ballistic missile in Armenia’s arsenal was not fired on the third or fourth day of the recent war.

Thus, Pashinyan noted that Iskander missiles "did not explode" or "exploded by 10%."

According to Russian and Armenian experts, Pashinyan questioned the efficiency of Russia-made weapons.

In response to the question, is it possible for the Iskander missile to explode by 10%, Tiran Khachatryan laughed noting that this is not serious.

A few hours later, the defense ministry issued a lengthy statement, claiming that Khachatryan's words were distorted.

Armenian National Committee of America calls on protecting Garo Paylan

Maral Chavushian
News.am, Armenia
Feb 21 2021
01:13, 21.02.2021

With the #ProtectPaylan hashtag, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has posted the following on its Facebook page, calling on protecting Turkish-Armenian MP Garo Paylan, who is under the threat of being stripped of immunity:

"Alert Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the State Department that the Turkish government is set to (once again) lift the immunity of Turkish MPs, including GaroPaylan (who is of Armenian heritage).

Tweet to:

—

Amnesty International

@amnesty

—

Human Rights Watch

@hrw

—

U.S. Department of State: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, & Labor

@StateDRL”

Earlier, Turkish presses had reported that the Turkey’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has submitted a petition to strip nine opposition deputies, including Garo Paylan of parliamentary immunity under the charge related to the street demonstrations that took place in 2014. If the deputies are stripped of immunity, Paylan may be investigated by the court.

    

California State Assembly member introduces ‘Stop Investment in Turkey Act’

Maral Chavushian

 14:38,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. California State Assembly member Chris Holden introduced the Stop Investment in Turkey Act, AB 1019, that will mandate the state  to stop all new investments or renew existing investments issued or owned by Turkey using the full force of the California government to pressure Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide and takes steps towards justice to its victims, Asbarez reports.

“An unrepentant Turkey prevents justice for the families of Armenian Genocide survivors, and makes Turkey a more dangerous country for their minority communities and neighboring Armenia,” said Assemblymember Chris Holden. “Continued investment in the Government of Turkey signals implicit support for their actions, and it needs to stop.”

“Now is the time for California to stand up for truth and justice for the Armenian Genocide with meaningful action,” said Holden.

The ANCA Western Region expressed gratitude to Mr. Holden for introducing the bill.

CivilNet: Post-War Justice: Armenia Launches Lawsuits Against Azerbaijan in EU Court

Maral Chavushian
CIVILNET.AM

18:30

The numerous cases of human rights violations by Azerbaijan during the Second Artsakh War was documented by local and international organizations. But what can Armenia do to achieve justice for these crimes?

Dr. Levon Gevorgyan, a scholar and practitioner of law discusses the lawsuits that Armenia has launched in the European Court of Human Rights and how they could lead to sanction against Azerbaijan.

Truth about the war discussed much – Armenia’s PM

Maral Chavushian
Aysor, Armenia
Feb 10 2021

Head of Bright Armenia faction Edmon Marukyan stated at the parliament today that he prepared a bill offering setting up a fact-finding group to examine the pre-war period, the process, the process of negotiations and present a report to the people.

“Don’t you want to examine and present the truth to the people, Mr Prime Minister,” Marukyan asked addressing the PM at the government-NA Q&A.

In response, PM Pashinyan stated that at this moment more then 1,000 criminal cases relating to the war are being examined.

“The mechanism of examination has been clearly put in the acting legislation and this mechanism is the investigating commission which may be formed in accordance with the relevant legislative regulations,” Pashinyan said.

As to the truth about the war, the PM stressed that it has many times been discussed and agreed that everything till the last detail must be revealed.

Marukyan responded that investigative committee that will be created will have low legitimacy as it will mostly be comprised of representatives of authorities.

  

Armenia’s carpet production drops sharply in 2020

Maral Chavushian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 13 2021

Armenia saw a sharp decline of 76.5% in production of carpets and rugs in 2020, the latest official statistics show.

The country manufactured a total of 7.4 tons of carpets and rugs from January to December last year against the 31.5 tons produced in 2019, the Statistical Committee said.

Incidentally, 26.3 tons of carpets and rugs were manufactured in Armenia in 2018, an increase of 32.8% from the previous year.

Ucom offers cameras, smartphones and movies to celebrate love

Maral Chavushian

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 17:10,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. Ucom has come up with various offers for all those who want to celebrate love or Carnival with their close ones, Ucom told Armenpress.

From February 10-14, to give "a shot of love" to your loved ones, it is possible to buy instax mini 70, instax mini 11 and other instant cameras in cash or credit from Ucom online shop. Particularly, the instax mini 70 is available on credit starting from 2410 AMD per month, and the instax mini 11 can be purchased starting from only 1790 AMD per month. The happiest moments full of love and joy can be captured with a blue, red, white, yellow or pink camera and get the printed photo right away. The high-performance flash automatically calculates surrounding brightness and adjusts shutter speed accordingly — no need for any special settings. In selfie mode, one can also get perfect close-up photos of objects at a distance of 30-50 cm.

Until February 21, it is possible to buy the iPhone 12 mini smartphone in cash or credit from the Ucom online shop and save 24000 AMD. The credit is processed for 36 months, starting from 13220 AMD per month. In case of purchasing the iPhone 12 online, customers will save 25000 AMD, if preferred with an online credit starting from 15280 AMD per month. Note that in case of an online credit, the interest rate of the bank that provided the loan will be added to the monthly payment.

"By the way, fans of multi-genre movies, cartoons and programs can choose video content from the VoD section of Ucom TV service until February 28 with a 50% discount. On February 14 all the subscribers of this service will be able to enjoy thematic films separated in a special folder without any payment", said Ara Khachatryan, Director General at Ucom.

Let us add that instant cameras and smartphones are presented in a limited number.

Holocaust memorial in Yerevan, Armenia vandalized

Maral Chavushian
Jerusalem Post
Feb 12 2021
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF  

FEBRUARY 12, 2021 12:31
The "To Live and Not Forget" Holocaust memorial in the Armenian city of Yerevan was desecrated with paint sprayed all over the Hebrew writings.
The memorial was built to honor both the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide victims and consists of two primary pillars, with “To Live and Not Forget: To the Memory of the Victims of the Genocides of the Armenian and Jewish Peoples” written in Armenian on the right pillar and Hebrew on the left pillar.
Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan’s spokesperson Hakob Karapetyan strongly condemned the desecration, noting that such incidents must be ruled out in Yerevan “where representatives of various nations are living side by side as Yerevantsis.”
“The desecration of any memorial is extremely unacceptable, moreover the kind of memorials which are related to the minorities living in the city. I think this problem should be solved through cooperation with the law enforcement agencies,” Karapetyan said when asked about actions for ruling out similar incidents in the future, given the fact that this is already the second time this particular memorial is targeted by vandals in the last few months, the Armenian Press website reported. 

Vice Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan from the ruling My Step bloc strongly condemned the desecration of the Holocaust and Armenian Genocide memorial in central Yerevan, the Armenian Press website also reported. 
“We strongly condemn the desecration of the memorial of the Genocides of the Jewish and Armenian Peoples located in the Yerevan Circular Park,” Simonyan said in a statement.
“This manifestation of vandalism is nothing else but a crime against universal values, and it should be properly investigated, and those who committed this crime should be held to account in order to rule out and prevent the repetition of such incidents in the future,” Simonyan said.
The World Jewish Congress reacted to the desecration on Twitter, calling it "vile antisemitic graffiti."

Among the many people who posted pictures on Twitter of the vandalized memorial, Rabbi Zamir Isayev shared his consternation.

Yerevan Police said an investigation was launched to identify the vandals.