Author: Maral Takmazian

Artsakh military releases names of 29 more fallen soldiers

Maral Takmazian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 8 2021

The Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Defense Army on Monday, February 8, released the names of 29 more Armenian servicemen killed repelling Azerbaijani attacks during the 2020 war. 

1. Reservist Muradyan Vigen Israyel, born in 1995

2. Volunteer Khachatryan Arman Shahvalad, born in 1977

3. Volunteer Ohanyan Vahan Surik, born in 1963

4. Volunteer Gareginyan Vahan Karapet, born in 1973

5. Reservist Mkhitaryan Levon Sergey, born in 1982

6. Reservist Sumbulyan Samvel Tovmas, born in 1969

7. Volunteer Galstyan Garegin Garik, born in 1979

8. Reservist Margaryan Hovhannes Gurgen, born in 1987

9. Yelughyan Narek Yuri, born in 1997 

10. Khachatryan Tigran Artur, born in 1998

11. Arakelyan Artur Arayik, born in 1986թ.

12. Reservist Vardanyan Tigran Andranik, born in 1995

13. Volunteer Grigoryan Artur Georgi, born in 1989

14. Melkonyan Samvel Yeghishe, born in 1996

15. Hakobyan Karen Hrahat, born in 1985

16. Hunanyan Grigor Nver, born in 1996

17. Ananyan Robert Artashes, born in 2000

18. Babayan Gor Gagik, born in 2001

19. Hovhannisyan Hovhannes Smbat, born in 2000

20. Mnatsakanyan Gevorg Mnatsakan, born in 2001

21. Manukyan Arman Artur, born in 2001

22. Gasparyan Hovhannes Qajik, born in 2002

23. Mirzoyan Harutyun Hakob, born in 2002

24. Tatintsyan Euner Artur, ծնվ. 2001թ.

25. Grigoryan Mkhitar Koryun, born in 2002

26. Vardanyan Avetis Hakob, born in 2000

27. Baghdasaryan Vagharshak Hrachik, born in 2002

28. Melkonyan Hrant Vachagan, born in 2001

29. Khachatryan Garnik Manuk, born in 2000.

Only one person with his team lost on November 9, while the people had lost in 2018 – Ashot Minasyan

Maral Takmazian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 3 2021

"An insane person destroyed the whole country leaving some 5,000 mothers in grief," commander of Sisakan unit Ashot Minasyan said at a meeting with intellectuals of Shirak province. The discussion held on Wednesday brought together members of "The Voice of Motherland" initiative and representative of arts and culture sector. 

Minasyan noted that he had been visiting Artsakh for 30 years with pride, as a victorious commander and a soldier. 

"Every time I visited Artsakh I used to tell my comrades-in-arms whom we had lost that it was pity they hadn't the chance to see our victory. I was in Artsakh 30 days ago and thought those killed were lucky as they didn't see my and their defeat," Minasyan said.

In the words of the veteran commander, capable people should run the country "which is not a office or business" and they "we are obliged to pass something on to generations."

"How was it possible we started hating our military, people, ourselves? How did they manage to hate the whole nation and feed us with betrayal plane. We state we have not lost. We lost three years ago when we started hating ourselves," Minasyan said, referring to the 2018 revolution and the public mood. 

"On November 9, 2020, there was one person with his team who lost, while the people had lost in 2018, since we were divided from outside forces," added Minasyan.

“Strong positive signal of economic year” – Pashinyan on issuance of $750 mln eurobond

Maral Takmazian

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 11:44, 4 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 4, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called the government’s issuance of the $750,000,000 eurobond a “strong positive signal of the economic year’s start.”

“It’s very important to note that the issuance took place under the most favorable conditions in our country’s history, with the lowest percentage. And this is a very important signal for our economy. First of all, with this a guarantee for macroeconomic stability was formed. Second of all, basically we can say that this is the first serious signal of overcoming the post-war economic shock, which is also a testimony to the fact that international investors have trust in the economic future of Armenia and the government’s policy,” Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting.

He dismissed concerns and rumors about the issuance, and noted that there was nothing extraordinary or emergency in its essence, because it was envisaged by the 2021 budget’s deficit funding tools.

“In this regard we can note that we’ve started the economic year with a very strong positive signal. And we hope that this positive signal will bring about a chain reaction.”

“It’s important to mention that the demand was far greater, nearly 3 billion, but at this moment we decided to involve 750 million dollars,” he said.

The finance minister then said that the government decided to involve 250 million more than it was originally planned under the budget. The 250 million dollars will be kept as a financial buffer and will be used as required during the year.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Lt. General Jalal Harutyunyan appointed Head of Armenian defense ministry’s Military Control Service

Maral Takmazian

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 11:50, 4 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 4, ARMENPRESS. Former defense minister of Artsakh, former Defense Army Commander, Lieutenant-General Jalal Harutyunyan has been appointed Head of the Military Control Service of the Defense Ministry of Armenia, PR department head at the defense ministry Gevorg Altunyan told Armenpress.

Previously, Movses Hakobyan was serving as Head of the Military Control Service, but he resigned on November 18, 2020.

Jalal Harutyunyan has been relieved from the position of the defense minister of Artsakh, the Defense Army Commander on October 27, 2020, as he was wounded in action in a military position.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenia ex-president: The new government had a certain pathological fear of the army

Maral Takmazian
News.am, Armenia
Feb 7 2021
00:04, 07.02.2021

The new government had a certain pathological fear of the army, Armenian ex-president Robert Kocharyan told Sputnik Armenia.

“There was probably such a program: confidence in the combat effectiveness of our army and confidence in our military superiority. What else has been added to it? Irresponsible statements of the head of the Armenian military department that the future is war, a new war, new territories. This is well known. Quite simply a silly statement. There is such a problem."

"We fortified the front line, the army was constantly replenished with military equipment. The new authorities have changed the approach to military development in general. So what's the problem? The new government had a certain pathological fear of the army."

According to him, the new authorities had a very serious mistrust towards the army. 

"And the primary task was to put the army in its place, to belittle the role of the army in Armenian society," he added.

PACE concerned with rapid changes in the composition of Armenia’s Constitutional Court without the opinion of the Venice Commission

Maral Takmazian
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 26 2021

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted on Monday its annual report taking stock of its monitoring activities in 2020 and making a series of assessments of the progress of the countries subject to the monitoring procedure or engaged in post-monitoring dialogue.

The adopted resolution, based on a report by Michael Aastrup Jensen (Denmark, ALDE), welcomes positive developments and progress made, and expresses concern at remaining shortcomings in each of the countries concerned, including Armenia, as well as making specific recommendations. The report was adopted with 70 votes in favour, 22 against and 18 abstentions.

According to the adopted text, the Assembly welcomes the progress in the fight against corruption in Armenia reflected by the improvement in the ranking established by the NGO Transparency International, the adoption of the 2020-2022 strategy to reform police forces, which foresees creating a new Ministry of Interior responsible for law enforcement agencies, the declared intention of the Armenian National Assembly to increase the transparency of political financing, and the ratification of Lanzarote Convention. 

At the same time, the Assembly expresses its concern about the rapid changes in the composition of the Constitutional Court without the opinion of the Venice Commission being fully taken into account. 

The assembly calls to continue pursuing the democratic path it has chosen, and to solve the political crisis that followed the signature of the trilateral statement within the framework of a democratic state that respects the rule of law. 

With regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Assembly calls on all parties involved to refrain from inflammatory rhetoric hindering political dialogue, Armenia and Azerbaijan to implement as soon as possible the provisions of the trilateral statement related to humanitarian issues, all parties involved to immediately put in action the exchange of prisoners of war and bodies, to respect cultural heritage; it invites the Monitoring Committee to explore avenues to contribute at parliamentary level to an atmosphere conducive to the peace process. 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.

 

3 families with minor children being deported from Austria to Georgia, Armenia, causing political scandal

Maral Takmazian
News.am, Armenia
Jan 29 2021
17:22, 29.01.2021

The deportation—to Georgia and Armenia—of three families with minor children from Austria has caused a political scandal, EurAsia Daily reports.

Three families—including three teenagers who went to school in Vienna and Lower Austria—were deported from Austria to Georgia and Armenia yesterday. The deportation of minors has provoked the protest of people who know the families. Around 160 people protested in Vienna near the detention center where the detainees were being held. Police had to disperse the demonstrators who had blocked street with shopping carts and waste tanks.

The media sensibly escalated the deportation by taking close-up photos of the frightened children. In addition, due to technical problems, the teenagers spent three hours on the bus transporting the detainees, before being taken to the airport.

"While you were sleeping, three children spent three hours in a deportation bus; dogs and hundreds of policemen outside," Florian Klenk, editor-in-chief of the Vienna’s Falter magazine, tweeted.

The deportation of these students has also caused disagreements within the Austrian ruling coalition. Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler from the Green Party stated: "There is no legal obligation, especially in the pandemic conditions, to deport students who grew up here in Austria and are well integrated. We all have a political obligation to remain human.”

However, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer of the Austrian People's Party spoke in favor of the measure. "This is a decision of the Supreme Court, which has been reviewed several times, and the police must implement it," he said.

Mittagsjournal reports on the details of one of the deported Georgian families, which has a 12-year-old. In 2015, the family applied for asylum for the first time, but it was rejected. Meanwhile, the family continued to live in Austria. The Federal Administrative Court clarified that the long-term residence of the family was motivated by the fact that the migrants persistently opposed the formal demands, appealing the decisions.

It got to the point where the President of Austria, Alexander van der Bellen, had to comment on the situation. "I cannot and will not believe that we live in a country where it is really necessary in that way. I'm deeply shocked. We need to find a way to interact humanely and respectfully with each other, especially when the main victims are the children."

Yerevan court rejects motion to release ex-education minister for AMD 2,000,000

Maral Takmazian
News.am, Armenia
Jan 29 2021
21:00, 29.01.2021

The Yerevan court of general jurisdiction today rejected the defense counsel’s motion to apply pledge in the amount of AMD 2,000,000 for the release of former Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia Gevorg Loretsyan, who will remain in custody.

Loretsyan’s attorney Levon Sahakyan said there is no risk that Loretsyan will hinder investigation and Loretsyan doesn’t even recognize the witnesses by their faces.

The prosecutor objected the motion and stated that the motion is subject to rejection.

According to the indictment, starting from June 4, 2019, Loretsyan, as a government official, demanded a bribe from owner and executive director of companies Hrachik Kananyan in the amount of AMD 2,000,000 to not create obstacles for him to participate in the procurement tenders organized by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport and accepting goods supplied in case Loretsyan won the tender.

Azerbaijani military regularly fire in the immediate vicinity of Armenian villages – Ombudsman

Maral Takmazian
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 30 2021

The Azerbaijani military fire from small and large-caliber weapons in the immediate vicinity of the villages of Chakaten, Nerkin Hand, Shikahogh, Yeghvard, Agarak, Uzhanis in the Syunik province of Armenia, Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan says.

Civilians and community bodies of all these villages have informed the Human Rights Defender that shootings take place regularly, both during the day and at night.

According to the alarms, the shootings are clearly heard in the villages, aimed at intimidating civilians and, first of all, children and women.

At the same time, the villagers observed that the Azerbaijani servicemen fire when they are drunk. The shooting is usually from large-caliber weapons and more intensive in these cases.

The delegation led by the Human Rights Defender was informed about these shootings on January 9, 2021 during their visits to Tshakaten and other villages of Kapan. At that time, it was directly reported that the shootings were causing tension in villages.

“These criminal, absolutely condemnable acts must be completely excluded. They have become a real threat to the rights to life and health, physical and psychological integrity and other rights of civilians of Armenia, recognized internationally and guaranteed by the Constitution of Armenia. These shooting grossly violate best interests of the children as well,” the Ombudsman says.

“The mentioned fact further reinforces the Human Rights Defender’s assessment that the presence of Azerbaijani armed forces in the immediate vicinity of Armenia’s civilian border communities, on inter-community and interstate roads is a real threat to the lives and other vital rights of civilians,” Tatoyan adds.

Reports on these facts will be sent to international organizations, including the OSCE, the UN and the Council of Europe. Separate reports will also be sent to special mechanisms of intergovernmental organizations.

Vahan Badasyan detained by National Security Service

Maral Takmazian
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 28 2021

Opposition figure, the leader of United Armenia Party Vahan Badasyan has been detained by officers of the National Security Service, the party reported on its Facebook page. 

The detention comes hours after Badasyan's remarks made at Yerablur military pantheon  about the need to forcibly remove PM Pashinyan from office. "If he [ed. Pashinyan] refuses to leave, we will remove him physically with arms. I will start organizing that," Badasyan reportedly had said.