Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

MP: Some landfills in Armenia located on historical and cultural monuments

Tatoyan Vazgen
Panorama, Armenia
May 7 2020

"The issue of landfills is one of the global problems facing us," Armenia’s Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Suren Papikyan said at the parliament on Thursday, responding to a question of MP Srbuhi Grigoryan from My Step faction.

The lawmaker stated there are landfills in Armenia which are located on historical and cultural monuments, for example, the Aghitu landfill, beneath which there is a mausoleum field of great value.

She asked the minister whether work is being carried out to close such landfills and, if so, at what stage it is now.

According to Papikyan, not only the landfills, but also many parts of the country which should be free of garbage have become dumpsites.

According to Papikyan, there are numerous causes of the problem, saying it’s also a matter of citizens’ conscientious behavior.

“However, the government is now considering several programs. At the moment, the economic bloc is discussing the issue of developing an event for garbage collection and landfill conservation, which will allow our unemployed citizens to get paid for work and clean up garbage at the same time in an effort to close landfills and free tourist attractions, settlements and Lake Sevan shores from wastes,” the minister said.

In response to a question about garbage recycling, Papikyan informed that at the moment a landfill is being constructed in Kotayk and Gegharkunik Provinces, which can concentrate the garbage of the provinces for about 20 years.

"In the meantime, negotiations are underway for recycling, although we do not have a final concept of what kind of recycling is more applicable for us, because there are many precedents in the world, while those wishing to deal with waste recycling in Armenia offer a method which is not acceptable to us. Since there is a problem of environmental pollution, we have not reached a final decision yet,” the minister added.

Armenia to pay rewards to WWII veterans on 75th anniversary of Victory Day

Tatoyan Vazgen

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 13:21, 30 April, 2020

YEREVAN, APRIL 30, ARMENPRESS. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Victory Day, the Armenian Government announced it will pay 300,000-dram rewards as assistance to all World War II veterans in Armenia.

PM Nikol Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting that 287 WWII veterans are currently living in Armenia.

Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Zaruhi Batoyan reminded that this one-time payment is not related to the stipend that the veterans are already receiving, which in turn was doubled in 2019.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Tigran Avinyan dismissed Avetiq Eloyan from the post of his adviser

Tatoyan Vazgen
Arminfo, Armenia
May 1 2020

ArmInfo. Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan dismissed his adviser Avetiq Eloyan. This decision was published on the website of the RA Government.

<Guided by part 14 of article 9 of the RA Law <On Public Service> to dismiss  Avetiq Eloyan from the post of adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister  Tigran Avinyan>, the decision reads.  To note, Avetiq Eloyan was  appointed to the post of adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister in  February 2019, before that he served as chairman of the Urban  Development Committee (from June 2018 to February 2019) .

Vice-Speaker: Mikael Minasyan will be held accountable and his stay abroad will not help him

Tatoyan Vazgen
Arminfo, Armenia

ArmInfo.Son-in-law of former President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, former Armenian Ambassador to the Vatican, Mikael Minasyan will be held accountable and his stay abroad will not help him. On April 28, in a conversation with  reporters, the National Assembly Vice- Speaker Alen Simonyan stated.

The Vice-Speaker noted that Mikael Minasyan  < is a myth from head to  toe> and he has not read his statements for a long time, which are  published together with his romantic photographs. Simonyan advised  the former ambassador to tackle the issue of wasted billions,  stressing that he would be held accountable for this and his current  stay abroad would not save him. including Minasyan and Serzh Sargsyan,  are now busy trying to start  political activity in the hope that this will help them avoid  responsibility for their actions, presenting it as political  persecution, "he said.

To recall, Mikael Minasyan was prosecuted as a defendant in a  criminal case on illicit enrichment, money laundering and the  inclusion of false data in the income statement. There is no exact  information regarding his current location; Minasyan himself  previously via Facebook reported the initiation of more than 10  criminal cases against people related to him and his family. Last  fall, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called on Minasyan to return to  his homeland and answer questions from the Special Investigation  Service. In particular, it was about illegal, as the Prime Minister  noted, privatization of a strategic object in the Lori region.  According to media reports, this object is the Dzoraget hydroelectric  power station ().

Armenian President congratulates Syrian counterpart on National Day

Tatoyan Vazgen

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 12:57, 17 April, 2020

YEREVAN, APRIL 17, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian sent a congratulatory letter to President of Syria Bashar al-Assad on the country’s National Day, the President’s Office told Armenpress.

President Sarkissian highlighted the centuries-old friendship between the Armenian and Syrian peoples and stated: “The vivid evidence of this was the caring attitude by the Syrian people to tens of thousands of Armenian refugees during the Armenian Genocide, and the statement of the People’s Council of Syria on the official recognition and condemnation of the Genocide was approved by all Armenians with gratitude”.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan




Pashinyan tasks Cabinet to immediately deliver relief to citizens

Tatoyan Vazgen

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 13:17,

YEREVAN, APRIL 16, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says he has personally read letters sent to him on social media and realized that many people are not fully aware of the government’s relief programs amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Zaruhi Batoyan said their specialists are providing assistance to citizens over the phone on how to fill in the data online. According to her, there are some citizens who require simple information, for example what certain abbreviations stand for. Pashinyan himself said he is unaware what a specific abbreviation in the forms stands for, and highlighted that the information must be explained and made very accessible and simplified.

“Today there is a task to deliver the relief on time and effectively. Therefore, all powers must focus – the information system, the social security and technology systems. It is important for this assistance to reach people immediately. And now we have to discuss this publicly, we have already discussed this 5-6 times on the working regime,” he said.

Pashinyan tasked his deputy Mher Grigoryan to personally check the system every two hours.

“We aren’t adopting these relief measures just to announce on live television that we are doing so. This is done in order for this help to reach the people immediately. Therefore, the entire state system must serve the people, in order for the help to reach them immediately,” the PM said.

 

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan




Armenia coronavirus cases reach 977

Tatoyan Vazgen

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 15:59,

YEREVAN, APRIL 11, ARMENPRESS. The number of coronavirus cases in Armenia has increased by 11 and the total cumulative number has reached 977, PM Nikol Pashinyan said on social media.

The PM said he is following the numbers online and these 11 cases will be reported on April 12th in the official statistics.

Earlier on April 11 the healthcare ministry reported 966 cumulative total cases.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan




Following 13th death, Armenia may strengthen state of emergency regs ahead of Easter Sunday

Tatoyan Vazgen
JAM News
11.04.2020
    JAMnews, Yerevan

The Armenian government is considering strengthening and extending the state of emergency regulations announced in mid-March ahead of Easter Sunday and following the country’s 13th death from coronavirus.

On April 10, two other patients died from coronavirus as well, while several remain in critical condition. The total number of cases stands at 977, after an additional 40 were reported earlier today. 173 have recovered from the infection.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has instructed the government to prepare a decision to extend the state of emergency, which ends on April 14.

Through April 12, there are restrictions on movement within the country.

The decision of the government will have to be considered by parliament at an extraordinary session, which will likely be held on Monday, April 13.

Since March 16, everything has been closed in Armenia, except for grocery stores and pharmacies. All public transport has been stopped, including the metro. Since March 25, a strict restriction on the movement of people has been introduced. Citizens can leave the house only in case of emergency – with a passport and a “travel profile”. Violations are monitored by the police.

On April 10, Health Minister Arsen Torosyan made a proposal to extend the state of emergency.

“We can’t assume that the proliferation of the virus will stop or that it is 100 percent fading. Earlier, for example, we had 50 cases, but from a single source of infection, for example, from a large industrial enterprise. Now we have 16, 20, 30 cases, but from 10 or 20 different people. Therefore, the coronavirus infection process has gotten out of control,” the minister said.

Easter is coming to Armenia. The Armenian Apostolic Church decided for the first time to celebrate on April 12 the feast of the Resurrection of Christ without believers in temples, as a precaution in connection with the coronavirus pandemic.

Most actively support this decision. But there are those who on social media write that they are not going to sit at home and will still go to listen to the Easter service.

On Easter in Armenia, it is customary to set a table with painted eggs, festive rice dishes, fish, herbs and wine. There are a lot of people in the markets in Yerevan. And not all of them are keeping their distance from one another  or wearing masks and gloves. There are debates in the country as to the usefulness of masks for the general public – even the Ministry of Health has his doubts.


https://jam-news.net/following-13th-death-armenia-may-strengthen-state-of-emergency-regs-ahead-of-easter-sunday/







Eduardo Eurnekian to provide $250,000 in support to Armenia’s anti-coronavirus efforts

Tatoyan Vazgen
Public Radio of Armenia
April 6 2020


National hero of the Republic of Armenia Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian will provide $250.000 in assistance to the Armenian Government in its fight against coronavirus, Press Service of Armenia international Airports SJSC reports.

Eduardo Eurnekian (born 1932) is an Argentine billionaire businessman of Armenian descent. Forbes estimated his net worth at $1.6 billion.

Eurnekian, the son of Armenian immigrants to Argentina, first operated in the textile industry.

The son of Armenian emigrants, he delved into the cable TV business in the 1980s. His portfolio now includes radio stations, newspapers and a TV channel.

In the 1990s, he netted $750 million in the sale of Argentine TV firm Cablevision.

Under his Corporacion America, Eurnekian and partners own more than 50 airports around the would, with reported revenues of more than $2 billion.

In February 2018, Corporacian America Airports went public on the New York Stock Exchange; His nephen Martin Eurnekian is CEO.