Category: 2020

Armenian demonstrator’s face bleeding while being apprehended by

Hambik Zargarian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 24 2020
 
 
 
Armenian demonstrator's face bleeding while being apprehended by police
19:24, 24.12.2020
 
Gerasim Vardanyan, one of the demonstrators being apprehended at Republic Square in Yerevan, was bleeding while being apprehended and was taken to the police station in Erebuni district of Yerevan. Vardanyan is a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun political party.
 
The demonstrators had shut down Tigran Mets Avenue, after which they marched to Republic Square where police began to apprehend them.
 
This morning, police officers also apprehended over 70 peaceful demonstrators who had encircled the government building.
 
 
See video at

​Russian MP assesses possibility of Armenia becoming part of Russia

Emil Lazarian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 24 2020
 
 
Russian MP assesses possibility of Armenia becoming part of Russia
19:55, 24.12.2020
 
During a discussion hosted by the Union of Armenians of Russia today, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots of the Russian State Duma Konstantin Zatulin assessed the possibility of Armenia becoming a part of Russia and said it has to be an act of _expression_ of will of the citizens of Armenia.
 
“Yes, someone might positively assess such development of events, but this may become a ‘winning card’ for the adversary and for those who will say ‘they took advantage of our weakness and deprived us of independence’,” he said.
 
The deputy clarified that one can notice that there is not much trust and mutual understanding between the Russian and Armenian authorities.
 
“If the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia (Armen Grigoryan-ed.) is a person who used to make calls for the withdrawal of the Russian military base from Armenia, how can he discuss certain issues with Patrushev,” Zatulin asked.
 
 
 

​Zatulin: "Package plan’ most acceptable option for settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Diana Dabaghian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 24 2020
 
 
 
Zatulin: "Package plan' most acceptable option for settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
20:23, 24.12.2020
 
 
It seems as though the ‘package plan’ for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the most acceptable from the perspective of settlement. This was supposed to be in the form of transfer of the 7 regions surrounding Artsakh to Azerbaijan and determination of the status of Artsakh. This is what First Deputy Chairman of the First Deputy Chairman of the Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots of the Russian State Duma Konstantin Zatulin said during today’s discussion hosted by the Union of Armenians of Russia.
 
“I don’t see other opportunities for achieving peace. In the created situation, it wouldn’t be too appropriate for the Armenian side to negotiate, taking into consideration the current failures. Only after the domestic political situation is stabilized will Armenia be able to touch upon this issue again,” the MP said. As far as the status-quo is concerned, the MP said all violations need to be prevented.
 
“It seems to me that this is the mandate of the Russian peacekeeping contingent. Unquestionably, Turkey and Azerbaijan launched the recent war. The main side that is benefiting from the situation and the side violating peace haven’t received a response, and this is one of the points that is advancing Turkey’s interests in the Caucasus. On the backdrop of the environment after the conflict and as a result of the Armenian side’s defeat, an attempt is being made to advance something, and one can notice the aspiration to legitimize the presence of the Turkish armed forces in Artsakh in the form of a monitoring center,” Zatulin stated.
 
As far as Aliyev’s aspirations in Armenia’s territory are concerned, the MP stressed that this is a provocation.
 
 
 
 

​Aliyev says resolutions supporting Artsakh mean nothing to Azerbaijan

Albert Nalbandian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 24 2020
 
 
Aliyev says resolutions supporting Artsakh mean nothing to Azerbaijan
21:45, 24.12.2020
 
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has declared that he views the allegations against Baku in the resolutions that several Western countries adopted after the military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh as groundless, RIA Novosti reported.
 
“Let the countries having adopted those resolutions against us open their eyes and see. Open your eyes, hypocritical politicians. Your deputies have adopted a resolution. Those resolutions mean nothing to us, they are pieces of paper. However, the fact of the matter is that they are making groundless allegations against us,” he said.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Residents of certain communities of Karabakh won’t benefit from lump-sum financial assistance program

Yeghisabet Vorskanian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 24 2020
 
 
 
Residents of certain communities of Karabakh won't benefit from lump-sum financial assistance program
23:19, 24.12.2020
 
 
The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) reports that the residents of Berdzor, Aghavno, Nerkin Sus and Kaler communities won’t benefit from the lump-sum financial assistance program for citizens registered in the territories that have been transferred since those communities aren’t under the control of Azerbaijan, but they will receive financial assistance in the amount of AMD 300,000 through another program.
 
 
 
 

​Azerbaijanis destroy panel reading name of Vorotan village of Armenia’s Syunik Province

Liana Toganian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 24 2020
 
 
 
Azerbaijanis destroy panel reading name of Vorotan village of Armenia's Syunik Province
23:51, 24.12.2020
 
 
A video posted on the Internet shows how Azerbaijanis destroy the panel placed in the Vorotan village of Syunik Province of Armenia with military equipment.
 
Today it was reported that 12 homes in the Vorotan village of Syunik Province are being transferred to Azerbaijan. During today’s government session, Nikol Pashinyan said the issues regarding the Shurnukh and Vorotan villages may lead to certain painful situations.
 
On December 23, Azerbaijanis entered one of the homes in the administrative district of the Vorotan village of Syunik Province and demanded that the landlords leave the premises in an hour.
 
  

Why additional police forces were sent to Armenia’s Syunik on day of PM Pashinyan’s visit?

Paul Hambardsumian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 24 2020
 
 
 
Why additional police forces were sent to Armenia’s Syunik on day of PM Pashinyan's visit?
17:16, 24.12.2020
 
 
YEREVAN. – The road was closed in Syunik Province, that's why police forces were taken there; when they close roads in Yerevan, police forces are sent again. Deputy Chief of Police Ara Fidanyan told about this to reporters, after Thursday’s Cabinet meeting of the government of Armenia, when asked why additional police forces were sent to Syunik Province on the day when Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was to arrive there.
 
To the question as to whether the local police forces of the province were not enough in this case, he responded that at the time the police forces of the province were engaged in the implementation of various other functions. "The same police were opening the same roads in [the] 2018 [revolution], too. We clearly carry out our actions, both in 2018 and now," Fidanyan added.
 
 
 
 

​Philanthropist Konstantin Ishkhanov joins charity program for Artsakh children

Christine Harutyunian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 24 2020
 
 
Philanthropist Konstantin Ishkhanov joins charity program for Artsakh children
15:19, 24.12.2020
 
A good friend and a longstanding supporter of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, as well as a cultural philanthropist renowned in many countries, the founding president of the European Foundation for Support of Culture (EUFSC) Konstantin Ishkhanov continues providing great support in the cultural life of Armenia․
 
By providing support, Konstantin Ishkhanov has come up with a substantial contribution to the orchestra's new initiative, launched jointly with the co-organizers of the New Year charity screening-concert of the animated film “Frozen”.
 
In these difficult times, with a considerable personal donation, he has also joined this New Year charity concert program which will be hosting children of the families affected by the 44-day war in Artsakh.
 
Konstantin Ishkhanov has always stood by the Armenian people by contributing to the projects of spreading Armenian culture both in Armenia and abroad.
 
It is not surprising that Konstantin Ishkhanov has supported the initiative in these difficult times in Armenia: for many years, the foundation headed by him has been constantly contributing to the development of cultural life and acting as an organizer of a number of events.
 
These are both classical music festivals held in Armenia, as well as concert tours of many famous young Armenian musicians (Haik Kazazyan‚ Nareh Arghamanyan‚ Khachaturian Trio, Armenian State Symphony Orchestra) in different countries of the world.
 
Today, any contribution means a lot in organizing cultural events to revive our spirits. You can also join this charity initiative and give children a chance to enjoy the “Frozen” animated film screening-concert by making your contributions via the online platform.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Artsakh ombudsman: Families of civilian victims haven’t received any social assistance

Emil Lazarian
Panorama, Armenia
Dec 23 2020

Families of civilian victims of the recent Artsakh war have not benefited from any social assistance program thus far, Artsakh Human Rights Ombudsman Artak Beglaryan said late on Tuesday.

“Now we are finalizing a special report on civilians killed by the Azerbaijani armed forces, the public version of which will include all the basic personal data and brief descriptions of events, while the closed version of the report will include many pre-mortem and post-mortem photos,” he wrote on Facebook.

“We will publish the report in the morning, I hope that tomorrow we will have time to publish two more reports as a summary of some of our fact-finding activity.

“In this context, I would like to emphasize that the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia should promptly make legislative changes and grant a specific status to civilian victims and their families. To date, the families of civilian victims have not benefited from any social assistance program, while they, too, have fallen victim to the enemy's crimes, many of them in the line of duty,” the ombudsman added.

Beglaryan announced his decision to step down as Artsakh ombudsman earlier on Tuesday to assume a new position in the government.


Minister: Damage caused to Artsakh economy in recent war comparable to volume of its GDP for several years

Nyrie Kalashian
Panorama, Armenia

Dec 23 2020

The blow dealt to the economy of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) during the recent war unleashed by Azerbaijan is comparable to the volume of its GDP for several years. Artsakh State Minister Grigory Martirosyan said in an interview to RIA Novosti on Wednesday.

“The damage inflicted by the enemy is simply enormous. Now work is underway to assess it in monetary terms, but we can already state that it is comparable to the volume of the republic’s GDP for several years. This primarily affects such sectors as agriculture and energy,” Martirosyan said.

According to the minister, after the recent military conflict in Karabakh, the population of the country has found itself "on the brink of a humanitarian crisis." The damage caused by the hostilities primarily affected infrastructure facilities and private property of citizens, Martirosyan said.

"Our economy has been deprived of agricultural lands and energy facilities due to the retreat of Armenian forces from most of the territories or the occupation of them by the enemy during the hostilities. Not to mention that most of the citizens' property – real estate, personal and agricultural equipment – has either been destroyed or left in areas outside our control,” the Artsakh official said.