1500 replies to this topic

[Yervant1]

I hope they catch every single cockroach and eliminate the parasites that ruined the country. 

 

OC Media

July 2 2018

 

 

Ex–Armenian president’s relatives under investigation for tax fraud

 

2 July 2018  by OC Media

Levon Sargsyan and Serzh Sargsyan

Armenia’s author­i­ties are inves­ti­gat­ing Levon Sargsyan, the brother of Armenia’s former President Serzh Sargsyan, along with his son Narek and daughter Ani, for possible tax evasion and illicit enrich­ment.

According to the State Revenue Committee, their inves­tiga­tive depart­ment has launched a criminal case against Armenian real-estate company JLJ Project Company, after a probe into tax evasion and illicit enrich­ment was started by the committee in May. The author­i­ties have claimed that Levon Sargsyan, the brother of former President Serzh Sargsyan, runs the company and owns 40% of its shares through his charity foun­da­tion, Pyunik.

On 25 June, the Revenue Committee raided the company’s offices as a part of an inves­ti­ga­tion into tax evasion during the con­struc­tion of an office building in Yerevan. On 29 June, the committee announced that the JLJ had been fined ֏800 million ($1.5 million) for tax evasion via bank­rupt­cy fraud. The author­i­ties claimed that between 2013 and 2017, JLJ paid only ֏3.5 million ($7,300) in taxes when it should have been liable for ֏147 million ($307,000).

After searching the house of Levon Sargsyan’s son Narek, who owns 20% of the company, author­i­ties reported having found financial documents detailing bank deposits worth $6.8 million under his father and sister’s names.

The Revenue Committee said that neither Levon Sargsyan nor his children could provide a legal expla­na­tion for how their income sky­rock­et­ed last year. Levon Sargsyan both during that period and now was an ambas­sador-at-large — a high ranking diplomat — in Armenia’s foreign service.

Serzh Sargsyan’s other brother, Aleksandr (Sashik) Sargsyan, was detained on 25 June, together with his body­guards, for illegal arms pos­ses­sion, but they were later released when the author­i­ties announced that they did, in fact, have the necessary permits.

On 25 June, Armenian author­i­ties made another high-profile anti-cor­rup­tion arrest. The National Security Service appre­hend­ed the former chief of the ex-president’s security detail, general Vachagan Ghazaryan after he withdrew more than $1 million in cash from a bank in Yerevan. The author­i­ties said Ghazaryan intended to later withdraw more money from another bank in Yerevan.

According to the Security Service, Ghazaryan failed to declare the money, saying he ‘forgot’ to do so, and failed to explain where the money came from following his arrest. Ghazaryan is the first person to be charged with illicit enrich­ment since the intro­duc­tion of the law in 2017.

Corruption crackdown

The author­i­ties under Nikol Pashinyan have conducted a large-scale anti-cor­rup­tion campaign with a number of high-profile arrests since he came to power. Pashinyan replaced Serzh Sargsyan as prime minister after weeks of street protests forced Sargsyan’s Repub­li­can Party from power.

Artak Manukyan, the Prime Minister’s advisor on economic issues, claimed that as a result of the anti-cor­rup­tion campaign, ֏18 billion ($37 million) have been returned to the state budget.

In a 26 June meeting with law enforce­ment agencies, Pashinyan under­lined that it was important to adhere ‘to law­ful­ness and the respect for human rights’ so that there would be no doubts that his government’s crackdown on cor­rup­tion was polit­i­cal­ly motivated.

During his speech at the cen­ten­ni­al anniver­sary of the Prosecutor's office of the Republic of Armenia, Pashinyan reit­er­at­ed that those 'found guilty must be held respon­si­ble, and their con­vic­tion must be adequate, lawful, and just’, while the rights of those accused must be protected in court.

On 16 June Vaghar­sha­p­at Mayor Karen Grigoryan resigned amidst protests over alle­ga­tions of cor­rup­tion. His res­ig­na­tion followed the arrest of his father Manvel Grigoryan, a veteran general and the head of army vol­un­teers union Yerkrapah. On 23 June, he was charged with gross embez­zle­ment.

Footage released of the raids on Manvel Grigoryan’s prop­er­ties, showing his wealth as well as dozens of weapons and army supplies he allegedly mis­ap­pro­pri­at­ed, shocked the Armenian public. On 20 June, his wife Nazik Amiryan was also arrested on charges of illegally obtaining and pos­sess­ing a large stock of arms.

Both father and son were affil­i­at­ed with the formerly ruling Repub­li­can Party of Armenia.

http://oc-media.org/...-for-tax-fraud/

 

 

[Yervant1]

Shame on you, another cockroach apprehended. Low life!

Public Radio of Armenia

July 3 2018

 

 

Director of Hayatsan All-Armenian Fund arrested on embezzlement charges

21:18, 03 Jul 2018

 

Director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund Ara Vardanyan was detained on July 2 on suspicion of embezzlement and abusing his authority, the Armenian National Security Service reports.

Under the pressure of factual circumstances, Vardanyan confessed to having used the financial means of the Hayastan Fund for personal purposes, using them to bet on different online casinos.

Vardanyan transfered 14 million AMD from Hayastan Fund’s credit card to online casinos in the past week, and from 2016 to 2018 this amount made about 130 million AMD.

Inspection is under way at Hayastan All-Armenian Fund to reveal any possible abuse and embezzlement, and to check the legitimacy of the funds raised.

Ara Vardanyan has been arrested. Investigation into the case is under way.

http://www.armradio....lement-charges/

 

 

 

[Arshak1946]

I am very happy that new goverment catch all these thieves , put them in prison. They were sucking Armenian treasury left and right to make there pockets rich, all there relatives had good paying jobs,

[Yervant1]

JAM News

July 6 2018

 

 

Nephew of former Armenian President suspected of attempted murder

JAMnews, Yerevan

July 6, 2018

Sargsyan's associates claim the new government is targeting “specific people”

Armenia is re-investigating an attempted murder case from 11 years ago, with Hayk Sargsyan, the nephew of the third president of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, as the prime suspect.

The country’s Investigative Committee provided details on the incident. On 1 April 2007 the police department received a message regarding the hospitalization of Yerevan resident David Simonyan. On the same day another Yerevan resident, Arthur Ghevondyan, handed himself and his weapon in at a police station. He stated that he had found the weapon, and  accidentally shot his friend David Simonyan due to careless use.

A criminal case was opened at the time, but was soon closed as no formal complaint was made by the victim and the parties reconciled.

The Prosecutor General of Armenia decided to reopen the criminal case 11 years later as new, previously unknown details were revealed. In particular, the authorities say that Arthur Ghevondyan was not the shooter and that it was in fact Hayk Sargsyan, the son of the brother of Serzh Sargsyan. Hayk Sargsyan became the prime suspect in the case after a cross-examination was conducted by law enforcement.

Relatives and associates of former President Serzh Sargsyan have been embroiled in a growing number of corruption and criminal investigations since the recent change of power and the election of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The most prominent was the case of a MP, General Manvel Grigoryan. He was found to have amassed dozens of expensive cars, real estate, weapons as well as rations intended for the army and even had a personal zoo.

•   “Largest corruption case in the history of Armenia” – Army general MP suspected in theft of soldier rations

The National Security Service spent an entire day in the house of former President Sargsyan’s brother. No reports have been made on what actions were carried out by the law-enforcement officials or whether Alexander Sargsyan left with the officials as a free man.

One of Serzh Sargsyan’s party members, former Minister of Justice David Harutyunyan, said that the authorities are targeting specific people and are violating the constitution. In his opinion, the new government should not devalue the important steps it has taken by acting against the law.

Davit Harutyunyan noted in particular that personal enrichment, whether unexplained and / or not declared, was not a crime until 1 June 2017, and that under Article 72 of the Constitution an individual may not be punished in retrospect for what was not a crime at the point in time when it was committed.

https://jam-news.net/?p=111502

 

[MosJan]

[Yervant1]

Voice of America

July 9 2018

 

 

Armenian Capital's Mayor Resigns After National Change of Power

July 09, 2018 4:23 PM

• Reuters

FILE - A woman walks in front of the government headquarters at the Republic Square in Yerevan, Armenia, May 3, 2018. The mayor of the Armenian capital resigned Monday.

 

YEREVAN — 

The mayor of the Armenian capital Yerevan resigned Monday, two months after his party was ousted from national power following weeks of mass protests against corruption and cronyism.

Opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan was elected prime minister by parliament on May 8. He then appointed allies and supporters to his cabinet and submitted a new government program, which was approved by parliament in June.

Taron Margaryan, an influential member of the former ruling Republican Party, resigned as Yerevan mayor, a post he had held since November 2011. Margaryan did not explain in a statement why he had stepped down.

Several street protests had been held since Pashinyan took office to demand Margaryan's resignation.

https://www.voanews....er/4475407.html

[Arshak1946]

Any one knows what is happening head of Armenian Church Karekin II , please enlightened me.

[Yervant1]

EuroNews

July 12 2018

 

 

Watch: Full interview with Armenia's Prime Minister

By Andrei Beketov  & Damon Embling  • last updated: 12/07/2018

Watch: Full interview with Armenia's Prime Minister

 

Euronews spoke to Armenia's new prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, at the NATO summit in Brussels. Click on video above to watch interview.

Andrei Beketov, Euronews: "Mr Prime Minister, thank you for talking to Euronews at the NATO headquarters. First the general question: what is the Armenian government planning with NATO and what are your intentions regarding NATO?"

Nikol Pashinyan, Armenian Prime Minister: "You know, Armenia is a partner country for NATO. We are participating in two NATO missions - one in Kosovo, another in Afghanistan. This gives us (the) opportunity to participate in providing the international security. But we are member of the Organization of Collective Security treaty and we see in general Armenia in this organisation and this security system."

Euronews: "Is Armenia going to stay a staunch ally of Russia or are you moving closer to NATO away from Russia?"

Nikol Pashinyan: "We will stay a close ally of Russia and we hope to develop our relations with Russia - but with NATO and Western countries and European Unions and United States as well. So we aren’t going to make a U-turn in our foreign policy."

Euronews: "Do you think NATO can help Armenia over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict?"

Nikol Pashinyan: "This conflict should be resolved only through (a) peaceful way. Unfortunately from first days of becoming Armenian Prime minister I see that Azerbaijan is increasing its aggressiveness towards Armenia. I thank that now we see the situation changing because this aggressive policy is not only against Armenia, I think it's also against democracy because now Armenia is a really democratic country.

"And I think that Azerbaijan has a fear that its own people will be inspired from the Armenian processes to initiate in Azerbaijan democratic changes. It would be very useful if NATO will send strong message to Azerbaijan that any attempt to solve (the) Nagorno Karabakh conflict using force will meet strong reaction from the international community."

 

Euronews: "I heard from the Armenians and we see from outside high profile corruption cases in Armenia. What happens if all corrupt officials would be in prison?"

Nikol Pashinyan: "For us it's very important to fight against corruption but it's very important to do it strongly in the framework of law with protection of human rights. I was a political prisoner in Armenia, and it would be big humiliation for me if in Armenia we would have new political prisoners."

Euronews: "How would you proceed with your reforms?"

Nikol Pashinyan: "We have managed to make big economic changes. We have establish level playing field for all the economy players. We hope to make (the) Armenian economy more attractive for foreign investments. We will make stronger Armenian democracy with help of our international partners or without help of our international partners."

http://www.euronews....-prime-minister

 

[Yervant1]

The citizens of Armenia will not go back in time and support the old corrupt government or their cronies. The genie is out of the bottle, they better accept the new rule of law or be punished badly, they will never have public support hence no chance of forming government ever again.

EurasiaNet.org

July 12 2018

 

 

Armenia's old regime fights legal onslaught

Pashinyan’s government is aggressively pursuing crimes allegedly committed by two previous administrations. But the old regime hasn't yet abandoned its trenches.

Grigor Atanesian Jul 12, 2018

Yerevan City Hall. (Photo: Armineaghayan/CC BY-SA 4.0)

The government of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is undertaking a wide-ranging legal assault against members of the administration he toppled, with a number of high profile arrests in recent weeks. Members of the old guard, meanwhile, have been fighting back behind the scenes in the apparent hope that they can eventually regain power.

Six relatives of former President Serzh Sargsyan, as well as his bodyguard and a member of parliament from his Republican Party, have been charged with felonies by the National Security Service (NSS) over the last month. The authorities have at times highly publicized the investigations: The NSS televised its search of the apartment of Alexander and Narek Sargsyan, the former president’s brother and nephew, respectively, where they found cocaine, amphetamines, and guns made of gold.

Another nephew, Hayk Sargsyan, was charged with attempted homicide, and the former president's bodyguard Vachagan Ghazaryan was arrested on suspicions of illegal enrichment after the NSS tracked down $3.1 million of unknown provenance in his bank account.

Several other top officials have been ensnared in a separate investigation into the events of March 1, 2008, when security forces fired into a crowd protesting Sargsyan's first election, killing 10. In that case, the Special Investigative Committee has accused former Defense Minister Mikael Harutyunyan of “usurping state power,” subpoenaed former President Robert Kocharyan and questioned former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan.

This flurry of arrests and investigations has led to suspicions that the purge is politically motivated; while few doubt that those being prosecuted committed crimes, the speed with which the prosecutions are coming raises doubts as to their legal basis.

“What’s politically motivated? It's a thin line,” said Anahit Shirinyan, a Yerevan-based fellow at the British think tank Chatham House, in an interview with Eurasianet. “The Armenian authorities have international obligations to properly investigate corruption and the March 1 case. And what if this is what it takes to investigate them?”

Pashinyan has brushed off allegations the investigations are politically motivated. “We are not going after anyone’s family or individual, we follow alerts that law-enforcement bodies receive as well as the information that they have,” the prime minister told RFE/RL's Armenian service.

His defenders point out that the crackdown is only the most visible element of an ongoing power struggle between the new and old regimes. While Pashinyan and his team control part of the executive branch, Republican loyalists continue to hold positions and strong influence in most of the rest of the state apparatus.

People loyal to Sargsyan “continue to control municipalities, the prosecutor's office, all courts, all election commissions and local criminal groups that helped them falsify elections,” Hovhannes Igityan, an Armenian political commentator, told Eurasianet.

Those former officials have plenty of incentives to try to undermine the new system, Igityan alleged: “Under Sargsyan, officials on all levels and in all branches [of government] were instrumental in falsifying elections. In return they were rewarded, whether with a promotion for themselves, a public office for their relative, a tax break for their business or a land acquisition.”

“The deep state won’t just fall apart. The inner networks won’t cease to exist. The old guard’s appointees are very dependent on Serzh [Sargsyan],” agreed Mikayel Zolyan, a political analyst in Yerevan. “To think that people from the old system will suddenly change: that’s an overly optimistic outlook.” 

Many suspect that the old guard is carrying out a deliberate sabotage of the new government's efforts, from trying to scuttle a new election law – one of Pashinyan's key promises – to spreading alarmist information in the media.

One senior government official, speaking to Eurasianet on condition of anonymity, said the Republican party leaders “are very active in their efforts to undermine us, but they’re wasting their time.” The official added that, unlike the former-opposition-turned-current-government, the old guard is not skilled at operating without the full control of the executive branch.

“I sleep well at night,” the official said.

“The Republican Party is engaged in shadow sabotage and is waiting for a revanche,” Igityan, the political commentator, said. Sometimes the sabotage is not active, but passive, he added. “If we think of sabotage not as a deliberate act but rather a profound failure to do your job, then many mid-level officials are involved in the sabotage.”

Igityan pointed to the municipal government in Yerevan, whose Republican mayor, Taron Margaryan, has been a major target of the new government and its supporters. One investigative report, produced by Pashinyan’s advisor Aren Mkrtchyan, showed lavish houses and apartment buildings allegedly owned by the mayor.

After the report went viral on social media, Margaryan effectively stopped working, Igityan said. “After the report was published, Margaryan abandoned his job and was running around hiding his assets,” resulting in Yerevan residents experiencing issues with trash pickup and other city services.

Ultimately, Margaryan resigned on July 9. His case is a warning, Shirinyan of Chatham House said, to the old regime heavyweights that “those who don’t want to resign voluntarily will be pushed out of office.”

Margaryan's resignation, while a victory for the new guard, nevertheless presents a challenge: Mayoral elections will be held July 16. Pashinyan and his allies have been trying to delay elections until they and other friendly political forces can get organized to compete.

The old guard still has many weapons

Sargsyan loyalists also are able to continue to wield influence through the media.

Zolyan of the Regional Studies Center said that he had lately been noticing “conspicuously similar-looking messages consistently repeated in certain media outlets and by certain social media commentators.” One example, he said, was alarmist rhetoric surrounding Azerbaijan’s activity on the border with Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. “It’s being implied that there’s a growing danger of war, and that Nikol [Pashinyan] and his team are ultimately ignoring national security issues,” Zolyan said.

“The problem is that some of the mainstream media are still controlled by [Sargsyan’s son-in-law] Mikayel Minasyan,” said Andreas Ghukasyan, a former presidential candidate jailed under Sargsyan. 

The PanArmenian Group media group, for example, manages a number of TV and radio stations, as well as some of the biggest digital news outlets, and is widely believed to be controlled by Minasyan. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior PanArmenian executive confirmed to Eurasianet that the group is controlled by Minasyan.

“The media ownership poses a risk of information manipulation,” said Ghukasyan.

Some suspect that the old guard's resistance is fueled by the hope of eventually gaining Russian support in their insurgency. “Billion-dollar monopolies are threatened” by the new government, said Igityan. “Those monopolies are all connected to Russia.”

Some of the old guard members have links to Russia that could protect them from prosecution in Armenia.

Since 2009, former President Kocharyan has served as a director for Sistema PJSFC, one of Russia’s largest investment companies. His son, Levon Kocharyan, reportedly has ties to the son of Russia’s Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev.

Harutyunyan, the former defense minister, also holds dual citizenship in Armenia and Russia, and is registered in an apartment complex on Moscow's Rublevskoe Highway built for Russian officials. The Russian constitution forbids the extradition of its citizens.

Despite his concerns about sabotage, Igityan said he believes the Republican Party's attempts to hang on to power are doomed. “They think they're leading a political struggle, but it’s just prolonging the misery,” he said.

“A successful revanche is impossible,” Zolyan said. “Serzh’s entourage can mess with a lot of stuff, but they can’t retake power.” 

Scandalous revelations about illegal weapons and suitcases of cash kept in the former elite’s houses “make any chance of sabotage utterly impossible,” Shirinyan said. “And I’m sure these revelations will keep coming.”

Grigor Atanesian is a freelance journalist who covers Armenia.

https://eurasianet.o...legal-onslaught

 

 

[Yervant1]

ARKA, Armenia

July 13 2018

 

 

Armenian authorities collect 650 billion drams in taxes in six months

YEREVAN, July 13. /ARKA/. Armenia’s tax authorities collected a total of 649.7 billion drams in various taxes in the first six months of 2018, by 88.2 billion drams or 15.6% more from the same time span of 2017, the head of the State Revenue Committee (SRC) David Ananyan said today.

He specified that 496.8 billion drams were collected by the tax authorities, and 152.9 billion drams by the customs authorities.

He said also that 50.7 billion drams were refunded to taxpayers as VAT and payroll tax covering mortgage interests, up from 28.9 billion drams, refunded in the first six months of 2017. He said as result the net taxes collected in January-June 2018 amounted to 599.1 billion drums, by 49.8 billion drams or 9.1% more than in the first six months of 2017.

Ananyan said also that 477 tax inspections were conducted during the reporting period to recover 6.2 billion drams of unpaid taxes. ($ 1 - 481.17 drams). -0-

http://arka.am/en/ne...in_six_months_/

[Yervant1]

MediaMax, Armenia

July 13 2018

 

 

Pashinyan to Armenian migrants: It’s time to repatriate and prosper at home

 

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with the representatives of Armenian community in Belgium during his working visit to Brussels. During the meeting, Pashinyan noted that "it is time for us to shoulder the responsibility for consolidating Armenia’s victories and establishing prosperity and happiness in our homeland”.

 

 

 

“The unconditional and immediate capitulation of the old regime to the victory of the people happened because Armenians are more united than ever. We need to continue using that unity as the key factor for victories of Armenia and Artsakh,” said Pashinyan

According to him, “it is time for us to stand together and live together in the Republic of Armenia”.

“I call you to speak about returning to Armenia every day, at every dinner with your family. Whether you will repatriate in a month or a year, or five or fifteen years, you children need to hear every day that you goal is to go back to Armenia, live there and make Armenia strong and prosperous,” urged Pashinyan. 

https://mediamax.am/...politics/29398/

[Yervant1]

MediaMax, Armenia

July 13 2018

 

 

Pashinyan: “Azerbaijan fears that Armenian processes will inspire its people”

 

 

 

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan thinks that "Azerbaijan has a fear that its people will be inspired from the Armenian processes to initiate democratic changes”.

 

In an interview with Euronews Armenian PM noted that “unfortunately from first days of becoming Prime Minister I see that Azerbaijan is increasing its aggressiveness towards Armenia”.

 

“Now we see the situation changing because this aggressive policy is not only against Armenia, I think it's also against democracy because now Armenia is a really democratic country. And I think that Azerbaijan has a fear that its own people will be inspired from the Armenian processes to initiate democratic changes. It would be very useful if NATO will send strong message to Azerbaijan that any attempt to solve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict using force will meet strong reaction from the international community”, Nikol Pashinyan said.

 

https://mediamax.am/...gnpolicy/29382/

[Yervant1]

Arminfo, Armenia

July 12 2018

 

 

Businessmen from Armenian Diaspora formed a group of investors

Yerevan July 12

Naira Badalian. World-class businessmen from the Diaspora initiated the creation of a group of investors, which announced the launch of the "Build Armenia" project.

As the statement of the group of investors says, the project's goal is to ensure the flow of large-scale investments to Armenia in order to stimulate repatriation. At the same time, it is planned to create a socio- economic favorable environment, which due to the formation of appropriate infrastructures will be able to accept the flow of repatriates.

The appeal of the group of investors, in particular, notes that taking into account the migration flows of Armenians from the Middle East, the Republic of Armenia faces the task of consolidating the Armenian potential, being responsible for preserving the identity of every Armenian, ensuring his well-being, security and development. At the same time, it is noted that the continuing assimilation of Diaspora Armenians threatens national identity.

According to the authors of the document, in the absence of a long-term and coordinated vision of development, the Armenian people continue to live and create in different parts of the world, not using their own unified potential. In addition, from the first day of the proclamation of the independence of the Republic of Armenia, the republic is in the blockade of the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem, bearing the consequences of the militaristic and xenophobic rhetoric of these countries.

Since 1991, as the authors of the draft note, from Armenia there is an uncontrolled outflow of human capital, which threatens the national security of the country. In the Diaspora, financial capital has been formed, which does not serve the implementation of large-scale programs because of the lack of consolidation.

"An appropriate environment has been formed in the Republic of Armenia to accept the flow of returnees, and in the Diaspora there is a need to translate the long-standing idea of turning Armenia into the center of implementation of all-Armenian projects," the document says. In this regard, according to the initiative group, Armenia should be ready to accept compatriots in the social and economic terms. "We, the undersigned, start the project" Build Armenia "with an unprecedented initiative from the point of view of finance and geography that will ensure large-scale investments in Armenia, while we urge Armenian businessmen to join the initiative," the document says.

The first forum of entrepreneurs gathered around this idea will be held in the first quarter of 2019 in France.

The document was signed by Vartan Sirmakes, Switzerland, Arden Sellefyan, Switzerland, Hayk Hovhannisyan, Switzerland, Vartkess Knadjian, Belgium, Harout Missirian, Lebanon, Abraham Odemis (Abraham Odemis, France), Hratch Kaprielian (USA), Anushavan Nazarian, Kuwait, Harutyun, Hakob, Raffi, Shant Stampouli (Haroutune, Hagop, Raffi & Chant Istanboulli, Italy & United Arab Emirates), Patrick Arapian (France), Roy Arakelyan (France) and Sevak Artsruni (Armenia).

[Yervant1]

A step in the right direction in order to keep the brain power in Armenia, I hope they do it for the other sectors as well!

ArmenPress, Armenia

July 13 2018

 

 

Armenian government raises salaries of 10,000 medical personnel

YEREVAN, JULY 13, ARMENPRESS. The government is raising the salaries of nearly 10,000 doctors and medics of state-owned polyclinics and outpatient clinics by 15% from August 1, healthcare minister Arsen Torosyan said on Facebook.

He said that the raise will be covered by savings of budget means, over 700 million drams.

The minister said that raising the salaries must be a continous process, and they are constantly working in this direction.

He also said that the ministry will develop mechanisms for the salaries to be based on individual results.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 

 

[Yervant1]

Live by example, what a noble idea!

ARKA, Armenia

July 16 2018

 

 

Armenian prime minister vows crushing rebuff to Azerbaijani provocations

YEREVAN, July 16. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinayn vowed late on Sunday to deliver a crushing rebuff to any Azerbaijani provocation against the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), saying also that his government would ensure nationwide consolidation and would do its utmost to protect Armenians.

In a Facebook livestream late on July 15 Pashinyan said the military and political situation was rather tense not only in terms of breaches of the cease-fire regime along Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the line of contact in Artsakh, whose frequency has decreased after he took office.

"The military-political situation is tense. Azerbaijan is sounding constant threats, making aggressive statements, gestures, violating the ceasefire regime along the border, and we must be extremely vigilant, be ready for any provocation at any time from Azerbaijan, be ready at any moment to defend our homeland and retaliate," Pashinyan said.

"Analyzing Azerbaijan’s behavior, I can say that Azerbaijani president Aliyev is facing serious internal political problems, and he is afraid that the Azerbaijani people can be inspired by the democratic processes that are taking place in Armenia and rise up against corruption and his regime," Pashinyan said.

"Today, the Armenian people in Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora are united as never before, and this consolidation is the most important factor of our strength. And no one doubts that in case of provocations from Azerbaijan, we will ensure nationwide consolidation and apply all the resources - financial, human, diplomatic and military - for the protection of Artsakh and for a retaliatory blow. Any Armenian in any part of the world should be ready to leave everything and defend our homeland, this is my call," Pashinyan said.

He expressed support for the soldiers stressing that his son also made an independent decision and went to serve in Artsakh. "I respect his decision, and it must show that we will not spare anything to protect our homeland and deliver a rebuff to the enemy," Pashinyan said.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan sought to secede from Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by a successful referendum. 

On May 12, 1994, the Bishkek cease-fire agreement put an end to the military operations. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no permanent peace agreement has been signed. Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh. 

Nagorno-Karabakh is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with snipers causing tens of deaths a year. On April 2, 2016, Azerbaijan launched military assaults along the entire perimeter of its contact line with Nagorno-Karabakh. Four days later a cease-fire was reached. -0-

http://arka.am/en/ne...i_provocations/

 

 

[MosJan]

[MosJan]

[MosJan]

[MosJan]

[MosJan]