MosJan Posted May 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2018 http://hetq.am/arm/news/88657/erevany-pashinyani-yntrveluc-heto-lusankarner.htmlhttp://hetq.am/static/content/00_merjir/08_05_2018_varchapet/varchapet_32.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 10, 2018 Report Share Posted May 10, 2018 NIkol was just in Artsakh, before he was fling out statement was made that he is on his way, in helicopter, then wan flaying he posted a live Facebook video, , do you think this is a mistake ?azeris fallow him, and stepanakert is only moments away from the border, this could of ended badly, or is he showing that he has the guts ? They wouldn't dare, also if the fake sultan does this he'll be putting his life in danger. I think azeries hoping that they can make a deal with him, not realizing that no Armenian leader can give away any land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 10, 2018 Report Share Posted May 10, 2018 Let the author of this article know that the people of Artsakh are not separatists, but the rightful indigenous people of this land! You can't separate from your own country.U.S. News & World ReportMay 9 2018 Armenia's New PM Signals Continuity on Karabakh, Seeks Talks With AzerbaijanMay 9, 2018, at 1:15 p.m. YEREVAN (Reuters) - Armenia's newly elected Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signaled continuity on Wednesday in policy on the long-running issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, saying he was ready for more talks with Azerbaijan but wanted the separatists to take part too.Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous part of Azerbaijan, is run by ethnic Armenians who declared independence from Baku during a conflict that broke out as the Soviet Union crumbled in 1991.Though a ceasefire was agreed in 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia still regularly accuse each other of conducting attacks around Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Azeri-Armenian border. "We are ready to continue peaceful talks," Pashinyan told a news conference in the breakaway region's capital, Stepanakert, after meeting its leader Bako Sahakyan. Pashinyan underlined the importance of Karabakh for Yerevan by traveling to the region just hours after being elected prime minister by Armenia's parliament on Tuesday. This capped a peaceful revolution driven by weeks of mass protests against corruption and cronyism in the ex-Soviet republic."I'm ready to hold talks with Azerbaijan's president on behalf of Armenia, but the leadership of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) should hold talks on behalf of Artsakh," he said.Armenian ex-president Serzh Sarksyan, whose election as prime minister a month ago triggered the mass protests led by Pashinyan, has held several meetings with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev over Nagorno-Karabakh in the past.Sarksyan also sought the participation of the separatists in the negotiations, but Azerbaijan was opposed to this.Pashinyan said on Wednesday that "mutual concessions would be possible only after recognition of the right of the Nagorno-Karabakh people to self-determination."Nagorno-Karabakh survives almost totally on budget support from Armenia and donations from the large Armenian diaspora.Skirmishes between majority Christian Armenia and mainly Muslim Azerbaijan have intensified in the past three years and at least 200 people were killed in a flare-up in April 2016, leaving bilateral relations at their worst in years.The conflict has worried Western and regional countries in part because it could cause instability in the South Caucasus, which serves as a corridor for pipelines transporting oil and gas to world markets.(Reporting by Hasmik Mkrtchyan; writing by Margarita Antidze; editing by Gareth Jones)Copyright 2018 Thomson Reuters.https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2018-05-09/armenias-new-pm-signals-continuity-on-karabakh-seeks-talks-with-azerbaijan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 10, 2018 Report Share Posted May 10, 2018 News.am, ArmeniaMay 9 2018 Armenia PM: We can talk about compromises when Baku will say it is ready to recognize Karabakh’s right to self-determination 17:57, 09.05.2018 STEPANAKERT. – Relations with Artsakh will have new manifestations, and I hope that a new breath will be given to international recognition of Artsakh.The new Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, on Wednesday noted the abovementioned at a press conference in Stepanakert, the capital city of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic).“We all became convinced that there will be effective cooperation regarding ensuring the security of Artsakh and Armenia; that matter will be at the focus of the [Armenian] government,” Pashinyan said, in particular. “We have agreed on with what steps we will go forward.”When asked what steps should be taken so that Karabakh returns to the negotiating table, the new Armenian PM responded as follows: “If Azerbaijan or the international community wants to resolve the matter, it’s illogical that this matter is discussed with a format by which it cannot be resolved. How can this negotiating format resolve a matter when one of whose key participants [i.e. Karabakh] does not participate in the negotiations?”In the new Armenian premier’s words, the Armenian parties have always favored a pacific resolution to the Karabakh conflict, whereas Azerbaijan continuously uses a militaristic rhetoric in his regard.“As long as Azerbaijan uses bellicose rhetoric and speaks about taking [Armenia’s capital city of] Yerevan, Zangezur [region], it’s meaningless to speak about compromises,” Pashinyan added, in particular. “We can speak about it when we will receive a message from Azerbaijan that Baku ready to recognize Artsakh’s right to self-determination.”He noted, however, that when they say the matter should be resolved by negotiations, this does not get in the way of increasing the efforts toward the international recognition of Artsakh.“The international community must record that the substance of the Artsakh problem is the matter of human rights because that matter arose as a result of when Azerbaijan not only was not able to ensure the minimal rights of the Armenian population of NKAO [Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the ex-USSR], but, also, it created a direct threat to their right to life and [national] identity. Those threats were expressed with specific actions against the peaceful population.”https://news.am/eng/news/450422.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 10, 2018 Report Share Posted May 10, 2018 The Christian Science MonitorMay 8, 2018 Tuesday What happens after an anti-corruption victory Armenia's protest leader, Nikol Pashinian, is now its prime minister but he wisely puts the burden on the people's awakening to achieve reform. Armenia has now joined a string of other nations from South Korea to Burkina Faso where anti-corruption protests have ousted one leader and led to a new one promising clean governance. As so often happens in such revolutions, the people in Armenia are stunned at the power of their collective virtue. And they are left asking, "Now what?"In Armenia, the revolution was led by a former journalist, Nikol Pashinyan, who not only helped bring down a corrupt leader last month through nonviolent means but was then chosen by the parliament on May 8 to become prime minister. In a speech to a crowd, he declared, "The people won." And he congratulated them on standing up for honesty, transparency, and equality before the law."There will be no privileged people in Armenia and that's it," he said, promising an end to an oligarch-led kleptocracy.Yet as corruption experts know well, turning such promises into reality requires more than government reforms or new election procedures. Reform also depends on the people sustaining that mental shift which compelled them to join others from diverse parts of society in protest.Most Armenians had long shared an experience of paying bribes or seeing corrupt officials siphon off public money. As in many countries, they assumed politicians were in power for themselves. Now they share the discovery of fellow citizens openly embracing and demanding the practice of universal values in their leaders.In a study last month of countries that have seen some success after anti-corruption protests, Sarah Chayes of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace found many achieved a subtle but significant change in public attitudes. An acceptance of fatalism about corruption had been broken and in its place was a common desire to build systems of integrity.But she adds, "Although protesters have shown remarkable stamina in taking to the streets night after night for weeks or months on end in order to achieve their dramatic objectives, it remains to be seen whether their staying power is sufficient to maintain focus on less emotionally satisfying legalistic reforms, and to anchor the newly articulated ethics in public expectations and official behavior."One essential change is to drop the anger at the ousted corrupt officials and start implementing the virtues necessary for good governance. "The page of hatred should be turned," Mr. Pashinyan told the crowd. And in a sign of the challenges of doing that, he added: "May God help us."Armenia's future after this "velvet revolution" is still unknown. The new prime minister must still face the remnants of the old ruling party in parliament and an economy dependent on oligarchs tied to Russia. If he can continue to mobilize the people and build on their shift in consciousness, Armenia might break into the ranks of least-corrupt nations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 11, 2018 Report Share Posted May 11, 2018 Yahoo! News May 10 2018 New Armenia PM sacks heads of police, security service AFP• May 10, 2018 Yerevan (AFP) - New Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who was swept to power this week on the back of popular protests, said Thursday he had sacked the heads of the country's police and security service. The country's defence and finance ministers earlier said they would not serve in a new government, which has to be formed within a fortnight of the prime minister's election. Related SearchesHome Security ServiceADT Security Service "I've just signed a statement to the president about relieving the police chief Vladimir Gasparyan and security service head Georgi Kutoyan of their duties," the politician wrote on his Facebook page. Yerevan's deputy police chief Valeri Osipyan, who took part in negotiations with the organisers of the recent street protests, was nominated to lead the country's police force. Pashinyan underlined the symbolism of the appointment. "During the demonstrations, we were on a different side of the barricade from Valeri Osipyan. I decided... that we will be on the same side," he wrote. Artur Vanetsyan, who is currently head of the security services in the Armenian capital, was appointed to the national role. "The National Security Service must perform a serious function in the fight against corruption, which we must wipe out very quickly from Armenia," the prime minister said as he announced the personnel change. Armenia's parliament elected Pashinyan this week after he spearheaded weeks of mass protests against the ruling party, transforming the country's political landscape. Critics accused longtime leader Serzh Sarkisian and his Republican party of corruption, being under the influence of powerful oligarchs and of failing to tackle widespread poverty. The hugely popular Pashinyan had in recent weeks piled pressure on the Republicans through an unprecedented campaign of civil disobedience, leading to Sarkisian's shock resignation, a week after he shifted to the newly-empowered role of prime minister after serving for 10 years as president. Pashinyan said ahead of the vote that he would work to eradicate corruption and ensure "a normal life in the country". https://www.yahoo.com/news/armenia-pm-sacks-heads-police-security-164528074.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 11, 2018 Report Share Posted May 11, 2018 Armenians gave more to the world per capita than any other race, one more time is a welcome sign!Slate MagazineMay 10 2018 The Little Revolution That Could What can the world learn from Armenia’s successful uprising against a would-be strongman?By Mica HilsonTwo young men in balaclavas gaze into the camera. Suddenly a policeman approaches. Smiling broadly, he puts his arm around one of the masked young street protesters. More police officers enter the frame. Smiling and laughing, they huddle together to take a selfie with the protesters. They all seem to agree that the boys look good in their police-issued balaclavas—the very masks that, just a day or two earlier, the riot police were wearing during a tense standoff with thousands of demonstrators surrounding government buildings.When I saw that video, I started to realize that Armenia’s peaceful revolution was succeeding beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.A week and a half earlier, when I had first heard about the protests against soon-to-be Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, I’d taken a far more cynical view. I’ve only lived in Armenia two years, having moved here to take a faculty position at the American University of Armenia, and had no prior connection to the country or its people but had already absorbed the conventional wisdom: Sargsyan and his conservative Republican Party of Armenia, or RPA, had ruled the country for the past 15 years and seemed set to rule for at least 15 more. Sargsyan had previously been president, but in order to get around a constitutional two-term limit, the party had managed to switch the country from a presidential to a parliamentary system so he could still hold on to the reins of power as prime minister. Its members controlled the majority of seats in parliament, despite the fact that seemingly every Armenian I met hated Sargsyan and his party. You might wonder, as I did, how politicians that unpopular kept getting elected. The answer is that, even with international observers trying to guarantee free and fair parliamentary elections, the Republican Party used every dirty trick in the book to sway the vote. Some voters simply received cash bribes. Other forms of coercion were subtler; for instance, more than 100 school principals across the country actively recruited, registered, and threatened parents into voting for the RPA.With so many forces keeping Sargsyan and his wealthy cronies in power—and the opposition divided between several different minority parties—I assumed that these demonstrations against the RPA’s move to keep Sargsyan in power would be a noble yet futile gesture, a brief murmur of dissent before the RPA-dominated parliament inevitably selected Sargsyan as the nation’s new prime minister. Still, I tried to remain sympathetic toward my students as they skipped class to protest. I reckoned that eventually, a couple of decades down the line, their generation might be the ones who would actually effect change in Armenia. That is, if they stuck around for that long. Alternatively, they might just join the hundreds of thousands of Armenians who had immigrated to other countries during the Sargsyan era, frustrated by the lack of opportunities in their homeland. Nikol Pashinyan, the minority MP who led the protests, was adamant that they remain nonviolent, citing the precedent of Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution. This was not always easy. When protesters took to the streets, they were often met by police in full riot gear, their faces obscured by shields and the aforementioned balaclavas. But rather than reciprocating this aggression, protesters defused the tension by raising their hands and imploring police to join them. By the day of Sargsyan’s resignation, this noncomplementary response strategy was yielding major results. My Facebook feed was buzzing with videos of soldiers escaping their barracks to join the street protests and statements from high-ranking police officers calling upon their comrades to join the people’s movement.As my colleague Melissa Brown puts it, these events showed that, “You can have a popular uprising by appealing to people’s best selves, not their worst selves.” When I asked my students what they learned from participating in the Velvet Revolution, they concurred. “Revolution doesn’t need blood,” one wrote on my Facebook page. A former student added that, “You have a civic duty to demand change, but the manner in which you present a movement is a reflection of your values.”Crucially, the organizers chose to present the demonstrations as positive, friendly, and inclusive, spurring more and more Armenians to join the movement with every passing day. Although it started primarily as a student movement, demonstrators actively encouraged people from many different generations and backgrounds to join them. In these protests, conservative rural villagers stood side by side with liberal urbanites, temporarily putting their differences aside in light of their common goals. As one of my students noted, “The biggest strength is in unity and in the belief that each one of us is important for making a change.”The crisis was not over, but as I walked the streets of Yerevan, I noticed a sense of optimism that wasn’t there just a month earlier. Even as the Republican-dominated parliament sought to retain its power and obstruct the popular call to name Pashinyan as the new prime minister, my Armenian friends remained euphorically confident, emboldened by a newfound sense that in Armenia, the people really do have the power. On May 1, when all but one Republican MP voted against Pashinyan’s bid to become prime minister, there were no angry riots. The next day, people simply held a general strike that brought the country to a standstill, shutting down government offices and blocking vital roads. Yet in practice, it felt more like a nationwide street festival, as Armenians played music, performed folk dances, and even grilled barbecue in the middle of normally busy intersections. Photos of the festivities circulated on social media, under the tagline “Armenian Style of Revolution.”Finally, I am struck by what Armenians have dubbed their movement: “the Revolution of Love and Tolerance.” When Americans think of political activism, “love” and “tolerance” might not be the first words that come to mind. But maybe they should be. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/05/what-can-the-world-learn-from-the-armenian-protesters-who-stopped-a-would-be-strongman.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 11, 2018 Report Share Posted May 11, 2018 If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem. Since you didn't decide what kind of game to play, you collect all your toys and leave, very mature indeed!ARKA, ArmeniaMay 10 2018 Armenian Republicans not to take part in new government, and to refrain from undermining its activityhttp://arka.am/upload/resize_cache/iblock/001/344_258_2/0019e51a5aceaf36c146c497bf52fc2b.JPGYEREVAN, May 10. /ARKA/. The ministers who are members of the Republican Party of Armenia will not be included in Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Cabinet, Eduard Sharmazanov, Armenian Republicans’ man and parliament vice speaker, told Zhoghovurd on Thursday. He said the party will not take part in formation of the government and will not assume the responsibility fro its activity.If some his fellow partisans, want to be a part of this government, he said, the party will voice its stance. Sharmazanov also said that Armenian Republicans, who dominate the parliament, will not try to undermine the activity of the government. -0--- 13:56 10.05.2018http://arka.am/en/news/politics/armenian_republicans_not_to_take_part_in_new_government_and_to_refrain_from_undermining_its_activity/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 11, 2018 Report Share Posted May 11, 2018 House cleaning!Panorama, ArmeniaMay 10 2018 Armenians protest outside Yerevan Municipality, demand mayor’s resignationA group of demonstrators have been rallying outside the building of Yerevan Municipality since Thursday morning demanding the resignation of Mayor Taron Margaryan and the dissolution of the Yerevan City Council.The participants of the initiative dubbed “Reject Taron” state the mayor of Armenia’s capital and his team have for years neglected the issues, including the evidences on illegalities, voiced by the residents, meantime pointing to the ‘ineffective activity and misuse of state funds’ by the mayor.According to one of the participants, Yerevan lacks architectural policy, instead ‘irregular constructions pursuing business and clan interests are being carried out in the city, with consistent efforts taken towards destroying and privatizing the green areas in Yerevan for years.”A group of women rights defenders called attention to the insults, violence, blasphemy and threats targeting female members of the Yerevan City Council.Members of the Yelk faction in the City Council – Ani Samsonyan and David Khazhakyan – are among the participants of the protest campaign.Back on Wednesday, some social media users made posts demanding elections of Yerevan mayor by the residents of the capital. https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2018/05/10/protest-Yerevan-mayor-resignation/1947180 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 This idiot has no idea what it means "No preconditions"!AHVAL NewsMay 11 2018 Turkey to consider Armenia’s call to restore relations Turkey will consider to restore relations, if Armenia leaves behind its hostile attitude towards Turkey, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Friday, Anadolu Agency reported . “If Armenia is leaving behind its years of hostile stance against Turkey, its threat against our territorial integrity, negative attitude towards our borders, leaving behind everything and wanting to open a new page, then we will see the details regarding this and respond accordingly,” Yıldırım said to reporters about Armenia's new prime minister, Nikol Pashinian’s call for the establishment of diplomatic relations between two countries. Pashinian called for restoring the relations between two countries on Wednesday, during a visit to the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey and Azerbaijan closed their borders with Armenia in 1993, due to Nagorno-Karbakh conflict. In 2009, Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols to restore the relations between two countries and open borders, however the agreement collapsed in a short period of time. The recognition of the Armenian genocide is also a source of conflict between Armenia and Turkey. "[Turkey] ties this precondition to its relations with another country, [Azerbaijan]. We don't expect them to recognize the genocide either. We show efforts for this issue to gain international recognition. And we do this for this tragedy to not to be repeated again," Pashinian said on Wednesday. https://ahvalnews.com/armenia-turkey/turkey-consider-armenias-call-restore-relations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 It would work only if some people puts the interest of the country before theirs.TASS, RussiaMay 11 2018 Over 85% of Armenians say their Velvet Revolution was not imposed from abroadWorldMay 11, 18:50 UTC+3 YEREVAN 41.5% of the polled believe newly-elected Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will be able to resolve key problems facing Armenia within the next six months © Artiom Geodakyan/TASSYEREVAN, May 11. /TASS/. More than 85% of Armenians say their Velvet Revolution, when opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan took over premiership, was an exclusive domestic initiative, according to opinion poll results published by Gallup International’s Armenian office on Friday.Thus, only 2.1% of the polled said they think the revolution was instigated by the United States. Some 1.2% assigned this role to Russia, and 1.1% - to the European Union. Some 9.6% of respondents found it difficult to answer the relevant question. When asked if they think newly-elected Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan would be able to resolve key problems facing Armenia within the next six months, as many as 41.5% answered in the positive. As many as 9.9% answered in the negative, and 7.4% refrained from answering.The poll embracing 809 people was conducted over the phone in a period from May 4 to 9 in ten Armenian regions. Mass opposition rallies demanding resignation of newly elected Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan erupted in Armenia on April 13. On April 23, Serzh Sargsyan resigned amid ongoing protests led by opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan. Two days later, the ruling parliamentary coalition broke down following the exit of the Dashnaktsutyun party. Pashinyan was finally elected prime minister on May 1.http://tass.com/world/1003915 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 A good start!MediaMax, ArmeniaMay 11 2018 Armenian PM: No bribe-taker should sleep well Yerevan/Mediamax/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has introduced the newly appointed Director of National Security Service (NSS) Artur Vanetsyan to the staff and outlined the problems that the agency should consider priorities. “The top priority is to make drastic changes in counter-intelligence and take its efficiency to maximum. The next priority is the fight against corruption. We don’t have a universal body to fight corruption in Armenia. I believe this function must belong to the National Security Service. The problem is very clear: no corrupt official taking bribes and making decisions based on clan system should sleep well in Armenia,” said Pashinyan.The head of the government has stressed that NSS has to work with other state bodies to exclude tax abuse and smuggling.Pashinyan has also thanked former NSS Director Geogri Kutoyan for doing his best during recent political developments in the country.“Armenia missed many historic opportunities and it is our common duty to act differently this time. I am certain your efforts will help us break that habit,” concluded the Prime Minister. https://www.mediamax.am/en/news/politics/28416/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 14, 2018 Report Share Posted May 14, 2018 News.am, ArmeniaMay 13 2018 New Armenia PM invites famous economist to visit Armenia16:12, 13.05.2018 YEREVAN. – Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan informed about his phone conversation with famous economist Daren Acemoglu. He said that the Acemoglu is ready to provide his assistance on the matters of reviving and development of Armenia’s economy.“Mr. Acemoglu accepted my invitation to visit Armenia. The date of his visit will be finalized in the near future,” Nikol Pashinyan wrote on Facebook.Daren Acemoglu, Armenian by origin, was born in Turkey. He is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).https://news.am/eng/news/450996.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 14, 2018 Report Share Posted May 14, 2018 News.am, ArmeniaMay 13 2018 Armenia PM: Government should undertake necessary reforms in various areas19:55, 13.05.2018 YEREVAN. – Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan held consultations with members of the new government.Pashinyan congratulated the members of the Cabinet of Ministers on their election and asked them to start performing their duties immediately in order not to waste time. According to him, there are operational problems that must have been resolved.“The logic and philosophy of our work should be as follows: our task is to make the life of Armenian citizens more comfortable and prosperous. Of course, our government has a political priority, namely to prepare the Republic of Armenia for early parliamentary elections, but we must be able to record serious results. Constant dialogue with the society should become the style of our work,” he said.The Prime Minister emphasized that in the near future the government should undertake necessary reforms in various areas and in this term he underlined importance of public assistance, which is the main factor on which the work of the government should be based.Pashinyan noted that the residents of the country pin much hopes on the new government, which implies a new approach in their work.“We know that representatives of different political forces have joined the government, but the government should work as a team, otherwise we will not be able to be effective, and I consider myself a guarantor of the Cabinet’s work. I hope that we have common perception on this matter,” he said.According to Pashinyan, one of the main tasks is to draft a government program and submit it in the parliament. He asked each minister to immediately start work on the program in his field, and added that the program should be optimistic and meet the expectations of the citizens of Armenia.During the meeting, issues of government activities, medium-term expenditure programs, the fight against corruption and other problems were discussed. https://news.am/eng/news/451043.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 The Morning JournalMay 14 2018 Armenia’s new PM meets with Russia’s Putin for the 1st timeArmenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, left, shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Monday.Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP By The Associated Press Posted: 05/14/18, 1:50 PM EDT | Updated: 2 hrs ago MOSCOW >> Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with Armenia’s new prime minister for the first time after former protest leader Nikol Pashinian was elected to the post. Nikol Pashinian, an opposition figure who spearheaded weeks of nationwide protests, was elected by parliament last week. He and his supporters had pressured the country’s long-term leader, Serzh Sargsyan, to step down rather than seek a power grab. Sargsyan’s ten-year rule was marred by widespread corruption. Landlocked Armenia hosts an important Russian military base and has been reliant on Russia’s cheap energy supplies. After meeting with Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Pashinian on Monday vowed to “give a new impetus” to Armenia’s relations with Russia and said “no one has ever doubted” that Russia is a strategic ally for his country. http://www.morningjournal.com/general-news/20180514/armenias-new-pm-meets-with-russias-putin-for-the-1st-time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 ARKA, ArmeniaMay 14 2018 Armenian Diaspora minister intends to carry out personnel changeshttp://arka.am/upload/resize_cache/iblock/2e7/344_258_2/2e712136e31ec1a556a4b27f25bdddf8.jpgYEREVAN, May 14. /ARKA/. Armenian Diaspora Minister Mkhitar Hayrapetyan said Monday that he intends to carry out personnel changes. He said the changes will not be purges in nature – everything will be decided after taking into account effectiveness criteria. Hayrapetyan pointed out the combination of experience and youth in the ministry as his key objective. ”There will be no hasty decisions,” he said. “I am tuned to work with the existing team, and I am convinced that we will manage to solve all the problems we face.”Commenting on fears that he is too young to fulfill his duties in office, he said that the fears are justified, but he will work hard to produce results. The minister also stated that the team in which he work will rid the country of corruption and solve major problems. He said that at the period of Armenian Republicans’ rule all areas were blighted with corruption, and he expressed confidence that the team will manage to root out corruption. Mkhitar Hayrapetyan, 27, is the youngest minister in the Cabinet.He has graduated from the Yerevan State University with the eastern sciences specialist diploma. Hayrapetyan has been engaged in organization of tours to the Western Armenia. He is a member of the Civil Contract party led by Nikol Pashinyan. In the party he was responsible for relations with Armenian communities worldwide. On April 23, Serzh Sargsyan, who was appointed by the Armenian parliament as prime minister amid widespread disaffection for him, resigned under the pressure of mass protests against his premiership. On the same day, Armen Sarkissian, Armenian president accepted the government’s resignation. On May 8, the National Assembly elected Nikol Pashinyan as prime minister by a majority of votes - 59 MPs voted for him and 42 voted against him. -0---http://arka.am/en/news/politics/armenian_diaspora_minister_intends_to_carry_out_personnel_changes/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 15, 2018 Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 News.am, ArmeniaMay 14 2018 New Armenia diaspora minister: We will carry out huge immigration and repatriation11:36, 14.05.2018 YEREVAN. – We will carry out a huge immigration and repatriation; but this requires time and energetic daily work.The new Minister of Diaspora of Armenia, Mkhitar Hayrapetyan, stated the aforesaid at a press conference on Monday.In his words, now it is already said that many have returned to their homeland, Armenia.“The victory of the revolution [in Armenia] brought with it hope, which for a long time was absent among people; it’s owing to this that they are returning,” Hayrapetyan said. “Now the moment has come to strengthen it with concrete steps. When we will create that climate, we will be able to propose to our compatriots to return.”Also, the new Armenian government’s youngest minister—at 27 years of age—noted that there may be some changes in the current programs of the Ministry of Diaspora of Armenia, and he added that there will be new ones, too.In the minister’s words, the relations as well as the quality of engaging with the Armenian diaspora communities need to change, since they were not given the attention that they deserved.https://news.am/eng/news/451100.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted May 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 wishful thinking, but some of us still remember how our predecessors was welcomed back in 1946...what so many left in 1970s to late 1980s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted May 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 17, 2018 Report Share Posted May 17, 2018 News.am, ArmeniaMay 16 2018 Armenia's Justice Minister: Results in fighting corruption should be visible to public 18:44, 16.05.2018 Practical results in fighting corruption should be visible to the public, Armenia's Justice Minister Artak Zeynalyan said on Wednesday during the meeting with UK Ambassador to Armenia, Judith Margaret Farnworth. The Ambassador congratulated Artak Zeynalyan on his appointment as Minister, highly appreciated the level of the relations with the Ministry of Justice and confirmed UK's support for effective governance in Armenia. In turn, Zeynalyan assured that the programs planned jointly with the UK will be implemented in the light of new changes in the country. "We will do our best not only to eradicate corruption in practice, but to ensure that the practical results in fighting corruption should be visible to the public," the minister stressed. https://news.am/eng/news/451578.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted May 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2018 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted May 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 18, 2018 Report Share Posted May 18, 2018 We need more of these stints in order to put the bribe takers on edge. The sooner we get rid of them the better it is for the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 18, 2018 Report Share Posted May 18, 2018 Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UKMay 17 2018 Where are the Women in Armenia's Revolution?Female participation in the protests has not translated into political power.By Sara Khojoyan Women had a highly visible role in the peaceful protests that unseated Armenian premier Serzh Sargsyan last month, with female activists seen on the barricades and setting up the roadblocks in demonstrations that brought the capital Yerevan to a standstill.But those who hoped that this level of involvement would lead to a new government with a fairer gender balance have been disappointed.The journalist-turned-politician who led the protests, Nikol Pashinyan, promised the National Assembly on May 8 he would ensure proper representation for women, who he acknowledged “played a major role” in unseating Sargsyan and the ruling Republican party.“We need to create equal opportunities for all women to continue being part of political decisions in the new Armenia,” Pashinyan said.Some hailed this as a historic speech, the first time in Armenia’s history when a prime minister had highlighted the role of women in the country’s future success.However, just a few days later, Pashinyan warned that that there would in fact be few female politicians in his cabinet due to an agreement he had reached to share positions amongst a number of other parties. Indeed, only two of the new government’s 17 ministers - for culture and for labour and social affairs - are women. All three deputy prime ministers are all men.The extraordinary events that led to the fall of the government began on March 30, when Pashinyan began walking from Armenia’s second city Gyumri to Yerevan with the stated intention to bring down Sargsyan and his Republican party after more than 20 years’ rule.Although Pashinyan was met by only a few thousand supporters in Yerevan on April 13, many more flooded the capital four days later when Sargsyan was re-elected as prime minister by a parliamentary vote. The streets were filled with tens of thousands of people angry over corruption and political reform that seemed calculated to concentrate power in the hands of a select few. Sargsyan resigned on April 23.A handful of women were among those addressing the crowds gathered at Republic Square. The first was Maria Karapetyan, development director of the Imagine Centre of Conflict Transformation.“I want to address my sisters who stand together, hand in hand and fought a double fight for the change of power in Armenia and for their equal rights in public. Long live sisters!” she told the crowds.But although there was a high level of female involvement in the protests, they made up a far less visible part of the protest movement’s leadership.This was the subject of much discussion on social media during the so-called velvet revolution, and there were hopes that the country’s new leadership would reflect a fresh approach to inclusion.Ashot Khurshudyan, an economic expert at Yerevan’s International Centre of Human Development, said that it was important to note that, although the public speeches were dominated by men, the extent of female participation in the protests was unprecedented.“Women are the most neglected part of our society. And these demonstrations are a signal not only to the system of governance but to the entire society that we have an able part of society which is alienated,” he said.Armenia is still a patriarchal society where women are expected to conform to certain gender roles. It is ranked 97 out of 144 countries by the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2017. Armenian women lack access to political empowerment, making up around 17 per cent of the country’s parliament, with 18 female MPs out of 105.There are no female governors or mayors anywhere in the country.Barely two per cent of those with leadership roles in rural communities are women, according to a study carried out by academic Ruzanna Tsaturyan.“In political discourse, women were viewed in reproductive roles typical for a patriarchal society,” she said. “Their child-bearing and maternal functions were emphasised. Women were presented in sexist and stereotypical feminine models in politician’s speeches. These texts were identical and one-dimensional,” Tsaturyan concluded.Many female civil society activists who played a key role during the protests say that they are disappointed with how little the political culture has changed.Lara Aharonian, the founder and manager of Yerevan’s Women’s Resource Centre, spent many days in April on the street protesting and was even detained at one point.She said that as the role of women in social change had long been minimised in Armenian culture, Pashinyan’s public address marked a significant step forward.“Women were active for years over many issues - environment, issues in the army or women's rights and etc. And it was the first time that women's role in all the fights was acknowledged.”Nonetheless, Aharonian noted, “His speech doesn't mean we have reached our aims. There is still a long fight ahead to change the patriarchal values that almost everyone in Armenia has. Maybe with this new government, our chances to reach our goals have increased.”Some have played down the gender imbalance in the new government. Political analyst Hrant Ter-Abrahamyan said that this should not be seen as a major issue.“When we start counting, we start considering women as objects, as if enough women in the cabinet will solve the gender issues,” he said, adding, “We will have women ministers and women prime ministers in Armenia, and not because of their gender but for their respective qualities.”However others argue that the only way to fight for gender equality is to institute quotas for women in public positions.Yerevan city council member Zara Batoyan, from Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party, also spoke from the stage in Republic Square. She said that more needed to be done to encourage women to take a public stance.“I was calling on women through the whole process to make speeches on stage. Women were always involved in important issues and I was happy when four of them agreed to speak on one of the days because they actually had a say,” she continued, adding, “Yes, nobody forbade or hindered them, but as we know, not stopping doesn't mean supporting or encouraging.”https://iwpr.net/global-voices/where-are-women-armenias-revolution Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted May 19, 2018 Report Share Posted May 19, 2018 168.am | 12:53 | May 17 2018 Category Politics ‘I expect quick actions’: PM Pashinyan applies to Police Chief over recent attacks on civil activists Print | Views: 17 Share During today’s government session Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan touched upon the cases of recent attacks on civil activists and the issue to investigate them. “Cases of attacks, as well as cases of breaking cars occurred in April. These cases must be investigated, and the issue of peoples’ own vehicles must be solved, we need to understand who will bear the responsibility for these attacks, and all acts should be revealed”, the PM said. He reminded that an attack on students happened in Heratsi Street, and the video has spread in the internet. “It has been found out that this case has been closed. We should end this practice. People must clearly see that we are moving on the path of disclosing the cases, today, unfortunately, these messages do not exist, but I hope we will see. The legality of the decision to close the case must be checked, since what the media writes, it turns out that closing the cases has nothing to do with the law”, PM Pashinyan said. In his turn first deputy prime minister Ararat Mirzoyan added that according to media reports, several days ago unknown persons attacked a group of activists near a supermarket in Yerevan: the activists were demanding the resignation of Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan. Commenting on this, PM Pashinyan applied to Police Chief Valery Osipyan: “All violent acts should be fully investigated. I don’t care who is the author of the violence and who is the victim, from which political team, camp or party. We must have a violence-free society. Mr. Osipyan, I expect concrete and quick actions”. The first deputy PM added that he is ready to be engaged in the investigation of some of the cases as an eyewitness. https://en.168.am/2018/05/17/25047.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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