2020 August 16

Daily news and anti-corruption report

Aug/16/2020 news: / How Kocharyan & Serj sold Armenia's infrastructure: Nuclear, Zangezur Copper, Hydro, Water, Post Office, Railway / Tavush Battles heroes / Bomb comments: Ganja & Stepanakert / Jeffrey Epstein has died / Nature protection rules / Belarus: 2008 or 2018? / Armenia, Greece, Turkey /
by ar_david_hh

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Part 2: How Kocharyan and Serj sold Armenia's infrastructure / Railways / Mines / Nuclear / Water / Post Office

Part 1 of FIP report is here.

Part 2 is about the Zangezur copper-molybdenum factory, Sevan-Hrazdan hydro cascade, railways, water network, Metsamor nuclear plant, HayPost post office.

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Sevan-Hrazdan hydro cascade

This cascade is a collection of 7 hydro power plants with a combined 559MW power or 2.32 billion kW/hour.

In 2003 Kocharyan sold it to the Russian Inter-RAO company for only $25m to pay back the debt accumulated from purchasing nuclear plant's fuel.

In 2011, RusHydro purchased the shares.

In 2019 it was revealed that Russian-Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan (Tashir Group) purchased its 90% shares for $2.5m after agreeing to pay its debt to European and Asian banks.

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Water networks

Until 2016 there were 2 companies delivering water to users: Veolia and Suar. They operated mini-companies for the door-to-door delivery.

In 2016 the entire control was sold to French Veolia company for $947m for 15 years of operations.

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Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant

The law prohibits the privatization of NPP's shares, but its governance can be given to foreign companies.

In 2003 the Russian Inter-RAO received the control of NPP because NPP accumulated $40m in debt during nuclear fuel purchase transactions.

Besides the control, Inter-RAO would receive 25% of NPP's profits.

In 2012 the deal was canceled by Inter-RAO for "not being profitable".

Currently, it fully belongs to Armenia and produces $100m/year worth electricity.

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The Railways

On Feb-2008 the Kocharyan administration gave the Armenian railways to Russian Railways, more specifically to the latter's subsidiary called South-Caucasus Railways, for a period of 20 years.

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Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum factory

Kocharyan privatized it in 2004. It was sold to 4 companies for $132m.

German Chronimed got 75%, Armenian Molybdenum and Zangezur Mining got 12.5% each.

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Sidenote: Serj's son-in-law Mishik allegedly bought 12.5% shares for $30m in 2017.

Sidenote 2: CivilNet reporters also tied ex-NSS chief Vanetsyan's family to Zangezur shares through an offshore firm. There was a lengthy investigation: https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/dq9knt/anticorruption_news_summary_nov12019_huge_media/

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HayPost post office (Armenian USPS)

In 2004 the govt gave its control to the Converse Invest company.

In 2006 it was given to Argentino-Armenian businessman Eduardo Ernekyan without an auction.

In 2015, Serj and PM Hovik Abrahamyan decided to fully privatize it.

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In 2019 Pashinyan administration suspended the privatization process after calling HayPost "too important for govt services to be privatized". The Parliament passed a relevant bill to keep it public.

HayPost was then handed over to High Tech Ministry, which has a strategy to open mini-postal branches in bordering settlements to boost rural services and to ձեռի հետ deliver fiber-optic internet to border regions.

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https://fip.am/12370 , http://www.rushydro.ru/press/news/110054.html , https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/i8kbvj/aug122020_news_2016_yerevan_hostage_crisis_trial/

Tags: #Privatizations #Infrastructure #ArmenianFactories

Tavush Battles heroes / Who are they?

Pashinhyan awarded medals to 71 soldiers on Friday for Tavush victories.

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Ruben Sanamyan received the title of a Hero for his role in capturing heights during Tavush Battles. Here he is: https://news.am/arm/news/597164.html

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23-year-old Vardan is a soldier who shot down an Azeri ORBITER-3 drone. He finished his duties and was recently discharged.

Here he is, telling the story: https://youtu.be/FwZu3pgV4FI?t=4

English documentary: The Treaty of Sevres & Western Armenia

https://youtu.be/gxRGCr52eQg?list=WL&t=580

Armenia comments on Greek-Turkish conflict on Sea

Greek and Turkish ships collided in the Mediterranean Sea on Friday amid worsening relations between the two. Turkey says they were conducting "seismic studies" close to Greek waters. They accused Greece of aggression and threatened with retaliation.

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Armenian MFA: we're monitoring Turkey's illegal and provocative actions on the seas, and their mobilization of sea fleet. It once again exposes Turkey's aggressive and destabilizing actions in its neighboring regions. Armenia stands with Greece and Cyprus.

https://factor.am/276624.html , https://www.wsj.com/articles/turkish-greek-frigates-collide-in-the-mediterranean-sea-11597414995 , https://factor.am/276716.html

Azerbaijan angry at Artsakh president's Ganja comments

"If Azerbaijan tries to bomb capital Stepanakert, they'll receive a response in Kirovabad," said Artsakh president Arayik Harutyunyan.

Kirovabad = Gandzak = Ganja. It's the second third-largest Azeri city, located near borders. Hundreds of Armenians were killed during the 1988 ethnic cleansings in Kirovabad.

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Azeri govt responded to Arayik's comment with sharp criticism.

President Arayik responded: they always ignore the constructive messages coming from the highest levels of Artsakh govt, yet they got anxious and ran to the international community seeking their comments as soon as we give them a harsh response. Dignity is what earns respect.

https://factor.am/276648.html

Jeffrey Epstein dies from a sudden cardiac failure

On Feb/13/2020 we learned that Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's grandson Jeffrey Epstein was afraid of being assassinated after exposing his grandpa Nazarbayev's alleged $1.5b/year corruption deal with the Russian Gasprom.

Epstein asked the UK for asylum, which was granted. He also complained that he was earlier drugged and forcefully kept under house arrest to shut him up.

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Today Epstein was found dead from cardiac failure in his London apartment. There is no evidence of foul play. He has a history of using cocaine and was on probation.

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Epstein's father, a former govt official and the son-in-law of Nazarbayev, was also Epsteined in 2015 in his jail cell after going rogue and attempting to seek asylum in Europe.

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Aysultan (Aisultan) Nazarbayev: https://factor.am/276796.html

https://akipress.com/news:647055:Nursultan_Nazarbayev_s_grandson_has_died_in_London/

https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/f3hwos/feb132020_daily_news_collection_from_armenia_stay/ ,

Belarus: 2008 or 2018?

A revolution attempt is being made in Belarus after Lukashenko rigged the elections. Hundreds of thousands have marched across the country. Workers are on strike.

Three protesters were killed, one of whom was straight-up executed. This caused a widespread uproar which prompted many famous Belorussian figures to speak up, cops to resign, and for special forces to lay down their shields.

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Lukashenko has asked Putin for help while pointing out that Putin is next in line if his regime is toppled.

Today Lukashenko bused-in hundreds of supporters to a square to display a show of support for himself, amid weakening support among his strongest base -- the blue-collar factory workers -- who joined the strikes.

Lukashenko insists that only a fraction of factory workers are on strike and he still enjoys the majority support.

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It all began after Lukashenko jailed the 3 main opposition candidates weeks before the elections. The "weak and naive" wife of one of the candidates was allowed to participate because she wasn't deemed as a threat... She ended up handing his a$$ back to him on սկուտեղ.

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Link may contain images of blood: https://youtu.be/TTkMaoyrqGM

https://youtu.be/DvY7Fa-82es?t=685

https://youtu.be/wW0pTOIRHQg?t=121

https://imgur.com/a/sf1FW5j

https://youtu.be/waEGqpG_wsQ

https://factor.am/276645.html , https://factor.am/276677.html

https://hetq.am/hy/article/120578

Armenian peacekeepers in Afghanistan

Armenia routinely rotates the peacekeepers in Afghanistan. A new group was sent. They'll undergo retraining before entering the duty.

https://factor.am/276692.html

Bad roads are for walking, not driving

The residents of Engels settlement wanted to know when their roads will be renovated, so they shut down the nearby M6 highway until someone came and gave a specific date. They opened the highway. (apparently that's more efficient than communicating over Facebook)

They also want water trucks to keep the street dust away from the air.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1025075.html

COVID stats

+168 infected. +1 death. 185,310 tested. 6,018 active.

Ararat soccer club's 8 players and 3 coaches are infected.

https://factor.am/276736.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1025072.html

Happy Birthday India

Pashinyan and Sarkissian congratulated PM Modi. The Indian embassy organized a party in Yerevan.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1025085.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1025047.html

Entertainment for border villagers

The Education Ministry and various musicians organized a tour in several Tavush bordering settlements to entertain the residents.

Mezzo-soprano Varsenik Avanyan, pianists, and jazz players performed in Berd city.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1025057.html

Clear Lake (Parz Lich) / Nature protection

Nature Minister Romanos: we'll review the annual land lease fees for areas surrounding the Clear Lake. They're ridiculously low for being located near this protected sight.

Businesses will be required to install septic wells and filter their wastewater.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1025086.html

No more land lease near Lake Sevan

Nature Ministry has suspended the process of leasing out lands in Hayanter Park on lake Sevan shores. This includes a ban on new construction.

Earlier they began destroying the structures that were built too close to the lake.

http://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/284095/

Zuyg Monastery / Aerial footage

This is Tavush province's Zuyg Monastery, its history, and the surrounding nature: https://youtu.be/awj1d9XzLr0?t=23

Archaeological findings in Shoghakat

Քյասար ինչ-որ բան են քուջուջ արել Շողակաթի մոտերքը ու պարզվելա, որ ըտեղ մի հատ էլ երկաթի դարի ժամանակների դամբարան կա։ Հիմա նոր դամբարանն են ուսումնասիրում։

Ոմն տխմար էտ երեք դամբարաններից մեկը թալանելա կես տարի առաջ։ Հիմա մլիցեքը դրան են ուզում "պեղեն"։

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1025083.html

Bee Festival

What is a Bee Festival?

Martuni held its annual Meghvaqam 2020 festival on Saturday. It's meant to boost tourism and show off the goodies produced by bees while allowing attendees to participate in the honeycomb squeezing process.

The hosts also presented homemade cheese, soap, and other products.

https://factor.am/276746.html

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You've read 1438 words.

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Link to original report and comments: https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/iazzpg/aug162020_news_how_kocharyan_serj_sold_armenias/

Disclaimer: All the accused are innocent until proven guilty by the court of law, even if they may sound as being guilty. Currency in Armenian Drams ֏ unless specified otherwise. Helpful overview of Armenia's media ownership and leanings.