2020 July 22

Daily news and anti-corruption report

Jul/22/2020 news: / Tavush Battles - action map - new & old borders - Aliyev's meltdown - Yashma fails - repressions / Sevan's blossoming explained / Diasporans return / Constitutional Court / Anti-corruption - Ministers & MPs / Cyber church / COVID vs Economy / Roads! / Less runaround / Post office
by ar_david_hh

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Tavush Battles / How did it start?

Context: July 12.... July 13…. July 14.... July 15.... July 16…. July 17…. July 18…. July 19…. [2020 July 20|July 20]]…. [2020 July 21|July 21]]...

Here is what happened / CivilNet explains Qaradash hill, new and old borders

AM-AZ border near Tavush was zigzag during USSR. Post-independence some areas got more complicated. Generally, USSR-era borders are considered the legal borders today.

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During the 90s war in Tavush, AZ intruded into AM lands. AZ's Aghdam village's western part used to be part of AM during USSR, but it's de-facto controlled by AZ.

This includes the Qaradash hill and its slopes and the nearby water reservoir.

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Up north, another advantage that AZ gained in 90s was near Movses/Alibeyli villages. Part of Alibeyli village was within AM during USSR, but fully controlled by AZ today.

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Going more north, AZ also had an advantage near Paravakar village. If you look at Google Maps near Paravakar, the AM border intrudes inside AZ, but that section is de-facto controlled by AZ.

Overall, AZ gained these 3,000-hectare lands due to geographic advantage.

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In other parts of Tavush, we have the opposite situation, with AM gaining clear advantage. 7 AZ villages fell under AM control in t he 90s.

Overall, during the 90s, AM won more lands by a huge margin.

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About the July 12th battles on Qaradash hill

It's between Alibeyli and Agdam AZ villages. Legally, Qaradash belongs to AM as stated by USSR map, but up until now, it was fully controlled by AZ.

If you look at the Google Map, these battles happened inside the AM territory near the marked border.

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Armenian army captured an Azeri outpost that leads to Qaradash's other end. This resulted in Azeris losing the road that feeds the rest of their outposts on Qaradash, giving Armenians an advantage.

The hill isn't fully captured because the other Azeri outposts still exist. While Azeris retain the ability to "see" Armenian villages, the Armenian side will have better control over the area. [and it appears Armenians gained visibility of Azeri villages by judging from videos/photos]

Video with the map: https://youtu.be/-HqHeXvKoSg

Azeris make another failed attempt against Qaradash's "Anvakh" outpost / Verbal battle ensues

Army at 10:30 pm on July 21st: Azeri special forces tried to capture "Anvakh" outpost again. They sustained heavy losses and were forced to retreat. Part of their group is trapped and can't leave. Armenia doesn't have losses.

Army at 12:47 am: the shootings stopped. The Azeri leadership is not in control of the situation.

https://www.facebook.com/shushanstepanyan/posts/3071178709584935

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Besides shooting dozens of Israel-made Azeri drones, the army also downed a Spike NLOS guided missile, the best in class, which can hit targets within 25km.

Azeris likely used a helicopter inside Azeri territory to fire it. MoD Zakir Hasanov earlier bragged about these capabilities.

Photo: https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/193233

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Ilham Aliyev's meltdown continues: come at me, bro. Let's fight one-on-one, without external help. We won. You ran to your CSTO military bloc. (Fact check: CSTO did not intervene in these battles.) https://factor.am/270984.html

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Artsakh MoD responds to Aliyev: we did fight face to face. The reason you don't remember how we fought against the Azeri army, Turkish groups, Chechen and Afghan mercenaries that you brought, is because while we were fighting, you were enjoying your privileged youth years.

http://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/283235/

Yashma special forces

Azeri special "Yashma" forces have been badly damaged twice now. CivilNet's Tatul says that during the first storm against Anvakh outpost, Yashma were detected and destroyed before they were able to fully engage in battle. He can't reveal full details (Yashma is a region near Caspian Lake).

https://youtu.be/p35uXoCFof0?&t=298

Aliyev uses COVID to retaliate against the opposition, again

After several thousand people rallied in Baku with calls for war, before breaking into Parliament, the govt arrested several opposition figures.

Popular Front party leader's son is charged with breaking COVID quarantine laws which "resulted in mass transmission".

https://factor.am/271102.html

Rumors spread about Azeri army's Chief of General Staff

Azeri army's Chief of General Staff Najmeddin Sadykov is a Karabakh War-era veteran who gets a lot of hate by many Azeris for losing the war. Even months before the Tavush Battles, rumors began circulating about him being a Russian agent working for Armenia.

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Recently, new rumors were circulated by famous bloggers that Sadykov transmitted secret information to Armenia to help kill the beloved Azeri Major General Polad Hasemov.

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The Azeri govt denied the reports about Sadykov's resignation, and as always, blamed Armenians for "trying to create a bias against the Azeri govt by creating confusion."

https://apa.az/en/azerbaijan-army-azerbaijani-armed-forces/MoD:-Najmeddin-Sadykov-is-at-his-workplace-and-fulfills-his-duties-326308

Los Angeles protests

LA Armenians held a protest yesterday. Azeri counter-protesters arrive. A fight ensued. Video: https://www.facebook.com/100004083370590/videos/2206772212802203/

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Another protest was held today. Thousands attended. Famous singer Andre was singing in front of Azeri embassy in Azerbaijan:

Video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=707205436522492

Video: http://asbarez.com/195545/thousands-attend-ayf-protest-in-l-a-condemning-azerbaijani-aggression/

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Azeri MFA called the U.S. ambassador in Baku to demand an explanation about protests. https://factor.am/271178.html

Diasporans are returning without paying taxes

Earlier the govt passed a law to waive border taxes on imported personal items, including a car, if the diasporan returns to settle in Armenia.

$250K-worth products were imported in the last 10 days by 30 repatriates.

https://factor.am/271007.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1022657.html , Tag: #Diaspora

Constitutional Court bill is signed (the second one)

Context: there was supposed to be a referendum to fire the CC's "lifelong" judges who were "in violation of Constitution" and "above other judges" because the rest of the judges were capped at a 12-year term limit. COVID canceled the referendum, so the Parliament held a super-majority vote to approve the bill.

Then there was another bill to guarantee pension for these judges and amend the judge's election process. It was passed 21 days ago but wasn't signed by the president.

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Since 21 days have passed, the Parliament Speaker signed the bill to make it law. Within the next 2 months, 3 new CC judges will be nominated by the govt/president/Supreme Court, then approved by the Parliament.

(Supreme Court and Constitutional Court are different.)

https://factor.am/270926.html , https://factor.am/270931.html

Anti-corruption / BHK Tsarukyan

BHK party leader Tsarukyan is facing a host of financial and election fraud charges. As an MP, he isn't allowed to run his Multi-Group business. He claimed he handed it over to his aide.

The police say they found evidence that Tsarukyan was managing Multi-Group. An administrative investigation has been launched.

https://factor.am/271072.html

Anti-corruption / Labor Minister

The new Corruption Prevention Institute issued a $415 penalty to Labor Minister Batoyan for "unintentionally or intentionally failing to disclose full information" in her mandatory wealth declaration.

The Minister said it was an error and she wasn't aware that in 2018 she was required to fill out a particular document. She sent it now, but still got penalized.

https://factor.am/271065.html

Anti-corruption / ex-IRS chief

Former regime's IRS chief and HHK MP Gagik Khachatryan is locked up with money laundering charges. The European Court for Human Rights instructed Armenia to allow him to travel abroad for spine surgery.

https://factor.am/271034.html

Anti-corruption / deputy Healthcare Minister

Last year Gevorg Loretsyan was arrested for alleged abuse of power. The investigation is over. The SIS was unable to find enough evidence that he abused his powers which led to a specific company winning an auction.

SIS also found that he allegedly requested $4.1K in bribes and not $28K. His charges are partially dropped.

https://factor.am/271088.html

the church is exploring blockchain

2020 is now complete. Thank you for your participation.

Catholicos Garegin B spoke with Russian blockchain firm IPChain about the avenues to develop blockchain in Armenia. The church blessed several investment projects.

http://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/283231/

bad doggies attacked a parked car

https://youtu.be/7LiAxH4-l1g

Tax collection increases despite COVID

The expectations were lowered for 2020H1. Compared to 2019H1, the IRS collected $40.3M more, a total of $1.291B.

Pashinyan: you can forget about the economic growth that began in 2019. Now we have to think about getting out of this crisis.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1022663.html , http://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/283260/

COVID stats

+1,718 tested (149,898). +439 infected (35,693). +560 healed. +16 deaths (678).

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A 59yo doctor died today. A prominent QP MP Gayane fell sick and had to be hospitalized.

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EU and WHO donated 48K PPE to Armenian doctors.

https://factor.am/270948.html , https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/193230 , https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/193248 , https://factor.am/271147.html

Yerevan road in western districts

Yerevan's western circular roadway is having part of it renovated since 2017. Some nearby residents complained about the road possibly introducing noise. The city recently met the residents to hear their complaints.

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Mayor Marutyan: we must find a compromise, but at the same time, if you decide to live in a city and not a remote village, you must accept the fact that it'll have roads and buildings.

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The construction resumed after having discussions and making $1M worth modifications. Some citizens say that's not enough: "nothing was modified".

The city showed the changes, pointing out that some trees won't be cut and the road will be at a greater (20m) distance from a nearby building, without removing the backyard.

The road, which bypasses the center, will connect Yerevan's north to south to alleviate city's traffic.

Video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2196012287210724 , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1022688.html

Less runaround with a universal govt building

Today was the opening ceremony of a new universal facility that'll house offices of multiple govt agencies, so people won't have to travel around to get things done.

Social services, residential registrations, legal services, IRS, national archive, migration services, property management office, funeral office, notaries, etc.

https://factor.am/270957.html

Post office will handle money transfers

HayPost cooperated with Russian Post to create a new system called "PosTransfer" to send cash internationally. Other members of the international Universal Postal Union are expected to join soon.

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Residents can use Armenia's 800 and Russia 30,000 postal offices to send & receive money.

1.2% fee. 15 minutes. Online access.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1022664.html

Lake Sevan is blossoming with algae again / Everything you need to know / Origins / Future / Fishing

Context in July 21st post:: this year lake Sevan also has algae growth which changed the color to green. The govt is working on cleaning the lake and raising the water levels to solve the issue.

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Nature Ministry and organizations said:

Excessive blossoming began in 2018. It starts late-July and ends in mid-August. It's a result of lake's levels lowering since the 20th century and excessive accumulation of substances that serve as food for algae.

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climate change

More water was poured into the lake through Arpa Channel than removed as of July. However, the temperature was higher in March which resulted in 20-70% more evaporation.

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the pollution

The level of chemical substances grew because of residential wastewater dumping into Sevan. Nitrogen levels were 10x lower in the 1920s. Then agriculture developed and brought chemicals.

Hotels and restaurants near the shores also pollute. We developed plans to require them to have septic wells and chemical filtration stations.

Another cause is the submerged trees that weren't removed before the lake levels rose years earlier.

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how and why was the demon unleashed?

When the levels were lowered by 18.8 meters since 1920s, the protective hypolimnion water layer in the bottom was destroyed by 95% in the Big-Sevan section, and was replaced by an epilimnion layer. The Small-Sevan kept the protective hypolimnion somewhat.

This destruction resulted in active water flow from the bottom, just like in water reservoirs. All the century-old nitrogen began interfering with the lake's biological life and broke the balance.

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what now?

It was decided to raise the levels by 6m (possibly more due to new climate change) to restore the Big-Sevan's hypolimnion layer. In layman terms, this layer serves as a filter.

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but first, you need to clean up trees

We used high-tech to map the submerged trees near the shores. 750 hectares need to be cleaned. The work began in 2019 with 98 hectares already cleared. This year we scheduled 271 hectares, but only 50ha was done due to COVID.

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also remove buildings near the shores

Since 2019 we identified 1724 buildings that were illegally built too close to shores. They must be removed before the levels rise. Funds will be dedicated for removing the govt-owned buildings, while the private property owners are informed they need to remove theirs.

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filtering stations to block chemicals

3 high-polluting settlements were identified. In addition to their mechanical waste removal filters (big objects), new biological removal filters will be installed (chemicals).

We're working to strike a business deal between Armenian filter producers and tourism businesses near the shores.

17 cleanup stations are currently installed in big businesses near the shores. It'll expand. It's mandatory.

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fish reserves are important

We're regulating fishing with closely-monitored allowances to combat illegal fishing. We routinely dump baby-fish to increase the population. Only large-holed nets are allowed for fishing to prevent baby-fish from being caught. The fishing boat's entrance into the lake is monitored. The police count the number of caught fish upon exit.

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Fishing was illegal since 2004, but only on paper. Now that we're regulating it with allowances, we'll enforce the illegal fishing ban. $10 penalty per likogram of illegal fish.

300K trout (ishkhan) was dumped recently. We'll dump "koghak" fish soon, these are the sanitary workers of the lake.

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about the "food"

Nitrogen levels haven't increased since 2018. When the algae spread, they absorb all of the nitrogen and its levels near zero around August. Then nitrogen accumulates again until algae eats it again. (DON'T FEED THE TROLLS, KIDS)

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When the green color turns white, it means the algae are dying and substances are released. This substance floats to the bottom. Then the lake's internal water movement moves it up again, and they once again contribute to algae growth. This is why we need the protective hypolimnion water layer.

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phttps://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/hvc45s/jul212020_news_150_million_drones_shot_russian/fytj8t5/ A Redditor gave an explanation here, with a link to research.]

https://youtu.be/GRoqLkYXHmo , https://factor.am/270945.html

Tag: #LakeSevan #SevanLake #Algae #SevanBlossom

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You've read 2303 words.

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Link to original report and comments: https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/hw0tjn/jul222020_news_tavush_battles_action_map_new_old/

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.