2020 November 9

Daily news and anti-corruption report

Nov/9/2020 wrap-up: \\ War in Artsakh (Karabakh) \\ Shushi battles \\ battles in other fronts \\ anti-Pashinyan opposition wants his resignation; receives pushback \\ humanitarian aid & activism \\ foreign response & diplomacy \\ Computer Science classes starting 2nd grade \\ budget 2021 \\ more...
by ar_david_hh

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Your 12-minute Monday report in 3025 words

videos from yesterday

Azerbaijani soldiers destroying a religious monument in Artsakh: https://streamable.com/1ban91

Videos from Shushi battles yesterday:

Video 1: https://t.me/sashakots/18022

Video 2: https://youtu.be/H8kepKX12I8

From November 7: https://youtu.be/_c86FusC-fs

Possibly Shushi: https://youtu.be/id5lzymMu5U

Meanwhile in the northern mountainous areas (no battle). https://youtu.be/CFsQkkLIdKo

Unofficial/unconfirmed. This video was presented as Armenian soldiers firing at a group of Azeri soldiers: https://youtu.be/LQCPJRRUnZA

November 9 timeline // battlefield & analysis // diplomacy & international response

00:23 WarGonzo's Pegov: Armenian troops are definitely inside Shushi. There are very heavy battles on the outskirts. Azeris are attacking and Armenians are repelling - no exaggeration - every minute.

Did Azeris enter Shushi? Absolutely. They entered in the edge. Then they left. Are they attempting to return? Yes.

The battle for Shushi is the main event of the war. Aliyev spares no soldier and throws them under Armenian artillery's meatgrinder. This is why they retreated from the Martuni front and also brought soldiers from the Nakhijevan enclave; the elite soldiers are all fighting in Shushi.

Aliyev went all-in. Artsakh govt understands this and doesn't want to concede.

https://t.me/wargonzo/3987

9:02 Artsakh govt: at night, the civilian areas were relatively calm, except for Stepanakert, where Azeris dropped several cluster bombs. Civilian infrastructure was damaged. No injuries. There were no military objects where the bombs fell. The target was the civilian population.

9:24 ANNA reporter: Stepanakert's center was bombed again.

https://t.me/infocomm/25752 , https://t.me/anna_news/9505 , https://t.me/infocomm/25754

10:10 Artsakh president Arayik: Early in the morning I visited the battle positions defending Stepanakert. Spoke on the spot with the soldiers and the veterans, who have been pushing back the enemy who has been attacking from Shushi direction for over a day now. During the tour, I met with General Mnatsakanyan. Details of the invaluable service he is providing to the homeland will be presented after the war.

https://t.me/infocomm/25757

10:14 army: at night, there were intense battles on southern, south-eastern, and south-western fronts. We detected and neutralized enemy troops in the Shushi-Qarin Tak area (a suburb south of Shushi), the enemy retreated after sustaining heavy losses. We took more favorable positions.

In all directions, we shot 1 tank, 4 vehicles, 8 drones. In the south-west, we captured 1 enemy tank and artillery units.

The enemy resumed the attack in the morning.

https://t.me/infocomm/25758

10:25: video showing Armenian soldiers making BBQ in an oven inside the trenches.

https://t.me/sashakots/18023

10:27: army identified and published the names of 44 soldiers who died fighting. There are 1,221 identified deaths.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034363.html

10:39: army published a video dedicated to soldiers. "Our artillerymen operate brilliantly."

https://t.me/infocomm/25760

10:42 MoD spokeswoman Shushan: the battles continue near Shushi. The defense forces successfully perform their tasks, depriving the enemy of the initiative.

https://t.me/infocomm/25761

11:15: BBC asked Aliyev to comment on the fact that Azerbaijan used cluster bombs and bombed civilian areas. Aliyev called it fake news.

BBC confronted him, saying their own journalist was at the scene. Aliyev called it fake news (telling BBC that their journalist is lying). Confronted about Human Rights Watch report about the bombs, he called it fake news again.

"Is it all fake news?"

"Yes, why not."

Armenian MFA responds: Ilham Aliyev confirms that he has no justification for the deliberate targeting of the civilian population, which has been undeniably documented by many reputable international media outlets specializing in human rights.

Realizing that he would sooner or later be held responsible for his war crimes, Ilham Aliyev made a desperate attempt to deny the truth, calling it "fake news."

German BILD journalist calls Aliyev a liar: Not only BBC knows that the President is telling lies, once again. We were on the ground for two weeks, saw shelling of civilian areas almost every day and every night. Mr. Aliyev, there are many many reporters who can prove: You are lying!

Clip https://m.facebook.com/1238905799/videos/10217584294179387/?refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2Fplugins%2Fvideo.php&ref=external&_rdr

https://youtu.be/zam-WAE6Ji8

https://twitter.com/ronzheimer/status/1325767327502176256?s=19

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034368.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034409.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034408.html , https://news.am/arm/news/612239.html

11:25: HR Ombudsman met British Baronesses Caroline Cox and her HART humanitarian agency members. A report was prepared about the physical violence against Artsakh civilians, online hate speech, and increment of violence accompanied by videos of Azeri soldiers committing war crimes against POWs.

The Baronesses expressed willingness to visit Artsakh.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034369.html

11:29: Yerevan Mayor says they sent a group of army volunteers for training.

https://news.am/arm/news/612236.html

12:11 spokesman Artsrun: We downed another Azeri drone this morning. An Azeri group was discovered towards the Qarin Tak (south of Shushi). It's being destroyed with artillery fire. They have heavy losses.

Video from Qarin Tak artillery strikes: https://youtu.be/XCGdWgmHu90

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=358466655434693

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034377.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034379.html , https://news.am/arm/news/612235.html

12:49 spokesman Artsrun: there were other important battles besides Shushi. The enemy attacks failed towards Martuni, Martakert, Taghavard, and other places. These are all important battles.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034381.html

13:00: earlier an Azeri Parliament MP accused Iran of "helping to move PKK terrorists to Armenia" after Iran criticized, without naming names, Azerbaijan's placement of Syrian terrorists in its borders. A political spat ensued, followed by damage control by Azerbaijan.

Today an Iranian MP accused the Azeri MP of "reading the speech from a text written by Israel".

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034392.html

13:10: Iran continues to transfer heavy military equipment near the border with Artsakh

https://t.me/bagramyan26/23025

13:52: Alkiako, Spain passed a resolution in solidarity with Artsakh. It condemns the Azeri-Turkish aggression.

https://news.am/arm/news/612265.html

15:28: RIA Novosty article talks about the targeting of Artsakh civilians and the humanitarian crisis.

https://factor.am/307082.html

16:31: president Sarkissian gave an interview to the Greek Kathimerini outlet. "We won't allow another genocide to happen."

Full https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034410.html

17:03 spokeswoman Shushan: Azeri attack towards Karmir Shuka was repelled. The battles continue in the south-east. We shot 3 drones during this period.

https://factor.am/307197.html

17:23 Artsakh president's spokesman: The post made by president Arayik today [about Azeris attacking capital from Shushi direction] has caused certain depressive moods in public circles. This is natural because war is an act of hard struggle, where neither success nor failure is guaranteed.

To this day, unfortunately, we have to admit that the chain of failures still haunts us, and the city of Shushi is out of our control. The enemy is on the outskirts of Stepanakert.

If we want Shushi to be ours and Artsakh to be preserved, today we must use all our capabilities to organize a reliable defense in Stepanakert and other directions of the front.

https://news.am/arm/news/612307.html

19:13 Artsakh president Arayik: The army and volunteers stand strong and will fight until the end. The outcome of the war determines the strong will of the people. We can still show that will and determination. Each of us must stand firm in our positions, and a positive result will be guaranteed.

https://news.am/arm/news/612325.html

19:15 PM Pashinyan: The battles for Shushi continue.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034425.html ,

19:23: several political parties want PM Pashinyan's resignation. Among them are BHK, ARF, Hayreniq (Vanetsyan), HHK (all strictly anti-Pashinyan). Semi-opposition LHK did not sign the letter.

Hanun Hanrapetyutyan party criticized the opposition parties for creating internal disability by demanding the PM's resignation while the battles continue.

A volunteer soldier in Stepanakert published a video and criticized the "political games while the battles continue".

https://news.am/arm/news/612329.html

https://t.me/infocomm/25803

https://twitter.com/301_AD/status/1325895512302772229?s=20

19:46 Artsakh MFA Masis Mailyan: Currently battles are taking place in the direction of Shushi. It's time to make a breakthrough.

https://news.am/arm/news/612334.html

19:55 WarGonzo reporter: we have reliable info that Armenian army equipment, tanks, armored vehicles, etc. are fighting on the outskirt of Shushi, against the Azeris who are inside the town. The Armenian army doesn't appear to be willing to give up Shushi.

https://t.me/wargonzo/3994

20:07: at around 18:39 a Russian helicopter crashed in Yeraskh, Ararat province of Armenia, next to the Nakhijevan border. Russian "Sputnik Armenia" outlet's source says it was shot from Nakhijevan.

Russian Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the helicopter, which was accompanying a Russian vehicle fleet, was shot with a mobile anti-aircraft missile system. Two crew members died; the third one has injured. Russia is examining details to find out who shot it.

Video showing the moment it was hit: https://t.me/anna_news/9524

Video 2: https://t.me/infoteka24/11298

Video showing aftermath: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1041786809627108

Photos of debris: https://t.me/voenkorKotenok/23757

Photos: https://t.me/sashakots/18041

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034430.html

https://ru.armeniasputnik.am/politics/20201109/25242534/Rossiyskiy-vertolet-sbit-na-territorii-Armenii.html

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034427.html

20:53 spokeswoman Shushan: the army continues the battle for Shushi. The enemy is being shelled. Two Azeri soldiers were captured.

https://t.me/reartsakh/6259

21:29: Azerbaijan has apologized to Russia for shooting down the Russian helicopter in Armenia, and promised a "compensation". They claim it was unintentional.

The "we will compensate" part raised the ire of some Russians who see an analogy with the 2015 downing of a Russian jet by Turkey over Syrian air. At the time, Erdogan didn't apologize. Today Ilham Aliyev didn't apologize, either; a note was sent from Azeri MoD.

The patriotic/nationalist segment of Russian social media began demanding a "harsh" response.

https://t.me/voenkorKotenok/23740 , https://t.me/bagramyan26/23094 , https://t.me/anna_news/9527 , https://t.me/sashakots/18046

21:41 WarGonzo reporter: there are still Armenian fighters in Shushi. Ambulances continue to aid the wounded. Olympic champion Mihran Harutyunyan and I went to the southern outskirt of Shushi to find out what's really happening. Our info is slightly different from the official one.

Not only did we see Armenian military equipment, but also ambulance vehicles that were exiting the city and driving down the road. There were clear sounds of battles. We couldn't do more due to snipers.

I don't know how many Armenian soldiers are inside Shushi but it's fair to say there are significantly more Azeris. Regardless of what has been said today, the battles continue.

https://t.me/wargonzo/3996

21:58: a group of Armenian soldiers published a video from Shushi outskirts, urging the public not to listen to depressive rumors. "Do you hear the sounds of the artillery? Shushi is being cleared."

https://t.me/bagramyan26/23102

22:00 army spokesman Suren Sarumyan's briefing: in the past 4 days, the enemy concentrated the main efforts towards Shushi. Fierce battles took place during this time. The Army defended and are defending our fortress-city Shushi and are ready to carry out their duties.

During the day, the enemy attacked Shushi several times. The attackers were discovered and sustained heavy losses under our artillery fire. In this area, we captured two Azeri soldiers.

The enemy also attacked other front lines. We took more favorable positions and destroyed 1 tank, 4 vehicles, 8 drones. In the south-east, we captured a tank and artillery units.

Currently, there are battles in the direction of Shushi. There is a nuance in military battles: certain events take place within a period of time. We can talk about the results only when they are concluded. In this regard, I'd like to inform you that the geography of events contains some secrecy. For this, sometimes it's not beneficial to talk about land gain/loss. In any case, we have nothing to hide from you. Follow official news.

During the war, Azeri troops were able to intrude through the center of Artsakh. The areas where we retreated was often due to military-strategic purposes. In other words, when we were dealing with flatlands it's often best to retreat and take up nearby heights for better efficiency.

But Azerbaijan's actions within Artsakh's center won't be forgiven. Be confident that the army will be able to carry out its duties and defeat the enemy. Our troops have high morale and optimism. Boys are ready to defend the homeland until the end.

https://youtu.be/Lz07tY9qktU

22:16: Olympic champion Mihran Harutyunyan (the guy who traveled with WarGonzo) published a video. "Do you hear the sounds in the background? I'm in the southern outskirt of Shushi right now. Our troops are inside Shushi. Anyone who creates panic and tragedy should stop. Turn off your phones and relax."

He encouraged soldiers and others to come and join them on the outskirts.

https://youtu.be/RFX7RFCkWHs

https://t.me/Aramcaramba/1349

https://factor.am/307394.html

22:49: photos showing the damage in Stepanakert after today's shelling of civilian areas:

https://t.me/infoteka24/11289

23:00: Armenian MoD expressed condolences to families of Russian pilots "who were during their military duties to protect the borders". They will be awarded posthumously.

https://t.me/reartsakh/6267 , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034441.html

23:24: SOAD's Serj Tankian: Two and a half years ago, Armenia experienced a revival through a peaceful revolution. Our people spoke the truth to the government, ushering in a new era of growth in diplomacy, economy and national unity, which made the Armenian people stronger than ever. In these difficult times of war, it is important to stand by our leadership so that a corrupt dictatorial enemy knows what a strong democracy is like with a strong Diaspora. We are with you, Nikol Pashinyan.

https://t.me/infocomm/25832

23:46: Armenian MFA about the downing of Russian helicopter: "We believe that the use of force against the Russian armed forces in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia will receive an adequate response."

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034442.html

23:59: The Russian ambassador visited the government building. No details were provided. General Samvel Babayan was also present.

https://youtu.be/MdGJMrPiYOg

, https://factor.am/307441.html

00:12 Russian Vesna military correspondents: We've learned that a group of Turkish special forces, who are operating in Karabakh, went there through Kazakhstan after training courses in the National Defense University of Kazakhstan.

They went to the University in 2019-2020 as part of the joint Kazakh-Turkish training cooperation. It used to be that only Kazakhs would visit Turkey, but last year, Turkey asked for TSK forces to go there.

It's about Erdogan's plans to intrude in the post-Soviet military sphere and learn more about how it operates. For this, they also used military propagandists and intelligence (OZZ) teams in Kazakhstan.

The Turkish social forces graduated in March-2020 and went to Azerbaijan in the summer for training. They then stayed there and acted as commanders during the Karabakh War.

More: https://t.me/RVvoenkor/408

humanitarian aid & activism

Armenian-Americans held a silent demonstration in front of the Lincoln statue in D.C. Signs were held urging the official recognition of the Artsakh Republic and putting an end to the aggression.

https://t.me/infocomm/25753

Belgian-Dutch entrepreneurs increased the collected donations from 209,000 Euros to 413,000 within a few hours of an online campaign.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034360.html

An online petition was organized by Armenian and foreign public figures to revoke Azeri VP Mehriban Aliyeva's "UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador" title.

https://www.change.org/p/unesco-dismiss-mrs-mehriban-aliyeva-from-her-title-of-unesco-goodwill-ambassador-dismissmehriban

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034391.html

Residents of Lichq, Gegarquniq donated medicine, equipment, and food to Artsakh.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034394.html

Ukrainian-Armenians organized a demonstration, held a charity fair, and donated the proceeds to Artsakh.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034412.html

Flutist Valeri Tolstov and his "Authentic Light Orchestra" will play in Switzerland on November 21st, in support of Artsakh.

https://style.news.am/arm/news/74794/paterazmn-yntanum-e-arajnagtsum-ev-mardkanc-hoginerum-valeri-tolstov.html

Armenians in UAE donated $132,000 to Artsakh.

https://factor.am/307070.html

Chess champion Levon Aronyan has collected 1.4M in donations from his charity match and passed it to Himnadram.org

https://news.am/arm/news/612353.html

regional kerfuffle

Turkish Lira slightly improved after the resignation of Erdogan's son-in-law Borat Albayrak as the Finance Minister. 8.12 per $1.

Opposition pro-Kurdish HDP party has called for Erdogan's resignation over the economic crisis.

https://factor.am/307036.html , https://factor.am/307379.html

Azerbaijan's ambassador to France gave an interview to French AFP. The latter chose not to publish it. The ambassador got mad. "Shame on AFP and [the journalist who took interview]. Shame on Le Figaro and other outlets for not publishing our articles."

https://factor.am/307020.html

programming courses for Artsakh refugees / remote learning / high-tech in schools

The Business Incubator Foundation is providing free 8-week programming classes to refugees in three institutes. The courses began in Vanadzor Tech Center.

Students learn various programming languages, technical English, programs that create games.

Gyumri Tech Center also reached Adobe tools and graphics design.

More: https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034385.html

remote learning

If you live in a remote provincial area that doesn't have a teacher for a particular subject, your school will receive free computers, projectors, microphones, etc. from the Education Ministry, for remote learning of that subject. 101 schools have qualified.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034383.html

programming

Education Ministry plans reforms to introduce Computer Science & Digital Literacy classes beginning 2nd grade. The "informatika" subject will undergo major reforms.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034407.html

COVID stats, double infection, vaccines, grants, and healthcare

+2,358 tested (some clinics take a "break" on Sunday, tests are reduced). +1,024 infected. +21 deaths. +731 healed. 40,569 active. 180 critical. 897 serious. 73 on lung vent.

Healthcare Minister Torosyan: We have enough lung ventilators but there is a shortage of oxygen supplies around the world and Armenia is no exception. We're working on expanding the local production. We purchased large oxygen stations and 500 compressors.

We had 343 cases of double-infections. It's unlikely to do with improper initial healing because when they healed, they were tested negative. At least a month later they tested positive again.

We'll soon have 50,000 antigen tests that are faster than traditional antibody tests. There is a global trend to use those instead. This news will probably lower the cost of traditional tests.

We will purchase 60,000 COVID vaccines next year with the use of an initial plan, followed by vaccination of 10% of the population.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034376.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034380.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034387.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034386.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034375.html , https://news.am/arm/news/612269.html

EU's COVID grant

The EU will issue a €36M grant to fight the virus and help the economy. "By making a direct financial contribution, we emphasize and support the commendable efforts of the Armenian Government aimed at preserving jobs, supporting SMEs, as well as providing basic health and social services for those most affected by COVID-19," said the EU.

The govt thanked the EU for the aid.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034371.html

Budget 2021

The Labor & Social Affairs Ministry's 2021 budget will increase by 10.7B, or 2.2%.

Funding for programs aimed at improving the demographics to increase by 7.2B.

The Education budget will decrease by 2B (or an increase of 10% over 2019), party due to COVID-related cancellation of travel and other events. (Total budget 178B)

The healthcare budget to increase by 22B.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034364.html , https://factor.am/306813.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1034401.html , https://news.am/arm/news/612279.html

You can help Artsakh & Armenia

www.1000plus.am (international, medical help for former soldiers)

www.HimnaDram.org (international, for Artsakh)

www.ArmeniaFund.org (U.S. tax-deductible, for Artsakh)

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Link to original report and comments: https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/jr67kk/nov92020_wrapup_war_in_artsakh_karabakh_shushi/?

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.