2020 September 21

Daily news and anti-corruption report

Sep/21/2020 holiday report: \\ 1991 flashback: independence \\ battle of Arara \\ army news: Aliyev's delusions, drone, panic, draft, Armenian exercise \\ TUMO to expand in Artsakh \\ NSS boss comments the Russian Dossier \\ fires \\ tourism & wine \\ athletes win big \\ Tslik Amram ancient castle
by ar_david_hh

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WW1 flashback: the battle of Arara

Armenian Legion was fighting alongside the French against Turkey in the Middle East during WW1. The Legion consisted of soldiers who had earlier defended civilians during the Genocide.

Against 600 Armenians were fighting 1000 Turks and 600 Germans.

The Allied objective was to capture two hills near Rafat-Arara. On Sep-19-1918, the Armenian Legion managed to penetrate the Turkish lines and reach the rear. It led to Anglo-French advancements and eventual victory.

Armenians sustained 23 deaths and 76 wounded. They were buried in the nearby Brotherly Cemetery.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arara

https://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/285302/

the suicide drone

On July 19th we learned about various drones manufactured in Armenia, including a suicide drone called Hresh.

High-Tech Minister Arshakyan released a new video showing one such drone in action. It's not clear if this is Hresh; it resembles an Orbiter. It successfully located and struck the target.

https://youtu.be/LAh7leA_X5g

Caucasus-2020 military exercises

... began in Armenia. 1,500 Armenian soldiers will be joined by 80,000 personnel (most located in their countries) from Russia, Pakistan, Belarus, China, and Myanmar.

https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196165

sniper fires from a 2.5km range

During an exercise, an Armenian sniper set a new personal record by striking a 75cm diameter target from a 2574-meter distance.

https://youtu.be/EzVvkGG6IPU

Aliyev makes a statement about Karabakh conflict / Armenia responds

Pashinyan earlier listed 7 steps towards de-escalation, installation of border monitoring mechanisms, etc.

Ilham Aliyev: // Armenia is preparing for war. They are moving troops near the border and committing provocations. There are no real negotiations right now. Armenians are illegally settling civilians in occupied territories. //

Armenian MFA: // Aliyev's statement is disappointing and shows his inability to perceive reality without emotions and personal motives. Such rhetoric, which contains false information, doesn't bring honor to any leader.

We recognize the losses Azerbaijan suffered during the 2016 and 2020 battles. For these losses not to become permanent, the Azeri govt has to review its policy of force and the attempts to [involve Turkey] in destabilizing the region. //

https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196195

https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196202

the dream about drone / a dead Azeri soldier / Reservists to be retrained

The Aliyev regime is trying to stir things up again to justify his future military actions.

The Azeri army has summoned some reservists for retraining. There were sightings of groups of men lined up in front of military facilities. The media reported it as "volunteers wanting to go to war".

Azeri army spread rumors yesterday about allegedly downing an Armenian drone over Semkhir city, relatively far away from Tavush borders. There was allegedly a large explosion in the air and panic among local civilians.

Armenian MoD denied the reports of having its drone downed over Shamkhir, calling it a "wishful thinking" by the Azeri govt.

Later, the Azeri army reported the death of its soldier in the Tavush region. Armenian side said they had no record of shooting him. Last week an Armenian soldier was killed and one Azeri was wounded in this region.

https://factor.am/285465.html

https://factor.am/285465.html

nuclear plant safety

Infrastructure Minister Papikyan met the International Atomic Energy Agency's new director Rafael Mariano, during which he expressed concerns about Azerbaijan's recent threats to bomb the Metsamor nuclear plant.

https://youtu.be/yA53NVV7ukk

https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196275

"Grey Wolves" terrorism in France / Activist sentenced

Turkish Grey Wolves activists attacked Armenian rally-goers in France during the July protests against Aliyev's military aggression.

One such activist is Ahmed Chetin who made an Instagram post in which he said "If the Turkish govt gives me weapons and $2,000 I'll do whatever needs to be done across France [killing Armenians]."

The activist expressed regret that the Armenian community in Marseille is large and they can't hinder the Armenian marches.

The court gave him a suspended sentence after he apologized and expressed regret.

https://news.am/arm/news/603205.html

TUMO will expand in Karabakh

Artsakh president Arayik met the TUMO science-technology school directors to discuss the installation of 10 mobile TUMO centers in Artsakh provinces. Each could educate 320 students.

The first 3 will be installed in Karvachar, Kashatagh, and Hadrut regions. Similar trailer-centers operate in Armenia, Paris, Berlin, and Moscow.

https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196194

update: Armenian NSS responds to Russian "dossier"

An amateur-ish "dossier" was leaked on Friday, allegedly written by paranoid Kremlin officials and their secret agents in Armenia, detailing their fears of "losing" Armenia to "George Soros's puppet Pashinyan", whom they despise.

The dossier gave names of Russian agents on payroll and pro-western figures who were under their watch.

It also mentioned how NSS was full of KGB agents who reported back to Kremlin.

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NSS's new director, as you may remember, is a young outsider kid named Argishti Karamyan. Pashinyan appointed him because he isn't compromised by the former regime and - for that matter - foreign agents.

NSS chief Argishti: the dossier contains information about felony crimes and will be investigated by us.

Question: ex-NSS chief Arthur Vanetsyan says your appointment is a national security threat.

NSS chief Argishti: Vanetsyan should first of all worry about how under his watch Prime Minister's phone was wiretapped [by Robik's friends]. The leak is still being investigated. I can't reveal classified info.

https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196219

https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196220

mass-poisoning in a hospital

St. Gregory Illuminator had a food poisoning incident that affected 25 staff and 8 patients. No lives are at risk. The authorities are investigating.

https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196210

Constitutional Court will elect a president

HHK former-MP Hrayr Tovmasyan was recently fired from his position as a president of CC, while keeping his seat as a judge. The CC will vote to elect a new president on Wednesday.

https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196258

aid for the tourism industry

The govt earlier passed the 23rd COVID aid package to help tourism businesses. 800 have applied so far, and another 400 were identified as eligible and notified so they can file a claim. They'll be given subsidies equaling ~30% of their salary budget.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3897872300228397&extid=zWu9de1jZyimLtIN

https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196197

Armenia's wine industry

Armenian winemakers participated in a wine tasting ceremony in Moscow. Some 70 Armenian businesses export wine abroad in significant quantities. 30% of the products have won their place in the market.

The Wine Union welcomes the new Russian law that protects the consumers by requiring winemakers to state the type of grape or fruit that was used to make the wine, and if it's not from grape, it cannot be sold as "wine".

More: https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196277

Nubarashen landfill is still burning

A fire broke out on September 10th in the Nubarashen trash field near Yerevan. 4.5 hectares of garbage is burning. Part of it was extinguished, but the fire continues.

https://youtu.be/Su6y0pparTE

https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196188

է՞ս էիր ուզում, Նիկոլ:

Pashinyan is accused of burning down the forest behind Matenadaran. It's unclear how and why he did that. "At first Levon cut down those trees, and now Nikol is burning it down," said the cameraman.

Pashinyan was earlier accused of importing transgender prostitutes from Cuba.

🍿🍿🍿 https://youtu.be/qKefooPT6Lo

KinoPark opens its doors

After 6 months of pandemic, the movie theaters are re-opening their doors. 250 people attended KinoPark (near Yerevan Mall) in the first weekend. "We haven't done layoffs," said the director.

https://www.panarmenian.net/arm/details/285295/

aviation memorial

A new memorial stone dedicated to aviation workers was installed in Yerevan.

Photo: https://hetq.am/hy/article/121739

Armenian athletes

... participated in the Balkans Athletics competition. Yervand Mkrtchyan won both 1500m and 3000m running competition.

Long-jumper Levon Aghasyan won gold with a 16.53-meter jump.

Sprinter Alex Donigyan, who recently moved from the U.S. to Armenia, finished 4th and set a new record for Armenia.

https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196278

Lady Gaga's new "Armenian" clip

Gaga's latest clip features bits of Armenian words and art. The yellow crime-scene tape says "Զգուշություն" (Warning) and there are bits from Sergey Parajanov's "Նռան գույն" (color of pomegranate).

https://youtu.be/58hoktsqk_Q?t=185

Armenia marks the Independence Day

videos: 29 years ago today

Lots of dances and celebrations on the voting day: https://youtu.be/gxD1yQ72QNg?&t=11

Nationalist movement leader and first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan casts his vote: https://youtu.be/b5EOZIcq5WM

The electoral commission counts the votes: https://youtu.be/ikOgB_2Y0r4?t=846

Party time after independence: https://youtu.be/5XPPG-uMAls?&t=22

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Armenia received congratulations from several world leaders.

Artsakh prez:: we are undivided and celebrate this together. We are the guarantors of our future. Let's built together. https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196213

Armenia prez.: a lot is still ahead of us. New projects, new goals, new victories. Let's work together. https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196217

Georgian prez.: congrats. Peace and prosperity to you. https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196274

Speaker Mirzoyan: we are given a historic chance to be among 200 independent countries on the planet. Let's strengthen it. https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196225

Vladimir Putin: near Nikol, I [hate you and] congratulate Armenia on the independence day. Russia values the friendly relations with Armenia. Looking forward to EAEU cooperation. [DID YOU CHECK THE LETTER IN A LAB ENVIRONMENT FIRST?] https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196232

Donald Trump: dear PM, congratulations. The U.S. has been with Armenia since its independence and helped to strengthen democracy and economy. We want to expand the trade, investments, and cooperation towards strengthening of rule of law. [TOO NON-REPETITIVE TO BE WRITTEN BY TRUMP] https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196236

Mike Pompeo: we welcome Armenia's efforts to fight corruption and establish rule of law and will continue to assist you. https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196259

Emanuel Macron: France is determined to help Armenia with the brave reforms that began in 2018. We'll help to resume the Karabakh negotiations ASAP. https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196264

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Pashinyan's Sharepoint presentation: vision 2020

Pashinyan: congrats with independence. For the next 30 years, we'll work on Armenian Statehood, Education, the Individual, and Work.

We need to utilize women's full potential.

Make the population less susceptible to informational manipulations. Today anyone can cite "sources" and claim things like "they are selling Karabakh". We cannot ignore the info wars.

We need to create 1.5 million new jobs, 20x the GDP, 7x the average salary, and increase the population to 5 million.

Let's change the attitude of foreigners towards Armenia relating politics, investments, tourism.

Renewable energy needs to develop. We'll dedicate a budget for this.

There will be a new website for Vision 2050.

Full: https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196269 , https://factor.am/285291.html , https://youtu.be/WyByLDejh1M , https://youtu.be/Dc5ZiJDxK-I , https://youtu.be/sKeefAdXdpg , https://youtu.be/0kKDQHBtwJQ

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army promotions & civilian medals

Pashinyan promoted four colonels to Major General, and one Major General to Lieutenant General. https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196242

Several artists and musicians received honorary artist titles. https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196249 , https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196254

Dozens of others received various medals: https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196270

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the world congratulates

Rio de Janeiro's Jesus statue was lit up with the Armenian flag and letters: https://youtu.be/j6syKAqe2Nc

Dubai's Burj Khalifa featured the Armenian flag: https://youtu.be/CV4JdBbUg7k?t=9

Tbilisi's telecom tower featured the Armenian flag: https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1028262.html

The mayor of the U.S. capital Washington D.C. has declared Sep-21-2020 an "Armenian Independence Day" in the capital.

https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196287

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Vanadzor is celebrating the Independence Day with the new fountains: https://youtu.be/kwX3_xE3iOk?t=15

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military performances

A military performance in Khor Virap, with the Holy Ararat on the background ✔ : https://youtu.be/hogTiIBQFKs

An air show featuring the new SU-30CM fighter jets: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=883064712223716&extid=Wue5WFHCCk7ZiDqT

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the main events

A concert took place in Zvartnots temple. The ancient walls were lit in the Armenian flag's tricolor while the orchestra performed classics. https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/196292

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Then came the Մեր ժամանակի հերոսը celebration of entrepreneurs, a pro-business initiative launched in 2019. This year's winner is a Syrian-Armenian couple who produce sweets. They moved to Armenia after the Syrian civil war but had difficulties with finding a job, so wife Yoland Rshtuni turned her cooking hobby into a business.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1028341.html

Tslik Amram archeological sight & tourism

In July we learned that the archeologists and govt are working to turn Tslik Amram castle into a tourists sight.

It's one of the least explored castles from the middle ages. They are still unearthing new tombs and artifacts. One of them reads "God bless Mamis" in Armenian.

Writings suggest that this castle area was the residence of Ashot Yerkat in the 10th century. It was used for several centuries.

The whole area will soon be included in the "Berd Preserve", but first, they need to dig more. It could take another year to find everything.

A documentary and videos from sight: https://youtu.be/ZVHLF4roZUI

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You've read 1958 words.

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Link to original report and comments: https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/ix8fhq/sep212020_holiday_report_1991_flashback/

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.