2021 December 22

Daily news wrap-up

Dec/22/2021: Yerevan council fires mayor Marutyan amid accusations of improper management, bus purchase screwup, and corruption __ Russian drones & missile systems __ Turkey-Russia relations sour __ Ex-Minister wanted __ Scientists: DNA analysis of Armenians disproves the "Balkan" theory
by ar_david_hh

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This is your 14-minute Wednesday report in 3607 words.

Yerevan Council votes to appoint Ind. Hrachya Sargsyan as the new mayor of Yerevan

Read this for context.

Marutyan's ally in Yerevan Council revealed [and later confirmed by a non-ally] that issues between Marutyan and the ruling party started before the war, and before Marutyan left the party.

After the war, Marutyan decided to leave the party. The ruling members said they made unsuccessful attempts to work things out, after which they decided to hold a vote to replace Marutyan.

Ruling party members accused Marutyan of making errors in the bus purchase process which forced him to purchase the wrong types of buses, inflating his role in some programs for PR, and insufficient fight against certain types of corruption in the municipality.

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Marutyan's ally in Council accused the ruling members of pinning the blame on Marutyan and making "pro-Kocharyan" decisions by allowing former regime officials' mansions to be legalized instead of being demolished.

Marutyan gave a speech. He said there aren't serious reasons to replace him and that it's "politics". He pointed out the fact that the 2018 victory was achieved by the My Step alliance and not just the QP party [Pashinyan's QP had invited allies to form a My Step alliance]. "The name QP wasn't known to the masses in 2018."

Marutyan said he has left the QP party but not the My Step alliance, so he believes he is technically still a member of the ruling force. He criticized QP for claiming that they are the only ones that fought for the revolution's values.

Marutyan said he is true to revolution's values while members of governments are not, because they gave themselves a secret salary raise to ֏1.5M. [Context: public officials saw a sizeable salary raise after the revolution to discourage corruption because the new officials "couldn't get the extra income" through the usual corruption dealings that their predecessors would have.]

Marutyan said he denied requests from various officials to help their friends get a job, or to retaliate against certain "unfavorable" employees.

Marutyan boasted about driving a cheap vehicle without bodyguards, and criticized the Parliament for purchasing an expensive work vehicle for the Parliament President, "while people live in poverty".

Marutyan said the Council attempted to prevent him from purchasing buses so they could later point the finger at him and call it a failure. The Council, in turn, claims Marutyan made errors in the bus purchase auction process and eventually decided to purchase lower-quality Chinese buses, while the Council had intended to purchase European ones.

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Yerevan's QP councilman responds to Marutyan's claims: Marutyan claims to be the true defender of revolution's values but where was he when we were trying to prevent the former regime's hostile takeover after the war, amid violence, threats against MPs, and assassination attempts?

Marutyan talks about corruption and a "secret wage increase". If you think salary bonuses are "corruption", why did you distribute them in the municipality for two years?

Marutyan mentioned receiving "phone calls" from some officials about "favors". He must disclose their names. He has never mentioned this problem during our meetings. People with close ties to Marutyan work in municipality departments. Is that also corruption?

Marutyan is talking about salary premiums. They've been "embezzling" salary premiums in the city's garbage department for 2 years. It wasn't until I raised the issue that something was done. These people are still allowed to work in the department.

One of our Councilmen was stabbed several times after he raised awareness of corruption in the municipality. The city had done nothing to address that issue for 3 years. That guy was forced to draft a resolution himself, before being stabbed. [It's about the QP councilman whose house was raided by masked assailants. He and his grandfather received dozens of stab wounds at night. He survived. The full details are unclear.]

Marutyan gave the 2018 victory credit to the My Step alliance and not QP. If we captured 52% of votes under the QP ballot this year, do you think we would not have won in 2018?

We were trying to be respectful but Marutyan escalated this to the next level.

Some pro-Marutyan council members claimed they were pressured to vote to fire Marutyan. They claim QP is using HHK tactics. They claim this process isn't "democratic". This is, in fact, a democratic process. That's why we are doing it through a vote, instead of making someone "exit the building".

A person who claims Council members were pressured to vote against Marutyan had written a letter to me 6 months ago, begging to join QP to get a Parliamentary sit under QP ballot. I hate revealing these personal conversations but it's necessary today. So QP wasn't HHK 6 months ago and he was trying to join us, but as soon as we rejected his plea, we became HHK?

Of course Marutyan was going to have a problem with bus purchases. When you sever ties with the Council majority who believes you are purchasing the wrong buses, of course you are going to face problems. We wanted to delay the bus purchase process and get the right ones later, while Marutyan wanted to rush with the wrong buses so he could claim PR points.

I hate that this has turned personal. Nevertheless, I'd like to thank Marutyan for his efforts. Marutyan is not the worst mayor in our history, but he is the first one to be removed by the Council, because former Councils were benefiting from former mayors' corruption. What we have today is a legal and democratic process. //

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Yerevan Council's QP member responds: Mr. Marutyan you are still misleading the public with your claims about fighting for the revolution's values, and claim to be someone who heroically rejected a salary raise. You appointed your house construction "prarab" as the head of Yerevan's construction improvement department. How did that person's wealth change after taking the position?

For months, we were begging you, after the revolution, to fire the known corrupt municipal officials. City positions were given to your makeup artist, producer, and actor friends, Mr. Marutyan. Are these your pro-revolution values?

You took a cheap shot with the salaries. It is yet to be known how many of your friends in the municipality accumulated their wealth from the salaries.

Your wife goes to city departments and fires people and hired others to POAKs. Is this good or bad? The investigation will reveal if it was legal. We will find out which one of your associates have already fled the country to avoid responsibility.

When I urged you to replace one of the deputy mayors for reasons you are well aware of, you refused, saying you weren't part of our team and that you planned to use another team during the next elections.

Why don't you talk about all these issues, Mr. Marutyan, instead of claiming that it's all about politics after you decided to leave the party? You, your corrupt subordinates shielded by you, and your wife, are not the carriers of revolution's values. You are everything against it.

You haven't yet told the public about your political team, about which you informed me earlier. It's secret because honesty isn't needed for what you're trying to do. //

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Now-former head of Kentron District Viktor Mnatsakanyan: if you walk through the streets of Yerevan, you will see the same problems from 3 years ago. Ads on Mashtots Avenue have gotten worse, the street trade is the same, stinking underground passages, and even worse conditions for sidewalks and trees.

The mayor managed to do only 3 things in 3 years, and I can tell you all the shortcomings in the work done in those elevators/bus/garbage programs.

When Marutyan first became the mayor and faced the Sanitek disaster, it affected his ratings. He managed to pull through thanks to the help from the Council majority and Pashinyan. This is the same team that endured shame because of 4 months of mismanagement by the mayor.

For years I tried to raise awareness about the issues in the Kentron district. That's where residents want to spend their time. We should have focused more on public transport, then the parking issues.

Real specialists should be tasked with city improvement, not some unknown individuals and organizations. The city is still in dark. There haven't been conceptual new yard improvements. I think first deputy mayor Hrachya Sargsyan is the best choice right now. //

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Yerevan's QP councilman: the council has been operating in a crisis for almost a year, it's just that it wasn't displayed to the public because there were other issues in the country. We wanted to forget and move forward, but it didn't work. The key to solving the problems was in Mr. Marutyan's hands, and he simply did not want to use it to repair the relations.

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Yerevan's opposition BHK councilman: we've always supported replacing Marutyan. The idea originated in 2019 after the collapse of the investment project by Gagik Tsarukyan and his Middle Eastern associates. The excuse for rejecting the investment was that the investors came without a tie, etc. There was supposed to be a new charity hospital.

Then there was the questionable purchase of Kamaz trucks by Marutyan. Another issue is the insufficient completion of the annual programs. Our party will vote to replace the mayor. //

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Yerevan's opposition LUYS councilman Khazhakyan: Marutyan has failed as a mayor but this is an internal dispute between him and QP so we won't vote in favor. [One LUYS member plans to vote against Marutyan.]

The city has many problems. People have been building illegal structures without pushback since 2021. Things turned around only after one official began handling the process. [didn't name who it was]

We had a disastrous 2018-2020 budget situation regarding tenders and expenditures. It got better thanks to Sergey Nersisyan.

A stray animal center was established. 5,000 animals were treated in 2019. They dropped the number in 2021 and increased the number of employees instead. //

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QP councilman Levon Hovhannisyan, head of the budget committee: replacing the mayor is an institutional decision. Yerevan's budget has grown by ֏12B. That's great, but we need to understand what part of it was a result of our efforts.

Most of the growth was a result of an increase in fees. You remember the vehicle boom in Armenia. The same about property taxes. These were unrelated to the municipality's policies.

When we deduct those, we are left only with ֏2B growth. When you get into more details, it becomes evident that even that wasn't a result of institutional reforms by the municipality. There were some rare positive developments relating to Parking City, automation, but it's insufficient.

As for spending the budget, it's concerning. We have been unable to complete the projects in front of us.

We have three new offices: garbage, green, pet neutering. The painful thing about these is the corruption. We replaced the director of the green department. There were issues with waste reprocessing. There are currently problems in the garbage collection department. We have serious reasons to believe that shady deals were made there. We need more oversight.

It became clear in 2019 that we had serious issues in regards to cooperation between the city Council and Marutyan. The working format that we were told to adopt was unacceptable to us. //

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QP Councilman Galjyan: it is necessary to replace Marutyan because the council and mayor cannot work together anymore. This has been going on for a year. We have nothing against Marutyan personally. This is a clash of institutes.

Our candidate is First Deputy Mayor Hrachya Sargsyan, who is not a QP member. That should tell you that the purpose of this vote is not "politics" but rather the efficient management of the city for the next two years. I am confident we can continue with the reforms that Hayk Marutyan started. //

Mayoral candidate Hrachya Sargsyan: we will finish what we started in 2018. I was coordinating the bus purchase process. We have done a lot of preliminary work, which will allow us to complete the plans in the next two years. I'm not a member of the QP party and currently have no plans to join it. //

The Council held a session to replace the mayor. Ruling party members thanked Marutyan for whatever he was able to achieve and vowed to implement the 2018 campaign promises.

Yerevan Council voted 44-10 to elect Hrachya Sargsyan as the new mayor.

https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/ris10t/news_dec172021_smithsonians_digital_project_in/ https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/rhya12/news_dec162021_hayposts_budget_is_recovering_new/ https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/rh7smy/news_dec152021_anticorruption_fbi_to_train_agents/ https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/227869 https://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/297462/ https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/227868 https://factor.am/456260.html https://factor.am/456251.html https://factor.am/456532.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071376.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071379.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071398.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071423.html https://factor.am/456731.html https://youtu.be/WRJahJCUfGY https://factor.am/456746.html https://factor.am/456752.html https://youtu.be/A9eMIvNbHrY https://factor.am/456932.html https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/227973 https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/227968 https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/227998 https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/228010

Tags: #Marutyan #mayor

update: arrest warrant issued for former Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan over an "offshore scheme"

Investigative Committee last year: Hasmik Poghosyan was the Culture Minister in 2006. She was also vice-president of a cultural organization. She illegally gave a Yerevan-owned property to the organization. Her accomplice was the organization's president Armen Smbatyan, [who would later become Ambassador to Israel].

The embezzled ֏201M property was deposited as an investment in an LLC established by the organization. It was registered as LCC's property.

The LLC then made a $550,000 transfer to a British Virgin Islands offshore firm belonging to the Minister's family.

A felony case is launched against the ex-Minister and her accomplice. //

Defendant ex-Israel ambassador Smbatyan commented the story this way: "This is an old story. We were just trying to protect the building by making investments. The building is there, we haven't done anything."

The case has reached the court. Ex-Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan is wanted by police.

https://factor.am/323958.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1038861.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071383.html

Fraser Human Freedom Index 2021 report

The data was taken in 2019.

Georgia 40th (down 1 position)

Armenia also 40th (up 7 positions)

Russia 126

Azerbaijan 127

Turkey 139

https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/economic-freedom https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/human-freedom-index-2021.pdf

over 84% of female Afghan reporters have lost their jobs since the Taliban takeover

43% of all media outlets vanished, leaving 6.4k reporters jobless.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071450.html

Turkey news

Erdogan categorically rejected the possibility of holding snap elections amid the lira's ~40% devaluation and economic crisis. The elections are scheduled for July 2023.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071405.html

Turkey-Russia relations

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadirov accused Erdogan of aiding terrorists in Russia, and called for Russian MFA to take action. He believes Turkey is sheltering individuals accused of committing crimes in Russia.

Turkish agents recently arrested a group of Chechens suspected of visiting Turkey to attack an "unwanted person".

In another instance, in one of the Turkish provincial cities, the statue of 1990s Chechen separatist leader Dzokhar Dudaev was erected, raising the ire of Russian officials. In response, Chechen leader Kadirov threatened to erect the statue of Kurdish PKK militants in Russia.

Kadirov: Either you receive the status of a state that supports terrorists, or you are in favor of a clear and honest relationship with the Russian Federation, without [stabbing in the back]. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071384.html https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/diplomacy/chechnyas-kadyrov-threatens-to-erect-pkk-terrorist-statue

VIDEO: Russia successfully tests new combat drone Orion in Crimea | Pantsir destroys Bayraktar

The Orion UAV attacked ground targets and a helicopter-type drone that was maneuvering. The drone can fly at 200 km/h at 7 km altitude.

It can carry anti-tank missiles and guided bombs. Russia is working on 10 contracts to export various types of drones to foreign partners.

The manufacturer of the Orion combat drone says it can stand up to Bayraktar and "any type of UAV". They are surveilling Bayraktars in northern Syria air. Recently a Bayraktar entered an unauthorized zone and was downed by the Syrian government's Russian-made Pantsir anti-aircraft system.

Russian general: Bayraktar is an easy target for Pantsir.

Reporter: then why did Bayraktars destroy so many Pantsirs in Karabakh and Lybia?

Russian general: there were no Pantsirs in Karabakh. Elsewhere, you still need to use it properly and have it in combat mode.

Report: Turkish Bayraktars recently blew up a cargo load that was transporting Pantsir for Lybian General Haftar's army. The Pantsirs weren't in combat mode. In Syria, the Israeli rocket was able to destroy a Pantsir when the Syrian crew went out to smoke. //

It is believed that Syrian and Lybian fighters have downed 40 Bayraktar and Turkish heavy Anka drones with air defense systems.

Besides Orion, Russia has been using its main "Forpost" drones in Syria for a few years. In the striker version, this drone can use the same guided missiles as the Orion.

Another one is a high-precision Russian loitering drone that's being used in Syria. Last year one of those was used to neutralize a prominent militant from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group.

https://youtu.be/DB8JJGdU3VQ https://youtu.be/JoZO5us907E

Defense Minister Papikyan hosted CSTO bloc leader Zas in Yerevan

They discussed ways to make CSTO less useless.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071425.html

Pashinyan hosted Russian deputy premier Overchuk

They discussed economic cooperation. "Bilateral contacts were quite intense. A number of Russian business representatives have visited Armenia," said Overchuk.

The two discussed the ongoing efforts to unblock the regional communication routes.

Several cooperation agreements were signed in the fields of nature protection, education, science, etc.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071377.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071413.html

Armenia and Iran discussed the planned Armenia-Nakhijevan-Iran railway route

Security Council chief Armen Grigoryan hosted a group of Iranian parliament MPs. "Inviolability of borders is a red line for Iran and we will not tolerate any territorial change [corridor] in the region," said the Iranian delegation.

Grigoryan said Armenia and Iran both want to open an era of peace in the region. They discussed the Yerevan-Nakhijevan-Julfa railway route.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071428.html

Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Russia discussed the Sochi results and implementation of agreements

Border stability, formation of delimitation group, etc.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071434.html

Education Minister met representatives of Russians RosTech and Rosatom organizations

They discussed education programs and joint "3D" industry projects. They emphasized the need to promote science subjects in schools.

A pilot program relating to the 3D industry was rolled out in Sochi schools. If successful, the experience can be shared with Armenia.

Some 200 Armenian students are receiving education in Russian universities.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071404.html

culture budget will double next year after a pandemic-era drop

֏1.6B is planned for 2022, up from this year's ֏834M.

Education Ministry: the volume of capital allocations to museums and theaters reached unprecedented levels in 2019-2021. [lists investments in various culture centers].

Next year we will spend ֏767M on replenishing material-technical base of museums and theaters, ֏213M on capital renovations, etc. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071406.html

Seasons Park Station: a new winter park concept will open in Yerevan on December 24

It's a new project by Yeremyan Projects and Tashir Group companies, to mark the 15th anniversary of Yeremyan Projects. Here is the Seasons Park: https://youtu.be/pSQxhjSMx7s

The park will gain a winter theme on Friday. The goal is to hold special events every season. In the summer they had laser shows and modern fountains. In Autumn they had tea and coffee pavilions.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071375.html

24 Omicron cases were discovered in neighboring Georgia

The first known patients came from the U.S. and Dubai. All 24 Omicron patients were vaccinated.

Omicron symptoms are believed to be relatively milder but it's expected to infect many more people. The winter is coming. Brace for impact.

270 Armenians have received booster shots so far

Available only for adults, for now.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071418.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071368.html

hundreds of insulin-dependent children received free Glucagon drug

Healthcare Ministry made the first-ever large-scale purchase of Glucagon drug and distributed it for free to 763 children in Armenia and Artsakh.

Glucagon is recommended for type-1 diabetics as an emergency measure. "It is necessary to have one at home."

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071437.html

the best space photos of 2021

Gallery:

https://newatlas.com/space/2021-best-space-photos/

petition for Photoshop experts to turn this into a meme

I would like to abuse my power and directly ask my readers to make a meme from this: https://i.imgur.com/FasZ6Pv.jpg

Things to consider for a successful meme:

1) What is the role of the guy in the background?

2) The woman in the middle is suspiciously mischievous.

3) The protagonist is trying to explain a conspiracy theory to a scientist.

The photo is from a ceremony organized by the Chinese embassy to award Armenian students who took Chinese classes.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071453.html

today in history

1790: Russian troops, headed by Alexander Suvorov, begin the siege of Izmail during the Russo-Turkish War.

1919: 250 suspected bolsheviks are deported from US to USSR

2001: the first-ever cloned cat "CC" (Copy Cat) is born

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071359.html

The Armenian gene pool has a continuous genetic history of more than 6,000 years | Findings disprove the "Balkan origin" theory

The Institute of Molecular Biology of Armenia, with the help of Cambridge and other international institutes, conducted genome analysis of new and old samples from Armenian Highland and Balkans, to see if the theory that Armenians migrated from the Balkans holds up.

The results show that Armenians differ from the old and new populations of the Balkans.

The theory originated from Herodotus around 440 BC. He theorized that Armenians could be Phrygian colonizers because of their language and military uniforms during their service in Xerxes's army.

>Ամբողջական գենոմային վերլուծության արդյունքում պարզվել է, որ հայկական գենոֆոնդն ունի ավելի քան 6000 տարվա շարունակական գենետիկական պատմություն

It is significantly different from the demographic history of other populations in Southwest Asia that have been subjected to significant external genetic influences.

According to the expert, Armenians are equal/more genetically isolated than Sardinians, who have long been considered a classic genetic isolate in Europe from the Neolithic to the end of the Bronze Age.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1071388.html

end of report

The accused are innocent unless proven guilty in the court of law, even if they "appear" guilty.

News archive: http://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/Daily_Anti-Corruption_Reports

Donations: soldiers' families, humanitarian aid, US tax-deductible donation.

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Link to original report and comments: https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/rmemnm/dec222021_yerevan_council_fires_mayor_marutyan/