2021 December 6

Daily news wrap-up

News - Dec/6/2021: Mass production of Sputnik Lite in Armenia; Covid stats __ Dusty Yerevan air __ Govt's seismic program; 1988 aid __ Culture projects __ Anti-corruption __ Verdict: protester vs police __ Municipal elections; observers; results __ Hard Rock Cafe __ Safety app for women __ More
by ar_david_hh

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This is your 11-minute Monday briefing in 2687 words.

in case you missed the Sunday report

General Babayan discusses giving a mandate to Russia, unblocking of communication routes, international trade, second gas pipeline. Election news, etc.

https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/r9wwpe/news_dec52021_gen_samvel_babayan_about_ongoing/

Parliamentary committee rejects Kocharyan-ARF border demarcation resolution

The opposition drafted a resolution calling for the government to refrain from any negotiations with Azerbaijan that could be against Armenia's and Artsakh's best interest.

The ruling party said that the full text of the resolution was written for the internal audience and had the main purpose of attacking the government, rather than addressing the country's issues. They voted down the resolution, saying it would hinder the negotiations process and cause security problems.

The ruling party invited the opposition to discuss the hot topics behind closed doors.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1069988.html

CSTO bloc adopts a joint statement on the fight against terrorism

CSTO statement: we are deeply concerned about the terror attacks in the CSTO space and outside, and the growing use of live broadcasts and the internet for terrorism propaganda.

We reaffirm our commitment to keeping unity in the international fight against terrorism, by recognizing the UN’s central and coordinating role on the matter.

We reiterate our commitment to the full implementation of the UN Global Anti-Terrorism Strategy, respecting human rights, fundamental freedoms and rule of law. //

They spoke about developing information literacy among the youth to prevent radicalization.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1069996.html

anti-corruption update: prosecutors ask the court to confiscate properties belonging to Serj-era police chief Vladimir Gasparyan

Gasparyan's property assets were frozen in June as part of an investigation over alleged illegal enrichment. The law was recently amended to make it easier for authorities to recover stolen assets from officials.

Gasparyan was invited in June to present his position and documents. The court, at the time, decided to place a temporary arrest on the assets.

Prosecutors decided to proceed with the case. They asked the judge to confiscate the properties. The list of properties is not disclosed yet, but it could be related to Gasparyan's "mansion" in Sevan.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1057000.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1069977.html

authorities press criminal charges against a Facebook user who threatened opposition figures

FB user Arshak Shaniyan created a page and made physical threats against Serj, Kocharyan, Vazgen Manukyan, Garnik Isagulyan, and others. He is charged with criminal incitement of violence.

Speaking of opposition politician Garnik Isagulyan... He is also facing similar charges after calling for the assassination of Pashinyan.

https://factor.am/450404.html

the court orders police to compensate a man who was illegally detained during protests

Sargis Poghosyan will receive $400 from the police for being illegally detained during the April 2018 protests.

The case was taken by the human rights Helsinki NGO's Vanadzor branch. They welcomed the "rare" verdict against police that has "fully restored justice" by recognizing the moral damages.

https://factor.am/450069.html

Pashinyan congratulated voters after December 5 regional municipal elections

Read Sunday news in case you missed it. These were large-scale elections, boosted by the fact that hundreds of small settlements are merging into larger ones for more efficient administration.

The ruling party won in 23 out of 35 elections. Pro-EU and incumbent forces also performed well. [The list was published here.](https://factor.am/450082.html)

The elections were close in several settlements, so expect parliamentary-style coalitions to be formed. For example, in Gyumri, the ruling party had captured fewer votes but ended up forming a ruling coalition. Similarly, in Akhuryan, two friendly local opposition alliances were able to form a coalition despite individually receiving 2x fewer votes than the ruling party.

During Sunday elections, the ruling party won >50% in 15 settlements and won't need a coalition, plus 8 where they will need one. Opposition forces scored >50% victories in 8 settlements.

Ruling party MP Vahagn Alekasnyan mocked ARF, saying he was surprised that the HD alliance was able to cross the threshold and gain representation in a few of the settlements. The former regime opposition, in turn, welcomed the fact that the ruling party failed to capture 50+ votes in most cities.

Helsinki NGO Vanadzor branch: this is great. This is how elections should look like. It's good that the ruling party was unable to win >50% in Gyumri and Vanadzor. We're not saying this because of bias. We say this because the one-party phenomenon has been finally destroyed in Armenia. You don't need one single party to win from top to bottom. This is what democracy looks like. //

Pashinyan: no matter how obvious it is that the priorities of our agenda are related to external challenges, I must nevertheless state that this quality of local elections, when the citizen is in charge, has been our long-held dream, and it came true.

Some people believe it's better to falsify elections for the sake of security, but rigging the elections is what undermined the state's resistance system for decades, leading to security disasters. Statehood and state institutions should be the guarantee of the future. //

The authorities are investigating 17 instances of alleged bribery and other violations.

NGO Independent Observer discovered some violations (pretty much by everyone) in several locations but they weren't serious enough to impact final results. They also discovered instances of fake news. Someone claimed that an Aparan resident wasn't given a ballot because he wanted to vote for a specific party. That turned out to be false.

Overall, the elections were democratic, announced the NGO.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1069943.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1069947.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1069954.html https://factor.am/450082.html https://factor.am/450078.html https://factor.am/450107.html https://factor.am/450256.html https://factor.am/450270.html https://factor.am/450388.html https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/226828

President Sarkissian held several meetings

He met Republic party leader Armen Sargsyan to discuss local and international politics.

He met the ambassador of the UK and the rector of Moscow's Skolkovo School of Management. The latter discussed possible digitization and AI programs in Armenia. Skolkovo rector was in Armenia to sign a cooperation memorandum with a local school.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1069976.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1070011.html https://factor.am/450112.html

French ambassador visited Shirak province

Anne Luyo to governor Nazeli Baghdasaryan: [talks about AM-FR friendship]. After Yerevan, Gyumri is the first city I have visited. I am glad that there is a willingness to cooperate. With joint efforts, we will be able to implement new programs. //

They discussed "decentralized" cooperation through direct province-embassy dialogue, in the fields of education, IT, and services.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1069989.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1070020.html

Hard Rock Cafe is coming to Armenia

The government's ANIF fund announced today that the world-famous Hard Rock Cafe will have a branch in Yerevan. ANIF will have 48% participation in the project.

The rest is co-financed by the Armenia-based "Food Republic", which signed a franchise agreement with Hard Rock International. The doors will open in 2Q2022.

http://arka.am/en/news/business/hard_rock_cafe_is_coming_to_armenia_/

Nature Ministry: Yerevan air is too dusty

The Ministry's monitoring center detected dust concentrations that exceeded the permissible levels. The main source of dust are construction sites and mining operations said Yerevan municipality.

NGO: burning garbage and transport vehicles also play a major role. Stop burning trash under the open air. The incomplete combustion releases dioxins, which are carcinogenic. It is not even allowed to burn dried leaves because they release dioxins into the air. //

No large-scale studies have ever been conducted in Yerevan to identify the worst affected districts and the connection between respiratory issues and pollution.

Doctor Qnarik Grigoryan: strong foreign wings often bring inspect eggs that have never existed in Yerevan. A large number of bacteria can be released into the air with dust if the streets are not cleaned with vehicles with special dust brushes.

Municipality: all 12 districts are being cleaned 6 days a week.

Last year we planted 2.7k trees and 213k bushes. This year so far 5.5k trees and 99k bushes.

Six hectares of green area will recover near Tsitsernakaberd and Kakhtanak Park in the Autumn. //

https://factor.am/450038.html

safeYOU is an app made by Armenian women to help victims of domestic violence

Push and hold a button to automatically alert your family members, help services, and police. Founder Mariam Torosyan has been working on it since 2019 as part of a World Bank grant to help women.

safeYOU, which has 22k+ installs, is the first Armenian startup included in Google for Startups program, said the founder.

https://safeyou.space/ https://youtu.be/cLdqES9MMws

public procurement contracts: quality vs quantity

Finance Ministry: in 2019, the share of small and medium businesses in public contracts was 68%. It dropped to 63% in 2020, which is still high, mainly due to pandemic hardships.

Besides the pandemic, in 2019 we had amended the law to introduce more requirements to ensure a proper contracting process.

In 2021 we relaxed these requirements for SMB. Certain thresholds were raised to help SMB participate more easily. We expect their share to reach 2019 levels next year.

Compared to EU countries, Armenia is ahead of 10, and behind 18. We're ahead of Russia, where the SMB share is 55%.

Today, SMBs are informed about purchase contacts transparently, but we need to spread the message more efficiently with the use of automated systems. We're also discussing ways to reduce the time it takes to organize contract auctions. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1069990.html

COVID stats

3.3k tested. 0.1k infected. 0.8k healed. 8 deaths.

in Armenia, men are more likely to get vaccinated

1,352,805 shots have been administrated so far. 517k were the second dose.

45% were women, 55% men.

hospitals are re-converting to serve their original purpose amid a drop in hospitalizations

There are no lines for beds, said the Minister today. Many hospitals began shifting their priorities to serve non-covid patients.

https://factor.am/450093.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1070016.html https://factor.am/450185.html

Russian peacekeepers conducted demining operations in Artsakh's Martakert region

The area is used by Armenian farmers as pasture.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1069958.html

Minister: new seismic protection methods are introduced in Armenia

For context about seismic issues and post-1988 efforts read this post and this. There are methods to strengthen buildings, and seismic retrofit is being conducted to some extent, but it's too expensive to "fix" every problematic building in Armenia in the near future.

The Armenian-Russian Humanitarian Response Center Organized a conference dedicated to the 33rd anniversary of the Spitak earthquake (December 7). The event will feature training for earthquake response.

Emergency Minister: the 1988 quake underscored the numerous flaws regarding the resistance of various types of buildings. The topic of seismic resistance still remains an issue in Armenia.

New methods of strengthening seismic protection are being developed and introduced. Simultaneously, we are conducting evacuation training with residents of Armenia and Artsakh. //

Russia's deputy Emergency Minister: we've gained significant experience since the Spitak earthquake. It made everyone think and pay attention to such disasters. More attention was paid to modern and safe technologies.

Armenian and Russian emergency response experts will jointly conduct a seismic assessment of buildings using the Struna mobile complex (training ground in Russia).

the government will focus on 3rd and 4th degree damaged buildings

Urban Development Committee: we will use the best international experience to focus on 3rd and 4th degree damaged buildings. We're identifying and registering all these buildings in all provinces. Legal processes are happening simultaneously.

Of the 19,000 buildings in Armenia, 614 are 3rd+ degree. 1,200 private homes are 4th degree.

The government's 2026 program envisages a phased approach. By 2026, a process will begin to address 70% of the 4th-degree buildings.

disaster zone housing program for 5419 families is coming to an end

The state has been helping families who lost housing after the 1988 quake. ֏67B has been spent since 2008. Last year they allocated assistance to the remaining few hundred families.

The program will end once 28 families from Jradzor (Shirak) receive their housing (or cash) assistance. The government plans to include them in a larger aid program that covers fellow Jradzor residents who had to relocate to allow for the construction of the Kaps reservoir.

There are still many makeshift homes. A new program will launch in 2023.

Some earthquake survivors chose to continue to live in makeshift homes despite receiving housing aid. Sometimes it's their children, who are now adults and have their own families, who move to new housing, while the recipients continue to live in makeshifts.

This is only part of the reason why people still live in makeshifts. Other reasons include people becoming homeless over time, migrant workers moving to Gyumri and using makeshifts as cheap housing, and a group of quake survivors who did not qualify for housing aid for various reasons.

Urban Development Committee: 7,000 makeshift "tnaks" structures still exist in Armenia, mostly in Gyumri. The Justice Ministry recently made legal amendments to create the necessary conditions to address this.

Programs will launch in 2023 as part of the government's 2021-2026 program. A methodology was developed for assessing the status of makeshift housing and the families who live there. The assessment is complete.

The financial policies will be clarified next. We will have the legal ground to launch the programs in 2023. The size/type of assistance will be directly related to the reasons why the family ended up in makeshifts. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1069960.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1070006.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1069993.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1070001.html

Tags: #spitak #quake #makeshift #buildings #DamagedBuildings

Armenian-made Sputnik Lite vaccine will soon enter the markets as a booster shot / Large-scale production / Could export to the Middle East and Africa

Healthcare Minister Avanesyan: it is very gratifying that the pharma production in Armenia is taking another step, a very big step to realize its potential. As in other cases, the state will purchase these vaccines and distribute them to citizens for free.

The purchases will be made very soon. The vaccine has passed all control stages and is ready to enter the market.

This Sputnik Lite can be used as a booster for everyone, not just Sputnik V recipients. //

Likvor pharma: Russia recently transferred the necessary technologies to produce the vaccines.

They transfer the raw material (substrates). The processing and rest are done in Armenia. We aren't just "bottling" the vaccine.

In 3 days, we can produce enough vaccines to cover Armenia for 1 year. Obviously, we're going to focus on exports. //

Economy Minister Kerobyan: we could export the vaccines soon. We're discussing purchase contracts with several Middle Eastern and African countries right now. We are confident that this will soon be possible through joint work with our Russian partners. //

Full interview about Sputnik Lite: https://youtu.be/rR5ox842d1o https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1069969.html https://factor.am/450177.html

culture budget will increase next year / A need to change how institutes generate income / New culture projects

Education & Culture Ministry: unprecedented ֏1B will be allocated next year for the modernization of the material and technical base of the cultural field.

Last year we slashed the culture budget due to the pandemic, but it has already recovered. One of the priorities will be the education component.

We need to create a literate audience and a perceptive environment, otherwise, all our efforts will be in vain. We have successes here.

Dasaran+Dasaran(Classroom+Classroom) is one of our programs. A group of high-schoolers is chosen to live one week in a theater, to watch performances and meet artists. The goal is to improve the perception of theatrical art and help students decide their career paths.

DasA program organizes a meeting with composers.

Your Art in School invites the best artists to meet students in schools.

Zardagir was implemented this year. It's an interactive program to present medieval culture in a game format. Students make their own pigments and paint on parchment.

Dasarvest will launch next year. The best paintings will be displayed in provinces.

Part of the government's 2026 plan is the establishment of the institute of restorers. First of all, what is the definition of a restorer? Right now we only have Matenadaran, but there is a need to repair hundreds of thousands of books and paintings. //

https://factor.am/450260.html

Tags: #culture

Gyumri drama theater plans to go ape with a new Mowgli performance 🍿

It's going to be a large performance, the largest in 20 years, participated by over 60 actors. They'll use various techniques to bring them closer to nature.

The performance is for adults. The script was edited to introduce modern touch to the story. Premiers on December 10-11.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1069968.html https://youtu.be/2uCoKUkZMQI

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/raitzt/news_dec62021_mass_production_of_sputnik_lite_in/