2021 November 11

Daily news wrap-up

News - Nov/11/2021: Pashinyan about alternative roads in Syunik __ Education reforms starting in Kapan; school hubs & transport __ Govt & NGOs discuss judicial vetting __ OSCE meets MFAs __ Vaccine & Covid stats __ Yerevan-Kapan regular flights __ Airport under audit __ Investments & IRS reforms
by ar_david_hh

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This is your 11-minute Thursday briefing in 2776 words.

discussions were held over a more comprehensive vetting in judicial to get rid of corrupt judges

Experts have been debating in recent years on how deep the judicial vetting can go under the current Constitution. Justice Ministry recently organized meetings with NGOs, legal experts, and Supreme Court to discuss the topic.

Justice Ministry concludes the meetings: we found that judges can be vetted in three ways:

1) Form a brand new body with the necessary authority and rules.

2) Initiate disciplinary proceedings against judges that violate rules.

3) Set new standards for initiating disciplinary proceedings.

The first point can only be done if we amend Article 73 of the Constitution.

The second point is already being used today. The Corruption Prevention Commission, the Ethics Commission, and the Justice Ministry have been asking the Supreme Court to discipline judges. Some judges have been terminated.

The third point is about setting new standards within the existing Constitution. This can punish judges whose verdicts were overturned by the European Court for Human Rights, who have ties with the criminal underworld, or those that make politically-motivated verdicts. For this to be implemented, we need to amend some laws. We have launched intensive work in this direction.

We thank all the participants for their support in resolving this important issue. The public should know that two of these vetting methods can be done with legal reforms today, while one of them through a Constitutional amendment. //

https://factor.am/440285.html

Tags: #vetting

EU calls for strict respect for the ceasefire and immediate release of all remaining prisoners

EU Foreign Affairs rep. Peter Stano: this week marks the anniversary of the ceasefire. While hostilities have ceased, many pending issues still need to be addressed to move towards a comprehensive and sustainable settlement.

We call for strict respect for the ceasefire, the immediate release of all remaining prisoners, full cooperation on demining, and the de-escalation of tensions in border areas.

EU has supported the residents with €17 million in humanitarian assistance. We are ready to support border delimitation by providing technical assistance. We encourage the reopening of economic routes in the South Caucasus.

A comprehensive settlement is necessary to put an end to the conflict. We support the OSCE Minsk Group framework. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067894.html

Foreign Minister of Armenia and Azerbaijan met the OSCE co-chairs in France

AM and AZ Foreign Ministers were in Paris to participate in a UNESCO assembly meeting.

French Foreign Minister: I met my colleagues today to help ease the tensions. France is fully mobilized in the OSCE Minsk Group. We organized a meeting between MFAs and co-chairs. //

MFA Mirzoyan: a comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is possible only through peaceful means, under the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, on the basis of principles and elements known to the parties.

We agreed that it's important for co-chairs to visit the region. During the five-party meeting, we spoke about the need to resume negotiations, address humanitarian issues, and avoid hateful rhetoric. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067893.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067899.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067971.html

Security Council chief Grigoryan reiterated today that 1920s maps could be used for upcoming delimitation

Grigoryan gave the hint last week that the tripartite group is looking into the 1920s [1926-29] Soviet-era demarcation maps as the basis for the new delimitation. Also, check out [[2021 November 9|Samvel Babayan's recent interview about maps.]

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067921.html

opposition held a protest over the installation of Azeri customs checkpoints on the southern border road

HD MP Gegham Manukyan (ARF) led a group of protesters in front of the gov't building. They attempted to enter and ask questions about the [now-legacy] Kapan-Goris road checkpoints. 33 participants were detained after clashes with police.

A friend/relative of a war victim was also present and visibly agitated. He didn't like that Gegham Manukyan was leading the protesters, and clashed with him: "You're not a Dashnak. You get it?"

Manukyan's complaint is that three border villages are being cut off from the main highway because they don't have proper alternative asphalt roads. The villages are located next to the now-closed main road, while the new alternative road, built recently, travels to the west and is twice further away (33km vs 70km). Gegham Manukyan wants to know what road will residents use while traveling from one of these villages to Goris.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067920.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067928.html https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/225077

Pashinyan: we are redirecting trucks and citizens through the new alternative road in Syunik; more roads are being built to connect border villages

Pashinyan: Azerbaijan has informed us about the installation of customs checkpoints in two parts of the Goris-Kapan road, including for Armenian citizens, so we made the decision to direct the traffic through the alternative road. The Azeri customs were installed in August but only for Iranian cargo drivers.

The alternative road is Kapan-Avhgani-Tatev-Halidzor-Shinuhayr-M2. The Tatev-Avhgani section, which was unusable for several decades, has been asphalted. I personally used it for a roundtrip to Kapan last Thursday.

It's a quality road. It needs a few improvements to better serve trucks with attachments, although on my way to Kapan, I saw numerous Iranian trucks with attachments freely using it. Around 100 such trucks used the road last night.

Yerevan-Kapan travel time will actually slightly reduce because of the road's quality. Combine this with the ongoing unprecedented levels of road construction on the Yeraskh-Goris section, and we have a significantly better quality road.

Other alternative roads are being built in the Tatev-Ltsen section, Shurnukh, Vorotan, and other places. More info later.

None of the villages will be cut off as a result of switching to the alternative road, although it is necessary to improve roads to these villages. We'll address this quickly. Simultaneously, we're working on unblocking all regional communication routes. //

Security Commission chief Grigoryan: none of the border villages will be under "blockade". Large-scale construction was conducted lately, to improve at least the gravel road before the upcoming asphalt works. //

Mayor of border village Bardzravan: an alternative road is being built to connect our village but our teachers were unable to visit Goris today, the flow is disrupted. It will be a 10km road. Soil work has been done on a 5km section. Right now we can use the unpaved road to reach Goris with Niva or Willys vehicles. //

The old road remains open. Armenian residents can use it after paying a certain fee (TBD).

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067907.html https://youtu.be/5R-qGUR8cnU https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067922.html https://factor.am/440174.html https://factor.am/440431.html https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/225075

crews renovate a road traveling north of Lake Sevan

Part of Tsovagyugh-Shoghakat-Vardenis M-14 road in Gegharkunik province underwent repairs. The ֏2B project was funded by feds. Began in June, ended in October.

The crews repaired 21km roads, 12 bridges, and installed safety barriers. "On the northern shore of Lake Sevan, from Tsovagyugh to Vardenis, we now have a renovated road in accordance with modern standards," said the official.

Several inner roads and sidewalks were asphalted in three settlements of Gegharkunik.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067891.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067923.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067926.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067934.html

6 villages of Shoghakat (Gegharkunik) have a new street lighting network

LED bulbs were installed in several villages as part of a federal subsidy program in which feds "convince" local governments to properly collect/deposit taxes and co-finance projects. "Shoghakat is fully lit, while the other villages are at 60%. The lighting network in these settlements was built only in the last few years as part of this subsidy program," said Shoghakat mayor.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067897.html

the heavy snow means only one thing...

---> Click here to find out what <--- (do it)

From north to south, several major roads were covered in snow today. Vehicles with attachments were temporarily prohibited on Dilijan curves. Drivers were reminded to switch to winter tires.

Up to 15cm (6") of snow fell in Gavar, Sevan, and Chambarak areas of Gegharkunik. Road cleaning companies launched their operations early in the morning.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067889.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067898.html

airline is granted a license to fly Yerevan-Kapan-Yerevan beginning January 20

Civil Aviation Committee has authorized NovAir to launch domestic flights to the border town of Kapan (Syunik). The government has also allocated ֏50M to keep Kapan airport operational.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067930.html

new education push will begin in Syunik / new school "hubs" and roads / what does the research show?

Pashinyan: we will implement a program to ensure access to quality education in Syunik. An important goal of our plan to build/rebuild hundreds of schools is for 85% of 3-6-year-old children to be in preschools.

Last week I signed the decree to ensure accessible education in Syunik. Essentially, these education efforts will begin in Syunik. We need quality education to reveal the full potential of our citizens.

Our work is based on interesting research results. We found that with the existing education infrastructure, the Armenian citizen can only reveal 57% of their potential. Some 35% of students cannot read and comprehend basic text upon graduating from elementary school.

We need lots of resources to fix this, so we decided to start from Kapan (Syunik) with a ֏9B ($19M) investment. We examined areas where infrastructure, like sports centers, can be shared with neighboring facilities in order to cut costs. Studies were conducted in the past several months. Tell us more, Mr. Dumanyan. //

Education Minister Dumanyan: around a third of all schools in Armenia have fewer than 100 students. Many of them have a few dozen. It's even worse in Syunik, with 2/3rd of schools falling under this category.

We're adopting a new strategy for Kapan enlarged settlement, which includes 31 villages. A proposal is made to keep all schools in 6 villages, introduce professional classes, and build new preschools. The other 25 villages would have 7 "hubs" where children from various communities will unite and receive a quality education.

To ensure access to these 7 hubs, we will build 8 new roads and introduce a quality public transportation system. These projects will cost ֏9B. This strategy will be applied to other settlements of Syunik as well. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067916.html https://factor.am/440107.html

Tags: #education #SyunikEducation

National Polytechnic University of Armenia will help veterans with skills to launch their startup business

There will be free courses beginning on November 22 for veterans and Artsakh refugees. It's a joint project with the British "Creative Spark" grant program.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067887.html

Azeri media: Major General Hikmet Hasanov is receiving medical treatment after the vehicle explodes on a landmine

Hasanov was not present during Aliyev's recent trip to Shushi, so people began wondering. An Azeri site has interviewed Hasanov and learned that the latter is receiving care at a military hospital after a landmine explosion in Akna (Aghdam).

https://factor.am/440477.html

Turkish lira hits another record against the dollar

Lira has devalued 25% this year. It reached 9.965 per dollar.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank continued to lower the interest rate from 19% to 16% in the past few months. The inflation is reportedly at 20%.

https://factor.am/440533.html

COVID stats

13.3k tested. 1.5k infected. 1.5k healed. 36 deaths. 29.4k active.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067904.html

Armenia has imported 2.4 million vaccine doses so far

Sinopharm 800k

Moderna 730k

AstraZeneca 390k

Sputnik 347k

CoronaVac 100k

https://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/296645/

is it true that Covid can lower the IQ?

MOD reports: 62 staff members at MOD's Research University submitted PCR samples to Fenix Med (ՖԵՆԻՔՍ ՄԵԴ) laboratory last month. The lab gave them falsified "Biomed" papers with negative results. A criminal investigation is launched. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067959.html

Government discussed the pandemic regulations

Pashinyan: We currently have 954,000 vaccinations. 300,000 people have taken both doses.

It's showing signs of stabilization with a slight drop in daily cases, but I'd like to urge and plea with our residents to follow the safety rules, wear a mask, and get vaccinated. I learned from my own experience that vaccination is the only method to overcome the pandemic and avoid deaths. //

Healthcare Minister Avanesyan: following safety rules is not optional, it's mandatory. Don't let your guard down. Either we wear masks and get vaccinated, or we face death. //

Non-citizens entering Armenia via air or land won't be able to get PCR upon entry.

>ՀՀ քաղաքացիություն չունեցող անձանց համար օդանավակայանում կամ ցամաքային սահմանի անցման կետում տեղակայված նմուշառման կետերում ՊՇՌ հետազոտության համար նմուշառման հնարավորությունը հանվում է

You are still required to submit a 72-hour negative test or vaccine certificate, so get tested or vaccinated before visiting Armenia.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067919.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067935.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067939.html

big oof: consumer protection agency is investigating Zvartnots airport over PCR test contracts

Competition Protection Commission: an investigation is launched over possible abuse of dominant position.

A contract was signed between the airport and PCR labs, in which the airport was granted the power to confirm/deny PCR price changes. The airport would also get a certain percentage of the revenue from each lab test, in a way that we don't believe is justified. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067900.html

BIG OOOOF: Armenia 0-5 Macedonia

Armenian soccer team suffered a major setback in their effort to win a ticket to the 2022 World Cup.

Coach Caparros: Sorry. We fukced up from the first moment onwards. //

Narrator: yes you did, yes you did.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067990.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067991.html

anti-corruption: mayor of Merdzavan is facing criminal charges over ֏8M land shenanigans

Some lands were allegedly stolen through forgery in 2007-2010. A resident came forward and reported it. The mayor is told not to leave the country.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067902.html

anti-corruption: mayor of Berd (Tavush) has been arrested

The mayor is accused of fixing auctions for relatives, embezzling lands, helping illegal construction on lands, in a scheme that lasted several years, starting in 2010. The court has authorized his arrest.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067967.html

World Bank: Armenia is "too rich" to take advantage of the GSP+ trading regime for poor countries

Snippet from February 21 news post: The World Bank believes Armenia has improved its financial status in the past 3 years, therefore it cannot take advantage of the GSP+ system. The system allows low-income countries to export products to the EU by paying very small or no tariffs.

There is a GSP system with the US, Canada, etc., while the GSP+ is for the EU.

Over 6,200 Armenian products are exported to the EU under low tariffs. Mostly light industry, minerals-mining, alcohol, canned food, dried fruits, veggies.

To trade under GSP+, a country must already be in the GSP program, adopt 27 various conventions, and be low-income. Armenia had met all requirements, however, in the past few years, Armenia was added to the list of countries with relatively higher income. There is a 1-year evaluation period, after which Armenia could lose access to both GSP and GSP+.

That's not necessarily bad news, according to Deputy Economy Minister, because "it is not better to be a low-income country and use the system. Armenian businesses that have long taken advantage of these privileges, by now should have established their presence in the market with more competitive positions. If they hadn't marketed their products and solely relied on low tariffs, then that's a bad way to build a business." //

Economy Ministry reported today: Armenia will not have access to GSP+ beginning on January 1 because it has been in the above-average income bracket for 3 consecutive years. This year was a transitional year. //

The Ministry listed several countries and tax-free export areas that Armenian companies can still take advantage of. It appears Armenia can still use the low-tariff GSP system with the U.S., Canada, Switzerland, Japan, and Norway. GSP and GSP+ are different.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067958.html

government drafted a bill to "minimize contact between IRS and taxpayers"

Official: the reforms will also significantly expedite the time required for some tax audits, better regulate the taxpayer database, and the process of deregistration of the old generation cash registers. More types of tax documents will become available electronically. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067941.html

solar & greenhouse projects receive tax waiver

The government gave a tax waiver to solar company Areg Energia to encourage ֏2.2B investments in solar tech, to build a 5MW station in Vayots Dzor province. Most of the work is complete.

A similar waiver was given to Rock Berry Ltd to build a 3ha greenhouse farm in Kamaris (Kotayk). ֏1.8B investments. They'll grow varieties of strawberries. The greenhouse will have drip irrigation, heating, fogging, and CO2 systems.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067940.html

group of Russian businesses want to invest $500,000 in provincial projects

Armenian and Russian businesses recently held meetings. Russian investors are interested in several projects, with one being about Gyumri tourism.

Russian Business Women's Association visited Armenia to study investment opportunities. "Every year a large number of tourists from Russia come to Armenia, so it's important that Russian businesses invest in tourism."

Entrepreneurship school will open to provide free courses on how to start a business. Provincial students can join remotely. The classes will be taught by Russian business owners.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1067956.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/qru5wd/news_nov112021_pashinyan_about_alternative_roads/