Armenian News ... A Topalian 8 editorials

Armenpress.am

26 August, 2019

YSMU recognized Best Foreign Medical University for Indians in New Delhi awarding ceremony

The Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU) has been recognized as “The Best Foreign Medical University for Indians” during the “Education Excellence, Global Choice” Awards in New Delhi, India.

Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff was hosting the event and presented the award to YSMU Vice Rector for International Activities and External Relations Yervand Sahakyan and YSMU India Alumni Union President Daljeet Singh Chauhan, the YSMU said in a news release.

More than 600 Indian students are studying at the YSMU as of today.

The university is also leading in the estimates of the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE) of India.

 

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenpress.am

26 August, 2019

Armenia to have anti-corruption court, committee and independent commission

Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan has introduced the functions of the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission and the Anti-Corruption Committee – two agencies that will be created under the 2019-2022 Anti-Corruption Strategy – to lawmakers at the parliamentary committee on European integration affairs.

Badasyan said the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission will deal with prevention of corruption, while the Anti-Corruption Committee will investigate and detect corruption crimes. He said that the General Prosecution will have a new division which will carry out supervision against the investigation. Under the 2019-2022 strategy Armenia will also have special Anti-Corruption Courts.

“We hope we will have appointed members already in September-October and this body will begin functioning,” Badasyan said regarding the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission.

He said that by the creation of the Anti-Corruption Committee the entire range, composition and jurisdiction of the investigative and tactical intelligence bodies existing in the law enforcement system will be revised. The criminal code will have a complete list of crimes which constitute corruption, he said.  Financial investigations and international cooperation, as well as raising the qualification level of personnel in these directions, will be especially focused on.

Committee staffers will undergo a background integrity check before assuming office.

The special courts which will administer justice in corruption cases will also be entitled to examine stolen asset recovery cases.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

Asbarez.com

27.08.19

Azeris Force Turkey to Remove Armenian Chess Player from Tournament

 

Armenia’s National Women’s Chess champion Maria Gevorgyan

International Chess Federation—FIDE—has launched an investigation

Turkish organizers of the an international chess tournament in Sivas (Sepastia), Turkey have withdrawn an invitation to Armenian chess champion Maria Gevorgyan at the behest of the Azerbaijani delegation, which reportedly threatened to boycott the event if there was going to be an Armenian in the tournament, the BBC reported.

Furthermore, Gevorgyan, who is a three-time women’s chess champion of Armenia, was threatened with a lawsuit by the Turkish organizers after she took to social media to announce her removal from the tournament and express outrage at the situation.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE), under whose auspices the Sivas Buruciye Chess Open 2019 international chess tournament is being held, has launched an investigation.

“FIDE is acting,” said international chess body’s representative Emil Sutovsky in response to a complaint filed by the Armenian’s Chess Federation. “We already started the investigation. It will be quick. And the punishment for those found guilty will be serious,” reported news.am.

Gevorgyan, who is a FIDE world champion, said that she had a busy summer of tournaments around the world, prompting her to decide to skip the Sivas tournament, until she received an official invitation from organizers on August 7.

After she agreed to attend, an organizer, Mustafa Eroglu, contacted her to withdraw the invitation, explaining that Azerbaijani chess players had asserted that if there were an Armenian in the tournament, they would refuse to participate.

“In every country, wherever I speak, I always respected all opponents, regardless of their nationality or political views,” Gevorgyan wrote on her Facebook page, saying that rescinding her invitation because of her nationality was considered extremely offensive.

Her Facebook post prompted Ergolu to threaten Gevorgyan with a lawsuit, claiming that she violated the confidentiality of her correspondence, which she had also posted on the social media site. She said her Facebook post aimed “to raise the issue so that everyone knows there is racism in sports as well.”

Gevorgyan explained to news.am that the organizers had told her that they would make travel accommodations for her. They later informed her that the airline tickets were expensive prompting her to inform them that she would cancel her participation. However, the organizers insisted that she take part in the tournament. Hours later, Gevorgyan explained, Eroglu informed her about the Azerbaijani ultimatum, upon which she withdrew from the tournament.

“Mustafa’s message made it clear that the organizers are declining Armenia’s participation and won’t cover my expenses. The Armenian Chess Federation got involved and sent a letter to FIDE to explore the matter,” Gevorgyan told news.am.

“FIDE requested that the organizer of the tournament present the petition of the Azerbaijani athletes regarding the Armenian chess player’s participation. I contacted Mustafa Eroglu, but he didn’t submit any document,” explained Gevorgyan in the interview with news.am.

Gevorgyan believes that there was never an official letter submitted by Azerbaijan, but rather a discussion between the Turkish and Azerbaijani parties that resulted in her invitation being rescinded. She said that the Armenian Foreign Ministry had already contacted her.

“Chess has always brought people together. People from different nations have played together. I have always respected each opponent, without attaching importance to the opponent’s nationality. The fact that there is such discrimination in sports and that there is such an action against me is very painful. I don’t know why this happened. In any case, I think this issue should be in the spotlight,” Gevorgyan told news.am last week.

Aysor, Armenia

Aug 28 2019

Armenia’s FM holds phone conversation with British Minister of State for Europe and the Americas

Armenia’s foreign minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan had a phone conversation with the newly appointed British Minister of State for Europe and the Americas Christopher Pincher. The phone conversation took place at the initiative of the British side, Armenia’s MFA reports.

Mnatsakanyan congratulated Pincher on appointment wishing success in the important mission.

During the conversation the parties stressed mutual readiness to give new impetus to bilateral relations, highlighting the necessity of intensifying the dialogue on different levels and periodically conducting consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries.

News.am, Armenia

Aug 28 2019

Armenian family among Russia’s richest families

Forbes Russia has released its latest ranking of the most successful entrepreneurial families of the country.

And as in the previous four years, the Gutseriev family is ranked first, with a combined net worth of $5.65 billion.

To note, Russian Armenian Nikolai and Sergei Sarkisov brothers are also on this list, with a combined net worth of $1.6 billion.

RFE/RL Report

EU Envoy Praises Armenian Government

August 26, 2019

Harry Tamrazian

The outgoing head of the European Union Delegation in Yerevan, Piotr Switalski, heaped praise on Armenia’s current government on Monday, saying that it is successfully combatting corruption and pursuing a “responsible” foreign policy.

“I believe that the [government] efforts to fight against corruption and to remove the gray zones from economic activities have been successful,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian service in a farewell interview. “I think that the most important element in combatting corruption is the political will. The leadership of the country, the government has demonstrated very clearly that they have the political will to combat corruption.”

Switalski said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government, which took office following last year’s “Velvet Revolution,” is also enacting legislation and creating institutions necessary for a “system of combatting corruption at different levels.”

The fight against corruption, he went on, enjoys strong popular support. “I think that Armenians do not want to go back to the previous times when corruption, nepotism were part of their life. They now understand what life without corruption is much better,” said the diplomat who has headed the EU mission in Yerevan for the last four years.

Switalski also spoke of a broader change in public mood in Armenia which he said has occurred since the 2018 revolution. “The main difference that I can see when meeting and talking with Armenians is … this feeling of freedom in their eyes,” he explained. “The fear which sometimes in the past was visibly present in their statements and conversations today is gone. They behave like free people and they enjoy this freedom.”

The envoy cautioned, though, that this freedom has also led to increased “hate speech” in the country “We encourage Armenia, including the government, to deploy additional efforts to combat hate speech until it is not too late,” he said without citing concrete examples of such intolerance.

Switalski further reiterated that the EU’s relationship with Armenia is “excellent.” He said Pashinian’s administration is committed to implementing the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed by Brussels and the former Armenian government in November 2017.

The 350-page CEPA offers Armenia closer partnership with the EU in return for major political and economic reforms. It was negotiated as a less far-reaching alternative to the Association Agreement which was nearly finalized by the two sides in 2013.

Then President Serzh Sarkisian precluded the signing of that agreement by unexpectedly deciding to make his country part of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Armenia’s subsequent accession to the EEU was strongly criticized by some opposition leaders, including Pashinian.

Nevertheless, ever since he swept to power Pashinian has repeatedly ruled out Armenia’s withdrawal from the EEU or the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), another alliance of ex-Soviet states.

“I believe that Armenian foreign policy is pursued with a sense of 

responsibility and balance and open horizons,” said Switalski. He commended the current authorities in Yerevan for ensuing “strong continuity” in EU-Armenia ties and trying to be “open to opportunities offered from any direction, including the European direction.”

Armenpress.am

27 August, 2019

Moody's raises sovereign rating of Armenia

Moody's International Rating Organization has raised Armenia's sovereign rating making it ''Ba3'' from ''B1'', ARMENPRESS reports PM Pashinyan wrote on his Facebook page.

The PM noted that the decision of Moody's is based on the factor that Armenia diversifies its economy, as well as on the macroeconomic stability that has been retained for a long period, which raises Armenia's economic immunity. ''Moody's noted in its report that real GDP growth in Armenia will remain high in the mid-term period'', Pashinyan wrote, adding that the development of IT sector is of particular importance, which is the main condition for a knowledge-based economy.

According to Nikol Pashinyan, this rating raises the international confidence towards the Armenian economy and significantly improves the investment attractiveness of the country.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

RFE/RL Report

Amulsar Mining Risks ‘Manageable,’ Insists Top Investigator

August 26, 2019

Susan Badalian

A major gold mining project launched in Armenia by a Western company poses only “manageable” environmental risks, a senior law-enforcement official who has investigated it insisted on Monday.

The official, Yura Ivanian, also stood by the investigators’ conclusion that the Armenian Ministry of Environment Protection did not break any laws or regulations when it formally allowed the company, Lydian International, in 2016 to develop the Amulsar gold deposit.

“The assessment of the environmental and social impact on the mine’s exploitation received a positive conclusion from the Ministry of Environment Protection without any violation of the law,” Ivanian told a news conference.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian told Armenia’s Investigative Committee to look into the legality of Lydian’s mining license shortly after he came to power in May last year. The law-enforcement agency was specifically supposed to find out whether ministry officials misled people living near Amulsar about "dangerous risks" posed by the project.

The Investigative Committee chief, Hayk Grigorian, said on August 15 that it has no grounds to indict anyone as a result of its inquiry led by Ivanian. Grigorian cited the findings of an environmental audit of the Amulsar project commissioned by the Armenian government and conducted by a Lebanese consulting firm, ELARD.

In its final report submitted to the investigators, ELARD concluded that toxic waste from the would-be mine is extremely unlikely to contaminate mineral water sources in the nearby resort town of Jermuk or rivers and canals flowing into Lake Sevan.

The 200-page report says that gold mining poses greater environmental risks for other rivers in the area. But it says they can be minimized if Lydian takes 16 “mitigating measures” recommended by ELARD.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian pointed to these conclusions when he indicated on August 19 his intention to enable Lydian to the restart the multimillion-dollar project disrupted by protesters more than a year ago.

Armenian environmental activists denounced that statement. They said that in fact ELARD gave a negative assessment of the project’s impact on the environment.

This led Pashinian to announce on August 23 that he will seek additional explanations from the ELARD at a video conference that will be held this week. Visiting communities surrounding Amulsar, said he will press the Lebanese environmental consultants to give “clear-cut answers” to lingering questions about the safety of Lydian’s operations.

“Although the [ELARD] audit refers to a number of shortcomings and omissions [in the Lydian’s project] its overall conclusion must be put into context,” said Ivanian.

The investigator stressed the importance of the 16 safety measures recommended by ELARD and essentially accepted by Lydian. “The mitigating measures are reasonable and adequate, and if they are implemented along with additional measures the environmental risks will be manageable,” he said.

Asked what will happen if those risks turn out to be serious after the start of open-pit mining at Amulsar, Ivanian said Armenia’s laws allow authorities to monitor and ensure Lydian’s compliance with environmental regulations.