Thursday 8 August 2019

Armenian News...A Topalian ...7 editorials

Armenpress.am
29 July, 2019
Armenia strongly condemns Azerbaijani provocations which claim human lives – statement

The spokesperson of Armenia’s foreign ministry issued a statement on the recent ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan.
Armenpress presents the full text of the statement:

“On July 27 and 28, the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan undertook provocative actions in the North-Eastern section of the state border of the Republic of Armenia with the involvement of snipers, which resulted in the death of the serviceman of the Armed Forces of Armenia Arman Bulghadaryan and wounding of two servicemen.

Intentional and provocative violations of ceasefire by Azerbaijan is in contradiction to the commitments on adhering to and strengthening the ceasefire, which most recently have also been reconfirmed on the level of the leaders of the two countries during the Vienna summit on March 29. Those violations also defy the statement issued by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs following the meeting between the Foreign Ministers on June 20, wherein they called on parties to strictly observe the ceasefire and to refrain from any provocative action, including the use of snipers, along the line of contact and the international border. 

We strongly condemn these provocations which claimed human lives and are accompanied by Azerbaijan’s rejection to undertake confidence and security building measures aimed at observing and strengthening the ceasefire. These actions create a risk of escalation the full responsibility of which lies on the Azerbaijani side”.


Arminfo, Armenia
July 26 2019
Armenia`s intention to build a 150-kilometer road from Kapan to  Hadrut has angered and confused Baku
Marianna Mkrtchyan

The intention of the  Armenian government to build a 150-kilometer road from Kapan to  Hadrut (Nagorno-Karabakh) has angered and confused Baku.

Thus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan hurried to make a  statement in which it once again criticized the Armenian authorities  and accused them of intent to strengthen the existing status quo.  

 "The statement by a high-ranking official of Armenia on the  construction of a new road called the" southern direction "along the  "occupied territories of Azerbaijan" is another example of Armenia's  true intention to consolidate the status quo based on "military  occupation", undermine the settlement of the conflict through  negotiations and annex the "occupied territories of Azerbaijan"," the  Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan stated.

At the same time, Baku also assures that the "illegal" activities of  Armenia in Artsakh, including infrastructural changes, indicate that  its statements about the intention to resolve the conflict peacefully  are nothing but "hypocrisy and misleading of
 the international  community". As follows from the statement by the ministry, Baku is  concerned that by building this road, Armenia will begin to enjoy the  benefits of natural and other resources in these areas.  

Despite the favorable conditions  for resolving the conflict,
 the continuation of illegal activities in  a destructive manner under the cover of the cease-fire regime is  another provocative attempt by Armenia to undermine the negotiation  process. Therefore, the entire responsibility for the further  development of  the situation lies with the military-political  leadership of Armenia. We strongly condemn the provocative actions of  Armenia, which continues to commit illegal actions in the "occupied  territories", grossly violating international obligations, and demand that the aggressor cease actions aimed at violating peace, security  and stability in our region and withdraw its troops from the  "occupied territories of Azerbaijan". Azerbaijan reserves the right  to adequately respond to such provocations of the aggressor  state,  "the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stressed.  

Earlier, Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen  Grigoryan, in an interview with the RFE/RL's Armenian editorial  Service, stated that the Armenian government plans to build a 150-  kilometer road from Kapan to Nagorno-Karabakh (to Hadrut) in
 2020.  Grigoryan said the decision has already been made. "I hope that by  the end of the year we will summarize the discussions and we will  have a roadmap to build this road," said Grigoryan. He added that it  is planned to build a road in a short time -
 in 2020, there are funds  for construction.


Panorama, Armenia
July 29 2019
Armenian church in Turkey to be turned into museum

An Armenian church in Turkey’s Sivas Province will serve as a museum after reconstruction, Ermenihaber reported.

The 19th-century Armenian church in Gurun district was on the verge of destruction before Turkish authorities allocated around 3 million liras for the church renovation which is in progress.

The district mayor, Nami Ciftci announced that after the reconstruction the Armenian church will be reopened as a museum contributing to the tourism development in the area.

In the early 20th century Gurun had 1,550 Armenian houses. Armenians were engaged in trade, agriculture and crafts there. There was a stone-built Armenian church and a school in the settlement. In 1915, the Armenian population of the district was subjected  to genocide, deportation and extermination.


Arminfo, Armenia
July 29 2019
French Embassy provides support in 3D modeling of Armenia`s  historical and religious sites 
Marianna Mkrtchyan
France's Embassy in  Armenia provides support in 3D modeling of Armenian historical and  religious sites, France's Ambassador in Armenia Jonathan Lacote wrote  on his Facebook page. 

"The French Embassy in Armenia is proud to have supported iconem for  the 3 D modeling of Armenian historical and religious sites, in  collaboration with the French Artist Pascal convert. Discover the  temple of garni, the monastery of geghard and noratus, the largest  cemetery in khashkar in the country, in this video about Armenian  heritage.   

 f6SaXPf7mzZSdE3VfdOSht

to, the Ambassador wrote adding that  Iconem will continue its exploration of the Armenian heritage  with the support of the embassy.


hetq.am
 24 Jul 2091
aro Baghdasaryan
Armenia’s Polluted Hrazdan River: Threatening Storks and Humans
Marine Martirosyan

Photos of oil-soaked storks, Armenia’s non-official state bird, recently appeared in the local social media, causing a minor public uproar. The birds were spotted along a section of the Hrazdan River, near the village of Dashtavan in Armenia’s Ararat Province.

Water from Hrazdan, which flows from Lake Sevan, is used to irrigate the country’s breadbasket, the Ararat Valley. The blackened storks, with their matted feathers and gaunt faces, are visible indicators that the river faces a number of environmental problems.

A group of Hetq reporters visited the area in an attempt to track down the source of the pollutants that nearly killed the storks.
One stork we spotted kept flapping its wings in a vain attempt to fly. Wobbling around, it looked like the bird had injured one of its legs.

Boys hanging out at the hairdresser near the Zorak-Dashtavan crossroad said they did not know how long the bird had been there. They told us that Dashtavan's storks have been oil-soaked
 and weak for the past two or three months and that the chicks aren’t able to fly out of the nest, falling to the ground instead.  when their flying eggs suddenly sink and fall. One of the boys said that the storks may have intestinal diseases because they feed from the Hrazdan River, a likely source of this or that virus.

Right now, the most important thing is to feed the storks
On July 20, Lyuba Balyan, a research fellow at the Zoology and Hydroecology Research Center, reported on his Facebook page that several days ago, employees of the Environmental and  Mining Inspectorate brought  a stork to the Zoological Institute. The bird was completely covered with a thick layer of dirt and clay and was unable to fly.

An examination of the bird’s feathers revealed that the oil wasn’t industrial but rather a vegetable or animal-based variety used in the production of foodstuffs.

"We tried to clean a couple of feathers, but only a commercial soap solvent did the trick, which is not a good signal," said Balyan.
In a conversation with Hetq, the researcher says that if a bird cannot fly, then it cannot hunt or feed itself. If the bird has chicks, they will also die from hunger. Balyan says  this is the biggest problem, because not only are the mature birds getting weaker, but the chicks are being ignored by the parents. This can lead to a local stork population decline.

Representatives of the Center for Zoology and Hydroecology and the Union for the Protection of Birds of Armenia toured the Ararat Valley, from the Armash fish farms to the town of  Masis town and the village  of Sis, visiting communities along the Hrazdan where storks traditionally nest.

The specialists found a large number of oil-soaked storks in the village of Hovtashen, in the Artashat region.

On July 21, on its Facebook page, the Environmental and Mining Inspectorate reported that the search for the source of the pollutants in the Hovtashen community is ongoing and that
 volunteers, in conjunction with inspectorate staffers, are cleaning the impacted storks.

The Ministry of the Environment says it is following the issue closely. Balyan stresses that a professional approach should be taken while helping the birds, adding that zoologists need to be supervising the entire cleaning process.

Balyan says that a group led by Mamikon Ghasabyan, Head of the Laboratory of Vertebrate Animals Zoological Institute, visited Hovtashen again yesterday. He says they found around thirty
 birds in need of immediate assistance and feeding. Feeding the birds presents a legal problem because they’re considered wild animals.

Balyan says that Hovtashen Mayor Suren Mkrtchyan verified the legal issue involved.

"The mayor said he needs permission to feed the birds because the stork is a wild bird. Is there a clause in the law that will allow us to transport the birds and feed them? We don’t know, nor have we received any clarification. The important thing is to set up a feeding station, identify the source of pollution, and how to clean the birds,” says Balyan, adding that they have contacted their international partners and drafted several professional  approaches to the problem.  

The Hrazdan River has become a sewer
Hovtashen village is not the only place where storks are to be found blackened, greasy and hungry. We saw storks in the same condition in the villages of  Dashtavan, Ghukasavan and Zorak.

Dashtavan resident Artashes Kocharyan says the storks swim in the Hrazdan, blacken and die. He says that every kind of pollutant winds up in the river.

Vasil Khanaghyan, a fellow villager, asks us if we didn’t  smell something on the way to the Dashtavan.  He says that in addition to the Hrazdan being dumped with  waste water from  Yerevan's Wastewater Treatment Plant (the station provides preliminary mechanical cleaning, and the quality of the process is suspect), wastes from the local leather and sponge plants also flow into the river.

Dashtavan resident Gagik Torosyan points to two storks  standing in his yard. He says they’ve been there for the past three or four hours because they can’t fly.

Torosyan believes they are sick and that all the storks in the village look the same. .

He then points to a nest of storks on a telegraph pole near his house. "The storks never looked like this. They were whiter. Something’s not right.”

Dashtavan Razmik Muradyan believes that the local stork population has increased this year but that the birds have a problem hunting for food, noting that the river’s pollution greatly impacts the birds. "The Hrazdan River resembles a sewer," says Muradyan, adding that some villagers irrigate their orchards with river water. He uses artesian well water.

Residents use polluted Hrazdan River water to irrigate their fields
Dashtavan Mayor Vardges Khanaghyan says it’s the first time residents have seen storks in such a state. He notes that the river might be the cause of the birds’ blackened exterior.

Khanaghyan says that the heads of seven communities in the Masis region (Getapnya, Geghanist, Norabats, Zorak, Ghukasavan, Dashtavan and Darakert) have raised the issue of Hrazdan’s
 pollution, calling for the construction of a cleaning station would be built. Last year, the heads of seven villages sent a letter to the Governor of Ararat, who forwarded it to the Ministry of Environment. No action on the matter has been taken.

The Davtashen mayor says that the abovementioned villages mostly derive their irrigation water from the Hrazdan River even though some use artesian wells. Khanaghyan says that while
 we immediately see the effect of the pollutants on the storks, we’ll only see the effect on humans over time.

Zoological Institute research fellow Lyuba Balyan also stresses that the main reason for the current situation is the pollution of the Hrazdan River and that the government must play a role in its resolution.

She says the problem must be viewed in a wider criminal context and that attention must be paid to the flora and fauna in the area as a whole, to see what other species have been affected or are at risk.

Filth, garbage, stench
We walked through the villages of Dashtavan, Ghukasavan, Getapnya, Geghanist  and areas adjacent to the Hrazdan River.

In the Darbnik-Dashtavan section of the river, we spotted  black, jelly-like masses in the water were visible in the river, which spread when encountering a rough surface. In the villages
 of Getapnya, Geghanist and Ghukasavan, the stench of the river was overwhelming.


Panorama, Armenia
July 29 2019
Sturgeon farming most likely source of pollution for storks in Armenian village


The feathers of storks in Armenia’s Hovtashen village have been soaked in oil and matted for several days already.

“Today we visited Hovtashen again, where we observed the process of feeding the affected storks, held another (unplanned) cleaning session for two individuals (with other reagents), and searched for the source of pollution.

Results:
- the local administration takes a very responsible approach to the issue of feeding, feeding storks twice a day; - cleaning with new reagents is better than the previous method, so next Sunday, we will have to arrange a Great Washing for storks; - most probably, the source of pollution is sturgeon farming, which dumps the internal organs of gutted fish - which contain a high amount of fat - into rivers. These emissions form congestion in the canals, and in these jams storks look for food, smearing  in fish oil, with all the consequences;

This hypothesis requires confirmation, after which it will be necessary to oblige sturgeon farms to clear congestion in canals and come up with another way to dispose of their waste.

For the support, I want to express my gratitude to the Hovtashen Village Administration, the Ministry of the Environment, as well as the art-cafe Ilik,” the Armenian Birdwatching Association said in a post on  Facebook.

The relevant state structures have taken no action yet, while finding those responsible for the natural disaster wound not be so hard. The state should involve biologists and chemists in the process to clean the river and the affected storks. 


OC Media
July 26 2019
Looking for a better life: the Indians coming to Armenia
26 July 2019 
by Armine Avetisyan

Indian immi­gra­tion to Armenia has sharply increased in the last two years, with many coming to the country in search of a better life. However, endemic racism and human traf­fick­ing have revealed the dark side of the ‘Armenian  dream’.

Rahul Seteh, an Indian immigrant to Armenia who has been living in the country since 2015, vividly remembers taking a phone call from an ill friend while on a minibus in Yerevan. 

‘I was talking very quietly, trying to help them over the phone, when a woman started saying loudly that “she’s tired of these Indians”. Why? What bad thing have I done? I want to explain that I love Armenia; I consider it to be a part of me’. 

After grad­u­at­ing from Yerevan State Medical Uni­vir­si­ty in 2008, Rahul returned to India.

In 2015, Rahul met Anna Avagyan in India and soon after they got married. After living in India for almost a year, the two moved to Armenia, where Anna is from. Now they both work at the Medical Uni­ver­si­ty in Yerevan. (Armine Avetisyan / OC Media)

In previous years, Indian nationals living in Armenia were almost exclu­sive­ly students and often stayed only as long their studies demanded. But today, a lib­er­alised visa regime, higher wages,
 and new business oppor­tu­ni­ties have led to a new wave of Indian immi­gra­tion, whose par­tic­i­pants want not to study, but to settle. 

A growing community
In November 2017, the Armenian gov­ern­ment lib­er­alised the
 visa regime for Indian citizens. Since then, there has been an influx of Indian nationals coming to Armenia. 

The Armenian Migration Service reports that last year, 1,940 Indian nationals held Armenian residence permits. Of these, 1,100 were granted for studies, 784 for employ­ment, and 54 for family reunions.  In the first three months of 2019, over 9,000 Indian nationals came to Armenia — compared to only 4,226 in 2016.

But according to some, the Indian infat­u­a­tion with the country came even earlier.

‘This all started when Indian students started to come to Armenia to study’, Sam Singh, a human rights activist who has lived in Armenia for the past year tells OC Media. ‘The cost of a uni­ver­si­ty
 education here is cheaper in many fields as compared to India’.

According to him, when students first began to arrive they found few busi­ness­es that catered to them, such as hostels or Indian restau­rants. Some decided to stay and open such busi­ness­es them­selves.  ‘[Less com­pe­ti­tion] and lower taxes lead more people from India to show their interest in this beautiful country’, Singh says.

Fitting in
It has been five years since Prangel Shah, 46, moved to Yerevan with his wife, Bipali Shah, 43. Prangel works as a diamond pro­cess­ing spe­cial­ist at a factory in Nor Hachn, a small town near the outskirts of Yerevan. 

‘When I first came here, many of the taxi drivers were trying to deceive us — they demanded more money’, Prangel tells OC Media. He added that he also had problems when shopping, but over time, developed a method for getting around these obstacles.

‘If, for example, I wanted to buy something, I waited until an Armenian would ask the price and buy it. Then I did my shopping right after him so that the seller would not lie to me and say an expensive price’.

Prangel Shah’s wife, Bipali Shah, is a spe­cial­ist in Mehndi, a form of body art using henna. She charges a minimum of ֏5,000 ($11.00) for her services.

Bipali Shah also teaches her craft and par­tic­i­pates in exhi­bi­tions. She has both Armenian and Indian students. (Armine Avetisyan / OC Media)

Other Indians in Armenia have also report racist harass­ment — even assault. 

‘I was standing in front of my restau­rant when some people began to beat me with stones. I hadn’t done anything’, an Indian busi­ness­man who did not wish to be named told OC Media.  Sometimes, I'm told that my skin smells bad. To be honest, I cannot under­stand why they hate us’.

Nev­er­the­less, if you stick it out and find a job, Prangel says,  then it is ‘an ideal place to live’. 

A land of opportunity
According to five employ­ment agencies surveyed by OC Media, the  number of Indian citizens seeking work in Armenia has been increas­ing, espe­cial­ly during the last half a year. 

However, employers and workers are not always able to come to a common agreement due to the language barrier. As a result, many Indians in Armenia  are stuck in low-wage physical labour and many choose to work with their com­pa­tri­ots to avoid the language barrier. ‘While I have Armenian workers, the majority of my workforce comes from India’, Vinay Bansal, an entre­pre­neur from New Delhi, tells OC Media.

  1. By Vinay’s cal­cu­la­tion, he will stay in Armenia for at least 20 more years. He sees great potential, espe­cial­ly in the field of tourism. He says it is easier to work with the new gov­ern­ment. 

Bansal has been doing business in Armenia for almost five years. He is the head of six companies and owns a hotel, a hostel, and a food court in Yerevan.  He also imports Indian goods, which are sold in both Armenia and neigh­bour­ing Georgia. ‘Working in Armenia is prof­itable. That’s why I am here today’, Bansal says. ‘I have invested a lot of money; I also pay taxes punc­tu­al­ly. I think
 I’m not a bad busi­ness­man for Armenia, though I also help my native people’.

Anjna Bansal, 48, is Vinay's wife. She mainly takes care of the work in the restau­rant kitchen. She says her only problem is not knowing Armenian; she is currently attending Armenian language classes.

Vinay's son, 23-year-old Vaibhav Bansal is currently studying at the Yerevan State Medical Uni­ver­si­ty. He says that he likes Yerevan and does not plan to leave after grad­u­at­ing. (Armine Avetisyan / OC Media)

According to Bansal, Indians in Armenia receive a salary twice that of what they would get in India. For example, the chief cook in his hotel restau­rant receives about $950 a month. ‘The amount that my chef receives as a pure profit, he would not receive in India’, Bansal says.  ‘That's why the Armenian labour market attracts many Indians. The salaries are high here’.

Rajn Kumar, 28, says he gets a good salary in Armenia, around $600. (Armine Avetisyan / OC Media)

Nandram Seni, 27, works at the restau­rant from 6:00 until 21:00-22:00, with only two rest days a month. But he does not complain about the job and says what’s important is that he receives a regular salary and gets paid on time. 

Human trafficking 
But the increase of migration from India has also attracted a less savoury brand of business. Scammers and con-artists have deceived their victims with fraud­u­lent  job offers or, in some cases, have used Armenia as a dumping ground after promising to help their victims immigrate to Western countries.   

Thirty-year-old Balu, who requested to only be referred to by his first name, came to Armenia six months ago. He tells OC Media that he did not know that he was going to Armenia. ‘I paid around $5,000 to move to the United States as a legal migrant. I was told that in the US I would be given a small apartment, a job, for which no strong language knowledge was needed, and that  they would also help me to master the English language fluently in a short time’, Balu says.  He now works at a car wash in Yerevan. He is saving money so he can return home.

Sam Singh notes that immi­gra­tion and visa con­sul­tants in India have started to market Armenia to Indians for work, education, and business invest­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties. However, some have started  to take advantage of the situation and make fake offers to the unin­formed. 

Last year, the Armenian Police inves­ti­gat­ed one case in
 which the owner of an Indian restau­rant in Yerevan convinced several Indian nationals to relocate to Armenia with the promise of high wages.   However, upon their arrival in the country, he took their passports and forced them to work for little to no pay.

‘We are not here to compete’ 
After Singh moved to Armenia and saw how people were trying to cheat each other for money, he created a Facebook group to help enlighten Indian immi­grants. For example, he would write posts to help  people under­stand how things work in Armenia, from reg­is­ter­ing a company to opening bank accounts. However, the name of the group became so well-known that many other people created groups with similar names to promote fake jobs. 

According to Singh, many of the victims who were cheated out of their money have not returned to India. 

‘Firstly, they hope that the con­sul­tant will give them their money back’, he says. ‘Secondly, they are ashamed to return empty-handed. They believe they will be a laughing-stock among their family and friends’.

Singh hopes that for all the dif­fi­cul­ties that Indians face in Armenia, they will find a place in their new home.  ‘I wish to share with the people of Armenia that Indians are all over the world’, Singh says. ‘We come with peace and are globally known for our achieve­ments in terms of education, hard work, aand  strong cultural back­grounds. We are not here to compete, but to lend a hand.’

1 comment:

SheinBusiness said...

Amazing informative post. Thanks for sharing.

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