Chief investigator of the criminal investigation into the Amulsar gold mine project Yura Ivanyan is under internal investigation, Investigative Committee spokesperson Naira Harutyunyan told ARMENPRESS.

She said the investigation will determine the accuracy of an information alleging Ivanyan’s partiality in the case.

Yura Ivanyan is the Head of the Department for Investigation of Corruption-related Property Crimes and Cybercrimes at the Investigative Committee.  

Earlier Ivanyan had said that there are no grounds to continue the criminal investigation into the Amulsar project. The announcement was made after an international audit company – ELARD- published its Environmental Impact Assessment conclusion about the Amulsar project’s risks.

On August 19th, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the Government intends to allow Lydian International to continue the Amulsar project. The decision was based on the conclusion of an environmental audit conducted by ELARD. Pashinyan emphasized that the project will be operated strictly in adherence to high environmental standards.

But on August 21 the PM requested the Ministry of Environment to study the conclusion and determine whether or not another Environmental Impact Assessment is required before a final decision is made.

The Ministry is expected to announce its decision by September 4.

The Amulsar Project is a gold mining project by Lydian Armenia, the Armenian subsidiary of Lydian International. The criminal investigation into the project was launched on alleged misconduct committed by government officials during the time when Lydian Armenia was granted permission to operate the mine. 

World-renowned Armenian singer Adiss Harmandian passed away on Sunday, September 1, 2019 at UCLA Santa Monica hospital in California. Harmandian, a Lebanese-Armenian, born to Armenian Genocide survivors on January 14, 1945 in Beirut, began his career as a singer in the 1960s. His first single, “Dzaghigner” (Ծաղիկներ), quickly gained popularity among Lebanese and Diasporan Armenians.

Harmandian is considered a pioneer of the estradayin genre of Armenian music. Songs in the genre, such as Harmandian’s own “Nouné” (Նունէ) or “Karoun Karoun” (Գարուն գարուն) were primarily sung in Armenian, and were influential in the formation of the Armenian identity in Lebanon and the Diaspora.

Harmandian released over 30 albums and around 400 songs throughout his career and had received numerous awards, both internationally and within the Republic of Armenia.

Harmandian’s family announced his passing after a 15-year courageous battle with cancer. According to his family, Adiss passed away peacefully, surrounded by his children and loved ones.

“The Skype conference call hosted by the government members with ELARD consultancy group representatives addressing the audit report of Amulsar Project and related environmental impact assessments revealed what we had been voicing long ago,” Nazeli Vardanyan, environmentalist, the head of “Armenian Forests” NGO told Panorama.am in an interview.

“I have long stated that the ELARD study was illegal and the conclusions incomplete as they had not carried out a field study while speaking about meeting the international standards sounds ridiculous.”

“On August 14 when the Investigative Committee announced that the mine operation does not pose any environmental threats, and the criminal case was suspended, I understood the criminal proceedings was interpreted upside down and we dealt with official fraud and abuse of power,” Vardanyan said, the investigators acted out of the scope of their capacities since they were not authorized in providing conclusions over environmental risks of Amulsar project operation.

Vardanyan pointed to the media reports about family ties of the investigator and the former minister of environment who approved the Lidian audit report back in 2016. In her words, Investigator Yuri Ivanyan had personal interest in the matter, closing the case that might refer to his relatives.

“Following the Skype conference the problem with Amulsar operation is now solved,” said the environmentalist. “Lidian should be prohibited to launch any activity in Armenia. It is not a trustful organization. The report proved provided data in the audit report were false. it should further be deprived of the right to apply for a new assessment/ All the grounds are available for Armenia to cease Lidian operation,” Vardanyan explained. 

Senator Eric Abetz – Chair of the Australian Senate’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, Senator Richard Di Natale – the Leader of the Australian Greens, and Glenn Davies – the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, lead a group of seven high-profile additions to the growing distinguished membership of the Australian Friends of Artsakh.

Citing the Armenian National Committee of Australia, Asbarez reports that Senators Abetz and Di Natale, as well as Archbishop Davies, have joined as new members of the group, together with the President of New South Wales Legislative Council John Ajaka, the New South Wales Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello, City of Willoughby Councilor Stuart Coppock, and City of Ryde Councilor Trenton Brown.

The Australian Friends of Artsakh was launched last month by the ANC-AU, with an announcement dubbed #MOVINGMOUNTAINS during the visit by a high-profile delegation from the Republic of Artsakh, led by Foreign Minister Masis Mayilyan.

Among the inaugural 40 signatories were Federal Ministers and Parliamentarians, a State Premier and fellow State Parliamentarians, a Mayor and Councilors, academics, thought leaders, and heads of several religious and community institutions—all pledging solidarity to the rights to self-determination of the Armenians of the Republic of Artsakh.

The new additions mean the group now has 47 prominent Australians as signatories.

“Senator Abetz, Senator Di Natale, Archbishop Davies, Mr. Ajaka, Mr. Dominello, Mr. Coppock and Mr. Brown are all welcome additions to the Australian Friends of Artsakh,” stated ANC-AU Executive Director Haig Kayserian.

“The petro-dictatorship of Azerbaijan, who denies the indigenous Armenians of Artsakh their basic human right to self-determination and independence on their ancestral lands, resorted to propaganda and bullying tactics to try and prevent our leaders from joining in solidarity with this issue,” added Kayserian, referring to official complaints from Baku to Canberra trying to bring Australian leaders into line with the Department of Foreign Affairs’ pro-Azerbaijani position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Kayserian said: “This high-profile expansion of the Australian Friends of Artsakh shows that the currency of truth and justice wins over the unwelcome interference by a foreign dictatorship into the internal affairs of Australia’s sovereign democracy.”

Senators Abetz and Di Natale join a strong Federal Parliamentary contingent of signatories to the Australian Friends of Artsakh, which includes Australia’s Communications Minister and Member of Parliament Paul Fletcher, Assistant Treasurer and Member of Parliament Michael Sukkar, Shadow Home Affairs Minister Senator Kristina Keneally and Shadow Agriculture & Resources Minister and Member of Parliament Joel Fitzgibbon.

Fitzgibbon is the co-convener of the Armenia-Australia Inter-Parliamentary Union along with the Chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Health, Aged Care & Sport and Member of Parliament Trent Zimmerman, who also joined the Australian Friends of Artsakh, along with fellow Chairs of Federal Parliamentary Committees including John Alexander, Julian Leeser, Jason Falinski and Tim Wilson, who is the only Member of Australia’s Federal Parliament with Armenian heritage. Newly elected Federal Parliamentarian Josh Burns is also a friend of Artsakh.

President of the Legislative Council John Ajaka and Minister for Customer Service and Member of Parliament Victor Dominello join Member of Parliament Gladys Berejiklian—the Premier of Australia’s largest state of New South Wales on the list of State Parliamentarians among the Australian Friends of Artsakh, which also includes Speaker of the NSW Legislative Assembly Jonathan O’Dea Member of Parliament and his fellow convener of the NSW Armenia-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group, Shadow Treasurer Walt Secord, Member of Legislative Council.

Member of Parliament Dr. Hugh McDermott and Member of Legislative Council Rev. Fred Nile are also among the current NSW parliamentarians in the group, along with former state political representatives, including Marie Ficarra and Amanda Fazio.

Councilors Coppock and Brown join fellow Local Government representatives who were among the inaugural signatories to the Australian Friends of Artsakh, including Mayor Jerome Laxale, Councilors Sarkis Yedelian and Jordan Lane – from the City of Ryde, and Councilors Hugh Eriksson, Brendan Zhu, Angelo Rozos and Lynne Saville – from the City of Willoughby.

A number of academics and civil society leaders also signed on to support Artsakh, including Professor Peter Stanley, Dr. Sev Ozdowski, Dr. Panayiotis Diamadis, Dr. Brian Owler and Chris Crewther.

Archbishop Glenn Davies joins a series of leaders of communities and churches to join the Australian Friends of Artsakh as signatories.

YEREVAN. – The first army was led to Yerevan by the first president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan, lawyer of the second president Robert Kocharyan told reporters.

Hayk Alumyan recalled that it was during the well-known events of 1996, the assault on parliament after the presidential election, when the tanks appeared on the streets of Yerevan.

“There is a certain difference between the events of 1996 and 2008 and the use of the army. In 1996, the troops were in direct contact with the protesters, meanwhile, in 2008 they were deployed in such a way that there was no direct contact and clash with the protesters,” Alumyan noted.

The lawyer recalled that following the events of that time, the then Interior Minister Vano Siradeghyan said that for the first time the Armenian army entered the capital, and it was after it when the army internal troops were deployed.

“Remember that the Armenian troops were first sent to Yerevan in 1996, when Levon Ter-Petrosyan suppressed rallies in the capital city,” the lawyer said.

The Ministry of Environment will submit to the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia a new conclusion on the need for a new Environmental Impact Assessment for exploitation of the Amulsar gold mine by September 4. This is what Spokesperson of the Ministry of Environment Armen Vardanyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“The assignment will be circulated among the professional subdivisions of the ministry, the results will be summed up, and the conclusion will be submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister by September 4,” he stated.

Earlier, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan had informed that the Staff of the Government had forwarded the conclusion of ELARD to the Ministry of Environment.

During a meeting with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan in Jermuk today, former governor of Vayots Dzor Province representing the Republican Party of Armenia and current Chief of Staff of the Constitutional Court Edgar Ghazaryan shared his observations regarding exploitation of the Amulsar gold mine.

“The initial plan was to set up a gold extraction plant in the Gorayk village of Syunik Province located in the basin of Spandaryan Reservoir. We set a requirement, the logistics schemes underwent changes, the gold extraction plant was set up beneath the Kechut Reservoir so that the residual waters wouldn’t pour into the dam,” Edgar Ghazaryan said, adding that a major change was made in the plan.

“Besides the waters, there were other problems with the mine. The mine could only be actively exploited in the summers because there are meters of snow in the winters, but exploitation of a mine in the summers implies 10-25 explosions a day, and nearly 25 tons of dust rises after every explosion. No matter what kind of expert examination.

is requested, the dust will have an impact on the city, not to mention the transfer of stones and the noise,” the former governor emphasized.

Today marks the 29th anniversary of Declaration of Independence of Armenia that was adopted on August 23, 1990. The Supreme Council of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic signed Armenia’s Declaration of Independence in Yerevan, renaming itself as the Republic of Armenia.

Armenia officially became an independent state on September 21, 1991, upon the dissolution of the USSR.
Adopting the Declaration signified the beginning of establishment of independent sovereignty and creation of a democratic state.

Supreme Council member Aram Manukyan declared the secession of Armenia from the USSR and also declared Armenia as an independent nation. The declaration was signed by Armenia’s first president Levon Ter Petrosyan and secretary of the Supreme Council of Armenia, Ara Sahakyan.

The statement included 12 declarations. It renames Armenian SSR to the Republic of Armenia and establishes that the state has a flag, coat of arms, and national anthem. It also states the nation’s independence with its own currency, military, and banking system. The declaration guarantees free speech, press, and a division of governance between a judiciary, legislature and presidency. It calls for a multiparty democracy. It establishes the Armenian language as official. It also supports “recognition of the 1915 Genocide in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia”. It served as the basis for the development for the Constitution of Armenia.

The Head of Government added that, according to the official conclusion, the operation of the mine does not threaten the Jermuk reservoirs and Lake Sevan.

The only thing that causes discomfort is that we do not hear each other from a certain moment, said Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a meeting with Jermuk residents on Friday.

According to him, a criminal case has been initiated and an international examination has been conducted on PM’s initiative.

The Head of Government added that, according to the official conclusion, the operation of the mine does not threaten the Jermuk reservoirs and Lake Sevan.