Armenia’s public debt is increasing at a high rate under the current government, MP Tadevos Avetisyan of the opposition Hayastan bloc said at a parliament session on Friday.

The National Assembly convened a special session to debate draft laws on ratification of loan agreements worth some $200 million with the French Development Agency and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

“This is yet another initiative which significantly increases the country’s public debt,” he said, addressing the parliament. “Armenia’s public debt is soaring under the current government. From 2018 to date, the debt has increased by more than 40%. There are few countries that see a 10% rise in their public debts annually.”

According to the opposition deputy, the debt amount is dangerously high but surmountable.

“But you can’t disparage the national debt like that, making it a subject of jokes, because it concerns the development of our future generation,” Avetisyan underscored.

The Armenian parliament voted 59 to 26 to ratify the loan agreement with the ADB. The deal between Armenia and the French Development Agency was endorsed by a vote of 63 for and 27 against.

“Hraparak” newspaper writes: “We learned from our government source that 5 new SUVs were purchased from the state budget for Nikol Pashinyan.

The information has not been published, because it was obtained by a secret decision by the National Security Service and provided to the State Security Service to serve Pashinyan and his family. 4 are Toyota Land Cruiser 300 models, the cost of each one is about 100 thousand dollars. The fifth is a Lexus LX500 luxury SUV with a diesel engine, the price of which is 130-150 thousand dollars. In other words, more than 500 thousand dollars were paid from the state budget.

The Toyotas will serve Pashinyan as an escort vehicle, i.e. the security personnel, who now move around in Toyota Land Cruiser 200s. And the Lexus LX, according to our information, will serve Pashinyan’s wife, Anna Hakobyan, with operational license plates. Let’s note that Pashinyan’s wife is currently served by a rather new and luxurious SUV, Lexus GX460, but they probably decided to update it even more by ordering a higher class and latest generation Lexus LX at the expense of the budget. We tried to verify our information from the NSS, although we did not hope to get a clear answer because we are talking about a large purchase made by a secret decision.

The NSS press department neither confirmed nor denied our information. The newly acquired SUVs are currently undergoing certain technical additions and will soon be put into operation. Let’s remind that about a year ago, 2 more new cars were purchased for Pashinyan, one is an armored Lexus LX570 SUV (cost: about 250 thousand dollars). He personally travels with it, mostly when traveling to regions, and the other is a Toyota Hiace, which is also an escort vehicle intended for bodyguards.”

Source: https://zham.am/?p=144924&l=am&fbclid=IwAR2iG3E4c1T6OU41bqrMP-uA_xmFUl53GG0DCvZILbVEgQFGvMYFNQHr55Y

By Wally Sarkeesian,

1988 On December 7, at 11:41:22.7 local time, a devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 10 at the epicenter occurred in the territory covering about 40 percent of Armenia. Within seconds, the cities of Spitak, Leninaka, Kirovakan, Stepanavan, more than a hundred villages and settlements of Spitak,

Akhuryan, Gugark, Aragats, Kalinino, Stepanavan regions were completely or partially destroyed. More than 25 thousand people died, and 500 thousand were left homeless. 17 percent of the housing fund – about 8 million square meters of living space – went out of order. As a result of the earthquake, more than 230 industrial facilities with 82 thousand of jobs were completely or partially destroyed.

The damage caused to the economy of Armenia amounted to 13 billion rubles. More than 113 countries of the world and 7 international organizations provided comprehensive assistance to Armenia. Thus, before the appointment of Robert Kocharyan as the RA Prime Minister, the state budget showed deep indifference towards the disaster zone. The “amount” was always 0 drams for the line allocated and intended for the reconstruction of the disaster zone. And in the years 1998-2007, 458,000 square meters of residential buildings were launched in Shirak marz. Among them, 85 multi-apartment buildings with 2095 apartments were handed over in Gyumri only with the “housing construction” program, which was only one of the rehabilitation programs of the disaster zone. In those years, with the support of the state budget, the apartment purchase program (the so-called BGVs) was launched, thanks to which hundreds of Gyumri families bought apartments. In Gyumri, productions began to be restarted, new jobs were opened, small and medium enterprises began to develop. 1998-2006 In Shirak marz, a number of public education institutions were opened for a total of 13,101 students, and public education institutions were restored for about 4,000 students. It is natural that the state budget alone could not restore the disaster zone, so thanks to the efforts of the country’s leadership, a number of large charitable companies joined the work, contributing to the emergence of new buildings. With state funding and support, cultural institutions were renovated, in Shirak Marz in general and in Gyumri, in particular, large-scale work on the development of road construction and other infrastructures was carried out. Many districts of Gyumri were illuminated and improved, parks, etc. were improved. During the leadership of Serzh Sargsyan, 65 billion drams were allocated to solve housing problems. In 2018, those who came to power had to solve the issue of providing roofs for only 453 families out of 5396. Nikol Pashinyan promised to solve the problem completely in 2020. Of course, it was not resolved. the point is that Nikol Pashinyan publicly washed his hands of that issue. He announced that the state does not have the obligation to provide housing to everyone. Let us present Nikol Pashinyan’s position regarding the disaster zone. 2019 September 16. “For example, a person went to a casino, played, lost his house and possessions, and now he lives on rent or has no house. Does this mean that the state will provide him with an apartment?” 2019 December 6. “The city of Gyumri must be freed from shacks. Moreover, this does not mean that the state has an obligation to settle all citizens living in shacks…” 2019 December 7. “There is a person who received the money, bought the house and sold it for some reason and now he doesn’t have it. The state has no obligation to that person.” As you can see, the facts are best represented by numbers.

By Wally Sarkeesian

Elizabeth Owen,

At first glance, Azerbaijan, a predominantly Shia Muslim state, seems an unlikely destination for the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. But Pope Francis’ 10-hour visit to Baku on October 2 was not so much about religion as it was about PR payback.
 
Since 2012, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, run by Azerbaijan’s first lady, Mehriban Aliyeva, has donated undisclosed sums to finance restoration work at the Vatican, including repairs to the Sistine Chapel.
 
The Foundation, named in honor of President Ilham Aliyev’s father and predecessor, the late Heydar Aliyev, also has provided funds for other projects, including the restoration of two Vatican catacombs and the preservation and digitization of ancient manuscripts in the Apostolic Library.
 
In 2012, the Vatican termed the catacombs donation the first of its kind by a predominantly Muslim country, although Azerbaijan’s government is secular in nature. Vatican officials did not respond to a question about whether other predominantly Muslim states have supported similar projects.
 
The Foundation’s official interest in preserving European cultural heritage has extended beyond the Vatican.
 
Seven years ago, the foundation provided 40,000 euros (at the time, about $57,253) to finance repairs to two stained-glass windows in France’s Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Strasbourg, and later contributed to the restorations of two medieval Norman churches.
 
“There’s no other such example of a Muslim country restoring Christian churches and museums throughout all of Europe,” said Elkhan Şahinoğlu, head of the non-governmental Atlas research center. Funds also have gone to the Louvre, Versailles, Germany’s Berlin City Palace and Italy’s Capitoline Museum. “Baku and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation are propagandizing the idea of [the] Azerbaijani people’s tolerance toward all other peoples and religions.”
 
Foundation representatives did not respond to questions about its relationship with the Vatican. It does not appear to have a similar relationship with Azerbaijan’s Catholic community of several hundred – reportedly, mostly foreign – believers.
 
The Aliyev foundation is widely perceived in Baku as a quasi-governmental agency, and its involvement in Vatican restoration project is seen by some local experts as an extension of the government’s foreign policy.
 
“There is more than a bit of realpolitik,” said Şahinoğlu. “The tiny country of the Vatican has enormous influence in the Christian world. And by helping the Vatican with restoration, the leadership of Muslim Azerbaijan hopes for support … from the pope’s side.”
 
If that is the foundation’s aim, it appears to be working – at least in terms of helping to promote Azerbaijan as a country that values multiculturalism.
 
In October 2 comments to a Baku audience, Pope Francis hailed what he described as “good relations” between Azerbaijan’s Muslim, Catholic, Orthodox Christian and Jewish citizens, saying that they “assume great significance for peaceful coexistence and for peace in the world.”
 
In that spirit, he urged Azerbaijanis to “grasp every opportunity to reach a satisfactory solution” to its decades-long conflict with Armenia over the separatist, ethnic-Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh region, so that the Caucasus can become “a gateway open to peace.”
 
President Ilham Aliyev, who has declared 2016 a “year of multiculturalism,” provided the refrain: “This visit is very important for all of humanity,” he stated, local news agencies reported. “Because this visit again shows that dialogue between civilizations is alive [and] continues.”
 
The trip to Baku followed a September 30-October 1 papal mission to neighboring Georgiaand an earlier trip to Armenia.
 
Public opinion appears to be mixed about the connection to the Catholic Church. While many believe that the donations to the Vatican illustrate their country’s generosity and tolerance, others, noted Şahinoğlu, wonder why the funds are not being spent on domestic needs, given that Azerbaijan’s economy has been hit hard by the drop in energy prices. Energy exports are the primary source of revenue for the government.
 
“Why restore museums throughout Europe, if the economic and social situation in Azerbaijan is worse than in European countries?” Azerbaijanis ask, according to Şahinoğlu.
 
The Vatican, which is now trying to make its finances more transparent, did not explain how the Foundation was chosen as a donor, and what mechanisms, if any, were used to check the donated funds’ origins. The source of the Foundation’s financing has never been made public.

While some MPs of the “Armenia” faction give up their parliamentary mandate without any understandable explanation and announce the decision to stop their political activities as a sign of protest,

while others find some excuses-explanations for keeping their mandate and others, the question is whether, in the end, what happens in that faction remains open. In May, when the opposition initiated the Resistance movement, it simultaneously boycotted the NA sessions and promised to return to the parliament only with its own agenda, presumably to initiate the dismissal of Nikol Pashinyan. Meanwhile, two weeks ago, the opposition returned to the parliament, which was incomprehensible to a significant section of society, and unacceptable to some members of the “Armenia” faction.

The only logical explanation for the return of the Armenia faction to the parliament is the conclusion of some kind of agreement between the government and the opposition, more specifically, Nikol Pashinyan and Robert Kocharyan. And what could be the subject of the agreement and what should have forced the parties to reach such an agreement?
Nikol Pashinyan and his team, who constantly declare that Armenia is a bastion of democracy, faced a situation that disproved that claim every day. The Armenian parliament had turned into a one-party body, where laws are passed just like in North Korea, without any discussion or disagreement. Even in the Russian parliament, which has an authoritarian government system, there is a so-called “systemic opposition” that disagrees with or criticizes the government on some issues, creating an apparent plurality.

No matter how much the countries and institutions promoting the values ​​of Western democracy turn a blind eye to the various manifestations of Pashinyan’s dictatorship, they still demanded that Pashinyan return the opposition to the parliament, especially since the threat of depriving the opposition of its mandates or opening a criminal case against all oppositionists and sending them all to prisons was not international support. gets Pashinyan needed to return the opposition to the parliament and restore the democratic order in the country, and he actually achieved what he wanted. And what did the opposition get?

After the appointment of businessman Ruben Vardanyan as Minister of State of Artsakh, information spread that Vardan Oskanyan, who held the position of Foreign Minister of Armenia during the 10 years of Robert Kocharian’s presidency and is now one of the representatives of Kocharian’s team, may be appointed Artsakh’s Foreign Minister. It is possible that the Pashinyan-Kocharian agreement may refer to Artsakh itself. Kocharyan refuses to actively fight against Pashinyan’s rule in Armenia and returns the “Hayastan” faction to the parliament, instead Pashinyan will not mind if some representatives of Kocharyan’s team get positions in Artsakh. 

Those arrangements can also affect individual deputies of the “Armenia” faction. The authorities have initiated criminal cases against various MPs of the opposition and are threatening them with criminal prosecution. Some of them are threatened with expropriation, declaring their property illegal. It is natural that there will be some mitigations as a result of these agreements. criminal prosecutions will be stopped, illegal property will be legalized.

The Pashinyan-Kocharian agreement has not only internal, but also external beneficiaries, and there may be external mediators and guarantors in the matter of making these agreements. In particular, Moscow and Paris may be interested in making these agreements. The French Senate, with its decision and President Macron’s statements, helped abort the Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations under the auspices of the EU, which Russian President Putin called the “Washington option” on October 27. In fact, now the “Russian version” remains on the agenda, which implies the freezing of the settlement of the Artsakh problem with the preservation of the current status quo. With Ruben Vardanyan becoming the Minister of State and the possible appointment of Vardan Oskanyan as Foreign Minister, the freezing of the Artsakh issue becomes more realistic.

It is natural that there would be MPs within the “Armenia” faction, for whom it is unacceptable to make even situational agreements with Pashinyan’s government, to refuse the public promise to free Armenia from that government at any cost, or even to postpone it temporarily. They are the ones who will announce the decision to give up the mandate. The others will comfort themselves with the formula “politics is the art of the possible” and will continue their activities within the framework of that principle, continuing to criticize the government on various issues and ensuring pluralism in the parliament. 

Meanwhile, the fact that the part of the society with opposition sentiments will no longer have any expectations or expectations from the active opposition is now a reality. Deputies of the “Hayastan” faction also admit that they need their mandate only to protect the interests of Artsakh and prevent the current government from making anti-Armenian decisions regarding Artsakh. A very important and necessary approach.

Avetis Babajanyan

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The negotiations between Yerevan and Baku address the “technicalities of Artsakh’s handover” to Azerbaijan, political analyst Suren Sargsyan said on Friday, referring to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s latest remarks.

“It’s clear that the Armenian-Azerbaijani talks focus on the technicalities of Artsakh’s surrender, isn’t it?” he wrote on Facebook.

Earlier on Thursday, Lavrov suggested that the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991, which the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders confirmed their commitment to in a joint statement following their talks hosted by European Council President Charles Michel in Prague on October 6, shows that “the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast was clearly part of the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic.”

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev reiterated their commitment to it in another joint statement issued after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi in late October.

“When they [the Armenian and Azeri leaders] came to Sochi, they brought from Prague a document in which they said they want to sign a peace treaty based on the UN Charter and the 1991Alma-Ata Declaration,” Lavrov said.

“The Alma-Ata Declaration states that all union republics form the Union of Independent States and confirms the inviolability of borders between the former union countries of the USSR. In other words, at that time, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast was clearly part of the Azerbaijani SSR. This was confirmed by Azerbaijan, Armenia, France, and Mr. Michel without any reservations, which determines how to address the issue of Karabakh’s status,” he stated.