Armenian president meet Elton John

May 26, 2018 By administrator

Elton John arrives to hotel in Yerevan

World-famous singer and songwriter Elton John Arrive Armenia,

The renowned musician, who has friendly relations with British-Armenian businessman and entrepreneur Vatche Manoukian, will arrive in Armenia as part of a charity mission, but his concert in capital Yerevan is also possible during this year.

Another world-famous musician Peter Gabriel, who has reportedly warm relations with President Armen Sarkissian, is also expected to visit Armenia in 2018.

Armenia, Yerevan flags wave in International Space Station

May 24, 2018 By administrator

Yerevan flags wave in International Space Station

On the initiative of Armenian benefactor Hrachya Poghosyan of St. Petersburg, Russia, the flags of Armenia and capital city Yerevan were sent to the International Space Station (ISS), reported Novostnik.

At present, these flags are making their next orbit of Earth.

The Russian cosmonauts’ team in the ISS will return to Earth in September.

And in October, the centennial of the First Republic of Armenia and the 2800th anniversary of Yerevan will be celebrated in the capital city.

A delegation from Russia will also take part in these celebrations. The aforesaid cosmonauts also will be in this delegation, and they will hand these flags to the leadership of Armenia and Yerevan.

After Armenian Leader’s Ouster, Yerevan Mayor A Focus Of Protests

May 16, 2018 By administrator

YEREVAN — Dozens of protesters have burst into City Hall in Yerevan, demanding the resignation of the Armenian capital’s mayor over the stripping of trees from a formerly lush park outside the building.

The demonstrators who stormed the building on May 16 after days of protests are also accusing Mayor Taron Markarian of corruption and the misuse of state funds.

Tree Protesters Storm Yerevan City Hall (natural sound)

They assailed him as an alleged ally of longtime former President Serzh Sarkisian, who stepped down as prime minister on April 23 after weeks of peaceful street protests by Armenians who accused him of clinging to power.

A catalyst for the protests at City Hall was a Facebook post juxtaposing a photograph of the long, narrow park full of trees with one showing it stripped of most of the greenery.

Տեսեք, թե ինչ տեսք է ունեցել այգին մինչև «բարեկարգումը»: Թե բա նոր ծառեր են տնկելու, եսիմ ինչեր են անելու: Էդքան տարվա այգին կտրեն, նորը սարքելու համար, որին շատ երկար տարիներ կպահանջվի, որ էս նույն տեքսքին գա: Լիքը ամայի տարածքներ կան, թող մեկը վերցնեին ու բարեկարգեին, ծառեր տնկեին, բայց դե բոլորս էլ գիտենք, թե ոնց ու ինչի համար ա արվում:
Պիտի մերժել տարոնին էլ, պիտի նոր ավագանի ընտրել, պիտի պատասխանատվության ենթարկել բոլոր պատասխանատուներին:

Demonstrators demanded Markarian meet with them and explain why trees were being cut.

A representative of the mayor told them that the park was being “modernized” and that only dry or dead trees were being cut.

But several protesters brought branches or twigs with green leaves, which they say were cut in the park, and demanded an explanation from Markarian.

Protesters were still inside the building hours after they burst in, many chanting in an area near the entrance, and there was a crowd outside.

First Deputy Mayor Kamo Areian told protesters that the mayor was eager to meet with them in “a calm atmosphere” to discuss the situation in the park.

Areian indicated that Marakarian has no plans to step down, saying that the “issue of the mayor’s resignation is not on the agenda.”

The development came eight days after Nikol Pashinian, who led the street protests that unexpectedly brought down Sarkisian after 10 years in power, was voted in as prime minister of the South Caucasus country on May 8.

Opponents of Sarkisian, who had been president for 10 years and moved to the newly powerful post of prime minister in mid-April, see him as part of a long-entrenched ruling elite that is unresponsive to the interests of many Armenians.

Protesters assemble outside Yerevan city hall, they demand mayor’s resignation

May 10, 2018 By administrator

YEREVAN. – A protest is staged Thursday outside the Yerevan Municipality building, in the capital city of Armenia.

According to the respective press release by the initiative group of this demonstration, they demand the resignation of Mayor Taron Margaryan and the dissolution of the current municipal council.

“A statement-demand substantiating Taron Margaryan’s resignation will be presented during the rally,” the press release reads, in particular. “Also, an ‘Open Loudspeaker’ will operate, whereby the citizens will present the illegalities, the financial misuse committed by Taron Margaryan and the [majority] RPA [Republican Party of Armenia] [members of the Yerevan] Council of Elders, and the numerous unresolved problems that exist in the capital city.”

But the initiators of this protest noted that their demonstration has no connection with new Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, or his political team.

Armenian president joins the “Immortal Regiment” march across Yerevan streets

May 9, 2018 By administrator

Immortal Regiment march

Dozens of citizens participated today in the ‘Immortal Regiment’ march to commemorate soldiers who had fought or died in the Great Patriotic War and Artsakh liberation movement. The march kicked off at Liberty square in Yerevan with participants carrying the portraits of heroes who fell during the World War II.

Armenian President Armen Sarkissian, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volinkin, representatives of Armenia’s Armed Forces and Police joined the march from the Republic square.

Glendale mayor to share ‘historic moment’ with Armenians in Yerevan

May 7, 2018 By administrator

Glendale mayor Zareh Sinanyan will arrive in Yerevan to share “the historic moment” with the Armenian nation as the country’s parliament is set to elect a new prime minister after weeks of peaceful protests.

“In the current situation, Diaspora Armenians had given up on Armenia,” Sinanyan said in an interview with the Voice of America.

“That was a negative phenomenon but such a state of mind will change here too.”

“While I have no official mission, I will of course got to Armenia to be there for my compatriots on that historic moment,” Sinanyan said, adding that he would not expect such a turn of events in Armenia.

A campaign against the Armenian authorities was in full swing across Yerevan and the rest of the republic for several weeks and got even stronger after the parliament failed to elect opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan as the country’s new prime minister on May 1.

The founder and head of Civil Contract party and lawmaker from the Yelk bloc, Pashinyan leads the street campaign against the ruling authorities, which has seen thousands of Armenians taking to the streets in massive protests in the past several weeks.

Former prime minister Serzh Sargsyan was forced to resign on April 23, and Pashinyan is now seeking the appointment as prime minister by the National Assembly of what he calls “the people’s candidate”, – i.e. himself – the formation of an interim government and snap parliamentary elections.

Pashinyan has promised to rid Armenia of corruption and poverty.

Demonstrations have been halted since May 3 after the ruling Republican party of Armenia pledged to support Pashinyan’s candidacy.

Yerevan Update: One killed, one wounded in armed assault on Yerevan bank – Police

May 3, 2018 By administrator

YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. The Yerevan Police release details over the armed assault on the HSBC bank’s branch located in the Komitas avenue-Gyulbenkyan street intersection, reports Armenpress.

The Police were notified about the armed assault on May 3, at 14:25. It was found out that an unknown man armed with a knife, grenade and a rifle, entered the bank, wounded two employees, one of whom died. The man has stolen money and escaped, but not so far. The criminal also wounded the police officers who arrived in the scene, but he was quickly neutralized and transported to police.

The details of the incident are being clarified.

Investigation is underway.

Breaking News: Armed assault on HSBC bank branch in Komitas Avenue, the perpetrator was arrested. UPDATED

May 3, 2018 By administrator

Armed assault on HSBC bank

YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. An emergency incident has been registered in the territory of HSBC Bank branch in Komitas Avenue. Shots were heard.

15:40 – “An armed assault has occurred, according to preliminary data, there is one victim and one seriously injured. The person who has been attacked has been arrested. The investigative group is currently at the scene, the circumstances are being clarified, “Sona Truzyan, Adviser to the Chairman of the RA Investigative Committee, told Armenpress.

15:39 – The police are details about the attack on HSBC Bank, at the crossroads of Komitas Avenue – Gyulbenkyan Street. “On May 3, at about 14:25, police received an alarm that a robbery attack was made on HSBC Bank, at the crossroads of Komitas Avenue-Gyulbenkyan Street.
It turned out that a robber was armed with a knife, grenade, rifle, invaded the bank, insulted two employees, one of whom died.
The robber has stolen money and has escaped. But it did not manage to run away.
Immediately blocked by an operative group arriving at the scene, he resisted and insulted one of the policemen but was quickly neutralized and taken to the police due to professional and skillful law enforcement officers.
The circumstances of the case are being clarified.
An investigation is underway. ”

Armenpress’s journalist group is at the scene.

15:46 – Artak Poghosyan, Deputy Chief of the Yerevan Police Chief, stated that the amount of stolen money is being cleared up. The sum was found to be less than the bank. The victims are three, all men. One of the three, however, was the bank’s security officer, who died.

A video was posted on Facebook from the scene.

RFE/RL (Azatutyun) journalist attacked during protest near Artashat, a town about 30 kilometers south of Yerevan

April 22, 2018 By administrator

journalist attacked

A correspondent for RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun) was attacked and injured by a plainclothes man while covering an opposition protest on a highway outside Yerevan.

The incident occurred near Artashat, a town about 30 kilometers south of Yerevan, when the journalist, Arus Hakobian, was streaming live video for Azatutyun TV.

The video clearly shows the face of the attacker. It is also clear that despite Hakobian’s repeated warnings police offices at the scene did nothing to stop or capture the attacker. Hakobian reported that she felt blood coming from her teeth after the attack, according to Azatutyun.am.

Citing its sources, the Armenian service also reports that the attacker was Arthur Ghazaryan, the director of Artashat Water User’s Association.

ARF Western US Statement on Protests in Armenia “FYI ARF Armenia voted for Sargsyan as PM”

April 20, 2018 By administrator

Published on Asbarez For the past several days, a significant sector of the population in Yerevan has resorted to protests and other civil disobedience measures demanding that the election of Armenia’s former president Serzh Sarkisian as prime minister be nullified.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation believes that it is our people’s inalienable constitutional right to free speech and assembly and to stive for social justice. Hence, the current protests, as long as they are taking place within the confines of the law, are the legal and moral right of the protesters.

It is our conviction that Armenia’s prosperous future lies with the hopes placed on our youth and students. It is also our belief that every step must be taken to avoid bloodshed in the process of resolving issues.

The peaceful and legal transition of power determined by the Constitution is a tenet of complete democracy. Last week, we witnessed the peaceful and lawful transition from a presidential to a parliamentary system of government.

The same tenets must apply to the transition of prime minister’s powers within the new system of government. There can be no objection to this process, and the protesters in Yerevan are also not objecting to the process. It seems their opposition is to the newly appointed prime minister.

According to the Constitution, the party that holds a majority in parliament has the right to nominate a prime minister candidate.

Hence, the protesters and all political forces today are faced with the imperative for solution that is acceptable by all. This solution cannot circumvent the country’s constitutional order, but rather, based on the provisions of the constitution, a proper solution must be derived, in order to benefit the people and the homeland. In the quest to find an acceptable solution, on the one hand, the leaders of the protest and on the other the appointed prime minister and his party have come to an impasse, which demands from each side understanding and political maturity.

As always, our party can only support an equitable outcome where the concept of the state is paramount and the situation is properly untangled.

Thus, we call on our compatriots and organizations in our community to work together and, through political maturity and for the sake of our statehood, maintain our unity and confidence, in order for our homeland and our people to emerge victorious from this crisis.