Heritage Party MP Stepan Safaryan has told Hetq that it will not renounce its seats in Armenia’s National Assembly, deciding that such a move wouldn’t be appropriate at this time. Rumors were abuzz that Heritage might decide to do so after party leader ...
True to form, public transportation into Yerevan has been reported severely curtailed in an effort to prevent people from attending the scheduled HAK opposition political rally later today on the grounds of the Matenadaran. People from outlying regions ...
Salaries and expense allowances for legislative inaction According to the line in the 2010 RA Budget dealing with “financial social benefits”, 23.58 million AMD was allocated to Armenia’s parliament. At first glance, one might think that the 131 ...
According to our sources present at yesterday’s festivities jointly celebrated by the three parties in the ruling government coalition, President Serzh Sargsyan clearly stated that many in attendance would have been facing a "hard time" if not for the fact ...
If you’re a reporter like me, trying to find MP Samvel Aleksanyan seems like an unobtainable task. I’ve been trying to track down the elusive MP for about one month now to no avail. He’s never answered any of my innumerable phone calls. That is till ...
Mayoral elections in four Armavir villages – Geghakert, Tzaghkounk, Dasht, Lernamerdz – took place yesterday. In three of the four, the only candidates running were the mayors in office and all were re-elected. In Geghakert, independent Mayor Seryozha ...
MP Ayvazyan doesn’t deny he has a stake MP Vardan Ayvazyan has neither denied nor verified his involvement in the sale of 35% of Bounty Resources Armenia stock to the Chinese company Fortune Oil on January 12, Hetq covered the major sale of mining ...
Reporters gathered at today’s press briefing at the RA National Assembly were especially on the lookout for members of the Prosperous Armenia Party. The party convenes its convention tomorrow. Not surprisingly, the PAP MP’s never showed up at the briefing. ...
During a speech today in the RA National Assembly, ARF MP Artzvik Minasyan, turned his attention to what he described as an unacceptable situation in the town of Ijevan where Mayor Varuzhan Nersisyan struts around like a khan of old MP Minasyan used to ...
Dissenters Oppose Move to Join Prosperous Armenia Party A group of about 100 dissenters from the ranks of the Armenia Youth Party, in a sign of protest over the decision to merge with the Prosperous Armenia Party, say that will go it alone and continue ...
I wanted to find out what "moral damage" had MP Ruben Hayrapetyan actually sustained to make him take the daily newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak to court. So I called him up and told him who I was. What’s your paper? There’s a new paper coming out every ...
To say that certain Prosperous Armenian Party MP’s appear to have a phobia about meeting with reporters on the eve of the party’s convention on February 12, is no understatement. It’s as if they believe that members of the press have ulterior and underhanded ...
Today, members of Armenia’s delegation to PACE, the deliberative body of the Council of Europe, were invited to a press conference at the National Assembly. At the conference Prosperous Armenia Party MP Naira Zohrabyan charged Turkey with succumbing to ...
Villagers Forced to Heat Their Homes with Dung Inhabitants of the village of Aragatzavan, located on the Armenian-Turkish border in Aragatzotn Marz, have given up hope of ever seeing the blue flames of natural gas flicker in their homes. Villagers make ...
Republican Party spokesman Edward Sharmazanov said today that he sees nothing unusual in the recent union of the Armenia’s Progressive Party with the Prosperous Armenia Party, even if the move came right before the latter’s party convention. "It’s ...
Vova Sahakyan, who heads the #26 Election District Commission in Charentsavan, told Hetq that his office hadn’t received any petitions contesting the recent mayoral election in the town. The deadline for such submissions was 2pm today. Hours earlier, ...
Government cuts needed development funding Despite the fact that the Information technology sector was proclaimed to be of primary importance, state funds have recently been cut. For the fiscal year 2010-2011, 80 million AMD will be allocated. This compares ...
Yesterday, Tigran Karapetyan, President of Armenia’s People’s Party, said that he was ready to collaborate with everyone as long as it was on a level playing field. The businessman turned politician also issued an ultimatum to the government – meet my ...
Karapetyan says HAK feels threatened byhis huge turnouts Today is the final day of broadcasting for Tigran Karapetyan’s ALM TV station. At yesterday’s public rally in Yerevan Karapetyan, President of the People’s Party, said that the government ...
In the lead-up to the Prosperous Armenia Party convention scheduled for February 12, MP Samvel Balasanyan, a party member and National Assembly Deputy Speaker, can be found vacationing in the holy city of Jerusalem. The MP has been in Jerusalem since January ...
At its upcoming January 22 convention, Armenia’s Progressive Party is expected to dissolve and unite with Gagik Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP). Another Armenian party that has decided to merge with the PAP is the Armenian Youth Party. It ...
Young scientists call for government backing of robotics 38 nations have entered the Robotics Global Competition that will take place in the United States this April 7. Armenia has never entered such a scientific competition. Some young Armenians want ...
Inflation appears to be issue #1 We asked several Armenian MP’s with an economics background to summarize the economic situation in Armenia for 2010 and to offer predictions for the coming year. Here’s what they had to say. Gagik Minasyan (Republic ...
Yesterday, Armenia’s Rule of Law Party, a junior government coalition partner, recalled Gerasim Alaverdyan as RA Minister of Agriculture. Party press secretary Sousanna Abrahamyan told Hetq that Artur Baghdasaryan, Chairman of the Rule of Law Party had ...
MP’s born under this Chinese zodiac contemplate the implications According to the Chinese traditional calendar, the Year of the Rabbit will be officially launched on February 3, 2011. There are eight Armenian MP also celebrating birthdays in such “Rabbit ...
National Assembly Deputy President Samvel Nikoyan disagrees that the government is trying to push through legislation it favors without adequate public debate. "I don’t see such a thing happening. About 70% of the programs we are talking about have ...
Celebrating New Years abroad an attractive alternative for many
The Armenian government estimates that the national debt will rise to US $4 billion by 2011. This breaks down to $1,200 per resident of Armenia. To service the debt, the government plans to spend $119 million.
Mihran Poghosyan is said to be cause of minister's firing
Police are currently investigating a burglary that took place sometime last night at the St. Gayaneh Church in the town of Etchmiadzin. Initial reports say that the robbers broke the church door and then removed two church donation boxes from inside. Father ...
Today’s session of Armenia’s parliament began with a minute of silence to commemorate the memory of those who dies during the 1988 Spitak earthquake. It appears that many MP’s had forgotten their registration cards that are needed to sign in. Parliament ...
Do they really need the extra 45,000 AMD to rent? It turns out that out of the 131 deputies in Armenia’s National Assembly just five own no apartment in Yerevan. In addition to their average monthly salary of 330,000 AMD per month, the following five ...
Vram Gyuzadyan says sacking was due to daughter of MP Harutyunyan Vram Gyuzadyan, former head of the Bio-Sanitary Inspectorate of the Ministry of Agriculture, has told Hetq that the reason for his dismissal was linked to the daughter of MP Davit Harutyunyan, ...
Between June 1 and October 1, the Armenian government’s "hot line" has received 2,456 calls. Alexander Ghazaryan, who heads the government’s Department for Reception of Citizens and Discussion of Petitions, told Hetq that most of those contacting his ...
Tracking down Vahe Hakobyan, a HHK MP (ruling Republican Party), is a difficult task not only for voters in his District 38, but also for reporters like me.
Yesterday, ruling Republican Party MP Spartak Melikyan declared in parliament that a member of Armenia’s Control Chamber demanded a $4,000 bribe from the Anania Shirakatsi College during a recent inspection in order that the school not be included in its ...
Starting today, the RA National Assembly will be debating the 2011 draft national budget. Finance Minister Tigran Davtyan was present at today’s legislative session to note the major expense items in the budget. Minister Davtyan stated that 200 billion ...
Ishkhan Zakaryan, President of Armenia’s Control Chamber, urged the government to review the registration and licensing of airlines in Armenia. He made the statement when presenting the findings of his agency’s 2009 annual report to the parliament. Mr. ...
Confusion temporarily reigned in Armenia’s newly renovated National Assembly today when many MP’s couldn’t properly insert the computer cards now required to register ones vote. Not being able to access their computers, the MP’s started to press ...
Serving the community with integrity and respect? Shoushan Voskanyan is an angry mother. She claims Vaghinak Martirosyan, Vahe Hovhannisyan and another man, all investigators with the Vanadzor Police threatened to take away her four kids and send them to ...
Republican Party MP Edvard Sharmazanov today denied rumors that he would be replacing soon to be ousted Lori Regional Governor Aram Kocharyan. "I would advise those spreading such falsehoods to devote their time and energy to more beneficial endeavours," ...
350,000 AMD per hectare in compensation is "ridiculous", argue villagers Residents of the village of Gai, Armavir Marz, and Regional Governor Ashot Ghahramanyan spent one hour discussing government plans to destroy three hectares of grapevines. The government ...
Residents of the village of Gai, Armavir, have been at their wit’s end since yesterday’s visit by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture Samvel Galstyan. DM Galstyan told the villagers that three hectares of grapevines would have to be destroyed today since ...
Regional authorities in Aragatzotn have called on local mayors to "clean up their act" when it comes to garbage collection in their communities. Regional Governor Sargis Sahakyan has scheduled certain days as "sanitary" days throughout Aragatzotn and has ...
Juvenile crime jumped a whopping 300% in Gegharkunik Province, jumping from 11 reported cases last year to 42 this year. 22 of this year’s cases were thefts. Gegharkunik Regional Governor Nver Poghosyan stated that greater attention must be paid to the ...
Villages in the Ararat Valley are Being Deprived of Water
Reports about widspread museum thefts rattle minister Hetq has learnt that many items have gone missing from various national museums over the years. The problem has also been raised in reports issued by the National Statistical Service in Armenia. We ...
MP's continue to vote for absent colleagues The once square RA National Assembly chamber is now oval in shape and outfitted with the latest equipment. To cut down on the instances of MP’s voting in the place of others, the new hall has removed the old ...
Too much of a legal hassle, they argue Varya Safaryan lives adjacent to the "Firdus" marketplace in downtown Yerevan. The site is a maze of narrow streets lined with semi-enclosed stalls where vendors sell an assortment of wares. The entire area has ...
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