Government’s 5-year programme has been accepted

The RA National Assembly has accepted the government programme after 3 days discussion with 88 for and 40 against votes. The parliamentary oppositional “Bright Armenia” (Lusavor Hayastan) and “Prosperous Armenia” (Bargavach Hayastan) factions voted against. In Programme which consists of 69 pages and 8 chapters are summarized the main tasks/ actions of Government which must be done in 5 years. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan presenting the programme in National Assembly considered the government’s most important issue of transforming Gross Domestic Product’s structure (GDP) into the technology-based economy in five years.

Ensuring the external and internal security, fight against the corruption, competitive and inclusive economy, accountability and transparency of the Government, digitalization and high technologies, development of military industry and effective management of state funds are the main clauses of the programme.

The new charges against Robert Kocharyan

Special Investigation Service has filed new charges against The RA second President Robert Kocharyan on the matter of receiving especially large amount of bribe.

Robert Kocharyan’s defense team has announced that the new accusation might be referred to Silva Hambardzumyan’s statement of giving alleged bribe. Even though Hambardzumyan has confessed to law enforcement officers that on time/ at the time she has transferred 2 million dollars to Samvel Mayrapetyan who is a businessman from a close circle of Kocharyan, however she has also mentioned that she had never personally met Robert Kocharyan.

New norms for the exemption from military service

The new norms for the exemption from compulsory military service have been defined by the Government. According to this document that citizens who will make a significant contribution to the fields of education, since, culture, art and sport will be exempted from military service. Such decision can be accepted exclusively by The Government which is submitted by State authorized body.

Money to border communities

929 million AMD from the State budget will be allocated to the bordering 16 communities in 2019. The provided money will partially compensate the communities’ residents’ tariffs for gas, electricity, irrigation water, as well as the property tax and the land tax.

Alaverdi residents block railway

Employees of the Alaverdi Copper Smelter again blocked Yerevan-Tbilisi railway. The gathered employees are on the brink of unemployment. They demand a meeting with Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister to solve the problems connected with the Alaverdi Copper Smelter. The appeals of the Lori’s Governor, who came to meet with the demonstrators, did not alleviate in any way the outrage of the crowd.

In the mid of November 2018 after the factory was fined 380 million AMD for emissions by the Inspectorate for Nature Protection and Mineral Resources, the work of the factory was suspended. Besides the fixed fine, the Inspectorate demanded from the owner of the factory to cut down the amount of emissions by 90% by the end of 2018, which according to the owner was impossible. As a result the work of the factory was suspended.

Director continues hunger strike

Hovhannes Galstyan the director and the head of “Parallels Film Production” is on a hunger strike since February 4. The director took such an extreme step because of the disagreements with the National Cinema Center of Armenia. National Cinema Center of Armenia has not completely paid for the shooting of “My Grandma’s Locks”. The thing is that due to  the newly adopted charter the Center cancels its commitments related to the financing of the Bulgarian-German-Armenian film. Besides the hunger strike, the director also filed a lawsuit against the National Cinema Center of Armenia.

Ampop Media

Translated by Ani Ganjalyan and Mery Gevorgyan

For Armenian original CLICK HERE

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First Published: 21/02/2019