Today we live in a society, which can not imagine life without expressing views on social media. Probably it does have certain advantages. Nevertheless, many participants of active discussions have already forgotten or do not even know about the developments, which unfolded in Armenia 5, 10 or 15 years ago.  

To fill the gap Mediamax presents 5/10/15 project, which introduce developments in Armenia 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

•    15 YEARS AGO: JULY 23-29, 2003

“Disappointment and concern”

On July 23, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Walter Schwimmer expressed “disappointment” and “concern” following the decision by the National Commission on Television and Radio of Armenia to refuse the broadcasting licenses to the independent television companies A1+ and Noyan Tapan.

On July 25, the OSCE Netherlands Chairmanship joined Schwimmer in expressing concern.

“The fact that both companies have been unable to broadcast for well over a year raises concern about the pluralistic nature of the broadcast media in Armenia,” , Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office,  Ambassador Daan Everts wrote in the letter to Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan.

•    10 YEARS AGO: JULY 23-29, 2008

Turkish President: No decision yet on visit to Armenia

On July 23, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said in Kars that no decision was made yet on his possible visit to Yerevan upon the invitation of his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan.

“First of all, I thanked the Armenian President for his invitation. We have not made any disicion yet. Our policy is clear: we want good neighborly relations and cooperation with all the countries in the region. Current problems should be solved. We want to see this region stable,”  said the Turkish President.

Ararat Zurabyan walks free

Leader of Armenian National Movement (ANM) party Ararat Zurabyan was released from custody with a written undertaking not to leave the place.

Zurabyan was a defendant in the criminal case, which was opened in connection with the events that took place in Yerevan on March 1-2.

•    5 YEARS AGO: JULY 23-29, 2013

NSS closes “Oskanyan’s case”

National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia said on July 24 that they halted the criminal prosecution of former Armenian Foreign Minister, MP Vardan Oskanyan.

The NSS press release mentioned that “Vardan Oskanyan testified on 19 July 2013 and admitted that he used for personal purposes USD 250,795 out of the funds donated by John Huntsman to Civilitas Foundation for solely charity ends”. According to the NSS statement, “Oskanyan considered the money his share in the deal”.

“Taking into account that Vardan Oskanyan voluntarily recovered the amount of tax duties equal to AMD 20,140,324, the preliminary investigation decided to halt the prosecution against him,” said NSS.

Oskanyan issued a statement on the same day.

“The most important point here is that they had no chance to prove two grave accusations in “money laundering” and “money embezzlement” (which cost me my parliamentary immunity) due to lack of evidence, so they had to close the case in other ways.

I have to not I made no confessions.

If we adopt the NSS logic, we will have to say you can, for instance, embezzle budget funds because you consider them to be you personal income, then apply to relevant state agencies with a proposal to fulfill your tax duties that equal the embezzled amount, and the criminal case will be closed.

Vardan Oskanyan

Photo: Photolure

From the very first day of the criminal case against me, I have been saying I misused not a single cent from the sum which John Huntsman entrusted me for the operation of Civilitas Foundation. Moreover, as a result of my management, the amount increased by over USD 100,000.

I leave the speculations about the case initiated against me and Civilitas Foundation to the judgment of the public” Vardan Oskanyan wrote in his statement.

“Excellent result”

On July 24, Armenia and the European Union successfully concluded the negotiations on Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), an integral part of the Association Agreement.

At the seventh and final round of talks held in Yerevan, the negotiators reached agreement on the key elements of the deal.

An independent study quoted by the EU suggested that in the long run the Armenian economy could gain an extra EUR 146 million a year, which would represent a 2.3% increase in GDP.

EU High Representative Catherine Ashton and Commissioner Stefan Fule made a joint statement on “substantive completion” of the Armenia-EU talks:

“This is a very positive development, and we look forward to initialling of this Association

Agreement at the next Eastern Partnership Summit, which is to be held in Vilnius on 29 November 2013, and to the subsequent signing of the Agreement as soon as the technical procedures are completed.”

The Association Agreement was never signed, as Armenia joined the Eurasian Economic Union.

Yerevan protests

Mass protests erupted in Yerevan after the municipality decided to increase the public transport free, raising it from AMD 100 to AMD 150.

“We refuse to pay AMD 150, we will pay AMD 100” movement’s members demanded from the authorities to “punish Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan for illegally charging AMD 150 as public transport fee for six consecutive days”.

Protesters and Deputy Chief of Yerevan Police Valery Osipyan

Photo: Photolure

Finally, Taron Margaryan announced on July 25 that the municipality was overturning the decision on transport fee increase.

Ara Tadevosyan