AT HOME & ABROAD: ARMENIANS TO HAVE TWO IDS, INCLUDING BIOMETRY FOR TRAVELS ABROAD
Armenia is going to have a new passport system introduced in 2010 whereby citizens will bear two documents – a personal card to use domestically and a passport containing biometrical data to go abroad. The latter will include basic information, including a chip with fingerprints. “If we don’t have this, Europe, through whose territory we travel to other countries, won’t accept us,” Alvina Zakaryan, head of the Passport and Visa Department of the Armenian Police, explains. She gladly mentions that from now on citizens will submit documents for receiving passports at the passport departments at their registered addresses and would not have to come to Yerevan from regions. According to Zakaryan, the law on foreigners has been changed by nearly 90 percent. Under the amended law, from now on foreigners will have three statuses of stay – temporary, i.e. until one year, permanent resident status, which will be issued for a period of up to five years with a possibility of extending the stay for another five years, and a special status of stay, which will be granted only to people with Armenian ethnicity by the order of the president for a period of ten years, for which a state duty of 150,000 drams (about $500) will be levied. Among the novelties is also that from now on a person who arrives in Armenia without an entry visa will be issued a tourist visa for 120 days instead of 21 days in the past. “Citizens of countries with which Armenia has a visa-free regime can live in Armenia without an entry visa for up to 90 days within one year,” says Zakaryan. Citizens of 16 countries cannot receive entry visas at Armenian borders without a visa application in advance. These include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, China (except Hong Kong and Macao), and others. According to Zakaryan’s data, today Armenia has 188 dual citizens. Another 1,417, who received citizenships of other countries through different means, have already applied for being registered as dual citizens. Dual citizenship in Armenia was banned until relevant constitutional amendments were adopted through a referendum in 2005. The legislation on dual citizenship has been enforced since December 2007. Under the law on dual citizenship, only a citizen who lives in Armenia can apply for citizenship and do so personally. The whole process of acquiring citizenship may last for up to a year. “For example, a person who lives in Australia cannot apply for becoming a dual citizen. If he or she is not an ethnic Armenian, then s/he must live at least three years in Armenia, and he s/he is an ethnic Armenian, then s/he can do it in a simplified manner,” Zakaryan explains. A total of 799 people, mainly citizens of the United States, Russia, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkmenistan, have applied for acquiring Armenian citizenship this year.
- Arpi Harutyunyan
BACK ON THE STUMP: OPPOSITIONISTS PACK GOVERNMENT HALL TO HEAR LATEST RALLY BY TER-PETROSYAN
Gayane Abrahamyan 38
The opposition movement led by former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan held a congress in a closely packed conference hall in the Government Building Friday. More than a thousand people had gathered outside ...SEEKING REPATRIATION: FOUR ARMENIANS STILL IN AZERI CAPTIVITY AFTER GOING ASTRAY NEAR BORDER
Arpi HarutyunyanA group of Armenian citizens who inadvertently crossed the Armenian border into an Azeri exclave early last week still remain prisoners in Nakhichevan. The repatriation of the four men, identified by ...FORMER OPPOSITIONIST GETS PROMISED SECURITY COUNCIL POSITION
2
President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree Sunday appointing his former vocal critic and ex-parliament speaker as Secretary of Armenia’s National Security Council, the presidential press service reported. ...FARE SCARE: HIKE IN GAS PRICE FUELS SPECULATION ABOUT INCREASED TRANSPORTATION CHARGES
Arpi Harutyunyan 1
Since yesterday taxi fares in Armenia increased by 50 percent – the taxi fare of 100 drams (or about 30 cents) per kilometer that existed for years and the minimum charge of 500-600 drams increased to ...LAYING THE GROUNDWORK: ARMENIAN, AZERI FMS IN MEETING TO KEEP TALKS ALIVE
Aris Ghazinyan
International negotiators have been meeting with the top diplomats of Armenia and Azerbaijan early this week in a bid to revitalize the agonizing peace process between the two neighboring countries. ...AT HOME & ABROAD: ARMENIANS TO HAVE TWO IDS, INCLUDING BIOMETRY FOR TRAVELS ABROAD
Arpi HarutyunyanArmenia is going to have a new passport system introduced in 2010 whereby citizens will bear two documents – a personal card to use domestically and a passport containing biometrical data to go abroad. ...SPORT: ARMENIA’S YOUTH FOOTBALLERS TRIUMPH OVER ITALIAN COEVALS
Suren Musayelyan
Football Armenia’s U-19 national team led by coach Armen Gyulbudaghyants started well in an international friendly tournament in Italy. As reported by Armenia’s Football Federation, in the opening match ...TALKING POINTS: IF COALITION BELIEVE THEIR OWN NUMBERS, WHY CONCERN THEMSELVES WITH TER-PETROSYAN?
John Hughes
It’s not yesterday anymore . . . Talking ...COMMERCE AND CONVICTION: ARMENIAN PILGRIMAGES BRING JOY, BELIEF, BUSINESS
Sara Khojoyan
Each year an Armenian village in Kotayk province turns into a mix of belief, joy and fair. People stand in line to go down into the small room dug in the ground where there is a sanctuary with an image ...FAITH AND HOPE: CENTER IN KAPAN HELPS DISABLED CHILDREN COME OUT OF HOMES
Armine Avagyan
Disabled children of charitable center in Kapan now have an opportunity to attend the neighbouring private fitness club free of charge due to the support of Dino Gold Mining Company. The Hearth of Faith ...NO ALTERNATIVE?: JEHOVAH’S WITNESS REFUSES OPTIONAL MILITARY SERVICE
Naira Bulghadaryan
By court decision Vanadzor resident Davit Petrosyan will spend the next two and half years in prison for avoiding alternative military service. The Vanadzor (Lori province) court of general authority ...BOOK PUBLISHING UNDER CORRUPTION: KARABAKH OFFICIALS YEARN FOR WRITER’S FAME
Naira HayrumyanBook publishing has recently become one of the most controversial issues speculated upon in Karabakh, where corruption has penetrated even into the modest enterprise. The thing is that some Karabakhi ...FOOD FOR THOUGHT: OPPOSITIONIST ANALYST HAS CAREER AS HUNGER STRIKER
Marianna Grigoryan
When in the middle of April law enforcement entered Lusine Hayrapetyan’s home for the purpose of conducting a search they advised her to voluntarily surrender weapons, leaflets or pamphlets that were ...HEAVEN’S DEADLY PEBBLES: NEW STATIONS WILL CONTROL HAIL IN SHIRAK PROVINCE
Ani Hakobyan
The farmers of Shirak province are eager to see if new anti-hail stations will prove effective in saving crops from the sort of damage they often experience during May storms. The first new anti-hail ...SUPREME INTEREST OR SUPREME DECEPTION?: HISTORIC BUILDING FOCUS OF CONTROVERSY BETWEEN ITALIAN CONSUL AND YEREVAN MUNICIPALITY
Vahan Ishkhanyan
The “Gegham Mnatsakanyan Residential House”, a historic and cultural monument, built in 1898 at Koghbatsi 22 may be dismantled to cede space to the historic and cultural district (which is designed on ...MOVEMENT: NKR ISSUE SEES RENEWED ATTENTION AS MFA GETS ACQUAINTED
Aris Ghazinyan
An obvious boost in attention to the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh has been observed in Armenia in recent months. Never before has Stepanakert been visited by Armenia’s parliament speaker and foreign minister ...NO PLACE FOR PACE: THREE WEEKS ON, NO MOVEMENT ON FOLLOWING COE RESOLUTION
Gayane Abrahamyan
Twenty days have past since the adoption of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Resolution 1609 in Strasbourg, calling for release of prisoners and other stipulations to bring more ...
FROM SPRINGS TO TAPS: STEPANAKERT MUNICIPALITY PROMISES RESIDENTS WATER SUPPLY
Naira HayrumyanCOURT CLAIM: FIRED DIPLOMATS SURE OF IMMINENT REINSTATEMENT IN JOBS
Sara KhojoyanMINING FOR MOLYBDENUM?: ENVIRONMENTALISTS RAISE MORE PROTESTS OVER TEGHUT IMPACT
Sara Khojoyan
BACK ON THE STUMP: OPPOSITIONISTS PACK GOVERNMENT HALL TO HEAR LATEST RALLY BY TER-PETROSYAN
Gayane Abrahamyan
JUDGE ORDERS RESUMED INQUEST INTO APPEAL IN DISMISSED “DEATH IN POLICE CUSTODY” CASE
Vahan IshkhanyanAT HOME & ABROAD: ARMENIANS TO HAVE TWO IDS, INCLUDING BIOMETRY FOR TRAVELS ABROAD
Arpi HarutyunyanPARTNERS FOR AWARENESS: GENOCIDE MUSEUMS OF AMERICA AND ARMENIA ENTER AGREEMENT
SPORT: ARMENIAN BOXING STAR ON THE DEFENSIVE AFTER RAPE ALLEGATIONS MADE BY GERMAN TABLOID
Suren MusayelyanSTRASBOURG LESSONS FOR ARMENIA: COURT DECISION SPARKS PM CALL FOR CAUTION
Vahan IshkhanyanFEELING THE WORLD’S PAIN: ARMENIA PART OF INTERNATIONAL TREND IN FOOD COSTS
Gayane MkrtchyanNOT FREE, AGAIN: ARMENIA GETS COTE D’IVOIRE, GUINEA AS NEIGHBORS IN LATEST PRESS FREEDOM RANKINGS
Vahan IshkhanyanFARE SCARE: HIKE IN GAS PRICE FUELS SPECULATION ABOUT INCREASED TRANSPORTATION CHARGES
Arpi HarutyunyanFORMER OPPOSITIONIST GETS PROMISED SECURITY COUNCIL POSITION
- 1847 Summit Meeting of the representatives of the Transcaucasian Armenian community.
- 1847 With the participation of the gentry and commoners, the National, Ecclesiastic, and Supreme Council is created in Constantinople. It is the first step towards the creation of the "Constitution".
- 1859 A Committee, consisting of 5 clergymen and 14 laymen, is struck in Constantinople to write the "Constitution". The Chariman was Rusinian.
- 1945 End of World War Two (known as the "Great Patriotic War" in the USSR).
- 1964 Death of Vahan Totomyants, professor and public figure.
- 1992 Shooshee (Artsakh) is liberated after 71 years of occupation by Azeri Turks.
- 1994 Protocol negotiated in the Artsakh War and signed in Bishkek (Kirgizstan) by the parliamentary speakers of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Artsakh as mediated by Presidents Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan. This was the first recognition of Artsakhs distinctiveness as a political and territorial entity in the negotiations. Azerbaijan occupied 750 sq. km. (15%) of Artsakhs territory, while Artsakh occupied 7059 sq. km. (8%) of territory considered to have traditionally been possessed by Azerbaijan.
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