This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/armenia by /u/ar_david_hh on 2024-09-23 22:00:47+00:00.
Original Title: Pashinyan's war on fish farms: Water reserves \ Belarus vs. Lapshin: Yerevan airport drama \ Canada: right to self-determination \ West & weapons \ Russian agent in north \ Polit-prisoners \ Air quality "truth" \ and...
10 minutes of Armenia coverage in Transcaucasian Telegraph's Sep/23/2024 edition.
fish farms are sucking Armenia dry, and new environmental requirements have unleashed a legal war between Pashinyan administration and fish mafia: VIDEO
Landlocked Armenia produces over 25,000 tons of fish annually, more than some countries with access to seas. Over half of the fish is exported, mostly to Russia.
In 2008 the government added fish farming to the "priority" list. It led to the opening of hundreds of farms, with 80% located in the Ararat valley (Ararat and Armavir provinces).
Historically, Ararat valley waters were used for agriculture and drinking. Fish farms quickly became the largest consumers with a 77% share.
Ararat valley's underground aquifers recover 1.1 billion m3 of water annually. Officially, the consumption does not exceed this number. However, independent experts in the past placed the real consumption at 1.6 billion m3.
This overconsumption disturbs the artesian water balance. By 2016, the volume of underground water reserves with positive pressure was half the 1984 mark.
Ararat valley is only 4% of Armenia but is home to a much larger share of crop farms. In the past, these farms were irrigated by the natural flow of underground water. After the explosive growth of fish farms, 70% of crop farms had to switch to water pumps and surface watering, with some of the water coming from Lake Sevan.
For years, the media wrote about illegal schemes and shady licenses provided to fish farms linked with government officials under the former regimes. After the 2018 revolution, several criminal charges were pressed against the ex-Minister of Nature Aram Harutyunyan.
The fish farms use water in a way that leads to its loss; it flows into River Araks. Experts instead recommend closed-cycle water systems: water filtration, aeration (oxygenation), and reuse of the same water. It's also advised to replace the outdated water pipes, build more water reservoirs, switch to drip irrigation systems, and grow things that require less water.
Experts made those recommendations to the government. Recently PM Pashinyan complained during a Government session about the excessive use of water by the fish industry: "The water problem is of huge volume. Let's admit it, the water is not being managed in Armenia. The water just flows. Let's calculate [compare] the annual cost of water we use, waste, and the value of fish we produce. Has anyone done this calculation? I believe no serious calculation has been done."
Overall, Armenia has 4x more water than it consumes, yet there are serious issues with access to water. There is a need to (1) monitor the overuse of water, (2) enact systemic reforms besides localized solutions. Eco-expert says this field requires a large-scale systemic reform instead of small patches.
Electric water meters, closure of deep wells, conservation: The government has enacted a series of laws to combat the abuse of water. Newly formed inter-governmental groups examined the issue and some investments were made. Starting in January 2024, fish farms are required to switch to a closed-cycle water system.
PASHINYAN: But now they are quietly telling us that the new requirements are impossible to implement. I disagree with that mentality. They are telling us the fish farms will go bankrupt and shut down, and I'm firmly telling you that our decision is permanent. Let them shut down. //
The fish industry sued the Pashinyan administration's rules to reverse the new requirements. The judge suspended the requirements while the trial is underway.
Belarus continues to abuse this law enforcement tool, this time against famous blogger Lapshin
Recently a few Belarusian activists were detained in Armenian airports and checkpoints at the request of Belarus. They were released after the cases were exposed as political.
The latest target of Belarus was the famous Israeli-Russian blogger Alexander Lapshin, who in the past was arrested in Belarus and sent to Azerbaijan where he was tortured for his anti-Aliyev activities.
This time Lapshin was detained in Yerevan airport at the request of Belarusian authorities. According to Lapshin, he was pulled aside by the airport police, and after several hours of arguing with them, he was taken to a police station to wait for a decision by the Prosecutor General's office. She gave the order to free Lapshin and instructed police to simply ignore the case and not fill out any forms, according to Lapshin.
One of the police lieutenant colonels who detained Lapshin at the airport was possibly an anti-Pashinyan activist who, according to Lapshin, whispered to his ear that "Pashinyan wants to sell you to Azerbaijan." This threw Lapshin into a panic mode; at the time he didn't know what was happening. Armenian authorities later asked Lapshin to describe the airport officer who told him the lie, and it turned out to be some unprofessional dumbass cop who "expressed his opinion."
Lapshin thanked Armenia's justice system for rejecting Belarus's order for his arrest, calling it a "resounding slap" to Lukashenko.
Lapshin has received information that Belarus's ambassador to Armenia was personally behind this provocation. The ambassador is under sanctions by the West and was the person responsible for arranging Lapshin's illegal extradition from Belarus to Azerbaijan in 2016, says Lapshin.
Belarus's ambassador to Armenia is Alexander Konyuk. He was recalled by Belarus in June after the Pashinyan administration suspended diplomatic relations with the Belarusian regime.
Lapshin promised to "shit" on the Lukashenko regime and have his "revenge" for this provocation. "Жыве Беларусь!"
source, source, source, source,
an alleged member of the group that received military training in Russia to "carry out a coup" against Pashinyan has requested "support" from the government of Russia
As you already know, an anti-Pashinyan group is accused of receiving military training in a Russian army-linked military base in Russia to overthrow the Pashinyan administration by force.
One of the suspects, a leader of the paramilitary group called Black Panthers, has requested support from Russian FM Sergey Lavrov, Russian MOD Belausov, and Russian Ambassador to Armenia Kopyrkin. The suspect's lawyers hope the Russian government will share some information and messages with Armenian authorities to end his arrest and drop the charges.
Պաշտպանական կողմը խնդրել է ՌԴ իրավասու պաշտոնատար անձանց տալ համապատասխան պարզաբանումներ, հասցեագրվել են նաև որոշ այլ հարցեր և փաստաթղթեր, որոնք պարունակում են պետական գաղտնիք, ուստի հրապարակվել չեն կարող
pro-Russian forces' revolution to oust Nikol Pashinyan has been postponed again
His Holiness Bagrat Galstanyan, the Defeater of All Clouds and the Bringer of All Suns, had to delay the revolution by an hour in May, then by a couple of weeks, then a month. Then he promised to conclude the revolution in September. The new target is October.
Galstanyan made the announcement during the much-awaited "reboot" gathering in the Hamalir sports complex with reportedly many empty seats.
Galstanyan plans to oust Pashinyan before the 2026 elections. The content and the plan presented during the Hamalir gathering were the same: this is the continuation of the "holy war". Galstanyan was criticized for rudely pushing away his assistant who brought him a glass of water during the speech: video,
source, source, source, source,
update: new trial begins for ex-President Kocharyan, his aide, and his army leaders over the March 2008 killings and constitutional order
Kocharyan was absent from the trial today. Not in Armenia.
Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/1fnwoio/pashinyans_war_on_fish_farms_water_reserves/