The News is False: People Were Not Brought to the Rally by Bus with Payments from the State Budget

Today, during a Government meeting, the proposal to amend decision N 1549-L regarding "The 25th Measure to Neutralize the Economic Consequences of the Coronavirus" presented by the Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan was approved. The decision aims to extend the deadlines for submitting applications and expand the list of transportation companies serving the tourism sector affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

Some Telegram channels, and subsequently news sites, began to report that "the authorities brought people to the last rally by bus and are paying for these vehicles from the state budget by this decision made today." The "Information Verification Center" states that the speculations regarding the project are entirely baseless and false.

First, it should be understood that the purpose of the decision is to assist one of the sectors affected by the coronavirus pandemic—tourist transport companies. It cannot be interpreted as a procurement of services from passenger transport companies. Additionally, this project has no relation whatsoever, nor can it have any connection to the recent political events. To confirm this, it is sufficient to examine the summary of objections and recommendations from the involved bodies. For example, the Ministry of Finance provided its opinion on the proposed 50 million budget allocation back on February 10, whereas the political events cited by the peddlers of misinformation began to unfold starting February 25, following a statement from the General Staff of the Armed Forces.