news.am, Armenia
Dec 26 2009

ANC vs. ARF, students vs. Minister, Government vs. journalist: weekly review

11:37 / 12/26/2009 Domestic policy

This week important information on Armenia’s domestic political life
has been received from abroad. It is an officially published opinion
on the report released by the ad hoc commission of the RA Parliament
set up to study the tragic events in Yerevan on March 1, 2008. The
report by the PACE co-rapporteurs Georges Colombier and John Prescott
should be viewed as a signal to the Armenian authorities on the
threshold of the PACE session scheduled for late January. The session
may consider the democratic development situation in Armenia. The
co-rapporteurs stressed that the ad hoc commission conducted a much
more detailed study of the March 1 events in Yerevan than is indicated
in its report. This censorship calls the commission’s work into
question, stated the PACE co-rapporteurs for Armenia. They stressed
that the commission’s report does not say anything about further
arrests and persecutions of opposition members. Georges Colombier and
John Prescott also pointed out the lack of any progress in the
investigation into the circumstances that resulted in ten deaths. They
stressed that the questions must be answered, otherwise the impression
is that the Armenian police are trying to conceal the facts. Thus, all
of a sudden, the co-rapporteurs `have awoken out of sleep’ and decided
to remind the Armenian authorities that they have not so far honored
numerous points of the PACE resolution on the situation in Armenia.
Such is the conclusion contained in the report published by the PACE
co-rapporteurs, who regularly point out progress in Armenia’s
overcoming the domestic political crisis only to criticize the
country’s authorities later. It is noteworthy that the document has
`cropped up’ just before the next stage of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace
process scheduled for next January. This suggests a conclusion about
international agencies’ desire to pressure official Yerevan into
further concessions on Nagorno-Karabakh. On the other hand, it should
be noted that any European official could have criticized the report
published by the ad hoc parliamentary commission headed by Samvel
Nikoyan: the commission was formed of the ruling parties’
representatives, who from the very outset advocated the official
interpretation of last year’s election processes.

On December 25, RA Ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan presented a special
report, pointing out violations of human rights at the trials of the
persons arrested during last year’s post-election processes. The
report includes the results of monitoring conducted by the Ombudsman’s
representatives.

The extra-parliamentary opposition openly accused the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF) of coordinating its actions of protest
against the Armenian-Turkish protocols with the Armenian authorities.
At his meeting with journalists, Levon Zurabyan, Central Office
Coordinator, Armenian National Congress (ANC), stated that the ARF is
coordinating all its actions with the authorities. According to him,
high-ranking ARF members ` Hrant Margaryan, Vahan Hovhannisyan and
Armen Rustamyan ` held a meeting with President of the RA
Constitutional Court Gagik Harutyunyan. `May be, they [ARF] are trying
to fit in with their [authorities’] plans?’ Zurabyan said. His
statements, however, were obviously aimed against the action of
protest the ARF intends to hold on January 12, when the RA
Constitutional Court is to consider the issue of constitutionality of
the Armenian-Turkish protocols. In fact, the extra-parliamentary
opposition pointed out the authorities’ involvement in the recent
actions of protest held by the newly fledged ARF opposition.

At the trial of Editor-in-Chief of the opposition Haykakan Zhamanak
(Armenian Times) newspaper Nikol Pashinyan, the Prosecution demanded
eight years of imprisonment for him for organizing riots and using
violence against a policeman. The Public Prosecutor’s speech made the
impression that the Prosecution ignored all the arguments presented by
the Defense. The `higher rate’ of the trial is the evidence of the
authorities’ seeking to get a verdict of guilty returned on Nikol
Pashinyan as soon as possible. In this case he will not be able to run
to Parliament from Election District #10 in Yerevan ` the by
`elections are scheduled for January 10. The problem is, however, that
the New Year holidays are to last from December 31 to January 10 in
Armenia, and court sittings cannot be held during the holidays.
Despite the threat that Pashinyan’s registration as a parliamentary
candidate may be invalidated the Opposition is canvassing for its
candidate. On January 8, the last day for electioneering the
Opposition plans to hold a rally in Yerevan.

Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and region

The Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov made
rather optimistic statements on the prospects of the Nagorno-Karabakh
peace process. In his interview with an Azerbaijani website he said
that the co-chairs’ priority task is to maintain the positive dynamics
in the negations next year. `We have conditions for progress. But
further developments are difficult to forecast. Next year we are going
to organize the next Armenian-Azerbaijani presidential meeting. We
will discuss the time and place when we arrive in the region,’
Merzlyakov said. The Co-Chairs will do their best for more appreciable
results to be received next year. `It is not a framework agreement. It
is agreeing on the basic principles of settlement, with further work
on them done at each presidential meeting. If agreed on, they will
serve as a basis for a comprehensive peace agreement,’ Merzlyakov
said. What is immediately striking is his unwillingness to speak of
any specific terms of agreements ` Merzlyakov speaks of the whole next
year. His statements are in conformity with the recent statements made
by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, who said that,
after the basic principles are agreed on, work on a comprehensive
agreement will get under way next year. The fact remains: the
forecasts about the sides’ signing a document before the end of this
year will prove to be too optimistic unless any extraordinary events
happen. Evidence thereof is also the fact that, after returning from
Baku, the OSCE MG Co-Chairs will visit Yerevan in January 2010, with
no information on the time and place of the next Sargsyan-Aliyev
meeting available. So we can with confidence speak of rather
considerable uncertainty surrounding the Nagorno-Karabakh peace
process as to the terms of success in the negations.

The Turkish Foreign Minister’s visit to Brussels made him call to mind
the advantages of shrewd Turkish diplomacy and make a number of
optimistic statements intended for the `outer world.’ Ahmet Davutoglu
made an attempt to `ease’ the impression Turkey’s western partners got
from Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statements in Washington, when he
set preconditions for further Armenia-Turkish normalization process.
So the Turkish Foreign Minister showed a constructive approach, which
is not typical of Turkish top-ranking officials over the last month.
`The implementation of the Armenian-Turkish protocols must be
considered from only a positive viewpoint. Unfavorable developments do
not the interests of either side. No one wants to return to the
situation before the protocols were signed. The implementation of the
protocols and establishment of peace in the region can be regarded as
a positive scenario,’ the Turkish FM said. He conveniently forgot to
mention Azerbaijan, which is doing its best to thwart the
Armenian-Turkish negotiations. The Turkish FM’s optimism intended for
the western partners reached the point when he began speaking of
reopening the Armenian-Turkish border, which has been blocked for many
years. The Turkish FM would not have sounded optimistic if he had not
`smoothly changed the subject’ and begun speaking of the
Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. `It would be a good thing is the same
goodwill were shown in the other process, considering the fact that
the Minsk Group has registered serious progress. We all have brought
the process up to a certain point, and the Athens meetings were a
success as well,’ Davutoglu said. Instead of speaking of timeframes,
the Turkish FM believes the Armenian-Turkish relations will produce
specific results in the future. Finally, he linked the
Armenian-Turkish reconciliation to the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process,
trying to `ease’ the unfavorable impression Turkey’s western partners
had after Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the United States.
That attempt, however, did not in any way change the very essence of
the Turkish leaders’ position, and all those sure that no
preconditions for normalization really exist can think about it.

Economy and social life

Toward the end of this year, the ministers in charge of the Armenian
economy held meetings with journalists. RA Minister of Economy Nerses
Yeritsyan made a number of optimistic statements. He pointed out that
the economic sectors based on domestic demand, particularly the IT and
tourist industries, remained unaffected by the economic crisis.
Moreover, they even registered growth. He stressed the need for
further economic diversification. The Minister said that the major
challenge to the Armenian economy next year will be further
diversification, export promotion and getting access to world markets.
Yeritsyan said that the matter primarily concerns the negotiations for
a free trade zone with the European Union.

The European Commission has assigned ?¬2m to Armenia, Azerbaijan and
Georgia for preparatory work to cope with natural disasters and
enhance the potential of relevant government agencies and local
government bodies. The funds will be channeled through the Development
& Humanitarian Aid, with European Commissioner for Development &
Humanitarian Aid Karel De Gucht being in charge. The project provides
for training courses in disaster management and creation of warning
systems. The projects will be implemented by UN agencies and NGOs,
particularly by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

At his meeting with journalists, RA Minister of Energy and Natural
Resources Armen Movsisyan reported that the Yerevan thermal power
plant will be put into operation on April 21, 2010. The construction
work is nearing completion, which, according to the Minister is one of
the greatest achievements in the Armenian energy sector. Movsisyan
pointed out that the electric energy to be produced by the Yerevan
thermal power plant will be consumed only in Armenia.

Next year Armenian students will continue receiving scholarships. In
2010 the RA Ministry of Education and Science will introduce a new
system, an accumulation fund. The funds will be channeled into
crediting students paying tuition frees. Thus, pressured by the
public, particularly by youth NGOs, Minister Armen Ashotyan, who
earlier circulated a canard about the abolition of scholarships, had
to go back on his word and put off his plans.

T.P.