Friday, June 2, 2017

First Lady Coy About Armenian President's Political Future


 . Artak Hambardzumian


Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian, his wife Rita and other
dignitaries at an award ceremony in Yerevan, 28May2017.

The wife of Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian on Friday declined to
clarify what he plans to do after completing his second and final term
in office next year.

"I didn't want him to become president in the first place. I didn't
want him to be on the political arena," Rita Sarkisian told RFE/RL's
Armenian service (Azatutyun.am), commenting on lingering speculation
that he may become prime minister in April 2018.

When asked whether she wants him to retire from the political scene,
she said: "I want to have a rest." Asked whether that depends on
Sarkisian's political plans, she replied: "Yes and no. We'll see."

The first lady also insisted that she never given her husband
political advice. "I don't like women who advise their husbands," she
said. "How can I advise him? I don't like that. I would never do
that. And I would not respect a man who would take my advice on the
job."

Sarkisian himself has shed little light on his political future so
far. He said in March that he would like to "play a role, in some
capacity, in ensuring the security of our people" after the end of his
decade-long presidency.

Armenia will switch to a parliamentary system of government from April
2018, meaning that its next president will be elected by parliament
and have largely ceremonial powers.


Armenia -- Frst Lady Rita Sarkisian speaks to RFE/RL in Yerevan,
2June, 2017.

Rita Sarkisian spoke to RFE/RL's Armenian service while visiting a
Yerevan hospital specializing in treatment of children suffering from
various types of blood cancer. A charity headed by her has for years
provided financial assistance to it.

The first lady complained of declining donations to the charity called
Donate Life. "Three or four years ago we raised half a million dollars
for this hospital," said the former music teacher. "The following year
that figure dropped to $300,000. This year we have only $100,000."

"But that's OK," she went on. "We'll learn that culture [of
benevolence] little by little."



Still No Charges In Armenian Election Scandal


 . Astghik Bedevian


Armenia - Armenians vote in parliamentary elections at a polling
station in Yerevan, 2Apr2017.

Law-enforcement authorities have not charged anyone yet more than one
month after launching an investigation into a secretly recorded audio
suggesting that employees of a pro-government businessman were warned
to help him get reelected to Armenia's parliament or lose their jobs.

The recording posted on Hayastan24.com features the voice of a man
threatening to fire those employees of Artak Sargsian's SAS
supermarket chain in Yerevan who have failed to guarantee in writing
that their friends and relatives will vote for their boss. The man
also promises lavish bonuses to their colleagues who will "bring
votes" to the candidate of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia
(HHK).

The news website said that the SAS staff meeting took place in the
run-up to the April 2 parliamentary elections won by the
HHK. Sargsian, who was reelected to the National Assembly, has since
refused to comment on the audio and the resulting political scandal.

Opposition politicians and other critics of the Armenian government
seized upon the revelation as further proof that public and private
sector employees across the country were illegally pressurized to vote
for the HHK. In an April 3 statement, European election monitors
likewise reported "pressure on civil servants and employees of private
companies"

Responding to the uproar, Armenia's Special Investigative Service
(SIS) said on April 19 that it has opened a criminal case in
connection with the scandalous audio.

An SIS spokesperson told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) on
Friday that the law-enforcement agency is still questioning relevant
individuals and has not levelled criminal charges against anyone so
far. The official refused to give any details of the investigation.

Civic activists dismissed this explanation. Heriknaz Tigranian, a
legal expert with the Armenian affiliate of Transparency
International, insisted that the SIS has had enough time to identify
the secretly recorded individuals. "They know how to conduct forensic
tests to identify people's voices," she said.

Tigranian said she suspects that the authorities are dragging out the
probe with the aim of eventually closing the case for a supposed lack
of evidence.

"Had the authorities had the political will to solve such organized
crimes, Artak Sargsian would not have run for parliament in the first
place," charged Artur Sakunts, a human rights activist.

According to the Hetq.am investigative publication, the man who
purportedly threatened to fire SAS employees is Sargsian's elder
brother Aram.



Karabakh Says Another War Unlikely


 . Hovannes Movsisian


Nagorno-Karabakh - Karabakh Armenian troops fire rounds from a
howitzer in the Martakert district, 3Apr2016.

Continuing ceasefire violations along the Armenian-Azerbaijani "line
of contact" around Nagorno-Karabakh are unlikely to escalate into a
full-scale war, a senior official in Stepanakert insisted on Friday.

"Although the war can break out at any moment, its likelihood is low,"
said Davit Babayan, the deputy chief of staff of Bako Sahakian, the
Karabakh president.

"Why? Because Azerbaijan spent 22 years getting ready to start the
four-day war of April 2016. And it got ready for a blitzkrieg," he
told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

"Only one year has passed [since the April 2016 war.] Given so many
[Azerbaijani] casualties and the clear position of the international
community, I don't think that another war is possible now," added
Babayan.

The four-day hostilities mentioned by the Karabakh Armenian official
marked the worst fighting in the conflict since a Russian-mediated
truce stopped the Armenian-Azerbaijani war for the disputed territory
in 1994. They left at least 190 soldiers from both warring sides dead.

In a report published on Thursday, the International Crisis Group
(ICG), a Brussels-based think-tank, warned of a serious risk of
renewed heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces. "A
year after Nagorno-Karabakh's April 2016 violent flare-up, Armenia and
Azerbaijan are closer to war than at any point since the 1994
ceasefire," it said, calling for more vigorous international efforts
to broker a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Babayan dismissed this conclusion, arguing that the ICG did not
predict the April 2016 hostilities. "It does not reflect the reality,"
he said of the report.

Truce violations along "the line of contact" have periodically
intensified over past year. In the most recent escalation, Azerbaijani
forces fired guided missiles at an air-defense system of Karabakh's
Armenian-backed Defense Army on May 16. The latter retaliated with
mortar fire targeting Azerbaijani military facilities across the
frontline.

The U.S., Russian and French mediators co-heading the OSCE Minsk Group
condemned the "significant violations of the ceasefire." In a May 18
statement, they urged the parties to "take all necessary measures to
prevent any further escalation in the conflict zone."



Another Russian Firm Seeks To Leave Armenian Energy Sector


 . Emil Danielyan


Armenia - One of the hydroelectric plants making up the Sevan-Hrazdan
Cascade.

A state-owned Russian company, RusHydro, has reaffirmed its intention
to sell off Armenia's second most important hydroelectric complex
belonging to it.

The sale of the Sevan-Hrazdan Cascade would further reduce the
presence of Kremlin-controlled companies in the Armenian energy sector
heavily dependent on Russian gas and nuclear fuel.

The Soviet-era facility consists of seven hydroelectric plants built
along the Hrazdan river flowing through central Armenia. It accounts
for roughly 10 percent of Armenian electricity output.

The Armenian government handed over ownership of the Sevan-Hrazdan
Cascade to Russia in 2003 in payment for the Metsamor nuclear plant's
massive debts Russian nuclear fuel suppliers. RusHydro acquired it
from another state-run Russian firm in 2011. Russian media reported in
2015 that the energy giant, which operates most of Russia's
hydroelectric plants, is now prepared to sell its Armenian subsidiary.

The TASS news agency quoted RusHydro's chief executive, Nikolay
Shulginov, as saying on Thursday that his company has been negotiating
with potential buyers. "One of them emerged but then vanished," he
said. "Another one has now popped up. We are now holding
[negotiations.]"

Shulginov declined to name those companies or disclose RusHydro's
possible asking price for Sevan-Hrazdan.

Another Russian energy conglomerate, Inter RAO, essentially pulled out
of Armenia in late 2015, selling the country's debt-ridden electricity
distribution network and largest thermal power plant to the Tashir
Group of Samvel Karapetian, a Russian-Armenian billionaire.

RusHydro's withdrawal would leave only one Kremlin-controlled company,
Gazprom, owning a power-generating facility in Armenia: a thermal
power plant in the central town of Hrazdan. Gazprom is also the
country's principal supplier of natural gas.

Gas is used for generating around one-third of Armenia's
electricity. The Metsamor power plant and hydroelectric facilities
meet the rest of its energy needs.

The Armenian authorities now seem keen to diversify foreign ownership
in the domestic energy sector. More than a year ago they sold
Armenia's largest and most modern hydroelectric complex, the Vorotan
Hydropower Cascade, to the U.S. company ContourGlobal in a $250
million deal strongly backed by the U.S. government. And in March this
year, an Italian company started building a new thermal power plant in
Yerevan.



Press Review


In a commentary on International Children's Day marked on June 1,
"Haykakan Zhamanak" says that children in Armenia should first and
foremost be protected against "social blows." "Tens of thousands of
children are poor, and this means that not only their present but also
future is in danger," writes the paper. "For malnutrition, poor living
conditions and a lack of education and leisure opportunities deprive
the children of their ability to develop their potential in full."

"Zhoghovurd" reports that the newly appointed Justice Minister Davit
Harutiunian on Thursday called for a stronger government oversight of
government grants allocated to non-governmental organizations. In
particular, Harutiunian said that from now on such NGOs will have to
detail their concrete programs financed by the government and present
detailed reports on their implementation. The paper says that Armenian
governments have never done this before. "It is obvious that the
authorities decided to introduce oversight mechanisms not willingly
but under pressure from the European Union following the well-known
scandal over misappropriation of [EU] grants," it claims.

"Zhamanak" says that when President Serzh Sarkisian promised following
last July's Erebuni hostage crisis to form a government of "national
accord" many felt that then Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian's and his
government's days are numbered. "This is what eventually happened,"
the paper says. "But the government formed by [the current Prime
Minister] Karen Karapetian hasnothing to do with national accord in
terms of both political content and agenda. One is left to presume
that Sarkisian circulated the idea for another occasion and most
probably for his personal use. The course of events shows that this is
the case." It notes that Armen Rustamian, a leader of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), stated recently that his
party will not object if Sarkisian becomes prime minister next year.

(Lilit Harutiunian)


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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