Tuesday, Yerevan May Scrap Plans For New Nuclear Plant . Sargis Harutyunyan Armenia - A general view of the Metsamor nuclear plant, 20May2013. The Armenian government may abandon its ambitious plans to build a new nuclear power station in place of the aging plant at Metsamor, Justice Minister Davit Harutiunian said on Tuesday. President Serzh Sarkisian pledged to replace Metsamor, which generates roughly a third of Armenia's electricity, by a modern facility meeting safety standards shortly after taking office in 2008. The project never got off the drawing board as his government failed to attract billions of dollars in funding needed for the new plant's construction. The government decided instead to extend the life of Metsamor's 420-megawatt reactor by 10 years, until 2027. "We will have a new nuclear plant if it is cost-effective in terms of [electricity] tariffs," Harutiunian told reporters. "Just imagine a possibility that it turns out tomorrow that modern technologies can generate the same amount of energy without a nuclear plant and that nuclear energy ... is much more expensive for consumers. Which path should we opt for? Of course, modern technologies." Asked whether that means the government now does not rule out the possibility of giving up the idea of a new nuclear plant, Harutiunian said: "You correctly understand my and my government's position." The government will closely monitor international energy "trends" and eventually decide "which model will best suit our consumers," added the minister. As recently as in July, Deputy Prime Minister Vache Gabrielian insisted that the government remains committed to the expensive nuclear project. He said the government has only revised the would-be plant's design capacity from 1,000 megawatts to 600 megawatts. Yerevan will commit to "the closure and safe decommissioning" of the Metsamor plant in an extensive agreement with the European Union which is due to be signed next month. The draft agreement sets no specific time frames for the plant's shutdown. It also acknowledges "the need for its replacement with new capacity to ensure the energy security of the Republic of Armenia." `No Obstacles' To EU-Armenia Deal Armenia - Justice Minister Davit Harutiunian speaks to journalists in Yerevan, 15Jun2017. Nothing stands in the way of Armenia signing a landmark agreement with the European Union next month, a senior government official in Yerevan insisted on Tuesday. The Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA), finalized in March, is widely expected to be signed at the EU's November 24 summit in Brussels. Johannes Hahn, the EU commissioner for European neighborhood policy, discussed with Armenian leaders preparations for the summit when he visited Yerevan on October 2. There are lingering fears among pro-Western circles in Armenia that Yerevan will walk away from the agreement under pressure from Russia at the last minute. They point to President Serzh Sarkisian's unexpected decision in 2013 to join the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union. That move scuttled an Association Agreement that was negotiated by Armenian and EU officials. Justice Minister Davit Harutiunian was asked by reporters whether there are any obstacles to the signing of the CEPA. "I don't see them," he replied. Harutiunian also denied any geopolitical motives behind the EU's decision to publicize the CEPA late last week, arguing that Yerevan and Brussels have already "reached final agreements on the text." "So there is no need to look for any secrets or messages there," added the minister. The 350-page draft agreement posted on the EU website calls for Armenia's greater involvement in "policies, programs and agencies of the European Union." It commits the Armenian government to implementing political reforms and "approximating" national economic laws and regulations to those of the EU. Jailed Oppositionist Denied Bail . Sisak Gabrielian Armenia - Opposition activist Andrias Ghukasian goes on trial in Yerevan, 2Aug2017. An Armenian court refused on Tuesday to set free an opposition activist pending a verdict in his trial on charges of aiding gunmen that seized a police station in Yerevan last year to demand President Serzh Sarkisian's resignation. The arrested activist, Andrias Ghukasian, offered to post bail shortly after the trial began in August. The presiding judge turned down the request as "unfounded," prompting strong criticism from the defendant and his lawyer. They demanded that another, more "impartial" judge take over the high-profile case. That demand was also rejected. Ghukasian, was one of the organizers of demonstrations held in support of the gunmen affiliated with a fringe opposition group. The charges levelled against him stem from one of those rallies that was organized on July 29, 2016 in Yerevan's Sari Tagh neighborhood close to the besieged police base. Riot police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the protesters after they refused to march back to the city center. Several organizers of the protest were arrested and charged with provoking "mass disturbances." All of them except Ghukasian were subsequently released from custody. The 47-year-old also stands accused of planning to have the protesters break through a police cordon, join the gunmen and thus prolong their standoff with security forces, which left three police officers dead. He denies the accusations as politically motivated. Ghukasian continued to insist on his innocence at Tuesday's court hearing in Yerevan. He also said that the prosecution failed to substantiate the charges levelled against him. "This is a clear political order executed by the prosecutor for reasons which I think are obvious to all of us," he charged. More than 60 protesters were injured and hospitalized in the Sari Tagh violence. The police say that 36 of their officers were injured by stones thrown from the crowd shortly before the violent breakup of the protest. In a January report, Human Rights Watch said that the use of force against the protesters was "excessive and disproportionate." The crackdown has also been criticized by Armenian human rights activists. Armenian Police Back Bill Against Domestic Violence . Tatevik Lazarian Armenia - Colonel Nelly Durian (L) of the Armenian police attends parliamentary hearings in Yerevan on domestic violence, 17Oct2017. A senior representative of the Armenian police on Tuesday called for the passage of a government bill aimed at combatting domestic violence and helping its predominantly female victims. The bill drafted by Armenia's Justice Ministry would introduce criminal and administrative liability for specific cases defined as domestic violence. It would also obligate the state to protect female victims by providing them with special shelters or banning their violent spouses from approaching them and even their children. The proposed legislation is strongly backed by women's rights groups campaigning for much tougher government action against the practice. But it has met with fierce resistance from some conservative groups and nationalist public figures. The two sides argued bitterly during a public discussion on the bill organized by the Justice Ministry on October 9. The heated debate continued during hearings on the issue held in the Armenian parliament on Tuesday.Colonel Nelly Durian, head of a national police division dealing with children's rights and domestic violence, was among senior officials who attended and spoke at the hearings. "We have violence within families and must do everything to help its victims, to help children, women and even those individuals who resort to violence," said Durian. "I think that this bill is aimed at doing just that." The police recorded 3,571 cases of domestic violence from 2012-2016. Women's rights groups have long accused the police of being too lenient towards men systematically ill-treating their wives or children and even turning a blind eye to their violent conduct. Armenia - Deputy Justice Minister Vigen Kocharian speaks at parliamentary hearings in Yerevan, 17Oct2017 . Echoing statements by law-enforcement officials, Deputy Justice Minister Vigen Kocharian said that Armenia's existing criminal and family codes do not sufficiently empower relevant authorities to tackle the problem. Hence, the need for a special law against it, Kocharian told the hearings. "About 47 percent of cases of sexual abuse of minors take places in family milieus," the official said. "Some people may not be concerned about this problem, but we are concerned." Hasmik Khachatrian, a young woman who was abused by her husband for almost a decade, also made a case for the bill's passage during the discussion. She said it would protect victims of domestic violence and spare them "the kind of obstacles which I have encountered." The draft, which is due to be debated by the Armenian parliament soon, defines four types of such abuse: physical, sexual, psychological and economic. Some lawmakers asked Kocharian to elaborate on psychological and economic violence, which prompted a particularly heated discussion among participants of the hearings. Press Review "Zhoghovurd" describes as "quite interesting" Monday's meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in Geneva and statements that were made right after the talks. The paper says the talks focused on efforts to ease tensions on the frontline, rather than details of a peaceful settlement proposed by the United States, Russia and France. It believes that "mutual trust" and adherence to the ceasefire regime is indispensable for a breakthrough in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks. "Zhamanak" says the best way for Armenia and Karabakh to deal with the conflict with Azerbaijan is to achieve good governance, social justice and faster economic growth. "Only after taking such steps at home would Serzh Sarkisian get the comprehensive mandate, so to speak, to joyfully talk to [Ilham] Aliyev in a [Geneva] garden," writes the paper. "Parallel to this, Armenia needs peace on the borders and stability in the region in order to solve those issues. In that sense, the Geneva meeting, at least judging from first indications, gives one reason to conclude that even if fundamental progress was not made there, there is a possibility of maintaining the current relative calm for some time." "Aravot" notes that "almost nothing" is known about the substance of the Sarkisian-Aliyev meeting. The paper expects Aliyev to again publicly promise the liberation of "occupied Azerbaijani lands" on his return to Baku. "Most of Azerbaijan's population probably believes in that propaganda," it says. "Otherwise, it would have made no sense [for Azerbaijani leaders] to dish out the same empty promises for 25 years. The Armenian public, which was raised and lives in comparatively freer conditions, on the contrary believes only in negative and pessimistic reports. Today our media outlets will probably come up with headlines like this: `Sarkisian and Aliyev agree on the surrender of five districts,' `Lavrov's infamous plan realized,' `Territorial concessions becoming reality.'" "Haykakan Zhamanak" reports that real estate prices in Yerevan fell to a 10-year low in the first half of this year. "Apartment were not so cheap even in the immediate aftermath of the 2008-2009 crisis," the paper says. (Tigran Avetisian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org