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    Categories: 2017

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 10/17/2017

                                        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
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