Wednesday, November 15 2017 Armenian Parliament Adopts Controversial Military Service Law Despite Student Protests November 15, 2017 . Ruzanna Stepanian Armenia - An Against Military Service Bill rally near Parliament building, 15Nov, 2017 Amid continuing protests the Armenian parliament on Wednesday passed in its second and final reading a controversial bill that, in particular, restricts the rights of students to draft deferments. Eighty-six members of the 105-seat National Assembly dominated by the ruling Republican Party of Armenia and its junior coalition partner, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), voted in favor of the legislation, with six lawmakers voting against it. The votes against the bill came from the opposition Yelk faction, whose representative Ararat Mirzoyan before the ballot called on his fellow parliamentarians to vote against the legislation that has sparked protests among students. Hundreds of students of Yerevan State University, Armenia's largest and oldest educational establishment, as well as students from some other universities have held protests against the legislation under which in order to get a draft deferment all male students who want to pursue their studies must sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense and agree to serve three years in the military after completing their studies at the location chosen by the Ministry. Otherwise, the legislation stipulates, the students will be drafted to the army once they attain the age of 18 to serve for two years. The protesting students as well as several opposition political parties and public figures in Armenia believe this measure will only harm the development of science in the country as it will imply interruptions in the education process or will otherwise discourage the few students who want to pursue scientific careers from entering post-graduate studies. To discuss the situation, representatives of the protesting students met with Prime Minister Karen Karapetian, Education Minister Levon Mkrtchian and Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian last week. After the meetings, however, students continued their protests, including the boycott of classes, saying that they were not satisfied with the government's approach. Five members of the group called "For Science Development" locked themselves in a lecture room at Yerevan State University on Tuesday, declaring they had gone on a hunger strike. One of the protesters felt bad and was attended to by ambulance medics later that day. Four of the activists continued their hunger strike, refusing to leave the room despite calls from the university's rector. They, however, joined the protest outside the parliament building today. Activists who rallied in front of the National Assembly in Yerevan today said they were determined to continue their struggle despite the adoption of the law. Defense Minister Sargsian, who initiated the legislation as part of his Nation-Army doctrine, and other government officials say the main purpose of the legislation is not to man the military, but to restore justice among those male students who get draft deferments and exemptions from military service and those who don't. They believe the new law on army service and the status of servicemen will not harm science in any way, but will only eliminate corruption by closing a key loophole to avoiding compulsory military service. Israeli Company Under Probe After `Kamikaze' Drone Scandal In Azerbaijan November 15, 2017 . Gevorg Stamboltsian Nagorno-Karabakh -- An Israeli-made Azerbaijani "suicide" drone is shot down in the Martakert district, 4Apr2016 Police in Israel have launched a criminal investigation against a leading kamikaze-drone manufacturing company that had a deal with Azerbaijan on the supply ofdeadly unmanned aerial vehicles allegedly live tested on Armenian forces. Aeronautics Defense Systems (ADS) appeared in the center of a scandal last August when the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported that during the visit of the company's officials to Baku the capabilities of the Orbiter 1K drones were demonstrated to the Azerbaijani side through an attack on Armenian army positions. Another Israeli newspaper, Maariv, claimed that two Israeli drone operators working for the company rebuffed Azerbaijani officials' demand to demonstrate the use of the `suicide' drone by hitting an Armenian position with it. But other, more senior ADS executives agreed to launch the deadly craft on the target, but the strike missed the target, according to Maariv. ADS denied the report. Now a week after the visit of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian to Israel, the country's police have come up with an official statement: "An investigation is ongoing against Aeronautics Defense Systems Ltd. in regards to a deal with a significant customer." Even though the Israeli police do not specify the name of the "significant customer", most of the local media believe the matter concerns Azerbaijan. "The Israel Police's Unit of International Crime Investigations# is leading the investigation. News of the investigation came out on Monday as an Israeli court approved a gag order for the case, limiting the information that can be published about it," The Times of Israel writes. According to the same source, the gag order shows that the company has been under investigation since at least September 4, a few weeks after the initial allegations came out regarding its live-fire demonstration against an Armenian military position. Still in September a senior Armenian military official welcomed Israeli authorities' reported decision to halt exports of Israeli-made kamikaze drones to Azerbaijan. Deputy Defense Minister David Pakhchanian said that Israeli arms dealers have repeatedly struck Armenian targets at the behest of Azerbaijani officials. During his visit to Israel last week Armenian Foreign Minister Nalbandian met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials. In an interview with Israeli Public Television, the top Armenian diplomat said that Armenia has held "very open and positive" discussions with Israel regarding large-scale sales of Israeli-made weapons to Azerbaijan. "Arms trade is not trade in vegetables and it always has a dark side that could have some negative consequences," Nalbandian told the Israeli broadcaster. "What is important in Armenia's relations with Israel is that we have no taboo issues in our discussions, and even sensitive questions we are discussing openly and trying to find ways out." "We are discussing [the matter] in a very open and very positive way," he added when asked about Yerevan's expectations from the Israeli government on the arms deals with Baku. He did not elaborate. Nalbandian did not specifically say whether he discussed with Netanyahu the recent scandal involving the alleged live testing of an Israeli-made drone on an Armenian army position last summer. Armenian, Russian Presidents Meet In Moscow November 15, 2017 Russian President Vladimir Putin greets his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian at the Kremlin, Moscow, 15Nov 2017 Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Wednesday as part of his working visit to Moscow. According to a report released by the Kremlin, the two leaders discussed "interaction of the two countries in the political and economic spheres, in the sphere of security and humanitarian cooperation." Putin reportedly also thanked the Armenian president for his efforts on the organization in Moscow of an exhibition dedicated to the opening of the Days of Armenian Culture in Russia. "Advancement of Russian-Armenian cooperation is evident in all directions," President Sarkisian said in his turn. "Close contacts between our people, cultural, educational, scientific ties are of particular important to us." Later today the Armenian and Russian leaders visited the Tretyakov Gallery where works by Armenian painter Martiros Sarian are currently exhibited. According to the information released by the Armenian president's press office, during the meeting the sides also addressed the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process. No details, however, were presented. It is expected that the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov, will discuss Karabakh settlement on Thursday at a meeting to be held through the mediation of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Minsk Group, which is jointly headed by Russia, the United States and France. At a press conference in Baku on Wednesday Mammadyarov said that Azerbaijan does not want "negotiations to be held for the sake of negotiations." "We demand concrete results," he said. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to pay visits to Armenia and Azerbaijan early next week. Russia's TASS news agency on Tuesday quoted Lavrov as saying that his trips to Yerevan and Baku will be related to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Russian-Armenian and Russian-Azerbaijani diplomatic relations. Still, the top Russian diplomat said that international issues will also be discussed during the meetings. "We will try to understand at what stage our efforts on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement are after the meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Geneva," Lavrov said. Armenian President Sarkisian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev pledged to intensify the peace process and bolster the ceasefire regime in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone when they met in the Swiss city on October 16. Armenian Students Halt Protests Pending `Roundtable Discussions' November 15, 2017 . Karlen Aslanian Armenia - Student activist David Petrosian (center) and Deputy Parliament Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov talk to reporters after their meeting, 15Nov, 2017 Leaders of a student movement protesting against a controversial law restricting the rights of young men to draft deferments for academic purposes have declared a halt in their weeklong protests after agreeing with a senior parliamentarian on the organization of a relevant roundtable discussion next week. The decision was announced by David Petrosian, a leading activist involved in the protests, after his and four other protesters' meeting with Eduard Sharmazanov, a deputy speaker of parliament and senior member of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). Representatives of the HHK and its junior coalition partner, Dashnaktsutyun, which enjoy a comfortable majority in the 105-seat National Assembly, voted 86 to 6 to pass the controversial bill in the second and final reading at a session earlier today. The only votes against the bill came from the opposition Yelk faction. Under the legislation, in order to get a draft deferment all male students who want to pursue their studies must sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense and agree to serve three years in the military after completing their studies at the location chosen by the Ministry. Otherwise, the legislation stipulates, the students will be drafted to the army once they attain the age of 18 to serve for two years. Critics of the legislation argue that the measure will discourage a lot of students from pursuing scientific careers and will eventually harm the development of science in the country. Proponents of the law, including Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian, see no such risks. They point out that the law will give a fairer treatment to all students and will reduce corruption by closing a key loophole to avoiding compulsory military service. Students who have participated in protests since November 7, including the boycotting of classes and hunger strikes, delegated five representatives for a meeting with lawmakers inside the National Assembly after rallying there for several hours. After emerging from the meeting that was held behind closed doors activist Petrosian and deputy parliament speaker Sharmazanov announced that a roundtable discussion with the participation of all stakeholders will be held on November 22. "We have discussed three main things. The guys proposed a roundtable discussion and we as the National Assembly, a body for dialogue, are ready to engage in it," said Sharmazanov. "This roundtable discussion will be attended by all stakeholders, including scientists, scholars and lecturers named by these students. Both the issue of draft deferments and various other issues of concern to students will be discussed. All that will be public and transparent. Today we have proved that we are ready to listen to every citizen of the Republic of Armenia and particularly our students." Sharmazanov said that they, at the same time, asked the protesters to stop their boycotting of classes, demonstrations and hunger strikes "because we are entering a constructive phase." The senior lawmaker said that a lot of things envisaged by the law will have to be elaborated in government decisions and that an offer was made to members of the student group to make relevant proposals. Petrosian, for his part, said: "We are trying to be as constructive as possible and contribute to the formation of our civil, political culture. And our top goal is to have a positive impact. At this moment we consider this to be the best option among possible options and declare that all those people who would like to be present at the round table as our representatives can contact us. We are ready to sit down with everyone to discuss the format so that people who really have arguments can have an opportunity to present them." "As for the hunger strike, the hunger strike was, of course, a means to make our voice heard. At this moment, this means has worked and that's why it is necessary to stop it and get ready for the round table," he added. To the question whether there will be further protests, Petrosian said: "If there is an arrangement about a roundtable discussion# What will be after the round table will be after the round table# The boycotting of classes until the round table is halted." Press Review November 15, 2017 "Haykakan Zhamanak" lambastes the government for ignoring the demands of students protesting against a controversial bill restricting their rights to draft deferments. "The government does not even think about how to settle this situation to both satisfy the demands of the young people and make reforms in the army. They simply say they don't give a damn about the protest held by only several hundred students and are not going to do anything. Moreover, in the parliament yesterday pro-government lawmakers even hinted that behind the student movement there are forces and countries that do not want the Armenian army to be strong." The editor of "Aravot" also writes on the topic ironically: "In Armenia people are good at exposing conspiracies. When you don't like something, you at once start saying: I know where it comes from. And since we are largely influenced by Russian political culture, this vague center of evil has concrete names - the West, Jews, Masons, the world's power center, the LGBT community and, of course, [George] Soros. Ideas that all the dark forces of the world are preoccupied with doing something bad for Armenia and Armenians come from the narrow world outlook." "Zhamanak" says that a possible escalation of the situation connected with the protests of students against the controversial law on army service and the status of servicemen is "very undesirable" against the backdrop of the planned signing of a new accord between Armenia and the European Union. "This is a very important event for Armenia and the region, including in terms of defense and security. Any destabilization of the domestic situation in Armenia is fraught with various risks for the accord," the daily writes. Ahead of President Serzh Sarkisian's visit to Moscow where he is scheduled to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "Zhoghovurd" writes: "It is remarkable that the visit precedes the signing of a new framework agreement between Armenia and the European Union planned for November 24. It is difficult to say whether the September 2013 scenario will be repeated this time. Back then, after meeting with Putin, Sarkisian refused to initial a similar accord with the EU. So far, the Armenian authorities have been giving assurances that nothing imperils the signing of the new accord with the EU. But considering the fact that Sarkisian behaves like the leader of an `outpost' country in front of the Russian president, no development is excluded." (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