Monday, 

Ruling Party Figure Wants Sarkisian To Stay In Power


 . Harry Tamrazian


Armenia -- Armen Ashotian, a deputy chairman of the Republican Party
of Armenia, speaks to RFE/RL in Yerevan.

President Serzh Sarkisian should continue to govern Armenia after
completing his final presidential term in April, a deputy chairman of
his Republican Party (HHK) said over the weekend.

"I think that given the security, foreign policy and economic
challenges [facing Armenia,] the best solution would be to continue
the ongoing work in the existing internal and external environment
under Serzh Sarkisian's leadership," Armen Ashotian told RFE/RL's
Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

Ashotian said he is therefore ready to nominate Sarkisian's candidacy
for the post of prime minister at the end of the latter's decade-long
presidency.

Ashotian stressed at the same time that he is only expressing his
personal opinion and that the president and the HHK have still not
made a "final decision regarding April." "There has also been no
reaction yet from [foreign] diplomatic circles," he added.

In an interview with the Armenia TV channel aired late on Thursday,
Sarkisian again declined to clarify what he is planning to do after
serving out his second five-year term. He said that "the time has not
yet come" for him to announce whether he will become prime minister or
take up another state post.

Armenia will also switch in April to a parliamentary system of
government, meaning that most of the sweeping powers currently enjoyed
by the head of state will be given to the country's prime
minister. The current Armenian premier, Karen Karapetian has
repeatedly indicated his desire to retain his post.

Sarkisian said on Thursday that Karapetian is "very acceptable and
useful to us as a prime minister and as a person." But he said the HHK
leadership will weigh up all factors before deciding "who can do a
better job where."

The televised remarks were construed by another senior HHK lawmaker,
Khosrov Harutiunian, as a further indication that Sarkisian will stay
on in power as prime minister. That is "the most likely and logical"
scenario, he said.



Student Leader Resumes Protests Against New Law On Military Draft


 . Narine Ghalechian


Armenia - Student leader Davit Petrosian gives a press conference in
Yerevan, 23Nov2017

An Armenian youth activist went on hunger strike on Monday in protest
against the government's controversial decision to essentially abolish
temporary exemptions from military service that have long been enjoyed
by many students of state-run universities.

The activist, Davit Petrosian, was one of the organizers of a series
of street demonstrations held by disgruntled students this fall. The
protests did not stop the Armenian parliament from passing a relevant
government bill.

Petrosian and several other protesting students already went on hunger
strike on November 14. Although the bill was passed in the second and
final reading the following day they ended the protest and agreed to
hold talks with representatives of the government and the National
Assembly.

The first such meeting took place on November 22, with the protest
leaders submitting proposals relating to an Armenian law on compulsory
military service. Government officials insisted afterwards that the
amended law will not undergo more changes.

Announcing the fresh hunger strike in a video message posted on the
Internet, Petrosian complained that the government has refused to make
any major concessions. He dismissed government assurances that
students boasting "remarkable achievements" will be exempt from
military service on a case-by-case basis.

Draft-age male students having government scholarships have until now
been allowed to perform the two-year service after completing their
undergraduate or graduate studies. Under the amended law, draft
deferments will be granted only to those students who will agree to
undergo parallel military training and serve in the Armenian army as
officers for three years after graduation.


Armenia - Students demonstrate outside Yerevan State University,
8Nov2017.
Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian, the key author of the controversial
bill, said during parliament debates in October that it would close a
key loophole for evading military service and reduce "corruption
risks" among military and university officials. He said that less than
one-fifth of recipients of such deferments have eventually served in
the army.

Other officials argued that the vast majority of male students have
already been drafted to the armed forces in the past several years
because of having to pay tuition fees.

The protesting students, backed by the opposition Yelk alliance, say
the new rules will prevent many students from becoming scientists or
scholars. They also say that the amended law will not prevent sons of
many senior government officials, pro-government politicians and
wealthy businesspeople from dodging military service.

Joined by another student, Petrosian began the hunger strike inside an
auditorium of Yerevan State University (YSU), the focal point of the
recent protests.The YSU rector, Aram Simonian, criticized the protest
action as "untimely" and said it "cannot have any positive outcome."

Speaking to RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am), Simonian also
said that Petrosian and other protest leaders attended last week a
conference in Poland organized by U.S. philanthropist George Soros's
Open Society Foundations. "They probably got some assignments there,"
he claimed.

Vahan Hovtanian, another protest organizer, laughed off Simonian's
claim.



U.S.-Based Firm Gears Up For Gold Mining In Armenia


 . Anush Mkrtchian


Armenia - The U.S.-based company Lydian International builds a gold
mine at the Amulsar deposit, 9Dec2017. (Photo by Lydian Armenia)

A U.S.-British company said on Monday that it expects to finish next
year the ongoing construction of a massive gold mine in Armenia that
will sharply increase the country's gold exports.

The company, Lydian International, started building its gold mining
and smelting facilities at the Amulsar deposit in the southeastern
Vayots Dzor province in August 2016 after years of preparation and a
licensing process administered by the Armenian government. It has
since hired more than 1,000 Armenian workers for the construction
which it says will cost $370 million in investments.

"We are constructing the mine and we are about half way through the
construction," Howard Stevenson, Lydian's chairman and chief
executive, told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) in an
interview.

Stevenson said the company has already become Armenia's 19th largest
corporate taxpayer. "Amulsar's success will also be a success for
Armenia because our positive economic impact on this country will be
significant," he said.

Hayk Aloyan, the executive director of Lydian's Armenian subsidiary,
said last month that the company plans to produce 210,000 ounces of
gold annually, which will be worth over $260 million at current
international prices.

According to government statistics, Armenia exported around $100
million worth of gold in 2015. The bulk of that export revenue,
equivalent to 6.5 percent of overall Armenian exports, was generated
by a Russian company operating big gold mines at Sotk, eastern
Armenia. The company, GeoProMining, also owns a gold processing plant
in Ararat, a small town 50 kilometers southeast of Yerevan.

The Armenian government gave the green light for the Amulsar project
despite strong opposition from local environment protection groups
which say that it poses a serious threat to the local ecosystem and
livelihoods of farmers living in nearby villages. They also point to
the gold deposit's proximity to Jermuk, the country's most famous spa
resort.


Armenia- Lydian International CEO Howard Stevenson speaks to RFE/RL in
Yerevan.
Stevenson, whose company is registered in a British tax haven but
headquartered in the U.S. state of Colorado, sought to allay those
fears. He insisted that the forthcoming mining operation is a "zero
emissions project" that will use advanced technology and meet
environmental standards. "Our project will have no impact on water
resources in the area and on Jermuk as well," he said.

Stevenson also ruled out any potential impact on Armenia's
ecologically vital Lake Sevan which is fed by one of the rivers
flowing through Vayots Dzor. "There is no risk that even if we have an
industrial accident we would impact Lake Sevan," he said.

Levon Galstian, one of the environmentalists fiercely resisting the
project, dismissed these assurances. He insisted that with the kind of
technology that it is planning to use Lydian cannot guard against
contamination of soil and water with toxic waste from the Amulsar
mine. That will put Jermuk's famed resorts and mineral water industry
at serious risk, Galstian told RFE/RL's Armenian service
(Azatuyun.am).

The U.S. and British governments strongly support the Amulsar
project. The U.S. ambassador to Armenia, Richard Mills, said earlier
this year that it has been deemed "fully compliant" with environment
protection standards set by the World Bank and the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

A senior EBRD executive said in August 2016 that that Lydian has
committed itself to meeting "the strictest environmental conditions"
set by the London-based lending institution.



Top NATO Official Sees Closer Ties With Armenia


 . Anush Muradian


Armenia - NATO's Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller at a news
briefing in Yerevan, 18Dec2017.

NATO's Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller praised Armenia's
increased cooperation with the U.S.-led alliance and said it will
deepen further when she visited Yerevan on Monday.

Gottemoeller met with President Serzh Sarkisian and other Armenian
leaders for talks that touched upon Armenia-NATO ties and the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"We spoke about current security challenges and how we can take our
cooperation farther," she said after the talks with Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian which preceded her meeting with Sarkisian.

"NATO and Armenia have developed partnership over 25 years," she
said. "Cooperation between NATO and Armenia is in both of our
interests."

"Earlier this year, Armenia agreed to a new Individual Partnership
Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO, and we will be working together more
closely on interoperability, defense education and defense reform,"
added Gottemoeller.

The first Armenia-NATO IPAP was launched in 2006. The current, fifth
such plan approved by NATO in April lists joint activities planned for
2017-2019.

In addition to this policy framework, Armenia has stepped up its
involvement in NATO-led security missions. It currently has 121
Armenian soldiers deployed in Afghanistan and 35 others in Kosovo. A
senior Armenian Defense Ministry official said last week that Yerevan
will continue to participate in these multinational missions in the
years to come.

"We are grateful for Armenia's important contribution to our Resolute
Support mission in Afghanistan and our KFOR peacekeeping mission in
Kosovo," Gottemoeller told reporters.

Sarkisian likewise noted with satisfaction the "developing"
Armenia-NATO ties when he met with the senior NATO official. He also
thanked the alliance for its "assistance provided to Armenia."

The two also discussed recent developments in the Karabakh peace
process.

Meeting with students and professors of Yerevan State University
earlier in the day, Gottemoeller welcomed progress reportedly made at
high-level Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations held in October and
November. NATO hopes for further progress in the peace process, she
said, adding that a Karabakh settlement would have a very positive
impact on the region.



Press Review



(Saturday, December 16)

"Zhamanak" says that President Serzh Sarkisian's latest televised
interview only raised more questions about his political future. "The
situation is really noteworthy," writes the paper. "Serzh Sarkisian
said that he has no idea what he is going to do, has no decision [to
that effect] and will have one `when the time comes.' And yet
representatives of the [ruling] HHK continue to speak of his
premiership and `undisputed' leadership." It suggests that Sarkisian's
decision to become prime minister is still not a forgone conclusion.

"Zhoghovurd" notes that Sarkisian also did not exclude that some of
the former senior state officials will return to government
soon. "Serzh Sarkisian just said that everyone will be looked at on a
case-by-case basis," the paper says, pointing to his remark that "I
have a lot of respect for those people who have served the Republic of
Armenia." "But I don't mean to say that those persons are
irreplaceable," the president added. The paper speculates that he may
have referred to people such as former Prime Minister Hovik
Abrahamian, former Finance Minister Gagik Khachatrian, former Defense
Minister Seyran Ohanian, former Transport Minister Gagik Beglarian.

"Haykakan Zhamanak" writes on serious problems with the implementation
of an expensive government project to refurbish Armenia's main
highways. The paper says that the so-called North-South project cannot
move forward without the government taking more and more
multimillion-dollar loans. "For that reason, they will cut funding for
other spheres and that trend will constantly deepen," it claims. "But
the most terrible thing is that there has still not been a serious and
convincing analysis on how that highway will contribute to Armenia's
economic development. The debt incurred for the sake of building it is
so large that in order to repay it Armenia needs not just economic
growth but rapid economic growth. And such a prospect does not await
Armenia, at least in the short term."

(Artur Papian)



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