Friday, 

Sarkisian Warns Against Armed Revolts


Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian awards a medal to a National
Security Service officer in Yerevan, 22Dec2017.

President Serzh Sarkisian on Friday warned against attempts to
forcibly depose his government and told Armenia's most powerful
security agency to step up its "fight against terrorism."

"In Armenia, no issue will be solved through violence and weapons,"
Sarkisian said in a speech delivered at the National Security Service
(NSS).

"I want to advise those who will try to attain their personal or
parochial interests with illegal methods to refrain from adventurism,"
he said. "Our law-enforcers are prepared to counter # any
manifestation jeopardizing constitutional order."

He pointed to the NSS's and other law-enforcement agencies' response
to the July 2016 seizure of a police station in Yerevan by armed
members and supporters of a radical opposition group.

The gunmen demanded that Sarkisian free the jailed leader of their
Founding Parliament movement, Zhirayr Sefilian, and step down. They
surrendered to security forces after a two-week standoff which left
three police officers dead.

Sarkisian stated the day after their surrender that any further
attempts to effect political change in Armenia by violent means would
also fail. "Yerevan is not Beirut or Aleppo. Let nobody try to import
Cold War-era solutions from the Middle East to Armenia," he said in a
clear reference to Sefilian's Lebanese background.

Addressing senior NSS officers on Friday, Sarkisian said Armenia may
now face a greater risk of terrorist attacks due to its geography, a
"special external environment" or even a growing number of foreign
tourists visiting the country. "You must therefore be vigilant," he
said. "I think that your counterterrorism actions need to be further
intensified."

In that context, the president mentioned last week's meeting of his
National Security Council which focused on "the fight against
terrorism." The council approved a new plan of actions designed to
prevent such violence in view of the "high degree of terror threats in
the region" and the changing nature of contemporary
terrorism. Sarkisian's office gave no details of that plan.

The council meeting came the day after the NSS announced that
law-enforcement authorities in Yerevan have issued an arrest warrant
for a U.S. citizen of Armenian origin accused of calling for and
plotting politically motivated violence in Armenia.

An NSS statement said that the suspect, identified as R.K, opened
recently a fake Facebook account to promote a radical group
campaigning for a violent overthrow of the Armenian government. It
claimed that the group called Fighters for Justice (MHA) has also
sought to recruit disgruntled Armenians willing to carry out violent
attacks on government and law-enforcement officials.

The "Haykakan Zhamanak" daily revealed afterwards that the suspect
facing arrest in Armenia is Robert Koorkian, a resident of
California. Speaking to the paper, Koorkian did not deny opening the
social media account but insisted that he never plotted any violence.

The Facebook page declared on December 6 that MHA has embarked on "the
second phase of armed struggle" launched by the jailed gunmen
currently standing trial.

The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan said on December 15 that it is cooperating
with the Armenian authorities in their probe but did not elaborate.



France Reaffirms `Strong' Ties With Armenia


France - French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (L) meets with his
Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian in Paris, 22Dec2017.

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian met with his Armenian
counterpart Edward Nalbandian in Paris on Friday for talks which the
French Foreign Ministry said highlighted close relations between their
countries.

"This meeting provided an opportunity to underscore the strength of
the ties between France and Armenia," the ministry said in a
statement.

"The two ministers commended the quality of the political dialogue
between the two countries, as well as the importance of our
cooperation, one of the greatest successes of which is the French
University of Armenia, which has educated several thousand Armenian
students over the last 20 years. They agreed on the need to maintain
this momentum, notably in the economic sphere," it added.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry similarly reported that Nalbandian and
Le Drian praised the "privileged" French-Armenian relationship
reflecting, in large measure, the existence of a sizable and
influential Armenian community in France.

Armenia will underline that rapport when it hosts next year a summit
of Francophonie, a grouping of over 70 mainly French-speaking
nations. French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to attend the
summit in Yerevan. Preparations for the gathering were also on the
agenda of the Paris talks.

Macron was endorsed by leading French-Armenian organizations ahead of
a second round of voting in France's April-May 2017 presidential
election. He pledged to ensure "continuity" in France's policy towards
Armenia.

Nalbandian and Le Drian further discussed the implementation of the
Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) which Armenia
and the European Union signed late last month. According to
Nalbandian's press office, they agreed that the landmark deal will
give "new impetus" to bilateral French-Armenian ties as well.

With France co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group with the United States
and Russia, the two ministers also spoke about recent developments in
the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.

"Jean-Yves Le Drian assured his Armenian counterpart of France's full
commitment to supporting the efforts of the Co-Chairs of the Minsk
Group to encourage a negotiated resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict," read the French statement. "He underscored the importance
of implementing the decisions made by the Armenian and Azerbaijani
presidents during their meeting in Geneva on October 16."

At that meeting Presidents Serzh Sarkisian and Ilham Aliyev pledged to
intensify the long-running negotiation process and bolster the
ceasefire regime in the conflict zone. Their foreign ministers
reported further progress after follow-up talks held in Vienna earlier
this month.



Head Of Armenian Lawyer Association Also Opposes Court Fines


 . Naira Bulghadarian


Armenia - The chairman of the Chamber of Advocates, Ara Zohrabian,
gives a press conference in Yerevan, 21Jan2014.

The head of Armenia's national bar association joined on Friday some
of its members in criticizing a government bill that would allow
judges to fine lawyers for contempt of court.

The bill passed by the Armenian parliament in the first reading sets
the maximum amount of such fines at 100,000 drams ($210). Justice
Minister Davit Harutiunian defended the proposed measure on November
30, saying that it is needed to increase public respect for the
Armenian judiciary.

"It would mean that if a lawyer objects to an unlawful action by a
judge they could be fined by the judge," said Ara Zohrabian, the
chairman of the Chamber of Advocates. "And lawyers could face millions
[of drams] in fines."

Zohrabian said this could only "inhibit" attorneys representing
criminal suspects or litigants in civil cases. The Judicial Code does
not protect them against "unscrupulous judges," he told a news
conference.

Zohrabian did not deny a connection between the bill and ongoing tense
trials of radical opposition members arrested last year. They have
been frequently disrupted by bitter wrangling between the presiding
judges and the defendants and their lawyers. The latter have been
routinely barred from hearings for contempt of court.

Some of those lawyers went on a brief strike on Thursday to protest
against the fines sought by the government.

"It's obvious that this is connected with the continuing trials," one
of the lawyers, Nina Karapetiants, told RFE/RL's Armenian service
(Azatutyun.am)."There is no other explanation."

Karapetian said the Chamber of Advocates should protest more
vigorously and even threaten to organize a general strike of lawyers
if the authorities refuse to give up the punitive measure.



Armenia Backs UN Resolution Rejecting Trump's Jerusalem Move


 . Lusine Musayelian


U.S. -- The voting results are displayed on the floor of the United
Nations General Assembly in which the United States declaration of
Jerusalem as Israel's capital was declared "null and void", in New
York, 

Armenia was among 128 countries that voted late on Thursday for a UN
General Assembly resolution rejecting Washington's decision to
recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Key U.S. allies, including Britain, France, Germany, and Japan, also
backed the non-binding resolution calling for the assembly to declare
U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital "null and void."
Russia also voted in favor of it.

Thirty-five countries abstained, including Australia, Canada, Mexico,
and the Philippines. Along with the United States and Israel, those
voting against the resolution were: Guatemala, Honduras, Marshall
Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Togo.

U.S. President Donald Trump had warned of potential cuts in foreign
aid to nations that went along with the resolution.

"We're watching those votes," Trump said on Wednesday. "Let them vote
against us, we'll save a lot. We don't care."

The U.S. ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, echoed that warning ahead
of the assembly vote. In a reported letter to some countries, Haley
said "the president will be watching this vote carefully and has
requested I report back on those countries who voted against us." "We
will take note of each and every vote on this issue," she wrote.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Yerevan's decision
to vote for the resolution reflected its unchanged position on the
issue.

"We closely monitor all developments related to Jerusalem," the
ministry spokesman, Tigran Balayan, told RFE/RL's Armenian service
(Azatutyun.am). "With regard to positions regarding Jerusalem taken
recently, we agree that they cannot prejudge the determination of
Jerusalem's final status through negotiations."

Trump announced on December 6 his decision to recognize Jerusalem as
Israel's capital and to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv,
triggering international condemnation and protests across the Muslim
world.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas called the largely
symbolic UN vote a "victory for Palestine." But Israel rejected it and
thanked Trump for his "unequivocal" stance.



Press Review



"Haykakan Zhamanak" says that the Armenian economy is on course to
grow by 7 percent this year and make it harder for President Serzh
Sarkisian to find an excuse for possibly replacing Prime Minister
Karen Karapetian. "In the tacit confrontation between Serzh Sarkisian
and Karen Karapetian, this could give Karapetian an additional trump
card," writes the paper. "And if there have really been no discussions
yet within the [ruling] HHK elite on the candidacy of the next prime
minister then one can guess that not everything has been decided
yet. But that is just a guess." It speculates that the authorities may
be trying to give the public "positive signals" and making it "forget"
about Sarkisian until next spring.

"Although Serzh Sarkisian is in no rush to announce that he is going
to occupy the post of prime minister after April 9, everything is
clear even without such an announcement," says "Zhamanak." "The new
provisions of the constitution that will come into force on April 9
are simply tailor-made for Serzh Sarkisian. Members of Serzh
Sarkisian's entourage claim that he wants to say while taking up the
post of prime minister that he will continue to deal with foreign
policy and defense and that socioeconomic issues will be dealt with by
the deputy prime ministers and ministers."

"Chorrord Ishkhanutyun" dismisses Sarkisian's latest calls for
combatting corruption in the country. The paper argues that he has
made such statements throughout his political career.

"It has been a while since the authorities started trying to
demonstrate that they are extremely busy fighting against corruption
with strictest methods," writes "Zhoghovurd." The paper says that the
Council of Europe's Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) came up
with a "totally different evaluation" in a report released on
Thursday. The report says that so far the Armenian authorities have
"satisfactorily" implemented only five of 18 anti-graft
recommendations made by GRECO. "Admittedly, such evaluations could be
expected," says the paper. "Right from the beginning it was clear that
the authorities' actions in the fight against corruption are just
imitations. They rather speak out against those vicious practices than
take real steps.

(Elen Chilingarian)


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