Friday, January 19, 2017

Sarkisian's Pick For Next Armenian President Announced


 . Emil Danielyan


Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian (R) meets with Armenian Ambassador
to Britain Armen Sarkissian in Yerevan, 19Jan2018.

President Serzh Sarkisian officially confirmed on Friday that he wants
a former Armenian prime minister currently serving as Armenia's
ambassador to Britain to succeed him as head of state in April.

Meeting with Ambassador Armen Sarkissian (no relation), he said the
governing board of his ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK)
unanimously accepted late on Thursday his proposal to nominate the
prominent diplomat for the post of president of republic.

Sarkissian, who has lived in London for nearly three decades, did not
immediately accept the nomination. He said he needs to hold
consultations with major political parties, civic groups, prominent
intellectuals and "business circles" before making a "final decision."

"And if I make a decision [to accept the nomination] after those
meetings I will strive to perform the duties of Armenia's president
with honor and to live up to the confidence which I have heard from
you and your party comrades and which I hope to also hear from other
fellow citizens," added the 64-year-old former scholar.

The end of Sarkisian's decade-long presidency on April 9 will complete
Armenia's transition to a parliamentary system of government. It means
that most of the presently sweeping presidential powers will be
transferred to the prime minister and his cabinet.

Also, the next president will be elected by the parliament, rather
than popular vote, as has been the case until now. The ruling HHK
controls the majority of seats in the National Assembly. It is
therefore in a position to install Sarkisian's pick for the next
president.

The outgoing president, who could remain in power as prime minister,
said earlier this week that his successor should be a renowned but
politically inexperienced individual who speaks foreign languages and
has "broad connections" in Armenia and its worldwide Diaspora.

In remarks publicized by the presidential press office, he clarified
on Friday that the next president must be "politically prepared and
hardened but not politicized." "He must be able to organize dialogue
between various political forces and, if necessary, ease tensions
between various strata of the society," he said, adding that Armen
Sarkissian fits the bill.

"You are an acclaimed scholar, you held the post of Armenia's prime
minister, you have a great deal of diplomatic experience, and this is
the reason why we have seriously considered your candidacy," Serzh
Sarkisian told the ambassador.

The president also expressed hope that should he decide to accept the
HHK offer Sarkissian would try to win the backing of the three other
political groups represented in the National Assembly. Those are the
HHK's junior coalition partner, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation,
Gagik Tsarukian's alliance and the opposition Yelk bloc. Yelk fielded
its own presidential candidate late last year.

A physicist and mathematician by education, Armen Sarkissian worked at
the Cambridge University when he was appointed as newly independent
Armenia's first ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1991. He served as
prime minister for four months in 1996-1997 before being again named
ambassador in London.

His second ambassadorial stint was cut short in 1999 by then President
Robert Kocharian. Sarkissian stayed in London and went on to work as a
senior advisor to major Western corporations such as BP, Alcatel and
Bank of America. He also founded and ran the Eurasia Center of a
Cambridge University business school from 2001-2011. He was appointed
as Armenian ambassador to Britain for a third time in 2013.

Sarkissian, who is thought to have made a big fortune in the UK in the
2000s, has rarely commented on political developments in Armenia. He
said on Friday that Armenia is now entering a "period of big changes"
that should turn it into a "more democratic country."



Government Reports Strong Growth In 2017


Armenia - Workers at a new textile factory in Yerevan, 5Oct2017.

Armenia's economy grew by around 6.7 percent last year after
stagnating in 2016, the Finance Ministry said on Friday.

Finance Minister Vartan Aramian and other senior ministry officials
presented preliminary macroeconomic data for 2017 at a meeting with
Prime Minister that focused on the economic situation in the country.

The Armenian government had forecast a 3.2 percent growth rate for
2017 more than a year ago. It revised that target upwards to 4.3
percent in September.

In its World Economic Outlook released in October, the International
Monetary Fund said that Armenian growth will reach 3.5 percent. For
its part, the World Bank said earlier this month that the Armenian
economy was on course to expand by 3.7 percent in 2017.

According to a government statement on Friday's meeting, the Finance
Ministry leadership attributed the 6.7 percent growth estimate to the
better-than-expected performances of the services and construction
sectors. It also cited a 7.3 percent rise in the government's 2017 tax
revenue and a 13.4 percent surge in cash remittances from abroad.

Karapetian told the ministry officials that 2018 will be an "extremely
important" year for the domestic economy. "This year we must lay the
groundwork for long-term sustainable growth and [growing] capital and
other spending," he said, according to the statement.

In its policy program approved by the Armenian parliament in June,
Karapetian's cabinet committed itself to achieving an annual growth
rate of around 5 percent in 2017-2022. The program describes rising
exports as "the key engine" of that growth, saying that the government
will strive to facilitate Armenian manufacturers' access to Russia,
the EU and other foreign markets.

Official statistics show that Armenian exports soared by 23.5 percent
in 2017.



Tsarukian In No Rush To Back Presidential Candidate


 . Astghik Bedevian


Armenia - Businessman Gagik Tsarukian attends a meeting between
President Serzh Sarkisian and Armenian parliament leaders in Yerevan,
12Jan2018.

Armenia's second largest parliamentary force led by businessman Gagik
Tsarukian was in no rush to endorse on Friday a presidential candidate
nominated by the outgoing President Serzh Sarkisian's Republican Party
(HHK).

A senior member of the Tsarukian Bloc, Naira Zohrabian, said it will
wait and see whether the potential candidate, Armen Sarkissian,
accepts the nomination. "We will formulate a position when Armen
Sarkissian makes a final decision," she told RFE/RL's Armenian service
(Azatutyun.am).

Tsarukian earlier did not rule out the possibility of throwing his
weight behind an HHK presidential candidate. He also said that his
bloc, which claims to be in opposition to the government, will not
field a presidential candidate of its own.

Armen Sarkissian told the outgoing president earlier on Friday that he
needs "some time" to decide whether to accept the nomination. He said
he will make that decision after holding consultations with leaders of
Armenia's main political groups.

Under the Armenian constitution, the parliament must choose the next
president of the republic by March 10, one month before the end of
Serzh Sarkisian's final term. A presidential candidate has to be
backed by a three-fourths and two-thirds majority of lawmakers in
order to win in the first and second rounds of voting respectively.

A simple majority of votes is enough to win the presidency in the
third round. The HHK has such a majority in the National Assembly.

Nevertheless, Serzh Sarkisian stressed the importance of
multi-partisan support for his preferred successor. He said he
therefore hopes that Armen Sarkissian would win outright in the first
round.

In that case, Sarkissian would need the backing of at least 79 members
of the 105-seat parliament. The ruling HHK and its junior coalition
partner, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun),
control 65 seats between them, compared with 31 seats held by the
Tsarukian Bloc.

Dashnaktsutyun's parliamentary leader, Artem Rustamian, also made
clear that his party has yet to decide whether to vote for Armen
Sarkissian. Still, he spoke highly of the man currently serving as
Armenia's ambassador to Britain.

"We have known Mr. Sarkissian and have had relations with him for a
long time," Rustamian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

The opposition Yelk alliance, the fourth group represented in
parliament, moved to field its own presidential hopeful, Artak
Zeynalian, late last year. The constitution stipulates that only those
individuals who are endorsed by at least 27 deputies can run for
president. Yelk holds 9 parliament seats. It appears to have failed to
win the Tsarukian Bloc's support for Zeynalian's candidacy.



Armenian Opposition Supporters Rally Against Price Hikes


 . Karlen Aslanian


Armenia - Leaders and supporters of the opposition Yelk alliance hold
an anti-government demonstration in Yerevan, 19Jan2018.

The opposition Yelk alliance rallied hundreds of supporters in Yerevan
on Friday to protest against recent increases in the prices of fuel
and some foodstuffs which it blames on government policies.

The price rises were caused, in part, by new tax legislation mandating
higher excise duties on fuel, tobacco and alcohol. The cost of
gasoline, diesel fuel and liquefied natural gas used by most vehicles
in Armenia rose by over 10 percent immediately after it went into
force on January 1.

Yelk leaders demanded that the authorities reverse the higher taxes
when they addressed the crowd before it marched through downtown
Yerevan, chanting "Reduction!"They said that the price hikes are
increasing poverty in the country.

"We are saying no to price hikes and demand a reduction of the tax
rates that led to the higher prices of basic products," said one of
them, Nikol Pashinian. "We are demanding price and tax cuts."

Pashinian repeatedly urged Armenians to take to the streets in larger
numbers and heighten the pressure on the authorities. But speaking to
reporters, he downplayed the relatively poor attendance at the protest
and said the Yelk campaign will gradually gain momentum. The outspoken
oppositionist claimed that Yelk will soon hold "the biggest and most
decisive rally in Armenia's history."

Another Yelk leader, Aram Sarkisian, insisted in a speech that the
opposition bloc will pull larger crowds in March and April after many
Armenians feel the impact of the higher prices more acutely. The next
Yelk rally is scheduled for February 5.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetian downplayed that impact when he
answered questions from Yelk leaders on the parliament floor on
Wednesday. He insisted that consumer price inflation in Armenia
remains low. Karapetian also defended the increased tax rates, saying
that the government needs more revenue to boost its expenditures and
repay foreign loans.

For his part, President Serzh Sarkisian held on January 10 an
emergency meeting with senior state officials to discuss ways of
mitigating socioeconomic consequences of the price hikes. Sarkisian
also initiated parliamentary hearings on the issue which will be held
on Tuesday.

Other, more radical opposition groups refused to join Friday's
protest, saying that Yelk is not campaigning for regime
change. Pashinian rejected that criticism. He said that the opposition
cannot seriously threaten the authorities' hold on power without
forcing them to scrap the rate hikes first.



Press Review



"Zhamanak" discusses growing indications that Armenia's ambassador to
Britain, Armen Sarkissian, will become the next president of the
republic. The paper dismisses as an oversimplification a widely held
belief that Serzh Sarkisian wants his successor to be a weak and
"easy-to-manage" figure. "It is hard to imagine that Armen Sarkissian
needs to end his activities abroad to work as a figurehead president
in Armenia," it says. "Sarkissian's appointment is a further
indication that what is happening in Armenia is a transformation of
the existing pyramid-shaped internal political system into a more
multi-layered and complex system."

"Aravot" hopes that the choice of Armen Sarkissian heralds the start
of major changes within the ruling elite. The paper says that that
elite mostly consists of thuggish individuals at present.

"Chorrord Ishkhanutyun" claims that Serzh Sarkisian wanted to make
Armenia "part of the Russian Empire" when he decided in 2013 to seek
its entry into the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). To that
end, it says, he decided to "eliminate the institution of the
president" and "create a de facto one-party system" where all major
decisions are made by his coterie. "Serzh Sarkisian has successfully
accomplished that by changing the constitution," writes the
pro-opposition daily.

"Zhoghovurd" reports that Armenia's public debt continued to rise in
2017, reaching $6.77 billion in December. "Note that a large part of
this debt -- $6.17 billion -- is the government's debt," the paper
says. "Karen Karapetian's government is no different from the previous
ones. In order to solve current day-to-day issues his government too
takes new loans, leaving it to Armenia's citizens to repay them."

(Tigran Avetisian)


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