RFE/RL Armenian Report – 10/05/2018

                                        Friday, 

France Bids Farewell To Charles Aznavour


France - Pallbearers carry the coffin of French-Armenian singer Charles 
Aznavour into the courtyard at Les Invalides military museum in Paris, 5 
October 2018.

France paid a moving national homage on Friday to Charles Aznavour, the late 
French singer of Armenian descent, in a ceremony in Paris attended by President 
Emmanuel Macron and Armenia’s leaders.

Aznavour died at one of his homes in southeaster France on Monday at the age of 
94. He will be buried on Saturday in a cemetery west of Paris.

Aznavour’s coffin was carried into the courtyard of Les Invalides military 
museum to the sound of haunting music played from a duduk, a traditional 
Armenian flute. An army band then played the national anthems of Armenia and 
France.

"Some heroes become French by spilling their blood. This son of Greek and 
Armenian immigrants, who never went to secondary school, knew instinctively 
that our most sacred sanctuary was the French language," and used it like a 
poet, Macron said at the ceremony

“In France, poets never die,” he added, standing before the coffin draped in 
the French national flag.


FRANCE -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (L) and French President 
Emmanuel Macron attend the national homage to French-Armenian singer-songwriter 
Charles Aznavour at the Invalides in Paris, October 5, 2018

The French president also praised Aznavour’s “loyalty to his roots.” “Armenians 
of all countries, today I am thinking of you,” he said. “He was supposed to be 
one of us next week in Yerevan, his absence will leave a giant void.”

Macron will travel to the Armenian capital for a state visit and a summit of 
Francophonie, a loose grouping of French-speaking nations. He revealed on 
Monday that he had asked Aznavour to join him on the trip.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian also delivered a eulogy at the farewell 
ceremony attended by Aznavour’s family and dozens of dignitaries, including 
former French Presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy and actor 
Jean-Paul Belmondo.

Pashinian hailed the legendary signer as a “great Frenchman” who “breathed a 
new life into Armenian pride.”

Pashinian also spoke of Armenians’ “special respect” for France. “I want to 
express the gratitude of the Armenian people to the French state and the French 
people for giving shelter to Armenian survivors of the genocide [in Ottoman 
Turkey,]” he said.


Armenia - People bring flowers and candles during a gathering in memory of 
singer Charles Aznavour, who died aged 94, in Charles Aznavour Square in 
Yerevan, Armenia October 1, 2018

Aznavour, who sold more than 100 million records in 80 countries, was born 
Shahnour Varinag Aznavourian in Paris to Armenian parents. His global fame made 
him the most renowned member of France’s influential Armenian community.

The crooner was at the forefront of the community’s efforts to help victims of 
a catastrophic earthquake that devastated much of northern Armenia in 1988. He 
regularly visited the country in the following decades. A square in downtown 
Yerevan was named after him in 2001.

In 2004, Aznavour received Armenia’s highest state award, the title of National 
Hero, in recognition of his support for his ancestral homeland. Then President 
Robert Kocharian praised him for “presenting Armenia to the world.”

Kocharian’s successor, Serzh Sarkisian, granted Aznavour Armenian citizenship 
in 2008. A year later Sarkisian appointed him Armenia’s ambassador to 
Switzerland and international organizations headquartered in Geneva. Aznavour 
played a largely symbolic role in that capacity.

The Armenian government has declared Saturday a day of national mourning.




Tsarukian Softens Opposition To Snap Elections In December

        • Astghik Bedevian

Armenia - Opposition leaders Gagik Tsarukian (L) and Nikol Pashinian speak to 
reporters after a meeting in Yerevan, 2 May 2018.

Gagik Tsarukian has indicated that his Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) is ready, 
in principle, to back Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s efforts to force snap 
parliamentary elections in December.

“If the people want the pre-term parliamentary elections to be held in December 
then so do we,” Tsarukian told his Kentron TV channel in an interview aired 
early on Friday.

On Tuesday, the BHK helped former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party 
(HHK) to push through a bill that could make it harder for Pashinian to ensure 
the dissolution of the current Armenian parliament in the coming weeks.

The premier reacted furiously to the development, accusing the BHK and as well 
another coalition partner, Dashnaktsutyun, of involvement in a 
“counterrevolutionary” conspiracy. He also scrapped his power-sharing 
agreements with the two parties reached in May.

BHK representatives insisted as recently as on Wednesday that the fresh 
elections should be held in May or June, rather than in December, as is 
demanded by Pashinian. Like HHK leaders, they argued that political forces need 
time to amend the Electoral Code and property prepare for the ballot.

With his televised remarks, Tsarukian signaled a softening of the BHK’s 
position on the issue.

A senior BHK figure, Mikael Melkumian, clarified later in the day that 
Tsarukian’s party will not object to the holding of the elections in December 
if “equal conditions” are put in place for all contenders and major amendments 
to the Electoral Code are enacted.

“If all that can be done at the end of October or the beginning of November we 
can hold [elections in December,]” Melkumian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service 
(Azatutyun.am). “What matters to us is substance, not timing,” he said.

Under Armenia’s constitution, early elections can be called only if the prime 
minister steps down and lawmakers fail to elect his or her successor in the 
next two weeks. Pashinian has pledged to tender his resignation this month. He 
has warned lawmakers against replacing him with someone else.

Speaking to Kentron, Tsarukian also insisted that his party is not engaged in 
any “counterrevolutionary” activity. “The prime minister should look for 
counterrevolutionary individuals within his own team,” he said without 
elaborating.

In that context, the tycoon flatly denied any cooperation with Sarkisian or 
another former president, Robert Kocharian.




Armenian President Honored By U.S. Think-Tank

        • Emil Danielyan

U.S. - Armenian President Armen Sarkissian (C) receives the EastWest 
Institute's John Edwin Mroz Global Statesman Award at a ceremony held in New 
York, 3 October 2018.

A U.S. think-tank focusing on conflict resolution has given a prestigious award 
to Armenian President Armen Sarkissian, citing his “statesmanship” and 
“contributions to global development.”

Sarkissian received the John Edwin Mroz Global Statesman Award from the 
EastWest Institute (EWI) at its annual gala held in New York late on Wednesday.

“At a time when Armenia is undergoing a profound period of transition, Dr. 
Sarkissian has been entrusted with bringing about stability and offering a new 
vision for his country’s path towards a more democratic and prosperous future,” 
said the EWI chairman, Ross Perot Jr.

“Capably navigating his country through this spring’s Velvet Revolution, Dr. 
Sarkissian once again demonstrated the true value of statesmanship for the 
greater good,” he added at the event attended by dozens of dignitaries, among 
them Armenia’s, Georgia’s and Russia’s permanent representatives to the United 
Nations.

Sarkissian, who has been the EWI’s vice-chairman emeritus since 2005, lived in 
Britain for nearly three decades before the Armenian parliament elected him 
president of the republic in March this year. Armenia’s ensuing transition to a 
parliamentary system of government meant that unlike the previous heads of 
state, he has largely ceremonial powers.


Armenia - President Armen Sarkissian (L) meets with opposition leader Nikol 
Pashinian in Republic Square in Yerevan, 21 April 2018.

The 65-year-old former scholar was sworn in on April 9 a week before the start 
of dramatic protests against his predecessor Serzh Sarkisian’s attempt to hold 
on to power by becoming prime minister. The new president tried to defuse the 
resulting political crisis in the country.

In particular, he helped to arrange an April 22 meeting between protest leader 
Nikol Pashinian and Serzh Sarkisian, which ended in failure. With the 
nationwide mass protests continuing unabated, Sarkisian resigned the following 
day. Pashinian, 43, was elected prime minister by the parliament two weeks 
later.

Armen Sarkissian expressed delight at what he described as democratic change. 
“We must be proud of today’s Armenia,” he said on May 9.

Sarkissian sounded optimistic about Armenia’s future when he spoke at the EWI 
ceremony in New York. “The 21st century is the century when things will be done 
and ruled by new ideas, by new research conducted by those who are quick, by 
those who are young and energetic regardless of how old they are … And I do 
truly believe that the 21st century is Armenia’s century,” he said.

“We are a small state but a global nation,” the president went on. “There are 
not many nations of that sort. I do believe that small states but global 
nations that have the global connectivity can get together and build their own 
country. “


U.S. - Armenian President Armen Sarkissian addresses the EastWest Institute's 
annual gala in New York, 3 October 2018.

A physicist and mathematician by education, 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 Armenia’s 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 Britain and made a fortune there in the 
following decade, working as an advisor and middleman for Western corporations 
doing business in the former Soviet Union. He was appointed as Armenian 
ambassador to Britain for a third time in 2013.




Press Review



Lragir.am reacts to Prosperous Armenia (BHK) party leader Gagik Tsarukian’s 
latest comments on the issue of snap parliamentary elections. “He skirted the 
main question,” comments the online publication. “If the BHK does stand for 
pre-term elections why are his parliament deputies opposed to that? Why did the 
BHK initiate and vote, together with the HHK, for the amendments to the 
National Assembly statutes which are aimed at scuttling the pre-term elections 
in December?” It also notes that Tsarukian’s interview with his Kentron TV 
station was aired two hours later than it was supposed to.

“Tsarukian’s interview testifies to the fact that he was dealt a fairly strong 
blow on October 2 and that blow showed,” writes “Zhamanak.” “The BHK leader 
sough to prove, in a state of certain panic and confusion, that he stands with 
the people and that if the people want the elections to be held in December 
they don’t mind that.” The paper too wonders why BHK deputies voted for the 
controversial bill on October 2.

“Zhoghovurd” says Tsarukian’s interview was keenly anticipated. “Tsarukian’s 
emphases were noteworthy, leaving the impression that the velvet revolution 
happened mainly because of him,” comments the paper. “Tsarukian categorically 
denied having ties with former Presidents Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian.”

(Lilit Harutiunian)


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