Tuesday,
Dashnaktsutyun Leader Upbeat On Dialogue With Government
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia - Dashnaktsutyun leaders Armen Rustamian (L) and Hagop Der
Khatchadurian hold a news conference in Yerevan, .
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) is engaged in a
“constructive” dialogue with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian more than three
months after being driven out of his government, a leader of the party said on
Tuesday.
“We see no obstacles and problems in terms of solving our key national issues
together with Mr. Pashinian,” said Armen Rustamian. “We will be doing business
with Mr. Pashinian or anyone else on the basis of our political and ideological
principles. In this sense, I see such room [for cooperation.]”
“We have been talking to Mr. Pashinian in a very constructive atmosphere,” he
told a news conference. “We are making our views clear to each other. So I am
optimistic about our further cooperation.”
Dashnaktsutyun was part of Armenia’s former government toppled during last
spring’s “velvet revolution” led by Pashinian. It received two ministerial
posts in a new government formed by him in May. Pashinian fired his
Dashnaktsutyun-affiliated ministers in October, accusing their party of
secretly collaborating with former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party.
Pashinian expressed readiness for renewed cooperation with Dashnaktsutyun in a
written appeal to delegates of its congress held in Nagorno-Karabakh this month.
The congress began with the announcement of the resignation of the party’s
longtime top leader, Hrant Markarian. The latter was reportedly blamed by some
party figures for Dashnaktsutyun’s failure to win any seats in Armenia’s new
parliament elected on December 9.
In his resignation speech, Markarian strongly criticized the current
government’s policies. He said Dashnaktsutyun should aim for removing Pashinian
and his political team from power in the next general elections.
Rustamian sounded more cautious in this regard. He said his party will not
hesitate to oppose government policies unacceptable to it. He singled out the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Dashnaktsutyun, which remains influential in the Armenian Diaspora communities
in the Middle East, the United States and France, has always favored a hard
line on the conflict’s resolution, opposing major territorial concessions to
Azerbaijan.
Another Court Blocks Arrest Of Former Kocharian Aide
• Naira Nalbandian
Armenian - Armen Gevorgian, a former senior aide to ex-President Robert
Kocharian, speaks to journalists in a court building in Yerevan, January 29,
2019.
Armenia’s Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a lower court’s decision not to
allow investigators to arrest a former senior aide to former President Robert
Kocharian on a string of criminal charges.
Armen Gevorgian was first charged in August with obstructing justice in the
wake of a disputed presidential election held in February 2008 two months
before Kocharian served out his second and final term.
In early December, Armenia’s Special Investigative Service (SIS) also accused
Gevorgian of involvement in an “overthrow of the constitutional order,” bribery
and money laundering. The SIS asked a district court to sanction his pre-trial
arrest.
The court refused to do that, leading prosecutors to lodge an appeal. The
Office of the Prosecutor-General did not immediately say whether it will now
appeal to the Court of Cassation, the country’s highest body of criminal
justice.
Gevorgian’s lawyer, Erik Aleksanian, hailed the appeals court’s “just” ruling,
saying that the prosecutors failed to substantiate their claims that his client
could go into hiding or obstruct the ongoing investigation into the 2008
post-election violence in Yerevan. “We have no doubts about the independence of
our judicial system,” Aleksanian said.
Gevorgian himself was reluctant to talk to reporters, saying that he is not
allowed to divulge details of the probe.
Armenia - President Robert Kocharian (R) and his senior adviser Armen Gevorgian
at an election campaign rally in Yerevan, January 26, 2003.
The SIS brought the three accusations against Gevorgian four days after
Kocharian was arrested on charges of illegally using the armed forces against
opposition supporters who protested in Yerevan on March 1-2, 2008. The SIS says
that amounted to an “overthrow of the constitutional order.”
The former president strongly denies any wrongdoing. He says that Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian is waging a political “vendetta” against him.
The obstruction of justice charge brought against Gevorgian also stems from the
2008 election. Gevorgian was the chief of Kocharian’s staff at the time.
The SIS claims that he pressured a member of Armenia’s Constitutional Court to
uphold the official vote results that gave victory to Kocharian’s preferred
successor, Serzh Sarkisian. Gevorgian, who also held senior positions in
Sarkisian’s government, denies this and other accusations.
The SIS has yet to publicize details of its corruption case against Gevorgian.
It has only said that the latter had received a massive bribe.
Russian, Armenian PMs Speak By Phone After Moscow Meeting
Russia - Prime Ministers Dmitry Medvedev (R) of Russia and Nikol Pashinian of
Armenia meet in Moscow, January 25, 2019.
Four days after meeting with him in Moscow, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian
telephoned his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday for further
discussions on Russian-Armenian commercial ties.
In a short statement, Pashinian’s press service said he and Medvedev talked
about “cooperation within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU)
and bilateral relations.” It gave no details.
A Russian government statement said the phone conversation took place “at the
initiative of the Armenian side.” It said the two premiers “continued
discussions on pressing issues of Russian-Armenian commercial and
investment-related cooperation” which were on the agenda of their Moscow talks
held on Friday. They also touched upon “integration interaction within the
EEU,” the statement added without elaborating.
Official press releases on Pashinian’s January 25 meeting with Medvedev were
also short on specifics. They indicated only that the two men focused on
economic issues. The Russian government also noted that “the meeting took place
at the request of the Armenian side.”
While in Moscow, Pashinian also visited the headquarters of the EEU’s executive
body, the Eurasian Economic Commission. Speaking there, he praised the EEU and
reaffirmed Armenia’s continued membership in the Russian-led trade bloc.
Pashinian did not meet with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin during his latest
trip to the Russian capital. The two men most recently held talks there on
December 27. On December 31, Russia’s Gazprom giant announced a 10 percent
increase in the wholesale price of Russian natural gas imported by Armenia.
Earlier this month, the Armenian government began negotiating with Armenia’s
Gazprom-owned gas distribution network in hopes of keeping its internal tariffs
unchanged. Pashinian has repeatedly expressed confidence that the existing gas
prices set for Armenian households and corporate consumers will not rise this
year.
EU Promises Extra Aid To Armenia In 2019
• Nane Sahakian
Armenia -- EU Commissioner for EU Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations
Johannes Hahn at a news conference in Yerevan, .
The European Union will provide Armenia with additional financial assistance
this year in recognition of democratic change in the country, a senior EU
official said during a visit to Yerevan on Tuesday.
Johannes Hahn, the EU commissioner for European neighborhood and enlargement
negotiations, said Armenia will be rewarded for the “developments of last
year.” He singled out the conduct of the December 9 parliamentary elections,
saying that they are regarded as free and fair by the international community.
“This is something good, something unique so far in Armenia’s recent history,”
Hahn told a joint news conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab
Mnatsakanian held before his talks with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Hahn did not specify the likely amount of the extra EU aid. He said only that
it will be allocated from an EU fund designed to reward partner states’
“special achievements” in the areas of democratization and rule of law.
In July, Pashinian criticized the EU for not boosting its assistance to Armenia
following the “velvet revolution” that brought him to power. The head of the EU
Delegation in Yerevan, Piotr Switalski, countered at the time that the new
Armenian government needs to propose specific reform-oriented projects before
demanding greater aid.
According to Pashinian’s press office, the prime minister and Hahn discussed,
among other things, a possible “expansion of EU-supported development programs
in Armenia” when they met later on Friday.
“They agreed that the implementation of new initiatives in the fields of
infrastructure, education, energy and other areas might be promising,” the
office said in a statement. It said the two sides stressed in this regard the
importance of implementing the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement
(CEPA) signed by the EU and Armenia in 2017.
Hahn described his talks with Pashinian as “open and forward looking.” “I have
reassured the PM that Armenia can count on EU support in implementing CEPA and
introducing comprehensive reforms for the benefit of Armenian citizens,” he
wrote on his Twitter page.
“We need to seize the moment to consolidate democracy, also to the benefit of
the economic development of the country!” added the EU official.
Speaking at the news conference, Hahn said he is also discussing with Armenian
leaders the possibility of organizing an investment forum in Yerevan for
potential European investors. He said their interest in Armenia’s economy has
increased since the “velvet revolution.”
“There is a very positive mood in the country which also has a spillover effect
abroad,” stated Hahn.
Press Review
“Hraparak” notes that former Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian and former
Karabakh army commander Levon Mnatsakanian were among the dignitaries attending
a government reception held on Monday on the occasion of Armenia’s Army Day.
Also invited were former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian and his former deputy
Yuri Khachaturov, who were indicted over the 2008 post-election violence in
Yerevan. The paper welcomes their presence at the event. It also praises Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian for meeting with the new leadership of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). “These are first attempts at
national solidarity and a peaceful coexistence of individuals having different
views and ideologies,” editorializes the paper.
Lragir.am says that other current and former military officials invited to the
reception publicly challenged on Monday law-enforcement authorities’ claims
that the Armenian army was illegally used against opposition protesters in
2008.The online publication suggests that the Special Investigative Service
(SIS) lacks factual evidence to substantiate those claims. Besides, it says,
the SIS chief, Sasun Khachatrian, has faced resignation calls since the
scandalous publication of his secretly recorded phone calls with another top
security official.
“Zhamanak” comments on Pashinian’s weekend meeting with the head and three
other members of Dashnaktsutyun’s newly elected Bureau. The paper agrees with
those who think that Dashnaktsutyun fared poorly in the December 9
parliamentary elections because it had grown too connected to Armenia’s former
governments, sacrificing its principles and ideology. “You may or may not agree
with that ideology but you can’t deny that Dashnaktsutyun has played a huge
role in a number of key issues,” it says, wondering whether the party is now
reforming itself and learning lessons from its mistakes of the last two decades.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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