Monday,
11 Fined For Vote Buying In Yerevan
• Marine Khachatrian
Armenia - Mayor Taron Markarian votes in municipal elections in Yerevan,
14May2017.
An Armenian court on Monday fined a former senior local government official and
ten other people after convicting them of buying votes for the former ruling
Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) in the 2017 municipal elections in Yerevan.
The criminal case stems from irregularities that were reported by the
opposition Yelk alliance on eve of the May 2017 elections won by the HHK and
its top candidate, Yerevan’s former Mayor Taron Markarian.
Yelk representatives found scandalous documents in a trash bin outside an HHK
campaign office in the city’s Arabkir district. Most of them purportedly
detailed vote buying operations by government loyalists, including sums of
money and guidelines on how to buy votes.
Armenia’s Special Investigative Service (SIS) launched an inquiry but closed
the criminal case in August 2017, citing a lack of evidence.
The SIS launched a fresh probe shortly after one of Yelk’s leaders, Nikol
Pashinian, swept to power on a wave of mass protests that brought down
Armenia’s HHK-led government in May 2018. It claimed to have found compelling
evidence of vote buying in favor of the HHK.
According to the law-enforcement body, the illegal operation was led by Hrayr
Antonian, the head of a department at Yerevan’s municipal administration, and
Stepan Sahakian, the executive director of a supermarket chain owned by an
HHK-linked businessman. Arabkir residents were allegedly paid 10,000 drams
($21) each for pledging to vote for the HHK and Mayor Markarian. The latter
resigned under government pressure in July.
The district court imposed the heaviest fines on Antonian and Sahakian. They
will have to pay 2.5 million drams ($5,200) each.
Prosecutors demanded 3-year prison sentences for both men. It was not
immediately clear whether they will appeal against the court verdict.
Daniel Ioannisian, a prominent civic activist, criticized the verdict as too
lenient, saying that the defendants were part of a “criminal gang that aimed to
steal power from the people of Yerevan.” “I hope that the prosecutors will
appeal against this verdict,” Ioannisian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.
Vote buying was widespread in just about every major election held in Armenia
before last spring’s “velvet revolution.” The HHK, which is headed by former
President Serzh Sarkisian, was accused by its opponents and media of heavily
relying on the practice in the last parliamentary polls held in April 2017.
There were virtually no reports of vote buying in snap mayoral elections held
in Yerevan in September and the December parliamentary elections.
Sarkisian ‘Questioned In 2008 Probe’
• Nane Sahakian
Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian attends a parliament session in Yerevan,
May 31, 2012.
Former President Serzh Sarkisian has reportedly been questioned by
Armenian-law-enforcement authorities as a witness in their ongoing
investigation into the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan.
According to the “Haykakan Zhamanak” daily and Hetq.am, the interrogation took
place on Friday and lasted for about six hours. Both media outlets also said
Sarkisian will be summoned for further questioning.
The Special Investigative Service (SIS), which is conducting the probe, did not
deny or confirm the reports on Monday. “Haykakan Zhamanak” is run by Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian’s wife, Anna Hakobian.
The SIS has charged Sarkisian’s predecessor Robert Kocharian and three retired
army generals with overthrowing the constitutional order in the wake of a
disputed presidential election held in February 2008. The vote formalized the
handover of power from Kocharian to Sarkisian, his preferred successor.
The main opposition presidential candidate, Levon Ter-Petrosian, rejected the
official election results as fraudulent, staging nonstop demonstrations that
were broken up on March 1-2, 2008. Eight protesters and two policemen were
killed in vicious streets clashes in Yerevan on that night.
The SIS blamed the Ter-Petrosian-led opposition for the bloodshed until last
spring’s “velvet revolution” which brought Pashinian to power. But it now says
that Kocharian illegally used army units against the protesters in order to
enforce the vote results.
Kocharian, who denies the accusations as politically motivated, was again
arrested in December. Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenian strongly
condemned the arrest, saying that Pashinian is exacting “personal revenge”
against the man who ruled the county from 1998-2008.
Yerevan Confirms Purchase Of Russian Fighter Jets
• Ruzanna Stepanian
RUSSIA -- An Su-30 fighter jet of the Russian air force launches a missile
during maneuvers in southern Russia, September 27, 2018
Armenia’s Defense Ministry on Monday confirmed that it has purchased four
multirole fighter jets from Russia and hinted at more such acquisitions in the
future.
The ministry spokesman, Artsrun Hovannisian, insisted that the Sukhoi Su-30SM
jets will significantly strengthen the Armenian armed forces. Getting hold of
four of them is “not our final desire,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government showed a strong interest in
acquiring such aircraft shortly after taking office in May last year. Defense
Minister Davit Tonoyan said in December that Moscow and Yerevan are now close
to signing a relevant contract.
Hovannisian said that the delivery of the four jets will mark the “initial
phase of the contract.” “That such multirole, heavy and powerful fighter jets
can change the military balance [in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict] regardless
of their number -- and four is not our final desire -- is obvious,” he said.
“In any case, even four [Su-30SM jets] can make a difference,” added the
official.
The Armenian Air Force has had no fighter jets until now. It currently consists
of 15 or so low-flying Su-25 jets designed for air-to-ground missions.
The Russian newspaper “Kommersant” reported on Friday that Yerevan will buy
four Su-30SMs at internal Russian prices set well below international
market-based levels and use a Russian loan to pay for them. It did not specify
their total price.
Hovannisian refused to disclose the cost of the acquisition, saying that that
is “classified information.”He also stressed that Armenia is eligible for major
discounts in arms deals with Russia because of its membership in the
Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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