Monday, Armenian Mayors Warned Against Engaging In Business Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian arrives for a conference on local government in Yerevan, . Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Monday warned heads of local government bodies in Armenia to stop abusing their position to enrich themselves and their cronies or face prosecution. Speaking at a conference attended by hundreds of local government officials, Pashinian complained that the mayors of many Armenian towns and villages have long owned or benefited from lucrative businesses located in their communities. “I want to make clear that public service cannot and must not be perceived as a business activity by not only the prime minister, ministers and National Assembly deputies but also the community heads and local council members,” he said in a speech at the conference organized by the government. “The primary and sole aim of a state official must be to multiply public, rather than personal or parochial, enrichment,” he said. “And I want us to again conclude that in the new Armenia there can be no such practices or their continuation.” Pashinian said that his government is giving such officials a chance to “change ways in the changing reality.” “Those who don’t make use of that chance will be dealt with by law-enforcement bodies,” he warned. Pashinian and his political team pledged to root out widespread government corruption in Armenia when they swept to power in May on a wave of mass protests commonly known as the “velvet revolution.” There has been a sharp increase in corruption investigations launched by law-enforcement authorities since then. Town and village mayors have been one of the main targets of these inquiries. Investigators have alleged serious misuse and embezzlement of public funds in dozens of communities across the country. Pashinian said that corrupt local officials now hope that his administration’s anti-corruption drive will lose momentum and that they will again be able to line their pockets. “Please do not have such hopes,” he told them. “There will be no return to the old ways. I mean it in the political, economic and all other senses.” “The only thing that will happen in Armenia is the elimination of corruption and corrupt officials,” he added. Conversely, Pashinian pledged support for those local government chiefs who will steer clear of any corrupt practices. “We will do everything to assist and stand by them and make their work more effective,” he said. Official Sanguine About West's Reaction To Armenian Deployment In Syria • Ruzanna Stepanian SYRIA -- A picture taken on March 17, 2018, shows portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at a jewellery shop in Aleppo. A senior Armenian lawmaker expressed confidence on Monday that Western powers will not rebuke Armenia for deploying military personnel to Syria with Russia’s support. The Armenian Defense Ministry sent 83 medics, demining experts and other military personnel to the Syrian city of Aleppo on Friday. It said they will help civilians and clear landmines left behind from the continuing bloody conflict in the Arab state. The ministry attributed the deployment to “the severe humanitarian situation” in Aleppo, “written requests from the Syrian side,” and the existence of an Armenian community in Syria. Andranik Kocharian, the pro-government chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on defense and security, said that the thousands of ethnic Armenians in the war-ravaged city will now “feel safer.” “Our Western partners will definitely understand this [deployment] because we are talking first and foremost about our [ethnic Armenian] compatriots living in Syria,” Kocharian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. Armenia’s plans to send military personnel to Syria were first announced by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in September following his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin held in Moscow. John Bolton, the U.S. national security adviser, discussed the issue with Pashinian and Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan when he visited Yerevan in October. Bolton warned them against sending combat troops to aid Syrian government forces or their allies. The United States and the European Union have been very critical of the Russian military intervention in Syria which helped President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime gain the upper hand in the brutal civil war. The Armenian deployment came as Tonoyan held talks in Moscow with Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu.The latter thanked Yerevan for its “humanitarian assistance” to Syria. Armenia - Andranik Kocharian, the chairman of the parliament committee on defense and security, January 30, 2019. Kocharian claimed that the Armenian government itself initiated the dispatch of the sappers, medics and other servicemen tasked with protecting them. Russia is “naturally very happy” with their deployment, he said. Meanwhile, a senior opposition lawmaker denounced the government for sending the contingent to Syria without consulting with the Armenian parliament. “The authorities constantly talk about a transparent work style and increasing [the government’s] accountability. This action runs counter to that,” said Gevorg Gorgisian of the Bright Armenia Party (LHK). “Maybe [the deployment] was necessary,” said Gorgisian. “But they should have talked about that. The National Assembly should have known why they are doing that.” Gorgisian also warned of the move’s possible negative “consequences” for Armenia’s relations with the U.S. and the EU. Ex-Minister Suspends Membership In Armenia’s Former Ruling Party • Naira Nalbandian Armenia - Justice Minister Arpine Hovannisian speaks to journalists during a congress of the ruling Republican Party, November 26, 2016. Former Justice Minister Arpine Hovannisian said on Monday that she has suspended her membership in the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) in order to start a law practice and run a new think-tank. She indicated that she will join the ranks of those attorneys who do not hesitate to defend presently unpopular individuals. Hovannisian, 35, served as justice minister from 2015-2017 before becoming a deputy speaker of the former Armenian parliament elected in April 2017. She has been one of the most vocal HHK critics of the country’s current leadership which ousted HHK leader Serzh Sarkisian from power last spring. The once powerful party narrowly failed to clear the 5 percent vote threshold to enter the new parliament elected in December. It is still headed by Sarkisian. In a Facebook post, Hovannisian announced that she is joining, as a partner, a law and consulting firm that was recently founded by Davit Harutiunian, another senior HHK figure and former justice minister. An HHK representative told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that Harutiunian remains formally affiliated with the party. At least two other former members of Sarkisian’s government also work for the firm called Davit and Partners. Hovannisian, who is a lawyer by education, also revealed that she has set up a non-governmental organization that will analyze political developments and propose solutions to challenges facing Armenia. “I will continue my active involvement in political and social processes, carry out in-depth analyses of decisions made [by the authorities] and will not shy away from voicing strong criticism if need be,” she wrote. “It is essential that my views voiced at this stage are not viewed in the light of a political trajectory or party affiliation. This is especially important in the context of my decision to set up a non-governmental organization,” the former minister added, explaining the suspension of her HHK membership. Turkey Returns Tractor Stolen From Armenian Farmer • Satenik Kaghzvantsian Armenia -- Gor Karapetian, a farmer from Haykavan village, shows his tractor that was stolen on the Turkish border in September, . Authorities in Turkey have found and transported back to neighboring Armenia a tractor that was stolen from an Armenian farmer in September. Gor Karapetian, who lives in a village in the northwestern Shirak province, was cutting hay near an Armenian-Turkish border post when his tractor broke down late in the evening. The vehicle vanished before he came back to the grass field the next morning in hopes of repairing it. An Armenian law-enforcement body launched a criminal investigation after Karapetian alerted Russian border guards deployed along the closed frontier. The investigation was suspended three months later, with no suspects identified. The tractor was subsequently found in Turkish territory. Turkish authorities shipped it back to Armenia on February 6. “We towed it back to the village,” Karapetian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “They say that the tractor was found buried under hay.” The farmer said that the 30-year-old tractor was looted and vandalized by the thieves. They also stole a hay rake that was attached to the tractor, he said, adding that he did not get it back. “[The hay rake] is worth 2.5 million drams ($5,200) and the tractor 7.2 million drams,” claimed Karapetian. He said he does not know who could compensate him for the damage. Turkey has kept its border with Armenia completely closed since 1993 because of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Despite tight security on the Armenian side of the frontier, residents of nearby Armenian villages have occasionally reported cross-border theft of their livestock. Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2019 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org