Monday, Tsarukian Responds To Government, Denies Breaking Law • Gayane Saribekian Armenia - Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukian holds an election campaign meeting in Gyumri, December 6, 2018. Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) leader Gagik Tsarukian on Monday dismissed pro-government lawmakers’ claims that he may be engaged in entrepreneurial activities in breach of Armenia’s constitution and laws. Tsarukian responded to parliament speaker Ararat Mirzoyan in writing as he risked being stripped of his parliament seat because of the alleged violation. The ruling My Step alliance led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian implicitly threatened last week to expel Tsarukian from the parliament amid mounting tensions with the BHK, which controls the second largest group in the National Assembly. In a letter to Tsarukian, Mirzoyan said there are “legitimate concerns” and “reasonable” doubts about the BHK leader’s compliance with a constitutional provision that bars parliament deputies from engaging in business. The speaker publicized the letter on Thursday just hours after law-enforcement authorities pledged to investigate a small pro-government party’s claims that Tsarukian is flouting that ban. Tsarukian and his associates had long denied such claims, saying that while he owns dozens of businesses they are not run by him on a day-to-day basis. The tycoon reiterated these assurances in a detailed written response to the speaker released by his spokesperson. “I do not hold any position in any of the commercial firms founded by me and do not personally participate in their management,” he wrote. “Therefore, I object to your evaluations regarding the subject matter formulated as ‘justified concerns’ and ‘reasonable suspicions.’” Tsarukian said that the “artificial” questions raised about his business interests are aimed at tarnishing his reputation.He claimed that he has never used his 16-year-long membership in the parliament to further those interests. Mirzoyan and other critics have cited, among other things, Tsarukian’s recent calls for the government to impose hefty tariffs on imports of cement to Armenia. The tycoon owns the country’s largest cement plant which is increasingly struggling to compete with cheaper cement imported from neighboring Iran. He has warned that it could lay off the vast majority of its 1,100 workers. Tsarukian insisted that he is primarily concerned about the fate of those workers, rather than profits made by the Ararat Tsement plant. He also said there is nothing wrong with his publicized contacts with local and foreign businesspeople considering investing in Armenia. “I have for years used my personal connections and standing solely for the development of Armenia’s economy and strengthening of the country,” he added. Meanwhile, Lilit Makunts, My Step’s parliamentary leader, complained on Monday that the existing legal provisions meant to separate business from politics are not specific enough. “We must eliminate that loophole as soon as possible,” Makunts told reporters. “The line between business ownership and management is too fine,” she said. “Right now it’s impossible to tell what amounts to involvement in business and what doesn’t.” Armenian Businessman Freed From Custody • Artak Khulian Armenia - Davit Ghazarian, the owner of Spayka company, speaks to journalists, March 26, 2019. The official owner of Armenia’s largest food exporting company accused of tax evasion has been released from custody after paying the government 1 billion drams ($2.1 million). In a weekend statement, the State Revenue Committee (SRC) said a prosecutor has decided to set Davit Ghazarian free because there are no longer “grounds” for holding him in detention and because he has made the hefty payment “within the framework of the criminal case.” The statement did not give further details. One of Ghazarian’s lawyers, Arsen Sardarian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that the businessman was released on Friday, just three days after Armenia’s Court of Appeals refused to grant him bail. Ghazarian’s Spayka company reposted the SRC statement on its Facebook page but did not officially comment on the development as of Monday evening. Ghazarian was arrested one month ago after the SRC charged that Spayka evaded over 7 billion drams ($14.4 million) in taxes in 2015 and early 2016. The accusations stem from large quantities of foodstuffs which were imported to Armenia by another company, Greenproduct. The SRC says that Greenproduct is controlled by Spayka and that the latter rigged its customs documents to pay fewer taxes from those imports. Ghazarian has strongly denied any ownership links to Greenproduct. He said on April 5 that the SRC moved to arrest him after he refused to pay the alleged back taxes. Sardarian told the “168 Zham” newspaper on Saturday that the tax evasion charges against his client have not been dropped and that he might have to make more payments to the SRC. “Calculations still need to be done,” the lawyer said. “The criminal proceedings will end only when they the calculations are over and they reach agreement on that issue.” Armenia -- A commercial greenhouse belonging to the Spayka company, April 19, 2017. Spayka is Armenia’s leading producer and exporter of agricultural products grown at its own greenhouses or purchased from farmers in about 80 communities across the country. The company employing about 2,000 people also owns hundreds of heavy trucks transporting those fruits and vegetables abroad and Russia in particular. In a series of statements issued last month, Spayka claimed that because of Ghazarian’s arrest its mainly foreign creditors are withholding further funding for the company. It said it may therefore not be able to buy large quantities of agricultural produce from Armenian farmers this year. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian dismissed those warnings on April 9. He said he is confident that the food giant will carry on with the wholesale purchases. As recently as on March 26, Pashinian attended the inauguration of a cheese factory built by Spayka in Yerevan. Spayka was already fined about 2.5 billion drams ($5 million) for profit tax evasion in July last year. Ghazarian said before his arrest that he agreed to pay the “unfounded” fine in order to have the company’s bank accounts unfrozen. Armenian Lawmaker ‘Accused Of Assault’ • Nane Sahakian Armenia - Arsen Julfalakian, an Armenian parliament deputy and former world wresling champion. A man in Yerevan reportedly claimed to have been beaten up on Sunday by Arsen Julfalakyan, a prominent Armenian wrestler and pro-government parliamentarian, and his equally famous father. Police said on Monday that the 63-year-old man, Sergey Mkhitarian, was taken to the city’s Erebuni hospital after suffering physical injuries. The incident is being investigated, a police spokesman told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. The Erebuni director, Mikael Manukian, said Mkhitarian was discharged from the hospital after doctors examined him and found that there is “nothing dangerous” in his injuries. According to Shamshyan.com, Mkhitarian claimed that he was punched and kicked by Julfalakyan and the latter’s father Levon during a dispute. The Julfalakyans were questioned at a police station in Yerevan later on Sunday, reported the crime news website. Mkhitarian did not return phone calls and could not be reached for comment. Arsen Julfalakyan denied assaulting him. Julfalakyan is a former world and European wrestling champion who was elected to the Armenian parliament on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s My Step alliance’s ticket in December. The 31-year-old still competes for Armenia in international wrestling tournaments. His father is the head coach of Armenia’s national Greco-Roman wrestling team. Levon Julfalakyan is also a former Olympic, world and European champion. Arsen Julfalakyan revealed on Monday that he, his father and Mkhitarian co-own a café in Yerevan. They met on Sunday to discuss business, he said, adding that Mkhitarian required hospitalization because he “felt unwell” during the conversation that was “a bit more tense than usual.” In a Facebook post, Julfalakyan insisted that “there was no brawl or physical violence.” “I can’t imagine what would happen if I (and my father together with me) beat up someone, what consequences that could have,” he wrote. Sharp Pay Rise For Yerevan Mayor Criticized • Artak Khulian Armenia -- Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutian speaks to journalists, February 15, 2019. Opposition members of Yerevan’s municipal assembly denounced Mayor Hayk Marutian on Monday for planning to double his and his top aides’ salaries. Under a bill drafted by his office, Marutian’s monthly salary is to rise from 575,000 drams to 1.2 million drams ($2,500). His deputies would earn 947,000 drams, a large sum in a country where the average wage stands at 177,000 drams. The bill also calls for similarly sharp pay rises for other high-ranking members of the mayor’s office. Most of them have been appointed by Marutian. A much larger number of other, lower and mid-ranking municipal workers would have their salaries raised by around 30 percent. Citing this disparity, the two opposition groups represented in the city council, the Luys (Light) bloc and the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), said they will vote against the bill when it is debated later this week. “The heads of [Armenia’s] National Security Service, police, State Oversight Service or State Revenue Committee would get lower salaries than some municipality officials,” argued Davit Khazhakian, the Luys leader. “Regional governors would earn less than deputy heads of Yerevan’s administrative districts,” he said. “We have 22 deputy district chiefs.” The BHK’s Mikael Manrikian also criticized the proposed measures as unfair. Manrikian said Marutian should on the contrary double the wages of his rank-and-file staffers and opt for a more modest pay rise for himself and other senior officials. The mayor’s spokesman, Hakob Karapetian, dismissed the criticism, saying that the uneven increases in salaries are mandated by Armenian law. Karapetian claimed that the mayor would have liked to keep his own salary unchanged but cannot do so because of those legal requirements. Marutian has already been under opposition and media fire in recent months over a worsening situation with garbage collection in Yerevan. He has pledged to significantly improve it in the coming months. A former TV comedian, Marutian, 42, is a senior member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s My Step alliance. He became mayor as a result of the September 2018 municipal elections in which My Step won 80 percent of the vote. The governing bloc controls 57 seats in the 65-member city council, putting it in a position to easily enact the controversial bill. Japan Donates More Fire Engines To Armenia Armenia -- Japanese fire engines donated to Armenia at a ceremony in Yerevan, May 6, 2019. The government of Japan donated 14 fire engines to Armenia on Monday at a ceremony in Yerevan attended by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. Officials said that 22 more such vehicles as well as other firefighting equipment will be delivered to the country later this year as part of a $14 million aid program launched by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2017. The first batch of those fire trucks will be provided to three provincial divisions of the Armenian Rescue Service (ARS). Firefighters in the Shirak, Lori and Syunik provinces are already being trained by Japanese instructors, according to an Armenian government statement. The Japanese ambassador to Armenia, Jun Yamada, said outdated firefighting equipment used in those regions complicates the ARS’s ability to prevent and cope with fires. “Natural disasters frequently occur in Armenia, which is an obstacle to the development of rural areas,” Yamada said in a speech delivered in Armenian. “That is why Japan finds it imperative to assist Armenia in the area of disaster prevention.” The Japanese government had already donated 28 fire engines worth $8 million to firefighters in Yerevan in 2010. Speaking at the ceremony, Pashinian thanked Japan for this and other aid provided to Armenia since its independence. “It must be pointed out that Japanese aid has been particularly significant for our capacity to guard against natural disasters,” he said. “That includes the fight against landslides, seismic stability, modernization of the firefighting service and other activities.” “Armenia is always ready to strengthen friendly relations and cooperation with Japan,” added Pashinian. “I believe there are many things that unite our peoples.” Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono visited Yerevan and met with Pashinian in September. 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