Monday, 13 Charged Over Violent Unrest In Armenia • Marine Khachatrian Armenia -- The building of the Investigative Committee in Yerevan. An Armenian law-enforcement agency has pressed criminal charges against 13 men arrested after last week’s violent clashes between riot police and people protesting against a government ban on unauthorized logging in the northern Tavush province. The clashes broke out in the provincial capital Ijevan late on July 17 as several hundred protesters defied police orders to unblock a major highway passing through the town. A dozen police officers and at least two civilians were hospitalized as a result. The Investigative Committee announced on Monday that the arrested men have been formally charged with hooliganism and violent assault on law-enforcement officers. They will risk between four and seven years in prison if convicted. A statement by the Investigative Committee said 10 of the suspects were remanded in pre-trial custody while the three others were set free pending investigation. It said investigators have also arrested another man as part of the ongoing inquiry. A spokeswoman for the committee, Naira Harutiunian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) that law-enforcement authorities are also continuing to hunt for 11 other individuals suspected of involvement in the unrest. Relatives of at least some of the indicted men have said that the latter did not commit violent acts and are unjustly prosecuted. The mother of Vahram Simonian, an arrested Ijevan resident, insisted on Monday that he did not participate in the demonstration. She claimed that Simonian and his father and brother found themselves at the site of protest only because they got stuck in a traffic jam in their car. Simonian’s lawyer, Ara Gharagyozian, said, for his part, that the case against his client is based only on incriminating testimony given by another person. The Armenian police deployed hundreds of officers in Ijevan during and after the unrest. The national police chief, Valeri Osipian, defended the use of force against the protesters when he visited the town on July 18. The protests erupted after authorities moved to stop illegal logging in Tavush forests, which has been widespread for over two decades. The angry protesters accused the Armenian government of depriving them of their sole source of income. Government officials counter that the country’s deforestation has reached dangerous levels. They also say that commercial logging has primarily benefited a small number of timber traders. EU Envoy Praises ‘Excellent’ Ties With Armenia • Sargis Harutyunyan Armenia -- Piotr Switalski, head of the European Delegation in Armenia, at a news conference in Yerevan, . The outgoing head of the European Union Delegation in Yerevan, Piotr Switalski, described the EU’s relationship with Armenia as “excellent” on Monday. “Cooperation between the European Union and Armenia is on the right track,” he told a farewell news conference. Switalski pointed to their “very intensive and friendly political dialogue” involving mutual visits by Armenian and EU leaders and the EU’s “technical missions” to Yerevan focusing on wide-ranging reforms planned by the Armenian government. European Council President Donald Tusk praised the government’s reform agenda during a visit to Armenia earlier this month.He specifically hailed “the focus on creating an independent, efficient and accountable judicial system” after holding talks with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. Switalski reaffirmed the EU’s readiness to support judicial reforms planned by Pashinian’s government with “political, technical and financial” assistance. The financial aid should be made available already this autumn, he said. Switalski also stressed the importance of 25 million euros ($28 million) in additional EU aid to Armenia that will be provided this year. He portrayed the sum as a reward for reforms already implemented in the country. The diplomat singled out the holding in December 2018 of parliamentary elections widely recognized as democratic. The EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, also acknowledged the “democratic reforms” last month when she announced the extra aid after chairing, together with Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian, a session of the EU-Armenia Partnership Council. The CEPA offers the South Caucasus state the prospect of a closer relationship with the EU in return for major political and economic reforms. The 350-page agreement is already being partly implemented despite not having been ratified yet by all EU member states. Armenian Army Switching To Private Canteen Services • Naira Nalbandian Armenia -- Soldiers at the privately managed canteen of a military base in Armavir, July 19. 2019. Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan on Monday defended his decision to gradually outsource the Armenian military’s canteen services to private companies. Armenia’s Defense Ministry has always purchased foodstuffs and delivered them to army bases where they have been cooked and served to soldiers by military personnel. Earlier this year the ministry contracted six private firms that will all army canteens within the next three years. Four army units, all of them training centers for non-commissioned officers, already have their canteens managed by one of the private contractors. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian visited the unit located 50 kilometers west of Yerevan and dined at its new canteen with soldiers late last week. Tonoyan said the main purpose of the change is to improve the quality of soldiers’ food. He indicated that it is also meant to eradicate corruption in food supplies to the armed forces. Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan (second from right) inspect the new canteen of a military base in Armavir, July 19, 2019. “Improving the quality of food within the framework of cooperation between the state and the private sector is the best variant,” he told reporters. “That will be obvious.” “Time will tell whether [the new system] is more expensive or cheaper,” the minister said. “In any case, I don’t think that our soldiers must east cheaper food.” Tonoyan acknowledged that an Armenian company that has become the first military canteen operator is owned by a friend of his. He denied any conflict of interest and expressed confidence that the company, which has until now specialized in imports of medical equipment, will be equal to the task. “I don’t deny that the company chief is doing that at my request because I don’t have another credible option,” he said. “If he fails I will fail too.” “As soon as the five other companies get down to business the process will move forward very fast,” added Tonoyan. Senior Prosecutor Accused Of Bribery Armenia -- Prosecutors attend an event marking the 101st anniversary of the creation of their agency, Yerevan, July 1, 2019. A senior Armenia prosecutor has been charged with large-scale bribery and suspended as a result, it was announced on Monday. Armenia’s Office of the Prosecutor-General said the official, identified by his L. K. initials, demanded last month and subsequently received a “large bribe” for pledging to ensure that a man serving a 10-year prison sentence is released from jail on parole. The bribe was paid by a person close to the convict in several installments, it said in a statement. The statement added that investigators have asked to remand the prosecutor in custody on charges carrying between four and ten years’ imprisonment.It did not say whether he will plead guilty to the accusations. The statement also said that the alleged bribery was exposed by the National Security Service (NSS). It was not clear whether the suspect was caught red-handed. Corruption among Armenian law-enforcement officials and prosecutors in particular has long been a serious problem. According to the statement, Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian has repeatedly warned his subordinates against engaging in corrupt practices, saying that they would receive tougher punishment than other citizens accused of such crimes. The NSS has been behind most of the high-profile corruption investigations conducted in Armenia after last year’s “Velvet Revolution.” The former Armenian branch of the Soviet KGB said on Monday that since May 2018 it has recovered 22.6 billion drams ($47 million) worth of financial “damage” inflicted on the state as a result corruption and other crimes. 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