RFE/RL Armenian Report – 10/28/2019

                                        Monday, 

Armenia Marks 20th Anniversary Of Parliament Killings

        • Naira Nalbandian

Armenia -- People lay flowers at a memorial to the victims of the October 1999 
deadly attack on the Armenian parliament, Yerevan, .

Armenia’s top government officials and politicians attended on Sunday an 
official ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of an armed attack on the 
Armenian parliament which left its popular speaker Karen Demirchian, Prime 
Minister Vazgen Sarkisian and six other officials dead.

They were killed by five gunmen who burst into the National Assembly and 
sprayed it with bullets on October 27, 1999, six months after parliamentary 
elections won by Demirchian’s and Sarkisian’s Miasnutyun (Unity) alliance. The 
gunmen led by an obscure former journalist, Nairi Hunanian, accused the 
government of corruption and misrule and demanded regime change.

They surrendered to police after overnight negotiations with then President 
Robert Kocharian. They were subsequently tried and sentenced to life 
imprisonment.

Throughout their marathon trial Hunanian insisted that he himself had decided 
to seize the parliament without anybody's orders. But many in Armenia still 
believe that he and his henchmen had powerful sponsors outside the parliament 
building.

Some relatives and supporters of the assassinated officials still suspect 
Kocharian and his successor President Serzh Sarkisian (no relation to Vazgen), 
who was Armenia’s national security minister in October 1999, of masterminding 
the killings to eliminate increasingly powerful rivals. Both men repeatedly 
dismissed such suggestions during and after a serious political crisis caused 
by the killings.


Armenia -- Former Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian (L) and parliament speaker 
Karen Demirchian assassinated in the 1999 attack on parliament.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, other government officials as well as leaders 
of Armenia’s main political forces marked the anniversary by laying flowers at 
a memorial to the victims of the shock attack erected inside the parliament 
compound in Yerevan. Relatives of the victims also took part in the ceremony.

Vazgen Sarkisian’s supporters and comrades-in-arms also visited the Yerablur 
military ceremony where the slain prime minister was buried. Sarkisian had also 
served as defense ministers and been one of the founders of the Armenian armed 
forces.

The anniversary commemoration came less than a week after it emerged that 
Hunanian has asked authorities to release him on parole. The attack ringleader, 
who will turn 54 in December, is eligible for parole because of having spent 20 
years in prison. Nevertheless, Justice Minister Rustam Badasian effectively 
ruled out his release last week.

On Thursday, Arman Babajanian, a parliament deputy extremely critical of 
Kocharian, visited Hunanian at a Yerevan prison and talked to him for two hours 
in the presence of the prison chief. Babajanian claimed to have received 
important information from Hunanian when he spoke to RFE/RL’s Armenian service 
afterwards. In particular, he hinted that the jailed terrorist implicated 
Kocharian in the killings.

Babajanian’s claims sparked speculation that the current Armenian authorities 
may reopen the probe of the parliament killings and bring fresh charges against 
Kocharian. The former president is already in jail, standing trial on charges 
mostly stemming from the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan. He denies the 
accusations as politically motivated.

Aram Sarkisian, Vazgen’s brother and successor who has for years alleged 
Kocharian’s possible involvement in the 1999 plot, cautioned on Sunday that 
Hunanian’s potential fresh testimony must not be taken at face value. He said 
that the ringleader could falsely incriminate the ex-president in hopes of 
regaining freedom.

“Any convict thinks about getting out of jail as soon as possible and 
[Hunanian] doesn’t care about methods [of securing his release,]” Aram 
Sarkisian told reporters. “Do you think he is so honest and has so much remorse 
that we wants to speak up? Of course not. He saw on TV the revolution that took 
place in the country [in 2018,] can now see the ongoing war before the current 
and former rulers, and is trying to cash in on that war.”


Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (R) greets Aram Sarkisian at a 
memorial to the victims of the October 1999 deadly attack on the Armenian 
parliament, Yerevan, .

Sarkisian, whom Kocharian sacked as prime minister in May 2000, was also 
skeptical about the Armenian law-enforcement and judicial authorities’ ability 
to thoroughly investigate and solve the killings.

“I believe that could happen only when we all can be confident that no judicial 
process can be politicized in any way,” agreed Edmon Marukian, the leader of 
the opposition Bright Armenia Party. Marukian compared the bloody seizure of 
the Armenian parliament to the 1963 assassination of U.S. President John 
Kennedy, which also left many unanswered questions.

Artsvik Minasian, a senior member of the opposition Armenian Revolutionary 
Federation, went further, alleging that individuals “representing” Pashinian’s 
government are now effectively offering Hunanian a politically motivated “deal.”

Pashinian declined to talk to the press after laying flowers at the parliament 
memorial.

Meanwhile, Sasun Mikaelian, a prominent Pashinian ally who had also been close 
to the late Vazgen Sarkisian, appealed to Gagik Jahangirian, the man who led 
the first criminal investigation into the 1999 killings and at one point 
indicted individuals linked to Kocharian.

Jahangirian implicitly promised to reveal new facts about the killings when he 
publicly pledged allegiance to opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian in the 
wake of a disputed 2008 presidential election. Like dozens of other 
Ter-Petrosian loyalists, he was controversially imprisoned afterwards.

“Should you also stay silent now, 20 years on, my friend?” Mikaelian said at 
Yerablur. “It’s about time Jahangirian said what happened [in 1999.]”




‘No Plans Yet’ For Another Armenian-Azeri Summit

        • Naira Nalbandian

Turkmenistan -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (L) and Azerbaijan's 
President Ilham Aliyev attend a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent 
States in Ashgabat, October 11, 2019.

The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan had a “very useful” conversation earlier 
this month but are not yet planning to meet again for further talks on 
Nagorno-Karabakh, Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian said on Monday.

“A summit meeting is not planned at the moment,” Mnatsakanian told reporters in 
Yerevan. “Right now we are planning the continuation of [Armenian-Azerbaijani] 
talks at the level of foreign ministers.”

“That is the basis for preparing meetings between the leaders [of the two 
countries,]” he said at a joint news conference with Bulgaria’s visiting 
Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zakharieva.

Mnatsakanian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov are expected to 
hold fresh talks in December. Like Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and 
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, they have met on a regular basis over the 
past year.

Aliyev and Pashinian publicly traded barbs during an October 11 summit of 
former Soviet republics held in Turkmenistan’s capital Aghgabat. Still, they 
reportedly talked to each other at great length during an official dinner 
hosted by Turkmen President Gurbaguly Berdymuhamedov.

Mnatsakanian said that their conversation in Ashgabat was “very useful in the 
sense that we managed to reaffirm some approaches and principles related to an 
environment conducive to peace.” “We are now focused on those issues,” he added 
without elaborating.

The U.S., Russian and French diplomats co-heading the OSCE Minsk Group met with 
Pashinian and Aliyev during their October 14-17 tour of the Karabakh conflict 
zone. In a joint statement, the mediators said the two leaders promised to make 
more efforts to “prepare the populations for peace and reduce tensions.”

In a newspaper interview published on October 17, Mammadyarov complained about 
the mediators’ focus on confidence-building measures, rather than “substantive 
negotiations” sought by Baku.

The Azerbaijani foreign minister also said that the so-called Madrid Principles 
of resolving the conflict remain at the heart of Armenian-Azerbaijani peace 
talks.

This framework peace accord was drafted by the United States, Russia and France 
over a decade ago. It calls for Armenian withdrawal from virtually all seven 
districts around Karabakh. In return, Karabakh’s predominantly ethnic Armenian 
population would be able to determine Karabakh’s internationally recognized 
status in a future referendum.

The three mediating powers reaffirmed their support for this peace formula in 
March. Pashinian said shortly afterwards that the Madrid Principles are open to 
different interpretations and therefore need to be clarified.

Commenting on Mammadyarov’s statement, Mnatsakanian insisted that the 
conflicting parties are not yet working on “a concrete document.” “But it 
doesn’t mean that we are not working on various principles and parameters in 
order to ascertain how we can establish necessary parity between commitments of 
the parties,” he said.




Armenian ‘Economic Revolution’ On Track, Says Pashinian

        • Gayane Saribekian

Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian attends the inauguration of the 
Armenian subsidiary of the U.S. technology company Xilinx, Yerevan, October 28, 
2019.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Monday claimed to be successfully carrying 
out an “economic revolution” in Armenia promised by him and downplayed 
relatively modest GDP growth forecast by his government for next year.

Pashinian addressed Armenian lawmakers as they began discussions on the 2020 
state budget drafted by the government.

The draft budget bill calls for a sizable increase in public spending which 
would total 1.88 trillion drams ($3.9 billion). The government’s tax revenues 
are projected to rise just as strongly. These targets are based on the 
assumption that the Armenian economy will grow by 4.9 percent in 2020.

Pashinian said that the government opted for a “conservative” growth projection 
in order to maintain continued “macroeconomic stability” in the country. Actual 
economic growth next year may well beat this forecast, he told members of the 
parliament’s economic committees.

“The draft state budget for 2019 forecast a 4.5 percent growth rate but we have 
ensured a 5.2 percent growth rate,” argued the premier.

Opposition parliamentarians dismissed this explanation. Mane Tandilian of the 
Bright Armenia Party said that the growth projection set in the government’s 
budget proposal amounts to a “pessimistic scenario.”

“We have a non-revolutionary GDP growth [forecast,]” agreed Mikael Melkumian of 
the Prosperous Armenia Party.

“I believe that the economic revolution in the Republic of Armenia is gaining 
momentum,” countered Pashinian. “It’s a reality, and this revolution is now 
easy to see.”

“Huge investments are made in the Republic of Armenia,” he added without giving 
numbers.

Pashinian has repeatedly pledged to effect such a revolution ever since he 
swept to power in May 2018 as a result of mass protests that led to the 
resignation of Armenia’s former longtime leader, Serzh Sarkisian. He had said 
that it will significantly reduce poverty and unemployment.

In its comprehensive policy program approved by the parliament in February this 
year, Pashinian’s cabinet pledged to ensure that the domestic economy expands 
by at least 5 percent annually for the next five years.

Armenia’s GDP increased by 7.5 percent in real terms in 2017, according to 
official statistics. This growth slowed down to 5.2 percent last year but now 
seems on track to accelerate in 2019.




Former Armenian Speaker Charged With ‘Usurping Power’

        • Naira Bulghadarian

Armenia -- Parliament speaker Ara Babloyan, Yerevan, December 30, 2018.

Law-enforcement authorities brought coup charges against former parliament 
speaker Ara Babloyan on Monday as part of their investigation into Hrayr 
Tovmasian’s appointment in March 2018 as chairman of Armenia’s Constitutional 
Court.

Babloyan was not arrested by the Special Investigative Service (SIS), unlike a 
former senior parliament staffer who was also charged with forgery and 
“usurpation of power” last week. He strongly denied the accusations.

“I stated that the accusations are illegal and that everything I did was in 
accordance with the constitution and laws,” the 72-year-old pediatric surgeon 
running Armenia’s largest children’s hospital told reporters outside the SIS 
headquarters in Yerevan.

The SIS alleged last week that the former Armenian parliament elected Tovmasian 
court chairman as a result of an illegal seizure of the judicial authority by a 
“group of officials.” It said that Babloyan illegally accepted and announced 
the resignation of Tovmasian’s predecessor, Gagik Harutiunian, before receiving 
a relevant letter from the latter. It said that Arsen Babayan, the arrested 
staffer, backdated the letter to enable Tovmasian to head the Constitutional 
Court before the entry into force of sweeping amendments to the Armenian 
constitution.

The amendments introduced a six-year term in office for the head of Armenia’s 
highest court. Tovmasian became chief court justice under the previous 
constitution which allows him to hold the post until the age of 70.

In a weekend interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian service, Babloyan insisted that 
Harutiunian’s letter of resignation was dated March 1, 2018 and that he 
received and signed it on March 2, 2015, not three days later, as is claimed by 
the SIS.

“Gagik Harutiunian signed his resignation on March 1 and that document was on 
my desk on March 2,” Babloyan said, adding that Constitutional Court and 
parliament seals on the document prove that.

The former Constitutional Court chairman insisted that his resignation was 
voluntary and in conformity with Armenian law when he spoke to RFE/RL’s 
Armenian service last week.

The SIS announced the coup inquiry on October 17 two days after seven of the 
nine Constitutional Court judges dismissed calls for Tovmasian’s dismissal made 
by the current Armenian parliament loyal to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. In 
an appeal to the court, the parliament claimed, among other things, that 
Tovmasian cannot act impartially because of his past affiliation with the 
former ruling Republican Party (HHK).

Pashinian similarly charged in July that Tovmasian “privatized” the 
Constitutional Court with the help of the HHK. Tovmasian countered early this 
month that the authorities are seeking to oust him in order to gain control 
over Armenia’s highest court.

Critics, notably senior HHK figures, say that Babayan’s arrest and other 
criminal proceedings targeting Tovmasian are part of Pashinian’s efforts to 
force the high court chief’s resignation. The prime minister and his political 
allies deny this.

Vahagn Hovakimian, a senior lawmaker from Pashinian’s My Step alliance, on 
Monday also accused Babloyan of committing serious procedural violations during 
the announcement of Gagik Harutiunian’s resignation. He said that the former 
speaker illegally followed a legal clause which he believes came into force in 
April 2018.

Babloyan and his lawyer, Aram Vartevanian, dismissed Hovakimian’s claims.




Senior Official Stands Trial On Corruption Charges

        • Robert Zargarian

Armenia - Davit Sanasarian, the head of the State Overisght Service, speaks to 
journalists in Yerevan, June 21, 2018.

A senior government official who actively participated in Armenia’s “Velvet 
Revolution” went on trial Monday on corruption charges strongly denied by him.

Davit Sanasarian, the head of the State Oversight Service (SOS), was indicted 
in April in a criminal investigation into alleged corrupt practices within the 
anti-corruption government agency.

The National Security Service (NSS) arrested two other senior SOS officials in 
February, saying that they attempted to cash in on government-funded supplies 
of medical equipment to three hospitals.

Sanasarian was charged with abusing his powers to help the two men enrich 
themselves and a private company linked to them. The official, who was 
suspended as SOS chief as a result, rejected the accusations as “fabricated.”

Sanasarian repeated his vehement denials at the start of his trial in a 
district court in Yerevan. He said that he has been prosecuted illegally.

Sanasarian’s lawyers petitioned the court to try their client separately from 
the two other suspects also standing trial. They also said that he must be 
reinstated as head of the SOS. The presiding judge, Davit Balayan, rejected 
both demands.

One of the defense lawyers, Inesa Petrosian, went on to demand at the end of 
the fist session of the trial that Balayan drop the charges leveled against 
Sanasarian. She claimed that the NSS investigation was marked by serious 
violations of Armenian law.

The judge scheduled the next court hearing in the high-profile case for 
November 27.

Sanasarian, 35, is a former opposition and civic activist who had for years 
accused Armenia’s former leaders of corruption. He was actively involved in 
last year’s revolution.

Sanasarian’s supporters, among them leaders of some Western-funded civic 
groups, have voiced support for him and denounced the NSS. Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian hit back at the critics in April. He said that they place their 
personal relationships with Sanasarian above the rule of law.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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