Thursday,
Armenian Parliament Approves Gradual Ban On Indoor Smoking
• Robert Zargarian
A No Smoking sign in Armenian and English.
Armenia’s parliament voted on Tuesday to accept a government proposal to
gradually ban smoking in cafes, restaurants and all other indoor public places
in the country.
Under a government bill passed in the second and final reading by 76 votes to 16
with 7 abstentions, Armenians will also not be allowed to smoke while driving
cars or buses. In addition, the bill imposes a blanket ban on any form of
tobacco advertising.
Indoor smoking will be punishable by up fines ranging from 50,000 drams ($105)
to 200,000 drams.
The bill was drafted by the Ministry of Health and submitted to the Armenian
government for approval one year ago. It underwent some changes before being
approved by the National Assembly in the first reading in December. In
particular, it was decided that the ban on smoking in cafes and restaurants will
come into force in March 2022.
Deputies representing the opposition Bright Armenia Party (LHK) voted against
the final version of the bill, saying that it will hurt many businesses. One of
them, Gevorg Gorgisian, argued that Armenia’s leading cigarette manufacturer,
the Grand Tobacco company, is now the country’s number one corporate taxpayer.
“Let’s develop other sectors of the economy before starting to hit this one,”
Gorgisian said during a parliament debate that preceded the vote.
Deputy Health Minister Lena Nanushian, who presented the bill to lawmakers,
dismissed such arguments.
“Ten percent of annual deaths [in Armenia] result from smoking,” said Nanushian.
“This 10 percent is a serious figure, my dear deputies: every year 3,000 people
die as a result of smoking.”
Armenia is a nation of heavy smokers with few restrictions on tobacco sales and
use enforced to date. According to Ministry of Health estimates, 52 percent of
Armenian men are regular smokers. Medics blame this for a high incidence of lung
cancer among them. The smoking rate among women is much lower.
Nanushian also warned of health risks posed by passive smoking when she spoke in
the parliament in December. Citing surveys conducted in 2016 and 2017, she said
that more than 70 percent of pregnant women in the country are “exposed to
secondhand smoke every day.”
Sarkisian’s Ex-Bodyguard Cleared Of Extortion
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - Vachagan Ghazarian empties his bag filled with cash after being
arrested by the National Security Service in Yerevan, 25 June 2018.
An Armenian law-enforcement has decided not to bring additional criminal charges
against Vachagan Ghazarian, the former chief bodyguard of ex-President Serzh
Sarkisian.
The Special Investigative Service (SIS) had launched an inquiry after the former
chief accountant of a Yerevan night club owned by Ghazarian’s wife had accused
him of extorting 40 million drams ($84,000) from her.
An SIS spokeswoman told RFE/RL’s Armenian service on Thursday that the criminal
case has been closed due to a lack of evidence.
Ghazarian was charged with illegal enrichment and false asset disclosure shortly
after the 2018 “Velvet Revolution” that toppled Sarkisian. They stem from his
failure to declare to a state anti-corruption body more than $2.5 million in
cash that was mostly held in his and his wife’s bank accounts.
Ghazarian, who headed Sarkisian’s security detail for over two decades, was
obliged to do that in his capacity as deputy chief of a security agency
providing bodyguards to Armenia’s leaders. He was first detained in June 2018
after police raided his apartment in Yerevan and found $1.1 million and 230,000
euros ($267,000) in cash there. The National Security Service (NSS) confiscated
more cash from him in the following days.
A Yerevan court released Ghazarian on bail in December 2018 after he offered to
transfer as much as $6 million to the state.
The SIS announced in October 2019 that the once powerful officer and his wife
have completed the payment. It described the cash transfer as a recovery of
financial “damage” inflicted on the state.
Germany’s Merkel Praises ‘Deepening’ Ties With Armenia
• Karlen Aslanian
Germany -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and German Chancellor Angela
Merkel meet at the Chancellery in Berlin,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed Germany’s increased cooperation with
Armenia and significant changes in the South Caucasus state when she met with
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in Berlin on Thursday.
It was their third meeting in 18 months. Merkel noted with satisfaction that
German-Armenian relations have “intensified” since her previous talks with
Pashinian held in August 2018 in Yerevan and in February 2019 in Berlin.
“We will continue to talk today about deepening bilateral relations,” she said
in a statement to the press made at the start of their latest meeting.
Merkel stressed that “a lot has changed in Armenia” since Pashinian swept to
power in the “Velvet Revolution” of April-May 2019.
“There is a parliamentary democracy, elections have been held, and there is also
a major renewal process … for example in the legal system,” she said. “We
naturally hope that Armenia will be very successful here because that's not an
easy process.”
“We are therefore very happy about your courage and your determination to follow
this path,” she told Pashinian.
“Germany is a close friend and partner of Armenia and we feel the power of that
friendship in both emotional and practical senses,” Pashinian said for his part.
“Germany is one of the powerful bridges connecting Armenia to the European
Union, European civilization and culture.”
The Armenian leader went on to thank Germany as well as the EU for their “moral,
political technical and financial assistance” to ongoing reforms announced by
his administration. He said he will discuss his “reform agenda” with Merkel.
An Armenian government statement issued after the talks said Merkel promised
continued German assistance to “democratic reforms” in Armenia. It said
Pashinian briefed her on his political team’s controversial decision to hold on
April 5 a referendum on dismissing seven of the nine members of Armenia’s
Constitutional Court.
Economic issues were also high on the agenda of the talks, according to the
statement. Pashinian was reported to urge German companies to invest in various
sectors of the Armenian economy.
Germany is already Armenia’s number European Union donor and trading partner. It
has provided the South Caucasus nation with hundreds of millions euros in aid
and low-interest loans since the 1990s. German-Armenian trade rose by over 4
percent, to $451 million, last year, according to official Armenian statistics.
In her public remarks, Merkel said she will also discuss with Pashinian the
unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Armenian government statement on the
talks made no mention of the conflict.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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