Tuesday,
Lawyers To Lead ‘No’ Campaign For Armenian Referendum
• Gayane Saribekian
• Marine Khachatrian
Armenia -- Ruben Melikian (C) and other lawyers opposed to constitutional
changes at the Central Election Commission, Yerevan, February 2020.
More than 60 lawyers critical of the Armenian government have joined forces to
campaign for a “no” vote in the upcoming referendum on a controversial
government proposal to oust most members of the country’s Constitutional Court.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) on Tuesday registered them as the sole No
side in the unfolding referendum campaign. The official status entitles them to
free airtime on state television.
Armenians will vote on April 5 on draft constitutional amendments ending the
powers of seven of the nine Constitutional Court judges who have for months been
under government pressure to resign.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has repeatedly accused them -- and Constitutional
Court Chairman Hrayr Tovmasian in particular -- of maintaining ties to the
“corrupt former regime” and impeding judicial reforms. Tovmasian and Pashinian’s
political opponents have dismissed these claims, saying that Pashinian is simply
seeking to gain control over Armenia’s highest court.
Leading opposition parties have questioned the legality of the proposed
amendments, saying that they run counter to other articles of the Armenian
constitution. But none of those parties has decided to officially campaign
against their enactment.
Edmon Marukian, the leader of the opposition Bright Armenia Party (LHK), argued
last week that opposition involvement in the No campaign would make it easier
for Pashinian’s political team to portray a “yes” vote as another rejection of
former President Serzh Sarkisian. The latter was overthrown in the 2018 “Velvet
Revolution” that brought Pashinian to power.
The lawyers who have set up the official No camp too have denounced the
amendments as unconstitutional. One of their representatives, Ruben Melikian,
insisted on Tuesday that their involvement in the referendum campaign will not
help to legitimize the process.
“In terms of our national interests, we will suffer much greater damage and
losses if not only the constitutionality but also the fairness of this process
is called into question,” Melikian told reporters. “We must enable people, who
have something to say, to present their message and allow those people, who want
to monitor [the referendum,] to take that opportunity.”
Armenia -- Supporters of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian block the entrance to
the Constitutional Court buildin in Yerevan, May 20, 2019.
Melikian, who has served as a deputy justice minister in the past, also said
that the lawyers are not afraid of being branded agents of the former regime by
Pashinian’s team. “We do not support or campaign against anyone,” he said. “This
is a fight for the Republic of Armenia.”
While saying that the No campaign will seek to avoid “political” statements,
Melikian did not exclude that it will give opposition forces a platform to
continue denouncing the government bid to replace the high court judges.“Yes, we
may enable various political forces to make use of our free airtime,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pashinian met with senior members of his My Step bloc late on Monday
for further discussions on practical modalities of the Yes campaign. One of his
top loyalists, Alen Simonian, confirmed after the meeting that the prime
minister will personally participate in the campaign.
“The prime minister loves talking to the people and the people love the prime
minister,” Simonian told reporters. “We will be entering this campaign with
great pleasure.”
Simonian did not give other details of the campaign. He said only that the
ruling bloc should be careful not to “tire out” voters with speeches and other
activities.
Armenian Government Mulls More Tax Reforms
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and senior government officials
discuss tax reforms, Yerevan, .
Less than one year after introducing wide-ranging tax cuts, Armenia’s government
announced on Tuesday plans for further tax reforms which Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian said will involve “bold” measures.
Finance Minister Atom Janjughazian presented a strategy of such reforms at a
meeting of fellow cabinet members and other senior officials chaired by
Pashinian. They will improve tax collection, create “favorable conditions” for
continued economic growth and help to boost living standards in the country, he
said, according to a government statement on the meeting.
“We are going to make very bold decisions ranging from property tax to other
changes in taxation,” the statement quoted Pashinian as saying. “The logic
behind those bold decisions is that state revenues must rise in a way that will
allow the economy to develop so that they rise further in the future.”
“People must change the attitudes towards payment of taxes existing in
modern-day Armenia,” Pashinian went on. For that purpose, he said, Armenians
must be certain that “the government does not steal from them” and spends
taxpayers’ money efficiently.
The statement gave no details of the measures cited by Pashinian or the reform
“concept” proposed by Janjughazian.
The government pushed through the Armenian parliament last June a bill that
introduced a flat personal income tax, cut the corporate profit tax rate from 20
to 18 percent and made more small businesses eligible for preferential taxation.
At the same time, it raised excise taxes collected from tobacco and alcohol.
Government officials have expressed confidence that despite these tax cuts,
which took effect on January 1, Armenia’s tax revenues will continue to rise
significantly this year.
The State Revenue Committee (SRC) collected just over 1.5 trillion drams ($3.2
billion) in various taxes last year, up by more than 16 percent from 2018. The
head of the SRC, Davit Ananian, has attributed the sizable increase to the SRC’s
continued efforts to improve tax administration and combat tax evasion.
Yerevan Slams ‘Maximalist’ Baku After Summit
Armenia -- Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian (R) meets with Toivo Klaar, the
EU's special representative for the South Caucasus, Yerevan, .
Three days after the latest Armenian-Azerbaijani summit, Foreign Minister Zohrab
Mnatsakanian accused Baku on Tuesday of hampering progress towards a resolution
of the Nagorno-Karabakh with “maximalist” demands.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev held a
brief meeting in Munich on Saturday before participating in a panel discussion
on Karabakh held as part of an annual security conference in the southern German
city.
The two leaders publicly traded accusations during the discussion. In
particular, Aliyev again described Karabakh as his country’s “integral part” and
branded Armenia an “aggressor,” prompting a rebuttal from Pashinian.
Mnatsakanian appeared to refer to this verbal exchange when he discussed the
Karabakh peace progress with Toivo Klaar, the European Union’s visiting special
envoy for the South Caucasus. According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the
two men agreed that the conflicting parties should genuinely prepare their
populations for peace.
“In that context, the Armenian foreign minister particularly stressed the
importance of the leaders publicly sending signals and messages of peace to
their societies and pointed out that the Azerbaijani side continues to publicly
act from maximalist positions rejecting the rights of the Karabakh people,
something which does not allow [the parties] to register progress in the peace
process,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Karabakh conflict was also on the agenda of Klaar’s separate meeting with
Pashinian. An Armenian government statement said Pashinian shared with the EU
envoy his “observations and views” about Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks. It
gave no details.
Aliyev and Pashinian met in Munich two weeks after Mnatsakanian and Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov concluded two days of negotiations in Geneva
held in the presence of U.S., French and Russian mediators.
In a joint statement with the mediators, the ministers said the “intensive
discussions” focused on “possible next steps to prepare the populations for
peace; principles and elements forming the basis of a future settlement; and
timing and agenda for advancing the settlement process.”
Government, Military Vow Strong Action Over Army Deaths
• Astghik Bedevian
Armenia -- Lieutenant General Artak Davtian, the chief of Armenian army's
General Staff, speaks at a news conference in parliament, Yerevan, February 18,
2020.
Armenia’s leadership pledged to punish senior military officials and improve
military discipline on Tuesday following a spate of non-combat deaths of
Armenian army soldiers reported in recent weeks.
The Armenian military has reported 13 such deaths since the beginning of this
year. Eight of these soldiers have died in accidents and other circumstances not
related to their military service.
The five other victims are believed to have committed suicide or been shot dead
by other servicemen in separate incidents investigated by law-enforcement
authorities. The latter arrested three soldiers in connection with one of those
deaths which occurred at an army base in Nagorno-Karabakh late last month.
The shooting incidents have caused outrage in Armenia and cast a renewed
spotlight on the chronic problem of hazing and other abuses in the army ranks.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian discussed them with top military and
law-enforcement officials at an emergency meeting held on Monday amid continuing
criticism of the army command voiced by some opposition politicians and civic
activists.
Pashinian said on Tuesday that “a number of important, including
personnel-related, decisions” were made at the meeting and called for an end to
the “nervous atmosphere around the army.”
In a Facebook post, he said that the number of non-combat deaths among Armenian
military personnel fell to a “historical low” last year thanks to the
authorities’ efforts to tackle the problem. “Our objective is to maintain this
dynamic,” he wrote.
The chief of the army’s General Staff, Lieutenant-General Artak Davtian,
confirmed the impending “personnel changes” within the military but did not shed
light on them. He declined to comment on reports that the chief of the Armenian
military police is among senior officers who will be sacked in the coming days.
Davtian stressed that other officers have already been demoted or discharged
from the armed forces this month because of the non-combat fatalities. He also
expressed confidence that investigators will identify those directly responsible
for them.
Armenia’s top military investigator, Artak Krkyasharian, discussed the ongoing
inquiries with his subordinates on Tuesday. He was reported to order them to
publicize details of the probes.
Davtian spoke to reporters after meeting with Armenian parliament deputies
behind the closed doors. He assured them that the authorities are doing their
best to eradicate “elements of the criminal subculture” and strengthen
discipline in the army.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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