RFE/RL Armenian Report – 06/16/2020

                                        Tuesday, 

Armenian Parliament Allows Opposition Leader’s Arrest
June 10, 2020

Armenia -- Prosperous Armena Party leader Gagik Tsarukian speaks to journalists 
in parliament, Yerevan, .

The Armenian parliament voted on Tuesday to allow law-enforcement authorities to 
arrest and prosecute the leader of its largest opposition group, Gagik 
Tsarukian, on charges rejected by him as politically motivated.

Addressing the parliament controlled by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s My Step 
bloc, Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian alleged that Tsarukian “created and led 
an organized group” that bought more than 17,000 votes for his Prosperous 
Armenia Party (BHK) during parliamentary elections held in April 2017. Davtian 
said the NSS has collected documents and testimony showing that the vote bribes 
were handed out to residents of the Gegharkunik province.

Tsarukian and other BHK lawmakers vehemently denied the accusations when they 
spoke on the parliament floor before the first vote. They said that 
law-enforcement authorities have not produced any evidence of his involvement in 
the alleged vote buying.

They again claimed that Pashinian ordered the criminal proceedings in response 
to Tsarukian’s demands for the entire Armenian government’s resignation voiced 
on June 5.

Tsarukian stood by his claims that the government has failed to contain the 
rapid spread of the coronavirus in the country and tackle severe socioeconomic 
consequences of the deadly epidemic.


Armenia -- Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian urges lawmakers to allow the arrest 
and prosecution of opposition leader Gagik Tsarukian, Yerevan, .

“The end of your revolution has come,” Tsarukian declared, referring to the 2018 
protest movement that brought Pashinian to power.

“Eighty or ninety percent of the people believed in you and the revolution,” he 
said. “But today even 5 percent do not believe.”

The BHK leader also said that he is undaunted by the prospect of his 
imprisonment and will “go to the end” in challenging the authorities. He claimed 
that with their “fabricated” criminal case they are only “making a hero” out of 
him.

“This is temporary, [it will last for] only one or two months, not longer,” he 
added in his angry speech. “You must understand this before it’s too late. You 
are standing on the brink of an abyss.”

“Tsarukian and our party represent a considerable part of the people,” said 
Arman Abovian, a senior BHK deputy. “You are at war with the people.”

Immediately after finishing his speech and leaving the parliament building, 
Tsarukian was surrounded by NSS officers and taken to the NSS headquarters for 
further questioning. BHK representatives said that the security service 
illegally detained him before securing the parliament’s consent. Parliament 
speaker Ararat Mirzoyan insisted, however, that Tsarukian was not detained.

The Bright Armenia Party (LHK), the other opposition force represented in the 
parliament, also said that the accusations of vote buying are politically 
motivated. Its leader, Edmon Marukian, dismissed as hypocritical Pashinian 
allies’ harsh criticism of Tsarukian voiced since June 5.

Marukian argued that Pashinian repeatedly cut political deals with Tsarukian 
following the 2018 “Velvet Revolution.” “You are not honest and sincere,” he 
said, referring to the ruling bloc.

In his concluding remarks, Davtian insisted that the criminal case against the 
opposition leader and wealthy businessman is a “purely legal process.” The chief 
prosecutor said the NSS opened the case in February, more than three months 
before Tsarukian lambasted the government in unusually strong terms.


Armenia -- Police detain a supporter of Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik 
Tsarukian near the parliament building in Yerevan, .

Leaders of the parliament’s pro-government majority also denied any political 
motives behind the crackdown. Mirzoyan said the opposition must not “politicize 
the legal process.”

“Everyone is equal before the law regardless of whether or not they lead a 
political party,” said the speaker close to Pashinian.

Both parliamentary opposition forces decided to boycott the ensuing separate 
votes on lifting Tsarukian’s immunity from prosecution and allowing his arrest. 
“We will not participate in this farce,” said Marukian.

As a result, only 87 of the 132 deputies of the National Assembly voted in the 
secret ballot. They all backed the prosecutor’s demands.

Pashinian’s My Step controls 88 parliament seats. Two of its deputies were 
absent from Tuesday’s session, suggesting that Tsarukian’s prosecution was 
unanimously backed by the 86 other pro-government lawmakers.

The BHK holds 26 seats, having finished second in the last general elections 
held in December 2018.

As the parliament began debating the matter in the morning the NSS announced 
that it launched on Monday a separate investigation into other instances of 
alleged vote buying by the BHK.

In a statement, the security service said that a senior BHK figure, Naira 
Zohrabian, has repeatedly admitted in her private conversations that Tsarukian’s 
party had paid Armenians to vote for it in various elections. The statement 
contained a relevant quote attributed to Zohrabian. It did not specify whether 
the NSS eavesdropped on the opposition politician’s conversations.

Zohrabian angrily denied these allegations. She suggested that her phones were 
illegally tapped by the NSS.




Another Textile Plant Hit By Coronavirus Outbreak
June 10, 2020
        • Karine Simonian

Armenia -- A textile factory in Vanadzor, June 3, 2020.

Yet another textile factory in Armenia has suspended its operations due to 
coronavirus infections among its workers.

Robert Ghubatian, the owner of the Vanadzor-based Sarton factory, told RFE/RL’s 
Armenian service that about two dozen of them tested positive for the 
coronavirus on Sunday. Ghubatian said he and the 330 other workers self-isolated 
as a result.

Ghubatian suggested that another textile plant located in Armenia’s third 
largest city was the primary source of the infections.

The plant belonging to the Gloria company was shut down on June 3 after being 
hit by a similar COVID-19 outbreak. At least 150 of its 2,600 workers have 
tested positive for the virus since then.

Ghubatian said some 30 Sarton employees live with family members working at 
Gloria. He said he believes at least one of them contracted the disease from 
such a relative.

The Vanadzor police ordered all Gloria workers to quarantine at home following 
the shutdown.Some of them said they were not warned that their family members 
also have to self-isolate.

Gloria will remain closed at least until June 20.

Two other clothing manufactures located in Gyumri halted their operations for 
the same reason last week. The Lentex and Svetex companies employ a total of 
about 400 local residents.

These and other Armenian textile firms were allowed to resume their work in late 
April following a month-long stoppage ordered by the government as part of a 
nationwide lockdown. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on April 12 that the 
textile industry should be able to reopen despite being “the main driving force” 
of coronavirus infections in Armenia.

The daily number of confirmed coronavirus cases across the country has increased 
dramatically since then.

The Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday morning 425 new infections, bringing 
to 17,489 the total number of coronavirus cases in the country of about 3 
million.

The ministry also reported the deaths of 10 more people infected with the 
disease. It said 8 of those deaths were primarily caused by the coronavirus. 
They were added to the official COVID-19 death toll which rose to 295.

According to the health authorities, 96 other infected people have died as a 
result of other, pre-existing diseases.




Government Vows Tougher Measures Against COVID-19 Infections
June 10, 2020
        • Marine Khachatrian
        • Narine Ghalechian

Armenia -- A woman in Yerevan wears a protective mask and gloves, June 10, 2020.

The Armenian authorities will double the number of special teams enforcing 
safety rules meant to contain the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian said on Tuesday.

Pashinian said police officers will be joined by representatives of other state 
bodies in ensuring that Armenians wear face masks, practice social distancing 
and take other precautions against COVID-19.

“This will allow us to double the number of enforcement groups,” he told a daily 
COVID-19 news briefing.

Early this month Armenian government made it mandatory for everyone to wear a 
mask not only in all enclosed spaces but also in the streets and all other 
public areas. Police say that thousands of citizens have since been fined 10,000 
drams ($21) for failing to comply with this requirement which the government 
says is essential for tackling the epidemic.

Pashinian announced that starting from Wednesday Armenians will also have to 
carry passports or other IDs when leaving their homes. Failure to do so will be 
punishable by separate 10,000-dram fines, he said, adding that the measure will 
facilitate the enforcement of the mask requirement.

The Armenian Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday morning 425 new infections, 
bringing to 17,489 the total number of coronavirus cases in the country of about 
3 million.

The ministry also said that 8 more people died from the disease in the past 24 
hours, raising the official death toll to 295. The figure does not include the 
deaths of 96 other infected people. These fatalities were primarily caused by 
other, pre-existing diseases, according to the health authorities.

The ministry spokeswoman, Alina Nikoghosian, put the number of active cases at 
over 10,500. Nikoghosian said only around 2,500 of these patients are now 
receiving treatment in hospitals. The others remain confined at home and 
monitored by primary healthcare workers, she said.

Health Minister Arsen Torosian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service on Monday that 231 
infected persons in need of urgent treatment are now waiting to be hospitalized.

The government pledged last week to set up 350 new hospital beds to cope with 
the growing number of patients. Torosian cautioned that increasing hospital 
capacity alone will not address the problem. He stressed the importance of 
lowering infection rates.

The minister was also concerned about the fact that 470 patients were in a 
serious and 116 others in a critical condition as of Monday afternoon.

“The number is quite large,” he said. “Unfortunately the majority of the 
citizens in a critical condition … are at serious risk of dying. But doctors are 
doing everything to prevent that happening.”


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