Thursday,
Purchase Of Luxury Car For Parliament Speaker Raises Eyebrows In Armenia
• Naira Nalbandian
Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonian (file photo)
A government approval of the purchase of a luxury car worth $185,000 for
Parliament Speaker Alen Simonian has sparked a public outcry in Armenia, with
civil activists calling it unacceptable given the current economic and financial
constraints in a country hit hard by the recent war and pandemic.
Simonian’s spokesperson Tsovinar Khachatrian described the approved purchase of
a high-class BMW as rational in terms of both security and saving.
“The need for a new car is explained by the need to provide security
representation, as well as to save money, as it includes warranty service and
maintenance costs,” she explained.
Human rights activist Levon Barseghian, meanwhile, described the move as a
“feast during the plague.”
“It is absolutely incomprehensible and criminal in political terms. It is a
criminal expense to make in political terms when the country has huge problems
to solve,” Barseghian said.
In substantiating the expense, the government said that it was considered
urgent, which means it can be purchased from the official dealer – the
Euromotors company, which belongs to the family of wealthy businessman Gagik
Tsarukian.
Most government officials and pro-government lawmakers approached by RFE/RL’s
Armenian Service did not either justify or criticize the decision immediately,
preferring not to comment on it.
High-Tech Industry Minister Vahagn Khachatrian, however, went along with the
explanation of the executive. “The car that has been in service since 2010 would
definitely have been worn out during these years and would need to be replaced.
It must have been an urgent issue,” he said.
Parliament Speaker Simonian who is currently on an official trip abroad did not
immediately comment on the decision of the government either.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian as an oppositionist used to be very critical of
large spending on cars for officials. Explanations of former officials for the
spending did not differ much from the explanations provided by current
authorities.
Russia ‘Ready’ To Help Armenia, Turkey Normalize Relations
• Lusine Musayelian
Official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova (file
photo)
Russia is ready to promote efforts to repair relations between Armenia and
Turkey, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday, confirming that
Yerevan has made a request for Russia’s mediation in the mending of ties with
Ankara.
Maria Zakharova said during a weekly news briefing in Moscow that Russia is
interested in this process and has made efforts on the normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations before.
“Our country is ready to further promote this process in every possible way. The
launch of this process, as we believe, would undoubtedly contribute to the
improvement of the general situation in the region,” the diplomat said.
Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vahan Hunanian told RFE/RL’s Armenian
Service earlier this week that Yerevan had informed Moscow that it was ready for
normalization with Ankara without preconditions and asked for its mediation in
the process.
During the news briefing Zakharova also stressed that Russia is “taking all
measures to restore economic ties and transport links in the region.”
“We are taking all steps to establish a peaceful life and strengthen stability
in the region. Special attention, of course, is now paid to the restoration and
development of trade and economic ties and transport links,” the official
representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian reiterated Yerevan’s readiness to
normalize its relations with Ankara during an online press conference on
Tuesday, but he warned that such a process cannot take place if Turkey presses
conditions like Azerbaijan’s getting an exterritorial corridor to its western
Nakhichevan exclave via Armenia.
“We want to normalize our relations with Turkey. We cannot discuss any corridor
issue. But we want to discuss opening of regional transport links,” Pashinian
said.
Pashinian and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan exchanged public statements
in August about reciprocal “positive signals” for normalizing relations after
decades of feud over historical events, including the Ottoman-era massacres of
Armenians that over two dozen governments in the world recognize as the first
genocide of the 20th century.
In an interview with Le Figaro earlier this month Armenian Foreign Minister
Ararat Mirzoyan revealed, however, that Ankara was setting new conditions for
starting a dialogue with Yerevan, including the provision of an exterritorial
corridor for Azerbaijan. He told the French daily that the demand for such a
corridor was out of the question.
Pashinian, too, said that last year’s Russia-brokered Armenian-Azerbaijani
ceasefire agreement did not envisage any exterritorial corridors. He stressed,
however, that Armenia is ready to provide transit roads via its territory, which
is part of the deal that stopped a 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh, maintaining
sovereignty over them.
During today’s news briefing in Moscow Zakharova was also directly asked about
whether there will be customs controls on the roads that would link Azerbaijan
with its Nakhichevan exclave.
Zakharova replied by saying: “We see good prospects for unblocking transport
links in the region, taking into account the balance of interests of all
parties. We also proceed from the fact that international transportation along
unblocked routes will be carried out on the basis of international agreements
and national legislation of each of the parties.”
Armenian Politicians ‘Alerted’ To ‘State-Sponsored’ Spyware Targeting
• Artak Khulian
FRANCE-ISRAEL-SECURITY-SPYWARE-PEGASUS -- This studio photographic illustration
shows a smartphone with the website of Israel's NSO Group which features
'Pegasus' spyware, on display in Paris on July 21, 2021.
About two dozen citizens of Armenia, including an opposition politician and a
government official, have so far reported smartphone alerts about being exposed
to state-sponsored hacking through Pegasus, a spyware developed by a private
Israel-based firm.
Armenian information security specialists say they are currently working to find
out the exact scope of potential victims of spyware targeting in the country.
Media expert Arthur Papian has confirmed that the spyware has so far targeted
key figures both from the opposition and the government.
NSO Group’s Pegasus software infects iPhones and Android devices to enable
operators to extract messages, photos and emails, record calls and secretly
activate microphones and cameras.
“Former and current civil servants [have been targeted]. And all of them are
people who know state secrets and other valuable information and have some
political influence,” Papian said.
Information security specialists in Armenia assume that considering this
circumstance the spyware targeting may have been ordered by the authorities of
either Armenia or Azerbaijan. They do not rule out the possibility that both
countries’ authorities are behind the attacks.
“As far as I understand, in all probability, it is NSO Group itself that targets
by order, hacks phones and then provides a way to see the data, to get access to
it,” Papian said.
Artur Vanetsian, the leader of the opposition Pativ Unem faction in parliament,
said on Wednesday that he was alerted by Apple about being targeted through
Pegasus.
Artur Vanetsian
Vanetsian, who served as director of Armenia’s National Security Service in
2018-19, published a screenshot of the alert message warning him about a
possible state-sponsored spyware targeting. The message does not mention what
country’s government may have ordered that attack.
On the one hand, Vanetsian claims that the current Armenian government has tried
to wiretap him, and on the other hand, he does not rule out the possibility of
the Azerbaijani government sponsoring the hacking attack against him.
“We cannot rule out or confirm it at this moment,” he said. “A short while ago
another opposition lawmaker approached me in parliament and said that he had
received the same alert earlier today,” Vanetsian said.
High-Tech Industry Minister Vahagn Khachaturian also confirmed to media on
Thursday that he had received a similar alert from Apple. He denied that the
Armenian government may be behind the spyware targeting attacks.
Vahagn Khachatrian
“We have assessed what happened to me as to a citizen and what happened to other
people around me as an attack or attempted attack against the security of
certain citizens of the Republic of Armenia or perhaps even government bodies,”
the minister said.
Tech giant Apple on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against NSO Group, seeking a
permanent injunction to ban the Israeli company from using any Apple software,
services or devices. Apple admitted that a small number of its users may have
been targeted by an NSO Group exploit to install Pegasus on Apple devices.
Last summer international investigative journalists found out that at least ten
countries’ special services had used the Pegasus program developed by NSO Group
to spy on politicians, journalists and activists. Azerbaijan is also on that
list. There was no mention of Armenia at that time.
Armenian Opposition Calls Border Demarcation With Azerbaijan ‘Premature’
• Anush Mkrtchian
Head of the parliamentary opposition Hayastan faction Seyran Ohanian (file photo)
Armenia’s parliamentary opposition has claimed that a border delimitation and
demarcation process with Azerbaijan that may begin soon is “hasty and premature.”
Speaking during parliamentary hearings on the matter initiated by the opposition
Hayastan faction, head of the faction Seyran Ohanian insisted that there is no
proper environment for starting such a process at the moment.
The parliament’s opposition initiated the discussions after Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian announced last week that Armenia had accepted new proposals from
Russia on the “preparatory stage” for delimitating and demarcating its
Soviet-era border with Azerbaijan.
The announcement was made just two days after Armenia and Azerbaijan accused
each other of provoking a major border incident in which at least seven
Azerbaijani and six Armenian soldiers were killed.
The worst Armenian-Azerbaijani fighting since last year’s 44-day war in
Nagorno-Karabakh was also stopped through Russia’s mediation.
Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of occupying 41 square kilometers of its
sovereign territory since May. Baku denies its troops entered Armenian territory
after advancing towards the border with Armenia as a result of regaining control
of territories in the Nagorno-Karabakh war.
In his remarks at the hearings in parliament not attended by the pro-government
majority Ohanian claimed that the “demarcation” of the borders has been done
through incidents like the latest one resulting in loss of life.
“In fact border demarcation is taking place unilaterally. It is being done at
the cost of Armenian soldiers’ blood,” the Hayastan faction’s head claimed.
“None of the representatives of the top leadership have given any explanation as
to why the one-day war took place, what followed and preceded it. The fact is
that we suffered casualties and had captives taken by Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan
entered the sovereign territory of Armenia. That is, a border demarcation took
place at the cost of blood,” he added.
Ohanian called the planned talks on border demarcation as a
‘Turkish-Azerbaijani’ trap for Yerevan and accused the Armenian government of
going along with this process. He also claimed that by ceding strategic heights,
roads and borderline areas the current Armenian government “has nullified the
country’s security potential.”
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian is due to travel to the Russian Black
Sea resort of Sochi on November 26 for talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev that will be hosted by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
The issue of border delimitation and demarcation is likely to be addressed
during the talks.
Armenia’s opposition fears that the trilateral meeting may result in the signing
of a border-related document not favorable for Armenia.
During an online press conference on Tuesday Pashinian said, however, that if
any document is to be signed at any upcoming meeting, it will only be about
forming a commission that will deal with border delimitation and demarcation
work and will not predetermine the outcome of the process itself.
In his public statements Pashinian has also acknowledged the security challenges
facing Armenia. Talking about the current processes around Nagorno-Karabakh and
Armenia Pashinian has said on several occasions that “we are going through a
minefield and must be very cautious.”
Some representatives of extra-parliamentary parties participating in today’s
parliamentary hearings even suggested that they stay put in parliament until
Pashinian returns from Sochi and presents what he discussed there.
Deputy Parliament Speaker Ishkhan Saghatelian, who represents the Hayastan
faction, said that the opposition was committed to continuing its struggle both
in parliament and in the street. He said that now they urge the government “to
refrain from any negotiations, written or oral agreements, that would violate
the requirements of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and the
collective will of the Armenian people expressed in the [1990] Declaration of
Independence.”
Poland Donates Over 200,000 COVID-19 Vaccines To Armenia
A batch of AstraZeneca vaccines against COVID-19 arrives in Armenia from Poland.
.
Poland has donated a total of 201,640 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine
worth nearly $660,000 to Armenia as the South Caucasus country struggles with a
low vaccination rate, having so far fully inoculated only about a fifth of its
adult population.
Poland’s embassy in Yerevan said on Thursday that the donation was made by the
Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Armenia’s Ministry of Health.
According to Armenia’s Ministry of Health, a total of 1,168,501 vaccine shots
have been administered in the country of about 3 million as of now. Only about
407,000 of Armenia’s residents, or some 20 percent of the country’s adult
population, have been fully vaccinated so far.
Armenians have until now been inoculated with vaccines developed by Russia,
China, Oxford University and the Anglo-Swedish company Astra Zeneca as well as
the U.S. company Moderna.
After spiking in October and the first half of November, the number of daily
coronavirus cases reported in Armenia began to slowly decrease in the past
several days, still remaining relatively high though.
The Ministry of Health reported on Thursday morning 592 new cases and 40
coronavirus-related deaths.
More than 7,400 people have died in Armenia from COVID-19 since the start of the
pandemic in March 2020, and over 1,400 patients with coronavirus have died from
other diseases during the same period, the country’s health authorities say.
During today’s session of the government Armenian Health Minister Anahit
Avanesian announced the start of revaccination for citizens who were fully
inoculated at least six months ago.
“We follow recommendations of the World Health Organization. There is no
shortage of vaccines in the country. Citizens may choose the vaccine they want,”
the minister said.
Vaccination in Armenia is not compulsory, but the government has introduced some
administrative measures in an attempt to speed up the slow pace of its
immunization campaign launched in April.
From October 1, virtually all public- and private-sector employees refusing
vaccination have been obliged to take coronavirus tests twice a month at their
own expense.
Earlier this month, the government revealed plans to make such mandatory testing
weekly and introduce a mandatory health pass for entry to cultural and leisure
venues.
A group of opposition lawmakers is contesting the legality of mandatory COVID-19
tests for citizens in proceedings that opened at the Constitutional Court of
Armenia on November 25.
Armenian Yazidi Rights Activist Goes On Trial For ‘Incitement’
• Artak Khulian
Yazidi human rights activist Sashik Sultanian (L) goes on trial in Armenia,
.
An Armenia court on November 24 opened a controversial trail against a human
rights activist from the minority Yazidi community over comments he made in an
interview, despite international concerns about his prosecution.
Prosecutors accuse Sashik Sultanian, the head of the Yazidi Center for Human
Rights, of “inciting ethnic enmity between Armenians and Yazidis,” an ancient
Kurdish-speaking religious group.
The probe against Sultanian was launched in October 2020, after he conducted an
interview with the Yezidinews.am website in June that year. He has been
restricted from leaving Armenia.
In the interview, Sultanian said that Yazidis face discrimination, their rights
are not protected, and they are unable to develop their culture, language, or
practice their religion.
He also claimed Yazidis are underrepresented in local government structures,
Armenians seized Yazidi property, and the community is not allowed to develop
economically.
Prosecutors argue that Sultanian’s statements don’t fall under human rights
advocacy and protected speech “since all allegations mentioned in the interview
do not correspond to reality.”
Sultanian says his comments were not directed against the Armenian people, but
rather the Armenian government. The interview was deleted on the day of
publication at the request of Sultanian.
Several international and national human rights organizations have denounced the
proceedings against Sultanian as an assault on freedom of speech that will have
a chilling effect on those who stand up for minority rights.
Armenian authorities have obligations to ensure human rights defenders can
freely carry out their activities without any restrictions, Council of Europe
Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic said in a letter to Armenia’s top
prosecutor ahead the trial.
“This is all the more important when such legitimate speech addresses the
treatment of minorities and is aimed at protecting and promoting their rights,”
she said.
In June, Human Rights Watch called on Armenian authorities to drop charges
against Sultanian, saying his opinions are protected free speech.
UN special rapporteurs on human rights defenders, minority issues, and freedom
of expression have also called on Armenian authorities to drop the case.
“It is not incitement to hatred or violence to raise human rights concerns about
the treatment of minorities,” the UN experts said in August. “We call on Armenia
to drop these criminal charges, which appear designed simply to intimidate Mr.
Sultanian and others who stand up for minority rights.”
There are only an estimated 1.5 million Yazidis in the world, mostly of whom
live in northern Iraq. There are smaller populations in Syria, Turkey, and in
the European diaspora.
There are about 40,000 Yazidis in Armenia, and they make up the largest minority
group in the mono-ethnic South Caucasus country with a population of about 3
million people.
The next hearing in the trial of Sultanian is scheduled for January 26.
Despite refusing to generally review the measure of restraint against Sultanian,
the court allowed the Yazidi activist to travel abroad from November 30 to
December 8 to attend the 14th session of the UN Forum of Minority Issues in
Geneva, Switzerland.
Armenian FM In Phone Talks With Russian, Iranian, Israeli Counterparts
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov (combo photo, undated)
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan held separate telephone conversations
with his Russian and Iranian counterparts, the ministry’s press department said
late on Wednesday.
During their phone conversation Mirzoyan and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov reportedly discussed issues related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“The importance of a comprehensive and long-term settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through peaceful negotiations within the mandate of
the OSCE Minsk Group’s co-chairmanship was emphasized,” the statement released
by the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.
It said that Mirzoyan presented “the situation created as a result of the recent
aggression of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces against the territorial integrity and
sovereignty of Armenia.”
Mirzoyan reportedly stressed “the role of the Armenian-Russian allied relations
in the context of efforts aimed at establishing stability in the region.”
Mirzoyan and Lavrov also discussed “the process of the fulfillment of the
obligations assumed by the parties as part of the trilateral statements of
November 9, 2020 and January 11, 2021”, the statement added.
In a separate phone conversation on Wednesday Armenia’s top diplomat reportedly
discussed “regional security issues of mutual interest” with Iran’s Foreign
Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan (L) and Iranian Foreign Minister
Hossein Amirabdollahian meet in Tehran, October 4, 2021
According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, during the conversation Mirzoyan
said that “Azerbaijan’s latest aggression against Armenia is a serious threat to
efforts to establish security and stability in the region.”
He said he highly appreciated Iran’s position on “the territorial integrity of
Armenia and the inviolability of its borders.”
The two also reportedly “exchanged views on expanding ties in the areas of
trade, economy, infrastructures and energy.”
“The importance of the implementation of work on the multilateral agreement on
the creation of the Persian Gulf-Black Sea international transport corridor was
also pointed out,” the statement of the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.
The same day, according to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Mirzoyan held a phone
conversation with Foreign Minister of Israel Yair Lapid.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan (L) and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair
Lapid (combo photo, undated)
During the conversation Mirzoyan “presented the situation resulting from the
recent aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against the territorial integrity and
sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia,” it said.
“The interlocutors discussed the Armenian-Israeli relations and prospects of
their promotion. Issues of the Armenian historical-cultural and religious
heritage in the Holy Land were addressed,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in
a statement.
The Armenian foreign minister’s series of telephone talks came two days before
an Armenian-Azerbaijani summit talks to be hosted by Russian President Vladimir
Putin in Sochi on November 26.
The Putin-hosted talks between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are expected to focus on issues of border
delimitation and demarcation after a major escalation along the border between
the two South Caucasus countries on November 16.
At least seven Azerbaijani and six Armenian soldiers were killed in skirmishes
that were stopped through Russia’s mediation.
Yerevan says at least 32 Armenian soldiers were taken prisoner by Azerbaijan as
a result of the fighting that proved to be the worst since last year’s
Russia-brokered ceasefire that stopped a 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh in which
nearly 7,000 people were killed.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.