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    Categories: 2023

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 03/01/2023

                                        Wednesday, March 1, 2023


Armenian Parliament Approves Sharp Pay Rise For Prosecutors

        • Gayane Saribekian

Armenia - Prosecutors attend a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, 
Yerevan, July 1, 2022.


The National Assembly approved on Wednesday a government proposal to nearly 
double the salaries of Armenia’s prosecutors.

Prosecutor-General Anna Vardapetian, who previously worked as a legal adviser to 
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, will be the biggest beneficiary of the measure 
criticized by opposition lawmakers. Her monthly wage will rise to at least 2.5 
million drams ($6,400).

Other prosecutors will earn the average of 1.5 million drams per month. The 
average monthly wage in Armenia currently stands at about 236,000 ($605) drams, 
according to government data.

Presenting a relevant government bill to the parliament, Deputy Justice Minister 
Levon Balian said the sharp pay rise will discourage prosecutors from taking 
bribes or succumbing to other “external pressures.” Balian said it will also 
reward them for their “excessive workload.”

Opposition parliamentarians dismissed that explanation, saying that the Armenian 
government simply wants to buy senior law-enforcement officials’ loyalty. One of 
those lawmakers, Artsvik Minasian, noted that Vardapetian will be earning even 
more than the country’s president and prime minister.

Law-enforcement bodies have for years been accused by the Armenian opposition of 
executing government orders to prosecute Pashinian’s political opponents. They 
have denied that.

A random street poll of Yerevan residents conducted by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service 
found little support for the drastic increase in the prosecutors’ wages.

“They had better buy weapons with that money,” said one man.

“Our army is in dire straits now. So defense is definitely our top priority,” 
agreed another.

Another citizen echoed the opposition claims about political motives behind the 
measure.

“They are fighting to cling to power,” he said of the current authorities. 
“There is nothing else. When Nikol Pashinian came to power in 2018 he was saying 
that he stands with the poor. But what is the status of the poor now?”



Azeri, Karabakh Officials Meet Again

        • Ruzanna Stepanian

Nagorno-Karabakh - Azerbaijani protesters stand in front of Russian peacekeepers 
on a road outside Stepanakert, December 24, 2022.


Azerbaijani officials met with Nagorno-Karabakh’s representatives on Wednesday 
for the second time in less than a week to discuss Azerbaijan’s continuing 
blockade of the Lachin corridor.

The meeting took place at the headquarters of Russian peacekeeping forces 
stationed in Karabakh.

Karabakh’s official news agency Artsakhpress reported that its participants 
discussed the restoration of “unimpeded” traffic thorough the corridor and 
Armenia’s electricity and natural gas supplies to Karabakh disrupted by Baku. It 
said they also looked at the possibility of Azerbaijani environmental 
inspections of two copper mines located in the Armenian-populated region.

“Agreements were reached on further cooperation aimed at reducing tension and 
establishing peaceful life in the region,” it added without elaborating.

Azerbaijani government-backed protesters blocked the sole road connecting 
Karabakh to Armenia on December 12 following the Karabakh Armenians’ refusal to 
allow such inspections. The authorities in Stepanakert and Yerevan rejected 
those demands as a pretext for cutting off Karabakh from the outside world.

An Azerbaijani readout of Friday’s meeting cited by the APA news agency said the 
Azerbaijani negotiators included the head of a “monitoring group” investigating 
“illegal” mining operations in Karabakh. It said the meeting focused on the 
Karabakh Armenians’ “integration into Azerbaijan.” There was no word on the 
possible lifting of the blockade that has led to shortages of food, medicine and 
other essential items in Karabakh.

The Karabakh president, Arayik Harutiunian, reiterated, meanwhile, that 
Stepanakert will continue to resist the restoration of Azerbaijani control over 
Karabakh.

“But this doesn’t mean that we will avoid contacts [with Baku] for addressing 
humanitarian and infrastructure-related issues,” said Harutiunian.

The meeting mediated by the commander of the Russian peacekeepers came the day 
after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov wrapped up a visit to Baku. Lavrov 
indicated Russia’s opposition to Azerbaijani attempts to set up a checkpoint at 
the Lachin corridor. He said the Russian peacekeepers could use “technical 
means” to address Azerbaijani concerns.

Baku has accused Armenia of smuggling landmines to Karabakh through the corridor 
in breach of the 2020 ceasefire brokered by Moscow. The Armenian side has 
strongly denied the allegations.

A senior Karabakh lawmaker, Seyran Hayrapetian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service 
that Stepanakert is ready to discuss the idea of installing X-ray scanners at 
the corridor. But he said they must be operated and controlled only by the 
Russian peacekeepers.

The first meeting of Azerbaijani and Karabakh officials took place on February 
24 the day after Harutiunian announced the dismissal of his chief minister, 
Ruben Vardanyan, which was demanded by Baku throughout the blockade.



Armenian Police Criticized Over Surge In Drug Trafficking

        • Ruzanna Stepanian

Armenia - Interior Minister Vahe Ghazarian speaks in the parliament, Yerevan, 
March 1, 2023.


Pro-government lawmakers criticized the Armenian police for a sharp rise in drug 
trafficking in the country when they met with Interior Minister Vahe Ghazarian 
late on Tuesday.

The police reported a total of 743 trafficking cases last year, up from over 420 
cases in 2021. The increase is widely blamed on increasingly accessible 
synthetic drugs mainly sold through the internet and, in particular, social 
media platforms such as Telegram.

Armen Khachatrian, a senior lawmaker representing the ruling Civil Contract 
party, said the alarming statistics was the main focus of Ghazarian’s meeting 
Civil Contract deputies that lasted for about three hours.

“The statistics is concerning, and the [ruling party’s] parliamentary faction is 
not satisfied with the current methods of the fight [against drug trafficking,]” 
Khachatrian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “Therefore, a new program must be 
drawn up in order to reduce this problem to a minimum.”

“We cannot tolerate widespread drug trafficking in Armenia,” added the former 
police officer.

Khachatrian was particularly concerned about a “significant number” of young 
Armenians suffering from drug addiction.

The youth are the main target group of Telegram channels selling drugs. Links to 
those websites are now painted on residential buildings and other public areas 
across Yerevan.

A prosecutor interviewed by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service last month insisted that 
law-enforcement authorities are cracking down on the illegal online trade. In 
his words, over the last three years they have identified and charged over two 
dozen members of four criminal associations that old several million dollars’ 
worth of narcotics through social media.

Critics of the Armenian government link the growing drug trade with recent 
years’ increase in Armenia’s overall crime rate. They say that the country not 
accustomed to widespread drug abuse is not as safe as it was before the 2018 
“velvet revolution.”

The total number of various crimes registered by the Armenia police rose by over 
24 percent in 2022.

Khachatrian said he and other pro-government lawmakers also discussed with 
Ghazarian recent scandals involving the Patrol Service, a new Western-funded 
police force tasked with road policing and street patrol.

The chief of the service, Colonel Artur Umrshatian, was fired two weeks ago 
following an extraordinary traffic incident at Yerevan’s main square which 
sparked accusations of incompetence directed at its officers. Dozens of those 
officers have been subjected disciplinary action over the past year.

“The minister admitted that there have been cases of unprofessional behavior by 
patrol officers,” said Khachatrian.


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