Thursday, Government Bill To Set New Referendum Rules In Armenia . Artak Hambardzumian Armenia - A voter in Yerevan casts a ballot in a constitutional referendum, 6Dec2015. The Armenian government approved on Thursday a bill that allows civic groups to initiate referendums backed by a large number of citizens. The bill stems from Armenia's amended constitution that will come into effect next April. Only the president of the republic and the parliament are currently able to put various issues on referendums. Under the draft Law on Referendums, groups of citizens could force nationwide votes on legislative initiatives that have been rejected by the National Assembly. But they would have to not only collect at least 300,000 signatures of voters but also have the Constitutional Court certify that a particular measure does not contradict the constitution. Speaking at a cabinet meeting in Yerevan, Justice Minister Davit Harutiunian also pointed to other restrictions set by the bill. In particular, it stipulates that issues relating to the structure of the government, national security, taxation and amnesties cannot be put on a referendum. Artur Sakunts, a human rights activist, criticized these strict requirements, saying that they make it practically impossible for civic groups and individuals to exercise their news constitutional right. "There is no logic behind the restrictions on the types of issues that can be put on a referendum," he told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyu.am). Still, Sakunts said that he believes non-governmental organizations will carefully consider the possibility of making use of the bill in the future if it is passed by the parliament. Anti-Trust Body Concerned Over Procurement Fraud . Tatevik Lazarian Armenia - The Prime Minister's Office and Finance Ministry buildings in Yerevan, 30Sep2017. Armenia's state anti-trust regulators have expressed concern at a lack of competition in supplies of goods and services to various government agencies, saying that this might fuel corrupt practices. According to Artak Shaboyan, the chairman of the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition (SCPEC), the regulatory body has scrutinized state procurements and found that bidding specifications were often so detailed that only a single company could realistically meet them. "For example, there were cases where a state body writes in its call for procurement proposals the name of a company or a product brand or its technical specifications are so detailed that it expects products from a particular supplier," Shaboyan complained during a public discussion in Yerevan. "This may lie beyond our authority but it affects the competitive environment," he said, adding that the SCPEC has already conveyed its concerns to the government. The Anti-Corruption Center (ACC), the Armenian affiliate of Transparency International, has for years charged that various government agencies purchase many goods and services at disproportionately high prices from a handful of companies usually owned by government-linked individuals. "Corruption risks are obvious there," Varuzhan Hoktanian, the ACC's program director, said on Thursday, commenting on Shaboyan's concerns. "There is also another factor," he said. "We know that we have a monopolized economy, which means that [many things] are done for a particular company." Prime Minister Karen Karapetian publicly questioned the integrity of state procurements just days after taking office in September 2016. In April this year, his government enacted amendments to an Armenian law on procurements meant to make the process much more transparent and prevent conflicts of interests among officials dealing with such purchases. A government official claimed in June that they will seriously preclude procurement fraud and collusion. Deputy Finance Minister Karen Tamazian argued on Thursday that the amendments also banned the kind of "discriminatory" bidding requirements that were deplored by Shaboyan's commission. "It is illegal to draw up such specifications," Tamazian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). He added that his ministry is now closely monitoring government agencies' compliance with the new rules. The ACC's Hoktanian acknowledged that the amendments were a step forward. He cautioned, however, that many laws are not properly enforced by the authorities. Man Charged In `Coup Plot' Again On Hunger Strike . Sisak Gabrielian Armenia - Nerses Poghosian stands trial on coup charges. A man accused of plotting, together with a radical opposition leader, an armed revolt against the Armenian government has refused food for the last three weeks in what is his third hunger strike in less than a year. The suspect, Nerses Poghosian, was taken into custody following the arrest in June 2016 of Zhirayr Sefilian, the leader of the Founding Parliament opposition movement. Sefilian was charged with acquiring large quantities of weapons and forming an armed group to seize government buildings in Yerevan. He and other senior members of Founding Parliament deny the charges as politically motivated. Poghosian is facing similar charges carrying between three and eight years' imprisonment. He too flatly denies them, saying that he did not even know Sefilian personally and was never affiliated with Founding Parliament. Poghosian first went on hunger strike in protest against his detention in December. He ended the protest a month later. His second hunger strike lasted for a week, with the authorities again refused to meet his demand. His third hunger strike began 20 days ago. Poghosian is demanding not only his release from custody but also greater transparency in the ongoing trial of Sefilian, himself and five other men. In addition, he is demanding the replacement of a trial prosecutor who he claims insulted him recently. Representatives of Armenia's human rights ombudsman, Arman Tatoyan, visited the coup suspect in Yerevan's Nubarashen prison on Wednesday. "He suffers from headaches and also has stomach and kidney aches," one of them, Aram Minasian, told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) on Thursday. "Nerses Poghosian also said that doctors periodically visit him but that he keeps refusing medical aid," said Minasian. Poghosian's lawyer, Ara Papikian, said that his client is having serious health problems because of the hunger strike. Press Review Interviewed by "168 Zham," Grigory Trofimchuk, a Russian political analyst, comments on the latest meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents that was held in Geneva on Monday. Trofimchuk notes that confidence-building agreements reached by Presidents Serzh Sarkisian and Ilham Aliyev at their previous talks held last year were never implemented. "As for what Azerbaijan expects from these negotiations, there will be no such results," he says. "Nobody is going to hand over lands to anyone. "Zhamanak" reports that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is scheduled to arrive in Yerevan on October 24 to take part in a regular session of the prime ministers of ex-Soviet states making up the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). "Medvedev's visit to Armenia is seen as important not on the Eurasian plane," the paper says. "The thing is that Karen Karapetian's several public messages make it clear that Armenia's prime minister is mainly pinning his hopes regarding the formation of [Armenia's next] government in 2018 on Medvedev's backing." "Zhoghovurd" accuses Karapetian and other government officials of "mocking the people" in response to their efforts to rationalize and downplay the latest increases in the retail prices of foodstuffs such as meat and butter in Armenia. In particular, it says, the chairman of Armenia's State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition (SCPEC), Artak Shaboyan, said on Wednesday that the SCPEC has looked into the butter, meat and fuel markets and found that there are "objective grounds" for the prices hikes there. For his part, Karapetian told reporters that the price rises are not as drastic as they are presented by media and that there is little his government could do about them because they were caused by external market factors. "What is this?" the paper says. "Cynicism? A mockery of the people? Or a sad attempt to confess their impotence?" (Anush Mkrtchian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org