Friday, July 27, 2018 Armenian Head Of Russian-Led Alliance Also Prosecuted Over 2008 Unrest July 27, 2018 Armenia - Retired General Yuri Khachaturov arrives at the Special Investigative Service headquarters in Yerevan, 26 July 2018. Armenia’s former top army general currently heading the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has also been charged in a renewed criminal investigation into the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan. The Special Investigative Service (SIS) formally accused Yuri Khachaturov of involvement in an “overthrow of the constitutional order” after interrogating him on Thursday. In a statement released on Friday, the SIS said it has also asked a court in Yerevan to allow Khachaturov’s pre-trial detention. The SIS also levelled the same accusation against former President Robert Kocharian. The latter ordered the violent dispersal on March 1-2, 2008 of nonstop opposition protests staged in the wake of a disputed presidential election. The crackdown, which left eight protesters and two police servicemen dead, came just over a month before Kocharian served out his second and final term in office. Kocharian denied the charges as politically motivated later on Thursday. Early this month, the SIS issued an arrest warrant for retired General Mikael Harutiunian, who was Armenia’s defense minister during the 2008 unrest. It alleged that Harutiunian had illegally used the armed forces against the protesters, saying that amounted to a coup d’etat. Khachaturov was a deputy defense minister in March 2008. The newly elected President Serzh Sarkisian appointed him as chief of the army’s General Staff in April 2008. Khachaturov, 65, briefly spoke to RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) before being questioned by SIS investigators. He said he does not expect to be prosecuted for the 2008 crackdown. The retired general served as the Armenian army’s chief of staff from 2008-2016. Russia, Armenia and four other ex-Soviet states making up the CSTO appointed him as secretary general of the Russian-led defense pact in April 2017. The CSTO and its non-Armenian member states did not immediately react to the criminal proceedings launched against Khachaturov. The TASS news agency quoted a spokesman for the CSTO Secretariat in Moscow as saying that it has not yet received official information about them. Armenia - A man walks past burned cars on a street in Yerevan where security forces clashed with opposition protesters, 2 March 2008. The SIS bases its accusations on a secret order which Defense Minister Harutiunian issued to the Armenian military during the post-election demonstrations organized by Levon Ter-Petrosian, the main opposition candidate in the 2008 ballot. It says that military units began moving into Yerevan before Kocharian declared a state of emergency late on March 1, 2008. According to the law-enforcement agency, that violated constitutional provisions guaranteeing the political neutrality of the Armenian armed forces. In televised remarks aired late on Thursday, Kocharian insisted that the army was simply put on high alert in order to prevent some of its soldiers and officers from heeding Ter-Petrosian’s repeated calls for the military to join his opposition movement. The ex-president also argued that army units were not involved in vicious clashes between security forces and protesters which were followed by the introduction of emergency rule. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, who played a key role in the Ter-Petrosian-led movement, was the main speaker at a March 1, 2008 rally that took place several hundred meters from the scene of the deadly violence. Pashinian subsequently spent nearly two years in prison for organizing “mass disturbances” in the Armenian capital. He denied the accusations as politically motivated. Pashinian appointed a new head of the SIS shortly he swept to power in May in a wave of mass protests against Serzh Sarkisian’s continued rule. He told the SIS to reinvigorate its long-running criminal investigation into the unrest and punish those responsible for the ten deaths. Republicans, Dashnaks Slam Charges Against Kocharian July 27, 2018 Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian (R) and his predecessor Robert Kocharian at an official ceremony near Yerevan, 03Dec2008. The former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) on Friday condemned as politically motivated coup charges brought against former President Robert Kocharian. Another major party, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), which is represented in the country’s current government, similarly expressed serious concern over Kocharian’s prosecution stemming from the 2008 poste-election violence in Yerevan. “The accusation leaves the impression of purely political persecution and is ludicrous from the legal standpoint,” the HHK said in a statement. “We consider the existing situation to be a threat to Armenia’s democratic development and a blow to efforts to build a full-fledged rule-of-law state,” added the party headed by Serzh Sarkisian, who succeeded Kocharian as president in April 2008. The handover of power from Kocharian to Sarkisian followed a disputed presidential election marred by opposition allegations of serious fraud. Levon Ter-Petrosian, another ex-president and the main opposition candidate in the February 2008 election, staged daily demonstrations at the time to demand a rerun of the ballot. Security forces broke up those protests on March 1-2, 2008. Eight protesters and two police personnel died as a result. Kocharian was charged in connection with the deadly violence on Thursday. Dashnaktsutyun’s governing body in Armenia described the accusations levelled against Kocharian as “extremely concerning.” It said that “they can be interpreted as political persecution.” In a statement, the Dashnaktsutyun leadership also warned that the case could undermine “national unity” and “faith in the Armenian army.” It cited a prominent role played by Kocharian in the 1991-1994 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Dashnaktsutyun, which is particularly influential in the worldwide Armenian Diaspora, was allied to Kocharian throughout his 1998-2008 rule. It also struck a power-sharing deal with Sarkisian when the latter took over as president in April 2008. Dashnaktsutyun received two ministerial posts in the current Armenian government formed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in May following mass protests that forced Sarkisian into resignation. Its statement did not say whether the party could pull out of Pashinian’s de facto coalition government if law-enforcement authorities press ahead with Kocharian’s prosecution. Yerevan Hospital Chief Fired After Corruption Claims (UPDATED) July 27, 2018 • Narine Ghalechian Armenia - The director of Surb Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center, Ara Minasian, 2 April, 2018, In a move that sparked protests by medics, the Armenian Ministry of Health sacked on Friday the executive director of a Yerevan hospital, who is related to former President Serzh Sarkisian, after alleging fraudulent practices there. Health Minister Arsen Torosian said last week that an audit of the Surb Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center found that its management embezzled government funds allocated for free examinations and treatment of civil servants. Torosian’s ministry put the alleged damage caused to the state since 2016 at around 545 million drams ($1.1 million). In a statement, it said it has asked prosecutors to look into the allegations and decide whether they warrant a criminal investigation. Torosian announced on his Facebook page later in the day that Ara Minasian, the hospital director, has been fired due to “the enormous scale of the violations.” A new hospital chief will be chosen on a competitive basis, the minister wrote. The sacking was condemned by several dozen doctors and other medical staff who demonstrated outside the hospital in support of Minasian. The protesters also included Samvel Farmanian, a parliament deputy from Sarkisian’s Republican Party. Farmanian demanded that Torosian visit the hospital and give more detailed explanations. A statement released on behalf of the Surb Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center staff earlier this month likewise voiced support for Minasian. It accused the Ministry of Health of waging a “political campaign” against Minasian. A prominent doctor, Minasian is the father of Serzh Sarkisian’s son-in-law Mikael Minasian. The latter enjoyed considerable political and economic influence in Armenia until nationwide mass protests brought down Sarkisian in late April. He continues to serve as Armenia’s ambassador to the Vatican. The new Armenian government has promised a tough fight against corruption. Among those targeted by its ongoing criminal investigations are individuals linked to Sarkisian, including his brother Levon, two nephews and former chief bodyguard. Armenia’s Deputy PM Echoes Western Mining Firm’s Concerns July 27, 2018 • Emil Danielyan Armenia - Gold mining facilities constructed by Lydian International company at Amulsar deposit, 18 May 2018. Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian expressed “deep concern” on Friday over allegations by a U.S.-based mining company that a former senior Armenian official is involved in the continuing disruption of its operations in Armenia. The company, Lydian International, released on Thursday a short video that purportedly shows the driver of an expensive car delivering food to several dozen protesters blockading the Amulsar gold deposit developed by it. Lydian claimed that the car formally belongs to another mining company, the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC), but is used by Vahe Hakobian, the former governor of the country’s southeastern Syunik province adjacent to Amulsar. “The attached footage is vivid proof of the fact that those who illegally block the roads [leading to Amulsar] are financed by interested persons, rather than guided by environmental concerns,” it said in a statement. Hakobian, who has also headed the Syunik chapter of former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK) until now, denied any links to the protesters. In a statement cited by the Armenpress news agency, his spokesman, Vazgen Saghatelian, said that the videotaped SUV was driven by a ZCMC employee, Vahan Grigorian. He claimed that Grigorian did not hand out any food and on the contrary received several packets of apricots from one of his relatives whom he accidentally met on a highway near Amulsar. Lydian’s claims were taken seriously by Avinian. In a statement posted on the Armenian government’s website, the vice-premier’s office said relevant state bodies must look into “new facts causing deep concern.” “The latest report by the Lydian Armenia company requires an objective and consistent examination,” said the statement. “We have to make sure that individuals pursuing parochial interests do not try to take advantage of the struggle waged by honest environmentalists concerned about Amulsar and Armenia’s nature in general,” it added. The statement insisted that the government is committed to an “impartial and legal solution” to the Amulsar dispute. Armenia - Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian, 27 May, 2018. The blockage of the mining site located about 160 kilometers southeast of Yerevan began on June 23 and is still continuing despite repeated appeals from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. Pashinian said later in June that Lydian must be allowed to resume its operations pending the findings of an ad hoc working group that will soon inspect the company and assess its compliance with environmental standards. The inspection was due to start early this month. However, the working group was formed by Pashinian only on July 20. It comprises representatives of various government agencies, mining experts and civil society representatives. Environment protection groups say that the Amulsar project, if implemented, will contaminate air, water and soil in the area. Lydian maintains that it will use advanced technology to prevent any damage to the local ecosystem. The company, which is registered in the British Channel Islands but headquartered in Colorado, said it has “well-founded suspicions” that the ongoing protests against gold mining at Amulsar are incited by other mining firms. It seemed to point the finger at ZCMC. ZCMC is located in Syunik and currently employs 3,600 people, making it one of the country’s leading corporate taxpayers. It was privatized in 2004 at a modest price of $132 million. A German metals group, Cronimet, gained a 75 percent stake in the industrial giant. The rest of ZCMC is controlled by two obscure Armenian firms. Ownership of those firms has long been a subject of speculation in Armenia, with some local commentators and opposition politicians linking them to former President Sarkisian or his predecessor Robert Kocharian. Hakobian was a senior ZCMC executive before Sarkisian appointed him as Syunik governor in 2016. He became the head of the ruling HHK’s regional branch in early 2017. Pashinian sacked Hakobian shortly after coming to power in May. According to the Hetq.am investigative publication, Hakobian holds a 10 percent stake in Cronimet Metal Trading CIS, an apparent subsidiary of ZCMC’s German parent company. Armenia -- A car blocks a road leading to the Amulsar mine, 2 July, 2018. Lydian, which claims to have already invested more than $300 million in Amulsar, has around 1,400 workers, many of them residents of towns and villages close to the gold deposit. The company planned to start producing gold there before the end of this year. It has reported at least $14 million in financial losses resulting from the month-long disruption. Lydian executives have repeatedly demanded that the Armenian authorities unblock the Amulsar roads. They have not ruled out the possibility of costly legal action against the Armenian state. The Amulsar project has been strongly supported by the U.S. and British embassies in Yerevan. U.S. Ambassador Richard Mills warned on July 18 that greater U.S. investment in the Armenian economy depends, among other things, on the new authorities’ treatment of Lydian. He expressed hope earlier that the upcoming audit of the Amulsar operation will be conducted “in strict accordance with the law.” Mills similarly stressed on Wednesday that potential U.S. investors need to be certain that “anyone who did invest here in good faith is not mistreated or has their investment wounded as a result of this kind of investigations.” Press Review July 27, 2018 “Zhoghovurd” says that investigators’ decision to press grave charges against former President Robert Kocharian came as a “shock” because no former Armenian head of state has been prosecuted before. The paper says that Kocharian responded to the development with the kind of accusations which he faced from his political opponents throughout his decade-long rule. It also notes that the Dashnaktsutyun and Prosperous Armenia parties, which cut power-sharing deals with Serzh Sarkisian following the March 2008 unrest, are now part of Nikol Pashinian’s government. “Kocharian is convinced or at least wants to give the impression that he is prosecuted not for the events of March 1 [2018] but for political reasons,” writes “Haykakan Zhamanak.” The paper linked to Pashinian shrugs off Kocharian’s claim that the new authorities want to bar him from participating in forthcoming general elections because he would do well in them. It says that Armenians associate Kocharian’s rule with political killings, arrests of opposition figures, closure of media outlets and corruption, rather than economic betterment. “Zhamanak” says that even after the recent “velvet revolution” few in Armenia believed that Kocharian could face prosecution. “The development took even Kocharian by surprise,” comments the paper. It says his prosecution signifies that “the situation has really changed in Armenia.” “The accusation brought against Robert Kocharian raised many questions yesterday,” writes “Hraparak.” The paper says that the Special Investigation Service’s statement on that looked like a court verdict. “On the basis of what facts did they bring such an accusation?” it says. It points out that the SIS had said earlier that it will question Kocharian as a witness, not a criminal suspect. (Tigran Avetisian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org