RFE/RL Armenian Report – 10/12/2018

                                        Friday, 

Pashinian Meets Dashnaktsutyun Leaders

        • Ruzanna Stepanian

Armenia - Supporters of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation attend an 
election campaign rally in Yerevan, 30Mar2017.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has met with leaders of the Armenian 
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) less than two weeks after scrapping a 
de facto power-sharing deal with the party reached in May.

In a statement, Dashnaktsutyun said four members of its decision-making Bureau 
discussed with Pashinian on Thursday the political situation in Armenia and 
“forthcoming developments.”

“They agreed to continue meetings in the coming days,” the statement added 
without giving any details.

The two sides almost certainly spoke about Pashinian’s plans to force snap 
general elections in December.

Dashnaktsutyun has insisted until now that the elections be delayed until next 
May or June so that political forces have enough time to prepare for them. On 
October 2, its parliament deputies joined their colleagues from the former 
ruling Republican Party (HHK) in hastily passing a bill that could have 
complicated the early conduct of the polls.

Pashinian reacted furiously to that development, accusing Dashnaktsutyun and 
another coalition partner, the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), of being 
involved in a “counterrevolutionary” conspiracy against his government. He also 
fired the six government ministers who represented the two parties.

The BHK last week dropped its objections to Pashinian’s plans, signing a 
corresponding memorandum of understanding with the premier. The HHK leadership 
has indicated, for its part, that it will not attempt to scuttle those plans.

Arsen Hambardzumian, one of the Dashnaktsutyun leaders who met with Pashinian, 
said on Friday that his party is inclined to take part in the anticipated 
December vote. But he said it is not planning to sign any joint statements with 
Pashinian.

“Mutual trust among political forces is much more important than any signed 
document,” Hambardzumian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

Hambardzumian also expressed hope that the current parliament will swiftly 
enact major amendments to the Electoral Code which will change the electoral 
system and introduce more safeguards against fraud.

A government task force formed by Pashinian this summer has drafted a package 
of such amendments. But it is not clear whether the National Assembly will 
debate them this month.




Tsarukian’s Party Gears Up For Snap Elections

        • Ruzanna Stepanian

Armenia - The Prosperous Armenia Party's mayoral candidate Naira Zohrabian 
speaks at an election campaign rally in Yerevan, 21 September 2018.

Businessman Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) said on Friday 
that it has already started preparations for snap parliamentary elections 
expected in December.

“The BHK will definitely take part in the upcoming pre-term parliamentary 
elections,” said Naira Zohrabian, the party’s secretary general. “Our regional 
chapters have already received clear instructions from Gagik Tsarukian to start 
organizational works.”

“We have already started working with our regional chapters with clear 
instructions to get ready for the forthcoming parliamentary elections,” 
Zohrabian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.

As recently as on October 2, the BHK opposed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s 
efforts to force the elections in December. But it dropped those objections a 
few days later, after Pashinian rallied tens of thousands of angry supporters 
in Yerevan and fired four government ministers affiliated with Tsarukian’s 
party.

Under the Armenian constitution, such polls can be held only if the prime 
minister resigns and the parliament fails to replace him within two weeks. 
Tsarukian, whose party controls 31 seats in the 105-member National Assembly, 
pledged on Monday not to nominate or endorse any prime-ministerial candidates 
in case of Pashinian’s resignation.

Pashinian said afterwards that he will tender his resignation by October 16 to 
ensure that the fresh polls are held in the first half of December. His 
political team is tipped to win them by a landslide.

The popular premier’s My Step alliance won over 80 percent of the vote in 
municipal elections held in Yerevan on September 23. The BHK finished a distant 
second with just 7 percent.

In Zohrabian’s words, Tsarukian’s party has not yet decided whether to contest 
the parliamentary elections on its own or in an alliance with other groups.




Kosovo Leader Makes First-Ever Visit To Armenia

        • Emil Danielyan

Armenia - Presidents Armen Sarkissian (R) of Armenia and Hashim Thaci of Kosovo 
meet in Yerevan, .

Despite Armenia’s continuing reluctance to recognize his country’s 
independence, President Hashim Thaci of Kosovo was received by his Armenian 
counterpart Armen Sarkissian on Friday on the sidelines of a summit of the 
Francophonie organization held in Yerevan.

Thaci was among the leaders of over three dozen French-speaking nations who 
arrived in the Armenian capital to take part in the two-day summit. It was his 
first-ever visit to Armenia.

Thaci shook hands with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian at the start of the 
summit on Thursday. He described his ensuing meeting with Sarkissian as “good.”

“I expressed our desire to increase our interaction within multilateral, 
cultural, economic spheres of influence,” he wrote on his Twitter page.

A separate statement by Thaci’s office said he and the Armenian president 
“agreed to continue mutual communication in the future.”

Sarkissian’s press service said the two men spoke about “challenges facing the 
humanity and possibilities of overcoming them.” It referred to Thaci as “the 
leader of a country that has received the status of an associated member in the 
International Organization of the Francophonie.”

Serbia lost control over Kosovo in 1999 after a NATO bombing campaign to stop 
Serbian forces killing and expelling ethnic Albanians making up the vast 
majority of the territory’s population. Kosovo declared independence in 2008 
and has since been recognized by more than 100 states.

Armenia has still not recognized the former Serbian province as an independent 
state. Russia, its closest ally, continues to strongly support Serbian 
sovereignty over Kosovo.


Kosovo - Armenian soldiers walk in riot gear to a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter 
during a training exercise at Camp Bondsteel, March 12, 2014. (Photo courtesy 
of www.army.mil)

Even so, Yerevan reacted positively to a July 2010 ruling by the International 
Court of Justice (ICJ) that upheld the legality of Kosovo’s secession from 
Serbia. Meeting with his Kosovar counterpart in New York in September 2010, 
then Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said the UN court thereby backed the 
principle of peoples’ right to self-determination.

Armenia has championed that principle in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Its 
leaders hoped that the ICJ decision will strengthen their case for similar 
international recognition of Karabakh’s de facto secession from Azerbaijan.

Also, some 35 Armenian soldiers have been serving in Kosovo as part of a 
NATO-led multinational force.

Incidentally, Nalbandian’s successor, Zohrab Mnatsakanian, met on Friday with 
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, who represented his country at the 
Francophonie summit. According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the two men 
discussed ways of boosting Serbian-Armenian “interaction within international 
bodies” as well as “a number of pressing regional issues.”




Francophonie Summit In Armenia Touted As Success

        • Karlen Aslanian

Armenia - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian congratulates Louise 
Mushikiwabo, new head of the International Organization of La Francophonie 
(OIF), at a summit in Yerevan, .

The leaders of over three dozen mostly French-speaking counties wrapped up on 
Friday a two-day meeting in Yerevan which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said 
has raised Armenia’s international profile.

French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and 
other participants of the summit adopted a joint declaration that was not 
immediately made public. They also appointed Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Louise 
Mushikiwabo as head of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF).

The summit, also attended by government delegations from over 40 other states, 
was the largest international forum ever held in Yerevan. It highlighted what 
the current and former Armenian governments have described as Armenia’s 
“privileged relationship” with France.

“We can say for certain that this event has helped to boost the international 
standing of our country and to strengthen the International Organization of La 
Francophonie and its authority,” Pashinian said in a video address to the 
nation. “The summit was very well-organized.”

“I want to thank all those people who were involved in organizing it,” he said, 
naming several senior Armenian diplomats and other government officials.

Pashinian also acknowledged that Armenia’s former government and former Foreign 
Minister Edward Nalbandian in particular deserve credit for the Francophonie 
organization’s decision in 2016to hold its next summit in Yerevan. “Special 
thanks to Mr. Nalbandian for those efforts,” he said.


ARMENIA -- French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and Armenian Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian take part in a stamp cancellation ceremony, dedicated to French 
singer of Armenian origin Charles Aznavour, during the 17th Francophonie Summit 
in Yerevan, October

The Armenian leader, who swept to power in a wave of mass protests in May, also 
used the forum to solidify his seemingly warm personal rapport with Macron. 
Private videos captured the two men as well as Trudeau and Prince Albert of 
Monaco dancing at an official dinner late on Thursday.

Pashinian and Macron hugged each other before the latter left the Karen 
Demirchian Sports and Concert Complex, which served as the summit venue, for 
Yerevan’s Zvartnots international airport on Friday afternoon.

The Francophonie grouping comprises 54 member states where French is spoken or 
where there is an affinity toward French culture. Many of them are former 
French colonies.


Canada’s Trudeau Hails Democratic Change In Armenia


Armenia - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (R) gives his Canadian 
counterpart Justin Trudeau a pair of Armenian socks at a sate dinner in 
Yerevan, .

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was full of praise for what he described 
as Armenia’s ongoing transition to democracy when he met with the country’s 
leaders in Yerevan late on Friday.

Trudeau held talks with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and President Armen 
Sarkissian during his first-ever official visit to the South Caucasus country 
timed to coincide with a summit of French-speaking nations held in the Armenian 
capital. The talks were followed by an official dinner given by Pashinian.

“Right now around the world we see challenges in various democracies with the 
rise of populism, with politics of division, with challenges of countries 
moving further away from democracy,” Trudeau said at the dinner. “And here in 
Armenia you are moving strongly and proudly in the right direction, in the 
democracy direction.”

“The focus you, Nikol, have brought on connecting with people, on serving 
people and on empowering people through democracy and economic opportunities, 
but mostly through pride and confidence in the future they are building, is 
truly extraordinary,” he added.

According to the Armenian premier's office, Trudeau told Pashinian at their 
meeting earlier in the day that Canada, which has a thriving Armenian 
community, stands ready to help Armenia attract foreign investment and upgrade 
its public infrastructures.

In his opening remarks at the talks, the Canadian leader said he was 
“overwhelmed” by a warm reception he received in Yerevan. “Over these past days 
it’s been just wonderful to be so warmly welcomed and it’s a real pleasure to 
be here,” he said.


Armenia - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (R) gives his Canadian 
counterpart Justin Trudeau the Armenian translation of his book, 12 October 
2018.

“The people of Canada & Armenia are at the heart of the special relationship 
between our two countries – and tie us together in so many ways,” Trudeau 
tweeted after the dinner with Pashinian and Sarkissian.

For his part, Pashinian lavished praise on Trudeau, saying that Armenians have 
“positive attitudes towards your country and you personally.” “I hope that the 
personal relationship established between us will help to elevate the already 
warm relations between our countries to a new level,” he said.

Pashinian, who came to power in May in what is widely regarded in Armenia as a 
democratic “velvet revolution,” then handed Trudeau a copy of the Armenian 
translation of the latter’s memoir published in 2014.




Press Review



“Zhoghovurd” quotes Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian as telling the France24 TV 
channel that Russia fully supports his government’s fight against corruption. 
The paper notes that Armenia’s former leaders have portrayed that fight as a 
Western-backed effort to undermine Russian political and economic influence on 
Armenia. It describes Pashinian’s remarks as a “nice gesture” addressed to 
Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Zhamanak” says that after hosting the Francophonie summit Armenia will enter a 
“period of turbulent political developments.” The paper is confident that the 
Armenian parliament will not appoint another prime minister after Pashinian 
resigns to pave the way for the holding of pre-term parliamentary elections in 
December. It says that not only Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party 
(BHK) but also the Republican Party (HHK) have made assurances to that effect. 
It suggests that the HHK is “preparing ground” for its non-participation in the 
upcoming elections.

“Regardless of the quality of the elections, the next parliament will not have 
flexibility and its stability will solely hinge on Nikol Pashinian’s approval 
rating,” continues “Zhamanak.” The paper claims that Armenia will face a 
“government crisis” two years later if Pashinian fails to convert his 
popularity into good and efficient governance.

“Aravot” comments on former Prosecutor-General Gevorg Kostanian’s surprise 
pledge of allegiance to Pashinian. The paper recalls that as recently as in 
April Kostanian, who has long been regarded as Serzh Sarkisian’s protégé, 
condemned Pashinian-led protests as illegal and said the authorities have the 
legitimate right to end them by force. “Such pledges are only made in church 
during weddings,” it says tartly.

(Lilit Harutiunian)

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