RFE/RL Armenian Report – 06/21/2019

                                        Friday, June 21, 2019

Armenia, Azerbaijan Urged To Observe Ceasefire
June 21, 2019
        • Emil Danielyan

U.S. -- Foreign Ministers Zohrab Mnatsakanian of Armenia and Elmar Mammadyarov 
of Azerbaijan and international mediators meet in Washington, June 20, 2019.

U.S., Russian and French diplomats urged the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh 
conflict to prevent further ceasefire violations when they mediated fresh talks 
between Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s foreign ministers in Washington on Thursday.

The three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group said the talks focused on recent 
armed incidents around Karabakh and “core issues of the settlement process.” 
Neither they nor the conflicting parties reported major progress towards a 
long-awaited peace accord.

“Noting with regret recent casualties, the Co-Chairs urged the sides to take 
immediate measures to restore an atmosphere conducive to peace and favorable to 
substantive talks,” the mediators said in a joint statement.

“They called on the sides to reaffirm their commitment to observe the ceasefire 
strictly and to refrain from any provocative action, including the use of 
snipers and engineering works along the line of contact and the international 
border,” they added.

According to the statement, Foreign Ministers Zohrab Mnatsakanian and Elmar 
Mammadyarov agreed on the need to “reduce the risk of escalation” and pledged 
to meet again “in the near future.”

The Armenian service of the Voice of America quoted Mammadyarov as saying after 
the meeting that the mediators presented the two ministers with “additional 
substantive proposals.” He did not disclose them.

Mammadyarov also told reporters that the two sides continue to disagree on 
details of a peace formula which he said has been advanced by the United 
States, Russia and France for the last 15 years.

It calls for Armenian withdrawal from virtually all seven districts around the 
former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast which were fully or partly occupied 
by Karabakh Armenian forces during the 1991-1994 war. In return, Karabakh’s 
predominantly ethnic Armenian population would determine the disputed 
territory’s internationally recognized status in a future referendum.

A statement by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry also said that the co-chairs 
put forward “results-oriented proposals” at Washington but did not elaborate. 
It described the meeting as “positive.”

For its part, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said the mediators “shared ideas 
aimed at pushing the peace process forward, including in the humanitarian 
sphere.” Speaking to journalists in the U.S. capital, Mnatsakanian stressed the 
importance of strengthening the ceasefire regime in the conflict zone and thus 
creating an “appropriate environment” for a peaceful settlement.

Truce violations along the Karabakh “line of contact” escalated in late May and 
early June after several months of unusual calm. They had decreased 
significantly since Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani 
President Ilham Aliyev first met in September. The two leaders also talked on 
four other occasions in the following months, raising some hopes for progress 
in the protracted peace process.

Mnatsakanian and Mammadyarov have also negotiated on a regular basis. Ahead of 
their talks in Washington the two ministers met separately with U.S. National 
Security Adviser John Bolton and senior U.S. State Department officials.




Constitutional Court Keeps Working Despite Challenge
June 21, 2019
        • Naira Nalbandian

Armenia -- The Constitutional Court building in Yerevan, June 21, 2019.

The chairman and six other members of Armenia’s Constitutional Court continued 
to meet and make decisions on Friday despite being effectively declared 
illegitimate by their newly elected colleague Vahe Grigorian.

Grigorian was sworn in on Thursday two days after the Armenian parliament 
approved his appointment to a vacant seat in the court. In an ensuing speech, 
he said that under constitutional amendments which took effect last year the 
Constitutional Court now consists of “judges,” rather than “members,” as was 
the case until April 2018.

He said that only he and Arman Dilanian, who was elected by the parliament last 
year, can be considered judges and make decisions. What is more, Grigorian 
declared that because of Dilanian’s absence from the country he will take over 
as acting chairman of the Constitutional Court on Friday.

A senior pro-government parliamentarian, Nikolay Baghdasarian, similarly stated 
that Hrayr Tovmasian, who has headed the court since March 2018, is no longer 
its chairman. But some opposition lawmakers cited a constitutional provision 
which they say makes it clear that the court members appointed before 2018 can 
continue to perform their duties until they turn 65.

Tovmasian, who was previously a senior lawmaker representing the former ruling 
Republican Party of Armenia, appeared unaffected by Grigorian’s statement as he 
entered the Constitutional Court building in Yerevan on Friday morning.

“As you can I see, I’m going to work,” Tovmasian told reporters when he was 
asked about the statement. He declined to comment further.


Armenia -- Hrair Tovmasian, the newly elected head of the Constitutional Court, 
speaks in the parliament, March 21, 2018.

Felix Tokhian, a veteran member of the court, seemed to defend his legitimacy, 
saying that “there is no legal dispute.” Two other judges, Alvina Gyulumian and 
Arevik Poghosian, refused to comment on Grigorian’s claims.

Gyulumian did note, though, that unlike Grigorian, she believes “the 
Constitutional Court is not in crisis.” She also made clear that she does not 
intend to resign.

Poghosian said afterwards that the 9-member court held a “working discussion” 
attended by Grigorian but that it did not address his unexpected declaration 
because the new judge did not bring it up. “If he does, naturally we are 
colleagues and we’ll see what he says,” she said.

However, Grigorian, who enjoys the backing of the ruling My Step alliance, told 
journalists later in the day that he has discussed the matter with Tovmasian 
and other members of Armenia’s highest court. He said the discussions were 
“constructive” but did not elaborate.

“After they are over I will answer all questions,” he added. “I find it wrong 
to make any comments now.”

Grigorian also said that he “he did not participate” in any formal decisions 
made by the Constitutional Court on Friday.

In particular, the court decided to hold hearings and rule on two appeals 
lodged by Armenia’s indicted former President Robert Kocharian. The latter has 
challenged the legality of his arrest and coup charges brought against him last 
year.


Armenia -- Supporters of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian block the entrance to 
the Constitutional Court building in Yerevan, May 20, 2019.
Kocharian was released from custody on May 18 five days after the start of his 
trial. The decision made by a district court angered many allies and supporters 
of the Armenian government who hold the ex-president responsible for the 2008 
post-election bloodshed in Yerevan. Armenia’s Court of Appeals is scheduled to 
uphold or overturn it on June 25.

On May 20, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian promised a sweeping reform of 
Armenia’s judiciary, saying that it remains linked to “the former corrupt 
system.” The announcement came as Pashinian’s supporters blocked the entrances 
to all court buildings in protest.

Asked about the Constitutional Court’s latest decisions on the Kocharian case, 
Grigorian replied: “It’s a decision of the court. I won’t comment on it. When 
it’s published we’ll see.”




Large Loan Sought For Ending Yerevan’s Transport Woes
June 21, 2019
        • Narine Ghalechian

Armenia - An overcrowded public transport minibus in Yerevan, October 16, 2018.

The Yerevan mayor’s office revealed on Friday that it has asked the Armenian 
government to borrow at least $100 million for a complete overhaul of the 
city’s deteriorating system of public transport.

Ever since the mid-1990s, the system has been dominated by minibuses belonging 
to private companies. Few of them have invested in their fleet of aging 
vehicles in the past decade. The minibuses as well as a smaller number of buses 
provided by the municipality have become even more overcrowded as a result.

A British transport consultancy, WYG, was contracted by Yerevan’s former 
municipal administration in 2016 to propose a detailed plan to revamp the 
transport network. Then Mayor Taron Markarian essentially accepted the 
proposals in 2017, pledging to replace the battered minibuses with new and 
larger buses by the end of 2018.

Markarian was forced to resign last summer following the “velvet revolution” 
which brought down Armenia’s former government. His successor, Hayk Marutian, 
said after taking office in October that the city’s long-suffering commuters 
will have to wait for at least two years. He told WYG to conduct further 
research on the volume of passenger traffic and bus fares that would have to be 
set in the Armenian capital.

Marutian’s first deputy, Hrachya Sargsian, did not mention WYG proposals when 
he answered questions from opposition members of the city council concerned 
about Yerevan’s lingering transport woes. He told them that the municipality 
needs more than $100 million to buy 820 modern buses.

Sargsian said it has proposed that the government raise the money from external 
sources. He said that one-fifth of the required funding could come in the form 
of grants provided by foreign donors.

Sargsian insisted that the new transport network would not only recoup these 
investments but also operate at a profit. The municipality would need between 
two and three years to create such a network, he said.

Hripsime Arakelian, a council member representing the opposition Prosperous 
Armenia Party (BHK), was unconvinced by this plan. She argued that it would add 
to the country’s increased debt burden.

Tehmina Vartanian, a councilor representing the opposition Luys bloc, echoed 
that concern. She accused the municipality of having done little to solve one 
of the city’s most serious problems.



Press Review
June 21, 2019

Lragir.am says that in their statement issued after Thursday’s meeting of the 
Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers the U.S., Russian and French 
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group again did not mention the 2016 agreements on 
international investigations of ceasefire violations in the Karabakh conflict 
zone. According to it, some observers expected Yerevan to seek to revive those 
agreements at the Washington meeting. “Azerbaijan is against that because it 
would thereby effectively recognize Artsakh’s borders,” writes the online 
publication. It wonders if Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian raised the 
matter with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov and the Minsk Group 
co-chairs in Washington. It worries that Yerevan may have again agreed to “save 
Ilham Aliyev’s face.”

“Aravot” cites Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian as saying during a court 
hearing that $18 million was transferred to the bank account of former 
President Robert Kocharian’s son Sedrak in 2007-2009. He was aged 26-28 at the 
time. “Presumably that young man did a very profitable business if he made such 
a huge profit,” the paper comments tartly. “He definitely did not deal in 
weapons or drugs to make so much money. Nor is Sedrak a shareholder in 
transnational corporations. We can only add that he started displaying his 
remarkable business acumen when his father still held the post of president of 
Armenia. A country where the average monthly salary did not exceed $300.”

“Zhoghovurd” comments on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s strong praise of his 
government’s performance in 2018. The paper says that his statement is bound to 
prompt criticism from opposition figures and other critics of the government. 
It defends the government, pointing to official statistics which shows that the 
Armenian economy grew by 7.1 percent in the first quarter of this year.

(Lilit Harutiunian)


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