Monday,
Armenia Touts Demining Record In Syria
• Marine Khachatrian
Syria -- Armenian demining experts prepare to clear a minefield near Aleppo.
(Photo by the Armenian Center for Humanitarian Demining and Expertise.)
Armenian servicemen have demined nearly 35,000 square meters of land in Syria
since being deployed there in February, a senior official in Yerevan said on
Monday.
Ruben Arakelian, director of the Armenian Defense Ministry’s Center for
Humanitarian Demining and Expertise (CHDE), said they have found 29 landmines
and unexploded ordnance during an ongoing operation coordinated with the
Russian and Syrian militaries.
Arakelian said the Armenian contingent aims to clear five potential minefields
in and around the war-ravaged city of Aleppo with a combined area of 1.3
million square meters. “They have to be demined first so that we avoid
casualties among civilians,” he told a news conference.
In what it called a humanitarian mission, Armenia sent 83 demining experts,
army medics and military police officers tasked with protecting them to Syria
on February 8. Russia welcomed and assisted in the deployment. But the United
States, which is highly critical of the Russian military presence in Syria,
criticized it.
The Armenian military rotated the contingent on June 16, sending a new team of
sappers, doctors and other military personnel to Syria for a four-month tour of
duty.
SYRIA -- Russian military police patrol outside the medieval Citadel of Aleppo,
September 13, 2017
Arakelian noted “logistical difficulties” of the operation. “Given that Syria
is a country in a state of war, it’s very difficult to handle logistical issues
from Yerevan,” explained the official. “If it turns out that we did not send
something there or need something new, we have trouble quickly shipping [those
items.]”
Arakelian said that Armenian military personnel and equipment are transported
to Syria only by Russian planes. “Besides, the Russian side ensures our
contingent’s safe movement to minefields and return to its base as well as its
broader security in case of serious hostilities,” he added.
The Defense Ministry in Yerevan cited “the severe humanitarian situation” in
Aleppo and “written requests from the Syrian side” when it first announced the
deployment. It also pointed to the existence of an Armenian community in Syria.
The community, which used to have an estimated 80,000 members, is believed to
have shrunk by more than half since the outbreak of the bloody conflict in
Syria seven years ago. Thousands of Syrian Armenians have taken refuge in
Armenia.
Pashinian Ally Slams Regional Governor
• Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia -- Parliament deputy Sasun Mikaelian speaks at a congress of the ruling
Civil Contract party, Yerevan, June 16, 2019.
A prominent associate of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian lambasted the governor
of Armenia’s central Kotayk province on Monday, blaming him for the ruling
Civil Contract party’s defeat in a recent local election.
Sasun Mikaelian also warned that the current Armenia authorities will risk a
“velvet exit” from power unless they “learn lessons” from the defeat suffered
by them in Abovian, a major town in Kotayk located 15 kilometers north of
Yerevan.
Abovian’s incumbent Mayor Vahan Gevorgian backed by the opposition Prosperous
Armenia Party (BHK) narrowly defeated Civil Contract’s Grigor Gulian in the
tense election held on June 9. Both Pashinian and Kotayk Governor Romanos
Petrosian personally campaigned for Gulian.
Petrosian openly complained after the vote that Mikaelian, who is influential
in the area, failed to help the pro-government candidate during the mayoral
race.
Mikaelian admitted sympathizing with the Abovian mayor, praising the latter’s
track record. He insisted, however, that he did not help Gevorgian win
reelection.
“I did not stab Civil Contract in the back,” he told reporters. “I did not tell
anyone to go and vote for the incumbent mayor. There was no such thing. Civil
Contract lost the Abovian election because of Romanos, because he personalized
his role in the Abovian election.”
Mikaelian claimed that Petrosian overestimates his political authority as well
as his role in last year’s “velvet revolution” that brought Pashinian to power.
“And if we don’t learn lessons, this velvet revolution will turn into our
velvet exit,” he warned.
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (L) and Sasun Mikaelian attend a
congress of the Yerkrapah Union in Yerevan, April 8, 2019.
Mikaelian also dismissed Petrosian’s claims that the Abovian vote ended in
victory for the country’s former “criminal-oligarchic” system. He said that
government-appointed governor himself is surrounded by individuals linked to
the former ruling regime.
A veteran politician and prominent participant of the 1991-1994 in
Nagorno-Karabakh, Mikaelian was Civil Contract’s nominal chairman until a party
congress held on June 16. Delegates of the congress unexpectedly failed to
elect him to the party’s new governing board, suggesting that they too held
Mikaelian responsible for the Abovian fiasco.
Mikaelian downplayed his exclusion from the board. He blamed it on “infighting”
in Civil Contract, saying that some party figures “formed teams” of loyalists
to further their political interests. But he declined to name them.
Hrachya Hakobian, another senior Civil Contract member, disagreed with
Mikaelian’s statements. Hakobian, who is also Pashinian’s brother-in-law, said
the Kotayk governor is not responsible for the outcome of the mayoral election.
“Mistakes may have been made but not by the governor,” he told RFE/RL’s
Armenian service.
Another senior party figure, deputy parliament speaker Alen Simonian, denied
rifts within Civil Contract. He also said: “Time will tell whether or not that
‘velvet exit’ will occur or is a science fiction thing.”
Pashinian Praises Armenian Prosecutors
• Naira Nalbandian
Armenia -- Prosecutors attend an event marking the 101st anniversary of the
creation of their agency, Yerevan, July 1, 2019.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian praised Armenia’s state prosecutors on Monday,
saying that they have done their job “effectively” since last year’s leadership
change in the country.
“In the past year I think that the Office of the Prosecutor-General has really
become the New Armenia’s Office of the Prosecutor-General and is prepared to
accomplish the mission and the functions which are defined by the people of
Armenia,” he said at an event that marked the 101st anniversary of the
establishment of the law-enforcement agency.
In a speech, Pashinian told the agency’s employees at the same time that their
work has not been “flawless.” He said that the prosecutors must do a better of
job of fighting against corruption. He also stressed the importance of ensuring
everyone’s equality before the law.
“Our upcoming tasks are very obvious in this regard: the criminals must receive
an inevitable punishment,” he went on. “The criminal subculture must be rooted
out in Armenia.”
Pashinian did not cite specific criminal cases. He went on to award medals to
several prosecutors.
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (R) and Prosecutor-General Artur
Davtian attend a festive event in Yerevan, July 1, 2019.
Some of their colleagues received different awards from other senior Armenian
officials, including parliament speaker Ararat Mirzoyan. Among the officials
awarded by Mirzoyan was Karen Bisharian, one of the prosecutors in the criminal
case against former President Robert Kocharian and other former officials
charged in connection with the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan.
Bisharian urged reporters not to look for a connection between the award and
his handling of the high-profile case. “I have tried to properly perform my
duties in all cases assigned to me,” said the prosecutor.
Armenia’s current prosecutor-general, Artur Davtian, was appointed to the post
in 2016 by the former parliament controlled by then President Serzh Sarkisian’s
allies. Opposition members of that parliament, including Pashinian, voted
against Davtian at the time.
Davtian, 40, faced calls for his resignation in the wake of last year’s “Velvet
Revolution” that brought down the Sarkisian administration. He refused to quit,
saying that the prosecutors must not be affected by the regime change.
Kocharian Reappointed To Russian Company’s Board
Armenia -- Former President Robert Kocharian stands trial in Yerevan, May 16,
2019.
A large Russian corporation reappointed Armenia’s former President Robert
Kocharian as a member of its board of directors on Saturday four days after he
was again arrested on coup and corruption charges denied by him.
The holding company AFK Sistema has stakes in a wide range of sectors,
including telecommunications, energy and financial services. In particular, it
controls Russia’s leading mobile phone operator, MTS.
MTS bought one of Armenia’s three wireless networks in 2007 less than a year
before Kocharian completed his second and final presidential term. He joined
Sistema’s board as an “independent director” in 2009.
Sistema’s shareholders reelected the board’s 11 members, including Kocharian,
at an annual meeting held in Moscow. The majority shareholder, Vladimir
Yevtushenkov, reportedly advocated the ex-president’s reappointment, saying
that the charges brought against him are “clearly political.”
“We decided to include him in the new board of directors … because we believe
it’s the right thing to do,” the RIA Novosti news agency quoted Yevtushenkov as
saying. He said Kocharian agreed to continue to sit on the board after being
most recently released from prison on May 18.
Russia -- Chairman of conglomerate Sistema Vladimir Yevtushenkov attends the
St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2014 in St. Petersburg, May 23, 2014
Kocharian was arrested on June 25 for a third time since being indicted in July
2018 in connection with the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan, which left
eight opposition protesters and two police personnel dead. He is specifically
accused of illegally using Armenian army units against opposition protesters
that protested against alleged fraud in the February 2008 presidential election.
Earlier this year, Kocharian was also charged with bribery. He denies both
accusations as politically motivated.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also alleged political motives behind the
high-profile case in July 2018. Russian President Vladimir Putin showed support
for his former Armenian counterpart by talking to the latter by phone and
sending him New Year greetings.
The Russian ambassador to Armenia, Sergey Kopyrkin, met with Kocharian on June
13, prompting criticism from political allies of Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian. Kopyrkin was summoned to the Armenian Foreign Ministry because of
that.
Pashinian and other Armenian officials maintain that Kocharian’s prosecution is
not politically motivated.
Armenian Opposition Sees No Constitutional Court Crisis
• Nane Sahakian
Armenia -- Deputies from the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party attend a
parliament session in Yerevan, June 19, 2019.
Representatives of the opposition minority in Armenia’s parliament defended on
Monday the legitimacy of the Constitutional Court challenged by its newest
judge and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s My Step alliance.
Immediately after being elected by the parliament and sworn late last month,
the judge, Vahe Grigorian, claimed that only he and another judge of the
9-member court, Arman Dilanian, can make valid decisions.
Grigorian 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 the seven other members of the
court therefore cannot be considered “judges.”
Grigorian, whose appointment was strongly backed by My Step, elaborated on his
claims in a lengthy letter to Armenia’s government, parliament and top judicial
officials publicized on Friday. He urged them to help resolve the “crisis.”
The eight other members of the Constitutional Courts, including Dilanian,
dismissed the claims in a joint statement, saying that they “cannot have any
legal consequences.” They made clear that they will continue to meet and make
decisions on constitutional matters.
Senior lawmakers from the two opposition parties represented in the parliament
also disagreed with Grigorian.
“One Constitutional Court judge believes that a particular legal norm must be
interpreted in a different way, while the others believe it’s a wrong
interpretation,” said Taron Simonian of the Bright Armenia Party (LHK). “I
don’t agree with that judge’s interpretation but think that it has a right to
exist. Let it be just an interpretation.”
Simonian also stressed that the parliament could only make a political
statement on the issue which would have no legally binding “consequences.”
“Only the Constitutional Court’s interpretation of a constitutional norm can
generate legal consequences,” he said.
Gevorg Petrosian, a senior member of the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), argued
that an article of the amended constitution makes it clear that the court
members appointed before 2018 can serve as judges until they turn 65.
“I insist that there is no crisis,” said Petrosian. “Right from the beginning
Vahe Grigorian demonstrated that he is a person guided by personal ambitions
and cannot imagine his life without that post [of Constitutional Court
chairman.] Or maybe there are people who need to urgently install Vahe
Grigorian in that position.”
Other, more radical critics of the Armenian government claim that it is keen to
illegally seize control of the Constitutional Court and gain absolute power in
the county. My Step representatives deny this.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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