Wednesday, Former Security Chief Sues Pashinian’s Paper • Marine Khachatrian Armenia -- Prime Miinister Nikol Pashinian and National Security Service Director Artur Vanetsian (R) walk in downtown Yerevan, September 21, 2018. One week after announcing his entry into politics, Artur Vanetsian, the former chief of Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS), has filed a defamation lawsuit against a newspaper controlled by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s family. In an unsigned article published last month, the “Haykakan Zhamanak” daily alleged that Vanetsian is behind slanderous reports about Pashinian and his family members spread by anti-government media. It said the main “ideologist” of this campaign is a former senior official linked to Mikael Minasian, former President Serzh Sarkisian’s son-in-law. Pashinian’s 21-year-old daughter Mariam added her voice to the allegations. The prime minister likewise charged later in January that the alleged smear campaign was part of what he called a “hybrid” conspiracy to discredit and overthrow him. Vanetsian strongly denied the allegations and demanded that the paper, which is still officially run by Pashinian’s wife Anna Hakobian, retract them. One of his lawyers, Aramazd Kivirian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service on Wednesday that he has sued the paper because it rejected the demand. “Haykakan Zhamanak” declined to comment on the lawsuit. The former NSS director suggested last week that the paper, which Pashinian had long edited before being first elected to the Armenian parliament in 2012, intended to “slander” him, rather than reveal any scandalous facts. “If they had any facts and needed to verify them they would have taken certain steps,” he told the editors of nine other Armenian publications. Pashinian appointed Vanetsian as director of the former Armenian branch of the Soviet KGB immediately after coming to power in the “Velvet Revolution” of April-May 2018. Vanetsian quickly became one of the most influential members of the Armenia’s new leadership, overseeing a number of high-profile corruption investigations. The 40-year-old was unexpectedly relieved of his duties in September just a couple of months after being promoted to the rank of NSS general. He criticized Pashinian’s “impulsive” leadership style following his dismissal, triggering a bitter war of words with the premier. Hrachya Hakobian, a pro-government parliamentarian and Pashinian’s brother-in-law, claimed shortly after the “Haykakan Zhamanak” article that Vanetsian was sacked because of plotting a coup. The NSS said, however, that it is not aware of any coup attempts and will not look into Hakobian’s claims. Speaking to the newspaper editors on February 5, Vanetsian announced that he is setting up a new political party to challenge Pashinian’s government. Pashinian Discusses Constitutional Referendum With Foreign Envoys Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (C) meets with ambassadors of OSCE member countries, Yerevan,12Feb,2020 Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian met with Yerevan-based foreign diplomats on Wednesday to discuss his administration’s controversial decision to hold a referendum on replacing most members of Armenia’s Constitutional Court. The diplomats invited to the meeting included the ambassadors of Russia, the United States and European Union member states as well as the head of the EU Delegation in Armenia. “During the meeting, the prime minister addressed in detail the existing situation around the Constitutional Court, the forthcoming referendum on constitutional changes and the circumstances of holding it,” Pashinian’s press office said in a statement. He then answered questions from the diplomats, the statement said. It gave no other details. Parliament speaker Ararat Mirzoyan, a key Pashinian ally, met with the ambassadors the night before the Armenian parliament decided on February 6 to hold a referendum on constitutional amendments drafted by its pro-government majority. The amendments call for ending the powers of seven of the nine Constitutional Court judges accused by Pashinian of being linked to Armenia’s “corrupt former regime.” Opposition lawmakers reject them as unconstitutional. They say that the authorities should have consulted with legal experts from the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission before putting the proposed changes on the referendum scheduled for April 5. Two representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) likewise urged the authorities last week to submit the draft amendments to the Venice Commission for examination “as soon as possible.” A senior Armenian lawmaker countered that Yerevan is under no legal obligation to seek such judgment. Russia, the U.S. and other Western powers have made no public statements on the Armenian referendum so far. Armenian Government May Set Up Interior Ministry • Artak Khulian Armenia -- The national police headquarters in Yerevan, February 4, 2020. The Armenian government is considering creating a ministry of interior as part of a major structural reform of the national police service proposed by the Justice Ministry. Armenia had an interior ministry until former President Robert Kocharian abolished it and turned the police into a separate structure subordinate to him nearly two decades ago. The police became accountable to the prime minister after Kocharian’s successor, Serzh Sarkisian, engineered the country’s transition to a parliamentary system of government. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian faced opposition calls to turn the police as well as the National Security Service (NSS) into ministries accountable to the parliament after he swept to power in May 2018. Pashinian and his allies have until now opposed such a change championed by the opposition Bright Armenia Party (LHK). It emerged this week that the Justice Ministry recommended the re-establishment of the Interior Ministry headed by a full-fledged cabinet member in a three-year strategy of police reforms proposed to the Armenian government. “From our perspective, what we have now is a police service meeting the requirements of the Soviet state order,” Deputy Justice Minister Kristine Grigorian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service on Wednesday. Grigorian also stressed the importance of other structural changes proposed by her ministry. One of them envisages the creation of a new police unit tasked with road policing, crowd control and street patrol. Grigorian said that the strategy posted on a government website is currently under discussion and may undergo changes. The police are also involved in the discussions, she said. Armenian law currently requires the heads of the police and the NSS to be high-ranking career officers.Both security agencies have been headed by interim heads since September. Pashinian has yet to decide who will manage them on a permanent basis. Armenian PM Again Warns ‘Anti-State’ Forces • Ruzanna Stepanian Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks during a parliament debate on constitutional changes, Yerevan, February 6, 2020. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Wednesday warned his political opponents against appealing to Armenia’s Constitutional Court in a bid to scuttle controversial constitutional changes sought by him. Pashinian already issued a stark warning to them last week as the Armenian parliament controlled by his My Step bloc decided to hold a referendum on draft amendments that would sack seven of the court’s nine judges facing government pressure to resign. “All those individuals or forces who will try to put legal or other hurdles to a free expression of the people’s will receive an adequate counterstrike as anti-popular and anti-state forces,” he declared on February 6. The warning prompted an angry response from Edmon Marukian, the leader of the opposition Bright Armenia Party (LHK) which regards the draft amendments as unconstitutional. Marukian accused Pashinian of “blackmail,” saying that the latter may have threatened violent attacks against the LHK or other opposition groups. Pashinian hit back at Marukian, his erstwhile ally, during his government’s latest question-and-answer session in the National Assembly. He said the opposition leader dares to lambaste the current government because of being confident that it will never resort to violence. Pashinian also said: “I implied [on February 6] that if this decision to hold the referendum is challenged in the Constitutional Court we will evaluate that in this way. Why? Because we are saying, ‘Let’s ask the people and ensure a free expression of the people’s will.’” “If there is a force which says, ‘No, I don’t want to ask the people and will ask the Constitutional Court instead,’ a certain conclusion will be drawn from that, especially in this situation,” he added. Armenia - Nikol Pashinian (C) and Edmon Marukian (R), leaders o the opposition Yelk alliance, campaign for mayoral elections in Yerevan, 21Apr2017. The LHK and the other parliamentary opposition party, Prosperous Armenia (BHK), can still prevent the holding of the April 5 referendum if their parliament deputies appeal to the Constitutional Court and convince it to declare the amendments unconstitutional. Such appeals must be signed by at least 27 members of the 132-seat parliament. The BHK and the LHK control 26 and 17 parliament seats respectively. Marukian on Tuesday reaffirmed his party’s readiness to challenge the referendum in the court. BHK leader Gagik Tsarukian indicated, however, that BHK lawmakers will not back such a move. Pashinian also claimed on Wednesday that campaigning for the referendum will stimulate economic activity in Armenia by boosting citizens’ “confidence in the future.” Also, he said, “many” Armenians living abroad will heed his appeals and travel to their home country and vote for ousting the high court judges. “We seem to be creating a new type of tourism which is called electoral tourism,” he declared. Pashinian appealed to hundreds of thousands of Armenian expats immediately after President Armen Sarkissian set the referendum date on Sunday. Some of his critics construed the appeal as a sign that he is worried about not garnering enough votes for the constitutional amendments. To pass, the amendments have to be backed by the majority of referendum participants making up at least one-quarter of Armenia’s 2.57 million or so eligible voters. Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2020 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org