Thursday,
New Yerevan Mayor Criticized For Pompous Inauguration
• Anush Mkrtchian
Armenia - New Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinian prepares to take the oath of office,
October 13, 2023.
Yerevan’s new Mayor Tigran Avinian sparked strong opposition criticism on
Thursday after it emerged that a lavish inauguration ceremony organized by him
last week cost taxpayers over 87 million drams ($220,000).
Avinian, who is allied to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, was sworn in on
October 13 almost one month after municipal elections in which the ruling Civil
Contract party made what many observers see as a poor showing.
The party led by Pashinian won 32.5 percent of the vote, falling well short of
an absolute majority in the city council empowered to appoint the mayor. It
managed to install Avinian thanks to a power-sharing deal with a
pro-establishment party and the effective backing of another group led by a
controversial video blogger wanted by Armenian law-enforcement authorities.
Despite the obvious election setback, Avinian’s inauguration, attended by
Armenia’s top state officials but boycotted by opposition groups, was held with
unprecedented pomp that raised eyebrows in the country.
The municipal administration revealed the cost of the ceremony in a written
statement to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. It said half of the money was spent on
decorations evoking the ancient kingdom of Urartu whose 8th century BC ruler
Argishti I is considered the founder of Yerevan.
Avinian was greeted by men dressed as Urartian warriors as he made his way into
the inauguration hall. The 34-year-old put his hand on a replica of a cuneiform
inscription left by Argishti as he took the oath of office.
Avinian defended the unusual event staging when he spoke to reporters
afterwards. He said it was meant to remind Armenians of “the origins of Yerevan.”
But his political opponents saw extravagance, waste of public money and poor
taste. Izabella Abgarian, a newly reelected city council member representing
former Mayor Hayk Marutian’s party, the election runner-up, said Avinian exposed
his “sick vanity.”
“In my view, this was a real disgrace given the current state of our country,”
Abgarian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “Now that we are receiving refugees
from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) I see a serious problem with morality in such a
pompous and costly ceremony.”
Minister Won’t Rule Out Ban On Russian TV Broadcasts In Armenia
Armenia - High-Technology Minister Robert Khachatrian talks to journalists, July
25, 2022.
Amid mounting tensions between Yerevan and Moscow, High-Technology Minister
Robert Khachatrian on Thursday did not rule out the possibility of banning the
retransmission of state-run Russian TV channels in Armenia.
A lawmaker representing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s party last month called
for such a ban and said it is now considered by the Armenian government. Lusine
Badalian claimed that the Russian broadcasters’ news coverage poses a threat to
Armenia’s national security. She appeared to allude to their recent reports
critical of Pashinian.
“All scenarios are discussed but no decision has been made,” Khachatrian told
reporters when he was asked to comment on the possibility of the ban which has
prompted serious concern from Russian officials.
He cited a 2020 Russian-Armenian agreement that allowed Russia’s two leading
federal channels as well as the Kultura TV station affiliated with one of them
to retain their slots in Armenia’s national digital package accessible to TV
viewers across the country.
“The agreement calls for relevant steps in case of violations and we will take
those relevant steps,” the minister said without elaborating.
Asked whether he too regards the Russian TV broadcasts as a security threat, he
said: “I won’t comment on that.”
The cryptic remarks highlight a continuing deterioration of Russian-Armenian
relations which accelerated after last month’s Azerbaijani military offensive in
Nagorno-Karabakh and Russia’s failure to prevent or stop it.
Addressing the European Parliament earlier this week, Pashinian accused Moscow
of using the conflict to try to topple him. A Russian government source
responded by comparing the Armenian leader to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of
Ukraine which was invaded by Russia last year.
Armenian Official Claims Evidence Of Azeri War Crimes In Karabakh
• Artak Khulian
Nagorno-Karabakh - A doll and children's personal belongings lie on the ground
in Stepanakert, October 2, 2023.
Armenia’s human rights ombudswoman on Thursday accused Azerbaijani troops of
committing war crimes during last month’s offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh that led
to the mass exodus of its ethnic Armenian population.
“There are many bodies, including of civilians, transported from
Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia that carry signs of torture and/or mutilation,”
Anahit Manasian told reporters. “This shows that those people were subjected to
the kind of treatment which was mentioned by me. There were children and women
among them.”
Manasian did not specify the number of the victims of the alleged war crimes,
saying that her office is continuing its “fact-finding work” on the September
19-20 assault that enabled Baku to regain full control of Karabakh.
According to Karabakh officials, the Azerbaijani offensive left more than 200
Karabakh soldiers and two dozen local civilians dead. More than 100,000 ethnic
Armenians lived there prior to the exodus.
Manasian said that her office has drawn up a “preliminary report” containing
purported evidence of atrocities collected by it so far. The reported has been
submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), added the state human
rights defender.
The Armenian government appealed to the United Nations court on September 28 to
order Baku to guarantee the safe and speedy return to their homes of the
Karabakh Armenians who have taken refuge in Armenia. It also wants the
Azerbaijani side to withdraw military and security personnel from Karabakh
civilian facilities, give the UN and other international organizations access to
the depopulated region and protect its religious and cultural monuments.
Baku has denied targeting Karabakh civilians during the two-day military
operation or forcing them to flee their homeland in the following days. It has
pledged to protect the rights of local residents willing to live under
Azerbaijani rule.
Armenian Government Approves More Aid For Karabakh Refugees
• Narine Ghalechian
• Susan Badalian
Armenia - A school gym in Artashat turned into a shelter for Karabakh refugees,
October 9, 2023.
The government formally decided on Thursday to allocate 30 billion drams ($75
million) for the housing needs of tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians who have
taken refuge in Armenia since last month’s Azerbaijani military offensive.
Every refugee lacking decent housing is to receive 50,000 drams ($125) per month
to pay rent and utility bills at least until next March. Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian pledged such support during the mass exodus of over 100,000 Karabakh
Armenians who lived in the region as of September 19.
His government claims to have housed more than half of the refugees in hotels,
disused public buildings and empty village houses. It now expects 40,000 of them
to apply for the housing compensation scheme this month.
“We are thereby encouraging our compatriots to rent apartments,” Pashinian said
during a weekly cabinet meeting in Yerevan. He suggested that the sums allocated
to them should be enough to cover their housing expenses.
Labor and Social Affairs Minister Narek Mkrtchian clarified that starting from
next month those refugees who own homes in Armenia or continue to live in
temporary shelters provided by the government will not be eligible for this
financial aid.
Some refugees are already using their modest savings to rent homes in and
outside Yerevan which have become much more expensive in recent years. They
include the family of Suzanna Arzumanian, a Karabakh mother of two. Their rented
apartment in Yerevan’s Nor Nork suburb did not even have beds when they moved
there earlier this month.
Arzumanian complained that despite repeated government pledges, municipal
authorities have not provided her family with food, clothing or any other basic
necessities.
Armenia - Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh visit a Karabakh office in Yerevan to
inquire about their pensions and other benefits, .
The government approved on Thursday unpublicized rules for the distribution of
such humanitarian assistance. It was not clear whether they will apply to at
least $35 million in aid to the refugees promised by the United States, the
European Union and some EU member states.
The government aid also includes a one-off cash payment of 100,000 drams ($260)
to every refugee. Officials say 80 percent of the displaced Karabakh Armenians
have already received that money. Many of the refugees interviewed by RFE/RL’s
Armenian Services and other media outlets still say that they haven’t, however.
It also remains unclear whether the government will pay Karabakh’s pensions and
other social benefits. Dozens of elderly refugees visit the Karabakh government
office in Yerevan every day to inquire about their pensions.
“They won’t tell us anything,” Sergei Mirzoyan, a pensioner from Stepanakert,
said on Wednesday, referring to Karabakh officials working there. He hopes to
continue receiving his monthly pension of 72,000 drams in Armenia.
Pashinian cited earlier a “legal problem” hampering such payments. He did not
say on Thursday whether it has been resolved.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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