Thursday,
U.S. Envoy ‘Confident’ About More Trade, Investments In Armenia
• Marine Khachatrian
Armenia - US Ambassador Richard Mills talks to journalists, Yerevan,04Jul,2018
United States Ambassador Richard Mills believes the recent political changes in
Armenia will help bring more American trade and investments to the South
Caucasus country.
“I am confident that this new chapter in the Armenian history is going to spark
a lot of interest from U.S. businesspeople – whether they are members of the
[Armenian] Diaspora or not – in trading with Armenia and investing in Armenia,”
Mills said on Wednesday evening while attending a festive event in Yerevan
dedicated to U.S. Independence Day.
Mills said he already witnessed that interest last week in Washington where he
attended a Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which this year is featuring Armenian
culture.
“And I heard from the Diaspora Americans and also from American businesspeople
of all backgrounds that they were very interested in Armenia if the new
government follows through on its commitments to make this a more equitable
society, a more level-playing field for all businesses and if they can root out
some of the problems of corruption,” he said.
“And I think American businesses are interested in some of the key sectors that
the government is also focused on – IT, agriculture, tourism and energy, in
particular. So, I am confident we are going to see more trade, more investments
in the years to come.”
In his congratulatory message to U.S. President Donald Trump on July 4 Nikol
Pashinian, who became Armenia’s prime minister on the wave of anti-government
protests in April-May, expressed readiness to “strengthen and expand” Armenia’s
relationship with the United States.
“The new political and social realities that emerged following the revolution
[in Armenia] allow us to upgrade our relations to a qualitatively new level… We
are ready to do everything possible to strengthen and expand our bilateral
relations, based on shared values, mutual respect and an atmosphere of trust,”
he said.
In his message to Trump, the 43-year-old premier also praised large-scale U.S.
assistance provided to Armenia since independence.
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not rule out that resumed
assistance to Armenia will be considered by the Millennium Challenge
Corporation.
Armenia received $177 million under Washington’s Millennium Challenge Account
(MCA) program for the rehabilitation of its rural irrigation networks a decade
ago. The U.S. froze further MCA aid after a disputed 2008 presidential election
that was followed by a harsh government crackdown on the Armenian opposition.
The administration of former President Serzh Sarkisian tried unsuccessfully to
restore Yerevan’s eligibility for the aid scheme in the following years. U.S.
officials said, among other things, that it was not doing enough to combat
widespread corruption.
Answering the question from RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on prospects of resumed
U.S. assistance under the MCA program, Ambassador Mills said on Wednesday that
he did not have any “new news” on that. But he added: “Again the way the
Millennium Challenge Corporation works is that Armenia will have to meet some
criteria, hit some standards in the areas of fighting corruption, political
liberty, media freedom. So, we will be working with the government to encourage
them, to support them in making some changes that will help Armenia meet those
criteria so that next year, when the Millennium Challenge Corporation is
deciding on compacts, Armenia can be considered.”
“I know that the Armenian people and the Armenian government want to make those
changes. They want to fight corruption, they want to make it a more free
society, a more just society, because it is good for Armenia, not just because
it might get a compact from the Millennium Challenge. It’s really what Armenia
needs and what I heard the Armenian people were demanding on the streets two
months ago,” the U.S. ambassador to Armenia concluded.
Armenia Marks Constitution Day
• Karlen Aslanian
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian addresses a public meeting in Goris,
Syunik province, July 5, 2018
Power in Armenia today truly belongs to the people, Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian said, referring to this major provision of the country’s
Constitution, as the South Caucasus nation marked the 23rd anniversary of the
adoption of its Basic Law on July 5.
Armenia’s post-Soviet Constitution was adopted in a disputed referendum in
1995. Since then it was amended twice. Under the most recent changes adopted in
a disputed 2015 referendum the country has become a parliamentary republic.
“I want to congratulate you on the occasion of Constitution Day, and I think
that we have a great achievement 23 years after the adoption of the
Constitution. Article 2 of the Constitution states that power belongs to the
people of the Republic of Armenia, and today power in the Republic of Armenia
truly belongs to the people, and I congratulate you all on this occasion,”
Pashinian told people in the town of Goris as he toured the southernmost
Armenian province of Syunik on Thursday.
Pashinian, who led peaceful anti-government protests in April-May that brought
him to power, went on to assure the public in a region that was ruled for years
by a controversial governor allegedly involved in violent crimes that “the time
of local feudal lords in Armenia is over.”
“The citizen of the Republic of Armenia is free and proud. The citizen of the
Republic of Armenia is responsible for his or her country, and we will fully
bear that responsibility together. This is our main message,” Pashinian said.
“The prime minister of the Republic of Armenia and other officials are serving
the people, and this is the main change that has taken place. Never let this
important change, this victory of yours go under any circumstances, because
this is the formula for solving all problems. You must have a government that
serves you, and you do have the government that serves you. Never let a
government that will serve clans, corruption and plunder be established in
Armenia.”
As part of his working visit to Syunik Prime Minister Pashinian made stops at
several communities to have meetings with local leaders and members of the
public. He answered numerous questions of local residents concerning their
social, economic and other issues.
Ex-President’s Nephew Becomes Suspect In Attempted Murder Case
Armenia - Hayk Sarkisian (in a black T-shirt), son of Aleksandr Sarkisian and
nephew of Armenia's ex-president Serzh Sarkisian, accompanied by investigators
near his Yerevan apartment, July 4, 2018
Citing the emergence of new evidence, investigators in Armenia have reopened a
criminal case in which former President Serzh Sarkisian’s nephew, Hayk
Sarkisian, is a suspect.
According to a statement released by the Investigative Committee on Thursday,
Hayk Sarkisian is suspected of attempted murder in a case that was closed more
than a decade ago.
The Investigative Committee said Yerevan resident Davit Simonian suffered a
gunshot wound in an incident that took place on April 1, 2007. The same day a
citizen identified as A. Ghevondian told police at the time that he wounded
Simonian as a result of mishandling a gun that he allegedly found in the
street. Ghevondian also brought with him the gun in question, the report added.
The Investigative Committee said proper proceedings were launched then but the
case was eventually closed after the parties reached reconciliation “on the
grounds of the absence of a complaint.”
“Due to new circumstances that have emerged, on July 3, 2018, the
prosecutor-general of the Republic of Armenia made a decision to resume the
2007 criminal proceedings and forward the case to the Investigative Committee’s
unit operating in Yerevan’s Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative districts.
The same day, an investigator took up the case and launched other necessary
investigative and procedural actions to clarify the circumstances of the case,”
the Investigative Committee said.
“As a result, sufficient evidence was obtained to show that Simonian was
wounded not as a result of Ghevondian’s mishandling a weapon, but as a result
of a shot deliberately fired by another person. According to the data of the
investigation, Yerevan resident Hayk Sarkisian, born in 1984, shot with the
intention to kill the person.”
According to the law-enforcement body, investigators carried out the necessary
actions with the participation of Hayk Sarkisian, including his interrogation,
and on July 4 Sarkisian was granted a procedural status – he is suspected of
committing a crime envisaged by part 1 of Article 34-104 of the Criminal Code
of Armenia (attempted murder). “The preliminary investigation is ongoing,” the
Investigative Committee said.
Hayk Sarkisian was arrested late on Wednesday following nearly nine hours of a
search conducted at his father Aleksandr Sarkisian’s Yerevan apartment.
Aleksandr Sarkisian was also briefly detained for questioning as part of a
separate investigation concerning his other son, Narek.
Sarkisian’s Brother Questioned Over Son’s Alleged Crime, Released
• Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia -- Aleksandr Sarkisian, brother of former President Serzh Sarkisian,
while being detained by the National Security Service, Yerevan, 04Jul2018
Aleksandr Sarkisian, a controversial brother of Armenia’s former President
Serzh Sarkisian, who was detained by Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS)
on Wednesday, was released later that night after being questioned by
investigators, a spokesperson for the NSS said today.
Sarkisian was taken to the NSS following a search of his apartment in Yerevan
that lasted for nine hours on Wednesday. Meanwhile, his son Hayk Sarkisian was
detained by the Investigative Committee that later said he became a suspect in
a reopened 2007 criminal case concerning attempted murder.
The NSS for its part said in its statement today that Aleksandr Sarkisian was
questioned over his other son Narek Sarkisian’s alleged crime in obtaining more
than a dozen drawings of famous Armenian artist Martiros Sarian by deception.
The total price of the drawings is estimated at $280,000.
“During the search Aleksandr Sarkisian said that the paintings were ostensibly
bought by him. At the NSS Investigative Department he was interrogated on the
circumstances of the deal. In addition, he was interrogated in the presence of
the person who filed the claim and that person again insisted that Narek
Sarkisian obtained the drawings though deception,” the NSS said.
Meanwhile, the NSS said that Narek Sarkisian, who along with his bodyguard left
for Moscow on June 22, has been put on a wanted list.
The NSS also said that its operatives found two suitcases that Narek Sarkisian
allegedly had asked a close friend to hide in another apartment. “In the
suitcases found were narcotic substances of the cocaine and methamphetamine
type, four guns, one of them with a silencer, bullets, drugs of unknown origin,
glass and plastic pipes with white and black traces, droppers that were most
likely used for drugs and other items,” the statement said.
The NSS released a video later on Thursday showing the search at the apartment
of Aleksandr Sarkisian where Narek Sarkisian is registered.
At the residence along with the 14 drawings of Martiros Sarian the NSS officers
also found large sums of money, expensive watches, numerous gold coins and
pieces of jewelry “whose legality will be checked as part of the criminal
investigation.”
Sixty-two-year-old Aleksandr Sarkisian, who is better known to the public as
“Sashik,” is thought to have made a big fortune in the past two decades.
Unconfirmed reports in the Armenian press have said that he spent millions of
dollars buying real estate in Europe and the United States.
Aleksandr Sarkisian was briefly detained on June 25 by police who found weapons
in his car. Later Valery Osipian, the chief of the Armenian police, said that
it was found out that the weapons were possessed by Sarkisian legally.
Meanwhile, Serzh Sarkisian’s second, youngest brother Levon Sarkisian and his
two children are suspected of “illegal enrichment” and could face prosecution
on relevant charges after law-enforcement authorities discovered nearly $7
million held by them in an Armenian bank.
The State Revenue Committee (SRC) launched criminal proceedings against them
last week shortly after announcing that a company linked to Levon Sarkisian has
been fined 800 million drams ($1.7 million) for tax evasion.
The SRC said that while searching Sarkisian’s home its investigators found
documents showing that he, his son Narek and daughter Ani deposited a total of
$6.8 million in the unnamed bank “in the second half of 2017.” It said that the
ex-president’s youngest brother and Ani Sarkisian failed to disclose these sums
to a state anti-corruption body while Narek did not file any income
declarations at all.
Under Armenian law, such declarations are mandatory for high-ranking state
officials and their family members. This legal requirement applies to Levon
Sarkisian because he has long worked as ambassador-at-large at the Armenian
Foreign Ministry.
In a separate probe the Special Investigation Service last month brought
charges of illegal enrichment against Vachagan Ghazarian, Serzh Sarkisian’s
longtime chief bodyguard, who was remanded in custody on June 28. Ghazarian
carried over $1 million worth of cash in a bag during his arrest. Police found
another $1.1 million as well as 230,000 euros ($267,000) in cash when they
searched his apartment earlier in June.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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