Thursday,
Armenian Government Returns Former Presidential Palace To President
• Sargis Harutyunyan
An event on Armenia's Independence Day at the Prime Minister's Office (former
Presidential Palace), 21 September 2018
The Armenian government on Thursday came up with a law amendment that will give
the former presidential palace in Yerevan back to the president.
After a constitutional reform carried out during the previous administration,
curtailing the powers of the president in favor of the prime minister, former
President Serzh Sarkisian continued to occupy the building located in 26
Baghramian Avenue even after becoming Armenia’s prime minister on April 17.
In line with a controversial law enacted before that, the prime minister would
also have a second official seat located in the central government offices in
Republic Square.
Armenia’s newly elected President Armen Sarkissian, meanwhile, was given a less
sumptuous official seat in another location in central Yerevan.
Some two months after unseating Sarkisian and becoming prime minister Nikol
Pashinian pledged that he and his staff would eventually vacate the building
that was used as a presidential office for decades and would return it to the
president.
Pashinian, who had criticized his predecessor’s decision to convert the
presidential palace into the prime minister’s main office, explained then that
he could not relocate immediately because such a move would require certain
legal procedures.
During an event marking Armenia’s Independence Day on September 21 the gates to
the former Presidential Palace’s spacious yard were opened and Pashinian
declared the place open to the public.
In order to take effect the government’s decision will need to be approved by
parliament.
Most Small Hydropower Plants In Armenia Work With ‘Gross Violations’
• Anush Muradian
A view of the Debed river flowing through a canyon in the Lori province of
Armenia
A majority of small hydropower plants in Armenia have for years operated with
gross violations of the law, but relevant officials of the Environment Ministry
have not taken any measures to redress the situation, according to prosecutors.
The Prosecutor-General’s Office has concluded that as a result, “significant
damage was caused to the legitimate interests of the state.”
Based on this, the Prosecutor-General’s Office instituted a criminal case,
instructing the Investigative Committee to conduct a preliminary investigation
in connection with the alleged violations.
Abuse in the sector was revealed by a working group that had been set up
according to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s decision.
Inspections revealed that no water gauging devices had been installed at 143
out of 184 small hydropower plants operating in Armenia, which constitutes a
violation of the water use permit requirements. Besides, no fish protection
facilities are available in the riverbeds, in some cases the volumes of
environmental emissions are not maintained, and water drainage multiple times
exceeds the permissible quantity, the working group said.
Acting Prime Minister Pashinian spoke about these findings in parliament on
November 1. He described the sector as “a giant domain of abuses.”
“We have a situation when more water is used for a more powerful generator to
generate more electricity and more income, which not only disturbs the water
balance, but also results in the loss of state revenues… let alone
environmental problems,” Pashinian said.
Khachaturov Returns To Armenia Where He Faces Criminal Charges
• Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - Yuri Khachaturov arrives at the Special Investigative Service
headquarters in Yerevan, 26 July 2018
Former Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Secretary-General Yuri
Khachaturov, who was recalled from the senior post by Armenia after being
accused of overthrowing the country’s constitutional order in 2008
post-election events, returned home on November 4, Khachaturov’s lawyer Mihran
Poghosian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service today.
“He returned on November 4 after the official decision on his dismissal was
published,” he said, adding that before that the former Moscow-based official
went to his native town in Georgia to visit his mother’s grave.
Khachaturov was formally charged in late July as part of the ongoing
investigation into the March 1-2, 2008 post-election crackdown on the
opposition. The 66-year-old colonel-general who was deputy defense minister at
that time is accused of using the army to quell protests that followed a
disputed presidential election. Ten people, including two security personnel,
were killed in the events.
Investigations into those deadly events were reopened after the change of
government in May. Armenia’s new Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, who came to
power on the wave of anti-government protests, said that revealing the
circumstances of the crime was one of the priorities of his administration.
Also in July, former President Robert Kocharian was also charged with
overthrowing Armenia’s constitutional order by ordering the use of the army for
the violent repression of the protests.
Unlike Kocharian, who was briefly arrested, Khachaturov, who served as CSTO
secretary-general since May 2017, was granted bail and went back to Moscow to
continue his duties. Armenia, however, initiated a formal process of his
recalling, which was completed on November 2.
The issue of the appointment of the next CSTO secretary-general was due to be
discussed at the Russian-led security grouping’s summit held in Astana,
Kazakhstan, on November 8.
Prior to the summit several senior Armenian officials spoke in favor of
Armenia’s retaining the rotating post until 2020. Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs neither confirmed, nor denied that other options may also be considered.
Armenia Negotiating ‘Gas Price Cut’ With Russia
• Sargis Harutyunyan
The Gazprom Armenia headquarters in Yerevan, Armenia
The Armenian government is negotiating with the Russian Ministry of Energy and
Gazprom the possibility of reducing the price of natural gas supplied to
Armenia, according to a minister.
“Negotiations are underway now over the formation of the gas price both at the
border and within the internal structure,” said acting Minister of Energy and
Natural Resources Garegin Baghramian at a briefing with reporters on Thursday.
“Naturally, the negotiations are being conducted towards the reduction [of the
price],” the official said, without revealing other details.
“In order to avoid some influences on the negotiation process, I think we
should wait for a little longer for the negotiations to be completed. Then we
will publish the details,” he added.
Gazprom sells natural gas to its Armenia-based subsidiary at a price of $150
per thousand cubic meters. The subsidiary, which owns Armenia’s gas
distribution network, then sells it to consumers in Armenia at a price of about
$284, according to the current dollar exchange rate.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian reportedly discussed the price of natural gas
supplied to Armenia during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in
Moscow in September.
An Armenian parliament committee recently initiated discussions on how
justified the current natural gas and electricity tariffs in the country are.
CSTO Postpones Decision On New Secretary-General
Leaders of CSTO member states pose for a photograph at a summit in Astana,
Kazakhstan, 8 Nov 2018
Leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) met in Astana,
Kazakhstan, on Thursday to discuss some of the pressing issues of the
Russian-led security grouping, including the appointment of a new
secretary-general after Armenia recalled its representative.
Earlier this month, the CSTO confirmed the dismissal of Yuri Khachaturov from
the senior post held by an Armenian representative as part of the rotation
principle.
Khachaturov was appointed to the post in May 2017, but after the change of
government in Yerevan he was charged as part of a reopened investigation into
post-election violence in 2008 during which the colonel-general served as
Armenia’s deputy defense minister.
Khachaturov was formally charged in late July with overthrowing Armenia’s
constitutional order by using the army for the violent repression of the
opposition-led protests in which eight demonstrators and two police officers
were killed.
After coming to power on the wave of anti-government protests in May, Armenia’s
new Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said that revealing the circumstances of the
killings would be one of the priorities of his administration.
As part of the investigation former President Robert Kocharian was also charged
with overthrowing Armenia’s constitutional.
Unlike Kocharian, who spent more than two weeks in custody in July-August,
Khachaturov was granted bail and went back to Moscow to continue his duties as
CSTO secretary-general. Armenia, however, initiated a formal process of
recalling him from the post, which was completed on November 2.
Prior to the summit in Kazakhstan several senior Armenian officials spoke in
favor of Armenia’s retaining the post until 2020. Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, however, did not deny that other options might also be considered.
On November 7, Russian news agency TASS quoted Russian presidential aide Yuri
Ushakov as saying that three options were being considered at the moment. Among
them he mentioned Armenia’s retention of the post, the rotation of the post to
Belarus, which is next in line alphabetically, and placing the interim
secretary-general in charge until Minks takes over in two years.
A press release issued by the office of Armenia’s acting Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian, who attended the CSTO summit on November 8, said that “the issue of
the appointment of a new CSTO secretary-general was also addressed during the
meeting.”
“The sides agreed to continue discussions on the issue during a meeting in St.
Petersburg on December 6. At the same time, work will be undertaken to
elaborate relevant norms regulating the issues related to the early termination
of powers of the secretary-general,” it said.
According to the official report, at the summit the leaders of the CSTO member
states, including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and
Tajikistan, met in a narrow format before continuing talks in an extended
session.
They, in particular, discussed issues of international and regional security,
cooperation between CSTO member states within the organization and in the
international arena.
The summit adopted a number of documents, including the final declaration of
the CSTO Collective Security Council and a joint statement on mutually agreed
measures in relation to persons who participated in armed conflicts as part of
international terrorist organizations.
“The Heads of State adopted decisions of the Collective Security Council aimed
at improving the CSTO’s crisis response, countering illegal migration,
developing a coordinated information policy, organization of collective forces
and specification of their composition, and confirming the candidacy of the
Chairman of the Interstate Commission for Military-Economic Cooperation,” the
official report said.
Press Review
Ahead of the summit of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization
in Astana, Kazakhstan, on November 8, “Zhamanak” writes that there is still no
clarity on whether Armenia will manage to retain the temporary position of the
organization’s secretary-general after recalling Yuri Khachaturov, who faces
criminal charges at home. “Neither there is any clarity on how and in what
format the matter will be discussed at today’s summit – wither it is going to
be a discussion of Armenia’s quota or its candidate,” the paper adds.
Lragir.am suggests that statements by members of the former ruling Republican
Party of Armenia (HHK) who call themselves “the only real opposition” to the
Pashinian government today makes many laugh. “But in doing so, the HHK does not
seek to convince the public, but rather it wants to cause people to be
skeptical of other political groups. Like in soccer an underdog builds its
tactics on complicating the game of the others, the HHK counts on hindering its
rivals. And the political team of acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian is not
its rival. Its rivals are the other political parties and groups that will
participate in the December 9 elections,” the online paper writes.
“Aravot” writes: “The upcoming elections will be a positive event in the sense
that they will reflect the public sentiments, and no political party or group
will be able to say that the real picture is distorted. Later, perhaps, there
will be no more such opportunity. In Armenia, at least, events in the past were
unfolding so that only the first ‘post-revolutionary’ elections were fair. In
the five years that followed the fair elections of 1990 the then ruling
Armenian National Movement party got the taste of power and became determined
never to lose it.” The newspaper’s editor believes that democratic changes will
be there to stay in Armenia only when the current political team loses in the
election that will follow the current snap elections “and then the party that
beats it also loses in the next elections.”
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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