Author: Karlen Baghdasarian

                                        Tuesday, January 16, 2017

Armenia Recognizes Genocide Against Iraq's Yazidis


Iraq -- Members of the Yazidi minority search for clues that might
lead them to missing relatives in the remains of people killed by the
IS jihadist group, a day after Kurdish forces discovered a mass grave
near the Iraqi village of Sinuni, 3Feb2015.

Armenia's parliament unanimously passed on Tuesday a resolution
recognizing as genocide the 2014 mass killings of Yazidis in Iraq
which were committed by the Islamic State (IS) extremist group.

The National Assembly also called on the international community to
track down and prosecute those directly responsible for the killings
and "take measures to ensure the security of the Yazidi population."

Thousands of Yazidis were seized by IS when it overran Iraq's
northwestern town of Sinjar in August 2014, and most of them remain
unaccounted for. The town was regained from IS in late 2015 and 30
mass graves of Yazidis have since been found there. But an unknown
number of the ethnic minority, which practices a unique religion that
IS considers heretical, was moved to neighboring Syria.

The U.S. government officially declared in March 2016 that IS is
"responsible for genocide" against Yazidis as well as Christians and
other religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria. A subsequent
report released by United Nations investigators similarly concluded
that the Islamist militants' actions against Yazidis meet a 1948 UN
convention's definition of genocide.


Armenia - A session of the Armenian parliament in Yerevan, 15Jan2018.
In its resolution, the Armenian parliament said it "recognizes and
strongly condemns the genocide of the Yazidi people perpetrated by
terrorist groups in 2014 in Iraqi territory controlled by them."

The main sponsor of the resolution is Rustam Makhmudian, the
parliament's sole ethnic Yazidi member representing the ruling
Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). Presenting the document to fellow
lawmakers on Monday, Makhmudian drew parallels between the 2014
atrocities against Iraqi Yazidis and the 1915 Armenian genocide in the
Ottoman Empire.

The Ottoman Turks also killed and displaced many Yazidis during the
First World War. Thousands of them fled to what is now the Republic of
Armenia.

There are an estimated 50,000 Yazidis living in Armenia at present,
making them the country's single largest ethnic minority.


Armenia - Ethnic Yazidi activists commemorate in Yerevan's Liberty
Square the third anniversary of atrocities committed against their
ethnic kin in Iraq, 3Aug2017.

President Serzh Sarkisian condemned the mass killings and deportations
of Iraqi Yazidis shortly after they were first reported in the summer
of 2014. Sarkisian instructed Armenia's Foreign Ministry and
diplomatic missions abroad to "redouble their efforts to adequately
raise the issue in the international arena."

The move followed a series of street protests staged by Yazidis in
Yerevan. They said that the Armenian government is slow to react to
the atrocities.

In April 2016, leaders of Armenia's Yazidi community inaugurated a
memorial in downtown Yerevan to Yazidis and other people massacred by
the IS extremists. Said Avdalian, the leader of a Yazidi youth group,
hailed the Armenian parliamentary resolution on Tuesday as a "historic
event."



Armenian President `Not Irreplaceable' For Tsarukian


 . Astghik Bedevian


Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian visits a new leisure center built
by businessman Gagik Tsarukian (R) in Tsaghkadzor, 20Dec2017.

Gagik Tsarukian, the leader of Armenia's second largest parliamentary
force, publicly disagreed on Tuesday with assertions that President
Serzh Sarkisian is "irreplaceable" as the country's
commander-in-chief.

Senior representatives of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK)
have said in recent weeks that Sarkisian should stay in power in one
way or another after completing his final presidential term in
April. They say that nobody else can deal with the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict and other security challenges facing the country as
successfully as he has.

"There are no irreplaceable people," Tsarukian said when asked by
reporters to comment on such statements. "Put such questions to the
Republican Party. In the [April 2017] parliamentary elections 55
percent of our people voted for the Republican Party. So they will
decide, they will present [their candidate for the post of prime
minister.]"

The millionaire businessman, whose alliance finished second in the
elections, would not say whether he thinks Sarkisian should become
prime minister or let Prime Minister Karen Karapetian retain his post
in April. He repeated only that it is up to the HHK to pick the next
premier.

Tsarukian was forced to leave the political arena nearly three years
ago after challenging Sarkisian's hold on power. He returned to active
politics ahead of the 2017 elections. The tycoon and his allies
criticized government policies but avoided personal attacks on the
president during the election campaign.

Sarkisian has regularly attended the inaugurations of new businesses
set up by Tsarukian in the last two years, raising questions about the
Tsarukian Bloc's opposition credentials.

Tsarukian confirmed that the bloc will not join a demonstration
against the latest consumer price hikes in Armenia which will be held
by another opposition alliance, Yelk, on Friday. He said that street
protests cannot remedy the increased cost of living. He also argued
that the Armenian parliament will hold soon hearings on the price
hikes at the president's initiative.



Bus Drivers In Yerevan Protest Against Higher Fuel Prices


 . Marine Khachatrian


Armenia - Minibus drivers protest against higher fuel prices in
Yerevan, 16Jan2018.

Several dozen drivers of minibuses in Yerevan went on strike on
Tuesday to protest against a sizable increase in fuel prices that has
cut their incomes.

The prices of gasoline, diesel fuel and liquefied natural gas, which
is used by virtually all buses and minibuses in Armenia, went up on
January 1 following the entry into force of higher excise duties on
fuel set by a new national Tax Code. The gas price rise was
particularly sharp, exceeding 16 percent.

Yerevan's public transport system is dominated by minibuses belonging
to private firms. Drivers working for them collect fares and pay their
employees fixed amounts of money on a daily basis.

Despite the price hike, the minibus fares set by the municipal
administration remained unchanged at 100 drams (21 U.S. cents) per
ride, translating into less revenue for the already underpaid drivers.

"Let them cut the gas price so that we can keep working," said one of
the protesting drivers that gathered on a street.

"If you go to work but earn nothing will you turn up for work the next
day?" complained another driver.

Senior municipality officials met the protesters and urged them to end
the strike. Alik Gevorgian, an aide to Yerevan Mayor Taron Markarian,
said while the municipality cannot cut the fuel price it will try to
get the minibus firms to ensure that the drivers do not end up earning
less.

"We will sort out all issues with your operators in an organized way,"
said Gevorgian. "Everything will be fine."

The drivers responded to these assurances with skepticism. Still, they
agreed to end the strike shortly afterwards, while warning of more
such protests if their demands are not met.

The municipality has pledged to embark by the end of this year on a
radical overhaul of the city's outdated transport system. The battered
and overcrowded minibuses are to be replaced by a centralized
transport network consisting only of large and medium-sized
buses. Deputy Mayor Vahe Nikoyan said in August that the municipal
authorities hope to attract a "foreign investor" that would run the
network.



U.S., Armenia To Hold `Defense Consultations'


Armenia - Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian (R) meets with
U.S. Ambassador Richard Mills in Yerevan, 16Jan2018.

U.S. and Armenian officials will meet later this year to discuss ways
of continuing military cooperation between their countries, the
Armenian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

A statement released by the ministry said Defense Minister Vigen
Sargsian and the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, Richard Mills, reached an
agreement on the holding of "U.S.-Armenian defense consultations in
Yerevan in the course of 2018." It said the consultations will be
aimed at working out a "common vision for further cooperation" between
the U.S. and Armenian militaries.

That cooperation has deepened over the past decade despite Armenia's
military alliance with Russia. Armenia currently contributesmore than
120 troops to NATO-led missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan and
regularly participates in multinational exercises organized by
U.S. forces in Europe.

U.S. instructors have trained hundreds of Armenian soldiers mostly
serving in a special peacekeeping brigade. The United States also
helped to renovate the brigade's training center near Yerevan. It was
inaugurated by Sargsian and a U.S. army general in October 2017.

Armenia plans to join more peacekeeping missions abroad with
specialized medical and demining units in the near future. They will
undergo U.S. training before such deployment.

In October 2016, Sargsian and Mills inaugurated a new paramedic school
of the Armenian armed forces. U.S. instructors trained the first group
of Armenian teaching personnel for the school in August 2015.

According to the Defense Ministry statement, Sargsian briefed Mills on
a seven-year plan to "modernize" the Armenian army which is expected
to be adopted by his government later this month. The minister said
Yerevan will seek to "develop cooperation with the U.S." as part of
that plan.

The statement gave no other details of the meeting.



Sarkisian Drops First Hint On Next Armenian President


 . Emil Danielyan


Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian meets with a group of
intellectuals and artists in Yerevan, 16Jan2018.

Armenia's next president must be a renowned but politically
inexperienced individual who speaks foreign languages, President Serzh
Sarkisian said on Tuesday.

Sarkisian commented on his possible successor at a meeting with a
group of elderly artists and intellectuals.

"In Serzh Sarkisian's view, the future president must speak foreign
languages, have broad connections in both Armenia and the [Armenian]
Diaspora, enjoy a good reputation, and, most importantly, be an
impartial person who has never engaged in politics and been a member
of a political party," the presidential press office said in a
statement. It did not cite him as naming anyone who he thinks would be
fit for the post.

Sarkisian will complete his second and final presidential term on
April 9 in time for Armenia's transition to a parliamentary system of
government. The next Armenian president will be elected by the
parliament, rather than popular vote, by March 9 and have largely
ceremonial powers.

The parliament is controlled by the ruling Republican Party of Armenia
(HHK), putting Sarkisian in a position to install his choice of the
next head of state. Meeting with parliamentary leaders last week,
Sarkisian said his successor should enjoy "broad-based support" in the
National Assembly.

Armenian newspapers claimed late last year that Gagik Harutiunian, the
chairman of Armenia's Constitutional Court, is Sarkisian's preferred
presidential candidate. However, Harutiunian insisted in December that
he has received no such offers and is not interested in the job.

Some media outlets have since speculated that Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian, who is fluent in English, French and Russian, may become
president. Citing an unnamed government source, the Yerevan daily
"Zhamanak" said on Tuesday Armenia's ambassador to Britain, Armen
Sarkisian (no relation to the president), is also a potential
candidate.



Press Review



"Zhoghovurd" claims that Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian has opted for
a "political self-destruction" with his controversial decision to
launch a fundraising campaign for the medical treatment abroad of a
wounded Armenian soldier. The paper says that the uproar sparked by
his initiative on social media has dealt an "extremely serious blow to
his reputation." It says that the way in which he announced the
fundraising and his ill-tempered responses to some Facebook users'
comments "wrecked the entire process."

"Haykakan Zhamanak" alleges, meanwhile, that the chief of the Armenian
army's General Staff, Colonel-General Movses Hakobian, is behind
"counterpropaganda" spread against Vigen Sargsian through some media
outlets and Facebook. The paper claims that Hakobian may have also had
a hand in a reported meeting of current and former senior military
officials allegedly opposed to Sargsian's continued tenure. It says
that one of those officials, Emergency Situations Minister Davit
Tonoyan, wants Hakobian to be sacked too.

"Zhamanak" reacts to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's
statement on Monday to the effect that Moscow will not try to impose a
peace accord on Armenia and Azerbaijan. "Things are not clear-cut here
because Moscow may not have a [Karabakh peace] plan but it does have a
business plan and supplies weapons to Armenia and Azerbaijan," writes
the paper. It says this encourages a more aggressive Azerbaijani
stance and thereby keeps Armenia heavily dependent on Russian arms
supplies.

"Hraparak" says that 2018 promises to be a "tough year" for Armenia
and its population. The paper singles out the increased prices of some
essential products, denouncing the authorities' reaction to the price
hikes.

(Tigran Avetisian)



Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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