Author: Kevo Kalantarian

                                        Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Armenia Voices Solidarity With Iran After Tehran Attacks (UPDATED)


Iran -- A woman is evacuated during an attack on the Iranian
parliament in central Tehran, June 7, 2017

Armenia expressed solidarity with neighboring Iran on Wednesday as it
rushed to condemn deadly attacks on the Iranian parliament and
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's shrine in Tehran that were claimed by
the so-called Islamic State (IS).

"We strongly condemn attacks at Iran's Parliament and Mausoleum of
Ayatollah Khomeini," Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in a
statement posted on his ministry's Twitter page. "In solidarity with
people of Iran."

Armenia's President Serzh Sarkisian and parliament speaker Arar
Babloyan were also quick to condemn the attacks in letters of
condolence sent to their Iranian counterparts.

"Attaching importance to security and stability in the neighboring and
friendly country, I am confident that the Iranian authorities are
taking all necessary measures to prevent such actions," Sarkisian
wrote to President Hassan Rouhani.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that two security guards
were killed and more than 30 other people wounded in the twin
attacks. Other reports said later in the day that as many as 12 people
were killed.

At least three attackers raided Khomeini's mausoleum in southern
Tehran and shot at visitors to the shrine, Iranian media said. One
assailant detonated a suicide vest, another was killed by security
forces, and the rest of the attackers were arrested, Tehran Governor
Hossein Hashemi was quoted as saying by state broadcaster IRIB.


Iran -- Security forces outside the Iranian parliament building
attacked by gunmen, 7Jun2017.
The extremist Sunni group IS claimed responsibility for the twin
attacks in the capital of predominantly Shi'ite Iran, according to the
IS-affiliated Amaq news agency.

Armenia's Embassy in Iran urged Armenian nationals to stay away from
the scenes of the violence as well as Tehran's underground system,
markets and other crowed places. "The Embassy is monitoring the course
of events," it said in a statement. "Additional information will be
provided if necessary."

Armenia has long maintained close relations with Iran, one of the
landlocked South Caucasus state's two commercial conduits to the
outside world. Sarkisian expressed confidence that bilateral ties will
deepen "in all areas" when he congratulated Rouhani on winning a
second term in a presidential election held last month.



Ruling Party Warns Ohanian


 . Sargis Harutyunyan


Armenia - Vahram Baghdasarian, the parliamentary leader of the ruling
Republican Party, speaks at a news briefing in Yerevan, 5Feb2016.

The ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) on Wednesday warned
former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian and his opposition allies
against seeking a violent overthrow of the government.

Ohanian said on Tuesday that his ORO alliance and other opposition
groups must be prepared for "developments outside the parliament that
could lead to a force majeure situation." He seemed to allude to the
possibility of future anti-government protests in Yerevan.

Commenting on those remarks, Vahram Baghdasarian, the HHK's
parliamentary leader, said: "We are ready for cooperation with the
healthy opposition, whether parliamentary or extraparliamentary, if
they come up with proposals on development of the state. But if they
have different objectives -- to achieve something through a rebellion
or a revolution -- the [April 2 parliamentary] elections showed what
they can achieve."

"No state, especially the one faced with such an external political
situation, will allow internal political upheavals," Baghdasarian told
RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

"Frankly, if I had no respect for that person I would not comment [on
his statements,]" he said. "But we have worked together and pursued
the same goals with that person for many years. Therefore, I will just
say: let's wait for political developments."

According to the Central of Election Commission (CEC), the ORO bloc
co-headed by Ohanian, Vartan Oskanian and Raffi Hovannisian polled
only 2 percent of the vote and failed to win any seats in Armenia's
new parliament. The bloc rejected the official vote results as
fraudulent. Ohanian insisted on Tuesday that the elections were
rigged.

Baghdasarian dismissed the claim as an excuse for ORO's poor election
performance. He said the fact that this and other opposition groups
refrained from staging post-election street protests means that
"everyone agrees with the election results."

The United States and the European Union gave largely positive
assessments of the conduct of the legislative polls, while expressing
concern at "credible information about vote-buying and pressure on
civil servants and employees of private companies" reported by Western
observers. The EU's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said
through a spokesperson on April 4 that the official vote results
"reflect the overall will of the Armenian people."



Dashnak Lawmaker Protests Against Corruption Whistleblowing


 . Tatevik Lazarian


Armenia - A session of the National Assembly in Yerevan, 30May2017.

A parliament deputy representing the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutyun), President Serzh Sarkisian's junior coalition
partner, denounced on Wednesday a government proposal to encourage
Armenians to report instances of corruption known to them.

Andranik Karapetian claimed that this kind of whistleblowing runs
counter to Armenian values and traditions. "European values are not
always compatible with Armenian values," he said.

The proposal is part of a package of anti-corruption government bills
which the recently elected National Assembly began debating on
Wednesday. They call for the creation of a new body tasked with
preventing and exposing corrupt practices among various state
officials. The body would scrutinize their asset and income
declarations with the aim of detecting their possible illegal
self-enrichment.

The government also wants the anti-graft commission to put in place an
online platform for anonymous corruption reports from citizens,
including those employed by government, law-enforcement and judicial
bodies. The five commission members to be appointed by the parliament
would have to look into those allegations.

"The institution of whistleblowers does not befit us, Armenians,"
declared Karapetian. "When I was reading this bill yesterday the first
thing that crossed my mind was that is an institution of, to use the
popular language, ratting on others."

The 34-year-old lawmaker claimed that the practice would not only
contradict his idea of "Armenianness" but also spread mistrust between
co-workers in the country. "Let us rat on each other," he said. "Let
us go to work and not dare to look each other in the eyes, suspecting
that we could rat on each other."

The remarks were criticized by Mane Tandilian, a deputy from the
opposition Yelk alliance. "I believe that on the contrary it is
un-Armenian to speak of people who can be whistleblowers in the fight
against corruption as informers and to claim that this is
un-Armenian," she said.

It was not immediately clear whether Karapetian's view reflects the
Dashnaktsutyun leadership's position. The party holds 7 seats in the
105-member parliament and is represented in the government by three
ministers.



More Protests Against Village Consolidation In Armenia


 . Anush Muradian


Armenia - Protesting villagers in Gegharkunik province speak to
RFE/RL, 7Jun2017.

Residents of about two dozen small villages in Armenia's eastern
Gegharkunik province blocked a local highway on Wednesday in protest
against government plans to merge them into larger communities.

The Armenian government embarked on the mergers over a year ago,
saying that they will improve governance in the affected communities
and make budgetary spending on them more efficient. It also promised
that Armenia's Western donor supporting the process will provide them
with financial aid.

The government met with strong resistance from some of the first 140
villages that were incorporated into 18 administrative units later in
2016. Their residents believe that the consolidated local governments
will be less accountable and responsive to them.

Despite the controversy, the government continued the process this
year. A bill submitted by it to the Armenian parliament this month
would turn 328 other villages into 34 communities.

"We are against such a consolidation," said one of the several hundred
residents of the affected Gegharkunik villages who occupied a section
of the highway passing through the nearby town of Vartenis. He and
other protesters said it would hurt their mountainous communities,
many of them populated by former Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan.


Armenia - Protesting villagers block a road in Gegharkunik province,
7Jun2017.

The protesting villagers also complained that the government did not
consult with them before going ahead with the measure. Gegharkunik's
deputy governor, Andranik Hakobian, countered that Minister for Local
Government Davit Lokian recently met the mayors of their villages and
discussed the issue with them. "The village chiefs should have
organized discussions [with villagers,]" he told RFE/RL's Armenian
service (Azatutyun.am).

Hakobian also stood by government assurances that the administrative
restructuring will translate into infrastructure upgrades and better
public services. The villagers remained unconvinced, however.

"We want our message to reach the president," one of them told a
deputy chief of the regional police department, Tigran Petrosian, who
arrived at the scene.

The protesters agreed to unblock the road only two hours later, after
government officials told them through Petrosian to send a delegation
of their representatives to Yerevan. The delegation met with aides to
Lokian and Prime Minister Karen Karapetian later in the day.

The talks proved fruitless, with representatives of the villagers
saying that the government officials rejected their demands. They said
they will again shut down the Vartenis highway on Thursday.



Press Review



"Zhamanak" reacts to President Serzh Sarkisian's public assurances
that he has no disagreements with Prime Minister Karen Karapetian and
that the latter "has no reason to resign." The paper suggests that the
assurances may have been primarily addressed to Russian-Armenian
billionaire Samvel Karapetian (no relation), who is a strong backer of
the premier. It notes that the president made the comments the day
after attending the inauguration of a new university facility in
Yerevan that was donated by the tycoon. In any case, it says, his
statement boosted Karen Karapetian's shaky positions in the
government.

"Hayots Ashkhar" says that contrary some observers' predictions, Gagik
Tsarukian's Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) has failed to pose a
serious threat to Sarkisian and the ruling Republican Party of Armenia
(HHK) since it was set up over a decade ago. "True, the BHK continues
to be considered the second strongest political force, but it cannot
have greater ambitions," argues the paper.

"Haykakan Zhamanak" claims that the government's biggest hope for
economic betterment in Armenia is not greater exports or investments
but an increase in cash remittances from Armenian migrant workers
abroad and a higher price of copper in the world markets. The paper
says that even $850 million in investments promised by Karapetian for
this year cannot improve the socioeconomic situation in the country as
rapidly as the remittances could.

(Tigran Avetisian)


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Monday


View from Moscow: Only the threat of counteroffensive can curb the
aggressiveness of Baku

 Yerevan May 22

David Stepanyan. Counteroffensive, the threat of an offensive is the
only panacea capable of curbing the aggressiveness of the leadership
of Azerbaijan. Caucasus Department of the Institute of CIS countries
Deputy Director, military expert Vladimir Yevseyev, expressed this
opinion to ArmInfo.

"It is very important to keep the conflict from moving to another
stage. Today, I see a change in the quality of the conflict. In
February, the Azerbaijani reconnaissance by demining sappers or remote
robots tried to infiltrate deep into the Armenian territory, then at
that time it looked quite typical. However, striking through the UAV
the depth of the territory controlled by the NKR Defense Army, damage
to anti-aircraft missile system "Osa" - is actually the act of
aggression blow was obviously caused in the rear, as the air defense
systems nobody puts at the forefront and that talks about moving into
a new phase of the conflict course, the Defense Forces and also forced
by the UAV hit back at Azerbaijan's rear", he said.

The strikes on the rear, with the help of technical means, the
military expert regards as an entirely different level of conflict.
Thus, the destruction of air defense weapons can be regarded as the
first step of reconnaissance by combat with the aim of organizing its
aviation support using helicopters, as it was in April and the same
UAVs. And if the Azeris managed to inflict more damage as a result of
more concerted actions, then immediately a force of approximately a
battalion could follow reconnaissance.

"In the end, we could get events very close to the events of April
2016. That is why I am very worried about the qualitative change in
the situation in the conflict region, I was sure that the April war
will happen for six months and spoke about it at the celebration of
Artsakh Days in Moscow, on the basis of a host of indirect indicators,
unfortunately, I see such indirect signs in favor of the repetition of
April 2016 now too," the expert notes.

Stressing the restoration of the balance of power, Yevseyev noted that
the desire to continue the policy of Ilham Aliyev "Biting off the
territories" is too great. And in the case of his implementation of
the resumption of hostilities at the level of April will be
inevitable. According to his estimates, in Baku they are not
considered with any sacrifices. For example, the carefully concealed
death of 10 Azerbaijani servicemen as a result of the February
sabotage did not serve as a basis for restraining their own appetites.

"Unfortunately, I do not see any possibility of achieving real peace
agreements, there are simply no conditions for that. Now Azerbaijan is
not set to talking about compromises. And only the force can bring
Baku in adequate state. Only after that it will be real to talk to
Ilham Aliyev. Therefore, Armenian side should seriously prepare for
it, periodically clearly warning the enemy of retaliatory
counteroffensive. Talks on defense are unable to stop the aggressor,
it can do only the treat of striking back", the Russian expert summed
up.

                                        Sunday, 

Sarkisian Congratulates Iran's Rouhani On Election Victory


Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian (R) greets his Iranian counterpart
Hassan Rouhani at a Yerevan airport, 21Dec2016.

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian emphasized the friendly nature of
his country's relations with Iran and hoped for a new level of
cooperation as he congratulated President Hassan Rouhani on winning a
second term in office in an election held in the Islamic Republic on
May 19.

Rouhani beat his main challenger, conservative ex-prosecutor Ebrahim
Raisi in the first round of the election by polling over 50 percent of
the vote.

In his congratulatory message to Rouhani, Sarkisian, as quoted by his
press office, expressed confidence that during the Iranian president's
tenure "the friendly neighborly Iran will continue to develop upward,
bringing its considerable and important contribution to the
establishment of regional peace and stability."

"I am hopeful that through our joint efforts, the traditionally warm
and friendly Armenian-Iranian relations will continue to develop and
strengthen in all areas, registering a qualitatively new level of
cooperation between our peoples," Sarkisian said.

"I wish you excellent health, success in all your undertakings, and I
wish lasting peace and prosperity to the friendly people of Iran,"
reads the congratulatory message of the Armenian leader.

Sarkisian and Rouhani discussed ways of deepening economic ties
between the two countries when the Iranian president paid a visit to
Armenia late last year. Those include cooperation in the energy and
transportation spheres as well as a tax-free zone in Armenia for
Iranian manufacturing firms.

Sarkisian also praised Iran for its balanced position on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.



Election Body Rejects Appeal By Opposition Party Over Yerevan Vote


 . Anush Muradian


Armenia -- Central Electoral Commission rejects Yerkir Tsirani party's
appeal, Yerevan, 21May2017

Armenia's Central Electoral Commission on Sunday approved the final
results of the May 14 municipal elections in Yerevan, rejecting the
appeal filed by an opposition party that particularly alleged
large-scale vote buying and pressure on people to vote in favor of the
ruling party.

The governing Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) officially got over 71
percent of the vote, with the opposition Yelk (Way Out) alliance
getting 21 percent and the opposition Yerkir Tsirani party receiving
some 8 percent of the vote.

All three forces participating in the election made it to the
65-member Council of Elders of Yerevan where they will have 46, 14 and
5 representatives, respectively.

Following the ballot in which Yelk also alleged vote buying in favor
of the HHK, only Yerkir Tsirani formally applied to the CEC, demanding
that it annul the election results.

The party led by outspoken government critic Zaruhi Postanjian claimed
large-scale fraud was committed during the election by the HHK with
the assistance of police officers that included vote buying, guidance
of voters, as well as violence against Postanjian and her proxy.

Postanjian, who ran for mayor in the elections, personally went to one
of HHK campaign offices located in incumbent mayor and top HHK
candidate Taron Markarian's home district of Avan on the day of the
voting to expose what she claimed was a vote buying scheme. Along with
her daughter, Lilit Drampian, who also acted as her proxy, she was
forced out of the HHK premises by police officers called in by ruling
party activists.

In a statement released on May 15 Postanjian claimed violence was used
against her and her daughter, who suffered a concussion. She also
deplored the lack of immediate response from appropriate
law-enforcement bodies to the incident. Two criminal cases were later
launched by the Special Investigation Service in connection with the
incident.

In its application the opposition party also alleged that
election-related documents kept at the safes at electoral precincts
had been tampered with in favor of the HHK.

During today's meeting of the CEC Postanjian accused the body of
failing to properly notify the party about the date and time of the
hearing.

Tigran Mukuchian, the head of the CEC, insisted, however, that
Postanjian and Yerkir Tsirani were notified by phone in due
time. Mukuchian said that in its application the party did not attach
any proof of its claims that could become a basis for annulling the
results of the Yerevan elections. Eventually, the CEC rejected Yerkir
Tsirani's appeal and approved the final results of the elections.

Postanjian went on to allege that Mukuchian was acting under pressure
as she said one of her party's representatives was notified about the
CEC meeting late on Saturday and could not make it to Yerevan from
Gyumri early in the morning.

"We will turn to the court," Postanjian said, stressing that Yerkir
Tsirani will continue to struggle "to create a movement of national
resistance that will topple the current regime."



Press Review

(Saturday, May 20)

"Haykakan Zhamanak" tries to understand why in their statement on the
most recent ceasefire violations in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone
the American, Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
decided to clearly put the blame on Azerbaijan: "This is an
unprecedented reaction. Even during the April 2016 war the
international mediators and the individual co-chair countries
refrained from defining Azerbaijan as an aggressor, even though they
surely could not have failed to notice, due to their satellite
equipment, that it was Azerbaijan that had launched an offensive along
the perimeter of the line of contact# What has changed? The thing is
that if the Minsk Group had not made such a targeted statement, having
received such data from one of the parties, it would have put its
mandate and further activities in doubt."

"168 Zham" assesses the latest statement of the OSCE Minsk Group as
one of the most serious successes of recent years and even decades in
the settlement of the Karabakh conflict: "Finally, the Minsk Group is
calling things by their proper names... It is not an exaggeration to
say that this was a slap by the international community in the face of
Azerbaijan, which is doing and will be doing everything in order to
scuttle the agreements reached after the April 2016 war during
meetings in Vienna and St. Petersburg... It is hard to say how far
this is the result of Armenian diplomatic efforts and how far it is
the reflection of the current global geopolitical developments. It is
important, however, to keep this result and take the initiative. And
this should become the number one task for Armenian diplomacy."

"Zhoghovurd" comments on the process of the formation of standing
committees in the newly elected Armenian parliament. The daily, in
particular, writes: "Armenia has become so dependent on the Kremlin
over the past decade that even the existence of a parliamentary
committee on European integration should be regarded as a serious
achievement. It is another matter whether this was done after
permission obtained from the North or as a result of political
courage, for which in the near future the Armenian authorities are
certain to get some `fraternal' slaps. Given the nominal presence of
this committee and its actual inaction in the past, it can be said
that this can become a small bonus for the Armenian authorities in
order to win the favors of EU officials promising tens of millions in
loans. After all, the Kremlin understands that if it gives no money to
its outpost, then at least it should not close the opportunity for it
to get money from another channel. Otherwise, there may be some
uncontrolled developments."

Assessing the speech of President Serzh Sarkisian during the first
meeting of the new parliament, "Hayots Ashkhar" writes: "The speech of
the president at the first meeting of the National Assembly of the
sixth convocation was an important one from the point of view of
expectations for the coming years in the sphere of economy, social
development and other areas. The speech sets out the basic tasks that
must become the basis for the future governments' programs. Judging
from the president's speech, both in the economic and social spheres
strict and high demands are being put forward, and the fulfillment of
these demands should create conditions for the formation of a new
quality of economic and social environment in Armenia."

(Tigran Avetisian)

Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org