Monday, May 4, 2020
Sarkisian’s Son-In-Law Claims Deal Offer From Pashinian
• Tatevik Lazarian
Armenia -- Former Armenian Ambassador to the Vatican Mikael Minasian.
Mikael Minasian, former President Serzh Sarkisian’s fugitive son-in-law, has
claimed that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian offered last year to guarantee his
immunity from prosecution if he pays cash and stops challenging the Armenian
government.
In a weekend video message posted on Facebook, Minasian said that the offer was
personally communicated to him in February 2019 by Artur Vanetsian, the then
director of Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS), at a meeting held in Rome.
“He said that ‘we have an offer to your and that offer is as follows: you pay a
symbolic amount [of money] and then you never come to Armenia, at least in the
coming years; all those people who are linked to you in one way or another and
listen to you stop fighting against Nikol Pashinian; you become an apolitical
person … but as soon as we reach agreement all criminal proceedings will be
immediately discontinued,” he alleged, referring to pending corruption cases
against his fugitive father, prominent surgeon Ara Minasian, and friends.
Minasian said that he rejected the offer because he believes Pashinian is
leading Armenia to a “great disaster.” “I can never make deals with people whom
I considered and consider … irresponsible liars, traitors of the people and
enemies of the state,” he charged.
Pashinian did not react to the allegations. His spokeswoman, Mane Gevorgian,
told Factor.am that the prime minister’s office will comment “when necessary.”
The parliamentary leader of Pashinian’s My Step bloc, Lilit Makunts, also
declined a comment, saying that it is up to law-enforcement authorities to “deal
with” Minasian’s claims.
Armenia’s Office of the Prosecutor-General told RFE/RL’s Armenian service on
Monday that it has assigned another law-enforcement agency to look into the
claims and decide whether they warrant a criminal inquiry.
For his part, Vanetsian only said through a spokeswoman that he stands by
comments on Minasian which he made shortly after resigning as NSS director in
September 2019. He said at the time that Sarkisian’s son-in-law is someone who
“must still answer many questions.”
Vanetsian, who is now a harsh critic of Pashinian, subsequently claimed that he
met with Minasian once while in office and that the prime minister knew about
their conversation beforehand. But he never gave any details.
Minasian enjoyed considerable political and economic influence throughout
Sarkisian’s decade-long rule. The 42-year-old served as Armenia’s ambassador to
the Vatican from 2013 to 2018. He was sacked in November 2018 six months after
his father-in-law was toppled in the “Velvet Revolution” led by Pashinian.
Late last month, Armenian tax authorities charged Minasian with illegal
enrichment, false asset disclosure and money laundering. The latter’s lawyers
rejected the charges as baseless and politically motivated.
Minasian apparently left Armenia shortly after his sacking. He did not disclose
his current place of residence in his video statement.
Over the past year Minasian has increasingly attacked Pashinian with articles
posted on his Facebook page and disseminated by Armenian media outlets believed
to be controlled by him.
For his part, Pashinian has repeatedly accused Minasian of illegally making a
huge fortune during Sarkisian’s rule.
Also, the prime minister’s spokeswoman claimed last week that “according to the
government’s information” Vanetsian abused his NSS position to buy Minasian’s
minority stake in Armenia’s largest mining company. Vanetsian strongly denied
that.
Armenian Health Minister Fears Surge In COVID-19 Cases
• Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia -- Health Minister Arsen Torosian speaks at a meeting of a task force
coordinating the Armenian government's response to coronavirus outbreak,
Yerevan, April 27, 2020.
The number of coronavirus cases in Armenia could quadruple by the end of this
month, Health Minister Arsen Torosian said on Monday.
Torosian also warned of the possibility of a prolonged and much deadlier
epidemic as he met with Armenian lawmakers and answered their questions.
“If we follow [safety and hygiene] rules then we will manage to make progress,”
he told members of the parliament committee on healthcare. “If we don’t we will
have explosive outbreaks which will result, for example, in 500,000 infected
citizens and thousands of deaths. This scenario is not implausible.”
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Torosian clarified that the staggering numbers
cited by him are based on the World Health Organization’s projections for the
spread of the virus in Armenia made one month ago.
“Fortunately, that hasn’t happened because we have managed to contain the spread
of infections,” he said. “Whether there will be 500,000, 100,000 or 50,000 cases
is hard to tell now … but it’s our behavior that will determine their number.”
A “plausible scenario” now, he went on, is that Armenia will have 10,000 cases
at the end of this month. “This number is large in the sense that it’s more than
[the number of infected people] we can keep under control and we will probably
send some of them home. But it’s not large in the sense that we will be able to
treat severe and critical cases.”
The Ministry of Health reported on Monday morning 121 new cases of the disease
which raised Armenia’s COVID-19 total to 2,507.
The ministry also said that four more Armenians have died from the virus, the
largest daily increase in fatalities reported so far. The country’s death toll
from COVID-19 thus reached 39.
Torosian issued the stark warnings as the Armenian government largely ended on
Monday a nationwide lockdown imposed in late March. Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian said on Sunday that Armenians must now share with the government
“responsibility” for tackling the epidemic and minimizing its consequences.
Pashinian urged them to abide by social distancing and hygiene rules set by the
health authorities.
The government had already gradually reopened some sectors of the Armenian
economy and eased restrictions on people’s movements since April 13.
The Ministry of Health has reported growing daily numbers of new COVID-19
infections for the last two weeks. Torosian told Pashinian on Sunday that the
increased “mobility” of the population is one of the reasons for that rise.
Arrest Warrant Issued For Jailed Ex-Minister’s Son
• Artak Khulian
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia -- Gurgen Khachatrian, the chairman of Ucom company's board of directors.
A court in Yerevan allowed law-enforcement bodies on Sunday to arrest a wealthy
businessman and son of Armenia’s arrested former Finance Minister Gagik
Khachatrian who has accused the government of seeking to illegally dispossess
his family.
However, Gurgen Khachatrian was not immediately arrested and his whereabouts
remained unknown as of Monday evening.
The Khachatrian family has extensive business interests. The most important of
its assets is Ucom, one of the country’s three mobile phone operators and
largest Internet and cable TV provider.
The ex-minister’s two sons and a nephew own a combined 77 percent of the Ucom
stock. Gurgen Khachatrian is also the chairman of the company’s board of
directors.
In an April 28 statement, he claimed that “high-ranking” Armenian officials have
threatened to arrest him if he and his brother refuse to cede control of Ucom
and another major IT firm at a knockdown price. “Ucom is not for sale, neither
is our dignity,” he said.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian was quick to respond to the claim, saying through
a spokeswoman that Khachatrian and his relatives must return hundreds of
millions dollars “stolen from the people.”She said relevant authorities will
allow the Khachatrians to sell their Ucom stake only if they agree to transfer
all proceeds from such a deal to the government.
Khachatrian’s lawyers said afterwards that the National Security Service (NSS)
has brought new criminal charges against him. In particular, they said, he now
stands accused of assisting in bribery.
The lawyers confirmed that the accusation is connected to the arrest late last
month of Sedrak Arustamian, the top manager of companies belonging to another
wealthy businessman, Gagik Tsarukian.
The NSS claims that Arustamian had paid Gagik Khachatrian a $22.4 million bribe
to ensure privileged treatment of those companies by tax authorities. It says
that the payment took the form of two bogus loans provided to the former
minister who was arrested on corruption charges last August.
Both Arustamian and the Khachatrian family insist that the massive cash transfer
was a commercial transaction, not a bribe. One of the lawyers representing the
family, Yerem Sargsian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service at the weekend that the
ex-minister’s sons had borrowed the hefty sum to buy real estate abroad. He did
not go into details.
Armenia -- National Security Service officers are seen outside the home of Ucom
CEO Ara Khachatrian, Yerevan, May 2, 2020.
In what appeared to a related development, NSS officers raided the Ucom
headquarters in Yerevan on Saturday. They also searched the home and the car of
the company’s new executive and confiscated his laptop computer.
The security service did not comment on the searches. Aram Orbelian, a lawyer
for the Ucom CEO, alleged that they are part of broader government efforts to
nationalize the company employing 1,800 people or “hand it over to another
person” in gross violation of property rights guaranteed by Armenian law.
The NSS also summoned Gurgen Khachatrian’s wife and mother for questioning. Both
women reportedly refused to testify as witnesses.
Meanwhile, Khachatrian issued a written statement shortly before the court
allowed the NSS to hold him in detention pending investigation. The Ucom
chairman decried the “illegal” criminal proceedings and said he has no intention
to “get involved in these processes as a prisoner” and thereby contribute to
further “illegalities.”
Sargsian confirmed on Monday afternoon that Khachatrian has not been arrested
yet. But he declined to clarify whether his client has fled Armenia or gone into
hiding inside the country. Khachatrian was banned from travelling abroad after
being first indicted in January.
“Gurgen Khachatrian is prepared to present himself before the investigating body
at any moment if its actions are brought back to the legal field,” said the
lawyer.
Armenia Reopens Economy As Coronavirus Deaths Rise
Armenia -- Customers at a restaurant in Yerevan, May 4, 2020.
Armenian authorities reported the largest daily number of coronavirus deaths to
date on Monday as the vast majority of Armenia’s businesses, including many
cafes and restaurants, resumed their work following the end of a nationwide
lockdown imposed in late March.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian defended on Sunday his government’s decision to
lift remaining restrictions on people’s movements and reopen virtually all
sectors of the Armenian economy despite the continuing spread of coronavirus in
the country. He declared that the onus is now not only on his government but
also on ordinary Armenians to contain the virus.
“We are announcing a new, decentralized phase of the fight against the novel
coronavirus,” Pashinian said during a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Tigran
Avinian and Health Minister Arsen Torosian.
“The main reason why we are opting for such a solution is that it’s now obvious
that we will have new coronavirus cases at least until March or April next year,
until a vaccine is developed,” he said. “Therefore, our challenge starting from
tomorrow is to do everything … so that we can live with coronavirus, rather than
be locked down, because we cannot stay shut down for one year.”
“The most important nuance of the decentralized struggle is that every citizen
of Armenia will shoulder responsibility for the fight against the epidemic,”
added Pashinian.
The premier renewed his calls for citizens to strictly follow social distancing
rules and avoid touching their faces with unwashed hands.
He admitted that the decision to essentially end the lockdown is “creating the
risk” of a faster spread of the virus.
The Armenian Ministry of Health has already reported increased daily numbers of
coronavirus cases for the last two weeks. It said on Monday morning that 121
people have tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours, taking the
country’s COVID-19 total to 2,507.
The ministry also said that four more Armenians have died from the virus, the
largest daily increase in fatalities reported so far. The country’s death toll
from COVID-19 thus reached 39.
According to Torosian, 35 COVID-19 patients were in a critical condition as of
Sunday afternoon.
Armenia -- A COVID-19 patient is brought to the Surp Grigor Lusavorich hospital
in Yerevan, April 8, 2020.
“We can manage 3,000 to 4,000 cases,” the health minister told Pashinian. “Right
now we have 850 patients in hospitals and about 350 others [isolated] in hotels.
Our objective is … to not exceed the maximum [hospital capacity] and not have to
provide medical assistance in non-hospital conditions.”
Torosian repeatedly warned last week that the health authorities will soon be no
longer able to hospitalize or isolate all infected persons. He said this will
increase the risk of further growth in infections.
Avinian, who leads an ad hoc government body enforcing a coronavirus-related
state of emergency in Armenia, said on Sunday that the government could again
issue stay-at-home orders and shut down most businesses “in case of a
deterioration of the situation.”
Pashinian did not mention such a possibility when he met with Avinian and
Torosian later in the day. He claimed that the government has no choice but to
end the lockdown which it imposed on March 24.
“If we were sure that we could defeat the epidemic after another month of the
toughest lockdown we could opt for such a solution,” said the prime minister.
“But we have concluded that this is not realistic and possible. Our statistics
of the last two months shows that.”
Critics say that the authorities never strictly enforced the quarantine and
began easing restrictions on business activity already on April 13, just three
weeks after the start of the economic shutdown. The number of daily coronavirus
cases rose significantly later in April amid a gradual reopening of more sectors
of the Armenian economy.
With its latest measure which took effect on Monday, the government lifted its
ban on all remaining all types of manufacturing, services such as hairdressing
and cleaning, and wholesale trade carried out outside shopping malls. Those
cafes and restaurants that have outdoor areas were also allowed to reopen.
Other restaurants as well as bars, night clubs and shopping malls will remain
closed for the time being. The government is also in no rush to resume public
transport services in Yerevan and other cities.
All reopened businesses have to comply with safety requirements set by the
Ministry of Health. In particular, employers must ensure physical distancing
among their workers and customers, frequently disinfect premises, provide
employees with hand sanitizers and measure their temperature on a daily basis.
Those who have a fever must immediately leave their workplace and seek medical
aid.
Wearing face masks and gloves is obligatory for only some categories of
employees, notably waiters.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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