Tuesday,
Armenian Parliament Allows Prosecution Of Prominent Ex-General
Armenia - Manvel Grigorian addresses members of the Yerkrapah Union in Artik,
15 April 2010
Armenia’s parliament on Tuesday allowed law-enforcement authorities to
prosecute one of its members, retired General Manvel Grigorian, and to keep him
in pre-trial detention on charges of illegal arms possession and embezzlement.
Grigorian, who represents former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party
(HHK) in the parliament, was arrested on Saturday immediately after security
forces raided his expensive properties in and around the town of Echmiadzin.
They claimed to have found illegally acquired weapons and stockpiles of food
and other supplies meant for Armenian army soldiers.
The HHK initially condemned Grigorian’s arrest as politically motivated and
demanded his release. But it swiftly changed its stance after the National
Security Service (NSS) released on Sunday an extremely embarrassing video of
searches conducted in the ex-general’s villas.
The televised footage caused widespread shock and anger in the country. It
showed NSS officers discovering large amounts of underwear, medication and
field rations for soldiers provided by the Armenian Defense Ministry as well as
other food donated by ordinary Armenians at a sprawling compound in Grigorian’s
native village, Arshaluys.
The NSS claimed that he used the canned food to feed tigers, bears and other
wild animals kept in his private zoo located inside the compound. It also
demonstrated various types of weaponry, including anti-tank guns and
rocket-propelled grenades, and ammunition allegedly stashed there.
The HHK called the revelations “outrageous” and said it will not hamper the
criminal proceedings. Its parliamentary leader, Vahram Baghdasarian, explained
on Tuesday that the NSS video “totally changed the situation.”
Armenia - Canned food found in a villa belonging to retired General Manvel
Grigorian, 17 June 2018.
Voting twice in secret ballot, the parliament overwhelmingly sanctioned
Grigorian’s arrest and prosecution.Only three members of the 105-seat National
Assembly voted against that. Seventy-seven others voted for allowing
law-enforcement authorities to keep him behind bars pending investigation.
Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian assured lawmakers before the votes that there
is sufficient evidence to press the criminal charges against the prominent
veteran of the 1991-1994 war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The vote was also preceded by angry speeches delivered by several
parliamentarians. Naira Zohrabian of the Tsarukian Bloc charged that Grigorian
is an “ordinary thief” who benefited from “years of lawlessness” at the behest
of the Sarkisian administration.
“There are many Manvel Grigorians in our county and they all must be held
accountable,” she said.
“This is really a disgrace and blasphemy,” said Armen Rustamian, a leader of
the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. “We need to seriously think about
eliminating consequences of that.”
Grigorian himself refused to show up for the debate on his fate. In an open
letter released on Monday, he urged the HHK’s parliamentary faction to give the
green light to his prosecution. He said he will prove his innocence and “clear
my name” during the investigation.
Grigorian, 61, served as Armenia’s deputy defense minister from 2000-2008. He
is also the chairman of the Yerkrapah Union of Karabakh war veterans, an
organization which was particularly influential in the 1990s and the early
2000s. He was reelected to the parliament on the HHK ticket in 2017.
Ex-General Denies Corruption Charges
• Sisak Gabrielian
• Artak Hambardzumian
Armenia - Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian (L) and Yerkrapah Union leader Manvel
Grigorian at a signing ceremony in Yerevan, 9 September 2014.
Manvel Grigorian, a retired army general arrested at the weekend, denies the
accusations of illegal arms possession and embezzlement levelled against him,
his lawyers said on Tuesday.
According to them, Grigorian has told investigators that he has nothing to do
with large quantities of food, medication and other items meant for Armenian
soldiers which were confiscated from a vast village compound belonging to him.
“He has testified that he visited that property rarely, let’s say two or three
times a year,” one of the lawyers, Karen Kamalian, told a news conference. “As
regards the place where those goods were discovered, he did not have the keys
[to its entrance door.]”
Another attorney, Arayik Alvanian, claimed that those items were shipped to and
from the property by other senior members of the Yerkrapah Union of Karabakh
war veterans without Grigorian’s knowledge. Grigorian has headed the
organization close to the Armenian military for almost two decades.
In an open letter released on Monday, Grigorian pledged to provide documents
proving that the warehouse “catered” for Yerkrapah’s legitimate activities,
rather than served as a hideout for embezzled military supplies. Alvanian
denied any contradiction between that claim and statements made by him and
three other lawyers representing the ex-general.
The National Security Service (NSS) released on Sunday a scandalous video of
searches carried out by its officers at Grigorian’s expensive villas and other
properties. It showed them finding large amounts of underwear, medication and
field rations for soldiers provided by the Armenian Defense Ministry as well as
other food donated by ordinary Armenians. Those supplies were hoarded at the
compound located in Grigorian’s native village.
The donations were made by local communities, public schools and other civilian
institutions during the April 2016 war in Karabakh.
Seyran Ohanian, another retired general who was Armenia’s defense minister
during the four-day war, said on Tuesday that he “experienced pain” when
watching the televised NSS footage. He insisted that he was not involved in or
even aware of the alleged embezzlement of donations to the armed forces.
“Of course I did not know that,” Ohanian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service
(Azatutyun.am). “A special commission was set up then to handle all kinds of
assistance which it distributed in corresponding directions.”
He put the blame on unnamed “structures” that delivered such aid to various
military units or oversaw that process.
A week ago, Ohanian received a summons from tax inspectors investigating
suspected financial irregularities committed by Armenian Defense Ministry
officials from 2014-2017. The State Revenue Committee (SRC) said the former
defense minister will be questioned as a witness.
Meanwhile, the recently appointed chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff,
Major General Artak Davtian, issued a statement on Tuesday implicitly referring
to the high-profile case against Grigorian. “Impunity is now a thing of the
past,” he declared.
Davtian said the Armenian military will join the country’s new government in
waging an “uncompromising struggle even against seemingly insignificant
abuses.”
EU Said To Help New Armenian Government
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (C) poses for a photograph with
visiting members of the European Parliament, Yerevan, .
The European Union stands ready to help Armenia’s new government implement
sweeping reforms promised by it, a senior member of the European Parliament
said after visiting Yerevan on Monday.
David McAllister, the chairman of the EU legislature’s Committee on Foreign
Affairs, headed a multi-partisan delegation of EU lawmakers who met with Prime
Minister Pashinian, other senior Armenian officials and civil society
representatives during the visit.
“This is a key moment for Armenia,” McAllister said in a statement. “To
strengthen its democracy, to deepen its relations with the EU and to make
long-lasting peace.”
“Armenia’s citizens want this, Armenia’s leaders have committed to this and the
European Union will be there to help every step of the way,” he added.
Pashinian reportedly briefed McAllister and either European Parliament members
on his government’s stated efforts to combat corruption, break up economic
monopolies hampering faster growth and democratize Armenia’s political system.
“The purpose of our actions is to bring about real changes in the country,” he
was quoted by his press office as saying.
The Armenian premier said last week that he will visit Brussels to meet top EU
officials later this month.
The EU closely monitored the political crisis in Armenia sparked by former
President Serzh Sarkisian’s attempt to hold on to power after serving out his
second presidential term on April 9. It repeatedly urged Armenian political
factions to end the standoff through dialogue.
Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, the
European Commission president, sent a congratulatory letter to Nikol Pashinian,
the main organizer of massive anti-Sarkisian protests, two days after he was
elected prime minister on May 8.
“We look forward to cooperating with you in your new position to further
strengthen the relations between the European Union and Armenia, particularly
through the implementation of the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced
Partnership Agreement (CEPA),” Tusk and Juncker wrote.
The CEPA was signed by the former Armenian government last November. It calls
for political and economic reforms in Armenia. It also commits Yerevan to
gradually “approximating” Armenian economic laws and regulations to those of
the EU.
Pashinian called for a quick ratification of the CEPA by all EU member states
when the Armenian parliament elected him prime minister.
McAllister said the European Parliament will vote on the 350-page agreement on
July 4. The CEPA’s ratification and implementation will help Armenia attract
more EU investment and boost its trade with the EU, added the German lawmaker.
Pashinian Denies Pressure On Armenian TV
• Artak Hambardzumian
Armenia - Employees of the Synopsys Armenia IT company take a selfie with Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian in Yerevan, .
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian denied trying to restrict press freedom in
Armenia on Tuesday after warning unnamed broadcasters against disseminating
“anti-state propaganda.”
“Taking advantage of unlimited freedom of speech, some TV companies have
decided to engage in anti-state propaganda,” Pashinian wrote on Facebook late
on Monday. “This is probably another case where some people once again mistake
the government’s civility for weakness or naivety.”
“Don’t do that. Just don’t do,” he warned without naming any TV channel or
specifying the reason for his discontent.
Pashinian, who himself is a former journalist, declined to name names when he
spoke to reporters the following day. “If I name someone it will mean that I
want to target them, so to speak,” he said. “I am only voicing alarm and asking
them to stop doing that.”
“There is no need to go into details,” insisted Pashinian. “I think that
attentive readers must have seen that [the Facebook status] said that there is
unlimited freedom of speech in Armenia right now. I think you all can see that
in your work.”
Later in the day, four key journalists of the Armenian Public Television, the
country’s leading broadcaster also known as H1, resigned from their jobs.
According to the Armenpress news agency, they included the head and the chief
producer of H1’s news service as well as two news presenters. There was no word
on reasons for their resignation.
The news coverage of Armenian TV and radio stations has long been strongly
influenced by the country’s governments. In particular, former President Serzh
Sarkisian was accused by critics of tightly controlling the political content
of their news programs throughout his decade-long rule.
Immediately after forcing Sarkisian into resignation and coming to power in a
wave of mass protests last month, Pashinian promised that the public and
private broadcasters will no longer be receiving government orders.
Press Review
“Zhamanak” is convinced that the arrested General Manvel Grigorian could not
have embezzled food and other supplies to the Armenian army without a
“political agreement or sponsorship.” The paper says the alleged theft occurred
after public scrutiny over defense spending increased significantly following
the April 2016 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. It says that the person who allowed
that to happen is even guiltier than Grigorian. “The situation should be
assessed by this logic, and in that case perhaps totally different details will
emerge,” it says.
“The Yerkrapah Union [headed by Grigorian] must cease to be the only pillar of
the state and the army,” writes “Zhoghovurd.” “It must stop having a
suppressing influence on political developments, which has been the case until
now.” The paper says Armenia’s new government must ensure this.
“Hraparak” says that it has for years written about a “dictatorial order”
established by Grigorian in and around Echmiadzin and argued that there must be
no place in the Armenian parliament for the likes of Grigorian. “But the
[former] authorities were deaf and blind,” says the paper.
“Aravot” says that illegal arms possession is equally “condemnable” in the case
of Grigorian or any other individuals and groups resorting to violence. Those
include members of the armed opposition group that seized a police base in
Yerevan in July 2016. “If this realization takes hold then we will really live
in a new Armenia,” the paper says in an editorial.
(Tigran Avetisian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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