Thursday,
Armenian Man Detained In Azerbaijan
. Hovannes Movsisian
Azerbaijan - A screenshot of video of an Armenian man paraded on
Azerbaijani television.
An Armenian civilian was paraded on Azerbaijani television on
Wednesday after apparently crossing into Azerbaijan from Armenia in
unclear circumstances.
The Azerbaijani military claimed to have captured the 43-year-old man
identified as Zaven Karapetian while thwarting an Armenian incursion
into Azerbaijani territory. A televised video circulated by it shows
the man wearing a camouflage vest over plain clothes presenting
himself as a resident of Dovegh, a border village in Armenia's
northern Tavush province, and saying that he works for an Armenian
army unit stationed in the area.
The Armenian Defense Ministry was quick to deny that Karapetian is a
serviceman. "This is complete disinformation in the form of a cheap
performance," the ministry spokesman, Artsrun Hovannisian, told
RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). Hovannisian argued that his
vest is very different from Armenian army uniforms.
For his part, Dovegh's mayor, Samvel Gorginian, said that Karapetian
is not a resident of his village. Nor is he known to the locals,
according to Gorginian.
A man of the same name and age is included on the electoral lists of
Vanadzor, an Armenian city around 130 kilometers southwest of
Dovegh. The Vanadzor mayor, Mamikon Aslanian, confirmed that he is the
Armenian captive paraded by the Azerbaijani military.
The mayor described Karapetian as a homeless person who "made a living
collecting garbage in the city." He too insisted that the captive did
not serve in the Armenian army.
An Azerbaijani Facebook user based in Azerbaijan's western Qazakh
district bordering Tavush wrote late on Tuesday that a middle-aged
Armenian man was detained by residents of a local village, Kemerli,
and handed over to Azerbaijani military officials.
Three residents of Tavush strayed into Azerbaijan and were captured
there in 2014. Two of them were branded Armenian "saboteurs" by the
authorities in Baku and died shortly afterwards.
Karen Petrosian, a 33-year-old resident of Chinari village, was
pronounced dead in August 2014 one day after being detained in an
Azerbaijani village across the border. The Azerbaijani military
claimed that he died of "acute heart failure." Many in Armenia
believe, however, that Petrosian was murdered or beaten to death. The
United States and France expressed serious concern at Petrosian's
suspicious death and called on Baku to conduct an objective
investigation at the time.
A 77-year-old resident of another Tavush village, Verin Karmiraghbyur,
died in May 2014 three months after being apprehended on the
Azerbaijani side of the frontier in similar circumstances. Doctors in
Yerevan said the man, Mamikon Khojoyan, suffered serious injuries
during his month-long captivity.
Another Armenian civilian died in Azerbaijani custody in 2010. The
20-year-old Manvel Saribekian, whose Tutujur village is also very
close to the Azerbaijani border, was paraded on Azerbaijani television
following his capture.
Saribekian was found hanged in an Azerbaijani detention center shortly
afterwards. The Azerbaijani authorities claimed that he committed
suicide. The Armenian side said, however, that Saribekian was tortured
to death or driven to suicide.
Armenian Government Gets Vote Of Confidence From Parliament
. Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - Prime Minister Karen Karapetian is about to address the
parliament in Yerevan, 21Jun2017.
In what amounted to a vote of confidence, Armenia's parliament
formally approved on Thursday a new policy program of Prime Minister
Karapetian's cabinet that promises faster economic growth and poverty
reduction.
The more than 100-page document commits the government to ensuring
that the Armenian economy grows at an average annual rate of around 5
percent for the next five years. It says that this will cut Armenia's
poverty rate, which currently stands at around 30 percent, by 12
percentage points.
The document was debated by the National Assembly more than two months
after parliamentary elections won by President Serzh Sarkisian's
Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). Karapetian's cabinet was
practically not reshuffled as a result of the April 2 vote.
"Speaking of the program, we have worked on it a lot # and know
clearly what we have to do," the premier told lawmakers remarks at end
of the debate. He insisted that the program, which calls for
wide-ranging reforms, will transform Armenia.
Karapetian also rejected opposition criticism of his government's plan
of actions. "There are emotional evaluations that this program is not
a step forward and will lead to stagnation, but they are not quite
founded, in my opinion," he said.
The parliament backed the action plan by 64 votes to 31.Voting against
it were deputies representing businessman Gagik Tsarukian's bloc, the
second largest parliamentary force, and another opposition group, the
Yelk alliance.
Deputy parliament speaker Mikael Melkumian, a senior Tsarukian Bloc
member, said that the Sarkisian administration has failed to achieve
its socioeconomic objectives that were set in previous government
programs. "If the previous programs failed, what is the guarantee that
this one will not fail?" Melkumian said.
Armenia - Opposition leader Nikol Pashinian attends a parliament
session in Yerevan, 21Jun2017.
Yelk's Nikol Pashinian said the 9 lawmakers affiliated with his bloc
will reject the proposed plan because it is "Serzh Sarkisian's and the
Republican Party's program." Pashinian claimed that the Armenian
president is planning to become prime minister after completing his
final term in April next year despite being chiefly responsible for
"all of Armenia's failures."
Other Yelk deputies also pounced on the HHK's reluctance to shed more
light on Sarkisian's political future. Answering their questions on
Wednesday, Karapetian reiterated that he is "ready" to remain prime
minister after April 2018.
The ruling party's parliamentary leader, Vahram Baghdasarian,
denounced Yelk's harsh criticism, saying that the opposition bloc
itself cannot be sure that it will not fall apart next year. He also
seemed to imply that Yelk's young parliamentarians should now beware
physical attacks by government loyalists.
The apparent threat prompted a furious reaction from Pashinian,
triggering a shouting match between the two men. The outspoken
opposition leader went as far as to "remind" the HHK leadership of the
fate of Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania's notorious Communist leader who
was deposed and executed in 1989.
India `Open' To Closer Defense Ties With Armenia
. Artak Hambardzumian
India - Indian Air Force soldiers rehearse for the Republic Day parade
on a cold and foggy winter morning in New Delhi December 30, 2014
Armenia and India are continuing to discuss ways of forging military
ties based on the existing "excellent" relationship between the two
states, the Indian ambassador in Yerevan said on Thursday.
"The two sides are discussing cooperation in this area," Yogeshwar
Sangwan told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "I don't have a
clear timetable [for Indian-Armenian defense cooperation] but it will
happen in due course on the basis of bilateral negotiations."
Sangwan said India is interested in deepening relations with
"friendly" Armenia "in all areas." "Even in the area of defense, we
are open to cooperation with Armenia," he added. "The issue has
already been discussed by the Armenian and Indian governments and we
will move forward. Whatever is possible we will definitely do."
Visiting Yerevan in late April, India's Vice President Mohammad Hamid
Ansari said that military cooperation is on the agenda of
Indian-Armenian intergovernmental dealings. He said the two sides
intend to "further our cooperation in the areas of common interest."
Armenia - Indian Ambassador Yogeshwar Sangwan, .
Just three weeks later, an Armenian Defense Ministry delegation
travelled to India for talks with senior Indian defense officials
which a ministry statement said were aimed at "exploring opportunities
and reaching agreements." The delegation was headed by Levon Ayvazian,
head of the ministry's defense policy department.
According to the May 20 statement, the two sides affirmed their
"mutual interest in utilizing as the great potential for cooperation
in the area of defense." It said they reached unspecified agreements
on "military-technical" cooperation and joint training programs
between the two militaries.
While in India, the Armenian delegation also visited a number of
Indian army bases and defense enterprises. It familiarized itself with
items manufactured by them and discussed with Indian officials
"mutually beneficial variants of developing cooperation in this
direction," according to the Defense Ministry in Yerevan.
India's arch-foe Pakistan staunchly supports Azerbaijan in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, refusing to not only establish diplomatic
relations with Armenia but also formally recognize the latter as an
independent state. Speaking after talks in Baku with Pakistan's Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif last October, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
said they agreed to boost defense ties between their nations. In
particular, Azerbaijan would like to buy sophisticated Pakistani
weapons, Aliyev said.
Sangwan insisted that Pakistan is not a factor behind India's desire
to reinforce its already "very strong" rapport with Armenia. "Our
relationship with Armenia is independent of any outside influence,"
the Indian ambassador said. "We don't allow third parties to influence
our relations."
U.S., EU Urge Karabakh `De-Escalation'
Nagorno-Karabakh - An Armenian soldier shoots during a military
exercise, 20Nov2015.
The United States and the European Union have expressed serious
concern at the latest deadly fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh, saying
that the parties to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict should urgently
take measures to bolster the ceasefire regime there.
"The United States is deeply concerned over the recent violations of
the ceasefire, which have resulted in multiple casualties on the Line
of Contact over the last week," the U.S. State Department spokeswoman,
Heather Nauert, said in a statement issued late on Wednesday.
"We urge the sides to avoid escalation and encourage immediate
consideration of measures to reduce tensions along the Line of Contact
and the international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan," she
said.
"The European Union expects de-escalation and restraint in deeds as
well as in words," read a separate statement released by an EU
spokesperson on Thursday.
The EU statement came shortly before Karabakh's Armenian-backed
Defense Army claimed to have killed four Azerbaijani soldiers while
thwarting an overnight commando attack on its frontline positions at
an unspecified section of "the line of contact." It said its troops
suffered no casualties.
There was no immediate reaction to the claim from the Azerbaijani
military.
The Karabakh Armenian army promised a "targeted and disproportionate"
retaliation after three of its soldiers were killed by Azerbaijani
forces on June 16. Another Armenian soldier was killed at a different
frontline section the following morning.
Earlier on June 16, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported that one
of its soldiers was shot dead by the Armenian side.
The warring sides blamed each other for the escalation that coincided
with the latest visit to the conflict zone by U.S., Russian and French
diplomats co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group.
In a joint statement issued at the end of their regional tour on
Monday, the three mediators said they "appealed to the leadership of
Azerbaijan to avoid further escalation." "The Co-Chairs are sending
the same message to the leadership of Armenia and de facto authorities
of Nagorno-Karabakh," they added.
The co-chairs also urged the sides to take confidence-building
measures that would reduce tensions on the frontlines. The U.S. and EU
statements called for "immediate consideration" of such safeguards.
The Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents agreed to let the OSCE deploy
more field observers in the conflict zone and work out a mechanism for
investigating truce violations there at their face-to-face talks held
a year ago. Baku has been reluctant to implement those agreements,
saying that they would cement the status quo in the absence of
progress towards a resolution of the Karabakh conflict.
The U.S. and the EU also echoed the mediators' calls for the
conflicting parties to "re-engage in negotiations on substance, in
good faith and with political will."
Press Review
Parliamentary debates on the Armenian government's five-year plan of
actions lead "Hraparak" to conclude that the recently elected National
Assembly is "weak." "There is a surplus of populism but a lack of
economic thinking, experience and knowledge [among deputies,]" claims
the paper. It says that lawmakers failed to thoroughly examine the
120-page program submitted by the government. It says the opposition
minority was wrong to focus instead on the question of whether or not
Prime Minister Karen Karapetian will retain his post in April 2018.
In an interview with "Aravot," a parliament deputy from the Tsarukian
Bloc, Ararat Zurabian, defends European Union Ambassador Piotr
Switalski's criticism of Armenia's recent parliamentary elections. "Mr
Switalski noted something that is the case in Armenia," says
Zurabian. "He said that there is a lack of trust in electoral
processes." He also says that Armenian officials were wrong to accuse
the envoy of meddling in the country's internal affairs.
"Haykakan Zhamanak" reports that a hailstorm and violent winds caused
considerable devastation in a number of communities in Armenia's
northern Tavush province on June 20. The paper quotes the mayor of one
of those villages, Rafik Ohanian, as saying that many residents of
Ptghavan are now coping with not only a loss of their crops but also
serious damage inflicted on their homes. Also, he says, about 20
percent of the local households were left without electricity. Power
supplies have still not been restored. "For a fourth or fifth year
running, we are not earning any revenue," complains Ohanian. "We take
tons of loans and invest them in land only to see our crops frozen or
wrecked in this fashion."
(Tigran Avetisian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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