Tuesday, Pashinian Warns Radical Group • Nane Sahakian Armenia - Leaders of the Sasna Tsrer party start their election campaign in Yerevan, . Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has issued a stern warning to a newly formed nationalist party whose members stormed a police base in Yerevan more than two years ago. Pashinian said on Monday that the Sasna Tsrer party and its supporters will “feel the taste of asphalt” if they attempt to destabilize the political situation in Armenia before or after the December 9 parliamentary elections. Sasna Tsrer is a rebranded version of Founding Parliament, a radical movement that challenged the former Armenian government. It is one of 11 political forces running in the elections. Sasna Tsrer’s list of election candidates is topped by Varuzhan Avetisian, the leader of an armed group that seized the police base in Yerevan’s Erebuni district in July 2016. The three dozen gunmen demanded that then President Serzh Sarkisian free Founding Parliament’s jailed leader, Zhirayr Sefilian, and step down. They laid down their weapons after a two-week standoff with security forces which left three police officers dead. Armenia - Gunmen occupy a police station in Yerevan, 23July2016. Despite standing trial on serious charges, Avetisian and the vast majority of the other arrested gunmen were set free shortly after Pashinian came to power in May in a wave of anti-Sarkisian protests. Sefilian was also released from prison following the “velvet revolution.” The Lebanese-born activist, who received Armenian citizenship only this month, is not eligible to run for the parliament. But he is participating in the election campaign of his and his allies’ party strongly opposed to any Armenian concessions to Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Avetisian has stated during the campaign that the National Assembly to be elected on December 9 will have to be dissolved within two years because Armenia is now in a post-revolutionary “transitional period.” Pashinian, whose My Step alliance is expected to win the upcoming polls, reacted furiously those statements when he campaigned in Armenia’s northwestern Shirak province on Monday. “Have you have decided that you have a right to determine the length of the parliament’s and sometimes even people’s life?” he appealed to the Sasna Tsrer leadership during a campaign rally. “I’m telling you: make no mistake, this is not Serzh Sarkisian’s weak and spineless government.” “Let nobody interpret our smiles and courtesy as weakness. There have been several such cases, and those who thought so felt the taste of asphalt,” Pashinian said, alluding to high-profile detentions of some members of Sarkisian’s entourage and their bodyguards. The prime minister added that the new parliament will fully serve its five-year term set by the Armenian constitution. Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian meets with relatives of police officers killed in a 2016 standoff with opposition gunmen, 28 June 2018. Sasna Tsrer condemned the premier’s remarks in a statement issued on Tuesday. “Pashinian made unfounded statements, using threats and phrases having an offensive subtext,” it said. Avetisian defended his statements. He said they do not mean that Sasna Tsrer is now demanding the holding of fresh elections by 2020. “It is first and foremost a prediction,” Avetisian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “Many other politicians and political forces have made the same forecast.” The 2016 attack on the Yerevan police base was condemned by the United States and the European Union. “We abhor the actions of Sasna Tsrer and others who use violence or who threaten to harm others to serve their political agenda,” Richard Mills, the former U.S. ambassador to Armenia, said in March 2018. Pashinian Toughens Rhetoric Against Armenia’s Former Ruling Party • Karine Simonian Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks at an election campaign rally in Maralik, . Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian pledged to “grab by the throat,” “throw to the ground” and jail loyalists of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) who would try to pressure voters ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections. Pashinian stepped up his verbal attacks on the party led by his predecessor Serzh Sarkisian as he toured the northern Lori province on the second day of campaigning for the December 9 polls. “Where are the Republican village mayors who bully their villagers in connection with the elections or anything else?” he said at a campaign rally held in the town of Spitak. “I say to those village mayors: be aware that I personally will visit you, grab you by the throat and throw you out of your offices.” “Are there people in this country who dare to bully citizens? I will force all of you to lie on the ground. Who are they? Which Republicans? Which oligarchs? Which burly men? I will force all of you to lie on the ground and you won’t get off the ground for years.” Pashinian went on to order the Armenian police to deal with HHK-linked “criminal elements” in a similar fashion. “Who do you think you are?” he said, appealing to those elements. “Tell me your names. You must not come out of your holes. You must not walk in the country’s streets. Your place is in prison and you all -- criminals, plunderers and scoundrels -- will end up in prison.” Pashinian did not name any village chiefs or other individuals allegedly trying to earn the HHK voters with illicit methods. Sarkisian’s party, which was forced out of power more than six months ago, has been the main target of his harsh verbal attacks on his critics launched on the campaign trail. The HHK condemned Pashinian’s “hate speech” and “threats against elected officials” in a statement released by its campaign headquarters later on Tuesday. “Such behavior is unprecedented for our political culture, especially on the part of … the prime minister bearing responsible for our security and well-being,” said the statement. The HHK urged Armenia’s Central Election Commission, human rights ombudsman and foreign election observers to pay “attention” to Pashinian’s pre-election rhetoric. The HHK won the last parliamentary elections held in April 2017. But it is now fighting to remain represented in the National Assembly. Pashinian reacted furiously after HHK figures and other critics condemned one of his close associates, Sasun Mikaelian, for saying on Monday that the success of this spring’s “velvet revolution” was more important than the Armenian victory in the 1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan. He accused his political opponents of deliberately misinterpreting Mikaelian’s statement which he portrayed as a slip of the tongue. Tsarukian Starts Election Campaign • Gayane Saribekian Armenia - Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukian addresses an election campaign rally in Abovian, . Businessman Gagik Tsarukian put the emphasis on his and Prosperous Armenia (BHK) party’s economic programs when he launched its parliamentary election campaign on Tuesday. Tsarukian rallied supporters in Abovian, a town about 20 kilometers north of Yerevan where he has held sway for more than two decades. “You know that my words always lead to action and that I turn everything I say into reality,” he told the crowd. “I didn’t graduate from Harvard but I have a lot of experience,” the former arm-wrestler said, touting his achievements in business. The BHK, Tsarukian went on, will exempt small businesses from taxes, cut interest rates and help create many jobs if it returns to government as a result of the December 9 general elections. He did not specify his party’s electoral goals and expectations. The BHK has finished second in all parliamentary elections held in Armenia since 2007. It was part of former President Serzh Sarkisian’s coalition government from 2008-2012. Tsarukian’s party reached a similar power-sharing agreement with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian after he came to power in May this year. Pashinian fired his BHK-affiliated ministers in October, accusing Tsarukian of collaborating with Sarkisian’ Republican Party of Armenia. The tycoon has since avoided public criticism of the new government. Speaking at the Abovian rally, he echoed Pashinian’s calls for an “economic revolution” in the country. But he also said: “My dear people, I have trouble talking to anyone these days. People are angry, upset and disappointed. But I must tell you, my dears, that you all expect things to get better. And they will get better for sure.” Participants of the rally held pictures of Tsarukian and his chief bodyguard Eduard Babayan, who is running for the parliament on the BHK ticket in a local constituency. Babayan was arrested in July on charges of beating up a man. He strongly denied the charges and was freed from custody on bail in August. Press Review “Zhoghovurd” says the December 9 elections will mark the final chapter of Armenia’s “velvet revolution.” “After a more than 20-year break Armenia’s citizens have formed a government safe in the knowledge that there will be no fraud and their votes will not be stolen in the upcoming elections,” writes the paper. “Accordingly, the legitimacy of the government will be restored.” It notes that all election contenders agree that the victory of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s My Step alliance is a forgone conclusion. “Aravot” says that the election campaign is shaping up as a multi-partisan bashing of former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). “Most of what is being said about the former authorities is true but talking only about them for more than two weeks means that neither the participants of the election campaign nor, so to speak, the spectators care about party platforms and ideas,” editorializes the paper. It says that in these circumstances the election contenders do not have to “understand the real needs of ordinary people.” “But starting from December 10 it will be increasingly harder [for the authorities] to say that the ‘former criminal regime’ hampers the resolution of one or another problem,” it adds. “Zhamanak” reacts to HHK claims that Pashinian should brace for a “big surprise” on election night. “The HHK is probably saying that it will win more votes than expected,” writes the paper. “At the moment few believe that the HHK will manage to clear the [5 percent] vote threshold or at least finish third in the elections.” The paper says that the HHK’s continued presence in the National Assembly would not be good for the country. (Lilit Harutiunian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
Category: 2018
A1+: Launch of Campaign with tangerines (video)
The “Citizen Decision” party launched a campaign with a march during which party members and supporters served tangerine to people.
According to Areg Tadevosyan, the action is symbolic. “It has a deep meaning, the first is the freshness. In our opinion, we are the power that brings freshness in the political arena. Second, if we open the tangerine, we will see that it is a symbol of unity, equitable distribution and justice.”
A1+: Billboards near downtown Yerevan being dismantled
Billboards with the form of lantern near Swan Lake are the first ones that are being dismantled. As a result of negotiations with the latter, it was suggested to move the advertisement to another place as an alternative solution.
A1+: Robert Ghevondyan: Russia is Armenia’s ally with all its consequences
In a telephone conversation with A1+, candidate for political sciences Robert Ghevondyan said that what happened between the Russian and Ukrainian forces in the Azov Sea has a local nature.
“I do not think that this incident will have any significant impact on Armenia. In any case, Ukraine is an ally of Azerbaijan. Russia is Armenia’s ally, with all its consequences,” concluded Ghevondyan.
To note, on November 25, Russian frontier guards took control of the Azov Sea with three Ukrainian ships approaching the Crimean coast.
Nikol Pashinyan’s selfie with children who escape from classes (video)
Nikol Pashinyan and his wife Anna Hakobyan took a selfie with the children in the village of Lanjik who escaped from classes.
Crocodile of zoo dies this time
The crocodile of the zoo died, Ruben Abrahamyan, spokeswoman for the park, told “A1 +.”
Ruben Abrahamyan denied the information that the animal caregiver was dismissed.
To remind, this is not the only case of animal death in the zoo. On November 13, the zebra of the park died, too. According to laboratory findings, a large amount of arsenic content was found in the animal’s blood and urine.
Ara Papian: Transitional parliament should be formed
“I supported and support the revolution. Moreover, I was one of the revolutionaries. After all, the revolution did not ‘fall from the air.’ Thousands of people have been working in that direction for decades. That’s how we were all happy. But when the revolution or the change of power took place, unfortunately, that all began to move,” says political analyst Ara Papian, referring to the accusations that in recent opinions and online records often make critical remarks to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
According to Ara Papian, no one expected the economic miracle to take place within 7 months, but they were expecting a number of legislative changes to be made. The latter underlines that especially if there is a rating system, we will have a parliament which will be less political, as the large number of apolitical persons in this election is more likely in the parliament.
Team of economics win in football competitions
The team of the Armenian State University of Economics won the futsal competitions held by the RA Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs in the “Student Sport Games -2018” program. The Yerevan State University won the second place and the third place was occupied by the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports team.
The teams of 16 higher educational institutions of the Republic of Armenia participated in futsal competitions, which are being held under the program “Student Sports Games-2018.”
Nune Sarkissian meets with Armenian community representatives in Warsaw
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian’s spouse Nune Sarkissian had a meeting with the Armenian community representatives in the Armenian Embassy in Poland, the Presidential Office reports.
The meeting touched upon the Armenian-Polish relations, the deepening of the bilateral cultural ties and the prospects on implementing joint programs. In particular, the meeting participants discussed the cooperation opportunities and implementation of joint programs with the Yerevan, My Love Foundation.
The Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora relations were also discussed during the meeting.
Levon Shirinyan: Sell oligarch castles, buy tanks and move forward (video)
Political scientist Levon Shirinyan, who heads the proportional list of the Democratic Party, announces that Artsakh’s issue is solved.
According to him, now it is necessary to think about the possibility of moving the East.
“Is it possible or not? So, I answer that question by saying we do not you want to be prepared for new genocides.”
And how to deal with the enemy’s aggressive statements and frontier tensions?
“Sell oligarch castles, buy tanks and move forward,” says Levon Shirinyan.