Monday, 

Sarkisian Still Vague On Political Future


Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisan has lunch with soldiers at a
military base in Tavush province, 13Jul2017.

President Serzh Sarkisian has again declined to shed light on his
political future, claiming that "it doesn't matter" who will be
Armenia's prime minister after he completes his final term next April.

In an interview with the Armenia TV channel aired late on Sunday,
Sarkisian did not rule out the possibility of becoming prime minister
after the country's transformation into a parliamentary republic,
which will also happen in April 2018. He at the same time praised
Prime Minister Karen Karapetian's economic policies.

Asked whether he plans to take up Karapetian's post, Sarkisian said:
"I have repeatedly said and I have said it frankly # that I have never
thought about what my next area of activity will be. I continue to
think in the same way. There is still a lot of time [left before April
2018.]"

"But does it really matter? It doesn't, right? Our county now has a
parliamentary system of government. Who has the parliamentary majority
will nominate the prime minister," he went on, referring to the ruling
Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) headed by him.

"Of course a lot depends on individuals. But Armenia no longer has a
person-centered government, and I think our people deserve credit for
that," added the president, who turned 63 on June 30.

Most Armenian observers do not expect Sarkisian to leave the political
arena after the end of his decade-long presidency. Some of them say he
will likely become prime minister. Others believe that he will hold
the reins of power in another capacity, including as chairman of the
HHK, which won parliamentary elections held in April 2016.


Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian and Prime Minister Karen
Karapetian arrive for a cabinet meeting in Yerevan, 29Jun2017.

A former business executive appointed as prime minister last
September, Karapetian has repeatedly indicated his desire to retain
his post next year. In recent weeks some Armenian media outlets have
been rife with speculation about a rift between Karapetian and
Sarkisian.

Sarkisian dismissed those claims as "untrue" on June 6. He stated on
June 29 that Karapetian's government continues to enjoy his "full
trust."

In his latest televised remarks, the president praised the
government's efforts to speed up economic growth in Armenia by
improving the business environment and attracting large-scale
investments promised by Karapetian.

"I do see positive changes in our economy," he said. "I see
possibilities for an increase in investments, a substantial
increase. This is very important to me. Processes matter to me and
processes are on a positive track."

Sarkisian said vaguely in March that he would like to "play a role, in
some capacity, in ensuring the security of our people" after April
2018. He wore a military uniform when he spoke to Armenia TV in the
northern Tavush province bordering Azerbaijan. He inspected Armenian
troops deployed there hours before the interview.



Armenia Seeks More Russian Arms Supplies


 . Sargis Harutyunyan


Armenia - The Armenian military demonstrates a Russian-made Tochka
missile during a parade in Yerevan, 21Sep2016.

Armenia is discussing with Russia the possibility of obtaining another
loan which it would spend on buying Russian weapons, Finance Minister
Vartan Aramian revealed on Sunday.

Speaking at a news conference, Aramian declined to specify the amount
of the Russian loan sought by the Armenian government. He said only
that Russian-Armenian talks on the issue began earlier this year.

Two years ago Russia already lent Armenia $200 million for arms
acquisitions from Russian manufacturers. The Russian government
subsequently publicized a long list of items which the Armenian side
is allowed to buy with that money. It includes, among other things,
Smerch multiple-launch rocket system, TOS-1A heavy flamethrowers,
anti-tank weapons and shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles.

The Armenian military demonstrated Smerch systems as well as several
other new weapons at a September 2016 parade in Yerevan.

According to Aramian, the Armenian government has already spent $170
million of the low-interest loan. He confirmed that the arms supplies
financed from the loan are carried out at internal Russian prices that
are set well below international market-based levels. Armenia is
entitled to such discounts because of its military alliance with
Russia.


Armenia - The Armenian army demonstrates Buk air-defense systems
recently acquired from Russia as well as S-300 surface-to-air missiles
during a parade in Yerevan, 21Sep2016.

The close alliance has not prevented Moscow from selling billions of
dollars worth of heavy weapons to Azerbaijan in the past several
years. Russian arms sales to Baku continued even after unusually
strong criticism voiced by Armenian leaders following the April 2016
fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In televised comments aired over the weekend, President Serzh
Sarkisian reiterated Yerevan's discontent with the Russian-Azerbaijani
arms dealings while seemingly downplaying their impact on the military
balance in the Karabakh conflict.

"Nothing serious has happened yet," he told the Armenia TV
channel. "If there are serious consequences at some point we could be
able to accuse [the Russians.] If there are no serious consequences,
we will regard that as the Russian side's long-term political effort
to stabilize the situation in the region."

Sarkisian also dismissed as "extremely dangerous" some Armenian
politicians' and pundits' calls for his administration to revise
Armenia's close ties with Russia because of the Russian-Azerbaijani
defense cooperation. "When you say `revise,' with whom do you want a
rapprochement?" he said. "With [NATO member] Turkey? And is everyone
in NATO waiting with open arms for Armenia to come to them?"



School Chiefs Drop Post-Election Lawsuit Against Civic Group


 . Astghik Bedevian


Armenia - Children wave the ruling Republican Party's flags at an
election campaign rally in Aragatsotn province, 20Mar2017.

The directors of 30 public schools and kindergartens have dropped
their controversial lawsuit against an Armenian civic group that
tricked them into confessing that they are campaigning for the ruling
Republican Party (HHK) in parliamentary elections.

The Union of Informed Citizens (UIC) revealed in the run-up to the
April 2 elections that its activists posing as HHK representatives
telephoned 136 schools and kindergarten chiefs across Armenia. It said
114 of them admitted drawing up lists of children's parents as well as
schoolteachers and kindergarten staff who pledged to vote for the HHK.

The UIC said the lists were submitted to local government bodies or
HHK campaign offices. It also publicized audio of those phone
conversations.

Armenian opposition forces portrayed the revelations as further proof
of their allegations of HHK foul play in the parliamentary race.

The HHK admitted that many school principals participated in its
election campaign. But it claimed that they did so "beyond their work
hours and work duties." The party headed by President Serzh Sarkisian
also denied that they illegally pressurized their staffs and
children's parents.

Shortly after the elections, 30 principals filed a libel suit against
the UIT and one of its leaders, Daniel Ioannisian. They demanded a
formal apology and a total of 60 million drams ($124,000) in damages
for the information which they said compromised their "honor and
dignity."

The legal action was strongly criticized by the Armenian opposition
and civil society. The HHK defended it, however.

A lawyer for plaintiffs, Harutiun Harutiunian, said on Monday that
they decided to withdraw the lawsuit after one of them, Susan
Galstian, publicly urged her colleagues to be "forgiving" towards
Ioannisian's group. The announcement coincided with the first court
hearing in the high-profile civil case. Neither the plaintiffs nor
their lawyers were present in the courtroom.

Ioannisian suggested that the principals' latest decision was ordered
by the HHK leadership. "Our revelations amounted to an accusation of
abuse of administrative resources addressed to the HHK, and it was the
HHK, not the school directors, who had a problem with those
revelations," he told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

But one of the plaintiffs, who runs a kindergarten in Yerevan, denied
that. "It was my personal decision," claimed Naira Gevorgian. "I was
angry with [Ioannisian's] actions at that moment but have now forgiven
him," she said.

In their final election report released last week, observers from the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe mentioned the UIC
recordings in the context of "credible information about vote-buying,
and pressure on civil servants and employees of private companies."



First Anniversary Of Yerevan Police Attack Marked


 . Sargis Harutyunyan
 . Artak Hambardzumian


Armenia - Flowers are laid at a memorial in Yerevan to police officers
killed during a July 2016 standoff with opposition gunmen, 17Jul2017.

The Armenian police marked on Monday the first anniversary of an armed
attack on one of their bases in Yerevan, unveiling a memorial to three
police officers killed during a two-week standoff with members of a
radical opposition group.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people rallied in the Armenian capital in a
show of solidarity with the arrested gunmen, some of whom went on
trial last month.

The 30 or so gunmen seized the police base in Yerevan's southern
Erebuni district and took several police officers hostage on July 17,
2016. They demanded President Serzh Sarkisian's resignation and the
release of Zhirayr Sefilian, the jailed leader of their Founding
Parliament movement.

Sefilian was arrested on June 20, 2016 for allegedly plotting an armed
revolt against the government. He is currently standing a separate
trial on charges which he rejects as politically motivated.

Security forces avoided storming the Erebuni facility during the
standoff, which also sparked anti-government demonstrations by
thousands of people. Instead, they shot and wounded some of the armed
oppositionists. The 20 remaining gunmen holed up in the compound
surrendered to the authorities on July 31, hours after freeing medics
who were also held hostage in the besieged compound.

The trial of the 18 key members and supporters of the armed group,
which called itself "Sasna Tsrer" (Daredevils of Sasun), began on June
8. The defendants are facing a wide range of charges, including
illegal seizure of government buildings and weapons and hostage
taking.

Two of them also stand accused of murdering the three police
officers. They deny the accusations.

The memorial to the slain policemen -- Colonel Artur Vanoyan and
Warrant Officers Gagik Mkrtchian and Yuri Tepanosian -- was unveiled
inside the Erebuni base at a ceremony attended by their colleagues and
relatives. The chief of the national police service, Vladimir
Gasparian, was also in attendance. Gasparian refused to talk to
reporters after laying flowers there.

Valeri Osipian, a deputy chief of Yerevan's police department who was
held hostage in the sprawling compound for several days, also declined
a comment. "Excuse me but I would like to stay silent today," Osipian
told journalists.


Armenia - People demonstrate in support of opposition gunmen who
seized a police station in Yerevan in July 2016, 17Jul2017.

The attack anniversary was also marked by hundreds of radical
opposition supporters who gathered in Yerevan's Liberty Square later
in the day. They marched through the city center, holding pictures of
some of the arrested oppositionists and chanting "Sasna Tsrer!" and
"Death to the regime!"

Among the protesters was Zaruhi Postanjian, the outspoken leader of
the opposition Yerkir Tsirani party. She said the Erebuni gunmen are
"heroes" who took the first step towards the creation of a "free and
independent Armenia."

"The current regime is as dangerous as our external enemy," Postanjian
told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) during the march.

Eduard Sharmazanov, the spokesman for the ruling Republican Party of
Armenia (HHK), denounced the Erebuni attack as a "terrorist act,"
however. "For me, attacks on our state borders and the police regiment
[in Erebuni] have the same gravity," he said. "Not to mention the
killing of Armenian officers. That is unacceptable and condemnable."

Davit Sanasarian, an opposition activist who actively participated in
July 2016 rallies in Yerevan, rejected Sharmazanov's
characterization. "This cannot be regarded as terrorism in any way
because terrorism is a process of mass murders and mass intimidation,"
Sanasarian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "Quite the
opposite happened [after the seizure of the Erebuni police facility.]
People turned out and applauded the rebels."

Zhanna Aleksanian, a human rights activist, agreed. "The Sasna Tsrer
probably wanted to wake up the people, to make them rise up. What they
tried to do was an uprising," she said, accusing the authorities of
unleashing "mass repressions" against the gunmen's supporters during
the July 2016 standoff.


Armenia - A general view of Erebuni police station seized by gunmen
and supporters of fringe jailed opposition leader Zhirair Sefilian, in
Yerevan, July 30, 2016

Aleksanian also said that the radical oppositionists opted for armed
struggle because regime change through elections is impossible in
Armenia due to chronic electoral fraud.

Sharmazanov dismissed that argument, saying that parliamentary
elections held in Armenia in April were not followed by customary
opposition demonstrations against alleged vote rigging. "We don't need
upheavals," he added. "We need a strong Armenia. A strong Armenia
cannot be created by fratricide."

The United States condemned the Erebuni attack, while urging the
authorities in Yerevan to exercise "appropriate restraint." The
European Union likewise said during the standoff that "the use of
force to achieve political change is unacceptable."



Press Review



(Saturday, July 15)

Lragir.am says that the April 2016 war in Nagorno-Karabakh only
intensified the Armenian-Azerbaijani arms race. The online publication
says that the four-day hostilities also reduced chances of a peaceful
resolution of the Karabakh conflict.

"Hraparak" reports that Russia has stopped recognizing driver licenses
issued by Armenia and other foreign countries. A law passed by the
State Duma stipulates that only citizens of those countries where the
Russian language has an official status can use their driver licenses
in Russia. "It is not clear what the Russian language has to do with
driving," writes the paper. "What is clear is that they are forcing us
to recognize Russian as a state language and allow greater use of
Russian," comments the paper. "How to stop this Russian attack to
which there is no end in sight? After all, disadvantages of being
within the Russian orbit are big while advantages insignificant."

"Haykakan Zhamanak" quotes an Armenian driver working in Russia as
complaining that the Armenian authorities are doing nothing to support
people like him gravely affected by the latest Russian ban. "Don't
they understand that we send money earned here to Armenia?" he says.

"Aravot" carries front-page photographs highlighting the poor state of
public transportation in Armenia. "During campaigning for the [May 14]
mayoral elections, the municipal authorities were promising to put in
place a new transport system meeting European standards," writes the
paper. "For this purpose city officials have already taken concrete
measures: they have attracted new loans. As much as 800,000 euros
($900,000) has been paid to international experts to look into the
transport network and give advice. Two months after the municipal
elections, no practical steps in that direction have been taken
yet. It remains unclear when we will get rid of overcrowded and
unhealthy minivans."

(Tatevik Lazarian)


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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