Wednesday, 

Opposition Lawmakers Set Off Flares In Armenian Parliament


        • Ruzanna Stepanian

Armenia - Opposition deputies set off smoke flares during a parliament session 
in Yerevan, .

Two opposition deputies set off smoke flares during a session of Armenia’s 
parliament on Wednesday in a bid to attract public attention to their Civil 
Contract party’s upcoming demonstrations against Serzh Sarkisian’s continued 
rule.

The Civil Contract leader, Nikol Pashinian, began touring the country’s 
northern and central regions on foot on April 2 in advance of the daily rallies 
in Yerevan that will start this Friday. The two other opposition parties making 
up the Yelk alliance, the third largest parliamentary force, have refused to 
join the protests, saying that they will not pull large crowds.

The parliament controlled by the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) is 
widely expected to appoint Sarkisian as prime minister on April 17, just over a 
week after the end of his second and final presidential term.

“Free citizens of the Republic of Armenia, the time has come to prevent Serzh 
Sarkisian’s third term in office, put an end to HHK rule and build Armenia of 
our dreams,” Civil Contract’s Ararat Mirzoyan declared from the parliament 
rostrum.

Armenians should join Pashinian’s party in lighting “our torch of freedom” in 
Yerevan’s Liberty Square on Friday evening, Mirzoyan said before setting off a 
flare. He was immediately joined by another Civil Contract parliamentarian, 
Lena Nazarian, holding two other flares.

The parliament auditorium was quickly filled with green and yellow smoke. 
“Looks like the show has failed,” deputy speaker Eduard Sharmazanov, who 
chaired the session, said moments later.

Parliament speaker Ara Babloyan condemned the Civil Contract action later in 
the day, saying it threatened to set the parliament building on fire and forced 
lawmakers to inhale “poisonous substances.” “I’m talking not just as chairman 
of the National Assembly but also as a citizen and a physician,” said Babloyan. 
“I consider that action unacceptable.”

The unprecedented action was also criticized by two other Yelk deputies who are 
affiliated with the Bright Armenia party increasingly at odds with Pashinian. 
One of them, Gevorg Gorgisian, demonstratively covered his nose with a 
handkerchief during the incident and demanded that Sharmazanov interrupt the 
session.

The vice-speaker refused to do that. “Let the public see who does what in the 
parliament,” he told Gorgisian.

“We are partners here and it would have been right to discuss that action with 
partners [beforehand,]” said another Bright Armenia deputy, Mane Tandilian. 
“This was not a partner-like attitude. We should not have been taken by 
surprise on the parliament floor.”




Yerevan Sees No Fallout From Fresh U.S. Sanctions Against Russia


        • Sargis Harutyunyan

RUSSIA -- A board with the currency exchange rates of the U.S. dollar and the 
Euro against the Russian rouble is on display outside a bank branch in Moscow, 


The Armenian government sees no indications yet that U.S. sanctions targeting 
more Russian officials and wealthy businessmen could have spillover effects on 
Armenia’s economy, a senior official said on Wednesday.

The sanctions were announced on Friday in response to alleged Russian meddling 
in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Russia’s ruble weakened by more than 4 
percent against the U.S. dollar on Monday, its biggest daily fall in over three 
years. The ruble fell further in the following days amid mounting tensions 
between Moscow and Washington over the conflict in Syria.

The ruble depreciated sharply in 2014-2015 following the first wave of Western 
sanctions imposed on Moscow in response to its annexation of Crimea as well as 
a collapse of oil prices. That also affected Armenia, which is heavily 
dependent on multimillion-dollar remittances from Russia. The Armenian 
currency, the dram, lost nearly 20 percent of its value against the dollar in 
November-December 2014.

Deputy Minister for Economic Development Emil Tarasian sounded sanguine about 
possible fallout from the latest U.S. sanctions. “What grounds do we have to 
expect [a repeat of] such developments? I see no such grounds yet. If they loom 
we will definitely intervene,” he told reporters.

“True, there was a problem in 2014, and we did not have the kind of [positive] 
effects which we had expected to have as a result of joining the Eurasian 
Economic Union, including because of the unstable situation in Russia resulting 
from the sanctions and other issues,” said Tarasian. “But I must say that those 
problems were overcome in less than a year thanks to our banking system and 
fiscal-monetary policy.”

“Our economy is ready to cope with such shocks … Right now we are not in a 
situation where we risk such shocks. There are no problems now in terms of 
exchange rate stability and other issues,” added the official.

The 2014 financial meltdown also hit hard Armenian companies dependent on the 
Russian market. Armenian exports to Russia plummeted in 2015. But with the oil 
price and the ruble rallying afterwards, they grew strongly in 2016 and 2017.

Analysts say the fresh U.S. sanctions could threaten Russia’s fragile economic 
recovery, which began last year. According to official statistics, Armenia’s 
economy grew by 7.5 percent last year after stagnating in 2016.




Parliament Ratifies Major Armenia-EU Accord


        • Tatevik Lazarian

Belgium - EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Armenian Foreign 
Minister Edward Nalbandian sign the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced 
Partnership Agreement in Brussels, 24Nov2017.

The Armenian parliament on Wednesday unanimously ratified a landmark agreement 
aimed at deepening Armenia’s political and economic relations with the European 
Union.

The move paves the way for the implementation of many provisions of the 
Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) even before it is 
ratified by the EU’s member states and legislative body, the European 
Parliament.

The CEPA was signed by Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and the EU’s foreign 
policy chief, Federica Mogherini, in Brussels last November. It commits the 
Armenian authorities to carrying out political reforms that will democratize 
the country’s political system and boost human rights protection. The 
authorities must also gradually “approximate” Armenian economic laws and 
regulations to those of the EU.

“Everything possible must be done for effectively implementing the agreement 
and correctly taking all opportunities presented by it,” Armen Ashotian, the 
chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on foreign relations, wrote on 
his Facebook page after the parliament vote.“We will keep working in all 
directions for the sake of those common commitments which we undertook with the 
signing of this agreement with the EU.”

Speaking during Tuesday’s parliament debate on the CEPA’s ratification, 
Ashotian called for an equal treatment by the EU of all former Soviet republics 
included in the EU’s Eastern Partnership program. “You can’t divide Eastern 
Partnership between ‘beloved children’ and second-class adopted ones,” he said.

“Yes, this agreement is not an Association Agreement. But its political section 
almost completely repeats [that of] the Association Agreement,” added the 
pro-government lawmaker.

Armenia was close to concluding an Association Agreement with the EU when 
President Serzh Sarkisian unexpectedly announced in September 2013 his decision 
to seek membership in a Russian-led trade bloc. The EU responded by abandoning 
the planned agreement. It subsequently agreed to negotiate a less far-reaching 
deal with Yerevan not containing free trade-related provisions.

During Tuesday’s parliament debate, opposition lawmakers questioned the 
authorities’ willingness to honor their reform commitments envisaged by the 
CEPA. “This agreement can be put into practice only if the authorities have the 
courage to break their own backbone,” claimed Naira Zohrabian of the Tsarukian 
Bloc.

Artak Zeynalian, a deputy from the Yelk bloc, said the Sarkisian administration 
has reneged on many pledges. “This is why people are skeptical about the 
implementation of this agreement,” he said.




Serzh Sarkisian Named As Ruling Party’s PM Candidate


        • Sisak Gabrielian

Armenia - Anti-government activists block a street outside the ruling 
Republican Party's headquarters in Yerevan, .

The ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) confirmed late on Wednesday that 
it will nominate its chairman, former President Serzh Sarkisian, to be the 
country’s next, more powerful prime minister.

The Armenian parliament, in which the HHK has a solid majority, is scheduled to 
vote for the new prime minister on April 17. It will thus complete the 
country’s transition to a parliamentary system of government initiated by 
Sarkisian.

The latter completed his second and final presidential term on Monday. The 
controversial constitutional change allows him to extend his decade-long rule.

The HHK spokesman, Eduard Sharmazanov, made the widely anticipated announcement 
following a meeting of the ruling party’s Executive Body. He said the party’s 
larger Council will formalize the nomination on Saturday.

“I think it is clear who our prime ministerial candidate will be because we did 
not discuss any other names,” Sharmazanov told reporters. “No other opinions 
were voiced or, I think, crossed anybody’s mind.”

“We all unanimously trust the chairman of our party, and [outgoing Prime 
Minister] Karen Karapetian’s proposal was approved by all members of the 
Executive Body,” he said.


Armenia - Outgoing President Serzh Sarkisian and outgoing Prime Minister Karen 
Karapetian meet in Yerevan, 7 April 2018.

Sarkisian and Karapetian met on Saturday to discuss their political future. The 
outgoing premier said afterwards that they decided to “propose” to the HHK 
leadership to nominate Sarkisian for prime minister.

Karapetian, who is also the HHK’s first deputy chairman, cited the need for a 
“smooth and effective transition to the new system of government.” He is 
expected to become the number two government figure in his new capacity as 
first deputy prime minister.

Sarkisian promised in April 2014 he will “not aspire” to the post of prime 
minister if Armenia becomes a parliamentary republic as a result of his 
constitutional changes. He downplayed that pledge and signaled his plans to 
hold on to power last month. He cited the increased risk of renewed fighting in 
Nagorno-Karabakh and other security challenges facing Armenia.

The Armenian opposition accuses Sarkisian of failing to keep his word. Some 
opposition and civic groups are planning to launch later this week daily 
demonstrations against his continued rule.

Several dozen anti-government activists blocked a street adjacent to the HHK 
headquarters in Yerevan during Wednesday’s party leadership meeting. They 
marched through the city center later in the evening. Riot police stopped the 
small crowd from approaching the former presidential palace that will serve as 
the seat of the next Armenian prime minister.




Press Review



“Zhoghovurd” says that by barring journalists from his inauguration ceremony 
Armenia’s new President Armen Sarkissian stuck to one of the “vicious practices 
of his predecessors.” “Only a few representatives of pro-government media 
outlets were lucky enough to attend the ceremony, while the others had to watch 
it through the Internet,” complains the paper. “Also, it emerged yesterday that 
the day after taking office [on Monday] Armen Sarkissian met with a group of 
Russian journalists. In other words, the newly elected president decided to 
neglect local media and to communicate with foreign journalists first. Serzh 
Sarkisian did the same during his tenure. After his well-known gaffes and slips 
of the tongue he drastically stopped directly talking to [Armenian] media 
outlets.”

“Zhamanak” shrugs off claims by senior Republican Party (HHK) that Serzh 
Sarkisian is forced by the HHK to become prime minister. “Are they saying that 
in order to give Serzh Sarkisian an alibi?” asks the paper. “Or is there a 
deeper subtext here? The public definitely does not believe that Serzh 
Sarkisian could become prime minister against his will, under pressure from the 
HHK. Most people are convinced that it is the HHK that unconditionally executes 
Serzh Sarkisian’s wishes and orders.”

“Our authorities and opposition deserve each other,” writes “Hraparak.” The 
paper says the main opposition argument against Sarkisian’s continued rule is 
his 2014 promise not to become prime minister in 2018, as if there are no other 
good reasons for his exit. The authorities, it says, respond to the opposition 
attacks with “more and more ridiculous explanations.”

(Tigran Avetisian)

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