Monday,
Putin, Pashinian Discuss Syria Crisis
Armenia -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (R) and Russian President
Vladimir Putin meet in Yerevan, October 1, 2019.
In a weekend phone call, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian discussed with Russian
President Vladimir Putin the safety of ethnic Armenians remaining in Syria in
light of Turkish military operations conducted there.
The two men spoke by phone one day after attending a summit in Turkmenistan’s
capital Ashgabat of leaders of former Soviet states. The Kremlin said they
followed up on their conversations on the sidelines of the summit but did not
give any details.
A slightly longer readout of the phone call released by the Armenian government
said Pashinian and Putin spoke about the situation in northern Syria and other
“regional issues.”
“Yesterday I made a request to [Putin at Ashgabat] which is important in terms
of the security of the Armenian community in Syria,” Pashinian wrote on
Facebook later on Saturday. “I am grateful to the Russian president for his
rapid response.” He did not elaborate.
The Armenian government has condemned Turkey’s incursion into northeastern
Syrian regions mostly controlled by Kurdish militia.It has said it is
particularly concerned about the security of ethnic and religious minorities
living there.
Those include a few thousand ethnic Armenians mostly based in the border town
of Qamishli. The secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, Armen Grigorian, said
on Friday that Yerevan is ready to help them take refuge in their historical
homeland.
Armenia has already taken in more than 20,000 Syrian Armenian refugees since
the outbreak of the bloody conflict in Syria. Most of them used to live in the
northern city of Aleppo.
In February, more than 80 Armenian demining experts, army medics and other
non-combat military personnel were deployed in and around Aleppo. Pashinian
made clear last week that the Armenian military will continue the “humanitarian
mission” closely coordinated with Russia.
European Court To Give Advisory Opinion On Kocharian Case
• Naira Bulghadarian
FRANCE -- The building of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg,
September 11, 2019
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has formally agreed to advise
Armenia’s Constitutional Court on the legality of coup charges brought against
former President Robert Kocharian.
Kocharian was charged last year under Article 300.1of the Armenian Criminal
Code dealing with violent seizure of power. The accusation stems from the 2008
post-election street clashes in Yerevan which left ten people dead.
In separate appeals, Kocharian and a district court judge in Yerevan asked the
Constitutional Court early this year to determine whether the article conforms
to the Armenian constitution. The ex-president’s lawyers argued, among other
things, that the clause was added to the Criminal Code in 2009 and cannot be
used retroactively against him.
In July, the Constitutional Court suspended the consideration of the appeals,
asking the ECHR as well as the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission for
“advisory opinions” on the matter.
“The European Court of Human Rights has accepted a request for an advisory
opinion from the Constitutional Court of Armenia and has constituted a Grand
Chamber of 17 judges to consider it,” the Strasbourg-based tribunal said in a
weekend statement.
The statement said the judges will arrive at a common conclusion regarding
Article 300.1’s conformity with the European Convention on Human Rights.
“Advisory opinions, which are given by the Grand Chamber, give reasons and are
not binding,” it stressed.
The ECHR gave Kocharian’s legal team and the Armenian parliament until November
19 to present “written observations” to the chamber. Other interested parties,
including the Armenian government, can send their comments to Strasbourg by
December 4, according to the statement.
Armenia’s representative to the ECHR, Yeghishe Kirakosian, said on Monday that
the government will exercise that right. Kirakosian declined to shed light on
the government’s likely arguments.
Kocharian, who was arrested again in June, is specifically accused of illegally
using Armenian army units against opposition protesters that demanded the rerun
of a disputed presidential election held in February 2008, two months before he
completed his second and final term. The 65-year-old ex-president was also
charged with bribery early this year. He denies all charges leveled against him
as politically motivated.
Armenia’s Constitutional Court Refuses To Oust Chairman
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia -- Constitutional Court Chairman Hrayr Tovmasian (C) reads out a ruling
on an appeal lodged by former President Robert Kocharian, Yerevan, September 4,
2019.
Members of the Constitutional Court on Monday rejected lawmakers’ calls for the
dismissal of its chairman, Hrayr Tovmasian, who is increasingly at loggerheads
with Armenia’s political leadership.
The Armenian parliament appealed to the court on October 4 with a resolution
drafted by its pro-government majority and endorsed by Justice Minister Rustam
Badasian.
It denounced, among other things, Tovmasian’s handling of appeals against the
legality of coup charges brought against the arrested former President Robert
Kocharian. The resolution also said that Tovmasian cannot make impartial
decisions on this case because of his past membership in the former ruling
Republican Party of Armenia (HHK).
Tovmasian would have been replaced if at least six of the Constitutional
Court’s nine judges had voted against him.
In the event, the high court refused to even hold detailed discussions and vote
on Tovmasian’s future. It did not immediately explain the rebuff or reveal how
many judges backed it.
The decision was announced several hours after the court met to discuss the
issue. One of the judges, Alvina Gyulumian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that
Tovmasian is not taking part in the meeting because of being on vacation.
Armenia -- Constitutional Court Chairman Hrayr Tovmasian reads out a court
verdict on an appeal filed by former President Robert Kocharian, September 4,
2019.
Tovmasian, who was installed as court chairman by Armenia’s previous leadership
overthrown in the 2018 “Velvet Revolution,” strongly denies violations of the
due process, political bias and conflict of interest alleged by the
parliamentary resolution.
Tovmasian claimed on October 2 that the Armenian authorities are seeking to
oust him in order to gain control over the country’s highest court and be able
to make unconstitutional decisions. He said he will not bow to the pressure
despite the recent arrests of two individuals linked to him.
Senior lawmakers from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s My Step alliance
condemned Tovmasian’s statements when the National Assembly debated the
resolution two days later.
In a September 4 ruling read out by Tovmasian, the Constitutional Court
declared unconstitutional a legal provision used by investigators against
Kocharian. Pashinian called the ruling “illegal,” citing dissenting opinions
voiced by two court judges.
In July, Pashinian charged that Tovmasian had cut political deals with former
President Serzh Sarkisian to “privatize” the court. Tovmasian responded by
warning the government against trying to force him and his colleagues to resign.
Britain Reverses Appointment Of New Envoy To Armenia
UK -- Alan Gogbashian, a British diplomat of Armenian descent.
The British government has unexpectedly rescinded its recent decision to
appoint an ethnic Armenian diplomat as the United Kingdom’s new ambassador to
Armenia.
The government announced two months ago that Alan Gogbashian will replace
Judith Farnworth, a fellow diplomat who has served as British ambassador in
Yerevan for the last four years. The announcement was welcomed by many in
Armenia and its worldwide Diaspora.
“This is the first time that a Diaspora Armenian will be ambassador to
Armenia,” the office of Zareh Sinanyan, Armenia’s Armenian-American
commissioner general of Diaspora affairs, said on August 12.
“Mr Alan Gogbashian will no longer be taking up the role of Her Majesty’s
Ambassador to Yerevan for operational reasons,” read a statement released by
the British Embassy in Yerevan on Monday. “Mr Gogbashian will be transferring
to another Diplomatic Service appointment.”
“Mr David Moran has been appointed as Chargé d’Affaires with the rank of
Ambassador in the interim, until a new Ambassador is appointed,” added the
statement posted on the embassy’s Facebook page.
The British mission gave no further explanation for the abrupt and highly
unusual reversal of ambassadorial appointment.
Gogbashian lived and worked in Armenia nearly two decades ago, before joining
the British diplomatic service. He has headed various divisions at the British
Foreign Office since 2014. He was Britain’s deputy head of mission in Morocco
from 2011-2014.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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