Wednesday,
Former Security Chief Sues Pashinian’s Paper
• Marine Khachatrian
Armenia -- Prime Miinister Nikol Pashinian and National Security Service
Director Artur Vanetsian (R) walk in downtown Yerevan, September 21, 2018.
One week after announcing his entry into politics, Artur Vanetsian, the former
chief of Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS), has filed a defamation
lawsuit against a newspaper controlled by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s
family.
In an unsigned article published last month, the “Haykakan Zhamanak” daily
alleged that Vanetsian is behind slanderous reports about Pashinian and his
family members spread by anti-government media. It said the main “ideologist” of
this campaign is a former senior official linked to Mikael Minasian, former
President Serzh Sarkisian’s son-in-law.
Pashinian’s 21-year-old daughter Mariam added her voice to the allegations. The
prime minister likewise charged later in January that the alleged smear campaign
was part of what he called a “hybrid” conspiracy to discredit and overthrow him.
Vanetsian strongly denied the allegations and demanded that the paper, which is
still officially run by Pashinian’s wife Anna Hakobian, retract them. One of his
lawyers, Aramazd Kivirian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service on Wednesday that he
has sued the paper because it rejected the demand.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The former NSS director suggested last week that the paper, which Pashinian had
long edited before being first elected to the Armenian parliament in 2012,
intended to “slander” him, rather than reveal any scandalous facts. “If they had
any facts and needed to verify them they would have taken certain steps,” he
told the editors of nine other Armenian publications.
Pashinian appointed Vanetsian as director of the former Armenian branch of the
Soviet KGB immediately after coming to power in the “Velvet Revolution” of
April-May 2018. Vanetsian quickly became one of the most influential members of
the Armenia’s new leadership, overseeing a number of high-profile corruption
investigations.
The 40-year-old was unexpectedly relieved of his duties in September just a
couple of months after being promoted to the rank of NSS general. He criticized
Pashinian’s “impulsive” leadership style following his dismissal, triggering a
bitter war of words with the premier.
Hrachya Hakobian, a pro-government parliamentarian and Pashinian’s
brother-in-law, claimed shortly after the “Haykakan Zhamanak” article that
Vanetsian was sacked because of plotting a coup. The NSS said, however, that it
is not aware of any coup attempts and will not look into Hakobian’s claims.
Speaking to the newspaper editors on February 5, Vanetsian announced that he is
setting up a new political party to challenge Pashinian’s government.
Pashinian Discusses Constitutional Referendum With Foreign Envoys
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (C) meets with ambassadors of OSCE
member countries, Yerevan,12Feb,2020
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian met with Yerevan-based foreign diplomats on
Wednesday to discuss his administration’s controversial decision to hold a
referendum on replacing most members of Armenia’s Constitutional Court.
The diplomats invited to the meeting included the ambassadors of Russia, the
United States and European Union member states as well as the head of the EU
Delegation in Armenia.
“During the meeting, the prime minister addressed in detail the existing
situation around the Constitutional Court, the forthcoming referendum on
constitutional changes and the circumstances of holding it,” Pashinian’s press
office said in a statement.
He then answered questions from the diplomats, the statement said. It gave no
other details.
Parliament speaker Ararat Mirzoyan, a key Pashinian ally, met with the
ambassadors the night before the Armenian parliament decided on February 6 to
hold a referendum on constitutional amendments drafted by its pro-government
majority.
The amendments call for ending the powers of seven of the nine Constitutional
Court judges accused by Pashinian of being linked to Armenia’s “corrupt former
regime.” Opposition lawmakers reject them as unconstitutional. They say that the
authorities should have consulted with legal experts from the Council of
Europe’s Venice Commission before putting the proposed changes on the referendum
scheduled for April 5.
Two representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE) likewise urged the authorities last week to submit the draft amendments
to the Venice Commission for examination “as soon as possible.” A senior
Armenian lawmaker countered that Yerevan is under no legal obligation to seek
such judgment.
Russia, the U.S. and other Western powers have made no public statements on the
Armenian referendum so far.
Armenian Government May Set Up Interior Ministry
• Artak Khulian
Armenia -- The national police headquarters in Yerevan, February 4, 2020.
The Armenian government is considering creating a ministry of interior as part
of a major structural reform of the national police service proposed by the
Justice Ministry.
Armenia had an interior ministry until former President Robert Kocharian
abolished it and turned the police into a separate structure subordinate to him
nearly two decades ago. The police became accountable to the prime minister
after Kocharian’s successor, Serzh Sarkisian, engineered the country’s
transition to a parliamentary system of government.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian faced opposition calls to turn the police as well
as the National Security Service (NSS) into ministries accountable to the
parliament after he swept to power in May 2018. Pashinian and his allies have
until now opposed such a change championed by the opposition Bright Armenia
Party (LHK).
It emerged this week that the Justice Ministry recommended the re-establishment
of the Interior Ministry headed by a full-fledged cabinet member in a three-year
strategy of police reforms proposed to the Armenian government.
“From our perspective, what we have now is a police service meeting the
requirements of the Soviet state order,” Deputy Justice Minister Kristine
Grigorian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service on Wednesday.
Grigorian also stressed the importance of other structural changes proposed by
her ministry. One of them envisages the creation of a new police unit tasked
with road policing, crowd control and street patrol.
Grigorian said that the strategy posted on a government website is currently
under discussion and may undergo changes. The police are also involved in the
discussions, she said.
Armenian law currently requires the heads of the police and the NSS to be
high-ranking career officers.Both security agencies have been headed by interim
heads since September. Pashinian has yet to decide who will manage them on a
permanent basis.
Armenian PM Again Warns ‘Anti-State’ Forces
• Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks during a parliament debate on
constitutional changes, Yerevan, February 6, 2020.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Wednesday warned his political opponents
against appealing to Armenia’s Constitutional Court in a bid to scuttle
controversial constitutional changes sought by him.
Pashinian already issued a stark warning to them last week as the Armenian
parliament controlled by his My Step bloc decided to hold a referendum on draft
amendments that would sack seven of the court’s nine judges facing government
pressure to resign.
“All those individuals or forces who will try to put legal or other hurdles to a
free expression of the people’s will receive an adequate counterstrike as
anti-popular and anti-state forces,” he declared on February 6.
The warning prompted an angry response from Edmon Marukian, the leader of the
opposition Bright Armenia Party (LHK) which regards the draft amendments as
unconstitutional. Marukian accused Pashinian of “blackmail,” saying that the
latter may have threatened violent attacks against the LHK or other opposition
groups.
Pashinian hit back at Marukian, his erstwhile ally, during his government’s
latest question-and-answer session in the National Assembly. He said the
opposition leader dares to lambaste the current government because of being
confident that it will never resort to violence.
Pashinian also said: “I implied [on February 6] that if this decision to hold
the referendum is challenged in the Constitutional Court we will evaluate that
in this way. Why? Because we are saying, ‘Let’s ask the people and ensure a free
expression of the people’s will.’”
“If there is a force which says, ‘No, I don’t want to ask the people and will
ask the Constitutional Court instead,’ a certain conclusion will be drawn from
that, especially in this situation,” he added.
Armenia - Nikol Pashinian (C) and Edmon Marukian (R), leaders o the opposition
Yelk alliance, campaign for mayoral elections in Yerevan, 21Apr2017.
The LHK and the other parliamentary opposition party, Prosperous Armenia (BHK),
can still prevent the holding of the April 5 referendum if their parliament
deputies appeal to the Constitutional Court and convince it to declare the
amendments unconstitutional. Such appeals must be signed by at least 27 members
of the 132-seat parliament. The BHK and the LHK control 26 and 17 parliament
seats respectively.
Marukian on Tuesday reaffirmed his party’s readiness to challenge the referendum
in the court. BHK leader Gagik Tsarukian indicated, however, that BHK lawmakers
will not back such a move.
Pashinian also claimed on Wednesday that campaigning for the referendum will
stimulate economic activity in Armenia by boosting citizens’ “confidence in the
future.” Also, he said, “many” Armenians living abroad will heed his appeals and
travel to their home country and vote for ousting the high court judges.
“We seem to be creating a new type of tourism which is called electoral
tourism,” he declared.
Pashinian appealed to hundreds of thousands of Armenian expats immediately after
President Armen Sarkissian set the referendum date on Sunday. Some of his
critics construed the appeal as a sign that he is worried about not garnering
enough votes for the constitutional amendments.
To pass, the amendments have to be backed by the majority of referendum
participants making up at least one-quarter of Armenia’s 2.57 million or so
eligible voters.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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