Wednesday, March 1, 2023
Armenian Parliament Approves Sharp Pay Rise For Prosecutors
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia - Prosecutors attend a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian,
Yerevan, July 1, 2022.
The National Assembly approved on Wednesday a government proposal to nearly
double the salaries of Armenia’s prosecutors.
Prosecutor-General Anna Vardapetian, who previously worked as a legal adviser to
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, will be the biggest beneficiary of the measure
criticized by opposition lawmakers. Her monthly wage will rise to at least 2.5
million drams ($6,400).
Other prosecutors will earn the average of 1.5 million drams per month. The
average monthly wage in Armenia currently stands at about 236,000 ($605) drams,
according to government data.
Presenting a relevant government bill to the parliament, Deputy Justice Minister
Levon Balian said the sharp pay rise will discourage prosecutors from taking
bribes or succumbing to other “external pressures.” Balian said it will also
reward them for their “excessive workload.”
Opposition parliamentarians dismissed that explanation, saying that the Armenian
government simply wants to buy senior law-enforcement officials’ loyalty. One of
those lawmakers, Artsvik Minasian, noted that Vardapetian will be earning even
more than the country’s president and prime minister.
Law-enforcement bodies have for years been accused by the Armenian opposition of
executing government orders to prosecute Pashinian’s political opponents. They
have denied that.
A random street poll of Yerevan residents conducted by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service
found little support for the drastic increase in the prosecutors’ wages.
“They had better buy weapons with that money,” said one man.
“Our army is in dire straits now. So defense is definitely our top priority,”
agreed another.
Another citizen echoed the opposition claims about political motives behind the
measure.
“They are fighting to cling to power,” he said of the current authorities.
“There is nothing else. When Nikol Pashinian came to power in 2018 he was saying
that he stands with the poor. But what is the status of the poor now?”
Azeri, Karabakh Officials Meet Again
• Ruzanna Stepanian
Nagorno-Karabakh - Azerbaijani protesters stand in front of Russian peacekeepers
on a road outside Stepanakert, December 24, 2022.
Azerbaijani officials met with Nagorno-Karabakh’s representatives on Wednesday
for the second time in less than a week to discuss Azerbaijan’s continuing
blockade of the Lachin corridor.
The meeting took place at the headquarters of Russian peacekeeping forces
stationed in Karabakh.
Karabakh’s official news agency Artsakhpress reported that its participants
discussed the restoration of “unimpeded” traffic thorough the corridor and
Armenia’s electricity and natural gas supplies to Karabakh disrupted by Baku. It
said they also looked at the possibility of Azerbaijani environmental
inspections of two copper mines located in the Armenian-populated region.
“Agreements were reached on further cooperation aimed at reducing tension and
establishing peaceful life in the region,” it added without elaborating.
Azerbaijani government-backed protesters blocked the sole road connecting
Karabakh to Armenia on December 12 following the Karabakh Armenians’ refusal to
allow such inspections. The authorities in Stepanakert and Yerevan rejected
those demands as a pretext for cutting off Karabakh from the outside world.
An Azerbaijani readout of Friday’s meeting cited by the APA news agency said the
Azerbaijani negotiators included the head of a “monitoring group” investigating
“illegal” mining operations in Karabakh. It said the meeting focused on the
Karabakh Armenians’ “integration into Azerbaijan.” There was no word on the
possible lifting of the blockade that has led to shortages of food, medicine and
other essential items in Karabakh.
The Karabakh president, Arayik Harutiunian, reiterated, meanwhile, that
Stepanakert will continue to resist the restoration of Azerbaijani control over
Karabakh.
“But this doesn’t mean that we will avoid contacts [with Baku] for addressing
humanitarian and infrastructure-related issues,” said Harutiunian.
The meeting mediated by the commander of the Russian peacekeepers came the day
after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov wrapped up a visit to Baku. Lavrov
indicated Russia’s opposition to Azerbaijani attempts to set up a checkpoint at
the Lachin corridor. He said the Russian peacekeepers could use “technical
means” to address Azerbaijani concerns.
Baku has accused Armenia of smuggling landmines to Karabakh through the corridor
in breach of the 2020 ceasefire brokered by Moscow. The Armenian side has
strongly denied the allegations.
A senior Karabakh lawmaker, Seyran Hayrapetian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service
that Stepanakert is ready to discuss the idea of installing X-ray scanners at
the corridor. But he said they must be operated and controlled only by the
Russian peacekeepers.
The first meeting of Azerbaijani and Karabakh officials took place on February
24 the day after Harutiunian announced the dismissal of his chief minister,
Ruben Vardanyan, which was demanded by Baku throughout the blockade.
Armenian Police Criticized Over Surge In Drug Trafficking
• Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - Interior Minister Vahe Ghazarian speaks in the parliament, Yerevan,
March 1, 2023.
Pro-government lawmakers criticized the Armenian police for a sharp rise in drug
trafficking in the country when they met with Interior Minister Vahe Ghazarian
late on Tuesday.
The police reported a total of 743 trafficking cases last year, up from over 420
cases in 2021. The increase is widely blamed on increasingly accessible
synthetic drugs mainly sold through the internet and, in particular, social
media platforms such as Telegram.
Armen Khachatrian, a senior lawmaker representing the ruling Civil Contract
party, said the alarming statistics was the main focus of Ghazarian’s meeting
Civil Contract deputies that lasted for about three hours.
“The statistics is concerning, and the [ruling party’s] parliamentary faction is
not satisfied with the current methods of the fight [against drug trafficking,]”
Khachatrian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “Therefore, a new program must be
drawn up in order to reduce this problem to a minimum.”
“We cannot tolerate widespread drug trafficking in Armenia,” added the former
police officer.
Khachatrian was particularly concerned about a “significant number” of young
Armenians suffering from drug addiction.
The youth are the main target group of Telegram channels selling drugs. Links to
those websites are now painted on residential buildings and other public areas
across Yerevan.
A prosecutor interviewed by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service last month insisted that
law-enforcement authorities are cracking down on the illegal online trade. In
his words, over the last three years they have identified and charged over two
dozen members of four criminal associations that old several million dollars’
worth of narcotics through social media.
Critics of the Armenian government link the growing drug trade with recent
years’ increase in Armenia’s overall crime rate. They say that the country not
accustomed to widespread drug abuse is not as safe as it was before the 2018
“velvet revolution.”
The total number of various crimes registered by the Armenia police rose by over
24 percent in 2022.
Khachatrian said he and other pro-government lawmakers also discussed with
Ghazarian recent scandals involving the Patrol Service, a new Western-funded
police force tasked with road policing and street patrol.
The chief of the service, Colonel Artur Umrshatian, was fired two weeks ago
following an extraordinary traffic incident at Yerevan’s main square which
sparked accusations of incompetence directed at its officers. Dozens of those
officers have been subjected disciplinary action over the past year.
“The minister admitted that there have been cases of unprofessional behavior by
patrol officers,” said Khachatrian.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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