RFE/RL Armenian Report – 08/07/2018

                                        Tuesday, 
Dashnaktsutyun’s Presence In Government ‘Not At Risk’
        • Sisak Gabrielian
Armenia - Supporters of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation attend an 
election campaign rally in Yerevan, 30Mar2017.
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) has not undermined its 
power-sharing arrangement with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian with its strong 
criticism of former President Robert Kocharian’s arrest, a senior member of the 
party insisted on Tuesday.
Dashnaktsutyun said late last month that coup charges levelled against 
Kocharian “can be interpreted as political persecution.” Accordingly, three of 
its parliament deputies joined last week more than 40 other lawmakers in 
signing a joint petition calling for his release.
One of those Dashnaktsutyun deputies, Ruzan Arakelian, said the move was 
endorsed by the party’s leadership. She downplayed its implications for 
Dashnaktsutyun’s continued presence in Armenia’s new government.
“This is a very normal political process,” Arakelian told RFE/RL’s Armenian 
service. “It does not contradict the fact that we are now part of the 
[governing] coalition and together with the current authorities are trying to … 
contribute to Armenia’s progress.”
“I think that this [stance on Kocharian] will not jeopardize the coalition 
because we do not undermine our agreement with the current authorities in any 
way,” she said.
Dashnaktsutyun received two ministerial posts in Pashinian’s cabinet formed in 
May following mass protests that forced the country’s longtime leader, Serzh 
Sarkisian, to step down. It had cut similar power-sharing deals with Sarkisian 
in 2008 and 2016.
Dashnaktsutyun, which holds 7 seats in the 105-member National Assembly, was 
also allied to Kocharian during his 1998-2008 rule. Kocharian lifted a 
controversial ban on the party’s activities in Armenia and freed its imprisoned 
leaders shortly after coming to power.
The petition signed by the 46 parliamentarians was sent to Prosecutor-General 
Artur Davtian and the Court of Appeals.The latter is scheduled to open hearings 
on Thursday on Kocharian’s appeal against a lower court’s decision to allow his 
pre-trial arrest on charges stemming from the March 2008 post-election violence 
in Yerevan. The ex-president has rejected those charges as politically 
motivated.
Pashinian Discusses CSTO With Kazakh Leader
        • Emil Danielyan
Kazakhstan - Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev listens to the 
national anthem on the Victory Day commemorations in Almaty, Kazakhstan May 9, 
2018. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov
Nearly two weeks after his government moved to replace the Armenian secretary 
general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian telephoned Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev on 
Tuesday to discuss activities of the Russian-led defense alliance.
“The interlocutors discussed topical issues of bilateral and multilateral 
relations, including those related to the CSTO’s activities,” Pashinian’s press 
office said in a short statement. It gave no details.
Nazarbayev’s press service likewise said the two leaders spoke about Armenia’s 
and Kazakhstan’s “interaction within the framework” of the CSTO and the 
Eurasian Economic Union, another Russian-led bloc comprising their countries. 
It too did not elaborate.
The phone call followed a rare diplomatic dispute between Armenia and Russia 
resulting from Armenian authorities’ decision to prosecute the current CSTO 
secretary general, Yuri Khachaturov, on controversial coup charges stemming 
from the 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan. Khachaturov was Armenia’s deputy 
defense minister at the time.
On July 27, Armenia’s Special Investigative (SIS) service asked a Yerevan court 
to allow it to arrest Khachaturov as well as former President Robert Kocharian. 
The court remanded the ex-president in pre-trial custody but granted bail to 
Khachaturov.
The separate rulings were handed down several hours after a phone conversation 
between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Armenian counterpart 
Zohrab Mnatsakanian. Lavrov last week publicly denounced the prosecutions of 
the former Armenian officials as politically motivated. A Kremlin official told 
the Moscow daily “Kommersant” afterwards that Yerevan’s decision to prosecute 
Khachaturov dealt a “colossal blow to the image” of the CSTO.
Armenia - Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan (R) meets with CSTO Secretary General 
Yuri Khachaturov, 17May, 2018
Despite the serious accusations levelled against him, Khachaturov was allowed 
to return to Moscow and resume its duties as CSTO secretary general on August 4.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry said on July 28 that it has formally asked the 
other CSTO members to “start a process of replacing the secretary general.” 
Moscow dismissed the move as “unprofessional,” saying that Yerevan must 
formally “recall” Khachaturov before asking the other CSTO states to pick his 
replacement.
Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan said late last week that Armenia should be able 
to name another head of the alliance of six former Soviet republics. It remains 
to be seen whether Moscow will agree to that.
The CSTO member states agreed in 2015 that their representatives will take 
turns to run the organization on a rotating basis. They appointed Khachaturov 
as secretary general in April 2017 after almost two years of delay reportedly 
resulting from Kazakhstan’s and Belarus’s reluctance to have an Armenian hold 
the position because of their warm ties with Azerbaijan. The two nations 
dropped their objections after pressure from Russia, according to Russian media 
reports.
Incidentally, Pashinian also had a phone conversation with Belarusian President 
Aleksandr Lukashenko on July 28. Neither Belarusian nor Kazakh officials have 
made public statements on Khachaturov’s prosecution so far.
Pashinian Ally Defends Choice Of Mayoral Candidate In Yerevan
        • Narine Ghalechian
Armenia -- Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian speaks to RFE/RL in Yerevan, 7 
August 2018.
Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian on Tuesday defended the decision by Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party to nominate a prominent 
Armenian comedian as its candidate for the vacant post of Yerevan’s mayor.
The previous mayor, Taron Markarian, resigned on July 9 under apparent pressure 
from Armenia’s new government. Residents of the Armenian capital are expected 
to elect next month a new municipal council that will appoint Markarian’s 
successor.
Civil Contract’s mayoral candidate, Hayk Marutian, is a 41-year-old actor 
famous for his performances in popular comedy shows aired by Armenian TV 
channels. He has also produced his own shows and films in the past several 
years.
Avinian said that he was among those members of the party’s governing board who 
Marutian’s candidacy on July 29. He expressed confidence that Marutian would 
make a good mayor.
“I think that Hayk Marutian will be a [positive] revelation for the public in 
his new role,” Avinian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “I myself was surprised 
to see Hayk Marutian the actor transform into Hayk Marutian the politician. He 
is a person with strong organizational skills who can bring about real change 
in Yerevan.”
The 29-year-old vice-premier dismissed critics’ claims that Marutian’s 
entertainment industry background does not make him fit to run the city of one 
million. “Hayk Marutian is not just an actor,” he said. “He is a producer, a 
job which requires very serious organizational work.”
Marutian, commonly known as “Kargin Hayko,” actively participated in mass 
protests in April and May that brought down Armenia’s former government. He 
joined Civil Contract shortly after Pashinian, the main organizer of the 
protests, became prime minister on May 8.
One of Marutian’s main challengers in the mayoral race will be Naira Zohrabian 
of the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), the country’s second largest 
parliamentary force led businessman Gagik Tsarukian. BHK representatives say 
their party will be aiming for victory in the upcoming elections.
Other major political groups, including Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK), 
have not yet nominated mayoral candidates. Markarian, the former mayor, is a 
senior member of the HHK.
It remains unclear whether Civil Contract will enter the race on its own or in 
an alliance with the two other parties making up the Yelk bloc. Those parties, 
Republic and Bright Armenia, are understood to be considering fielding a joint 
candidate.
Press Review
“Zhoghovurd” notes that despite a continuing decline in its political influence 
former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) still has 
the largest group and controls the key posts in the Armenian parliament. “The 
HHK is not coming to terms with its new role, trying to trigger a 
counterrevolution,” claims the paper. “As for [Gagik Tsarukian’s] BHK and 
Dashnaktsutyun, although they are part of Nikol Pashinian’s government they do 
not stand by the prime minister. Furthermore, it is not an exaggeration to say 
that the BHK and Dashnaktsutyun are now acting against Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian. It’s just that they are doing that covertly, instead of openly 
sabotaging the work of the government. We can periodically see such 
manifestations.”
Even the Yelk alliance comprising Pashinian’s Civil Contract and two other 
parties cannot be regarded as his support base, “Zhoghovurd” goes on. The paper 
says that those parties have already proved that they cannot be reliable 
partners of the premier. “And so Nikol Pashinian has no choice but to look for 
allies outside the parliament,” it says, adding that they may include former 
President Levon Ter-Petrosian and his remaining political team.
Lragir.am claims that Russia is increasingly struggling to maintain its 
presence in the South Caucasus. The pro-Western publication says Moscow now 
lacks “adequate and modern mechanisms” for retaining its influence on Armenia, 
Azerbaijan and Georgia and continues to rely on “obsolete tools.” “This is also 
a challenge for Armenia,” it says. “In this regard, the velvet revolution in 
Armenia is a chance to accelerate the modernization of its tools and capacity 
to adequately confront challenges.”
(Tigran Avetisian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org