Monday,
Six Killed In Armenian Road Crash
• Naira Nalbandian
Armenia - The scene of a deadly road accident in the Ararat province, July 6,
2019.
Law-enforcement authorities in Armenia were investigating on Monday a weekend
road accident which left six people dead and eleven others seriously injured.
A commuter minibus reportedly burst into flames after colliding with two cars
on a highway bridge 54 kilometers south of Yerevan on Saturday. A photograph
released by the Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations showed all three
vehicles engulfed by fire after what was one of the country’s deadliest road
crashes in years.
The Investigative Committee said the victims were the driver and five female
passengers of the minibus. A statement released by the law-enforcement agency
suggested that they burned alive inside the vehicle that carried mostly
residents of nearby villages. All but one of the charred bodies were identified
by Monday morning, according to it.
The statement said seven other passengers suffered serious burns and required
hospitalization. Three of them remain in a critical condition, it added.
The Investigative Committee reported later in the day that it has arrested one
of the two car drivers on suspicion of causing the crash. The 63-year-old
suspect, Soghomon Hakobian, was also seriously injured. A spokeswoman for the
committee told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that Hakobian is intensive care at a
hospital in Yerevan.
The earlier Investigative Committee statement said blood tests showed that
neither Hakobian nor the other car driver was drunk. It said that investigators
have questioned some of the injured individuals and eyewitnesses and will
conduct forensic tests as part of their probe.
“The investigation is continuing,” read the statement. “All investigative
actions are being taken to ascertain the circumstances of the accident and
verify circumstances mentioned in testimonies.”
Most cars and other vehicles in Armenia are powered by pressurized natural gas
which is considerably cheaper than petrol.
Armenia’s Post-Soviet Ills Cured, Says Pashinian
• Karlen Aslanian
Singapore -- Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong welcomes his visiting
Armenian counterpart Nikol Pashinian, Singapore, July 8, 2019.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on Monday that his government has
successfully tackled corruption and Armenia’s other chronic problems
“characteristic of many post-Soviet countries” since taking office just over a
year ago.
“In the course of the past year the government of Armenia has taken steps that
have radically transformed the country’s business environment,” Pashinian said
during an official visit to Singapore. “It has strengthened the rule of law,
created a level playing field for all economic actors and foreign investors in
particular. Corruption has declined sharply.”
“We no longer suffer from symptoms characteristic of many post-Soviet
countries,” he declared at a dinner hosted by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee
Hsien Loong. “The new Armenia opens up new opportunities for investing and
engaging in economic activities.”
Pashinian and other government officials have repeatedly said that these
improvements are laying the groundwork or an “economic revolution” that will
significantly boost living standards in Armenia. Their political opponents and
other critics dismiss these statements, saying that the new government’s
policies have not translated into faster economic growth or greater foreign
investment.
During visits abroad and Singapore in particular, Pashinian has touted his
administration’s stated achievements in an effort to attract such investment.
Economic issues dominated his talks with Lee held earlier in the day. The talks
were followed by the signing of an agreement on the avoidance of double
taxation of each other’s businesses.
“We want to spur increased trade and mutual investments between our countries,”
the Armenian leader said at the ensuing dinner.
Armenia’s trade with Singapore stood at a meager $2.2 million last year.
Pashinian said a free-trade deal currently negotiated by the wealthy
island-state and the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) could also boost
it.
Lee voiced support for that deal and said he hopes it will be signed “as soon
as possible.” He also paid tribute to Singapore’s historic Armenian community
that emerged nearly two centuries ago.
“We are proud of Armenians who continue to contribute to the development of our
country,” added Lee.
For his part, Pashinian spoke of his admiration for Singapore’s “economic
miracle.” “Your unique experience is of great interest to us and we would be
grateful for your advice,” he said in his speech, adding that his government
seeks to emulate Singapore’s “meritocracy, pragmatism and integrity.”
Lawyers Again Seek Bail For Kocharian
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia -- Former President Robert Kocharian speaks during his trial in
Yerevan, May 16, 2019.
Two weeks after he was arrested again, the lawyers for former President Robert
Kocharian on Monday asked a district court judge in Yerevan to release him on
bail.
The judge presiding over Kocharian’s trial, Davit Grigorian, already ordered
him freed from custody pending a verdict in the case on May 18. Grigorian also
decided to suspend the trial, saying that a coup charge brought against the
ex-president may be unconstitutional. He requested a clarification from
Armenia’s Constitutional Court.
The Court of Appeals overturned on June 25 Grigorian’s decisions strongly
condemned by political allies and supporters of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Kocharian reported to a prison in downtown Yerevan a few hours later.
The high-profile trial has still not resumed, however, because Armen Danielian,
a Court of Appeals judge, has still not sent materials of the case back to the
lower court. The latter will not be able to consider the bail request as long
as the trial remains on hold.
Kocharian’s lawyers on Monday again accused Danielian of deliberately dragging
out the judicial process to make sure that Kocharian remains under arrest as
long as possible. One of them, Hayk Alumian, charged that Danielian is acting
on government orders. He insisted that under Armenian law the documents should
have been sent back to the district immediately after Danielian’s ruling was
made public.
Danielian’s office refused to give reasons for the apparent delay or say when
he will enable the court of first instance to resume the trial.
Seda Safarian, a lawyer representing relatives of opposition protesters killed
in Yerevan in March 2008, defended Danielian. She suggested that the Court of
Appeals judge anticipates that Kocharian will challenge his decision in the
Court of Cassation. In that case, he would send the materials directly to the
higher court.
Safarian also predicted that the trial of Kocharian as well as his former chief
of staff, Armen Gevorgian, and retired Generals Yuri Khachaturov and Seyran
Ohanian will not resume before this fall.
The four men stand accused of illegally using Armenian army units against
opposition supporters that demanded the rerun of a disputed presidential
election held in February 2008. Kocharian ordered troops into Yerevan as
opposition protesters clashed with riot police late on March 1, 2008. Eight
protesters and two police servicemen died in those clashes.
Earlier this year, Kocharian was also charged with bribe-taking. He denies all
accusations leveled against him as politically motivated.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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