Author: Andranik Taslakhchian

                                        Monday, 
Parliament Majority Leader Sheds Light On Judicial ‘Vetting’
        • Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia -- Lilit Makunts, the parliamentary leader of the ruling My Step bloc, 
at a news conference in Yerevan, May 6, 2019.
Lilit Makunts, the parliamentary leader of the ruling My Step alliance, on 
Monday gave some details of a mandatory “vetting” of all judges planned by the 
Armenian authorities.
Makunts said it will be carried out a state body overseeing Armenia’s courts as 
well as a new anti-corruption agency which the authorities are planning to set 
up soon.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian moved to purge the judiciary after a Yerevan 
court controversially ordered former President Robert Kocharian released from 
custody on May 18 pending the outcome of his high-profile trial. Pashinian said 
on May 20 that Armenian judges lack public trust and must be vetted based on 
their “political ties, origin, property status and activities.”
Makunts stated later in May that pro-government lawmakers are already 
finalizing a bill on judicial vetting. No details of the planned legislation 
have been made public so far.
Makunts told RFE/RL’s Armenian service on Monday that the National Assembly 
will not pass a separate bill on the vetting after all.
“The main process of vetting will be carried out by the Supreme Judicial 
Council (SJC),” she said. “But there are issues which are beyond its powers and 
they should therefore be dealt with by another body, which will presumably be 
the Corruption Prevention Body.”
In her words, parliament speaker Ararat Mirzoyan has already sponsored a bill 
on the creation of the anti-graft body and submitted it to a relevant standing 
committee of the parliament.
“We are doing everything to have the SJC launch the [vetting] process already 
this autumn,” added Makunts.
The SJC was effectively paralyzed by recent resignations of five of its nine 
members. The parliament elected earlier this month two new members of the 
judicial watchdog nominated by My Step.
The European Union and the Council of Europe have expressed readiness to assist 
in judicial reforms planned by Pashinian’s government. They have stressed that 
the reforms must conform to Armenia’s constitution and international 
commitments.
Pashinian has repeatedly said that he wants to make the judicial system “truly 
independent.” His critics claim, however, he is on the contrary seeking to gain 
control over the courts.
Pashinian Warns Of Regional Security Challenges For Armenia
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian holds a meeting of Armenia's Security 
Council, Yerevan, .
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on Monday that Armenia must be “more 
vigilant” now in the face of national security challenges emanating from the 
surrounding region.
“Unfortunately, since our previous meeting not only has the security 
environment around Armenia not been defused but on the contrary there are some 
processes taking place in that environment which are prompting us to be more 
vigilant,” Pashinian said, opening a meeting of Armenia’s National Security 
Council.
He said the council will discuss “current affairs relating to the regional 
situation” and make decisions meant to “properly manage security challenges.” 
“I am confident that we will be able to find the necessary tools to prevent 
additional risks for Armenia or make them manageable," he added.
An official press release on the meeting did not reveal decisions made by the 
council comprising Armenia’s top state officials. Nor did it specify whether 
Pashinian referred in his opening remarks only to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict 
or also neighboring Iran’s latest standoff with the United States and increased 
tensions between Georgia and Russia.
Iran and especially Georgia have long served as landlocked Armenia’s sole 
transport conduits to the outside world.
Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian discussed regional security issues with 
senior U.S. officials when he visited Washington last week for fresh talks with 
his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov.
Mnatsakanian described his June 20 meeting with John Bolton, U.S. President 
Donald Trump’s national security adviser, as “positive, extensive and 
engaging.” He also met with David Hale, the U.S. undersecretary of state for 
political affairs.
In a statement, the U.S. State Department said the two men discussed the 
Karabakh conflict and other “regional challenges and opportunities.” Also, it 
said, Hale briefed Mnatsakanian, among other things, on the Trump 
administration’s “sanctions policy.”
Bolton discussed with Pashinian Washington’s renewed sanctions against Iran 
during an October 2018 visit to Yerevan. Pashinian made clear afterwards that 
he will maintain Armenia’s “special” relationship with Iran despite the 
sanctions. The Armenian leader visited the Islamic Republic in February.
Armenian Judicial Watchdog Resumes Work
        • Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - Deputy Justice Minister Vigen Kocharian, speaks during public 
hearings in the parliament, Yerevan, October 17, 2017.
A new, sixth member of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) was sworn in on 
Monday, enabling the state body overseeing Armenia’s courts to make a quorum 
and hold formal meetings.
The SJC, which was established in March 2018, had nine members until the May 24 
resignation of its first chairman, Gagik Harutiunian. The latter cited “ongoing 
developments relating to the judicial authority” and his “concerns expressed in 
that regard.”
Harutiunian’s temporary replacement, Gevorg Danielian, stepped down on June 7. 
Three other members of the SJC followed suit in the next few days.
The resignations effectively paralyzed the work of the judicial watchdog just 
as Armenia’s government and parliament controlled by it continued to push for a 
sweeping reform of the national judiciary.
The National Assembly swiftly filled two of the vacancies in the SJC. The new 
council members elected by it are lawyer Grigor Bekmezian and former Deputy 
Justice Minister Vigen Kocharian. They both were nominated by the ruling My 
Step alliance.
Kocharian formally began performing his duties on Monday, raising to 6 the 
current number of the SJC members. The SJC is thus able to meet and make some 
decisions affecting the judiciary.
But it is still not allowed to take disciplinary action against judges. The 
Armenian Judicial Code stipulates that SJC meetings making such decisions must 
be at attended by at least 7 members.
Under the code, the SJC must have 10 members. Half of them are appointed by the 
parliament while the other half are chosen by the country’s judges.
As things stand now, the parliament can pick one more member of the SJC, with 
the remaining three seats in the council reserved for the judges.
The SJC’s acting head, Sergey Chichoyan, has written to the chairman of 
Armenia’s Court of Cassation, Yervand Khundkarian, asking him to organize a 
conference of judges for the purpose of electing the three new SJC members. A 
spokeswoman for Khundkarian said on Monday that the conference will likely be 
held within a month.
Meanwhile, both Bekmezian and Kocharian expressed readiness to assist in the 
judicial reform in their new capacity. Bekmezian said the SJC can operate much 
more effectively even before a mandatory vetting of all judges planned by the 
authorities.
Bekmezian also spoke out against the resignation of four other SJC members who 
were appointed under the previous Armenian government.“I don’t think they must 
go because I spoke to them and am sure that they too are committed to reforming 
the system,” he said.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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For Immediate Release
USC INSTITUTE OF ARMENIAN STUDIES
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, USA
Contact: Syuzanna Petrosyan, Associate Director
[email protected] | 213.821.3943
Dialects of Coffee at Innovate Armenia
“My ninety-two-year-old mother and I have a ritual of afternoon sourj and 
listening to her great Armenian stories, same as her and her mother once did. I 
cherish these as these are the moments I will live for years to come over a 
simple cup of sourj,” reads Hrag Kalebjian from a folded-up piece of paper he 
keeps in his wallet. 
Kalebjian received this note from a customer, and his viewpoint on Armenian 
coffee was changed forever. Kalebjian runs Henry’s House of Coffee in San 
Francisco -- one of two coffee roasters at INNOVATE ARMENIA. Along with 
musician and activist Serj Tankian’s new venture -  Kavat Coffee - they brewed 
over 5,000 free cups of Armenian coffee for thousands of festival goers.
Organized by the USC Institute of Armenian Studies on May 18, INNOVATE ARMENIA 
featured fifty participants, from six countries, and nearly 4,000 attendees. 
This is the fourth time in five years that this unique festival of ideas and 
action has been staged by the Institute.
The “Dialects of Coffee” space was new to INNOVATE ARMENIA this year. 
“The appetite for high quality coffee has been on the uptick for the past 
decade and Henry’s and Kavat present the age-old beverage to a new generation 
of drinkers,” said Silva Sevlian, associate director of the Institute.
Hundreds lined up to taste free samples of Armenian coffee from Henry’s House 
of Coffee and Kavat Coffee, while journalist Liana Aghajanian talked and 
recorded conversations about the memories that Armenian coffee evoked. 
“Coffee is a big part of Armenian culinary and social life, and it's a great 
example of how all kinds of narratives can be unraveled through one food,” 
Aghajanian said. “Innovate Armenia's ‘Dialects of Coffee’ provided the perfect 
opportunity to record these stories, many of which were touching, surprising 
and sometimes heartbreaking, too."
Aghajanian, an Armenian-American writer, documents the Armenian experience in 
America through food.  
The “Dialects of Coffee” recording space attracted many visitors, one of whom 
happened to be Kalebjian.
Since 1965, Kalebjian’s father, Henry Kalebjian, and his family have been 
roasting and serving coffee - now for three generations. Today, Hrag continues 
the tradition of serving Armenian coffee at Henry’s House of Coffee in San 
Francisco. 
When asked, “What is Armenian coffee?” Kalebjian said, “Obviously it’s the 
technique and preparation, but for me, the more important is the tradition 
that’s passed on from one person to the next.” 
Kavat Coffee, a new Armenian coffee brand, was also brewing their socially 
conscious, premium, ethically sourced and certified organic coffee.
“To have thousands of people from communities near and far taste our modern 
take on Armenian coffee at Innovate Armenia was a wonderful experience for us 
here at Kavat Coffee,” said George Tonikian, manager of operations at Kavat. 
“One of my favorite aspects of drinking Armenian coffee is the communal aspect 
to what is a daily ritual for so many of us.”
Those who tasted the Armenian coffee listened in on Aghajanian’s conversations 
next door. Many of them shared heartwarming and compelling stories about their 
own memories of coffee.  
“Armenian coffee is one of those things you drink that goes way deeper into 
[one’s] memory bank,” said Lara Vanian Green, host of the Armenian Enough 
podcast. 
Aghajanian, whose project Dining in Diaspora traces the intersection of cuisine 
and agriculture with genocide, immigration, and identity, said the global 
Armenian story is perfectly suited to be explored through cuisine. 
"For me, food is the most well understood language through which stories about 
history, politics, immigration, identity and a plethora of other subjects can 
be told,” she said. 
About the Institute
Established in 2005, the USC Institute of Armenian Studies supports 
multidisciplinary scholarship to re-define, explore and study the complex 
issues that make up the contemporary Armenian experience—from post-genocide to 
the developing Republic of Armenia to the evolving diaspora. The institute 
encourages research, publications and public service, and promotes links among 
the global academic and Armenian communities.
For inquiries, write to [email protected] or call 213.821.3943.