Author: Badalian Vardan

Sputnik News Service, Russia
 Tuesday 8:32 PM UTC
Armenian Authorities Broke Promise Not to Persecute Political
Predecessors - Lavrov
MOSCOW, July 31 (Sputnik) - The current developments in Armenia
contradict the statements by the new leadership of the country about
the refusal to persecute its political predecessors, Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists on Tuesday.
"Russia, as an ally of Yerevan, has always been interested in the
stability of the Armenian state, therefore what is happening there
worries us, including from the point of view of the tasks of normal
functioning of CIS organizations in which Armenia participates,"
Lavrov said.
"The recent events clearly destroy such a positive attitude, and run
counter to the recent statements by the new leadership of Armenia that
it has no intentions to organize the persecution of its predecessors
for political reasons," Lavrov stressed.
Former Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Secretary General of
the Collective Security Treaty Organization Yuri Khachaturov have been
recently charged with violating constitutional order by suppressing
the 2008 protests in Yerevan.

                                        Tuesday, 
Karabakh Army Chief Warns Of Missile Strikes On Azerbaijan
        • Sisak Gabrielian
Nagorno-Karabakh - General Levon Mnatsakanian, commander of the Karabakh 
Armenian army, addresses military personnel, 10Dec2016.
The Armenian military could “paralyze Azerbaijan’s economy” with missile 
strikes if Baku provokes renewed hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh, Karabakh’s 
top military commander said on Tuesday.
“That is definitely part of our tactical plans,” Lieutenant General Levon 
Mnatsakanian told a news conference in Stepanakert. “In general, the art of 
warfare requires strikes on these facilities as well as military targets in 
case of a resumption of hostilities, which will damage the [enemy] economy and 
won’t allow appropriate supplies to the armed forces.”
“I see no need for that yet … But if there is a need to strike [those targets] 
we will not hesitate for a second,” he said.
Mnatsakanian implied that a big hydroelectric power station near the 
Azerbaijani town of Mingachevir is one such potential target. A recent accident 
there caused major power outages in Azerbaijan.
Other Armenian political and military leaders have said in the past that 
Azerbaijan’s strategic oil and gas installations could also be targeted in the 
event of another Karabakh war. The Armenian military can hit them with 
ballistic missiles, including state-of-the-art Iskander systems supplied by 
Russia in 2015 or 2016.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry was quick to react to Mnatsakanian’s warnings, 
dismissing them as “absurd” and saying that its missile defense systems 
adequately protect domestic economic and military facilities. In a statement 
cited by the APA news agency, the ministry also said Baku itself has 
sophisticated missiles capable of destroying key Armenian facilities.
“Before making such irresponsible statements, the enemy should think about the 
fact that in the territory of Armenia there are facilities the destruction of 
which would make it impossible to live there for centuries,” it warned in a 
clear reference to the Metsamor nuclear power plant.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev threatened military strikes against 
“strategic” Armenian targets during a June 26 military parade in Baku. The 
parade featured Belarusian-made Polonez and Israeli-made LORA missiles which 
were supplied to the Azerbaijani army in recent months. They reportedly have a 
firing range of 200 and 300 kilometers respectively.
Mnatsakanian said that the Armenian side has the capacity to shoot down these 
missiles. But he did not elaborate.
Ex-Sarkisian Bodyguard Pays Hefty Bail
        • Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - Vachagan Ghazarian empties his bag filled with cash after being 
arrested by the National Security Service in Yerevan, 25 June 2018.
A high-ranking officer who headed former President Serzh Sarkisian’s security 
detail for over two decades was released from pre-trial custody on Tuesday 
after posting a record-high bail of 1 billion drams ($2.1 million).
Armenia’s Court of Appeals on Friday ordered investigators to free Vachagan 
Ghazarian from custody on bail. Ghazarian, who is facing corruption charges, 
delayed the hefty payment and remained under arrest in the following days, 
however.
A spokeswoman for the Armenian Justice Ministry’s prison department told 
RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) that he has been set free after all 
pending investigation. The Special Investigation Service, a law-enforcement 
body conducting the probe, confirmed that he paid what appears to be the 
largest court bail in Armenia’s history.
Ghazarian stands accused of failing to declare to a state anti-corruption body 
at least $5 million in cash mostly held in his and his wife’s bank accounts. He 
was obliged to do that in his capacity as deputy head of a security agency 
providing bodyguards to the country’s leaders. He held that position until the 
end of May.
Ghazarian was arrested on June 25 and formally charged three days later with 
illegal enrichment and fraudulent asset disclosure. He is the first person in 
Armenia known to be prosecuted on such charges.
Ghazarian apparently denied the charges when he appeared before a district 
court in Yerevan on June 28.
Armenian Lawmaker Faces Renewed Tax Probe
        • Sargis Harutyunyan
Armenia - Parliament deputy Mihran Poghosian at a session of the National 
Assembly in Yerevan, 19 May 2017.
Armenian tax authorities have launched a fresh investigation into companies 
that are thought to be controlled by a controversial parliamentarian affiliated 
with former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK).
The largest of those companies, Katrin Group, has long enjoyed a virtual 
monopoly on imports of bananas to Armenia. It was founded by Mihran Poghosian, 
a former head of an Armenian state body enforcing court rulings. He was elected 
to the parliament on the HHK ticket last year.
Shortly after mass protests swept Sarkisian from power in April, the State 
Revenue Committee (SRC) launched a tax evasion inquiry into Katrin Group and 
three other firms linked to it. They promptly admitted failing to pay a total 
of 600 million drams ($1.2 million) in taxes, leading the SRC to close the 
criminal case.
The SRC announced on Tuesday that it has reopened the probe after discovering 
evidence of greater tax evasion on the part of the four business entities. All 
of them will now undergo fresh and “complex” audits, the national tax and 
customs service said in a statement.
A deputy head of the SRC, Rustam Badasian, declined to speculate about the 
amount of further unpaid taxes suspected by SRC investigators. “This is what 
the new audits will be conducted for,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian service 
(Azatutyun.am). Poghosian could be summoned to the SRC for questioning, added 
Badasian.
Poghosian did not answer phone calls and could not be reached for comment. 
Independent media outlets have for years accused him of having extensive 
business interests thanks to his government position and connections. He has 
denied that.
Poghosian, 42, resigned as head of the State Service for the Mandatory 
Execution of Judicial Acts in April 2016 shortly after it emerged that he 
controls three shadowy companies registered in Panama. The Special 
Investigation Service (SIS) launched at the time a criminal investigation into 
the revelation made by the Hetq.am publication. The latter cited leaked 
documents known as the Panama Papers.
The SIS said in January 2017 that it will not press criminal charges against 
Poghosian because it has found no evidence of his involvement in “illegal 
entrepreneurial activity.” Shortly afterwards, the ruling HHK nominated him as 
a candidate for parliamentary elections held in April 2017.
The current head of the SRC, Davit Ananian, promised a tough crackdown on 
companies and individuals underreporting their earnings when he was appointed 
to run the government agency in late May. The SRC claims to have recovered more 
than 20 billion drams ($42 million) of unpaid taxes from 73 companies since 
then.
Press Review
“Zhoghovurd” notes that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian spoke on Monday by phone one week after a Russian 
military exercise in an Armenian village which was strongly criticized by 
Pashinian. The latter also said last week that Moscow is in a position to 
prevent another war in Karabakh. “It is evident that Putin and Pashinian also 
touched upon these topics,” speculates the paper. It says that Moscow is not 
accustomed to dealing with a legitimate and defiant Armenian government.
“Zhamanak” hails a stern warning that was issued by Armenian Defense Minister 
Davit Tonoyan to Azerbaijan. The paper says he was right to say that Baku will 
no longer have a “monopoly” on starting hostilities in Karabakh. This will only 
contribute to peace and stability in the region, it says.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” blasts the Armenian mining industry, saying that it has 
been the number one of source of “plunder” in the country. The paper says that 
Armenia has lost billions of dollars as a result of that, not to mention damage 
inflicted on its environment. “For many years, former government officials 
thought not about maximizing state revenue and minimizing environmental damage 
but about what they should to pocket as much money as possible for their 
personal budgets,” it says.
“Hraparak” says that the absence of government orders issued to courts alone 
will not guarantee judicial independence in Armenia. “Judges are scared and 
dependent on anything but the law,” says the paper. “They can face disciplinary 
proceedings at any moment on the basis of any slipup. The get low salaries: 
500,000 drams (over $1,000) is not enough for complete independence.”
(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