Author: Jack Hunanian

                                        Tuesday, 

Armenian Minister Seeks To Allay Concerns Over ‘Transitional Justice’

        • Naira Bulghadarian

Armenia - A court building in Yerevan, 27 July 2018.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s plans to set up “bodies of transitional 
justice” do not run counter to Armenia’s constitution or threaten judicial 
independence, Justice Minister Artak Zeynalian insisted on Tuesday.

Pashinian made a case for such bodies when he lambasted Armenian judges at a 
rally held in Yerevan on Friday. He said they may be necessary because “many 
corrupt figures of our judicial system have still not grasped the popular 
revolution” that brought him to power in May.

Pashinian did not specify what concrete forms “transitional justice” in the 
country could take. Nor did he name any of the judges who he said are still 
taking “orders from representatives of the former corrupt authorities.” “Come 
to your senses and don’t mess with the people,” he warned them.

The remarks prompted serious concern from political allies of former President 
Serzh Sarkisian and other critics. Some of them accused Pashinian of seeking to 
gain control over courts through new and unconstitutional bodies. Parliament 
speaker Ara Babloyan suggested on Monday that the premier hinted at “illegal” 
retroactive enforcement of new and punitive laws under the guise of 
“transitional justice.”

Zeynalian dismissed those concerns, saying that the possible introduction of 
new legal mechanisms would not contradict the Armenian constitutional or 
international conventions signed by Armenia.

“No courts will be dissolved and no courts of courts will be set up,” he told a 
news conference. “Our constitution and international obligations will not be 
breached. No special courts will be created. Everything will be legal and aimed 
at restoring human rights.”

The minister too did not explain what exactly “transitional justice” could mean 
in practice in Armenia. He said only that the government is looking into the 
experience of Georgia and other nations that have applied that concept. “We 
will also learn from their mistakes,” he said.

The idea of transitional justice is meant to address large-scale or systematic 
human rights violations in countries emerging from periods of conflict and 
repression. It involves a range of judicial and non-judicial measures, 
including criminal prosecutions, truth commissions, and reparation programs.

Armenian courts have long been known for their lack of independence from the 
government and the law-enforcement apparatus. In the last three months, some of 
them have made decisions strongly criticized by Pashinian and his allies.




Tsarukian’s Bodyguard Freed

        • Naira Bulghadarian

Armenia - Businessman Gagik Tsarukian (R) and his chief bodyguard Eduard 
Babayan (L) take part in an anti-government demonstration in Yerevan, 24 
October 2014.

The chief bodyguard of Gagik Tsarukian, an influential Armenian businessman and 
political figure, was released on bail on Tuesday more than one month after 
being arrested on assault charges.

Eduard Babayan was taken into custody on July 3 hours after a 50-year-old man 
was hospitalized with serious injuries. The latter claimed to have been beaten 
up at a compound of Armenia’s National Olympic Committee headed by Tsarukian. 
He said he was hit by Tsarukian before being repeatedly kicked and punched by 
Babayan and another person.

Both the tycoon and Babayan strongly denied assaulting the man. The burly 
bodyguard was prosecuted even though the alleged victim subsequently retracted 
his incriminating testimony and claimed that he simply stumbled and fell down.

Babayan’s lawyer, Armen Melkonian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that a court 
in Yerevan agreed to free his client pending investigation after he pledged to 
post bail worth 20 million drams ($41,500).

Armenian media have repeatedly implicated Tsarukian’s bodyguards and Babayan in 
particular in violence, including against opponents of the country’s previous 
governments, in the past. The tycoon always denied those claims.

A political force led by Tsarukian boasts the second largest group in the 
Armenian parliament. It also has five ministerial portfolios in Armenia’s 
current government formed in May.




Armenia To Manufacture Advanced Kalashnikov Rifles


Russia -- A participant fires a Kalashnikov AK-12 assault rifle at the 
Army-2015 international military-technical forum in Kubinka, outside Moscow, 
June 17, 2015

An Armenian company plans to manufacture the latest models of Russia’s 
world-famous Kalashnikov assault rifles, the Defense Ministry in Yerevan 
announced on Tuesday.

The ministry spokesman, Artsrun Hovannisian, said the head of the little-known 
company, Royalsys Engineering, signed in Moscow a manufacturing license 
contract with a senior executive of Kalashnikov Concern, the state-owned small 
arms manufacturer.

Hovannisian reported “the extremely important news” on his Facebook page, 
saying that the deal paves the way for the production in Armenia of 
Kalashnikov’s AK-12 and AK-15 models which Russia’s Armed Forces adopted as 
their main service rifles earlier this year. He said nothing about production 
volumes and dates.

Photographs posted by Hovannisian showed Armenian Defense Minister Davit 
Tonoyan attending the signing ceremony.


Russia - Top executives of the Armenian company Royalsys Engineering and 
Russia's Kalashnikov Concern sign an agreement in Moscow, .

Kalashnikov’s older AK-74 rifles and PK machine guns are currently the 
principle light weapons of the Armenian army. The deal reported by Hovannisian 
suggests that the Armenian Defense Ministry may be planning to gradually 
replace AK-74s with the more advanced AK-12 and AK-15 versions designed in 2011.

Kalashnikov Concern opened an official representation in Yerevan in 2014 at a 
ceremony attended by then Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian. The latter noted at 
the time that Russian-Armenian agreements call for the creation of joint 
defense ventures. One of them allows Armenian and Russian defense companies to 
supply each other with equipment, assembly parts and other materials needed for 
the production, modernization and repair of various weapons.

Tonoyan flew to Moscow on Monday to attend the opening ceremonies of an 
international defense exhibition and security conference organized by the 
Russian military. He held on Tuesday separate meetings with top executives with 
Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state-run arms exporter, and the Almaz-Antey defense 
corporation.

Almaz-Antey produces, among other things, surface-to-surface missiles and 
sophisticated S-400 air-defense systems. According to the Defense Ministry, 
Tonoyan told the company’s deputy executive director, Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, that 
some of its products are of interest to Armenia. No further details were 
reported.




Press Review



“Zhoghovurd” dismisses Monday’s statement by parliament speaker Ara Babloyan 
that accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian of stifling dissent and 
jeopardizing the constitutional order in Armenia. The paper says that Babloyan 
and other representatives of the country’s former leadership have no moral 
right to voice such complaints because they were part of a regime that had for 
years restricted civil liberties. It claims that Babloyan did not protest when 
Serzh Sarkisian “humiliated” the National Assembly.

“The public’s expectations from the government mainly relate to economic 
development and that is natural,” writes “Haykakan Zhamanak.” “Some people 
constantly criticize the government for having no clear economic program. In 
fact, the government’s program is very clear and obvious to everyone at this 
stage. In the past 100 days the government has been busy mainly eliminating 
obstacles to economic growth. Namely, fighting corruption, favoritism and 
oligopolies. The achievements of the 100 days are obvious. This will be 
followed by the next phase when the business will start making large-scale 
investments in our economy. That should lead to the kind of economic 
development which will boost living standards.”

“Hraparak” takes a more critical look at the first results of Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian’s tenure. “It is not encouraging that 100 days after taking 
office the government regards the [former ruling] HHK as a target and considers 
the fight against ‘counterrevolutionaries’ to be its mission,” explains the 
paper. When the entire public becomes the government’s target we may take note 
of [government] steps towards progress and see light in the tunnel.”

In an interview with “Aravot,” Igor Nazaruk, Belarus’s ambassador to Armenia, 
defends his country’s arms supplies to Azerbaijan. Nazaruk says that 
Azerbaijani-Belarusian defense contracts do not violate any international 
conventions.

(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

                        GROONG's Calendar of events
                        (All times local to events)

                =========================================
What:           Help Armenia Face the Challenges of Alzheimer's Conference
When:           Oct 26 2018 9am
Where:          Yerevan State Medical University
                Koryun St 2, Yerevan Armenian
Misc:           Registration: 9am - 10am | Conference: 10am - 4pm
                As Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia become an increased
                concern, we are taking steps to help Armenia face them. Mark
                your calendars for this very important conference and help
                raise the level of care through awareness and education.
                Speakers include:
                Professor Mikhayil Aghajanov, MD, Chairman of Biochemistry,
                Yerevan State Medical University
                Topic: Understanding Alzheimer's Disease
                Professor Hovhannes M. Manvelyan, MD, Ph.D.
                Chair of Neurology Department, YSMU
                Topic: The Problem of Dementia in Armenia
                Dr. Jane L. Mahakian, Ph.D. President, Alzheimer's Care Armenia
                Topic: Memory Loss: What's Normal and What's Not
                Victor Mazmanian
                Senior Director of Faith Outreach, Silverado Mind Heart Soul 
Ministry
                Topic: Caregiving and Hope
Online Contact: [email protected]
Tel:            Dr. Jane Mahakian (949) 212-4105
Web:            
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.silverado.com_Armenia&d=DwIB-g&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=_FZdT3RZc1Xt4yBPHJCfgzkIpzvgbBj9ARzK93AONKM&s=e3WSXE81qVqknj8oiMTptbwtp6BlJUEuLFZKtdjsozs&e=

                =========================================
What:           "Toward Sis with an Eyewitness View"
                a lecture is given by Bishop Torkom Donoyan
When:           Aug 19 2018 1pm
Following       Church Divine Liturgy which starts at 10:30am
Where:          Armenian Apostolic Church of Crescenta Valley
                Western Prelacy's Hall, 6252 Honolulu Ave., La Crescenta, CA
Misc:           By the blessing and ordination of His Holiness Catholicos Aram 
I,
                on August 22, 2015, four members of the Holy See of Cilicia
                Brotherhood departed on a two-day visit to Sis, once the seat
                of the Cilician Catholicosate and kingdom. During the historic
                mission which was initiated and organized by His Holiness,
                through the eyes of his spiritual children the Pontiff saw the
                dilapidated Catholicosate destroyed by the genocidal Turks, the
                fortress, the capital city. In the ruins of the Catholicosate
                and the fortress the clergymen offered prayers for the souls of
                the Catholicoi who served in Sis, for Cilician rulers, and for
                the souls of all of our nation's martyrs. The Pontiff's moving
                and inspirational message, titled "Greetings from the historic
                Sis Catholicosate," was read by H.G. Bishop Torkom Donoyan.
                Through the eyes of an eyewitness, Bishop Torkom will impart
                the experiences, sentiments, discretion, tears, and triumphs
                associated with the mission which was revealed to the
                clergymen mere hours prior to their departure.
                The event is free to the public.
Online Contact: [email protected]
Tel:            818-244-9645

***************************************************************************

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