Author: Jane Topchian

Erdoğan vows to keep Armenian border closed during Azerbaijan visit

Jane Topchian
AHVAL
Sept 15 2018
Erdoğan vows to keep Armenian border closed during Azerbaijan visit

2018-09-15

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Eroğan said that Turkey would continue to keep its border to with neighbour Armenia closed in the absence of a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue during his visit to Azerbaijan on Saturday, independent news site Diken reported.

Nagorno-Karabakh, which broke away from Azerbaijan in 1991 with Armenian military support, is the subject of ongoing dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

“Those who cannot explain what happened in Khojaly 26 years ago, the massacre in Upper Karabakh, and declare the killers heroes, should not give Turkey any kind of history lesson,” Erdoğan said, in an apparent reference to Armenia during an event marking the 100th anniversary of the liberation of Baku by the Caucasian Islamic Army.

The targeting of Azerbaijanis in the Khojaly massacre in 1992, during which 161 Azerbaijani civilians were killed by Armenian armed forces, and the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute led to the breakdown of relations between Armenia and Turkey in the early 1990s, with Turkey closing its border to Armenia in a show of support for Azerbaijan in 1993.

Russian specialists visit U.S. funded Armenian bio-laboratories

Jane Topchian
Aysor, Armenia
Sept 10 2018
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Russian specialists visited the bio-laboratories created in Armenia with U.S. investments.

“10-15 days ago with my assignment Russian specialists were allowed to enter the laboratories. These laboratories have become available after I have become country’s PM,” Pashinyan told Russian Kommersant.

He said the laboratories are under full control of Armenian authorities.

“The Russian specialists got convinced that there is nothing terrible ongoing there. These are high-quality laboratories and can by no means be used against Russia. We invite Russian specialists and are ready to discuss the joint usage of these laboratories,” he noted.

Tonoyan announced Armenia’s intention to purchase multifunctional aviation

Jane Topchian
Arminfo, Armenia
Aug 28 2018
Tonoyan announced Armenia’s intention to purchase multifunctional aviation

Yerevan August 28

Marianna Mkrtchyan. The armed forces of Armenia, possessing clearly expressed ground forces, hoped for air superiority and air defense only in the air defense and missile systems. This August 28, speaking with a lecture before the participants of the upcoming Shant-2010 exercises, said Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan.

Noting the importance of steps to equip the army, modernize the management system and strengthen the fighting efficiency of personnel, Tonoyan assured that now work is in progress to update the armament projects, within which it is planned to purchase multipurpose aircraft. “To this day, the Armenian Armed Forces had clearly defined ground forces, which in the struggle for air superiority hoped only for air defense and land-based missile systems, but times have changed.” To ensure the VS greater maneuverability, it is necessary to have fighter-bomber aircraft, since no missile system will not replace the use of these opportunities in terms of flexibility and endurance, “said the head of the Armenian Defense Ministry.

Tonoyan presented his vision of the development of the defense sphere, priorities. Referring to the prerequisites for the development of the Armed Forces, the minister noted the importance of constant training, reforming and turning the army into a more maneuverable reality. “Horizontal communication, without bureaucratic delays, should become the norm, not an exception.We will remove the artificial barriers that interfere or seriously complicate the interaction, excluding the so-called” herd “method of work when individual links advance their agenda without knowing the general idea that unites them, “the minister said.

Tonoyan also stressed the modernization of the advanced by equipping it with modern technical means, as well as improving the efficiency of combat missions. According to the Minister, thanks to the works carried out in the second half of 2016 and in 2017, the equipment of advanced video surveillance equipment has dramatically changed, which has made it possible to significantly reduce the enemy’s capabilities to carry out a sudden diversionary penetration. According to him, in the process is a project to create an integrated system for detecting the enemy, making decisions, defeating the enemy’s fire and engineering facilities, and assessing the damage.

Tonoyan, among the priority tasks facing the Armed Forces, also highlighted the process to improve the methods of carrying out combat duty. “Our goal is to significantly shorten the time of finding personnel under the enemy’s sights, to increase the level of protection and stability, and to increase the likelihood of destroying enemy subversive groups,” the head of the defense department said.

Nine citizens of Armenia injured in road accident in Georgia

Jane Topchian
ARKA, Armenia
Aug 20 2018

YEREVAN, August 20. /ARKA/. Nine citizens of Armenia, including a child, received injuries in a road accident in the early hours of Monday in Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia.

According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia, the accident occurred at 05:14 when a Mercedes minivan collided with another Mercedes car, steered by Oleg Omarov, a citizen of Georgia.

The Armenian citizens were taken to various hospitals in Tbilisi. The condition of two of them is said to be serious. -0-


Armenia’s ex-president says charges against him are politically motivated

Jane Topchian
ARKA, Armenia
Aug 17 2018

YEREVAN, August 17, /ARKA/. Armenia’s former president Robert Kocharyan announced his return to active politics on Thursday saying in an interview with the Yerkir Media TV channel that the charges brought against him were politically motivated.

Kocharyan was released from pre-trial custody on August 13 after being accused of violating  Armenia constitutional order in March 2008, when in a post-election standoff eight civilians and two police officers were killed. The polls were declared to have been won by then prime minister Serzh Sargsyan. The decision angered the opposition, led by the first Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who set off 10 days of nonstop protests that led to the crackdown on March 1, in which 10 people were killed and more than 200 injured.

Kocharyan  was released from custody on August 13 after Armenia’s Court of Appeals ruled that he could not be prosecuted for the post-election violence.  The ruling was backed by Article 140 of the Armenian Constitution, which says that during the term of his or her powers and thereafter, the President of the Republic may not be prosecuted and subjected to liability for actions deriving from his or her status.

 The ruling of the Court of Appeals was denounced by the Special Investigative Service, which described it as illegal, saying that the Court of Appeals “overstepped the bounds of its authority.”  It said also that it will ask the Prosecutor General to  appeal the decision at  the Court of Cassation. 

In the interview Kocharyan said he could be arrested again, but argued that the case against him, if taken to the European Court of Human Rights, would  clear him of any wrongdoing.

Kocharyan also accused the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of having no economic strategy, saying that its anti-corruption campaign can not replace economic management of the country
“I have seen no action or a document which would tell us what this government is going to do to develop  the economy,’ he said.

Kocharian also claimed that during his tenure in power, there was not a clearly structured corruption pyramid, otherwise it would not have been possible to demonstrate high rates of economic growth.
“Fuel was supplied by 16-17 companies. Supplies of gas and electricity generation are natural monopolies, and nothing can be done about it. In other sectors, monopolies never existed, and no one had monopoly rights,” he said. -0-


168: Main side of the conflict cannot be withdrawn or put aside from negotiation table – Artsakh Parliament Speaker

Jane Topchian
| 10:23 | August 16 2018
Categories
Artsakh
Region

The fact that the Republic of Artsakh is not participating in the negotiations shows that Azerbaijan is not ready for the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Ashot Ghoulyan – Speaker of the Parliament of Artsakh, told Armenpress.

“Unfortunately, now are not so good times in the negotiation process. We have a deadlock situation, and it’s very difficult to predict with what additional impulses the negotiation process can be promoted. We have two major problems, one of which is deep – the format in the negotiation process has long been violated. After 1997-1998 the negotiation format is distorted, in other words the Republic of Artsakh is not taking part in the negotiations. After that the negotiations have completely changed their overall structure, and if before that the negotiations were taking place through an active dialogue, today everything has changed, they have shifted to a shuttle diplomacy, in other words, mediators are visiting all sides”, he said.

He also mentioned another major problem which undermines the negotiation process, it is the following: every time Azerbaijan tries to think of some mechanisms where the conflict is viewed as an Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. “This is the reason that Azerbaijan is trying to launch escalation of the conflict in different sections of the border with Armenia. These are measures to justify the Azerbaijani stereotype through which they are trying to show that it’s an Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. I think there is no other option than the trilateral meeting since the negotiation process over the NK conflict has long been officially approved by documents, the highest one is the OSCE Budapest summit”, the Artsakh Parliament Speaker said.

He assured that there are documents, and according to them, the participation of the Republic of Artsakh to the negotiation process is undeniable. According to them, it will be clear from the Azerbaijani response to Artsakh’s participation in the negotiations whether they want a real settlement or have put a task to delay the conflict settlement. “The main side of the conflict cannot be withdrawn or put aside from the negotiation table”, Ashot Ghoulyan said.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a press conference in Artsakh in May stated that the most important component for the NK conflict settlement are the right format negotiations, and Artsakh must definitely participate in them.

Vazgen Manukyan: Armenia has become a theater of one actor, there are no counterbalances to power in the country, opposition and press

Jane Topchian
Arminfo, Armenia
Vazgen Manukyan: Armenia has become a theater of one actor, there are no counterbalances to power in the country, opposition and press

Yerevan July 30

Naira Badalyan. The chairman of the National Democratic Union party, Vazgen Manukyan, does not agree with the accusations brought against Armenia’s second president Robert Kocharyan and the CSTO secretary general Yury Khachaturov, and considers them unfounded. This was reported in his statement on the investigation of the March 1 case and the arrest of the second Armenian President Robert Kocharyan.

As Vazgen Manukyan says in his statement, he is worried that Armenia has turned into “one actor’s theater”, there are no counterbalances to the authorities, opposition, and the press in the country. “Our party and personally I, in the decade of Robert Kocharyan’s presidency, were in tough opposition, accused the authorities in many respects, opposed many decisions, but I do not agree and consider the charges brought against Robert Kocharyan and Yuri Khachaturov unreasonable.

Groundless accusations have been made against people who played an invaluable role in the largest military victory of our people in recent centuries, “he said.

Analyzing the events of March 1, 2008, comparing them with the presidential elections of 1996 and 2003, Manukyan concludes that the evidence base of the opposition on the falsifications during the elections in 2008 was very weak. In the meantime, Levon Ter-Petrosyan announced his victory and “tried by all means to implement his constitutional demand,” which provoked discontent among the people, who were already unhappy with the authorities and the permanent rallies began, and the authorities tried to disperse them.

This situation, according to Vazgen Manukyan, is standard for our country, but it unexpectedly went into an unconventional one and got out of control. There were casualties on both sides, both among the demonstrators and among the enforcers. In this situation, he believes, either it is necessary to evaluate both sides, or to recognize that there is a third party that is trying to aggravate the situation. “We need to find out who started shooting first who gave the order and, I think, perhaps, many unexpected facts will come to light,” he wrote. At the same time, he notes the people’s desire to find out the truth, but advises to do it legally – not pursuing political goals and not implementing vendetta. Vazgen Manukyan expresses his fears that Armenia has become a theater of one actor, there are no counterbalances to the authorities, opposition, and the press in the country. “It seems that everyone is frightened and waiting … This road leads us to the 37th year, to war and isolation in the international arena,” he concluded.

On July 28 the first instance court of Shengavit district of Yerevan granted the request of the Special Investigation Service of Armenia about the election of arrest as a preventive measure against the second President Robert Kocharyan for a period of 2 months for the overthrow of the constitutional order in the criminal case on dispersal protest actions on March 1, 2008.


Georgian PM dismisses 5 governors, including the head of Samtskhe-Javakheti region

Jane Topchian
Panorama, Armenia

The governor of Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia Kakha Samkharadze was dismissed from the post, according to the decision by the country’s Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze. As Georgia Today reported, apart from Samkharadze, four other governors were relieved of duties.

As stated by Bakhtadze, this decision to relieve some governors from their posts is connected with the creation of a new structure of regional administration headed by former Minister for Refugees Sozar Subari.

According to him, this structure will allow the government to have a direct connection with the population of the regions and to implement regional projects efficiently.

To note, Bakhtadze reshuffled the Cabinet earlier this month and reduced the number of 14 ministries to 11. He also appointed three new ministers.