Author: Jhanna Virabian

                        Armenian News's Calendar of events
                        (All times local to events)
                =========================================
What:           Event dedicated to "Iraqi Armenian Educational Institutions"
When:           May 24 2019 4:30pm
Where:          St. Gregory Armenian Catholic Cathedral's Hall
                1510 E. Mountain St. Glendale, CA 91207
Misc:           With a high sense of gratitude to our Iraqi national Schools
                and educators, we have organized an event dedicated to "Iraqi
                Armenian Educational Institutions" under sponsorship of the
                Hamazkayin USA Western Region.
                Participating in the event are our youth with recited poem, who
                had received their Armenian education in Iraq, Singers, the
                screening of Iraqi Armenian Schools history video, former
                principals and teachers eyewitness testimony video, and remark
                of the Hamazkayin Board member.
                The event is free of charge to the public. There will be a
                reception at the end of the program.
Tel:            818-244-9639
                =========================================
What:           "Armenian Genocide. From the Bundestag resolution to the 
Implementation
                in Lower Saxony". Jointly organized by Hannover Historical 
Museum,
                Hannover Municipal Remembrance Culture, the German-Armenian 
Society
                and the Ada and Theodor-Lessing Adult Education Center Hannover
When:           Jun 6 2019 6:30pm
Where:          Adult Education Center (Volkshochschule) Hannover,
                Burgstrasse 4, 30159 Hannover, Germany
Misc:           On 2 June 2016, the German Bundestag passed the resolution
                "Remembrance and Memory of the Genocide of the Armenians and
                other Christian Minorities in 1915 and 1916".
                It says:
                "Today, school, university and political education in Germany
                has the task of picking up and communicating to future
                generations the study of the expulsion and annihilation of
                Armenians as part of the process of revising the history of
                ethnic conflicts in the 20th century. In particular, the
                federal states have an important role to play. "
                Some federal states have complied with this request, but others
                have not. With their joint event "Armenian Genocide. From the
                Bundestag Resolution to the Implementation in Lower Saxony ",
                the Hannover Historical Museum, Hannover Municipal Remembrance
                Culture, the German-Armenian Society and the Ada and
                Theodor-Lessing Adult Education Center Hannover on Thursday,
                June 6, 2019, 6:30pm will thematize above all the state of
                affairs in Lower Saxony.
Online Contact: [email protected]
Web:            
                =========================================
What:           "Urban Transformation of Yerevan: The Journey from a Provincial
                Village to a Capital City"
                a lecture by Architects Dr. Marco Brambilla & Dr. Andreh Marouti
When:           Jun 9 2019 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:           This presentation will cover the history of Yerevan and its
                transformation from a prehistoric fortress, through its
                dominance by the Persians, Ottomans, Tsarist and Communist
                Russia, its garden city master plan and its final image of a
                modern city today.
                Dr. Marco G. Brambilla is a practicing architect and an
                architectural historian specializing in the history of Islamic
                and Armenian architecture. He has taught and lectured
                extensively in major schools of architecture worldwide. As part
                of this research program, a major publication is underway
                regarding the art and the culture of Armenians in various
                regions of Iran.
                Dr. Andreh Marouti is a practicing architect with PhD in
                Preservation of Architectural Heritages from Politecnico di
                Milano. In his PhD dissertation, he reconstructs the image of
                Yerevan and Gyumri during the 19th century through the lens of
                European travelers and highlight the preservation status of
                their major monuments.
                The event is free of charge to the public
Tel:            818-244-9639
                =========================================
What:           Armenian Economic Association 2019 Annual Meetings
When:           Jun 27 2019 10am
                to Jun 29 2019 7pm
Where:          Armenian State University of Economics, 
                the Armenian National Agrarian University, and the American
                University of Armenia
Misc:           Scholars, researchers, and graduate students are invited to
                present their research in all areas of economics and finance. 
                No cost to present or attend.
Online Contact: [email protected]
Web:            
***************************************************************************
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                                        Friday, 
Court Rejects Kocharian’s Immunity Claim
Armenia -- Former President Robert Kocharian.
A court in Yerevan on Friday dismissed former President Robert Kocharian’s 
claim that Armenia’s constitution gives him immunity from prosecution on coup 
charges strongly denied by him.
An article of the constitution stipulates: “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.”
Kocharian’s lawyers cited this provision when they asked the district court 
last month to free the ex-president and throw out the charges stemming from the 
2008 post-election violence in Yerevan.
One of the lawyers, Hovannes Khudoyan, said during a March 26 court hearing 
that investigators have still not explained why they believe the clause does 
not apply to the high-profile criminal case. Khudoyan argued that Armenia’s 
Court of Appeals upheld his client’s immunity from prosecution when it ordered 
his release from pre-trial custody in August.
Acting on prosecutors’ appeal, the higher Court of Cassation overturned that 
ruling in November, however, ordering the Court of Appeals to examine the case 
anew. The latter allowed law-enforcement authorities to press charges against 
Kocharian and again arrest him on December 7.
Siding with the prosecutors, the district court ruled that the man who ruled 
Armenia from 1998-2008 cannot be protected from prosecution. It did not 
immediately publicize its arguments in favor of that ruling.
On Thursday, the Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s March 15 decision to 
extend Kocharian’s pre-trial arrested by two months. The ex-president’s lawyers 
denounced the decision, saying that it was dictated by the Special 
Investigative Service (SIS), a law-enforcement body conducting the long-running 
inquiry into the 2008 violence.
Kocharian as well as three retired army generals are accused of overthrowing 
the constitutional order in the wake of a disputed presidential election held 
in February 2008, less than two months before he completed his second and final 
presidential term. The SIS says that they illegally used the armed forces 
against opposition supporters who demonstrated against alleged electoral fraud.
Eight protesters and two police servicemen were killed in street clashes that 
broke out late on March 1, 2008. Kocharian declared a state of emergency in the 
Armenian capital on that night.
All four men deny the charges. Kocharian, who was also charged with bribery 
last month, has accused the current authorities and Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian in particular of waging a political “vendetta” against him. 
Pashinian, who was one of the main opposition speakers during the 
February-March 2008 protests, has dismissed the ex-president’s claims.
Pashinian Ally Denies Blaming Russia For Armenian Parliament Killings
        • Susan Badalian
Armenia - Andranik Kocharian, the chairman of the parliamentary committee on 
defense and security, speaks to RFE/RL in Yerevan, January 30, 2019.
A senior lawmaker representing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s My Step 
alliance strongly denied on Friday media reports which quoted him as accusing 
Russia of masterminding the deadly 1999 attack on Armenia’s parliament.
According to some online media outlets, Andranik Kocharian, the current 
chairman of a parliament committee on defense and security, alleged recently 
that Armenian investigators have established that President Vladimir Putin had 
personally ordered Russian security services to organize the attack.
Five gunmen led by a former journalist, Nairi Hunanian, burst into the National 
Assembly and sprayed it with bullets on October 27, 1999. Then Prime Minister 
Vazgen Sarkisian, parliament speaker Karen Demirchian and six other officials 
were killed in the shooting spree that thrust Armenia’s government into turmoil.
The gunmen accused the government of corruption and misrule and demanded regime 
change. They surrendered to police after overnight negotiations with then 
President Robert Kocharian (no relation to Andranik). They were subsequently 
tried and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Andranik Kocharian, who has long been at loggerheads with the former president, 
denounced the claims attributed to him as “false” and “nonsensical.”
“State structures could never say such nonsensical things because neither the 
parliament attack inquiry is over nor can anyone make such claims based on 
materials of the investigation,” he said. “There are simply no grounds for 
anyone to make such nonsensical conclusions,” he added.
Kocharian said the media reports were part of an anti-government “provocation” 
aimed at undermining Russian-Armenian relations. He expressed confidence that 
Moscow did not take them seriously.
Kocharian singled out 7or.am, a news website critical of Pashinian’s government 
and sympathetic to the arrested ex-president, as the primary source of the 
“disinformation.” He said law-enforcement authorities must launch an 
investigation if the website fails to produce evidence of his alleged statement.
The 7or.am editor, Aregnaz Manukian, said that her publication was not the 
first to claim that Kocharian pointed the finger at Putin. “We picked up the 
story on the Internet, and since there was no reaction to it for a long time, 
we decided to publish it,” Manukian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “Andranik 
Kocharian should have refuted it earlier.”
Hunanian insisted throughout his marathon trial that he himself had decided to 
storm the parliament without anybody's orders. But many in Armenia still 
believe that the ringleader and his accomplices had powerful sponsors outside 
the parliament building.
Pashinian’s PACE Speech Draws Mixed Opposition Reaction
        • Astghik Bedevian
FRANCE -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian attends a debate at the 
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, 
An Armenian opposition leader on Friday praised Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian’s latest remarks on Nagorno-Karabakh but disputed his claim that 
Armenia has become a full-fledged democracy since last year’s “velvet 
revolution.”
“Of course, there were many interesting and good points,” Gevorg Gorgisian of 
the Bright Armenia Party (LHK) said, commenting on Pashinian’s speech delivered 
in the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) on Thursday. “In 
particular, with regard to the Karabakh issue, on human rights in Karabakh and 
the conflict’s resolution and peace.”
“But there were also some flaws such as [Pashinian’s claims about] the 
establishment of democracy, economic miracle, reforms which have only just 
begun, a process where we see numerous shortcomings,” Gorgisian told RFE/RL’s 
Armenian service (Azatuyun.am).
“Armenia is today unequivocally a democratic country with absolute freedom of 
expression and freedom of assembly,” Pashinian declared on the PACE floor. He 
said his government has eliminated “systemic corruption,” broken up economic 
monopolies and created “prerequisites for everyone’s equality before the law” 
since taking office less than a year ago.
Gorgisian countered that the civil liberties cited by Pashinian are necessary 
but not sufficient for a democratic political system which he said also 
requires an effective system of checks and balances. He said the prime minister 
is reluctant to curb sweeping executive powers inherited from the country’s 
former leader, Serzh Sarkisian.
Sergey Bagratian, a senior lawmaker representing the opposition Prosperous 
Armenia Party (BHK), also hailed parts of Pashinian’s speech that related to 
the Karabakh conflict. In particular, he said, Pashinian was right to make a 
case for international recognition of the Karabakh Armenians’ right to 
self-determination.
While stressing the importance of his “constructive and positive dialogue” with 
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the Armenian premier called for direct 
contacts between the two societies. He rebuked the PACE for having “paid no 
attention whatsoever to supporting non-governmental organizations operating in 
Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Pashinian also criticized pro-Azerbaijani resolutions on Karabakh adopted by 
the PACE in the past. He charged that one of those resolutions “became a 
prelude” to offensive military operations launched by Azerbaijan in April 2016.
Press Review
“Zhoghovurd” reports that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said that the Council 
of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) is also responsible for the April 
2016 war in Nagorno-Karabakh when he gave a speech in the Strasbourg-based body 
on Thursday. He referred to a pro-Azerbaijani resolution adopted by the PACE in 
January 2016.
“Hraparak” looks at questions which PACE members asked Pashinian after his 
speech. Most of them were about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and ongoing 
Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations. “Another circle of questions related to 
criminal investigations, especially the ones launched against politicians,” 
writes the paper. “And when they asked [Pashinian] how Armenia’s government is 
fighting against corruption and what results have been achieved Nikol Pashinian 
said the key to success is the government’s transparency and told the Europeans 
that just ten days ago a criminal case was opened against one of his close 
relatives, which shows that he and his entourage will not be corrupt.” Other 
questions involved concerns about LGTB rights in Armenia and the fact that 
Yerevan continues to vote against anti-Russian resolutions in the United 
Nations. “The questions make clear the vector of Europe’s [Armenia-related] 
interests,” concludes “Hraparak.”
Lragir.am reports that at his meeting with members of the Armenian community in 
Strasbourg held later on Thursday Pashinian was asked about a political scandal 
sparked by a transgender activist’s speech in the Armenian parliament. The 
person who asked the question was particularly concerned over former Gyumri 
Mayor Vartan Ghukasian’s calls for the expulsion of LGBT people from Armenia. 
Pashinian responded by recalling a 2007 attempt on Ghukasian’s life. This is 
construed by the online publication as the new authorities’ intention to solve 
that shooting incident whose masterminds have still not been identified and 
punished.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2019 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org