Author: Karapet Navasardian

                                        Friday, 
Pro-Pashinian Candidate In Yerevan Elections ‘Ready’ For Televised Debate
Armenia -- My Step Alliance candidate Hayk Marutian (in the center) is leading 
supporters on a campaign rally in Yerevan streets, 13Sep2018
For the first time in years a pro-establishment candidate running in a major 
election in Armenia has agreed to participate in a televised debate with his 
rivals.
Hayk Marutian, a popular actor and producer who is running for the office of 
Yerevan’s mayor in September 23 elections, said on Thursday that he supported 
the idea after RFE/RL’s Armenian Service offered to host such a debate.
Under Armenian election law, candidates are not required to participate in 
televised debates. No senior incumbent official or government-backed candidate 
has participated in such a debate since 2003 when then President Robert 
Kocharian clashed in a historic live show on television with his principal 
rival Stepan Demirchian ahead of a presidential run-off.
Marutian, who is a member of the Civil Contract party of Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian and leads the My Step alliance consisting of active participants of 
last spring’s street protests that brought Pashinian to power, believes that 
all candidates should participate in a televised debate. “This is a civilized 
option and we should do that. I am the first to say yes, I am ready, but on 
condition that all 12 [mayoral] candidates running in the current elections are 
present, all are given equal time and participate on equal terms,” he said.
Official campaigning in the elections to Yerevan’s Council of Elders kicked off 
on September 10 and will continue through September 21.
Residents of the Armenian capital will go to the polls on September 23 to elect 
the 65-member body according to party lists. The Council of Elders will then 
elect a new mayor of Yerevan. Under Armenian election law, if any of the 
political parties and alliances manages to gain more than 40 percent of the 
vote, the top candidate on its list will be elected mayor automatically.
Three of the political parties and blocs contesting the elections are also 
represented in the Pashinian government. These are the Prosperous Armenia Party 
of tycoon Gagik Tsarukian, which fielded lawmaker Naira Zohrabian as its 
mayoral candidate, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), 
whose list is topped by Mikael Manukian, and the Luys alliance led by Justice 
Minister Artak Zeynalian.
Among other major candidates running for mayor in the current elections are 
also former lawmaker Zaruhi Postanjian of the Yerkir Tsirani party and former 
foreign minister Raffi Hovannisian representing the Heritage party.
The former ruling Republican Party of Armenia is not participating in the 
current elections. Its senior member Taron Markarian resigned in July after 
serving as Yerevan mayor for seven years. The Council of Elders could not elect 
a new mayor, triggering early elections by popular vote.
The current election campaign in Yerevan is focused on a number of issues, 
including transportation, waste management, the improvement of city 
infrastructure, kindergartens and others.
Prime Minister Pashinian has vowed to ensure free, fair and democratic 
elections. Many analysts believe the Yerevan vote will become the first major 
test for the reformist leader and his political team head of early 
parliamentary elections expected at some time before next summer.
Operator Vows To Solve Waste-Disposal Crisis In Yerevan
Sanitek company director Nicholas El Tawil at a press conference in Yerevan, 14 
September, 2018
After months of criticism over poor garbage collection in Yerevan the city’s 
private operator has vowed to solve the issue shortly.
“In the next couple of days citizens will see that the waste management will be 
regulated,” Nicholas El Tawil, the director of the Lebanese-run Sanitek 
company, said at a press conference on Friday.
Residents of the Armenian capital held several protests in front of the Sanitek 
office in recent weeks, demanding that the company, which entered Yerevan in 
2014 and has worked as a monopolist in waste management since, do proper work 
to “clean up the mess” in the city.
Piles of garbage have been seen in virtually all districts of Yerevan as 
Sanitek garbage trucks did not show up for days to collect them.
Angered residents have complained about bad smell and poor sanitary conditions 
created in the city during the summer months because of the poor service 
offered by the private operator.
The problem of Sanitek’s poor waste disposal has repeatedly been raised by 
Armenian authorities lately. In recent weeks the Yerevan municipality imposed 
fines amounting to over $50,000 on the company and warned it about stricter 
sanctions ahead unless the situation improved.
In explaining the deterioration of its work Sanitek referred to the shortage of 
garbage trucks that it said frequently broke down because of bad roads leading 
to the landfill site. The company also claimed excessive damage to its trash 
cans caused by residents that increases overall costs for garbage collection.
Speaking at a press conference today Sanitek’s manager admitted that his 
company did not duly fulfill its obligations during the last three months. “But 
we haven’t run away from our responsibilities,” he added.
Earlier, the company said it had purchased some new garbage trucks that were on 
their way to Armenia.
Ahead of September 23 elections to Yerevan’s Council of Elders many of the 
political parties and blocs participating in the campaign promise to attract 
more waste management operators for the city.
In this view El Tawil said that any other investor or operator would still face 
the same problems. “We look forward to coordinate [our work] with the new 
municipality. We believe and hope that the new government will make a master 
plan for waste collection not only for Yerevan, but also for the entire 
country,” Sanitek’s representative said, denying that the company’s problems 
began after the resignation of former mayor Taron Markarian.
El Tawil said they will discuss with the city authorities the possibility of 
having an international company supervising Sanitek as a contractor. “Because 
waste management is a very complicated and delicate issue,” El Tawil concluded.
Two Armenian Children Allowed To Stay In Netherlands
NETHERLANDS -- Two Armenian teens, Howick (right), 13, and Lili, 12, pose in 
The Hague, August 13, 2018
Two Armenian children who went into hiding last week to avoid deportation from 
the Netherlands will continue to live in the country, an Armenian ombudsman 
confirmed on Friday.
Arman Tatoyan, according to his office, had a telephone conversation with Dutch 
Ombudsperson for children Margrite Kalverboer over the matter.
The report quoted Kalverboer as saying that the decision to allow Lili and 
Howick to stay was taken in the children’s best interest.
Dutch Justice Ministry spokesman Maarten Molenbeek said on September 8 that the 
two minors went missing from the foster home where they were staying during the 
night, hours after an Amsterdam court rejected their final bid to stop their 
deportation.
The children, aged 12 and 13, came to the Netherlands with their mother in 2008.
Their asylum claim was rejected by Dutch courts that ruled Armenia is a safe 
country.
The children’s mother, Armina Hambartsjumian, was deported to Armenia in 2017.
The case has attracted mass public attention, with the children appearing on 
national television to plead their case.
The children have never been to Armenia and do not speak Armenian.
Their lawyers argued unsuccessfully that their mother was unable to care for 
them properly.
Macron, Pashinian Meet In Paris
        • Karlen Aslanian
France -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian meets with President of 
France Emmanuel Macron, Paris, 14Sep2018
French President Emmanuel Macron met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian in Paris on Friday for talks focused on an upcoming summit of 
Francophonie nations to be held in Yerevan next month.
According to the Armenian prime minister’s spokesman, Macron and Pashinian also 
discussed issues pertaining to the business form to be organized within the 
framework of the Francophonie summit in the Armenian capital.
Greeting Pashinian, Macron reportedly highlighted the importance of the 
Armenian leader’s visit to France, expressing conviction that “it will promote 
and give a new impetus to the further development of friendly relations between 
the two countries.”
The French president underlined that his country is ready to continue the 
efforts aimed at “expanding close cooperation with friendly Armenia in 
different spheres.”
The French leader reportedly expressed confidence that the upcoming 
Francophonie summit in Yerevan will be held at a high level. The Armenian prime 
minister, for his part, said: “I am convinced that our meeting will give a new 
quality to our privileged relations based on centuries-old historical 
friendship.” He stressed the importance of Armenia’s hosting the 2018 
Francophonie Summit, describing it as one of the most important events in 
Yerevan since the South Caucasus country gained independence in 1991. Pashinian 
reaffirmed his government’s commitment to ensure a successful holding of the 
summit and expressed confidence that “it will contribute to the further rise of 
the reputation and influence of the Francophonie.”
The French president is due to visit Yerevan for the events on October 11-12.
During the meeting at the Elysee Palace the two leaders also addressed the 
Nagorno-Karabakh issue, the spokesman, Arman Yeghoyan, said to RFE/RL’s 
Armenian service.
Along with the United States and Russia, France co-chairs the Organization for 
Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk Group, an international 
format promoting a peaceful resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.
According to the information posted on the prime minister’s official website, 
Pashinian praised the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries, 
including France’s efforts aimed at ensuring peace and stability in the region. 
The prime minister underlined that Armenia is committed to continue 
negotiations to reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
“The Armenian prime minister and the French president attached importance to a 
peaceful settlement of the problem through the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group 
co-chairs,” Pashinian’s spokesman added.
The two leaders reportedly agreed to discuss the agenda of the French-Armenian 
relations in more detail during Macron’s state visit to Armenia next month.
During his two-day visit to Paris the Armenian prime minister also held 
meetings with representatives of the French-Armenian community as well as with 
business circles of France.
Addressing members of the French Enterprise Movement today, Pashinian, in 
particular, called for French investments in the Armenian economy.
“I want to assure you that all investors will have dialogue-based relations 
with the Government of Armenia within the limits of honesty and legitimacy. 
Those who engage in economic activity will not have competitors in the 
government, since business and politics should be separated, and those who are 
engaged in politics should not engage in business. The Armenian government has 
been able to enforce this condition within a short period of time because it 
enjoys full confidence of the Armenian people,” Pashinian said, as quoted by 
his press service.
Press Review
“Zhamanak” comments on the silence of ousted prime minister and former 
president Serzh Sarkisian regarding the latest political developments in 
Armenia. “So far Serzh Sarkisian has not in any way commented on the 
prosecution and arrest of former president Robert Kocharian and, in general, 
about his return to active politics,” writes the paper, referring to 
Kocharian’s recent interview to the Mediamax news agency in which he says that 
he did not think about Sarkisian’s “silence”. “But the very question and his 
answer to it reveal that Kocharian in reality thinks about it,” the paper 
suggests.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” poses a question about “why Robert Kocharian’s intensive 
self-promotion fails to bring him any essential popularity rating, but only 
aggravates the negative attitude that exists towards him.” “The answer is very 
clear – in his interviews he speaks about things about which everyone knows the 
whole truth, and this truth is contrary to what Kocharian cites as facts,” the 
paper says.
Commenting on the latest prosecutions against senior former officials in 
Armenia “Hraparak” suggests that it is only natural that “pressure against them 
causes resistance.” “When you bring a criminal case against people who have 
money, surroundings, a certain track record and some intellect it is unlikely 
that like chickens they will allow you to cut their throats without putting up 
some struggle… So, don’t be surprised if these people resort to self-defense, 
start giving interviews, discrediting the new authorities, even seeking help 
from outside,” the paper writes.
(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

Dear Friends,

                                        Friday, 
German Leader Visits Armenian Genocide Memorial In Yerevan (UPDATED)
Armenia - German Cancellor Angela Merkel lays a wreath at the Armenian genocide 
memorial in Yerevan, .
German Chancellor Angela Merkel laid flowers at the Armenian genocide memorial 
in Yerevan at the start of her visit to Armenia on Friday.
Merkel arrived in the Armenian capital on the second leg of her tour of the 
three South Caucasus states.
Immediately after being welcomed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian at Yerevan’s 
Zvartnots airport, Merkel headed to the Tsitsernakabert memorial to some 1.5 
million Armenians that were massacred by the Ottoman Turks during the First 
World War. She laid a wreath by its eternal fire and planted a symbolic tree in 
an adjacent park.
Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, recognized the massacres as genocide in a 
resolution overwhelmingly adopted in June 2016. It also acknowledged that the 
German Empire, then a military ally of Ottoman Turkey, did nothing to stop the 
killings.
Germany -- Lawmakers vote to recognise the Armenian genocide after a debate 
during the 173rd sitting of the Bundestag, the German lower house of 
parliament, in Berlin, June 2, 2016
The resolution was drafted by lawmakers representing the main parliamentary 
factions, including Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Although the 
German leader did not take part in the vote, she reportedly backed the measure 
in an internal party straw poll.
Turkey reacted furiously to the resolution, recalling its ambassador in Berlin. 
Successive Turkish governments have for decades vehemently denied a 
premeditated effort to exterminate the ethnic Armenian population of the 
crumbling Ottoman Empire.
By contrast, Armenia’s leadership and main political groups thanked Germany for 
recognizing the genocide. Then President Serzh Sarkisian sent what his office 
described as “letters of gratitude” to Merkel, German President Joachim Gauck 
and Bundestag speaker Norbert Lammert.
A senior CDU figure told fellow German lawmakers in September 2016 that Merkel 
is not distancing herself from the Bundestag resolution despite the angry 
Turkish reaction.
At a joint news conference with Pashinian held later on Friday, Merkel stressed 
the importance of her visit to the Tsitsernakabert memorial, saying that it was 
in tune with the Bundestag resolution. But she stopped short of uttering the 
word “genocide” and referred instead to the “terrible events that befell the 
Armenian people in 1915.”
Government Criticized For Seeking Extra Water From Vital Lake
        • Ruzanna Gishian
Armenia - A view of Lake Sevan, 24 July 2018.
Environment protection groups on Friday denounced the Armenian government for 
moving to increase the amount of water from Lake Sevan that can be used for 
irrigation this year.
The vast mountainous lake, which is vital for Armenia’s entire ecosystem, is a 
key source of irrigation water supplied to the fruit-growing Ararat Valley west 
and south of Yerevan through the Hrazdan river flowing out of it.
An Armenian law allows the government to use no more than 170 million cubic 
meters of Sevan’s water annually for irrigation and power generation purposes. 
A bill approved by the government on Thursday would raise that cap by 40 
million cubic meters for the current irrigation season.
The measure was proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture. Agriculture Minister 
Artur Khachatrian warned of water shortages that could have “devastating” 
consequences for tens of thousands of farmers.
“This solution may not be desirable but it has no alternative,” Khachatrian 
said at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. “We 
arrived at it as a result of lengthy joint discussions.”
Pashinian said that the government is agreeing to the proposal “with a heavy 
heart.” It has no choice but to address farmers’ urgent needs, he said.
Armenia -- An irrigation canal in the southern Armavir region.
The bill, which the Armenian parliament will debate next week, was approved 
just a few weeks after a coalition of environment protection groups called SOS 
Sevan urged Pashinian to block any extra use of Sevan’s water. It claimed that 
the bulk of that water would only benefit hydroelectric stations and fish farms 
operating in the Ararat Valley. Accordingly, SOS Armenia urged the parliament 
to block measure.
Inga Zarafian, a representative of the grouping, said that the level of Sevan 
has dropped in the past year and this process will continue if the bill is 
passed by the National Assembly. That would only worsen the quality of the 
lake’s water, she said.
Zarafian complained that unlike former authorities in Yerevan Pashinian’s 
cabinet did not consult with environmentalists before making the controversial 
decision.She also pointed out that as recently as one year ago Pashinian and 
his political allies opposed a similar measure taken by Armenia’s previous 
government.
Evelina Ghukasian, the director of the state-funded Institute of Hydroecology 
and Fish Breeding, echoed the environmentalists’ concerns. “Water resources are 
badly mismanaged,” she said. “We oppose the constant use of Lake Sevan as a 
water reservoir.”
Merkel Praises Armenia’s Delicate Balancing Act
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian greets German Chancellor Angela Merkel 
at Yerevan airport, .
German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised Armenia on Friday for developing 
relations with the European Union while remaining allied to Russia during her 
first-ever official visit to the South Caucasus country.
“Armenia is a good example of how one can simultaneously cooperate with Russia 
and the European Union,” she said after talks with Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian.
Merkel arrived in Yerevan as part of a regional tour four months after 
Pashinian-led mass protests brought down Armenia’s previous government. 
Pashinian’s press office quoted her as saying at the start of the talks that 
the “big changes” were unexpected to the German government and “positive” for 
Armenia.
“Our relations are very good but can deepen further,” Merkel told an ensuing 
joint news conference with the Armenian premier. She said Germany would 
specifically welcome closer commercial and cultural ties with Armenia.
Merkel also pledged to help Yerevan implement its landmark Comprehensive and 
Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the EU signed last November.
Pashinian said that just like the former Armenian government his administration 
is committed to stepping up cooperation with the EU while remaining part of the 
Russian-led alliances and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) in particular. The 
Armenian foreign policy strategy is “totally understandable” to Berlin, he said.
Armenia - German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits the TUMO Center for Creative 
Technologies in Yerevan, .
At his meeting with Merkel, Pashinian was reported to renew his calls for the 
EU to reward the new Armenian government’s ambitious reform agenda and 
anti-corruption efforts with greater financial assistance. Earlier this summer 
he criticized the EU for not rushing to do that.
Merkel said she discussed with Pashinian domestic Armenian politics and 
“anti-corruption issues.” But in her public remarks she said nothing about the 
possibility of greater EU or German aid to Yerevan.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in late June that Berlin stands ready 
to help Armenia’s new government carry out sweeping reforms. “We have followed 
social change in the country with great interest and will support its reform 
efforts,” Maas said after talks with his visiting Armenian counterpart Zohrab 
Mnatsakanian.
Germany has already been Armenia’s number one EU donor. Pashinian emphasized 
the fact that it is also his country’s third largest trading partner. 
Armenians, he said, have “great respect for Germany, the German people and 
Angela Merkel personally.”
The German leader, who also met with President Armen Sarkissian on Friday, was 
noncommittal on the lifting of the EU’s visa requirements for Armenian 
nationals sought by both the current and former authorities in Yerevan. She 
noted that she spoke with Pashinian about scores of Armenians seeking asylum in 
Germany. “We cooperate in this area quite well but more can be done,” she said 
without elaborating.
The unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was also on the agenda of the talks, 
with both leaders calling for its peaceful resolution. Merkel will proceed to 
Baku on Saturday for talks with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
Press Review
“Zhoghovurd” reports that Varuzhan Avetisian, the newly freed leader of the 
armed group that seized a police station in Yerevan in 2016, on Thursday made 
alarming statements about his and his supporters’ possible recourse to violence 
in the future. “At first he said [at a news conference] that the new party to 
be set up [by him and Zhirayr Sefilian] will not be a successor to the armed 
group and that that group … has turned the page of armed struggle,” writes the 
paper. “At the same time, Avetisian also said that the Sasna Tsrer group must 
not be on trial and that if they are tried after all it will mean that Serzh 
Sarkisian did not quit power.” This leads the paper to assert that Avetisian 
and the other freed militants are “entering politics with weapons” and “not 
renouncing armed methods of struggle.”
“They are just not loudly talking about that for the moment,” continues 
“Zhoghovurd.” “They will resort to such methods not immediately but when they 
are defeated in the parliamentary elections. And this despite the fact that 
they were freed during the [Nikol] Pashinian government’s tenure.”
“Haykakan Zhamanak” puts German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to the South 
Caucasus in the context of the European Union’s relations with Iran. “In all 
likelihood, Germany will not join, along with other European countries as well 
as Russia and China, a new wave of [U.S.] sanctions against Iran that will come 
into force in November,” writes the paper. It speculates that Merkel’s trip 
could facilitate the creation of new transport corridors connecting Europe to 
Iran via the South Caucasus. “But that could happen in the long run,” it says. 
“This particular visit has an introductory character.”
“Aravot” accuses environmental activists of exaggerating negative environmental 
consequences of additional water from Lake Sevan which the Armenian government 
will use for irrigation purposes this and next month. “Once again pumping 
additional water from Sevan is certainly worrying and there will be no need for 
that when the problem of ‘water mafia’ is solved,” says the paper.
“Hraparak” reports that many current and former Armenian judges are concerned 
over Prime Minister Pashinian’s stated plans to set up “bodies of transitional 
justice” in the country. “But many of them are wary of making public statements 
about that,” writes the paper. It quotes one of those judges, who asked not to 
be identified, as saying that Pashinian’s plans “contradict a number of 
international conventions signed by Armenia.” “There can be no transitional 
justice in a Council of Europe member state,” says the judge. “If we do such a 
thing we will simply be kicked out of the Council of Europe. After all, we are 
a signatory to the European Convention [on Human Rights.]”
(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