Author: Maghakian Mike

                                        Thursday, 
Armenian Minister Withdraws Resignation
        • Karlen Aslanian
        • Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - Labor and Social Affairs Minister Mane Tandilian speaks at a cabinet 
meeting in Yerevan, .
Labor and Social Affairs Minister Mane Tandilian on Thursday withdrew her 
resignation which she tendered last week in protest against the Armenian 
government’s decision to complete a controversial pension reform.
Tandilian announced her decision after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian pledged 
to consider amending a new pension system that will become mandatory on July 1 
for all Armenians born after 1973.
Tandilian was one of the organizers of street protests in 2014 against the 
reform requiring those citizens to finance a large part of their future 
pensions through additional tax payments. The protests forced Armenia’s former 
government to make the new system, recommended by Western donors, optional for 
private sector employees until July 2018.
Shortly after Pashinian appointed her as minister last month, Tandilian 
proposed that this deadline be extended by one more year. The new government 
turned down the proposal, sticking to its predecessor’s plans. The only 
concession it made was to get the Armenian parliament to temporarily cut the 
new pension tax rate from 5 percent to 2.5 percent.
Tandilian cited the government’s stance when she stepped down on June 12.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting in Yerevan, Pashinian said that he did not accept 
the resignation. He said he and the minister have agreed to work together on 
“making that system more acceptable.”
“We need to dispel all doubts existing in the society and among ourselves in 
order to be sure that we are on the right track,” the premier told cabinet 
members. The new, partly privatized mechanism for retirement benefits needs a 
“very serious improvement,” he said without elaborating.
Shortly after the cabinet meeting, Tandilian wrote on her Facebook page that 
she will not resign after all. She said her ministry will draft amendments to 
Armenian pension legislation within the next two weeks. She expressed hope that 
they will be adopted by the parliament later this year.
The parliament, meanwhile, voted on Thursday to pass in the second and final 
reading a government bill that prompted the minister’s resignation letter.
EU Backs New Armenian Government’s Reform Agenda
        • Emil Danielyan
Belgium - EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Armenian Foreign 
Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian arrive for a meeting of the EU-Armenia Partnership 
Council in Brussels, .
The European Union on Thursday voiced “full support” for sweeping reforms 
promised by Armenia’s new government and praised anti-corruption measures that 
have already been taken by it.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, also said the 28-nation bloc 
is ready to help the government implement the “very ambitious” reform agenda 
and hold fresh parliamentary elections sought by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
“We agreed on the importance of combatting corruption ... and the concrete 
action that is already taken by the government in this field,” Mogherini said 
after holding what she called “extremely productive” talks with Armenian 
Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian in Brussels.
“I was glad to hear about the government's determination and very ambitious 
agenda, with a focus on public administration and on the judiciary, which is an 
agenda that has our full support,” she told a joint news conference. “I 
reassured the minister on the EU intention and readiness to accompany this 
process every single step of the journey.”
“Upcoming visits of our European Union teams to Armenia will discuss now how 
the European Union can support the reforms in the country,” she added.
Mogherini and Mnatsakanian spoke to reporters after chairing the first session 
of the EU-Armenia Partnership Council, a body tasked with overseeing the 
implementation of a landmark agreement signed by the two sides last November.
The Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) offers the South 
Caucasus state the prospect of a closer relationship with the EU in return for 
major political and economic reforms. It also commits Yerevan to gradually 
“approximating” Armenian economic laws and regulations to the EU’s legal 
framework.
Mnatsakanian reaffirmed his government’s stated commitment to the CEPA. He 
described the 350-page accord as an “important instrument for Armenia to 
advance its reforms.” Accordingly, he called on EU member states to quickly 
ratify it.
The Armenian parliament ratified the CEPA in April, paving the way for the 
deal’s provisional entry into force this month.
Belgium - The EU-Armenia Partnership Council holds its first meeting in 
Brussels, .
“The Partnership Council welcomed the peaceful nature of the recent protests in 
Armenia, which led to a democratic change of government in accordance with the 
Constitutional framework,” read a joint statement released after the meeting.
It said the EU side welcomed the Armenian government’s “clear commitment to 
fight against corruption” and “expressed its readiness to assist Armenia with 
the organization and monitoring of new elections.”
Pashinian, who led the massive protests, has repeatedly made clear his 
intention to force such elections in the months ahead since being elected prime 
minister on May 8.
Mogherini reaffirmed the EU’s 2017 pledge to allocate 160 million euros ($185 
million) in fresh assistance to Armenia over the next four years. She would not 
say explicitly whether the EU could provide extra financial aid to the new 
authorities in Yerevan in support of their reform effort.
Mogherini was also non-committal on the lifting of the EU’s visa requirements 
for Armenian nationals sought by both the current and previous Armenian 
governments. She argued that visa liberalization has to be ultimately approved 
by the European Council, the EU’s top decision-making body directly 
representing the member states.
The issue was also on the agenda of the Partnership Council meeting, with 
Mnatsakanian saying that the two sides “exchanged views on starting a visa 
liberalization dialogue.” “We insist to be judged on our merits,” he said, 
adding that visa-free travel would strengthen Armenia’s links with Europe.
EU leaders said at a summit in 2015 that such a dialogue is contingent on the 
“full implementation” of an EU-Armenia agreement on “readmission” of illegal 
immigrants.
The agreement was signed in April 2013 shortly after the EU eased some of its 
visa rules and procedures for Armenians. Armenia unilaterally abolished its 
visa regime for EU citizens around that time.
Mogherini noted on Thursday the readmission agreement is “being well 
implemented.”
Armenian ‘Crime Bosses’ Rounded Up By Police
        • Tatev Danielian
Armenia - A screenshot of official video of police raiding the homes of reputed 
crime figures and detaining them, .
The Armenian police reported two arrests on Thursday after raiding the homes of 
around three dozen men described as major crime figures.
A police statement specified the names as well as underworld nicknames of the 
individuals whose homes in Yerevan and other parts of Armenia were searched on 
Wednesday. It said law-enforcement officers found weapons, ammunition and 
“substances resembling narcotics” in some of them.
All of those men were then taken to police stations for further questioning. 
The statement referred to them as “thieves-in-law” and “criminal authorities,” 
terms commonly applied to crime bosses in the former Soviet Union.
A spokesman for the national police service, Zarzand Gabrielian, said two of 
them were placed under arrest. “They are Aleksandr Makarain nicknamed ‘Alo’ and 
Andranik Harutiunian nicknamed ‘Masivtsi Andik,’” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian 
service (Azatutyun.am). “The others were interrogated and released.”
Gabrielian added that the detained men have not been formally charged yet.
The police statement and a video attached to it said that the raids were 
sanctioned by courts as part of an unspecified “criminal case.” It did not 
elaborate.
The national police chief, Valeri Osipian, also declined to go into details 
when he spoke to journalists on Thursday. “Everyone in the Republic of Armenia 
must obey the laws,” he said vaguely.
Artur Sakunts, a veteran human rights campaigner, welcome the police raids, 
saying that they are part of the new Armenian authorities’ efforts to 
strengthen the rule of law in the country. “They are taking clear steps on the 
basis on the notion that the criminal underworld and its rules cannot be part 
of government,” he said.
Sakunts claimed that Armenia’s former leaders relied on reputed crime figures 
in falsifying election results. The latter will now be discouraged from any 
involvement in political processes, he said.
Press Review
“Zhoghovurd” comments on the latest bellicose statements made by Azerbaijani 
Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov, saying that they run counter to the 
international community’s regular calls for a peaceful resolution of the 
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “It is not hard to guess the reason for this 
Azerbaijani rhetoric,” writes the paper. “They did not like the new Armenian 
government’s position on bringing Karabakh back to the negotiating table, and 
the tough Azerbaijani rhetoric is a response to that.”
“Aravot” disapproves of what it sees as unrestrained verbal abuse directed at 
Manvel Grigorian, an arrested former army general accused of corruption. “If 
you are so brave, speak about those who are still on top,” says the paper. “In 
emotional terms, stealing food parcels sent to soldiers by schoolchildren can 
only cause shock and anger.” But, it says, there are also many other corrupt 
individuals in the country.
“Hraparak” similarly says that “honest and legitimate anger about the army must 
not turn into a wave of repression and manhunt” and that relatives of former 
and current officials accused of corruption “must not suffer.” “We learned 
yesterday that the family of a lawyer defending Manvel Grigorian is having 
serious problems,” writes the paper. “They have even started harassing and 
abusing children.”
Citing the latest data from the National Statistical Service, “Haykakan 
Zhamanak” reports that economic growth in Armenia somewhat slowed down in May. 
The paper insists that “this is a fairly good indicator” given the recent 
nationwide protests that thrust the country into turmoil. “Revolutions are 
usually accompanied by economic shocks,” it explains. “But Armenia not only 
avoided such shocks but also achieved an increase in economic activity.”
(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

The Washington Post
June 15, 2018 Friday
Armenia's revolution miracle
by David Ignatius
EDITORIAL COPY; Pg. A19
YEREVAN, Armenia
If you're looking for some good news from a faraway land, here's a
tale of Armenia's "velvet revolution," which just deposed a corrupt,
authoritarian government and installed a team of eager young reformers
to govern a tiny nation perilously bordering Russia.
Maybe it's the start of a counter-trend, in a world where so many
indicators of freedom and good governance have been pointing downward.
But it must be said: Time is not on the revolutionaries' side. The
squeeze on Armenia, from its neighbors and domestic power brokers,
could undo the gains of the bottom-up protest movement that toppled
the long-entrenched, pro-Moscow government of Prime Minister Serzh
Sargsyan.
For now, there's something of a festival atmosphere here, as Armenians
enjoy the aftermath of what the new prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan,
described to me as a "revolution of love and solidarity." Bands play
in the streets, people spontaneously cheer Pashinyan in public, and
the post-Soviet haze seems, for now, to have cleared.
Pashinyan spoke with me for an hour last Friday at his grand office on
Republic Square, in the center of the capital. He looked slightly
uncomfortable in a dark business suit. The popular image of him is of
a guy in a baseball cap who led a march on the capital that grew so
large it paralyzed the government. Barricading the streets were jazz
musicians atop a piano, a chamber quartet and a young boy halting
traffic with a line of toy trucks.
The protests had become so widespread that Sargsyan faced a choice of
using force on fellow citizens or stepping down. In a nation whose
political identity is tied to its tragic history, Sargsyan wisely
chose the latter: On April 23, the day before the annual commemoration
of the 1915 Ottoman genocide that killed more than 1 million
Armenians, Sargsyan resigned.
The miracle of this revolution is that it happened at all. Russia had
long supported Sargsyan and his oligarch cronies. But in May, after
Sargsyan's fall, the Kremlin didn't block Pashinyan's accession to
prime minister. That's partly because Pashinyan declared, as he told
me, that his movement had "no geopolitical agenda."
Russian President Vladimir Putin could still make life very difficult
for the new Armenia. In Yerevan last weekend, I heard reports from
diplomats that if Moscow doesn't receive new pledges of fealty, it
might halt arms sales, on which Armenia depends to counter neighboring
Azerbaijan in the disputed area known as Nagorno Karabakh. Russia's
tolerance for political liberalization may come at a price.
What's next for the velvet revolution? Pashinyan outlined his program,
but it was long on democratic idealism and thin on specifics.
His first priority is to stop the corruption that has been leaching
away the creative and entrepreneurial spirit for which Armenians are
often known. "Unfortunately, Armenia was a very corrupt country in the
last 25 years," Pashinyan told me, with cronies close to the
leadership taking what amounted to a private tax on the economy.
"People were fed up with that situation," he said.
Linked to Pashinyan's anti-graft campaign is a commitment to break up
the monopolies that dominate key sectors of the economy. Armen
Grigoryan, the new national security adviser, worked previously for
Transparency International, an anti-corruption group. He explained in
an interview that the Armenian economy could grow if the new
government could shed more light on its operations and "decrease
interaction between the state and the citizen."
The new government will need to put teeth into this anti-corruption
push by holding some of the bribe-takers accountable. "I'm not going
to give orders to judges," Pashinyan insisted, but he warned: "We will
try to identify and bring to responsibility the most corrupt people."
To combat monopolies, he'll need to capitalize new, smaller companies,
perhaps through a national investment bank.
Breaking free of the gravitational field of the past will take all of
Pashinyan's idealism and energy - and also some raw political power.
He told me that it's "very likely" he'll hold a snap election for a
new parliament by October or November, well before the April deadline.
And the courts are already releasing some prominent political
prisoners.
Armenia is a subject on which I'm hardly neutral, as my father's
family has Armenian roots. During my visit here, I helped host the
Aurora humanitarian awards, created by a group of prominent Armenians
to honor human rights champions from other countries. Armenia has
experienced more than its share of bad news, historically and in the
recent, post-Soviet past. So it was encouraging to see Yerevan as a
city of smiles after its dramatic moment of change.