Monday,
Pashinian Again Visits Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian meets with Karabakh
leaders in Stepanakert, .
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has visited Nagorno-Karabakh and met with its
leaders for a third time since taking office more than three months ago.
Pashinian was accompanied by Armenia’s Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan and the
chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff, General Artak Davtian, during the
low-key visit. The three men met twice on Sunday with Bako Sahakian, the
Karabakh president, and General Levon Mnatsakanian, the commander of Karabakh’s
Armenian-backed army.
Pashinian’s press service issued no statements on the trip.
According to Sahakian’s office, the first meeting focused on “various issues
relating to cooperation between the two Armenian republics.”
The second meeting was held at the Karabakh army headquarters in Stepanakert. A
short statement by Sahakian’s office said the two sides discussed military
affairs and, in particular, ways of strengthening the army. Also, Mnatsakanian
was reported to brief Pashinian on the current situation along the
Armenian-Azerbaijani “line of contact.”
The authorities in Stepanakert said in May and June that Azerbaijan is massing
troops there in possible preparation for large-scale hostilities. The
conflicting parties have reported few major ceasefire violations on the
Karabakh frontlines since then, however.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and his recently appointed
Armenian counterpart, Zohrab Mnatsakanian, held their first face-to-face talks
in Brussels on July 11. The U.S., Russian and French mediators co-chairing the
OSCE Mins Group, who were present at the talks, expect them they to meet again
in September.
‘King Of Instagram’ Gets Armenian Citizenship
• Tatevik Lazarian
Armenia - Mnatsakan Bichakhchian C), the head of an Armenian police department
on visas and passports, poses for a photo with U.S. celebrity Dan Bilzerian (R)
and his brother Adam in Yerevan, .
Dan Bilzerian, a controversial American social media celebrity of Armenian
descent, officially became an Armenian citizen on Monday during his first-ever
visit to his ancestral homeland.
Bilzerian is a professional poker player who is primarily known for his playboy
lifestyle. He has tens of millions of followers on Instagram and Facebook who
are attracted by his regular photos of private jets, scantily clad women, piles
of cash and guns.
The 37-year-old nicknamed the “King of Instagram” gave no details of his trip
to Armenia when he announced it on Twitter shortly before arriving in Yerevan
early on Sunday night. Accompanied by several companions, he declined to answer
questions from journalists at the city’s Zvartnots airport.
Mnatsakan Bichakhchian, the head of an Armenian police department on visas and
passports, announced the following morning that Bilzerian and his brother Adam
have taken an Armenian citizenship oath. Bichakhchian posted on his Facebook
page a photograph of himself and the two men standing in his office.
Speaking to RFE/RL’s Armenian service, Bichakhchian revealed that the brothers
were granted Armenian citizenship in 2014 but had to take the oath in order to
complete their naturalization process. The official suggested that they were
strongly influenced by their ethnic Armenian father Paul Bilzerian who he said
already holds an Armenian passport.
Dan Bilzerian, who endorsed Donald Trump during the 2016 U.S. presidential
race, is no stranger to controversy. In 2014, for example, he was briefly
arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of possessing bomb-making materials.
Bilzerian is the latest Armenian American celebrity to travel to Armenia. Kim
Kardashian, the world-famous reality TV star, visited the country in April 2015.
Unlike Kardashian, Bilzerian has rarely made public statements on issues
relevant to Armenia or the sizable Armenian community in the United States.
French Water Operator Under Corruption Probe In Armenia
• Tatev Danielian
Armenia - The Public Services Regulatory Commission meets in Yerevan, 17Jun2015.
Law-enforcement authorities in Armenia have launched a criminal investigation
into what they call corrupt practices by state utility regulators and a
French-owned company running the country’s water distribution network.
The company, Veolia Jur, on Monday angrily denied the allegations made by the
Armenian police over the weekend.
A statement by the police said that in late 2017 the then chairman of the
Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC), Robert Nazarian, and seven other
senior officials from the regulatory body travelled to France on a visit fully
funded by Veolia Jur. The water operator, which is part of France’s Veolia
utility giant, covered their travel and accommodation expenses worth a total of
over $26,000.
The statement charged that these payments amounted to a bribe which Veolia
Jur’s director general, Christian Lefaix, and another senior executive paid in
return for securing the PSRC’s subsequent decision to allow the company to
raise the price of drinking water. The police also claimed to have found
financial irregularities in Veolia’s contracts with Armenian suppliers worth
3.7 billion drams ($7.7 million).
The preliminary investigation was initiated by an aide to Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian. It will now be continued by another law-enforcement body, the
Special Investigative Service (SIS). An SIS spokeswoman said on Monday that
nobody has been formally charged yet in connection with the investigation.
Veolia Jur expressed “indignation” at the allegations, accusing the police of
violating the presumption of innocence before the completion of the probe. “The
company does not accept the incriminating tone of the police,” it said in a
statement. A spokesman for the operator promised to give more detailed
explanations by Tuesday.
The PSRC also rejected the “baseless” accusations. A statement by the
commission said that the 2017 trip to France was part of “experience sharing”
that did not predetermine the commission’s decisions.
Veolia managed the water and sewerage network of Yerevan from 2007-2016. It has
been in charge of water supply in the entire country since November 2016. Its
15-year management contract with the Armenian government signed at the time
calls for annual rises in the water price which can be reversed after 2023. The
PSRC statement emphasized this fact.
Earlier this month, Veolia asked the PSRC to raise the price by another 7
percent, saying it needs additional revenue to upgrade the aging water network.
Inessa Gabayan, the recently appointed head of the State Committee on Water
Resources, strongly objected to the proposed measure. Citing a recent series of
water main breaks and other accidents in and outside Yerevan, she said that
many Armenians are dissatisfied with the company.
Veolia managed to phase out Soviet-era water rationing in the vast majority of
Yerevan’s neighborhoods after taking over the municipal network. “By 2030 the
entire population of Armenia will be supplied with drinking water [around the
clock] thanks to Veolia,” the company pledged in November 2016.
Armenian PM, Speaker Meet To Ease Tensions
• Tatevik Lazarian
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (R) and Parliament Speaker Ara
Babloyan.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and parliament speaker Ara Babloyan reportedly
agreed on Monday to defuse political tensions in Armenia following bitter
recriminations traded by the country’s current and former leaders.
The two men met one week after Babloyan expressed serious concern over
Pashinian’s far-reaching statements made at an August 17 rally in Yerevan.
Addressing tens of thousands of supporters, the premier accused Armenian judges
of acting on orders issued by the former government and threatened to create
“bodies of transitional justice.” He also announced plans to push through the
parliament constitutional amendments that would facilitate the conduct of fresh
parliamentary elections. He told his supporters to be ready to press lawmakers
to enact those changes.
Senior representatives of former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party
(HHK) reacted furiously to Pashinian’s speech, accusing him of stifling
dissent, blackmailing the Armenian parliament and seeking to control the
judiciary.
Babloyan, who is also affiliated with the HHK, similarly accused Pashinian of
subjecting the parliament to “pressure and coercion.” “Prime Minister
Pashinian’s speech at the rally contained extremely dangerous messages to the
constitutional order,” he said in an August 20 statement.
The speaker added that he will discuss his “deep concerns” with Pashinian,
President Armen Sarkissian as well as other Armenian officials and foreign
diplomats based in Yerevan. Pashinian expressed readiness to meet him.
Babloyan’s office said that the two men reached a number of understandings at
their meeting. In particular, it said, they agreed that everyone in Armenia
should enjoy “freedom of speech and dissent,” that judicial independence “must
not be undermined,” and that any elements of transitional justice must conform
to the Armenian constitution. It was also agreed that any amendments to the
Armenian constitution should be enacted as a result of “broad-based political
discussions,” said the office.
The Armenian government did not issue any press releases on the meeting.
President Sarkissian welcomed the “agreements” reached at the premier’s talks
with the speaker later in the day. “The president hopes that we will see
positive results very soon,” read a statement by the presidential press service.
Hakob Badalian, a Yerevan-based political analyst, believes that Pashinian’s
tough speech was a response to the political comeback of Robert Kocharian,
another former president who is facing criminal charges stemming from the 2008
post-election violence in Yerevan. Kocharian made the announcement on August
16. HHK representatives have not ruled out the possibility of cooperating with
him.
Badalian suggested that the HHK and Pashinian agreed to “restore the status
quo” that existed until their latest war of words. “I think the statement [by
Babloyan’s office] implies that there is no need for transitional justice, that
the parliamentary elections will be held as planned and that the former
government is not reneging on its pledges,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.
The policy program of Pashinian’s cabinet, reluctantly approved by the
HHK-controlled parliament in June, calls for the holding of snap parliamentary
elections within a year. Under the existing constitution, such polls can be
held only if the prime minister resigns and the National Assembly twice fails
to elect his or her replacement.
In his August 17 speech, Pashinian warned of the possibility of the HHK and
other parliamentary forces installing another prime minister in case of his
resignation. He said his political team will therefore draft constitutional
amendments that would allow the parliament to dissolve itself. But speaking to
journalists on August 22, Pashinian said that this is only “one of the
scenarios” considered by his government.
Press Review
(Saturday, August 25)
1in.am hails German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s first-ever official visit to
Armenia as “historic” and notes that it took place just a few months after the
democratic revolution in the country. The online publication says the visit was
a unique opportunity for the new Armenian government to present its foreign
policy to the leader of a key European Union member state.
“Aravot” reports that the chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC),
Tigran Mukuchian, is ignoring calls for his resignation made by a small
political party. The leader of the party, Andrias Ghukasian, is quoted by the
paper as saying that the CEC and its territorial divisions are still dominated
by members of the former ruling HHK who could manipulate upcoming elections in
Armenia for “counterrevolutionary” purposes. Mukuchian insists, meanwhile, that
he and other members of the CEC are now busy gearing for the proper conduct of
those elections.
“Our society is still not prepared for being objective and constructive on many
issues,” editorializes “Hraparak.” “For some reason elementary values and
standards are not observed in our country. Our love for the [new] authorities
is turning into a personality cult, while hatred is taking the form of calls
for prosecuting, punishing, hanging and killing [opponents] … Instead of
rejecting crimes and demanding fair punishment for criminals, we insult and
humiliate them, expel them from the society, and treat them like lepers.” The
paper points out that many of the people voicing such demands for decades
tolerated the previous governments.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” reports that some officials in Azerbaijan have floated the
idea of their country joining the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO). The paper believes that Azerbaijan’s membership in the
CSTO would “disrupt the normal functioning of the organization” due to the
unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
(Tigran Avetisian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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