Author: Ophelia Vardapetian

                                        Tuesday, 
EU Envoy Rejects Criticism From Armenian Government
 . Nane Sahakian
 . Astghik Bedevian
Armenia - Piotr Switalski, the head of the EU Delegation in Armenia,
speaks at a news conference in Yerevan, 20Jun2017.
The head of the European Union mission in Armenia, Piotr Switalski,
dismissed on Tuesday the Armenian authorities' angry reaction to his
public criticism of the conduct of the country's recent parliamentary
elections.
Switalski questioned on June 15 the "credibility" of the
government-controlled Central Election Commission (CEC), saying that
it should be expanded to comprise civil society representatives. He
also decried vote buying and other irregularities reported during the
April 2 elections and suggested that the country's complicated
electoral system should be revised.
Justice Minister Davit Harutiunian and the ruling Republican Party
(HHK) responded by accusing Switalski of meddling in Armenia's
internal affairs.
Switalski denied the accusations, saying that his "friendly and
constructive" comments were in tune with earlier statements made by
other European officials. "There are issues where we, as the European
Union, not only have the right but also the duty to speak up," he told
a news conference. "We do it because our Armenian partners accepted
certain arrangements for our engagement."
The envoy argued that proper conduct of elections is among political
reforms which the Armenian authorities undertook to implement in
return for financial assistance provided by the EU. "These financing
agreements are not imposed," he said. "They are negotiated and agreed
upon by the two sides."
Early this year, the EU provided the Armenian authorities with more
than $7 million for the purchase of special electronic equipment used
during the parliamentary elections. In her official reaction to the
vote, the EU's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said the
voter authentication devices and web cameras installed in Armenian
polling stations minimized serious fraud such as multiple voting.
An April 4 statement by Mogherini's spokesperson deplored "credible
information about vote-buying" and voter intimidation reported by
European election observers. Still, it concluded that the official
election result, which gave a landslide victory to the ruling HHK,
"reflects the overall will of the Armenian people."
Switalski similarly said that the EU funding led to "some
improvements" in the electoral process. "We live in an interconnected
world," the diplomat went on. "We must accept that there are
mechanisms, conventions, treaties, working arrangements which enable
others to express their views on what happens in one or another
country."
"We are very glad that so many ordinary Armenians understand this
without my lectures or other educational efforts. And I'm not
surprised because Armenians # perfectly understand that threats to
[their country's] sovereignty lie somewhere else, and not in our
friendly support," he stressed without elaborating.
Armenia -- Armen Ashotian, a leader of the ruling Republican Party of
Armenia, speaks to RFE/RL in Yerevan.
Meanwhile, a senior HHK figure, Armen Ashotian, stood by the
government criticism of Switalski's comments and insisted that the
legislative polls were democratic. "Everyone could point to Europeans'
growing skepticism towards European institutions," he told RFE/RL's
Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "But no Armenian official would allow
themselves to talk about that with their European partners because
they consider challenges facing European institutions an internal
European affair."
"I would warn against setting an artificial election agenda now
because we have already written and turned that page together," he
said. "So let's talk about the future and our tasks ahead, instead of
revising something that is already a political reality."
Ashotian, who chairs the Armenian parliament's foreign relations
committee, also expressed confidence that the public spat will not
undermine Yerevan's efforts to forge closer ties with the EU. The
upcoming signing of a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement
will raise the EU-Armenia relationship to "a new level," he said.
The agreement will also demonstrate that "it's possible to build the
European type of a state even in the Eurasian economic area," claimed
Ashotian.
Charges Against Babayan Eased
 . Sisak Gabrielian
Armenia -- Former Karabakh Army commander Samvel Babayan speaks to
RFE/RL in Yerevan, 17Oct2016
Law-enforcement authorities have somewhat reduced criminal charges
levelled against Samvel Babayan, a retired army general close to an
Armenian opposition alliance who was controversially arrested in
March.
Babayan's lawyer, Avetis Kalashian, revealed on Tuesday that he no
longer stands accused of smuggling weapons into Armenia. He is only
facing accusations of illegal arms "circulation" and money laundering,
Kalashian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). Kalashian did
not elaborate, promising to comment on the case in detail later on.
Babayan will risk up to 11 years in prison if found guilty of the
revised charges. The initial criminal case against him carried up to
13 years' imprisonment.
Babayan was arrested on March 21 hours after Armenia's National
Security Service (NSS) claimed to have confiscated a Russian-made
surface-to-air rocket system. The NSS alleged afterwards that the once
powerful general, who was Nagorno-Karabakh's top military commander
from 1993-1993, paid two other men to smuggle the shoulder-fired Igla
systems from Georgia.
The arrest came about two weeks before Armenia's parliamentary
elections. Babayan was unofficially affiliated with the opposition ORO
alliance led by former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian and two other
opposition politicians. ORO condemned the criminal case as politically
motivated.
Kalashian said that his client continues to insist on his
innocence. The lawyer also said that the criminal investigation into
the case has been completed, meaning that Babayan will go on trial
soon.
The only other arrested suspect in the case is Sanasar Gabrielian, a
longtime friend of Babayan's who also actively participated in the
Karabakh war. He too is accused of illegal arms possession, a charge
partly accepted by him.
"He wanted to acquire weapons for the army by legal means," said
Gabrielian's lawyer, Karapet Aghajanian. He said his client's only
wrongdoing was to "deal with other individuals who did not live up to
his hopes." The lawyer did not elaborate.
Later in March, police in Georgia arrested an Armenian citizen wanted
by the law-enforcement authorities in Yerevan as part of the same
smuggling case. It emerged on Tuesday that the man identified as
Robert A. has not been extradited to Armenia yet. The Office of
Prosecutor-General claimed that the Georgian authorities have still
not responded to an Armenian extradition demand.
EU To Help Syrian Refugees In Armenia
Armenia - Ethnic Armenian migrants from Syria at a meeting with
Armenia's Prime Minister Karen Karapetian in Yerevan, 29Mar2017.
The European Union announced on Tuesday 3 million euros ($3.3 million)
in financial assistance to thousands of ethnic Armenian citizens of
Syria who have taken refuge in Armenia in the last few years.
The allocation is part of the EU's fresh 275 million-euro aid package
for millions of Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and
other countries.
The European Commission said the sum set aside for Syrian Armenians
living in their ancestral homeland will support them "by enhancing
access to health and psychosocial services, improving housing
conditions, increasing access to economic opportunities, and by
facilitating the integration of schoolchildren and students." A
statement by the EU's executive body gave no further details.
Syria was home to an estimated 80,000 ethnic Armenians before the
outbreak of the devastating civil war there five years ago. Only up to
10,000 of them reportedly remain in the war-ravaged country now.
Armenia -- A Syrian Armenian family from Aleppo arrives at Yerevan
airport, 25Oct2016.
More than 16,000 Syrian Armenians have fled to Armenia alone. Many of
them have been struggling to make ends meet in the
unemployment-stricken country.
Armenia's cash-strapped government has been unable to provide them
with significant material assistance. Nor has it managed until now to
attract large-scale assistance to the migrants from external
sources. The EU funding is the biggest foreign aid allocation to them
to date.
Drawing on their business experience in Syria, some Syrian Armenians
have opened small businesses such as restaurants and manufacturing
firms in Armenia,. The Armenian government has encouraged that
entrepreneurship by subsidizing business loans extended to them by
local commercial banks.
Dozens of firms set up by Syrian Armenians demonstrated their products
and services during a German-sponsored fair held in Yerevan in May
2016. The four-day exhibition was aimed at facilitating their economic
integration in Armenia.
Press Review
"Zhoghovurd" reports and comments on a statement which the American,
Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group issued on Monday
at the end of their latest tour of Armenia, Karabakh and
Azerbaijan. "It is evident that the conflicting sides are not sincere
in their statements on a compromise solution to the conflict," writes
the paper. "Otherwise, they would not have attempted to torpedo the
peace process with different methods and would have really opted for
mutual concessions." The paper says that Azerbaijan is particularly
disinterested in a peaceful settlement. It says this is why the
mediators again effectively blamed Baku for ceasefire violations.
But as "Haykakan Zhamanak" points out, the mediators stopped short of
explicitly condemning Baku for the deaths of four Armenian soldiers
late last week. The paper claims that the statement is a "victory for
Azerbaijan." It further speculates that the mediators' claim that the
Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents are ready to "resume political
dialogue" amounts to pressure on Serzh Sarkisian. It suggests that the
Armenia is hardly eager to meet with Ilham Aliyev in the coming weeks
or even months.
"Azerbaijan is really preparing for war," writes "Hraparak." "More
seriously than it did before the April 2016 war, say official
circles."
"Aravot" reacts to a rift among the five members of Yerevan's newly
elected municipal assembly representing the radical opposition Yerkir
Tsirani party led by Zaruhi Postanjian. "If this party really wants to
change something in the capital, it must definitely cooperate with
[the opposition bloc] Yelk and the [ruling] HHK," editorializes the
paper. "Or else, there will be only scandals and screams with no
results whatsoever. Those who stand for such cooperation are not
traitors if their agreements are public and principled."
(Tigran Avetisian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org

Azerbaijani Spy Scandal Leaves Trail Of Dead Suspects
Ron Synovitz
Azerbaijan -- Azeri servicemen guard their position at the frontline
with the self-defense army of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, April
29, 2016.
Within days of being swept up in a wave of arrests on espionage
charges last month, at least four Azerbaijani soldiers and a retired
military officer died in custody. The circumstances of their deaths
are shrouded in secrecy.
Azerbaijan's government and military have refused to comment on the
deaths, news of which emerged shortly after authorities in May
announced the spy scandal.
Journalists who initially reported on the deaths have been warned by
the Prosecutor-General's Office to stop. And most relatives of the
dead soldiers are reluctant to speak to journalists, with some
expressing fear about their own safety if they do.
The silence, Baku's poor human rights record, and the way Azerbaijan's
military hastily buried the soldiers without letting relatives see
their bodies, have fed rumors that the suspects were tortured to death
while being interrogated.
Spying For Armenia
The spy scandal came to light on May 7 when a joint statement was
issued by the State Security Service, the Prosecutor-General's Office,
the Interior Ministry, and the Defense Ministry.
It said authorities had "opened a criminal case against a group of
military personnel and civilians in Azerbaijan" on charges of "treason
against the state."
The statement said members of the spy ring had worked for the
intelligence services of archrival Armenia "at various times in the
past" and "for their own interest." It also said they provided "state
secrets" to Armenia, which Azerbaijan has been locked in conflict with
over Nagorno-Karabakh for decades.
Secretive Arrests
Azerbaijan's authorities have not named any individuals accused in the
spy case or specified how many suspects were arrested and charged. But
Ilham Ismayil, a former State Security Service officer, told RFE/RL
that a total of 42 people were arrested in raids during May -- mostly
in the Terter region.
Ismayil told RFE/RL that the spy scandal stemmed from an incident in
late 2016 when a group of Armenian military officers allegedly were
allowed to cross from Nagorno-Karabakh and travel behind Azerbaijan's
front lines with the help of Azerbaijani officers.
He said some Armenian officers were given Azerbaijani military
uniforms to wear and that they traveled to the center of Terter -- a
city that was heavily damaged by Armenian forces during the
Nagorno-Karabakh war in the early 1990s.
State Security Service chief Madat Guliyev said the roundup of
spy-ring suspects was ordered by President Ilham Aliyev after
investigators under Guliyev's command provided evidence to both the
president and the Defense Ministry. Based on that evidence, the
Defense Ministry took action. Neither the State Security Service nor
Azerbaijan's government has publicly disclosed the nature of the
intelligence the suspects allegedly provided to Armenia. And, so far,
there have been no public court hearings for any of the suspects.
Suspicious Deaths
Yadigar Sadiqov, a politician from the opposition party Musavat, has
suggested that the deaths in custody of so many suspects just days
after their arrests is highly suspicious. "We don't believe they died
of natural causes," Sadiqov wrote in a May 20 opinion column for the
Baku-based online newspaper Bastainfo.com.
Sadiqov also suggested many people in Azerbaijan assume the suspects
were tortured to death, noting that "across social media, there are
people saying the government was justified to torture and kill" them.
In each case, the suspects were detained in raids close to the contact
line that separates Armenian-backed and Azerbaijani forces near
Nagorno-Karabakh. Within days, their dead bodies were returned to
their home villages and buried by soldiers who did not allow relatives
to see them.
Opposition media in Azerbaijan that have reported about the deaths and
burials have been officially warned they would be prosecuted for
revealing "state secrets" if they published any more information about
the spy case that wasn't officially released by state institutions.
With the exception of a cousin of one dead soldier who spoke only on
condition of anonymity because he feared retribution from authorities,
relatives of the deceased suspects have refused to talk to RFE/RL or
other media organizations.
Amnesty International confirms that it has received complaints from
sources within Azerbaijan alleging that the soldiers were tortured to
death. But Levan Asatiani, Amnesty International's campaigner on the
South Caucasus, says his organization cannot immediately confirm the
torture claims because Azerbaijan has become a "closed country" that
blocks the work of international human rights researchers.
He said Azerbaijan has a well-documented history of using torture to
induce false confessions from political prisoners who are lawyers,
journalists, and opposition activists. "You could say that the use of
torture is a trend in Azerbaijan," Asatiani said.
Hasty Burials
Namized Safarov, a Baku-based human rights lawyer, told RFE/RL that a
retired military officer named Saleh Qafarov was arrested on treason
charges in early May at his village of Aydinqyshlaq in the Gabala
region.
Safarov said Azerbaijani soldiers returned Qafarov's body four days
later for burial in the village, but Qafarov's relatives never saw his
remains and were not allowed to attend the burial. Since then, Safarov
said, Qafarov's family has faced "heavy harassment" from other
villagers angered by the treason allegations. Qafarov's children have
been expelled from school.
Imran Cabbarov, the head of the local government in Aydinqyshlaq,
confirmed that Qafarov died in custody. "He died and was buried,"
Cabbarov told RFE/RL. "Only law-enforcement bodies can talk about
it. If he committed such a crime as treason, it would serve him
right."
Bastainfo.com and the Berlin-based independent website Meydan TV
reported similar circumstances when the bodies of other suspects in
the spy case were returned to their villages.
Temkin Nizamioglu, a 24-year-old lieutenant from the Ordubad region
near Azerbaijan's southern border with Iran, was one of at least three
active military officers reportedly arrested in the case. Nizamioglu
was buried in his village of Darkend by Azerbaijani soldiers who
returned his body.
"It's true that his body was brought to the village for burial, and
according to the soldiers who brought him, he had heart problems and
died in a hospital," the village's municipal chief, Raqib, said.
The body of officer Elcin Quliyev was delivered for burial in his town
of Terter on May 18 shortly after he was arrested in the spy case. A
cousin of Quliyev, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Meydan TV
that the soldiers who returned his body didn't give the family any
details about the cause of his death.
"They just said they were investigating the issue and would inform us
about the cause of his death when that investigation is finished," the
cousin said.
Mehman Huseynov, a military officer from the village of Agkend in the
Terter region, also died in custody within days of being arrested in
the spy case. Local residents refused to allow Huseynov to be buried
in the village cemetery because of the treason accusations against
him.
Meydan TV also reported that a 32-year-old soldier named Elcin
Mirzaliyev was buried in his village of Shalig in the Ucar region,
within days of being arrested in the case. That report said Mirzaliyev
died on May 25 and was returned to his village the next day by
soldiers who buried him without allowing relatives to see his body or
attend his burial.
The head of Shalig's municipality, Arif Ahmadov, confirmed that
Mirzaliyev was buried but would not give any details about the cause
of his death.
There have been anonymous claims on social media that other
Azerbaijani soldiers have died in custody after being arrested for
treason in the spy scandal. RFE/RL could not confirm the veracity of
those reports or attest to the reliability of the sources.
(Written by RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz, with reporting from
RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service.)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org