Category: 2017

                                        Thursday, 
Government Bill To Set New Referendum Rules In Armenia
 . Artak Hambardzumian
Armenia - A voter in Yerevan casts a ballot in a constitutional
referendum, 6Dec2015.
The Armenian government approved on Thursday a bill that allows civic
groups to initiate referendums backed by a large number of citizens.
The bill stems from Armenia's amended constitution that will come into
effect next April. Only the president of the republic and the
parliament are currently able to put various issues on referendums.
Under the draft Law on Referendums, groups of citizens could force
nationwide votes on legislative initiatives that have been rejected by
the National Assembly. But they would have to not only collect at
least 300,000 signatures of voters but also have the Constitutional
Court certify that a particular measure does not contradict the
constitution.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting in Yerevan, Justice Minister Davit
Harutiunian also pointed to other restrictions set by the bill. In
particular, it stipulates that issues relating to the structure of the
government, national security, taxation and amnesties cannot be put on
a referendum.
Artur Sakunts, a human rights activist, criticized these strict
requirements, saying that they make it practically impossible for
civic groups and individuals to exercise their news constitutional
right. "There is no logic behind the restrictions on the types of
issues that can be put on a referendum," he told RFE/RL's Armenian
service (Azatutyu.am).
Still, Sakunts said that he believes non-governmental organizations
will carefully consider the possibility of making use of the bill in
the future if it is passed by the parliament.
Anti-Trust Body Concerned Over Procurement Fraud
 . Tatevik Lazarian
Armenia - The Prime Minister's Office and Finance Ministry buildings
in Yerevan, 30Sep2017.
Armenia's state anti-trust regulators have expressed concern at a lack
of competition in supplies of goods and services to various government
agencies, saying that this might fuel corrupt practices.
According to Artak Shaboyan, the chairman of the State Commission for
the Protection of Economic Competition (SCPEC), the regulatory body
has scrutinized state procurements and found that bidding
specifications were often so detailed that only a single company could
realistically meet them.
"For example, there were cases where a state body writes in its call
for procurement proposals the name of a company or a product brand or
its technical specifications are so detailed that it expects products
from a particular supplier," Shaboyan complained during a public
discussion in Yerevan.
"This may lie beyond our authority but it affects the competitive
environment," he said, adding that the SCPEC has already conveyed its
concerns to the government.
The Anti-Corruption Center (ACC), the Armenian affiliate of
Transparency International, has for years charged that various
government agencies purchase many goods and services at
disproportionately high prices from a handful of companies usually
owned by government-linked individuals.
"Corruption risks are obvious there," Varuzhan Hoktanian, the ACC's
program director, said on Thursday, commenting on Shaboyan's concerns.
"There is also another factor," he said. "We know that we have a
monopolized economy, which means that [many things] are done for a
particular company."
Prime Minister Karen Karapetian publicly questioned the integrity of
state procurements just days after taking office in September 2016. In
April this year, his government enacted amendments to an Armenian law
on procurements meant to make the process much more transparent and
prevent conflicts of interests among officials dealing with such
purchases. A government official claimed in June that they will
seriously preclude procurement fraud and collusion.
Deputy Finance Minister Karen Tamazian argued on Thursday that the
amendments also banned the kind of "discriminatory" bidding
requirements that were deplored by Shaboyan's commission. "It is
illegal to draw up such specifications," Tamazian told RFE/RL's
Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). He added that his ministry is now
closely monitoring government agencies' compliance with the new rules.
The ACC's Hoktanian acknowledged that the amendments were a step
forward. He cautioned, however, that many laws are not properly
enforced by the authorities.
Man Charged In `Coup Plot' Again On Hunger Strike
 . Sisak Gabrielian
Armenia - Nerses Poghosian stands trial on coup charges.
A man accused of plotting, together with a radical opposition leader,
an armed revolt against the Armenian government has refused food for
the last three weeks in what is his third hunger strike in less than a
year.
The suspect, Nerses Poghosian, was taken into custody following the
arrest in June 2016 of Zhirayr Sefilian, the leader of the Founding
Parliament opposition movement.
Sefilian was charged with acquiring large quantities of weapons and
forming an armed group to seize government buildings in Yerevan. He
and other senior members of Founding Parliament deny the charges as
politically motivated.
Poghosian is facing similar charges carrying between three and eight
years' imprisonment. He too flatly denies them, saying that he did not
even know Sefilian personally and was never affiliated with Founding
Parliament.
Poghosian first went on hunger strike in protest against his detention
in December. He ended the protest a month later. His second hunger
strike lasted for a week, with the authorities again refused to meet
his demand.
His third hunger strike began 20 days ago. Poghosian is demanding not
only his release from custody but also greater transparency in the
ongoing trial of Sefilian, himself and five other men. In addition, he
is demanding the replacement of a trial prosecutor who he claims
insulted him recently.
Representatives of Armenia's human rights ombudsman, Arman Tatoyan,
visited the coup suspect in Yerevan's Nubarashen prison on
Wednesday. "He suffers from headaches and also has stomach and kidney
aches," one of them, Aram Minasian, told RFE/RL's Armenian service
(Azatutyun.am) on Thursday.
"Nerses Poghosian also said that doctors periodically visit him but
that he keeps refusing medical aid," said Minasian.
Poghosian's lawyer, Ara Papikian, said that his client is having
serious health problems because of the hunger strike.
Press Review
Interviewed by "168 Zham," Grigory Trofimchuk, a Russian political
analyst, comments on the latest meeting of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani presidents that was held in Geneva on Monday. Trofimchuk
notes that confidence-building agreements reached by Presidents Serzh
Sarkisian and Ilham Aliyev at their previous talks held last year were
never implemented. "As for what Azerbaijan expects from these
negotiations, there will be no such results," he says. "Nobody is
going to hand over lands to anyone.
"Zhamanak" reports that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is
scheduled to arrive in Yerevan on October 24 to take part in a regular
session of the prime ministers of ex-Soviet states making up the
Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). "Medvedev's visit to
Armenia is seen as important not on the Eurasian plane," the paper
says. "The thing is that Karen Karapetian's several public messages
make it clear that Armenia's prime minister is mainly pinning his
hopes regarding the formation of [Armenia's next] government in 2018
on Medvedev's backing."
"Zhoghovurd" accuses Karapetian and other government officials of
"mocking the people" in response to their efforts to rationalize and
downplay the latest increases in the retail prices of foodstuffs such
as meat and butter in Armenia. In particular, it says, the chairman of
Armenia's State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition
(SCPEC), Artak Shaboyan, said on Wednesday that the SCPEC has looked
into the butter, meat and fuel markets and found that there are
"objective grounds" for the prices hikes there. For his part,
Karapetian told reporters that the price rises are not as drastic as
they are presented by media and that there is little his government
could do about them because they were caused by external market
factors. "What is this?" the paper says. "Cynicism? A mockery of the
people? Or a sad attempt to confess their impotence?"
(Anush Mkrtchian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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