Category: 2017

                                        Monday, 
Tsarukian Won't Rule Out Coalition Deal With Ruling Party
 . Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - Businessman Gagik Tsarukian speaks to journalists in the
Armenian parliament, 11Sep2017.
Businessman Gagik Tsarukian, who leads Armenia's second largest
parliamentary force, on Monday did not rule out the possibility of
reaching a new power-sharing agreement with President Serzh
Sarkisian's Republican Party (HHK).
He gave no indication that the Tsarukian Bloc, which claims to be in
opposition to the Armenian government, would challenge Sarkisian's
possible decision to become prime minister after completing his final
term in April.
Speaking to journalists, Tsarukian also referred to Prime Minister
Karen Karapetian as his "friend" and offered guarded praise for the
latter's track record.
"I don't exclude anything in life," he said when asked about the
possibility of a coalition agreement with the HHK. "The bottom line is
that I will honor my promises to the people."
Tsarukian's Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), the dominant force in his
bloc, was a junior coalition partner in the Sarkisian administration
from 2008-2012. The party pulled out of the government amid mounting
tensions between the tycoon and the president. The discord culminated
in a February 2015 standoff between the two men. Tsarukian resigned as
BHK leader at the time only to return to active politics in the run-up
to the April 2017 parliamentary elections.
During the election campaign Tsarukian criticized the socioeconomic
situation in Armenia but stopped short of openly blaming Sarkisian for
it. His bloc finished second in the polls, winning 31 seats in the
country's 105-seat parliament. Official election results gave a
landslide victory to the ruling HHK.
Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian (L) attends the inauguration of a
new fitness center in Yerevan owned by businessman Gagik Tsarukian
(R), 31Oct2016.
Tsarukian on Monday would not be drawn on Sarkisian's possible
decision to stay in power as prime minister."I don't answer questions
with `ifs,'" he said. "I will speak when the Republican Party
nominates its candidate [for the post of prime minister.] That right
is reserved for the Republicans."
The tycoon insisted that Sarkisian's HHK won a popular mandate to
continue governing the country in the April elections. He dismissed as
"baseless" some opposition politicians' claims that the vote was
rigged.
Asked whether the Tsarukian Bloc would attempt to create obstacles to
Sarkisian's appointment as prime minister, he said: "The obstacle
should have been our people. If our people gave more than 50 percent
of the vote to the Republican Party, the Republican Party is
responsible for the country, the people, the state and its security."
Sarkisian has still not clarified whether he plans to become prime
minister, replace Prime Minister Karapetian with someone else or let
him retain his post in April 2018. His political allies have also been
vague on the subject.
Asked to assess Karapetian's one-year track record, Tsarukian said: "I
don't find it correct to express an opinion on my friend. When we
meet, I speak of both negative and positive things. Today positive
things are visible: interest rates have fallen from 25-30 percent to
8-10 percent, the number of [foreign] tourists has risen by over 25
percent."
Aliyev Pardons Russian-Israeli Blogger Jailed For Trips To Karabakh
Azerbaijan -- Russian-Israeli blogger Aleksandr Lapshin is escorted
upon his landing in Baku after being extradicted from Belarus to
Azerbaijan, February 7, 2017
Aleksandr Lapshin, a Russian-Israeli blogger jailed in Azerbaijan for
travelling to Nagorno-Karabakh, was pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev
on Monday after reportedly attempting to commit suicide.
A senior aide to Aliyev, Ali Hasanov, said he will most likely be sent
to Israel within the next few days. Hasanov also revealed that Lapshin
is currently receiving medical assistance after he tried to kill
himself while in Azerbaijani custody.
According to Azerbaijan's Justice Minister, Lapshin attempted to take
his own life on Sunday in protest a delay in his extradition to
Israel. "Thanks to the vigilance of prison guards, the suicide attempt
was thwarted," the ministry's Penitentiary Service said in a statement
cited by Azerbaijani media.
Aliyev's decree coincided with the start of Azerbaijani Defense
Minister Zakir Hasanov's visit to Israel.
The 40-year-old blogger, who has Israeli, Russian and Ukrainian
citizenships, was detained in Belarus's capital Minsk on an
Azerbaijani arrest warrant last December. The Belarusian authorities
extradited him to Azerbaijan in February, prompting strong criticism
from Armenia and Russia as well as Western watchdogs like Amnesty
International. Azerbaijan rejected the criticism.
An Azerbaijani court sentenced Lapshin to three years in prison in
July. It said he illegally crossed Azerbaijan's internationally
recognized borders when he travelled to Karabakh via Armenia in 2011
and 2012.Lapshin gave detailed accounts of those visits on his
Russian-language travel blog.
The blogger pleaded not guilty to the accusation during his trial. At
the same time, he said he now understands that his trips to Karabakh
offended many Azerbaijanis.
Years before his arrest, Lapshin was placed on an official Azerbaijani
blacklist of several hundred non-Armenian foreigners who have visited
Karabakh without Baku's permission. Nevertheless, he was able to
travel to Azerbaijan in June 2016 and post a series of detailed blog
entries on his mixed impressions about the oil-rich country.
In particular, Lapshin suggested that the Azerbaijani authorities have
squandered their massive oil revenues. "Despite 25 years of oil
bonanza, the country is hardly different from neighboring Armenia and
Georgia in terms of socioeconomic development," he wrote.
Head Of Armenian Lawyer Association Reelected Despite Criticism
 . Artak Hambardzumian
Armenia - The chairman of the Chamber of Advocates, Ara Zohrabian,
gives a press conference in Yerevan, 21Jan2014.
The head of Armenia's national bar association has been reelected for
another four-year term after months of strong criticism from lawyers
for radical opposition members that are currently standing trial in
Yerevan.
The Chamber of Advocates, which regulates the legal profession in the
country, comprises more than 1,852 lawyers. Just over 1,000 of them
voted for its incumbent chairman, Ara Zohrabian, in an election held
over the weekend. Zohrabian ran for reelection unopposed.
Only 69 attorneys voted against him. Nearly 700 other members of the
association did not vote at all. They included most of about 180
lawyers that plan to go on a one-day strike on Wednesday.
They will protest against controversial security checks on defense
lawyers involved in the ongoing trials of Zhirayr Sefilian, the jailed
leader of the Founding Parliament movement, and his three dozen
loyalists who seized a police station in Yerevan last year. The
lawyers have been required to walk through metal detectors before
entering courtrooms. They say this procedure amounts to a search not
allowed by Armenian law.
Armenia's Judicial Department insists that the security "inspections"
do not constitute searches and are therefore legal. Zohrabian has
defended the procedure, saying that the judicial authorities have
legitimate concerns about a possible transfer of weapons to jailed
opposition gunmen. The protesting lawyers have denounced this stance
and accused Zohrabian of helping the authorities violate their rights.
Zohrabian portrayed on Monday his reelection as further proof that his
critics are a small minority which cannot speak for most of Armenia's
lawyers. "They realize that most lawyers do not share their views," he
said. "And they are very angry with that."
While accusing the "estranged lawyers" of seeking to discredit him and
the Chamber of Advocates, Zohrabian said he will try to mend fences
with them later this week. "Even lions hunt as a group because they
realize that it's easier to act together," he said.
He also called the upcoming strike a legitimate form of protest that
might ultimately benefit the bar association.
Armenia Clarifies Stance On Troop Deployment To Syria
 . Sargis Harutyunyan
SYRIA -- Syrian children stand next to a member of the Russian
military police in Jibrin, on the outskirts of Aleppo, August 16, 2017
Armenia is ready, in principle, to send a demining team to Syria as
part of a multinational "coalition" that could be formed by Russia,
the Defense Ministry in Yerevan said on Monday.
A top Russian military official said late last month that Armenia and
Serbia have expressed readiness to join such a coalition which Russia
hopes would help its troops clear landmines in the war-torn
country. Moscow formally proposed its creation at the United Nations
in April.
The Armenian government did not immediately confirm the Russian
official's statement. A spokesman for President Serzh Sarkisian said
only that official Yerevan will make a statement "when a decision is
made and all issues are clarified."
In a written statement to RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am),
the Defense Ministry clarified that the Armenian and Russian
militaries already held "preliminary working discussions" last year on
the possibility of Armenia's participation in "humanitarian demining
efforts in Syria."
"During the discussions, Armenia expressed readiness to consider
possibilities of becoming involved with a humanitarian demining
detachment -- in case of the launch of such an initiative, the Syrian
government's consent, and observance of all international legal
procedures -- in those parts of Syria where there are no ongoing
hostilities," said the statement.
"At the moment, the Armenian Defense Ministry has no information
regarding the course of the formation of the coalition, its
composition and especially time frames for its deployment," it
stressed.
The issue was also on the agenda of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov's April 2016 visit to Yerevan. Lavrov discussed possible
Armenian involvement in demining operations in the historic Syrian
city of Palmyra when he met with his Armenian counterpart Edward
Nalbandian. "I hope that our joint initiative can be implemented," he
said after the talks.
It is not clear whether Sarkisian and Russian President Vladimir Putin
spoke about Syria when they met in the Russian city of Sochi on August
23. The Armenian presidential press service said they discussed
"topical international and regional issues."
Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO), a Russian-led military alliance of six ex-Soviet states.
Press Review
(Saturday, September 9)
"Zhoghovurd" is disappointed but not surprised with an Armenian
law-enforcement agency's decision not to prosecute anyone in
connection with a scandalous audio recording which suggested that
Artak Sargsian, a wealthy pro-government parliamentarian, threatened
to fire his employees if they did not help him get reelected to
parliament in April. "Right from the beginning it was clear that the
authorities are not going to subject anyone to even symbolic
punishment and # will cover up the case instead," writes the paper. It
says that Sargsian is "one of the pillars of the regime" who enjoys
the backing of the chief of President Serzh Sarkisian's security
detail. It says the only problem for the Armenian authorities is that
they will have to give embarrassing explanations to the U.S. and
European Union diplomats who expressed concern about pressure that was
exerted on public and private sector employees during the
parliamentary race.
"Zhamanak" comments on the opposition Yelk alliance's decision to seek
Armenia's exit from the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). The
paper has no doubts that a corresponding Yelk bill will be rejected by
the pro-government majority in the Armenian parliament. By contrast,
it is not certain about Yelk's real motives, wondering whether the
opposition bloc is serious about the bill or is simply trying to score
political points. Armenia, the paper goes on, needs a truly
pro-Western political camp. "Even if Armenia does not leave the EEU,
the existence of such a pole will help Armenia to make its voice heard
in the EEU," it says.
"People primarily complain of injustice and inequality," writes
"Hraparak." "That is the main reason for popular apathy, indifference
and emigration. When a person sees that the law is not equally
enforced for everyone and that people do not have equal opportunities
what other conclusions should they draw?"
(Tigran Avetisian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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