Category: 2018

                                        Wednesday, 
New Yerevan Mayor Takes Office
        • Narine Ghalechian
Armenia - Newly elected Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutian speaks to journalists, 10 
October 2018.
A 41-year-old comedian allied to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian took 
over as mayor of Yerevan on Wednesday at the inaugural session of the new city 
council elected late last month.
Hayk Marutian topped the list of candidates of Pashinian’s My Step alliance 
which won over 80 percent of the vote in municipal elections held on September 
23. The landslide victory earned it 57 of the 65 seats in the council.
Under Armenian law, the top candidate of a party or bloc gaining an outright 
majority in the municipal legislature automatically becomes Yerevan mayor. 
Marutian will be officially sworn in on Saturday.
“We have a historic opportunity to make our long-standing dreams come true,” 
the new mayor told the council.
“I am confident that with this composition of the Council of Elders we will 
make sure that our fellow Yerevan residents smile every day, every hour, every 
second,” he said.
Armenia - Members of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's My Step alliance vote at 
the inaugural session of Yerevan's municipal council, .
Nicknamed “Kargin Hayko,” Marutian is famous for his performances in popular 
comedy shows aired by Armenian TV channels. He has also produced his own shows 
and films in the past several years.
A strong backer of Pashinian, Marutian actively participated in mass protests 
in April and May that brought down Armenia’s former government headed by Serzh 
Sarkisian.
Marutian’s predecessor, Taron Markarian, is a senior member of Sarkisian’s 
Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). Markarian, in office since 2011, resigned in 
July under pressure from Pashinian’s government.
The HHK majority in the previous city council decided not to appoint another 
Republican mayor, paving the way for the September 23 elections. The former 
ruling party did not participate in them.
Speaking to reporters, Marutian seemed to rule out staff purges within the 
municipal administration which Pashinian and his allies have for years accused 
of corruption. He said he will not fire “professionals willing to work under 
the rules of new Armenia.”
“If people are ready to serve, if they have no problems with the law, I am 
ready to work with those who can be of use,” he said.
Commenting on his immediate tasks, Marutian said: “First of all, we need to 
solve the problem of garbage collection and then step by step switch to other 
issues which we presented in our campaign manifesto.”
Armenia - Commuter minibuses are parked on a street during a public transport 
strike in Yerevan, 16 January 2018.
The new mayor also faces the daunting task of overhauling the Armenian 
capital’s outdated system of public transportation, a key source of complains 
from Yerevan residents.
Ever since the mid-1990s, the system has been dominated by minibuses belonging 
to private companies, many of them owned by government-linked individuals or 
even government officials themselves. Few of them have invested in their fleet 
of aging vehicles in the past decade. The minibuses as well as a smaller number 
of buses provided by the municipality have become even more overcrowded as a 
result.
A British consulting firm contracted by the municipality submitted last year 
detailed recommendations on how to revamp the transport network. Former Mayor 
Markarian’s administration essentially accepted them, pledging to replace the 
battered minibuses with new and larger buses by the end of 2018.
One of Markarian’s deputies said in August 2017 that the long-awaited change 
will require as much as $100 million in investments, a sum equivalent to almost 
57 percent of the entire municipal budget. He said the municipal authorities 
hope to attract a “foreign investor” that would run the new network and foot 
the bill.
Marutian said that he and his aides will look into the British firm’s 
proposals. If they are deemed realistic and free of “corruption risks” the new 
mayor’s office will be ready to implement them, he added.
Pashinian In Fresh Talks With Former Ruling Party
        • Ruzanna Stepanian
ARMENIA -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian addresses supporters during 
a rally outside the parliament building in Yerevan early, October 3, 2018
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian met with parliamentary leaders of former 
President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) on Wednesday one 
day after it effectively pledged not to derail his plans to force snap general 
elections in December.
Pashinian praised the HHK move as “reasonable” after meeting with parliament 
speaker Ara Babloyan in the National Assembly building in Yerevan.
“The purpose of my visit is to resolve this political situation in an 
atmosphere of utter stability and calm,” he told reporters. “After yesterday’s 
statement by the Republican Party I found it necessary to come here today.”
In that statement, the HHK’s parliamentary faction said it “did not and does 
not have an intention to nominate a candidate” for the post of prime minister 
if Pashinian steps down this month for tactical reasons. But it said it 
continues to believe that the polls must be held in May or June next year.
Under the Armenian constitution, the National Assembly can be dissolved only if 
the prime minister resigns and lawmakers fail to replace him or her within two 
weeks.
Pashinian, who also held talks with HHK faction leader Vahram Baghdasarian, 
reaffirmed his declared plans to tender his resignation this month. But he 
again decline to give any dates for the resignation. “It’s a matter of some 
calculation,” he said.
The popular premier also warned the HHK’s potential decision to nominate or 
endorse another prime-ministerial candidate would amount to an “attempt to 
destabilize situation in country.” “I am glad that people correctly assessed 
the situation,” he said of the HHK statement.
The statement came after at least ten lawmakers representing Sarkisian’s party 
broke ranks to call for holding the elections before the end of this year. The 
HHK’s deputy chairman, Armen Ashotian, claimed that at least some of them did 
so as result of government pressure and even intimidation.
Pashinian denied that, saying that the HHK dissenters simply “listened to the 
voice of the people.”
Pashinian reacted furiously when the HHK hastily pushed through the parliament 
late on October 2 a bill that called into question the success of his plans.
The bill was also backed by the Prosperous Armenia (BHK) and Dashnaktsutyun 
parties that were represented in the current government at that point. 
Pashinian publicly fired the six government ministers affiliated with those 
parties as thousands of his supporters rallied outside the parliament building 
on that night.
The BHK dropped its objections to the December elections a few days later. The 
party led by businessman Gagik Tsarukian controls 31 seats in the current 
105-member parliament, compared with 50 seats held by the HHK.
Russian-Armenian Military Force Holds Drills
Armenia - A joint Russian-Armenian military force holds exercises at the 
Marshal Bagramian training ground, .
Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan watched on Wednesday exercises held by a joint 
Russian-Armenian military force which Moscow and Yerevan agreed to reinforce 
two years ago.
The weeklong exercises began on Monday, with hundreds of Armenian and Russian 
soldiers backed up by tanks, artillery systems and combat helicopter simulating 
defensive operations. Armenia’s Defense Ministry reported earlier that one of 
their objectives will be to “step up protection of the state border.”
A ministry statement released on Wednesday said military officials briefed 
Tonoyan on the course ofthe drills held at the Marshal Bagramian training 
ground 50 kilometers west of Yerevan. The minister then watched soldiers of the 
Russian-Armenian United Grouping of Troops defeat an imaginary invader, said 
the statement.
Armenia - Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan (C) talks to Russian and Armenian 
soldiers participating in joint exercises at the Marshal Bagramian training 
ground, .
The joint force was originally set up in 2000. It comprises troops from the 
Russian military base in Armenia and the Armenian army’s Fifth Corps mainly 
deployed along the Turkish border. A Russian-Armenian agreement signed in 
November 2016 was meant to upgrade its mission and ascertain its 
command-and-control structure.
In particular, the agreement stipulates that the commander of the 
Russian-Armenian unit is appointed by Armenia’s political leadership. The 
commander is subordinate to the chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff in 
times of peace. He may report to the head of Russia’s Southern Military 
District in case of a war or imminent military aggression against Armenia or 
Russia.
Another Russian-Armenian agreement signed in late 2015 created a new, more 
closely integrated system of joint air defense. The Russian and Armenian 
militaries have been jointly protecting Armenia’s airspace ever since the 
mid-1990s.
Armenian Tycoon Charged After Arrest
        • Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - Businessman Samvel Mayrapetian at the official opening of his 
Toyota-Yerevan car dealership in Yerevan, 23 June 2009.
A wealthy Armenian businessman who has benefited from government connections in 
the past was remanded in pre-trial custody on corruption charges late on 
Tuesday.
A court in Yerevan allowed the Special Investigative Service (SIS) to keep 
Samvel Mayrapetian under arrest for two months after he was formally charged 
with “assisting bribery.”
A lawyer for Mayrapetian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) his 
client denies the charge and that he will therefore appeal against the court’s 
decision.
The SIS has so far refused to publicize any details of the accusation. It thus 
remains unclear whom it accuses or suspects of accepting a bribe with the 
tycoon’s help.
Mayrapetian is one of the country’s leading real estate developers who also 
owns a national TV channel and a car dealership. His company was involved in a 
controversial redevelopment of old districts in downtown Yerevan during the 
1998-2008 rule of President Robert Kocharian.
Media outlets critical of the former government for years linked Kocharian’s 
elder son Sedrak to the Toyota dealership officially belonging to Mayrapetian.
Kocharian is currently under investigation over his role in the deadly breakup 
of post-election demonstrations in Yerevan staged during the final weeks of his 
decade-long presidency. Last month, Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) 
launched a separate corruption inquiry into the embattled ex-president.
The NSS director, Artur Vanetsian, said on September 11 that investigators are 
scrutinizing what he described as hundreds of millions of dollars worth of 
assets belonging to Kocharian and his family members. Vanetsian promised two 
weeks later that their findings will be made public “soon.”
Kocharian has denied enriching himself or his family while in office and 
accused the current Armenian authorities of waging a political “vendetta” 
against him. He has only admitted that his two sons are engaged in 
entrepreneurial activity.
Armenian PM To Resign ‘By October 16’
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his wife Anna Hakobian talk to a 
robot at an economic forum held ahead of a Francophonie summit in Yerevan, 10 
October 2018.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on Wednesday that he is planning to tender 
his resignation by October 16 to ensure that snap parliamentary elections are 
held in Armenia in early December.
Under the Armenian constitution, the current parliament will be dissolved if it 
fails to elect another prime minister within two weeks after Pashinian’s 
resignation. None of the parliamentary factions is expected to try to replace 
him by another premier.
“I can say tentatively that the elections will take place approximately on 
December 9 or 10, plus or minus several days, Pashinian told the France24 TV 
channel in an interview that will be aired in full on Thursday.
“To this end, I have to tender my resignation by October 16,” he said.
The constitution allows Pashinian to continue to perform his prime-ministerial 
duties at least until the inaugural session of the new parliament.
The 43-year-old premier, who controls only a handful of seats in the current 
National Assembly, stepped up his push for the early elections after his 
alliance won more than 80 percent of the vote in the September 23 municipal 
elections in Yerevan. Observers believe that his political team will gain a 
comfortable majority in the new parliament as well.
Press Review
Lragir.am sees deepening divisions within Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party 
(HHK). “The criminal-oligarchic system is on its way out and its political 
carriers -- the HHK, the BHK and Dashnaktsutyun -- have found themselves in a 
state of uncertainty,” comments the publication. “The BHK tried to save itself 
by putting itself at the mercy of the people and the new authorities, the HHK 
is in the final stage of disintegration, while Dashnaktsutyun in a pathetic 
position.”
“Aravot” is not surprised by the BHK’s and some HHK lawmakers’ “pledges of 
allegiance to the new authorities.” The paper believes that individual business 
interests were behind these political moves. “Entrepreneurs engaged in politics 
have clear interests,” it says in an editorial. “There is no BHK, there is 
businessman Gagik Tsarukian who keeps a party based on his calculations. There 
is no HHK, there are businessmen who kept a party at Serzh Sarkisian’s urging. 
The current authorities have no ties to those businessmen or a vested interest 
in seeing them in the parliament. That is a cause for optimism in the sense 
that businessmen should no longer feel the need to set up or keep parties and 
enter the parliament. This will finally separate business from politics and the 
state system.”
“Zhoghovurd” says that the HHK is “conceding its defeat” in the fight against 
Nikol Pashinian. “This was certainly expected, especially after what happened 
on October 2 when citizens, responding to an appeal from Pashinian, surrounded 
the National Assembly to demand pre-term elections,” writes the paper. “In this 
situation, the HHK had no choice to but acknowledge its defeat in a dignified 
way and agree to the holding of pre-term parliamentary elections.”
“Zhamanak” comments on the arrest of Samvel Mayrapetian, a wealthy businessman 
reputedly linked to former Armenian governments. The paper says that although 
the arrest did not cause uproar it did influence the latest political 
developments in the country.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
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

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                                        Tuesday, 
Republican Lawmakers Side With Armenian PM
ARMENIA -- Supporters of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian protest outside the 
parliament building in Yerevan, October 3, 2018
At least ten lawmakers representing the former ruling Republican Party of 
Armenia (HHK) have broken ranks to voice support for Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian’s efforts to force snap parliamentary elections in December.
They include Gevorg Kostanian, the chairman of the Armenian parliament 
committee on legal affairs who served as prosecutor-general from 2013-2016.
Speaking to RFE/RL’s Armenian service on Monday, Kostanian said that Pashinian 
is “honest in his goals and desires,” enjoys overwhelming popular support and 
must therefore be able to execute his political plans.
Nine other members of the HHK’s parliamentary faction on Tuesday signed a 
statement that called for a quick dissolution of the current National Assembly. 
“The Armenian people stand by these authorities,” one of them, Knyaz Hasanov, 
told reporters.
The statement was also signed by seven other parliamentarians. Six of them 
defected from the HHK faction shortly after Pashinian swept to power in May in 
wave of mass protests that toppled the country’s former government headed by 
Serzh Sarkisian. The latter remains the HHK’s chairman.
The HHK, which now controls 50 of the 105 seats in the parliament, is opposed 
to holding the elections in December. It says that they should be delayed until 
May or June so that political forces have enough time to properly prepare for 
them and enact anti-fraud amendments to the Electoral Code.
Armenia - Deputies from the Republican Party of Armenia attend a parliament 
session in Yerevan, 22 May 2018.
Under the Armenian constitution, the parliament can be dissolved only if it 
fails to elect, within two weeks, another prime minister in case of Pashinian’s 
resignation. Pashinian has pledged to tender his resignation this month.
The HHK’s parliamentary leaders have so far declined to clarify whether they 
will respond by nominating or endorsing a prime-ministerial candidate. The 
effective defections of more HHK lawmakers dealt a further blow to the party’s 
ability to scuttle Pashinian’s plans.
The 43-year-old premier on Monday secured the crucial backing of businessman 
Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) which holds 31 parliament 
seats. In a joint memorandum, Tsarukian and Pashinian said the fresh elections 
must be held in December.
As recently as on October 2, the BHK helped the HHK to enact a bill that could 
have complicated the conduct of the vote. Pashinian reacted furiously to the 
move, telling his supporters to rally outside the parliament building in 
Yerevan and firing government ministers representing Tsarukian’s party.
Pashinian, who controls only a handful of seats in the current legislature, 
stepped up his push for snap general polls after his My Step alliance won as 
much as 80 percent of the vote in the September 23 municipal elections in 
Yerevan. Observers believe that his political team could do just as well if the 
polls are held in the coming weeks. By contrast, the HHK would most probably 
struggle to win any seats in the next National Assembly.
U.S. Hopes For Democratic Elections In Armenia
Armenia - U.S. Ambassador Richard Mills (R) gifts a book to Armenian Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian, Yerevan, 8 October 2018.
The United States hopes that the widely anticipated snap parliamentary 
elections in Armenia will be free and fair, the outgoing U.S. ambassador in 
Yerevan, Richard Mills, said on Tuesday.
“The date for elections is a matter for political parties, the government and 
the Armenian people to come to a decision,” Mills told a news conference.
“What the U.S. government and, I think, all the friends of Armenia want to see 
out of these elections is a free, fair and credible process that gives all 
parties … a chance to fairly participate, and a process that will have 
credibility with the Armenian people and produce solid multi-party democracy 
that has a loyal opposition as well as a ruling majority,” he said.
Mills, who had a farewell meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on 
Monday, added that he is “very encouraged” by his election-related discussions 
with Armenian government officials and politicians. He praised their “spirit of 
sitting down and reaching a compromise on what’s the best way to move forward 
on elections.”
The current Armenian parliament has been widely expected to be dissolved ever 
since Pashinian-led mass protests brought down this spring the country’s 
previous government headed by Serzh Sarkisian.
U.S. President Donald Trump praised those protests when he congratulated 
Pashinian on Armenia’s Independence Day marked on September 21.
“A peaceful, popular movement ushered in a new era in Armenia, and we look 
forward to working with you to help you execute the will of your people to 
combat corruption and to establish representative, accountable governance, rule 
of law buttressed by an independent judiciary, and political and economic 
competition,” Trump wrote in a congratulatory message.
The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan gave a largely positive assessment of the conduct 
of Armenia’s last parliamentary elections held in April 2017. It said “voters 
were able to freely exercise their right to vote.”
An April 2017 statement by the embassy backed the findings of an OSCE-led 
monitoring team which said that the elections were “tainted by credible 
information about vote-buying” and pressure on voters. But it also said that 
electronic anti-fraud equipment installed in the Armenian polling stations 
helped to prevent more serious irregularities.
Sarkisian’s Party Decries ‘Government Pressure’
        • Astghik Bedevian
Armenia - Armen Ashotian, a deputy chairman of Republican Party of Armenia.
A senior member of former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK) on 
Tuesday accused the authorities of forcing some of its deputies to agree to the 
early dissolution of Armenia’s current parliament.
“According to my information, pressure was exerted on and the state repressive 
apparatus was used against a number of deputies,” claimed Armen Ashotian. “They 
even tried to find ways of influencing some deputies from abroad.”
“But I don’t exclude that there are also [HHK] deputies who willingly changed 
their positions,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).
At least ten HHK lawmakers have openly voiced support for Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian’s efforts to force snap parliamentary elections in December. The HHK 
leadership says that the vote must not be held before May.
Ashotian argued that none of the HHK dissenters voiced objections when the 
former ruling party’s parliamentary faction issued last week a statement that 
argued against holding the elections in December. He said at least some of them 
subsequently voiced support for Pashinian’s plans as a result of government 
pressure and intimidation.
Ashotian refused to name any of those lawmakers, however. “Let those people 
themselves talk about that pressure,” he said. “It is evident that such 
pressure first occurred when some deputies left our 58-member faction [in June] 
and we became a 50-member faction.”
Hrachya Hakobian, a lawmaker representing Pashinian’s Yelk alliance, dismissed 
Ashotian’s allegations. He challenged the HHK representative to present 
evidence of his claims to law-enforcement authorities.
“It looks like Mr. Ashotian is confusing the current situation with the 
situation that existed during their rule,” said Hakobian.
Pashinian on Monday praised HHK parliamentarians for breaking ranks. He said 
they should be “encouraged” by his supporters.
Meanwhile, the HHK faction issued another statement on Tuesday saying that it 
will not nominate a candidate for the post of prime minister if Pashinian 
resigns to pave the way for the December elections. But it said it continues to 
believe that the polls must be held in May or June next year.
Press Review
“Zhoghovurd” is confident that fresh parliamentary elections will be held in 
Armenia before the end of this year. The paper says that Serzh Sarkisian’s 
Republican Party (HHK) is “falling apart,” with several members of its 
parliamentary faction openly saying that the elections should be held in 
December. It points out that the current parliament’s dissolution is now also 
supported by Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK). “It must also be 
noted that political processes seem to be unfolding without shocks,” it says.
Lragir.am notes that former Prosecutor-General Gevorg Kostanian is one of those 
HHK parliamentarians who have effectively sided with Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian. Another HHK lawmaker, Alik Sargsian, has expressed readiness to 
leave the HHK’s parliamentary faction. The online publication notes that these 
developments followed the weekend arrest of Samvel Mayrapetian, a wealthy 
entrepreneur reputedly linked to former President Robert Kocharian. “The 
[former] system is crumbling and any attempted resistance only accelerates the 
depletion of its resources,” it says.
“Zhamanak” comments on a joint memorandum of understanding that was signed by 
Pashinian and BHK leader Gagik Tsarukian on Monday. “In terms of current 
political affairs, Gagik Tsarukian tried to save the chance to be second [most 
important political force,]” writes the paper. “The question, however, is 
whether by voicing support for Pashinian and agreeing to holding elections in 
December he managed to reverse the losses suffered by the BHK on October 2. It 
is possible that the BHK leader does not care about that and is now more 
concerned with his personal rating seeing as the BHK’s ‘political period’ 
probably ended a long time ago.”
(Lilit Harutiunian)
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