The proceedings in the case of Kocharyan and others were suspended and sent to the Constitutional Court

  • 20.05.2019
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  • Armenia:
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According to the court’s decision, the proceedings of the case against Robert Kocharyan, the former RA Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan, Seyran Ohanyan and Yuri Khachaturov were suspended and sent to the Constitutional Court.


The information was confirmed in our conversation by Seyran Ohanyan’s lawyer Inessa Petrosyan. He said that the staff of the court called and informed about the decision, but they did not say on what grounds it was suspended.


It should be noted that the defenders of Robert Kocharyan submitted such a petition to the court, but the court did not examine it. The Prosecutor’s Office says that they do not have such information.

Press: Pashinyan demanded explanations from Bako Sahakyan

  • 21.05.2019
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  • Armenia:
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VERELQ presents the most notable publications of the Armenian press.


“Publication” the newspaper writes. “In court on Friday Robert Kocharyan after submitting a motion to change the detention to the President of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan mcame to Moscow, returned to Armenia on Sunday and met with Pashinyan. The assurance of the presidents of Artsakh caused deep concerns for Pashinyan, especially since it followed Pashinyan’s threat to make a revolution in Artsakh. Our sources said that it was a surprise for Pashinyan that Bako Sahakyan and Arkady Ghukasyan not only did they forward the application addressed to the prosecutor’s office to the court, but they also came to the court. “Pashinyan speaks with the Artsakh authorities in terms of statuses, that’s why this chaos arose,” informed the Artsakh source. At the meeting, he demanded explanations from Bako Sahakyan, who assured that their move is not political, it is purely based on human, friendly relations. Yesterday evening, the President of Artsakh met with the “My Step” faction and assured that no counter-revolution is being planned in Artsakh.”


“People” the newspaper writes. “Yesterday NKR president Bako Sahakyan met with deputies of the “My step” faction of the RA NA. According to the information of “Zhoghovurd” daily, the meeting was quite heated, the most possible questions were asked, in a very open text, without hiding or trying to soften the questions, and Bako Sahakyan also gave the necessary answers, but calmly, in his characteristic way. Moreover, the deputies also mentioned among themselves that they were tense at the beginning, but they calmed down at the end. During the meeting, all possible questions were raised, starting with sending troops to Armenia on March 1, Robert Kocharyan from mediation for release, Armenia-Artsakh relations, even From Vitaly Balasanyan. “There was a very open conversation, it was interesting. Our questions were very direct, the president’s answers were also direct,” one of the deputies told “Zhoghovurd” daily Arman Boshyan»:


“Fact” the newspaper writes. According to the information of “Past” newspaper, the developments taking place in RA, which started on Sunday afternoon, have had a rather interesting course. According to the source of the newspaper, almost all of Sunday Nikol Pashinyan held by the Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan and Head of General Staff Artak Davtyanwith, had a series of closed consultations. It is not known what the security forces actually reported to Pashinyan, but one thing is clear, that it referred to the border tension and the possible aggression of the enemy. It was also reported that on May 20, Azerbaijan will start military exercises of 10,000 people, which in turn is an obvious risky phenomenon. According to the information of the newspaper, this circumstance, as well as the lack of participants, is the reason why Pashinyan changed his rhetoric yesterday and moved from euphoric and aggressive statements and calls to a more constructive field. According to the sources of the newspaper, he He changed the text of his originally planned speech and presented a completely different version.


“Realist” the newspaper writes. “Whatever Nikol Pashinyan tries to cut off the wings of his own government, all the same, they exist and very often they do not agree with Pashinyan’s actions and statements. It was quite vividly expressed yesterday, when the courts were “attacked”. According to our information, a great wave of disagreements has arisen in the government regarding this issue, to the point that there is no need to stage such shows, if it is possible to do so with government leverage. According to the opponents, with this step it became obvious that Pashinyan’s rating has decreased sharply, which was evidenced by the small number of people gathered in front of the courts. One of the “wings” of the government emphasized that the legal consequences of this step may be quite painful in the future, but Pashinyan needed noise, and he provided it.


“Publication” the newspaper writes. “Nikol Pashinyan Minister of Justice met after the “live” to block the courts Artak Zeynalyan, who, according to our sources, warned that it could be seen as a very dangerous step, especially for a CE member country, and it would not be possible to avoid international noise, plus the possibility of clashes, but Pashinyan did not “zadni”. In the office of Sayat-Nova of “My Step”, a faction meeting was immediately called at 10:30 p.m., which did not last long. He was instructed to participate in the action and do everything to prevent the situation from getting out of control. We tried to find out from the Ministry of Justice whether the minister and the prime minister met the previous day, what they talked about, and why no announcement was made. “The Ministry of Justice is part of the executive power, therefore, there was no need for the Minister of Justice to make a separate statement. As for the prime minister-minister meeting, they take place regularly on labor issues.” What did you discuss at the meeting of the faction called at midnight, we asked the only brave deputy of “My Step”? Queen Ghazaryan. “We discussed that we have a situation and how to face that situation, and we decided that, as deputies, if citizens gather in front of various courts, we will be by the citizens’ side to carefully monitor the peaceful course of the gatherings.” And didn’t you express an opinion that the prime minister should not have made such a call, it is a violation of the constitutional order? “What we consider necessary from the closed session of the group, we make public.” Can we conclude that there were opposing opinions? “No, you can’t!”


“Publication” the newspaper writes. “When will the official nominations of the presidential candidates in Artsakh begin, we asked the leader of the “Free Motherland” party, former Minister of State of Nagorno-Karabakh, who held a big forum in Ishkhanadzor community of Kashatagh region the previous day. Araik Harutyunyan. “December-January”. Why did you announce your candidacy late? Vitali Balasanyan, Samvel Babayan, Ashot Ghulyan they had done it earlier. “I’m not late, you don’t want to be late. First of all, they are not nominations, but those expressing their wishes. there will be more applicants.” And do you think that some will give up their desire by December, and will new ones express their desire? “I can’t say.” There is information that Robert Kocharyan it is possible to nominate his candidacy. “I think the rumors about the nomination of Robert Kocharyan are artificial, I don’t consider it real.” And the fact that your candidacy was announced during such a large, crowded meeting, was it not a demonstration that you are the main favorite? “No, of course not. Such big meetings are expected in the near future to clarify and understand people’s sentiments regarding our program.”


“time” the newspaper writes. “Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan no judge resigned after the announcement, and we should not expect such resignations in the near future. The judiciary has decided to resist. Robert Kocharyan assured the judges that the situation in Armenia will change in the near future, and all the judges will continue to serve.”


“Publication” the newspaper writes. “Member of the Central Committee Hayk Hovhannisyan the statement, which differed significantly from the position of the Central Committee, turns out to have a different reason. Hovhannisyan stated that blocking the courts is not unconstitutional. “Because if something isn’t working the way it’s supposed to, maybe there’s a need to stop, understand and find solutions… There is no legal chaos, there is a supreme value – it is the right of a person to live in dignity, and we have the right to demand from judges to work more efficiently.” His colleagues were not surprised by this statement. we were told that he is the mayor Hayk Marutyan it is close, there is also a godfather-godson bond.”


“time” the newspaper writes. “Judge of the Court of General Jurisdiction of Armavir Marz Vahe Khalatyan at 7:30 in the morning he went to the court building in Etchmiadzin and managed to reach his office. He is the only judge who has managed to achieve such an unprecedented success, and now he hopes that his feat will be appreciated and he will get some promotion.”


“People” the newspaper writes. “As it is known, a criminal case has been initiated regarding the abuses revealed within the framework of the street construction project in Gyumri. “Kompas” H/C studied the renovation works of a number of streets in Gyumri, and deviations from the established norms were found. “Zhoghovurd” daily learned that mainly violations were found in “Sisiani BUAT” and “A.A.B. project” in the works performed by the companies. As is known, “Sisiani BUAT” company belongs to the former vice-president of the National Assembly, RPA deputy Hermine Naghdalyan to the family. “A.A.B. “proekt” company, which was established back in 2006, is related to another former deputy of the RPA faction of the National Assembly. Robert Kocharyan with the in-laws Volodya Badalyan with family. By the way, according to the RA State Register, he is the founder of the company Armen Badalyan: Volodya Badalyan himself told us that the company belongs to his nephew. The former deputy was not aware of the criminal case.”


“People” the newspaper writes. The hype surrounding the use of the Gardasil 4 vaccine continues. Professional opinion was divided into two groups. The Ministry of Health insists on the effectiveness and usefulness of “Gardasil 4”, and the second group, “National Coalition of Doctors”, is of the opposite opinion. Before that, a few days ago, a discussion on “Gardasil 4” vaccine was held in the NA Standing Committee on Healthcare and Social Affairs. And it turns out that the ministry received a grant for the introduction of the “Gardasil 4” vaccine. a representative of the RA Ministry of Health made such a confession Gayane Sahakyan: It is about 203 thousand dollars. Exactly half of the Gardasil 4 batch expires in 5 months. In fact, they have to finish it, inject it by October 2019, and the deadline for the other half is April 2020,” said doctor Marina Khachatryan, adding that starting this year, the age limit for women to be vaccinated has been raised to 45 years old, in order to use up the received vaccine.”

SRC will republish the indicators of the first 1000 large taxpayers

  • 21.05.2019
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  • Armenia:
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 20

The RA State Revenue Committee issued a statement regarding the published information on taxes paid by the first 1000 large taxpayers, stating that it will republish the indicators corresponding to the format defined by the current decision of the first 1000 large taxpayers. This is reported by the information and public relations department of the RA SRC.


“The RA State Revenue Committee publishes the list of 1,000 large taxpayers based on the existence of such a legal requirement under RA legislation. Moreover, the format of the list to be published “On the amount of taxes paid by the first 1000 large taxpayers” is defined by the decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia No. 783 of July 6, 2017.


In the current format (in which the lists for the periods covered until 30.09.2018 were published), the indicators of taxpayers were not fully reflected, because it does not include the corresponding indicators related to the formation and fulfillment of tax obligations (in particular, the moment of accrual of income by tax types, the amounts returned to the unified treasury account on the basis of studies, tax calculations, court decisions and other grounds, etc.).


That is the reason why the draft of the RA Government’s decision “On Amendments and Additions to the Decision 783-N of the Government of the Republic of Armenia of July 6, 2017” was developed and currently put into circulation by the initiative of the tax authority, which, in fact, proposes to complete the aforementioned indicators in the hope of presenting more comprehensive information to the public.


The indicators of the 4th quarter of 2018 and the 1st quarter of 2019 were published by the State Revenue Committee taking into account the methodology defined by the above project, which naturally differs from the format defined by the current decision.


Based on the fact that the published lists of 1000 large taxpayers with the new methodology have raised certain questions among the public, the RA SRC will republish the indicators corresponding to the format defined by the current decision,” the statement said.

tr: Parvis de l’Hôtel de Ville – Hommage musical Charles Aznavour – Mardi 21 mai de 17 à 21h

          Rectificatif, par erreur Alakyaz N° 73 avait indiqué le 22 mai pour l’hommage à Charles Aznavour, le bon programme est le suivant:

          Hommage musical à Charles Aznavour

Parvis de l’Hôtel de Ville – mardi 21 mai 17h-21h

 

A l’occasion du 95e  anniversaire de sa naissance,

Paris rend hommage en musique à Charles Aznavour (1924-2018),

auteur, compositeur, interprète

 

17h – 18h : 6 morceaux d’Aznavour sont interprétés par un piano sans musicien 

– Je M’voyais Déjà

– Les Comédiens

– La Bohème

– Emmenez-moi

– La Mamma

– Mes emmerdes

 

18h-19h : La chorale de l’hôtel de ville chante « Emmenez-moi » et « La Bohème »

3 passages à 18h/18h30/19h

 

19h-21h : Hommage musical à Aznavour 

– 19h Erik Berchot (piano)

– 19h45 Joana Mendil (voix)

– 20h André Manoukian (piano, voix)

– 20h30 Essaï Altounian (piano, voix)

 

Pendant la totalité de l’hommage : projection de photos d’archives sur écran géant 

 

ARF-D to hold rally in downtown Yerevan on 23 May

Panorama, Armenia

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation- Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) will hold a rally in downtown Yerevan on May 23, member of the party’s Supreme Body Ishkhan Saghatelyan said on Facebook.

The rally will start at 7pm in the capital’s Liberty Square.

He added the party will come up with a statement later on the day.

“ The ARF-D Supreme Body expresses gratitude to all its friends and supporters for their conscientious and willing behavior,” Saghatelyan said. 

Encounters with Art: Charles Aznavour

Panorama, Armenia
Society 17:27 20/05/2019 Armenia

On May 23. an engaging lecture devoted to the Armenian King of French chanson, Charles Aznavour, will be delivered by Artsvi Bakhchinyan, philologist, translator, and member of the Writers’ Union of Armenia.

The event will be held at the Special Events Auditorium of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts (CCA) within the scope of the Encounters with Art program, the Center reported in a statement.

During the lecture titled Charles Aznavour – The Artiste and the Armenian, Artsvi Bakhchinyan will touch upon the known and unknown episodes of Aznavour’s life, introducing the portrait of Aznavour artiste in a new light to the audience. The event participants will have the chance to enjoy Charles Aznavour’s best songs and poems, as well as episodes featuring his movie roles. The story of Aznavour’s ancestry, his childhood, and connections with the Armenian Cause and Armenia will also be introduced during the lecture.

The event starts at 7 PM. The admission is free. 

Paris to host number of events to mark the 95th anniversary of legendary artist Charles Aznavour

Panorama, Armenia
Society 21:40 20/05/2019 Armenia

May 22, 2019 marks the 95th anniversary of the co-founder of Aznavour Foundation, legendary artist Charles Aznavour. In the eve of the great artist’s birthday, different events are being organized around the world throughout the year. Among them are exhibitions, concerts, opening of monuments, naming of public places and institutions.

Aznavour Foundation press office reports that within the framework of these activities, the Paris Municipality, in cooperation with the Aznavour Foundation, organizes the following events in the French capital on May 21st, on the eve of Aznavour’s birthday.

On May 21, at 11:15am Paris time, a memorial plaque will be inaugurated at the first Paris apartment building of the Aznavour family. The Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, city authorities, prominent figures, and members of the Aznavour family will be present at the event.

The memorial plaque will be placed at the 6th district of Paris, 36 rue Monsieur-le-Prince, where the Aznavouryans originally settled and where Charles Aznavour spent his childhood.

The celebration will continue with a concert next to the Paris Municipality. It will begin at 5pm Paris time, and will be dedicated to the birthday of Charles Aznavour. The concert will feature André Manoukian, Joana Mendil, Essaï Altounian, Eric Berchot and other musicians, the source said.

Chess: Levon Aronyan drops out of the FIDE Grand Prix

Panorama, Armenia

Leading player of the Armenian chess team Levon Aronyan failed to overcome the 1/8 finals of the first round tournament of the FIDE Grand Prix series held in Moscow, the National Olympic Committee reported.

Levon Aronyan drew the second game with Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi playing with white pieces and dropped out of the competition. The Russian GM had won the first game on the 72nd move. The tournament is held in a knock-out format.

To note, the 2019 FIDE Grand Prix series consists of four tournaments, with 16 players each. A total of 22 players will compete, and the top two finishers in the overall standings will qualify for the 2020 Candidates’ Tournament. The winner of that tournament will be the new challenger of Magnus Carlsen in a title match scheduled for November 2020.

Sports: Sargis Stepanyan becomes Armwrestling European champion

Panorama, Armenia
Sport 17:13 20/05/2019 Armenia

Retired major of the Armenian Armed Forces, athlete Sargis Stepanyan, who lost both of his legs and one arm, has claimed gold medal at the Armwrestling European Championship in PIDH- sitting category. Stepanyan took the first prize, competing in the category of 80 kg, Armenian National Federation of Disabled Sports reported in a Facebook post.

To note, Sargis Stepanyan was injured during a mine explosion, losing his two legs and the right arm while trying to take out his fellow serviceman from a minefield in summer 2014, when the Azerbaijani military launched a sabotage infiltration attempt at one of Armenian military posts.

Major Stepanyan has been awarded with the Armenian Defense Ministry “Marshal Baghramyan” Medal and the Medal “For Courage” by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).

Azerbaijani Press: Pashinyan vs. Karabakh clan, Armenia may plunge into anarchy

AzerNews, Azerbaijan

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Relations between Yerevan and the illegal regime in occupied Karabakh are becoming cooler day by day.

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan did not calculate his strength when he decided to imprison ex-President Robert Kocharian

In the face of Kocharyan, he came out against the Karabakh clan – a gangster group consisting of people, whose hands are in the blood of innocent Azerbaijanis and robbed Armenia for 20 years of economic activity in this country.

Pashinyan’s frequent visits to the occupied Karabakh even do not melt the ice between Yerevan and the puppet regime in Khankendi. The Karabakh clan very clearly rallies against the new authorities and openly contradicts Yerevan.

When previous President Serzh Sargsyan left power without resistance, Pashinyan had to immediately start taking measures to prevent the future threat, to develop a strategy, to gather around him same supporters and sensible politicians. Instead, he engaged in the arrest of Kocharian, which is just an act of revenge for the failure of opposition in 2008. Pashinyan could not calculate the consequences of certain steps, and now Robert Kocharian’s case is more and more complicating his life.

Founder of the clan, ex-President Kocharyan, had too many supporters. On the eve of the trial, there was formed a Union of Kocharyan’s supporters, which later attached the Prosecutor General’s office. The appearance of former and current separatist leaders Bako Sahakyan and Arkady Ghukasyan in court has narrowed the room for maneuver for the new authorities.

Sahakyan and Ghukasyan made a guarantee and pledge in favor of former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan. They signed a guarantee in the courtroom and contributed 500,000 drams (a little more than $1,000), according to the Armenian media.

The appearance of separatists in the courtroom caused a stir. According to Armenian media, the number of supporters of Kocharyan doubled around the court building. It was quite expected that riots could arise in Yerevan in case of refusal to release Kocharyan.

After coming to power, Nikol Pashinyan tries to show the separatists that Yerevan continues to support them. The requirement to involve occupied Karabakh in the negotiation process is bright evidence. The Karabakh clan now seeks to seize power, and Pashinyan with his meeting passions is only an obstacle.

Pashinyan has almost lost control of the situation. The ongoing processes in Karabakh are very disadvantageous for the Yerevan authorities.

Meanwhile, Serzh Sargsyan continues travelling in the occupied Azerbaijani regions, meeting with his colleagues and giving interviews. While Sargsyan is active in the occupied territories, Pashinyan is unable to control these processes. Karabakh is a dark forest with war criminals, where a large number of weapons and shadow capital have accumulated. It is really a grey area with their dark laws as well as any separatist entity.

Kocharyan’s trial showed that these processes are gaining momentum. The confrontation between Armenia and Karabakh is growing, the gap between them is widening. Creating complexity for Kocharyan, Pashinyan faced a huge problem both with the Karabakh clan and with Russia. Armenian PM cannot openly declare a fight to the clan, as it will be perceived in the Armenian society as an extremely “unpatriotic” step.

In this situation, the only way to keep Armenia from self-destruction is to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

It is unlikely that Pashinyan wants to destroy Armenia. Despite all his shortcomings, he is the head of this country, who really understands the main threats to its future. All his statements on the Karabakh issue prove once again that for Pashinyan Karabakh is not Armenia, but only an extra headache. He knows that it is necessary to withdraw troops, return lands, negotiate with Azerbaijan, and the Karabakh criminals should be trialed not in Yerevan, but in Baku.

However, he is unable to destroy what was built by the Karabakh clan alone. Pashinyan is unlikely to find supporters inside the country because the war against the Karabakh clan will be presented by propaganda and perceived by the Armenian society as a war against “free Karabakh”.

Therefore, timely establishment of relations with Baku is extremely necessary for Pashinyan to eliminate a threat of anarchy that overtakes him. For this end, he should withdraw the armed forces from Karabakh and agree with Baku’s proposal on the autonomy of Karabakh within Azerbaijan.

Armenia was once again on the verge of a “revolutionary situation” on May 20. Supporters of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the morning began to block the entrances and exits of the buildings of the capital’s courts. Pashinyan’s announcement of an action to block the country’s courts destabilized the situation and proved once again that both the former and current Armenian authorities are unable and are not ready to resolve issues within the legal framework.

Pashinyan uses a crowd of people as tools to solve his problems. Despite the rainy weather, civil activists blocked the buildings of the constitutional court on Baghramyan Avenue and the court of General jurisdiction, which decided to release former President Kocharian on May 18.

Оne of the protesters said that he came at the call of Nikol Pashinyan and will wait for his instructions.

Earlier, Armenian PM called on the country’s citizens to block all entrances and exits of the courts of the Republic. Commenting on the court’s decision to release ex-President Robert Kocharian from arrest, Pashinyan said that the second and most important stage of the revolution is maturing in the country.

Having no authority in his country, Pashinyan decided to resort to his proven method – to call people to the streets.

However, the desire of Armenians to revolutions is not surprising. Every time people go out on the streets, they hope to attain prosperity finally. For Pashinyan, it is a mean to solve his next task at the expense of protesting crowd.

After the April coup in 2018 in Yerevan and the post-revolt processes, it was quite clear that sooner or later Pashinyan would face opposition in the form of the previous authorities. The lack of political experience and talent for politics had to force him to take inadequate steps to protect his power. So, he had no choice but to announce the “second stage of the revolution”.