Category: 2019

                                        Friday, February 15, 2019

Former Defense Chief Calls For Kocharian’s Release
February 15, 2019
        • Ruzanna Stepanian

Armenia - Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian, April 18, 2011.

Former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian urged Armenian authorities on Friday to 
release former President Robert Kocharian from custody pending investigation 
into the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan.

In a 30-minute video address posted on Facebook, Ohanian also reiterated his 
strong denial of coup charges that have also been leveled against him.

“I find totally wrong the treatment of the country’s second President Robert 
Kocharian, his being held in detention,” he said. “A person who voluntarily and 
repeatedly showed up for all investigative actions does not deserve such 
treatment. Such people never dodge responsibility.”

Ohanian argued that Armenia’s two other former presidents, Serzh Sarkisian and 
Levon Ter-Petrosian, have not been arrested or prosecuted even though they too 
were involved in the events of February-March 2008 in one way or another.

“I think that the second president is in unequal conditions,” he said. “They 
can free him and continue the investigation.”

The Special Investigative Service (SIS) has charged Kocharian, Ohanian and two 
other retired generals, Mikael Harutiunian and Yuri Khachaturov, with 
overthrowing the constitutional order in the wake of the February 2008 
presidential election.

Harutiunian, who now lives in Russia, served as defense minister while Ohanian 
was the chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff at the time. The latter 
replaced Harutiunian as defense minister in April 2008. None of the generals 
has been arrested so far.

The SIS claims that the four men illegally used the armed forces against 
Ter-Petrosian supporters who demonstrated in Yerevan against alleged electoral 
fraud. It says Kocharian ordered troops into the Armenian capital before 
declaring a state of emergency late on March 1, 2008 amid violent clashes 
between security forces and protesters. Eight protesters and two police 
servicemen died as a result.

The coup charges are based on a secret directive which Harutiunian issued to 
the military on February 23, 2008. SIS investigators say that the directive 
known as the Order No. 0038 led to the army’s illegal involvement in the 
political process.

In his video message, Ohanian again defended the legality of that order, saying 
that it was only meant to ensure that the army “maintains neutrality” in the 
dramatic post-election developments. He also said Kocharian was not aware of 
its details.

Kocharian’s lawyers make similar arguments. They say that Ter-Petrosian, who 
was the main opposition candidate in the 2008 ballot, tried to get the Armenian 
military to back the protests and that two deputy defense ministers sided with 
Ter-Petrosian. They both were sacked in April 2008.

Ohanian’s calls for Kocharian were dismissed by Seda Safarian, who was one of 
the two opposition members of a multi-partisan team formed by Serzh Sarkisian 
later in 2008 to conduct a supposedly independent inquiry into the bloodshed. 
Safarian said that the ex-president could obstruct justice if set free.




Armenian Ministries Told To Spur ‘Economic Revolution’
February 15, 2019
        • Sargis Harutyunyan

Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian is about to attend the inaugurationo 
of a new hotel in Yerevan, February 15, 2019.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Friday ordered his government to take a set 
of measures which he said will “stimulate the economic revolution” in Armenia 
promised by him.

Pashinian issued 15 mostly economic directives to various government agencies 
one day after the Armenian parliament approved his cabinet’s five-year policy 
program.

“Of course, the government will adopt a list of measures stemming from the 
program but I want to differentiate them from a list of measures to stimulate 
the economic revolution,” he told ministers before listing those actions.

In particular, Pashinian said, the government should “review all investment 
proposals” submitted by local and foreign businesspeople and look into 
obstacles to their implementation.

The premier made clear at the same time that from now on he and other senior 
government officials must meet with only those potential investors who have a 
proven track record of major entrepreneurial activity. He complained that some 
of his meetings with individuals claiming to be ready to invest in Armenia were 
a “meaningless waste of time.”

“For example, if a person has never had even $5,000 on his bank account but now 
says that he wants to invest $5 million or $50 million then obviously something 
is fishy there,” said Pashinian.

In its 70-page program approved by the National Assembly on Thursday, the 
government pledged to achieve a significant increase in foreign direct 
investment in Armenia. The document stresses the importance of creating 
“attractive conditions” for foreign investors, saying that “internal savings 
will not be enough to achieve high rates of economic growth.”

The government expects the Armenian economy to grow by at least 5 percent 
annually for the next five years.

Other directives issued by Pashinian relate to infrastructure projects 
benefiting the agricultural sector, agricultural export promotion, cheap credit 
to small businesses and hiring of seasonal workers by commercial farmers. 
Pashinian said the government must ensure that the families of those workers 
are not stripped of poverty or unemployment benefits because of the temporary 
employment.

The premier said the government should also do more to retrain unemployed 
individuals and support organizations teaching potential entrepreneurs 
“business skills and financial literacy.”




Pompeo Calls For Change In Iran
February 15, 2019

Mateusz Morawiecki, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and United State 
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, from left, stand on a podium at a conference on 
Peace and Security in the Middle East in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Feb. 14, 
2019.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says a meeting on the Middle East in Warsaw 
was "historic" because it brought Israelis and Arabs together to talk about the 
threat posed by Iran. He spoke on February 14 at the meeting in Poland in an 
interview with RFE/RL's Radio Farda.

Niusha Boghrati, RFE/RL's Radio Farda:

Secretary Pompeo, so let's begin with what has happened right here, right now 
-- an effort by the U.S. administration in order to form a broad and 
international coalition against the Islamic Republic [of Iran] as was reflected 
in U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's remarks. Now, my question is how feasible 
do you think that is, given the fact that EU countries seem to be sticking to 
their end of the deal, when it comes to the JCPOA (The Joint Comprehensive Plan 
of Action)? You know that recently they’ve put in place a tool (eds: Special 
Purpose Vehicle (SPV)) in order to facilitate trade with Iran.

Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secetary of State:

The gathering was aimed at creating peace and stability throughout the Middle 
East -- that's what 60+ countries came together to talk about, to work on 
solutions to what have been intractable problems in Yemen, problems in Syria, 
the security risks associated with the conflict between the Palestinians and 
Israel -- each of those topics, that's what we came together for. It's the case 
that when you talks about Hezbollah, you have to talk about Iran; when you talk 
about the Huthis’ mischief in Yemen, you have to talk about Iran. Iran was 
certainly one of the things that was discussed [at the conference]. But I will 
tell you that the coalition is strong. Not a single person, not a single 
country denied that this threat from Iran is real -- whether they were Arab 
countries or countries that were here from Asia or from South America, from the 
Middle East itself -- all understood the threat that the Islamic Republic of 
Iran presents to their citizens. And so we worked on that. There’s clearly 
differences on how to attack the problem. The Europeans are wedded to the 
JCPOA, we've made a very different decision. We think any money that goes to 
the Islamic Republic of Iran will end up in the hands of Qassem Soleimani (eds: 
head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps -- IRGC) and be used for 
mischief, and most importantly will be used to create real hardship for the 
Iranian people. And so we’re determined to make sure that the Iranian people's 
voices are heard. We gathered people here today (February 14), we made our 
case, and I am confident that we came out of here today more collectively able 
to deal with all of the threats that exist throughout all of the Middle East.

Boghrati:

But, going back to Iran, how those threats that you are mentioning are going to 
be dealt with? This conference is viewed by many as part of an ongoing effort 
on Washington's side in order to pave the wave for a regime change in Iran. 
What do you think about that?

Pompeo:

I have to say, this was historic. You had the Israelis and the Arabs sitting 
together having a conversation about the threat that Iran poses. This wasn't a 
Washington-driven effort. We certainly have made clear our concerns about the 
Islamic Republic of Iran and we have devoted substantial resources towards 
reducing those risks. We'll keep at that because we ultimately want the Iranian 
people to have their voices heard. We want a change in the regime's behavior, 
we want them to act like a normal country. Back in May (2018), I laid out 12 
core things that the Islamic Republic of Iran needed to do to rejoin the 
community of nations. We are driving every day a set of policies that we hope 
will achieve that, and when we do, the entire Middle East, and indeed the 
world, will be a safer place.

Boghrati:

About those conditions, the pre-conditions and the changing of behavior, which 
has been mentioned numerous times by you and other figures in the [U.S.] 
administration. The thing is that the behavior that you have in mind is so 
integral with the identity of the Islamic Republic that changing them will 
basically be a sort of a regime change. I mean, if Iran will just abandon every 
single [pattern of] behavior that it has got throughout the Middle East, 
throughout the world, towards the people of Iran, then nothing is left of the 
Islamic Republic.

Pompeo:

Ultimately, the 'how', how these behaviors will be changed will be dealt with 
by the Iranian people. They'll make their voices heard, they'll assert their 
power. These are smart people, capable people with a deep and rich history -- 
they are entirely capable of managing the affairs of their nation. And so these 
behavioral changes that we are seeking are aimed at creating security 
throughout the Middle East and creating better lives for the Iranian people, 
and we are doing everything we can to support those Iranian voices inside of 
their country, so that they can get a life that is the one that they want, and 
one that doesn't pose a threat and a risk to people throughout the Middle East 
and the rest of the world.

Boghrati:

Mr. Secretary, you are aware that on Wednesday (February 13) a deadly attack 
happened in Iran against a bus which belonged to IRGC, killing 27 people. 
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian foreign minister, wrote in a Tweet and I quote: 
'Is it no coincidence that Iran is hit by terror on the very day that 'Warsaw 
circus' begins?' Your reaction to that?

Pompeo:

Yeah, well, the Americans had nothing to do with this at all. I'll say this: 
You know, many countries, including European countries, meet with this man 
Zarif -- he's actually headed to Munich where many European countries will meet 
with him. I would ask those countries when they meet with Mr. Zarif to ask him 
why he would say such an outrageous thing? Sometimes he is posited to be a 
moderate. It's not moderate to accuse the Israelis and the Americans of murder 
-- that's not moderate. I think it shows the signs that Mr. Zarif and [Iranian 
President] Mr. [Hassan] Rohani are revolutionaries in the same way that the 
other leaders inside of Iran are as well.




Minister Rules Out Gas Price Rise For Armenian Consumers
February 15, 2019
        • Naira Nalbandian


Armenian consumers will not pay more this year for natural gas mostly imported 
from Russia despite a recent 10 percent increase in its wholesale price for 
Armenia, Energy Minister Garegin Baghramian said on Friday.

Russia’s Gazprom monopoly announced on New Year’s Eve that it has raised the 
price from $150 to $165 per thousand cubic meters. The announcement followed 
fresh talks held by the Gazprom chairman, Alexei Miller, and Armenia’s Deputy 
Prime Minister Grigorian as well as phone conversations between Russian 
President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.

Pashinian, who also met with Putin in Moscow earlier in December, assured 
Armenians that the retail prices set by Armenia’s Gazprom-owned gas 
distribution network will remain the same in 2019.

Baghramian reaffirmed that pledge when he spoke to RFE/RL’s Armenian service. 
“There is an understanding that in 2019 that [10 percent price rise] will not 
affect the tariffs for consumers,” he said, commenting on the government’s 
ongoing negotiations with the Gazprom Armenia operator.

The minister said that the gas distributor will offset its additional losses 
with cost cutting and other “optimization” of its activities. It will cut back 
on “unnecessary expenditures and investments,” he added.

Gazprom Armenia has so far made no public statements to that effect. The 
company only said on January 7 that it will not ask Armenian utility regulators 
to raise the retail prices until its talks with the government are over.

Gazprom Armenia’s chief executive, Hrant Tadevosian, complained in November 
that his company is operating at a loss for a second consecutive year. He 
attributed them to its decision in late 2016 to cut the gas prices for 
households and corporate consumers.




Press Review
February 15, 2019


Lragir.am reports that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian met with more than a 
dozen diplomats from European Union member states visiting Armenia. “The envoys 
said that they have arrived in Armenia to familiarize themselves with the 
[Armenian government’s] economic reform agenda and to voice their support for 
Armenia’s transformation,” writes the publication. It says that Pashinian has 
called for the EU’s financial assistance to his reform agenda. The prime 
minister, it says, has underlined the seriousness of his intentions with 
unpopular appeals to Armenians which will be inevitably exploited by his 
political opponents.

“Zhamanak” reports on Thursday’s meeting in Sochi of the presidents of Russia, 
Turkey and Iran. “It is noteworthy that the humanitarian aspect [of the 
situation in Syria] was mentioned quite frequently at the summit held in Sochi 
yesterday,” writes the paper. “It means that Armenia had some involvement, 
albeit an indirect one, in that format.” It notes that Pashinian will visit 
Iran later this month.

“Aravot” says some of the young members of Pashinian’s government no longer 
want journalists to call them by their first names. This was not the case just 
a few months ago, writes the paper. “This may be a nuance but it’s a 
significant one,” it says. “Expectations that the new ‘revolutionary’ officials 
will behave like ordinary people, will go to work on foot or by metro, will not 
be arrogant, and will not look down on us have not materialized.” The paper 
says each of those officials must make sure that they are “not detached from 
reality” and do not overreact to opposition criticism.

(Lilit Harutiunian)

 
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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