Friday, September 27, 2019
Kim Kardashian Reveals ‘Big Plans’ For Armenia
September 27, 2019
U.S. -- Kim Kardashian arrives for the 2018 Met Gala on May 7, 2018, at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
American reality TV star Kim Kardashian has pledged to explore the possibility
of manufacturing her new shapewear line in Armenia and other business
opportunities during her upcoming trip to the country.
Kardashian has been invited to participate as a “special keynote speaker” and
panelist in the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) that will be
held in Yerevan on October 6-9. The forum is expected to bring together 2,500
tech professionals from more than 70 countries.
“I will be visiting Armenia in the next 2 weeks and hope to seek ways I can
help increase trade and hopefully create jobs for Armenians which includes
@skims production there in the future,” Kardashian said late on Thursday.
“I’ve been working extremely hard on this matter and hope my trip to Armenia
will bring some amazing news because I have big plans!” the Armenian-American
celebrity added in a series of tweets.
She was responding to a September 25 appeal from the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA) posted on Twitter. The lobby group praised
Kardashian for championing U.S. recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide in
Ottoman Turkey.
The ANCA also said: “We saw that you are making some @skims products in Turkey.
Please consider making them in Armenia which is known for great craftsmanship &
service.”
“We consulted with experts and searched globally for the best in class options,
some which was found in Turkey,” replied Kardashian. “We believe strongly
against discrimination of any kind; against anyone or any nation based on the
past.”
She stressed that she remains “very passionate” about Armenian genocide
recognition.
The ANCA appeared satisfied with her response. “We look forward to your
upcoming trip to Armenia,” it said.
It will be Kardashian’s second trip to Armenia. The 38-year-old first visited
her ancestral homeland in April 2015 together with her husband and rapper Kanye
West and sister Khloe.
EU Reaffirms Support For Judicial Reforms In Armenia
September 27, 2019
• Naira Nalbandian
Armenia -- European Union Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin speaks at a conference on
judicial reform in Yerevan, September 27, 2019.
The new head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia reaffirmed on Friday
the EU’s readiness to assist the Armenian government in reforming the country’s
judicial system.
Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin said EU officials look forward to seeing and
evaluating a final government plan for judicial reforms.
“I think it is impressive and we have to welcome the fact that the Armenian
government is really active to introduce a judicial strategy and to implement
reforms,” Wiktorin told reporters. “This is work in progress. They are
finalizing the strategy. The strategy will be seen by experts.”
“You are in a very difficult phase and you are tackling one of the most
difficult problems. Ten years ago I saw what it means if normal people have no
confidence in the judicial system and judges,” said the diplomat who had served
as Germany’s ambassador in Yerevan from 2007-2009.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian vowed judicial reforms and urged supporters to
block court buildings across Armenia in May after a Yerevan court released from
prison his bitter foe and former President Robert Kocharian, who is facing
serious criminal charges. He demanded a mandatory vetting of all Armenian
judges, saying that many of them remain linked to the country’s former
leadership.
Pashinian has since repeatedly stated that he wants to make the Armenian
judiciary “truly independent.” His critics say, however, he is on the contrary
seeking to gain control over the courts.
Wiktorin declined to comment on the opposition allegations about government
pressure on the judiciary. “The EU is in direct contact [with the government,]”
she said. “If we have [critical] things to deliver we will do this directly.”
Donald Tusk, the outgoing head of the European Union’s top decision-making
body, welcomed the Armenian authorities’ “focus on creating an independent,
efficient and accountable judicial system” when he visited Yerevan in July.
The reform process is also closely monitored by the Council of Europe and its
Venice Commission in particular. According to an internal Venice Commission
report, Armenian and Council of Europe officials agreed later in May that a
general vetting of all judges “would be neither necessary nor useful.” Instead,
the Armenian authorities will expand legal mechanisms for disciplinary
proceedings against judges and anti-corruption asset declarations filed by
them, said the report.
Minister Backs Parliament Bid To Oust Constitutional Court Head
September 27, 2019
• Naira Nalbandian
Armenia -- Justice Minister Rustam Badasian speaks at a conference on judicial
reform, Yerevan, September 27, 2019.
Justice Minister Rustam Badasian on Friday voiced support for the Armenian
parliament’s plans to urge the Constitutional Court to replace its chairman,
Hrayr Tovmasian.
The National Assembly will debate and almost certainly adopt early next month
an appeal to the court drafted by senior lawmakers representing Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian’s My Step alliance. The document denounces Tovmasian’s handling
of Robert Kocharian’s appeals against the legality of coup charges brought
against the former Armenian president.
The Constitutional Court partly accepted one of those appeals on September 4.
It declared unconstitutional an article of the Armenian Code of Procedural
Justice used against Kocharian.
The draft parliamentary resolution accuses Tovmasian of committing serious
procedural violations during the consideration of the case. It says he should
not have dealt with the case also because of his personal ties to one of
Kocharian’s lawyers and past membership in the former ruling Republican Party
of Armenia (HHK).
“I consider the appeal substantiated,” Badasian told reporters. The minister
also effectively echoed Pashinian’s recent allegations that Tovmasian became
the Constitutional Court chairman in March 2017 as a result of a dubious
political deal cut with HHK leader and then President Serzh Sarkisian.
Tovmasian rejected Pashinian’s verbal attacks in July. But he has yet to
publicly react to the pro-government parliament majority’s efforts to oust him.
Although the anticipated parliament resolution is not binding, the high court
has to meet and discuss it. Tovmasian will lose his post if most of the court’s
eight other judges vote against him.He is not allowed to attend the discussion
and vote on his future.
One of the judges, Alvina Gyulumian, on Friday declined to comment on the
parliament measure. “A single word uttered by me could be interpreted in a
certain way and preclude my participation in the court’s consideration of the
issue,” she explained to journalists.
Gyulumian earlier denounced as offensive a Justice Ministry bill offering her
and her colleagues financial incentives to resign.
The idea of such a bill was first floated by Vahe Grigorian, another
Constitutional Court judge who was elected by the government-controlled
parliament in June. Grigorian claimed that only he and another judge, Arman
Dilanian, can make valid decisions because they were installed after sweeping
amendments to the Armenian constitution took effect in April 2018. The court’s
eight other members, including Dilanian, dismissed those claims.
Iran’s Rouhani To Attend Eurasian Union Summit In Yerevan
September 27, 2019
Iran - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian inspect an Iranian honor guard at a welcoming ceremony in Tehran,
February 27, 2019.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has accepted Armenia’s invitation to attend
next week’s summit of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) in Yerevan,
the Armenian government announced on Friday.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s office also confirmed the participation of the
presidents of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in the summit
scheduled for October 1. It said the leaders of the five EEU member states will
be joined at a separate session by Rouhani as well as Moldova’s President Igor
Dodon and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Pashinian announced his decision to invite Rouhani to the summit in early
August. He said it was agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the
other EEU heads of state.
Iran and the EEU signed a preferential trade agreement in 2018. The deal was
strongly backed by Armenia, the only member of the trade bloc that has a land
border with the Islamic Republic. The current and former Armenian government
said it will boost Armenian-Iranian trade.
Pashinian made clear last year that despite renewed U.S. sanctions against Iran
his government will “deepen not only economic but also political relations”
with Tehran. He paid an official visit to Iran in February this year.
In a magazine interview published earlier this month, Pashinian insisted that
the United States is not pressuring Armenia to curtail Armenian-Iranian ties.
Press Review
September 27, 2019
“Zhoghovurd” says that contrary to opposition claims the current Armenian
government has achieved positive changes “in many fields.” In particular, says
the paper, the government decided on Thursday to raise the salaries of
firefighters and other employees of the Ministry for Emergency Situations by
almost 30 percent. It also approved a six-fold rise in one-off payments to
families having their first child and a 41 percent increase in the monthly
benefits of working mothers of young children. “Low salaries have always one of
the main sources of complaints in our county,” writes the pro-government daily.
“This probably explains why the problem is at the center of the government’s
attention.”
“Haykakan Zhamanak” comments on criminal charges brought against former Defense
Minister Vigen Sargsian and a former chief of the Armenian police, Alik
Sargsian. “Naturally, opposition propaganda construed these facts as the start
of a new phase of political persecution and vengeance, an attempt to
‘dismantle’ security agencies and so on,” writes the paper controlled by Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian. It denies those claims, saying the new authorities
are simply uncovering abuses and corrupt practices that were the norm under the
former ruling regime. It seems to agree with suggestions that virtually all
former senior officials committed such abuses.
“Short-term interests presuppose that it is not worth digging into the past of
former senior security officials because that is fraught with a certain
internal political destabilization. But long-term interests oblige [the current
authorities] to thoroughly cleanse security agencies from those officers who
have been involved in some corruption schemes in the past, are now nostalgic
about those times and would use the first opportunity to restore the past,”
concludes “Haykakan Zhamanak.”
Lragir.am says that Pashinian never expected his latest trip to the United
States to be “decisive or fateful.” The publication says that the visit was
focused on “pan-Armenian” issues. “Official Washington regards the Armenian
community as a channel of interstate relations,” it says, adding that
Pashinian’s meeting with Armenian American organizations were very important
for U.S.-Armenian relations.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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