Armenian News... A Topalian... New Premier

Agence France Presse

August 17, 2018 Friday 

Thousands rally in Armenia in support of new premier

Thousands of Armenians rallied on Friday in Yerevan in support of the anti-corruption reformist Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, 100 days after mass anti-government protests propelled him to power.

 

Pashinyan led thousands of supporters who marched through the streets of the Armenian capital before gathering in Yerevan's central Republic Square.

 

"I want to report to you on what has been done since I was elected prime minister hundred days ago," Pashinyan told the rally.

 

After spearheading weeks of anti-government protests, Pashinyan was elected as Prime Minister in May, promising to stamp out official graft.

 

His crackdown on corruption has sparked military ally Moscow's anger with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warning Yerevan last month against targeting former officials.

 

Lavrov's warning came after former Armenian president Robert Kocharyan was charged with tipping a 2008 election in favour of his pro-Moscow successor.

 

Armenia's foreign ministry quickly tried to reassure Moscow that its foreign policy priorities remain focused on strengthening allied relations with Russia.

 

"We want that our strategic partner Russia and other countries respect our new government, don't meddle in our internal affairs. It's none of their business who is being prosecuted in Armenia," 24-year-old student Aram Amaryan told AFP at Friday's rally.

 

Kocharyan was on Monday released from pre-trial detention and announced a political comeback. Analysts said that the pro-Russian former leader is trying to mobilise opposition forces against Pashinyan's government.

 

The Republic

Aug 14 2018

Court orders former Armenian president released from jail

The lawyer for former Armenian President Robert Kocharian says he has been released from custody on a court order.

Kocharian was jailed July 27 on charges of violating constitutional order for sending police and soldiers to break up a demonstration in the Armenian capital in March 2008. Eight demonstrators and two police died in the clash.

The demonstration was to protest the results of an election two weeks earlier for Kocharian’s replacement.

Kocharian’s lawyer, Ruben Saakyan, told journalists Monday that the appeals court in Yerevan had released Kocharian on the grounds of constitutional immunity for actions as president.

Kocharian’s supporters claimed the case was politically motivated. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian is a foe of Serzh Sargsyan, who won the 2008 election and was backed by Kocharian.

ARKA, Armenia

Aug 14 2018

Young Armenian activists disrupt former president Kocharyan’s planned news conference 

Armenia’s former president Robert Kocharyan, who was scheduled to convene a  press conference today following his release yesterday from pre-trial detention, had to cancel it after a group of young Armenians broke into the conference hall of Erebuni Plaza in downtown Yerevan chanting "murderer" and "life sentence for Kocharyan.’

One of the activists made a statement for journalists saying apart from the authorities, who are trying to fulfill their powers within the framework of the Constitution and establish justice in the country, there are also free citizens who are ready to take part in the process to restore justice. 

Then, the group of around one hundred young people headed to the Prosecutor General's Office to demand that it appeal the ruling of the Court of Appeals at the Court of Cassation..

A Yerevan district court late on July 27 ruled that the Special Investigative Service (SIS) could hold Kocharyan for two months in pre-trial detention pending investigation. The case dates back to late February and early March 2008 following the disputed presidential election, when then prime minister Serzh Sargsyan was declared the winner, angering the opposition, led by the first Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosyan and setting off 10 days of nonstop protests that led to a crackdown on March 1, in which 10 people were killed and more than 200 injured.

Kocharyan was charged with toppling constitutional order in collusion with other persons.  The same charge was brought against Yuri Khachaturov, secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, who had been the chief of the Yerevan garrison at the time of the bloody events of 2008.  However, Khachaturov was released on bail, for AMD 5 million.   

Also former defense minister Mikael Harutyunyan is wanted by the law-enforcement authorities as a defendant in the case. He is accused of illegally using the Armenian armed forces against opposition supporters who demonstrated in Yerevan in the wake of the disputed presidential election held in February 2008. 

Kochariyn was released from custody on June 13  when Armenia’s Court of Appeals ruled that he could not be prosecuted for the post-election violence. One of his defense  lawyers, Ruben Sahakyan, said that the court based its decision on Article 140 of the Armenian Constitution, which says that during the term of his or her powers and thereafter, the President of the Republic may not be prosecuted and subjected to liability for actions deriving from his or her status.

The ruling of the Court of Appeals was denounced by the Special Investigative Service, which described it as illegal, saying that the Court of Appeals “overstepped the bounds of its authority.”  It said also that it will ask the Prosecutor General to  appeal the decision at  the Court of Cassation. -0-

Panorama, Armenia

Aug 14 2018

Armenian MFA: Azeri repositioning attempts at Nakhichevan border ‘unacceptable’

Azerbaijan’s repositioning attempts at the Nakhichevan section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border are ‘unacceptable for Armenia and will be prevented by all means possible’, Anna Naghdalyan, an acting spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday.         

The official says the county has stated about it both through the public and other channels. Naghdalyan also said the Armenian military fully controls the situation at Nakhichevan border, as assured by the Defense Ministry. 

The official also spoke about Karen Ghazaryan, an Armenian captive in Azerbaijan, who ended up in the country’s territory in still unknown circumstances, assuring the issue of the Armenian villager is on the Foreign Ministry’s agenda.

“Intensive works are underway in this regard. Recently, Armenia’s prime minister has also touched upon the issue. We continue taking all the possible measures to ensure a safe and quick return of our citizen to the homeland,” she said. 

BNE IntelliNews

Aug 17 2018

Armenia working on plan for diaspora bonds

The number of Armenian Americans is variously estimated as from around 0.5mn to 1.5mn. Here Armenian American dancers (Nayiri Dance Group) are pictured in New York City during the July 1976 US Bicentennial festival.

Armenia’s vast diaspora, estimated at 7-10mn people worldwide, is to be offered government-issued diaspora bonds, global development media platform devex reported on August 15.

The diaspora far outnumbers the impoverished post-Soviet nation’s population of 2.9mn, thus the Armenian government sees a rich opportunity to leverage the support of the far-flung Armenian community for long-term, sustainable development work.

The administration, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, the non-violent protest leader who came to power in the spring after a people’s revolution, in May appointed Babken DerGrigorian as an economic advisor and Deputy Minister for the Diaspora. A native Californian of Armenian descent, he is pushing the plan for diaspora bonds. It’s a model that Israel and India have both used effectively, but it has been less successful in other places, such as Ethiopia, the media platform wrote.

The government reportedly expects to release a formal strategy for the bonds by the end of the year.

devex quoted DerGrigorian as saying in an interview: “We have a diaspora that is already very involved in charity, but the point is to leverage a small amount of charity intention for a much greater financial impact. These government bonds generally will be lower than the market rate of return, but still better than putting your money in a bank account. It is a win-win situation, in the sense that the government also gets access to cheaper credit on the international market, usually local currency.

“The proposition you make to the diaspora is that instead of giving away money to charity as a donation, [you can] use your charity intention to take on the risk associated with local currency bonds.”