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Final Reminder for the forthcoming performance

of the comic opera Kaj Nazar on 13 & 14 April 2019

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RFE/RL Report

Pashinian Rebukes Aliyev After Fresh Summit

April 01, 2019

Emil Danielyan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Monday accused Azerbaijan’s leadership of making misleading statements on his latest meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Pashinian at the same time stood by his largely positive assessment of the peace talks held in Vienna on Friday.

“I think that we have a new atmosphere, a new situation, new messages, new prospects and new understandings in the negotiations, and it is not clear why the Azerbaijani side should avoid or be afraid of accepting these facts,” he said in a live Facebook broadcast.

Pashinian was specifically upset with Aliyev’s claim that “the format of negotiations remained unchanged” as a result of the Vienna summit. The Azerbaijani leader referred to Pashinian’s regular calls for Nagorno-Karabakh’s direct involvement in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks which have been rejected by Baku.

“When the Azerbaijani side says ‘the important thing is that the negotiating format remains unchanged’ they mean to imply that they emerged victorious from these discussions,” complained Pashinian. “This is first and foremost incorrect within the framework of the logic which we have agreed upon. Namely, not to look for winners and losers.”

Ever since he swept to power in May last year, Pashinian has repeatedly said that he does not have a mandate to negotiate on behalf of Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian leadership and that the latter should therefore become a full-fledged negotiating party.

He again claimed on Monday that this does not mean Yerevan is seeking changes to the negotiating format, arguing that the Karabakh Armenians were directly involved in the peace process in the 1990s. He said he and Aliyev discussed the matter at Vienna but failed to reach any agreements.

“Does this mean that the issue has been removed from [the agenda of discussions?” the Armenian premier went on. “Of course not. It means that we are going to continue discussions on this topic.”

​The Vienna summit, which lasted for over three hours, was Pashinian’s and Aliyev’s fourth face-to-face contact since September. In a joint statement with the U.S., Russian and French mediators, the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers described it as “positive and constructive.” The two leaders discussed “key issues of the settlement process and ideas of substance” and “recommitted to strengthening the ceasefire,” according to the statement.

Pashinian and Aliyev echoed that assessment in their public comments made in the Austrian capital. “The negotiating process has been given new impetus,” the Azerbaijani president told the TASS news agency.

It remains unclear whether two sides made any progress towards a compromise settlement favored by the United States, Russia and France. A framework peace accord drafted by the three mediating powers over a decade ago calls for Armenian withdrawal from virtually all seven districts around Karabakh. In 

return, Karabakh’s predominantly ethnic Armenian population would be able to determine Karabakh’s internationally recognized status in a future referendum.

The U.S., Russian and French diplomats co-heading the OSCE Minsk Group reaffirmed this peace formula, also known as the Madrid Principles, in a joint statement issued on March 9. They said “any fair and lasting settlement” must involve return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; an interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh providing guarantees for 

security and self-governance; a corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh; future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will.”

Speaking at a March 19 news conference in Yerevan, Pashinian said that the Madrid Principles are open to different interpretations and therefore need to be clarified. He said on Monday that he raised the matter with Aliyev and the mediators at the Vienna meeting.

“Can we say at this point that we received those clarifications and answers to our questions?” added the prime minister. “No because these are very extensive questions, and unfortunately it was not possible to get answers to those questions as a result of a single discussion.”

Nevertheless, Pashinian said, he and Aliyev agreed to continue discussions on the proposed settlement, including through their foreign ministers.

Panorama, Armenia

April 2 2019

Defense minister defends his “New war - new territories” statement

The government of Armenia implements a consolidated programme in the defense sector, Minister Davit Tonoyan told reporters at Yerablur military pantheon while paying tribute to memory of the servicemen fell during the April Four-Day war.

Tonoyan’s remarks came when asked to comment on his recent statement made during the US trip about the formula “New war – new territories” adopted by the army in case of the war in Karabakh.

“What I said was in no way out of the scope of the government programme priorities. Let nobody doubt. I am surprised why the public is surprised on this,” the minister said, adding more relevant topics were under discussion during his trip to US.

In particular, the minister said an enhancement of cooperation in the peacekeeping sphere is expected in the future with respective assistance to be offered to Armenia.

To remind, commenting on the controversial statement by the minister, PM Pashinyan said earlier he would relieve Tonoyan from his duties if he might come up with another statement than what he had made.

Al-Monitor

April 2 2019

Who will decide new spiritual leader of Turkey's Armenians?

Fehim Tastekin 

Some 60,000 Armenians in Turkey are preparing to elect a new spiritual leader after the death of their beloved Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan, but the election process may become tangled due to interference by various actors. 

On March 8, Armenians lost their brightest patriarch of recent times. In fact, this was a farewell that lasted 10 years because of the patriarch’s severe dementia. He was only 62. 

The process to elect the new patriarch is to begin at the end of a 40-day mourning period, but because of inescapable interference from several quarters, Armenians are now heading into a difficult era. The Armenian patriarch position in Turkey is a tough one, under the heavy burden of tragic memories of mass destruction of the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian population in 1915 — a position stuck between the Turkish government and an Armenian diaspora angered by any move to reconcile. 

According to Armenian publisher Rober Koptas, the Turkish state has always exerted tight control of the patriarchate to ensure the Armenians will remain a minority community and not be allowed to become an organized body,  

The state doesn’t have the maturity to allow Armenians to freely select their own spiritual leader. That doesn’t mean that an elected patriarch would be vetoed by the government, but Ankara finds way to tacitly point out the “right” candidate that should be elected.

One way of doing that is by conveying angry rhetoric and threats via the pro-government media. Then there are some influential Armenians who are getting along well with the state regarding their own interests and who frequently act as state spokespeople, pointing out the state’s favorite candidates.

When 83rd Patriarch Karekin Kazanjian died in 1998, Mutafyan took his place later that year — after months of stalling and interference by the state. 

Mutafyan, who attracted well-educated, dynamic youths to the church, was quickly labeled by the state a "supporter of terror,” “Armenian nationalist” and “active militant.” But this kind of interference actually drove Armenians to unite. According to Koptas, unifying was the only thing the Armenian 

community could have done “to challenge the state.”

The state stepped up its surveillance operations against the Armenian community and that same year, much to the annoyance of many Armenians, Mutafyan was forced to express opposition to France's decision to recognize the Armenian genocide, saying it could damage progress in relations with Turkey. 

“The community is caught in the crossfire. Armenia, the Armenian diaspora and the Turkish government have conflicting views. When they go after each other, we are caught in the middle,” said Mutafyan in explaining the pressure he was under.

The government's interference became more visible when Mutafyan's diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease was announced in 2008. One segment of the community said that, according to 1863 Armenian national bylaws, when a patriarch can't work anymore, a new patriarch has to be elected.

But in 2010, Archbishop Aram Ateshian secured a letter from the Istanbul governor (a presidential appointee who is reponsible for both national government and state affairs in Istanbul province) and was designated "patriarchal vicar general." 

According to many Armenians, such a post was nonexistent and was invented to prevent the election of a new patriarch. Armenians have a tradition of the patriarch naming an acting one when needed. But if the patriarch dies or is not in a condition to decide, a locum tenens (temporary leader) has to be named to initiate the election process.

Those who criticize Ateshian for acting like a government-appointed trustee claim the government was unsure of the political inclinations of potential candidates from outside Turkey. The government wanted to work with someone it trusts. Its message was clear: As the patriarch is not dead, there can be no election. However, of the earlier 83 patriarchs, 71 were replaced while they were alive and only 12 were selected after their predecessors passed away. Meanwhile, the government kept saying Mutafyan would miraculously recover.

“There was no recovery possible for [Mutafyan]. 

Nevertheless, Ateshian and his supporters referred to his illness, saying, ‘We believe in miracles, our patriarch may recover,’ and followed the government's ploy. Ateshian pretended to be the patriarch. Some circles approved that,” Armenian writer Sevan Degirmenciyan told Al-Monitor.

Controversy escalated. The Clerical Council of the Armenian Patriarchate in 2017 designated Karekin Bekcian, a senior cleric from Germany, as locum tenens, but the Istanbul governor did not accept the appointment. That rejection further enflamed Armenian anger: A protest against Ateshian was held at a concert and cartoons ridiculing him were drawn in the streets of Istanbul.

Now Mutafyan has gone and it is time for an election.

To elect a new administrator after the death of the patriarch, the Armenian Clerical Council and foundation councils will meet to form an election committee. They will apply to the Istanbul governor. Letters will be sent to potential candidates who were  born in Turkey or whose fathers were born in Turkey, above 35 years of age. The council will choose five candidates from among those who want to run for the post. The names of very old ones and those not trusted by the Turkish government will be deleted. The election will have two phases: An assembly of 90 delegates will be elected, and then those delegates will vote for the patriarch.

In addition to Ateshian and Sahak Mashalian from Turkey, there are candidates from Armenia, Germany, the United States, Jerusalem, Australia and Brazil.

Degirmenciyan thinks a 40-day waiting period is unnecessary. “There was no such rule for elections of two previous patriarchs. The process is working very slowly. It will be September or October before a new patriarch is elected,” he said. “The community has had enough. People have lost hope. Can we really have a proper election?”

The Turkish government has excellent relations with Ateshian. But his name is worn out.

An internet site said to be close to Turkish intelligence circles provides a fairly good idea of who the government wants: Someone who was born in Turkey. There is not much sympathy for Bekcian of Germany, who wants to annul the 1863 bylaws that regulate relations between Armenians and the state. The election of Sebuh Culcuyan, a patriarch candidate from Armenia, would mean Armenians of Turkey would be taking sides with Armenia and Russia.

A second wall posting is even more striking: “The diaspora’s candidate is Khajag Barsamian, who adheres to the Cilicia line that follows the pro-Atlantic and pro-European ideologies. They remain anti-Turkish. The state will not remain idleto the diaspora’s interference with the election. If Barsamian is elected, that will be a victory for the pro-Atlantic stand. Thus there is only one option left: Armenian native and national, Ateshian.”

The slate of candidates is open to intervention, but in the end, Armenians will vote. With so many plots and quarrels, it's worth waiting for the outcome.

Found in: istanbul, orthodox church, leadership, armenian genocide, turkey-armenia relations, patriarch, armenians, armenia

Fehim Tastekin is a Turkish journalist and a columnist for Turkey Pulse who previously wrote for Radikal and Hurriyet. He has also been the host of the weekly program "SINIRSIZ," on IMC TV. As an analyst, Tastekin specializes in Turkish foreign policy and Caucasus, Middle East and EU affairs. He is the author of “Suriye: Yikil Git, Diren Kal,” “Rojava: Kurtlerin Zamani” and “Karanlık Coktugunde - ISID.” Tastekin is founding editor of the Agency Caucasus. On Twitter: @fehimtastekin

Armenpress.am

1 April, 2019

PM personally receives staff of Yerevan Opera Theater to solve Orbelian issue

Staff of the Alexander Spendiaryan Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, or the Yerevan Opera Theater, say they are happy over the meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that took place today after the performers staged a demonstration outside the Government headquarters against the dismissal of Constantine Orbelian as General Director.

Orbelian, a three-time Grammy Award nominated conductor, was appointed artistic director of the Yerevan Opera Theater in 2016. Then, a year later, he also became general director of the theater.

Acting Minister of Culture Nazeni Gharibyan dismissed Orbelian as general director on March 29, claiming that by law he cannot occupy both positions simultaneously. This sparked discontent among performers of the Yerevan Opera Theater.

“We agreed for the general director’s duties to be assumed temporarily by the deputy director. It was guaranteed that no outsider will come and be director. We will receive the ministry’s justifications over the dismissal on our emails, and we will present our counter-arguments”, conductor Harutyun Arzumanyan said.

In case of the culture ministry’s dismissal order being unlawful, the prime minister vowed to fire those responsible.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenpress.am

1 April, 2019

Bribery-suspected judge jailed

The judge who was detained by National Security Service agents on March 28 in suspicion of bribery has been jailed pending trial.

The Court granted the prosecutors’ motion to place Judge Gagik Heboyan from the Kotayk Provincial Court of General Jurisdiction into pre-trial detention.

According to the Special Investigative Service, the judge is charged with demanding and accepting more than a 3000$ bribe from a plaintiff in order to rule a favorable verdict for the latter in a civil lawsuit.

According to the charges, the judge then tasked one of his acquaintances, who is an attorney, to take the money.

On March 27, the money was handed over to the judge, and at the same moment agents made the arrest.

Authorities said they continue investigating the case.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

RFE/RL Report

April 01, 2019

Armenian Vice-Minister Held For ‘Bribery’

An Armenian deputy minister of health was arrested while allegedly receiving a hefty bribe over the weekend.

Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) said on Monday that the official, Arsen Davtian, was caught red-handed in his office. It claimed that the unnamed director of a medical institution paid Davtian a “particularly large amount of money” in return for securing greater government funding for his hospital.

An NSS statement said both men will be prosecuted on corruption charges. It said that unlike Davtian, the hospital chief was not arrested because of his old age and poor health.

The security service added that it is continuing to investigate possible corrupt practices in payment of government subsidies to state-owned and private 

hospitals, a process which has been overseen by Davtian.

Health Minister Arsen Torosian, who helped Davtian become vice-minister in May, said later on Monday that his deputy will deserve “strict” punishment if 

convicted. “Such [corrupt] practices are inadmissible and condemnable,” he wrote on Facebook.

“We voice our support for law-enforcement bodies in their fight against corruption,” Torosian added on behalf of his staff. “We sincerely believe that disclosure of corruption and other illegal practices in the [healthcare] system will help to root them out and make the system healthy.”

Davtian was detained one month after Torosian effectively engineered the arrest of two government officials accused of attempting to personally benefit from government-funded supplies of medical equipment to three hospitals.

The indicted officials held senior positions at the State Oversight Service (SOS), a government agency tasked with combatting financial irregularities in 

the public sector. They both deny the corruption charges.

Torosian has repeatedly pledged to eliminate widespread corruption in the Armenian healthcare system. In July, the minister sacked Ara Minasian, the 

longtime director of Yerevan’s Surb Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center, after accusing him of embezzling at least 545 million drams ($1.1 million) in public funds.

Law-enforcement authorities brought corruption charges against Minasian shortly afterwards. The latter rejected them as baseless and politically motivated.

A prominent doctor, Minasian is the father of former President Serzh Sarkisian’s son-in-law Mikael Minasian, who enjoyed considerable political and 

economic influence in Armenia until last spring’s “velvet revolution.”

Armenia’s Leaders Take Strong Positions Against US & Azerbaijan

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

 The most noteworthy Armenian foreign policy development of the weekwas supposed to be the first negotiating session between Armenia’s

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyevover the Artsakh conflict. But since there was no breakthrough inthese negotiations, we shall focus our attention on important related issues.

On March 28, 2019, while addressing the Armenian Parliament, Prime Minister Pashinyan criticized the United States government’s lack of reaction to last year’s democratic changes in Armenia, dubbed the

“Velvet Revolution.”

This is the first time in a year that Pashinyan has used such strong language in referring to the United States. “The U.S. has long been acting as the most ardent defender of democracy in the entire world,”

Pashinyan stated. “I want to ask all of us a question: how did the U.S. react to the unprecedented democratic change in Armenia? It was a profoundly and quintessentially democratic change and nobody can doubt this. I, for example, have told America’s representatives that I believe that they basically came up with zero reaction. Why?”

Pashinyan then went on to defend Armenia’s independent political line regardless of the pressures exerted on Yerevan by major powers. “When we say that our country’s sovereignty is of paramount importance to us we don’t mean that we need to replace dependence on point A [Russia] by dependence on point B [the United States]. We take our sovereignty very seriously and I want to assure you …that our government is strongly committed to protecting our country’s and people’s sovereignty in all directions.”

Pres. Trump’s administration has so far paid only lip service to the dramatic and peaceful changes in Armenia. Pres. Trump sent a congratulatory message to Pashinyan last September praising the “Velvet Revolution” and expressing readiness to help the new government implement sweeping reforms. 

Likewise, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saluted the “remarkable changes” in Armenia. However these beautiful words have remained on paper. No concrete steps were taken to assist Armenia. That is partly due to the fact that the Trump administration can care less about democratic developments in foreign countries and also due to Pres. Trump being self-absorbed with his own ego and personal interests.

Prime Minister Pashinyan’s declaration is a very positive development for Armenia’s foreign policy and a sharp departure from the previous Armenian leaders’ position. So far, most of the pressure on Armenia has come from Russia. This is an inevitable fact given Armenia’s economic, political and military reliance on Russia. The new development is that Armenia’s leaders are no longer willing to blindly

succumb to Russia’s desires and orders trampling upon their country’s sovereignty. When Armenia’s interests are in question, Pashinyan has neither shied away from criticizing the European Union nor reasserting Armenia’s sovereignty in his discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

If the United States wants to win over Armenia, it has to offer a carrot rather than a stick. As the saying goes, you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

The second most astounding development last week was the declaration of Armenia’s Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan during his visit to the United States. “As the minister of defense, I state we have reformulated the ‘territories in exchange for peace’ approach to ‘new war in exchange for new territories’ approach,” Tonoyan announced on March 29 in New York at a meeting with members of the Armenian

community. “We will get rid of the trenches and persistent defensive stance. We will increase the number of military units capable of transferring military operations to the territory of the adversary,”

Tonoyan stated. “We will not give up anything.”

While some may interpret the Armenian Defense Minister’s words as war-mongering, in reality, Tonoyan is responding in kind to the thousands of threats issued over the years by Pres. Aliyev to  conquer Meghri and even Yerevan, Armenia’s capital. It is time that Armenia’s leaders speak from a position of strength, not weakness.

Clearly, Aliyev is not ready for war. Otherwise, he would have already attacked. His threats should not be taken seriously. It is proper to silence him through counter-threats, and if needs be, preemptive attacks.

Armenia’s Defense Minister is sending a clear message to Azerbaijan’s President not to embark on a foolish adventure. Otherwise, his pipelines and oil wells will come under attack, devastating the country’s economy and toppling his regime. It is significant that such a hard-hitting message is being sent to Azerbaijan while Armenia’sDefense Minister is on U.S. soil.