Domestic policy

This week the ad hoc parliamentary commission set up to investigate the tragic events in Yerevan on March 1-2, 2008, has stated its readiness to present a final report at the RA Parliament’s session early this autumn. Commission Chairman Samvel Nikoyan’s statement was followed by that of the commission member Artsvik Minasyan. The latter voiced hope for a favorable public response as the document “will contain rather impartial appraisals of police actions.” However, both commission members’ statements made it clear that the most important question – the one concerning the death of ten people – would remain unanswered. The reason is that both the ruling coalition representatives and the “newly-fledged” opposition represented by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) are unanimously stating the matter is within the investigative body’s terms of reference. The recent reports on the forthcoming presentation of a final report will afford the opposition one more opportunity to justify its nonparticipation in the commission’s activities as its “main mission has been concealing the causes and facts of the tragic events on March 1, 2008.” Incidentally, Andranik Kocharyan, who represented the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) at the dissolved fact-finding group, doubts the ad hoc commission has prepared a comprehensive and in-depth report. According to him, the commission had too little time to examine the materials provided to it by two opposition members.

The ANC is trying to keep domestic political passions up while the summer holidays are coming to their end. The ANC has found a new formula for political activities: during several weeks the Opposition leaders visited the families of the Opposition activists under arrest in the Armenian regions. Armenia’s first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Chairman of the People’s Party of Armenia (PPA) Stepan Demirchyan and Chairman of the Republic Party Aram Sargsyan paid a significant visit to Ijevan, to the parental home of Nikol Pashinyan, Editor-in-Chief of the Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper, who gave himself up to the authorities on July 1.

During the visit the ANC leader Ter-Petrosyan once against expressed the confidence that a change of power is inevitable in Armenia. This Thursday, the administration of the Yerevan-Center penitentiary institution reportedly violated Pashinyan’s rights. In particular, the head of the institution Nelson Zakaryan did not allow Pashinyan’s lawyer Tigran Muradyan to hand newspapers to his client. Talking to NEWS.am, Muradyan said that the reason is Pashinyan’s article about the administration of the penitentiary institution. Muradyan said he visits his client every day except for Saturday and Sunday. He had no problems with supplying Pashinyan with newspapers until August 20. But now the administration claim only they can offer newspapers to the arrestees. It is noteworthy that, under the Armenian law, arrestees can read any newspapers.

The former party-mates’ hurt feelings have surged up once again this week. The former candidate for the post of Yerevan Mayor, ARF member Artsvik Minasyan harshly criticized Yerevan Mayor Gagik Beglaryan and his team. According to him, the Yerevan administration has nothing in common with the Armenian Constitution or with local government bodies formed under international law. Moreover, Minasyan said, the Yerevan Municipality does not consider either the people’s will or opinion, nor does it keep its election promises. Minasyan’s statements should be viewed in the context of the ARF’s “stock attempts” to gain a firm ground in the opposition political arena, which do not yet enjoy success with the opposition voters. Also, the ARF, which claimed numerous violations in the elections to the municipal elections, though represented at all the election commissions, did not launch a struggle against election rigging.

Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and region

The leader of the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) Levon Ter-Petrosyan made an important statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. According to him, “Armenia’s incumbent authorities have already ceded Nagorno-Karabakh.” RA President Serzh Sargsyan must resign for the Armenian side not to lose Nagorno-Karabakh, Ter-Petrosyan said. He expressed the confidence that the present political situation will not last long as his return to politics has formed a strong civil society in the country – a society that is not going to put up with the authorities-imposed conditions.

The ARF representative Giro Manoyan made a number of pessimistic forecasts for the negotiating process. He expressed the confidence that both Azerbaijan and Armenia want to say ‘no’ to the framework agreements under preparation. The matter is which of them will be the first to do so. According to Manoyan, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs will do their best to get consent to the Madrid Principles from official Yerevan and Baku before October 14, when the Armenian and Turkish national football teams are to play a match. “Late this September the co-chairs will present a revised version of the Madrid document for the counties to either consent to or reject it,” Manoyan told a press conference.

Zhirair Sefilyan, the head of the Union of Armenian Volunteers, welcomed the Republic of Artsakh action group formed in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). He regards as inadmissible a policy of forming two Armenian states. Sefilyan is sure that it has not impressed the international community. He once again pronounced for the unification of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, reminding the journalists that the Movement’s slogan was “Miatsum” (Unification) in 1988, not “Independence”.

The Republic of Artsakh action group formed in Hadrut, Nagorno-Karabakh, in mid July pronounced for the liberated territories to be declared a zone of vital national interests. The group also stated the necessity for a national special-purpose fund to deal with the settlement of the territories with Armenian refugees. The group is now collecting signatures to their demands in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Experts and journalists have focused their attention on hacker attacks on Armenian web sites, including government ones. All of sudden, there appeared about a dozen experts that held a number of press conferences on the present level of “cyber-dangers” in Armenia. However, one has the impression that it is only Armenian mass media, NGOs as well as some experts that are concerned over Azerbaijani hackers’ more and more frequent attacks on Armenian websites. As regards government agencies, they have not yet expressed any clear opinion on the problem. Moreover, immediately after some specialists pointed out the Armenian side’s disadvantages, there appeared a couple of their colleagues that spoke of an excessive excitement over the problem. Finally, the debate did not provide an answer to the main question: what are the Armenian government agencies and Internet providers to do for the murderer Ramil Safarov’s picture not to appear on Armenian websites any more?

This week, “in the context of the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement”, Ankara has probably decided to launch a large-scale anti-Armenian campaign in the United States. In his interview with Hurriyet, Kaya Boztepe, the head of the Federation of Turkish communities, stated that the Turkish Government intends to intensify the Turkish community’s activities in the United States. “Our major task is to oppose the Armenian lobby, which continues its campaign of slander against Turkey in the United States. The Turkish community, in cooperation with the Azerbaijani community, has done much work. But it is not enough, and we must redouble, and even triple, our efforts in the United States,” Boztepe said. In engineering the anti-Armenian campaign, Turks plan to adopt the Armenian lobby’s experience. They believe the “enemy should be beaten with his own weapons.”

Economy and social life

After visiting India, Armenian officials arrived at the conclusion that the country’s meat-processing enterprises do not meet sanitary standards. At a meeting chaired by RA Premier Tigran Sargsyan, Head of the Department for State and Legal Affairs, RA Government staff, Ashot Vaganyan made a relevant report. He said that an Armenian government delegation visited a number of meat-processing enterprises in India. He pointed out that the enterprises purchased meat without any quality control and elementary sanitary measures exercised. India exports to Armenia buffalo meat used in sausage production. Vaganyan pointed out that other Indian companies meet all the sanitary standards. Premier Sargsyan stressed that Armenia must purchase meat from companies working for at least five years, running their own slaughter-houses and meeting all the international quality standards. Seventeen Indian companies meeting the criteria cover 85% of the Indian meat market. However, only 21% of the meat exported from India to Armenia meets the standards. The only question is: why has the Armenian Government been silent for such a long period, and won’t the revealed facts cause damage to the Armenian meat-processing companies? We hope that a tighter customs control ordered by the Premier will prevent further incidents.

Armenian consumers have been faced with a prospective rise in energy tariffs this week. At its sitting this Thursday, at Premier Tigran Sargsyan’s suggestion, the RA Government adopted a protocol decision on stability in the energy sector. The decision is supposed to prevent a rise in the final energy tariffs for consumers. The Premier pointed out the necessity for bridging the financial gap in the energy sector at the expense of state-run enterprises, particularly the Vorotan hydro-power plant, Yerevan heat and power plant, Armenian nuclear-power plant and special funds. He also reported the planned expenditure cuts. The Premier issued relevant instructions to RA Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan and to Chairman of the RA Public Services Regulatory Commission Robert Nazaryan to ensure the energy sector’s financial stability. Although the Government announced urgent measures to prevent a rise in energy tariffs for consumers, the issue of financial gaps in the energy sector remains unclear. Also, how successful will the Government’s actions be?

While the family of the opposition oligarch Khachatur Sukiasyan, who is on the list of wanteds, was preparing to claim €124 damages at the European Court for the Bjni plant standing idle, the enterprise resumed production. Arsen Chikchyan, the bankruptcy manager, stated that the plant has produced 40,000 bottles since August 8. Ninety-eight workers are presently employed at the plant. The SIL Concern, which is owned by the Sukiasyan family, told NEWS.am, that they have nothing in common with the Bjni plant. “It is a week since we lodged a claim with the European Court,” the company representative said. The Armenian authorities started persecuting the Sukiasyan family and “pressuring” their business after the Parliament member Khachatur Sukiasyan openly supported the Opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan at last year’s presidential election.

Lovers of hunting, officials and oligarchs and their milieu, have been afforded an opportunity to “hunt to satisfaction” this week. The Armenian Minister of Nature Protection issued a decree permitting game-shooting and fowling in some hunting grounds.

The ministry’s press service reports that hunting quotas for hares, foxes and some kinds of birds, have been fixed, with no limits set for wolves and jackals.