Politics in Hayastan

[Hakob]

Re: Politics in Hayastan

Anybody see a 3.2 billion investment or armament in 7 years?
Serjiks brother buys property in US worth billion.
Country begs 200mln from Russia to buy weapons.

[Achemish]

Re: Politics in Hayastan

Found this on Facebook completely destroying Civilnet's infographic.

Can someone please link me to where we gained 250 square kilometers of land?

[armnuke]

Re: Politics in Hayastan

Can someone please link me to where we gained 250 square kilometers of land?

There are posts in the NKR-Azer balance thread from summer 2014 if I remember correctly.

[armnuke]

Re: Politics in Hayastan

Anybody see a 3.2 billion investment or armament in 7 years?
Serjiks brother buys property in US worth billion.
Country begs 200mln from Russia to buy weapons.

I am not saying money has not been wasted or has not ended up in pockets, but I was in Armenia in 2006 and I was counting the days to leave. Came back in 2014 and I was surprised by the big difference. I did not want to leave and ended up moving here.

[armnuke]

Re: Politics in Hayastan

Jirair Sefilian presents demands

YEREVAN. – The entire leadership of police must be removed, and the negotiations with the authorities must advance based on a series of demands, says the letter of imprisoned member of the “Founding Parliament” Zhirayr Sefilian.

The letter says:

"Since I am not permitted to directly meet with “Sasna Tsrer” [an armed group – ed.] to clarify the position on their demands and I already know that the authorities do not make any reasonable steps to prevent bloodshed, while people should be aware of the content of negotiations, which I propose as a golden mean, here are the issues which, I think, can convince the guys to lay down arms.

To do this, I need to meet with them directly, and if the authorities have some concerns that I may not leave the territory of the regiment and will take the weapon, then I am ready to accept any demands of providing guarantees. I have repeatedly said that I am ready to do everything for a peaceful and bloodless settlement of the conflict.

• to meet the following requirements, or the steps aimed at fulfilling them, will need a government of national trust – the process which is necessary to start as soon as possible. It will be mainly engaged in the implementation of the following issues.

Karabakh

- The overarching objective of this issues is to declare Artsakh within the borders prior to April 1, 2016, as an integral part of the Republic of Armenia and legally fix this reality. This is the acceptable threshold, which cannot be lower.

- Details on the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, strategic and tactical ones, will be introduced if necessary.

Defence and security

Army

- Radically change the tactics of combat duty, with the main goal being to keep the defense of the borders of Armenia and Artsakh by less personnel.

- Exclude duty by conscripts. This service should be held solely by contractual military on a voluntary basis. Contract servicemen who do not have children should be prohibited from carrying on combat duty.

Police

- Changes in the entire police command. Chief of Police and all his deputies should be removed from the law enforcement system permanently, and have to be held accountable for their actions. New Chief of Police should be a person outside the police system.

- The composition of the police should be significantly changed: instead of feeding units of mercenaries against the people, the personnel of these units must be allowed to join the contract service with higher salary in order to protect their homeland from external threats.

- New Chief of Police and his deputies should not have any relation to the events of March 1, 2008, as a reminder to everyone that it is impossible “to warm hands on people's blood”, and everyone should be punished for it.

Defense and sovereignty

- It is necessary to immediately start negotiations to put an end to the control of Armenia’s borders by the Russian border units, posing a question about the rest of the contingent of the Russian Armed Forces in the future. External borders of Armenia have to be controlled solely by the armed forces and special services of Armenia.

- Russian border guards have to hand over to Armenia the resources for border control, including network intelligence and counterintelligence, because this would be possible.

• The release of all political prisoners. In particular:

• Hayk Kyureghyan, Shant Harutyunyan and others, Vladimir Avetisyan, Gevorg Safaryan. This list is not exhaustive. At the moment, I cannot remember all the names.

• In connection with the events of the last days (rallies in support of “Sasna Tsrer” group) - a measure of restraint of detainees needs to be changed, the trial on all the demands of justice must be ensured.

• It is necessary to stop all persecutions related to the latest developments.

• In addition to the issue of political prisoners, the government should seriously discuss and address the unprecedented and broad amnesty, given the limitations provided for by the constitution. Parole for life-termers must become a real possibility under the law.

• The power should be returned to the people

- The reform of the election law, in particular, an absolute availability of the lists signed by voters. These lists are a sign of the legitimacy of any government - the rule of law which did not exist under any regime since 1996. Without this evidence coming to power is an usurpation, and this is what we have been witnessing for twenty years.

Justice

• The government, judiciary and the legal system must remove all those having links to a) use of force on March 1 against the people and political imprisonments in the future. If they did so under the influence of any threat or coercion, they now must publicly explain in detail the circumstances, calling names and other data and publicly apologize; b) all those government officials who were involved in the violence in recent days must be brought to justice.

• Creation of a commission that will examine all cases on deprivation of property of citizens in the last decade, and will submit proposals for the restoration of justice.

I call on our people and the political parties to take these demands and to express them without leaving the burden on “Sasna Tsrer” only. The people will form the possibility of a legitimate extension of these requirements so that no one could try to put forward demands by force. "

http://news.am/eng/news/339875.html

[Haykakan]

Re: Politics in Hayastan

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Slain Armenian Policeman Buried
August 02, 2016

Armenia - The funeral in Yerevan of Yuri Tepanosian, an Armenian
police officer killed in a standoff between security forces and
opposition gunmen, 1Aug2016.

The second Armenian police officer shot dead in a standoff between
security forces and anti-government gunmen was buried in Yerevan on
Monday.

Warrant Officer Yuri Tepanosian's funeral was attended by his
colleagues and superiors.

The police say the 30-year-old father of three was killed on Saturday
by sniper from a police compound in the city's Erebuni district which
was seized by the gunmen on July 17. They say Tepanosian sat in a
police car parked about 400 meters from the sprawling compound.


Armenia -- A police photograph showing a compound held by gunmen and
the puported place where a police officer, Yuri Tepanosian, was killed
on July 30, 2016., 31Jul2016

Varuzhan Avetisian, the leader of the gunmen who surrendered to
law-enforcement authorities late on Sunday, insisted shortly before
the surrender that Tepanosian was not gunned down by the armed
group. Avetisian claimed that the officer's car was not visible from
the compound.

The police responded by releasing photographs meant to prove that the
gunmen were able to see and shoot at Tepanosian's car.

On Monday, the police spokesman, Ashot Aharonian, also publicized a
short video purportedly showing a gunman with a sniper rifle taking a
position on the roof of a police building inside the compound.

"Yuri Tepanosian died as a real policeman, while protecting the lives
and security of his fellow citizens at the expense of his life,"
Aharonian wrote on Facebook earlier.


Armenia - Colonel Artur Vanoyan, a police officer killed during a July
17 armed attack on a police station in Yerevan.

The gunmen demanding President Serzh Sarkisian's resignation killed
another officer, Colonel Artur Vanoyan, when they captured the police
facility on July 17. Four other policemen were wounded in in the
pre-dawn attack.

Avetisian and other gunmen blamed the police for Vanoyan's death. They
claimed that they fought back in "self-defense" when security forces
attempted to retake the compound.

Police officials insist, however, that Vanoyan and his injured
colleagues were on duty inside their Erebuni base when it was stormed
by the armed members of a radical opposition movement.

[armnuke]

Re: Politics in Hayastan

Interfax source confirms Karen Karapetyan as next prime minister & Vigen Sargsyan as foreign minister. Hovig Abrahamyan will resign tomorrow.

[Federate]

Re: Politics in Hayastan

Interfax source confirms Karen Karapetyan as next prime minister & Vigen Sargsyan as foreign minister. Hovig Abrahamyan will resign tomorrow.

Looking forward to seeing anyone but Edward Nalbandyan as the Foreign Minister of Armenia. Karen Karapetyan has close links to Russia.

[Haykakan]

Re: Politics in Hayastan

Lets see if these new cats can do any better at building some public trust.

[Haykakan]

Re: Politics in Hayastan

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
Sept 23 2016


Armenia´s Government Make-Over
The ruling party is trying to change its image after a difficult few months.


By Suren Deheryan
Armenia’s newly appointed prime minister Karen Karapetyan has been described as a “a symbol of change” by President Serzh Sargsyan.
The former Yerevan mayor’s appointment has been widely interpreted as an attempt to cast the ruling Republican Party in a new and more positive light ahead of parliamentary elections in April 2017.
The Armenian establishment was badly shaken by July’s two-week standoff with gunmen who had seized control of a police station in the capital.
A considerable part of the population supported the armed group, which had demanded the president´s resignation, leading to mass protests.x
In the immediate aftermath, Sargsyan raised the idea of forming a government of national consensus, and the appointment of the premier appears to be the first step in that process.
Former prime minister Hovik Abrahamyan resigned abruptly in early September saying that Armenia needed “new approaches and a new beginning”.
On September 13, the president signed a decree appointing 53-year-old Karapetyan as Armenia´s 14th prime minister since the country gained independence 25 years ago.
Sargsyan praised the new head of government, who has spent the last five years as a senior executive with the Russian gas giant Gazprom, as a man of experience.
“We all know very well the capabilities and style of Karen Karapetyan.x He may indeed be on the crest of a great wave of change in Armenia, lead society to new economic and political freedoms, break stereotypes, give new flexibility to economic growth and so on,” Sargsyan said.
Next year’s polls will mark the country´s transition from a semi-presidential form of governance to a parliamentary republic.x
(See also Armenia´s Landmark Electoral Code Curtailed).
But many people in Armenia are disenchanted with the country´s longstanding economic and social problems.x
The economy is highly dependent on Russia, which in turn has been influenced by falling oil prices and European sanctions.x Russia´s economic downturn has hit Armenian exports and affected remittances from Armenian labour migrants.
The figures look grim. Armenia’s economy grew by 3 per cent in 2015 and the World Bank has predicted this will slow down to 2.2 to 2.5 per cent over the next years.
The poverty rate stood at 30 per cent in 2014, the World Bank reported earlier this year.
According to the Central Bank of Armenia, unemployment was 18 per cent in the first quarter of 2016.
Foreign direct investment fell from 497 million US dollars in 2012 to 181 million dollars in 2015, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Moreover, Sargsyan has been under political pressure following the four-day war in early April between Azerbaijan and Armenian-backed military forces over Nagorny Karabakh.x The authorities were criticised for how they handled the flare-up and for making territorial concessions.x
(See also Frontline Residents Count Cost of War).
PRE-ELECTION HOPES
Experts believe that the ruling party has high expectations of Karapetyan, which he will have only a short time to meet.
“In the pre-election period, they have to bring the kind of figure who will create new hope,” Styopa Safaryan, founder and head of the Armenian Institute of International and Security Affairs (AIISA), told IWPR.
“The president did not say by chance that this person ´will be the symbol of change´, since Karen Karapetyan has experience getting positive results in a short period [of time].”
“Of course, this will lead to a new coalition, since it was obvious after the July incident that he [the president] has problems with the management,” he said.
According to Safaryan, Sargsyan has set Karapetyan both short and long-term tasks.x The first goal is to help present the ruling party as able to bring change now and in the future.
“At this stage, short-term results are important.x This [entails] at least raising the image of the ruling party, improving relations with Moscow, resolving questions related to Gazprom and Gazprom´s growing role in the Iran-Armenia cooperation on energy,” Safaryan said.
Safaryan recalled that when Karapetyan was elected Yerevan mayor, he successfully began reforms only to encounter obstacles and then resign unexpectedly for reasons that remain unclear.x
“He was not part of the system or of a party and in this sense it will certainly be difficult to take drastic steps without support.x Today, I think, he at least has the support of the president and a stipulation on how deep he can go with the changes,” Safaryan said.
Alexander Iskandaryan, director of the Caucasus Institute in Yerevan, agreed that the authorities need to bring fresh faces into the government ahead of elections.
“Karen Karapetyan fits the mould, and he will select a government that will consist of people who have not been part of the political elite.x The point of this is to get this government to the parliamentary elections and beyond,” Iskandaryan told IWPR.
But whether Karapetyan´s team will succeed is hard to say, he added. The political elite is often seen as favouring its own business and family interests over the interest of the country.
x“Belonging to the government lowers the rating of any person who joins it.x The problem is not the people, the problem is systemic.x Society, or at least a significant part, has rejected the political system of the country,” Iskandaryan said.
FIRST MOVES
However, Karapetyan told parliament on September 14 that rapid changes would not happen straight away.
“There are steps we can take in the near future.x For the second phase, time is needed to determine in which direction we will lead the country… You have to understand that there is no magic wand.x If we want changes in the economy, we need to make structural changes.x Honestly speaking, the state of our economy is very grave,” Karapetyan told lawmakers.
Having instructed the state revenue committee to increase transparency, he called on the commission on regulation of public services, the ministry of energy and natural resources, the ministry of labour and social security to present proposals to revise the gas and electricity tariff policies.
Karapetyan has appointed the first six ministers of his new cabinet, four of whom have not held ministerial positions before.
On September 22, it was announced that the ministry of urban development will be scrapped and the ministries of economy, energy and natural resources and transport and communication will be renamed.x
They will now be known as the ministry of investment and business support, the ministry of energy infrastructures and resources and the ministry of transport, communications and information technology, respectively.x
Suren Degeryan is IWPR´s Armenia editor.

https://iwpr.net/global-voices/armenia%C2%B4s-government-make-over