|
|
|
| June 1 |
Following the elections
for a new Armenian parliament, Self-Determination Union (SDU) leader
Paruir Hairikian announces he will appeal to the Constitutional Court
to invalidate the election results due to irregularities. According
to Hairikian, significant numbers of registered voters were omitted
from official voter lists and were denied the right to vote. The omissions
were blamed on technical problems and shortcomings among local and
regional officials, according to the Central Electoral Commission.
Overall, the elections are deemed "free and orderly" and
a marked improvement over past elections by observers from the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and echoed by the Council
of Europe. The OSCE does, however, cite their "serious concerns"
over the omission of the voters. |
| June 2 |
President Robert Kocharian,
in a meeting with officials of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) election monitoring team, promises to investigate
and prosecute all cases of voting irregularities and fraud in the
recent parliamentary election. |
| June 3 |
World Bank Chairman James
Wolfensohn meets with senior members of the Armenian government, including
two officials of the newly elected Unity Bloc. The Unity Bloc, now
the largest group within the new parliament, expressed an economic
platform during the campaign which raised concerns amongst World Bank
officials. The World Bank chairman states that the meetings reassured
him that the Armenian parliament will continue to work with the Kocharian
government in continuing the course of economic reform and liberalization
in Armenia. |
| June 4 |
The Armenian Central Electoral
Commission releases the first official results from the May 30th parliamentary
election. According to the results, the Unity Bloc of Defense Minister
Vazgen Sarkisian and former Communist leader Garen Demirchian has
emerged as the new dominant bloc within the new legislature with a
total of 57 seats. The Unity Bloc garnered 41.67 percent of the vote,
earning them 29 of the 56 seats based on the proportional system,
and won another 34 of the 75 seats allocated by single-mandate constituencies.
The Communist Party is second with 12.1 percent and ten total seats,
followed by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) with 7.83
percent and eight total seats. The Country of Law group and the National
Democratic Union (NDU) hold six seats each with 5.28 and 5.17 percent
of the vote respectively. Former Interior Minister Vano Siradeghian
of the former ruling Armenian National Movement (ANM) is elected to
the ANM's one seat. There are a total of 29 independent or non-affiliated
deputies. |
| June 5 |
Prime Minister Armen Darbinian
announces his resignation during a cabinet meeting. Commenting on
the resignation, President Kocharian reveals that the leaders of the
newly elected Unity Bloc, Defense Minister Sarkisian and Garen Demirchian,
will likely choose the positions of parliamentary speaker and prime
minister between them. According to the constitution, the prime minister
is prohibited from holding any other governmental post, which would
force Sarkisian to resign his post as Defense Minister.
Officials of the Armenian Apostolic Church announce the postponement
of the scheduled visit of Pope John Paul II to Armenia due to the
serious illness of the Armenian Catholicos, Karekin I. The Armenian
Catholicos was treated for recurring cancer in February and is reported
to be in critical condition. |
| June 8 |
Following days of secret
negotiations between the president and the Unity Bloc leadership over
the composition of the new cabinet, President Kocharian announces
that Defense Minister Vazgen Sarkisian will assume the post of prime
minister. It is rumored that Garen Demirchian, the other Unity Bloc
leader, will be voted in as the new parliamentary chairman. Kocharian
also promises his government's commitment to continuing economic reform
and vows to advance Armenia's integration into the Council of Europe
and other European institutions. |
| June 9 |
Armenian press reports
on the ongoing trial of eight former security officers under the direct
control of former Interior Minister Vano Siradeghian reveal that one
of the defendants, Arshak Shukian, has pled guilty to all charges
against him. The case centers around the allegations of Siradeghian's
use of a personal security unit, or "death squad," led by
Armen Ter-Sahakian, to carry out a series of political murders and
assassinations during 1992-1993. Siradeghian, a newly elected parliamentarian,
is expected to face an attempt to remove his parliamentary immunity
in order to face prosecution in the case. |
| June 10 |
The new 131-seat parliament
convenes its first session, electing former Armenian Communist Premier
Garen Demirchian as the new parliamentary speaker. Demirchian promises
a greater role for the parliament in the formulation of policy and
the introduction of greater transparency in decision making. The Unity
Bloc, an electoral alliance between Demirchian and Defense Minister
Sarkisian, holds a dominant 63-seat position in the legislature.
The foreign ministers of Armenia, Georgia and Iran conclude an agreement
on the multilateral effort to combat money laundering and drug trade
in the region. In statements following their meeting in Tbilisi, the
ministers announce that the three nations agree to hold annual meetings
to review their efforts and will establish trilateral training programs
to better coordinate their law enforcement efforts. |
| June 14 |
Threatening the informal
cease-fire agreement in effect since May 1994, a four-hour exchange
of mortar attacks, automatic weapons and small arms fire between Azerbaijani
troops and Nagorno Karabagh forces erupts along the northeastern Karabagh
border with Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijan and Karabagh defense ministries
issue conflicting reports each charging the other side with launching
the attacks and claiming their actions to be defensive responses.
The fighting, the most serious clash since the summer of 1997, results
in the deaths of two Azerbaijani soldiers and two Karabagh soldiers
and four Azerbaijani wounded. |
| June 15 |
Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanian calls for a "new, more global" Armenian-Georgian
agreement on bilateral relations reflecting the increased level of
cooperation between Tbilisi and Yerevan. The foreign minister adds
that the new agreement should include more specific "elements
of strategic partnership" and could be finalized with a visit
to Armenia by Georgian President Shevardnadze.
President Kocharian announces the composition of the new cabinet led
by Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian and featuring nine ministers from
the previous government. Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian retains
his post, former Prime Minister Armen Darbinian is moved to the post
of Economy Minister, and General Vagharshak becomes the new Defense
Minister, replacing Sarkisian. The interior and national security
ministry is split into two separate ministries, with Serge Sarkisian
as National Security Minister and Yerevan Mayor Suren Abrahamian named
as Interior Minister. The Armenian Peoples' Party of Garen Demirchian,
one of the two parties comprising the dominant Unity Bloc, holds the
postal services and telecommunications ministry and the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF) loses a cabinet post, but retains the ministry of
culture.
The United States Department of State, responding to the previous
day's hostilities along the Nagorno Karabagh border with Azerbaijan,
calls on all parties to immediately conform to the existing cease-fire
agreement. The U.S. State Department stresses the need for Nagorno
Karabagh and Azerbaijan "to negotiate urgently a comprehensive
and durable solution to the conflict based on the proposals"
advocated by the three co-chairs of the Minsk Group, the working group
of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
empowered to resolve the Karabagh conflict. The latest draft peace
plan submitted to the parties by the OSCE has been approved by both
Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh, but was rejected by Azerbaijan.
|
| June 16 |
Renewed clashes between
Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabagh along their border threaten the fragile
cease-fire agreement and lead to urgent calls by the United States,
Turkey and the United Nations calling on all parties to immediately
cease hostile military operations. The United Nations Secretary-General,
Kofi Annan, issues an urgent plea calling for a return to the cease-fire
arrangement.
Commenting on the recent outbreak of fighting between Azerbaijani
and Nagorno Karabagh forces, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev
states that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) could "play
an important and positive role" in resolving the Karabagh conflict.
The statement is clarified by Azerbaijani presidential adviser Vafa
Guluzade in a later announcement stressing that any suggestion of
NATO involvement is not an official Azerbaijani government position. |
| June 18-19 |
Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian
formally submits his cabinet's program outlining its policies and
legislative priorities to the new parliament. The prime minister promises
the continuation of economic reform while adopting a series of measures
aimed at easing the transition on the most vulnerable segment of the
population. Sarkisian adds specific threats warning that his government
will launch a strong effort to combat corruption and tax evasion,
and will introduce tighter regulation and oversight of investment
policy. Although the program is unchallenged by the deputies, Minister
for State Revenues Smbat Ayvazian states that the projected budget
figures for 1999 are "unrealistic" and the proposed spending
levels will have to be reduced. |
| June 19 |
A spokesman for the Armenian
foreign ministry calls on the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) to provide a detachment of monitors to be deployed
along the Nagorno Karabagh border with Azerbaijan in order to report
on the situation. The OSCE is scheduled to dispatch an official delegation
empowered to inspect the border areas with a particular emphasis on
the situation in the Mardakert district of Karabagh where most of
the recent clashes were centered. The Armenian official also dismisses
the recent calls by Azerbaijan for the involvement of NATO forces
in the conflict, stating that the OSCE peace process is already in
place and should be the preferred avenue for the mediation of the
conflict. |
| June 22 |
President Kocharian meets
with European Union Foreign Policy Commissioner Hans van den Broek
in Luxembourg to discuss the latest situation in the region and to
review the status of the current OSCE mediation effort seeking a resolution
to the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. The European Union also discusses
economic problems facing Armenia and questions Kocharian on the safety
and state of the Medzamor nuclear power plant. |
| June 23 |
Speaking to reporters in
Brussels following a meeting with Armenian President Robert Kocharian,
NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana dismisses recent Azerbaijani
suggestions of a new NATO role in the Transcaucasus and firmly rejects
any reports of NATO troops being stationed in Azerbaijan. |
| June 24 |
Official monitors from
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) inspect
the border area between Nagorno Karabagh and Azerbaijan in Karabagh's
Mardakert district. Although the OSCE inspection team declines to
comment on which side actually initiated the recent fighting, they
do reveal that the Azerbaijani front line has moved forward by some
400-500 meters, indicating a slight Azerbaijani territorial gain.
Nagorno Karabagh President Arkady Gukasyan announces the dismissal
of Prime Minister Jirair Poghosyan and his entire cabinet. The dismissals,
according to the president, stem from the government's poor performance
in several areas, including economic policy, tax collection and its
failure to meet the population's social and public health needs. President
Gukasyan adds that he will assume the temporary position of prime
minister and promises that a new cabinet will be formed shortly. Statistically,
the Nagorno Karabagh economy posted some positive gains, with industrial
production growing by 2.5 percent for the first four months of this
year, and private sector production increasing by 33.3 percent over
the same period last year. |
| June 27 |
Anonymous senior officials
close to Nagorno Karabagh President Gukasyan reveal to journalists
that an electronic listening device was uncovered in the presidential
offices and that a local electronics specialist is in custody of the
Armenian National Security Ministry in Yerevan. Neither Armenian nor
Karabagh government officials confirm the report. The listening device
was reportedly discovered just prior to the surprise decree issued
by President Gukasyan announcing the firing of the prime minister
and his cabinet. |
| June 29 |
Catholicos Karekin I,
the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, dies of cancer at the age
of 67. The Armenian Church announces a forty-day period of mourning
to be followed by a special ecclesiastical assembly to elect a new
spiritual leader.
Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian holds a series of meetings with U.S.
government officials during a visit to Washington. Oskanian meets
with officials from the White House and State Department, as well
as leading Members of the U.S. Congress to discuss the results of
the recent Armenian parliamentary elections and to review the situation
in Nagorno Karabagh.
At a press conference in Yerevan, Armenian presidential spokesman
Vahe Gabrielian criticizes the recent discovery of an electronic listening
device in the offices of Nagorno Karabagh President Arkady Gukasyan
as "disgraceful" and stressed the Kocharian government's
commitment to supporting the democratically elected government of
Karabagh. The presidential spokesman adds that Armenia will assist
in any way possible in the prosecution of those responsible for the
bugging. |
| June 30 |
President Gukasyan issues
a presidential decree naming Anushvan Danielian as the new Karabagh
prime minister, replacing the recently dismissed Jirair Poghosyan.
Danielian, a Ukrainian citizen born in Nagorno Karabagh, served as
the parliamentary chairman of the committee for state and legal issues
in the Crimean parliament and was also the deputy speaker of the Crimean
parliament during the mid-1990s. The 43 year-old Danielian moved to
Armenia and was the head of a state-run factory in Yerevan prior to
this appointment. President Gukasyan commends Danielian as an experienced
administrator long active is supporting Nagorno Karabagh. The president
also issues sharp criticisms of the economic policies of former Prime
Minister Poghosyan. |
|
|
|
|
|