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| December 2 |
The parliament votes to amend the electoral
law by raising the number of seats that are elected through the proportional
system from 56 to 96. This change in the law does not take effect
until January 2003. While this delay in its implementation will occur
before the next regularly scheduled parliamentary elections of May
2003, it also minimizes the likelihood of the President's calling
for early elections. |
| December 2-3 |
Leaders of the opposition National Democratic
Union (NDU) decide to postpone the ongoing party congress for two
weeks after continued heated debate disrupts the agenda. NDU Chairman
Vazgen Manukian and other senior party leaders are being challenged
by a small, but influential group of party members, who oppose the
leadership's policies of cooperation and non-confrontation with the
Kocharian government. |
| December 3 |
Energy Ministry officials confirm that
electricity sold to Georgia has been increased from 2.4 million to
2.7 million kilowatt hours per day. The increased energy is in response
to Georgia's request for assistance to address its ongoing energy
crisis and is being paid for by a U.S. firm that owns and operates
the energy distribution network in Tbilisi. Armenia earns approximately
$2 million a month from selling this electricity. There are also plans
for Armenia to provide electrical power directly to the Armenian-populated
Djavakheti district. |
| December 4-6 |
Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian visits
India and meets with Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee to review plans
to broaden economic and political cooperation. Oskanian also discusses
the Kashmir and Nagorno Karabagh conflicts with Indian officials.
In Yerevan, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Navaf Massalha meets with
President Robert Kocharian and Foreign Minister Oskanian to
discuss the impact of the Middle East peace talks on the Armenian
quarter of Jerusalem. |
| December 5 |
As the partial privatization of four
energy distribution networks approaches, the government concludes
an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD) allowing for a 19.9 percent share to be purchased by the EBRD.
The plan calls for the sale of 51 percent of the distribution networks
to be completed by March. |
| December 5-6 |
Infighting within the dominant two-party
Unity bloc continues as leaders of the Republican Party and the People's
Party fail to reach an agreement following two days of negotiations
over the selection of a new Chairman for the Parliamentary Finance
and Economy Committee. The traditional arrangement between the two
parties in the past was to divide such positions with this spot being
allocated to a Republican Party nominee. |
| December 6
|
The National Assembly voted overwhelmingly
to approve sweeping electoral reform last week. The deputies were
divided as to whether the changes they made should be introduced immediately.
In a vote of 95 to 5, the parliament approved a multi-party plan to
increase the number of seats chosen through proportional representation
from 56 to 94, while decreasing the share of single-mandate seats
from 75 to 37. Most Armenian politicians believe that the new system
would benefit democracy and political stability in the country. The
ruling Unity Bloc, which supported the changes, subsequently argued
that they be introduced no earlier than 2003, when Armenia plans to
hold its next parliamentary elections. The proposal reflects fear
among the majority parties that they would not do well in a proportional
poll if the legislative body was disbanded by the President earlier.
President Robert Kocharian publicly denied any intention to dissolve
the parliament. Majority and minority factions, with the latter opposing
a delay in the introduction of changes to the electoral law, have
yet to agree on a mutually acceptable format. |
| December 7
|
Armenian government and religious leaders
participate in a solemn ceremony marking the anniversary of the earthquake
that struck northern Armenia twelve years ago. The disaster took the
lives of over 25,000 people, leaving several hundred thousand homeless
and much of the country's infrastructure destroyed. In a chilling
reminder of the 1988 catastrophe, the Armenian town of Spitak was
hit by a minor earthquake measuring four on the Richter scale this
week. The tremor followed similar earthquakes that in the past month
hit Iran, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and southern Russia.
Prime Minister Andranik Markarian discusses the continuing difficulties
that face the residents in the northern areas of the country that
were damaged by the earthquake. According to official reports,
only 55 percent of housing in the earthquake region has been repaired
or rebuilt and over 30,000 families remain living in temporary housing.
Rebuilding efforts have increased
in the last two years, with the government, humanitarian organizations,
and international financial institutions injecting more funds for
construction and business development in the region. |
| December 9 |
After an undercover investigation, police
arrest Colonel Avag Khachatrian on charges of illegally selling weapons
and arms stolen from military warehouses. The colonel, assigned to
the staff of the Defense Ministry, is found with over $100,000 in
his possession. |
| December 10-11 |
A delegation from the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), having met with Turkish
officials in Ankara, travels to Sadarak along the Nakhichevan-Armenia
border. There they meet with Armenian and Azerbaijani military officials
to review the state of the cease-fire in the region. The OSCE delegation
comprises the representatives from the three chairs of the "Minsk
Group," the OSCE working group led by Russia, France and the
United States empowered to mediate the Nagorno Karabagh conflict.
The OSCE officials inform President Robert Kocharian that Turkish
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem pledged that Turkey will lift its blockade
of Armenia once a settlement is reached. Following the talks with
President Kocharian, U.S. co-chairman Carey Cavanaugh states that
"all conflicting parties want to move forward," while the
Armenian president adds that the "conflict must be resolved on
the basis of equality between the parties." |
| December 6-12
|
President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze
thanked his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian last week for continuous
electricity supplies to his country. The two presidents met at the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit in Minsk, Belarus.
Shevardnadze said that Tbilisi appreciates Armenia's electricity supplies
at a time when Georgia is going through a difficult energy crisis.
Electricity generated in Armenia is supplied to the US-owned AES-Telasi
that runs Georgia's electricity distribution network. According to
media reports, Armenia may soon begin to supply electricity to Javakhetia,
the largely Armenian-populated area in southern Georgia. That region
has suffered from continuous power shortages and serious economic
difficulties in recent years.
Kocharian also joined Shevardnadze in his expression of concern regarding
Russia's introduction of a visa requirement for Georgian citizens.
The Russian government has recently introduced the requirement in
an attempt to block support to Chechen rebels, which according to
Moscow, come through Georgia and Azerbaijan. Russia scrapped a similar
measure against Azerbaijan, after Baku authorities arrested and transferred
to Moscow a number of suspected rebels that were present on its territory.
Tbilisi views the measure as discriminatory, and a means for Russia
to apply pressure on Georgia by making life difficult for over a million
of its citizens now working in Russia. Georgia, like Armenia and Azerbaijan,
depends heavily on remittances from family members working mostly
in Moscow and other large Russian cities. Kocharian said Russia's
measure is at odds with the stated goals of CIS integration.
Armenia relies on Georgia for most of its ground transportation needs.
Reconstruction of a tunnel between the Armenian towns of Vanadzor
and Stepanavan completed this week should facilitate automobile traffic
between the two countries. The $1.4 million project was financed by
a World Bank loan. |
| December 6-12
|
Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markarian
was in Beijing and Shanghai this week, while Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanian paid a visit to New Delhi. Markarian met with Chinese leaders,
including President Jiang Zemin and Prime Minister Zhu Rongji, to
discuss bilateral political and economic relations. Armenia and China
are exploring possible partnership opportunities in the chemical and
electronic industries. A Chinese company recently won a tender to
renovate one of Armenia's key thermal power stations. In India, Oskanian
met with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his counterpart Jaswant
Singh. Their talks focused on expansion of economic relations. In
particular, Armenia would like to cooperate with India in the area
of information technologies and software engineering |
| December 6-12
|
Preparations are in full swing for next
year's celebration of the 1700th anniversary of Armenia's adoption
of Christianity. The government official responsible for celebrations,
former Prime Minister and Parliament Speaker Khosrov Harutiunian,
told a press conference this week that the government hopes to turn
the anniversary into a celebration of the Armenian cultural heritage.
The celebrations will include Armenian church services, exhibitions,
concerts, choir and theater performances, and other events throughout
Armenia and abroad. The festivities will stretch throughout the year,
with many events taking place during the summer months.
Harutiunian said the government expects a three-fold increase in the
number of foreign visitors to Armenia. To accommodate the tourist
boom, the country is upgrading its tourist infrastructure. The Lincy
Foundation has allocated $20 million for that purpose, with the Cafesjian
Foundation offering $2 million. The financially strapped government
will spend only $1.3 million from the state coffers. |
| December 6-12 |
Government officials in Yerevan and
Stepanakert expressed optimism this week over prospects for economic
growth next year. Armenia's Minister of Finance and Economy Vardan
Khachatrian expects Armenia's economy to grow by at least six percent
next year compared to 4.5 percent growth this year. Nagorno Karabagh's
Minister of Economic Reform Arnold Abrahamian said that he expected
15 percent growth next year, twice this year's rate. The brighter
outlook is based on larger projected foreign investments and tax cuts
that the two governments have introduced to stimulate business expansion.
Abrahamian also said the government expects that 1,400 new jobs will
be created in Karabagh, a significant number for the population of
roughly 120,000. Armenian President Robert Kocharian said earlier
that he expects at least 40,000 new jobs to be created in Armenia
next year.
In related news, Minister of State Revenue Andranik Manoukian said
this week that his agency succeeded in collecting nearly $30 million
in taxes and custom duties in November. The Minister, who was appointed
to the post in early November, pledged to collect at least $58 million
in the remaining two months of this year to enable the government
to pay back wages and pensions. |
| December 6-12 |
Parliamentarians agreed this week to
change Armenia's existing electoral code, but the ruling Unity bloc
succeeded in delaying the implementation of changes until 2003, when
Armenia is scheduled to hold its next parliamentary elections. Under
the new code, 94 seats in parliament will now be filled with representatives
elected from proportional lists of political parties, while 37 will
be filled by deputies elected in single-mandate constituencies. The
earlier ratio was 75-56 in favor of single-mandate districts. President
Robert Kocharian is expected to sign the bill into law, in spite of
his reservations regarding the delay in the law's implementation.
The Unity bloc opted for postponement in order to thwart an early
election, even though the President has repeatedly ruled out disbanding
the legislature. Most minority factions, including Right and Accord,
Dashnaktsutiun, Country of Law, and National Democrats, supported
the immediate introduction of amendments. Armenia and Stability factions,
most of whose members were elected from the single-mandate districts,
opposed the changes all together.
Meanwhile, members of the Unity bloc were again at odds this week
on how to fill a key vacancy: The post of chairman of Parliament's
finance and economy committee became vacant last month, when Vardan
Khachatrian, affiliated with the Republican Party, joined the government.
Republicans were expected to nominate Gagik Minasian to replace Khachatrian,
but faced opposition from another Republican MP, Vardan Bostanjian,
who was unofficially endorsed by members of the People's Party, the
second component of the Unity Bloc. The parties have reportedly decided
to postpone the selection of a new chairman until next year. |
| December 11-15 |
High-level military officials from Armenia
and the United States signed a cooperation agreement this week. Armenian
Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Mikael Harutiunian and Maj. Gen. Charles
Simpson, who is the head of Command Planning and Policy Division in
the US European Command, agreed to cooperate in 19 "engagement
activities" next year. The plan of action, expected to boost
bilateral military relations, includes continuous cooperation in the
areas of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, humanitarian
de-mining, emergency management, and training in peace-keeping and
civil-military relations. The two countries also expressed their intentions
to step up cooperation within NATO's Partnership for Peace program.
America's Defense AttachÈ in Armenia, Lt. Col. Eric Von Tersch, announced
plans earlier this week for a $1.6 million military assistance package
to Armenia. Some $1.3 million of this amount will fund training and
new equipment for the Armenian border guards and customs officers.
Approximately $300,000 will help set up a de-mining program for the
Armenian military. Several dozen sappers from Armenia, Azerbaijan,
and Georgia underwent US-sponsored de-mining training this past fall.
The United States military earlier allocated $390,000 to the Armenian
State Emergency Management Administration to improve irrigation systems
in the parts of Armenia most susceptible to drought.
The US military delegation visited Armenia as part of a wider regional
tour, which included Georgia and Azerbaijan, where it signed similar
cooperation agreements. |
| December 12-15 |
Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister was
in Yerevan last week to discuss bilateral relations and his country's
position on the Middle East peace process. Navaf Massalha met with
the President Robert Kocharian and Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian.
Massalha told Radio Liberty following the meetings that his talks
with Armenian leaders focused on the future of Jerusalem's Armenian
Quarter. While the Armenian government does not directly participate
in the negotiations, it supports the position of the Jerusalem Patriarchate
of the Armenian Church, which owns much of the property in the quarter.
The parties also discussed ways to expand bilateral economic relations,
with Massalha suggesting an exchange of visits by businessmen. An
Israeli company has already made major investments in Armenia's diamond
sector. The Israeli official disagreed with the view that his country
has warmer relations with Azerbaijan than with Armenia. "It's
wrong to assume that we have a special liking of Azerbaijan or that
we share this country's viewpoints," he said. |
| December 12-15 |
President Robert Kocharian and Patriarch
of the Armenian Church Catholicos Karekin II were in Paris this week
to attend a charity concert by French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour.
The concert, which was also attended by President Jacques Chirac,
and members of the Senate and National Assembly of France, collected
$825,000 to address the needs of Armenian children. The amount, to
be matched by the Armenian Social Investments Fund, will be spent
on school reconstruction in the areas of Armenia most affected by
the 1988 earthquake. Presidents Chirac and Kocharian met before the
concert to discuss bilateral relations and regional developments. |
| December 12-15 |
The second-largest faction in the National
Assembly decided to dissolve itself today, Armenian media reported.
Members of the Stability Group, which until this week controlled 20
seats in parliament, thereby securing crucial backing for the government
of Andranik Markarian, opted to disband their faction after months
of disagreements among group leaders. Reports said that 16 of 20 Stability
members are likely to join in a new group to be called Democracy.
The break-up came at a crucial time for the Markarian government,
which is trying to secure support of the majority of parliamentarians
for its new tax legislation and next year's budget. The budget will
be discussed later this month. Several parliamentarians with strong
business interests, including former members of Stability, have already
criticized the proposed tax legislation as inefficient. The Prime
Minister's Republican Party together with its Unity Bloc allies, the
People's Party, control about 50 seats in the 131-member National
Assembly, and require backing of at least some of the minority factions
for parliamentary majority. |
| December 12-15 |
The Armenian government will provide
apartments to over 13,000 refugees from Azerbaijan next year. Some
72,000 Armenians displaced from the border areas of the country by
fighting with Azerbaijan in the early 90's will be re-settled with
international assistance. Head of the State Department for Migration
and Refugees Gagik Yeganian, who announced the two programs this week,
said they are estimated to cost about $54 and $81 million respectively.
Many refugees still live in temporary dwellings with no basic utilities. |
| December 15 |
Leaders of the Stability (Kayunutiun)
faction, the second largest grouping of deputies in the parliament,
meet in emergency session to discuss growing dissent among members.
Following several days of heated internal debate, most of the twenty
Stability deputies issue a call for its leadership to disband the
faction. The Stability faction, comprising independent deputies, is
aligned with the dominant Unity bloc.
A group of academic trade unions, representing the faculty and employees
of over forty academic institutes and seven divisions of the Armenian
Academy of Sciences, holds a demonstration in Yerevan to demand that
the government pay nearly 320 million drams ($580,000) in back wages
and salaries. Prime Minister Markarian has met with the group and
offered a compromise plan to address the arrears. |
| December 16 |
Only a few dozen demonstrators participate
in a rally in Yerevan to demand the release of detained businessman
Arkady Vartanian. The demonstration is organized to mobilize opposition
to the Kocharian government's October 30th arrest of Vartanian, a
Russian citizen of Armenian descent, following his efforts to force
the resignation of the government. Initially, Vartanian had led a
march of several thousand to demand Kocharian's resignation. A petition
calling for Vartanian's release is circulated in parliament and is
signed by eight deputies. |
| December 18-19 |
Prime Minister Markarian dismisses Minister
for Local and Regional Government Leonid Hakopian, the only cabinet
member from the Communist Party. The dismissal reportedly follows
growing discord between Hakopian and the cabinet over the government's
economic policies. Reacting to the dismissal, Communist Party Parliamentarian
Gagik Tadevosian states that his party will now adopt a confrontational
approach in dealing with the Kocharian government. District governor
Hovik Abramian is named to replace Hakopian. |
| December 19 |
Former Deputy Parliamentary Speaker
Ara Sahakian issues a sharp criticism of President Kocharian and his
government for its policies on Nagorno Karabagh. Sahakian accuses
the government of encouraging a deadlock of the ongoing peace talks
by continuing direct presidential talks that exclude Karabagh. |
| December 21 |
Minister for State Revenues Andranik
Manukian announces a new plan to target 200 partially state-owned
companies with substantial outstanding tax arrears. The group of 200
companies was initially targeted for legal action, but this planned
course was suspended by the previous cabinet last March. Heralding
the announcement as a bold attack against all companies and individuals
violating and evading tax laws, Manukian adds that he intends to publish
a public list of known tax evaders and explains that current law allows
the state to auction all property of companies once the court finds
them guilty of tax evasion and seizes their assets. |
| December 22-23 |
The 12th party congress of the former
ruling Armenian National Movement (ANM) is held in Yerevan and elects
former Foreign Minister Alexander Arzoumanian as the party's chairman.
Arzoumanian replaces Vano Siradeghian, who fled the country last April
after criminal charges were filed against him. |
| December 30 |
The Kocharian government's 2001 budget
is adopted in a special session of parliament by a 99-14 margin with
5 abstentions. The budget contains expenditures of 247.2 billion drams
($450 million) and expected revenue of 193.4 billion drams, resulting
in a deficit equal to 4.8 percent of estimated Gross Domestic Product.
The largest budget expenditures are for military and related programs
at 36.8 billion drams, education at 30.7 billion drams, social security
and pensions at 28 billion drams and health care at 18 billion drams.
The budget also contains 9 billion drams in financial assistance for
Nagorno Karabagh. The session then formally adopts the Statute of
the Council of Europe, paving the way for Armenia's formal membership
next month. |
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