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Philanthropist Vahak Hovnanian Passed Away Aged 83 22 YEARS The Noah’s Ark #31 (1071) 1 September 2015 Published Since 1993 Weekly Newspaper HIGHLIGHTS ÜáÛÛ³Ý î³å³Ý ß³μ³Ã³Ã»ñà (³Ý·É. / ýñ³Ýë.) Philanthropist Vahak Hovnanian passed away aged 83 see page 18 In This Issue Opposition party rebuffs Sargsyan on Noyan Tapan Video Studio Constitution Talks p.3 is offering professional video and photography for indoor Armenia and Turkey share more and outdoor events such as weddings, birthday parties, than they sometimes realize: official events, seminars and conferences. Tel: 060 27 64 62 US Ambassador p.4 Address: Isahakyan 28, 3rd floor, Yerevan 0009 TUMOxAGBU Partnership To Launch Tumo Center In Stepanakert p.6 Noyan Tapan Printing House Philanthropist Vahak Hovnanian is offering coloured and black and white offset and digital passed away aged 83 p.18 printing of books, brochures, booklets, journals, etc with high quality and low prices Tel: 060 27 64 62 Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem Address: Isahakyan 28, 3rd floor, Yerevan 0009 to be performed in Stepanakert p.20 1 September #31 (1071) 2015 2 www.nt.am The Noyan Tapan Highlights POLITICS Armenia offers European Body Seeks Changes to send more In Armenian Constitutional peacekeepers Package to Lebanon The Armenian authorities have pledged to make "considerable changes" Armenia is ready to increase the num- in their draft constitutional amendments in ber of its soldiers serving in a United response to objections voiced by the Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon Venice Commission, officials from the led by the Italian military, Defense Minister Council of Europe body said on August Seyran Ohanyan said on August 26. 25. The three legal experts visited Yerevan just days after President Serzh Sargsyan formally approved a package of amend- ments drafted by a state commission that The Venice Commission members met was formed by him two years ago. It Serzh Sargsyan later on Monday. A state- would turn Armenia in 2018 into a parlia- ment on the meeting released by the presi- mentary republic with a largely ceremoni- dential press office said the two sides al president and a much more powerful agreed that they have no "fundamental dif- According to the Armenian Defense parliament and prime minister. ferences" on the planned constitutional Ministry, Ohanian offered the additional "We had discussions in which we reform. It gave no other details of the talks. troop deployment at a meeting with Italy's made concrete points," one of the visiting Earlier this year, the Venice ambassador to Armenia, Giovanni Venice Commission experts, Christoph Commission said that it supports, in princi- Ricciulli, and Moscow-based military Grabenwarter, said of their talks with ple, Armenia's switch to a parliamentary attache, Brigadier-General Massimo President Serzh Sargsyan and members of system of government. Fogari. A ministry statement said he cited the presidential commission on constitu- While in Yerevan, the Council of "the already positive experience of joint tional reform. "We got the answers that Europe experts also held a meeting with service by Armenian and Italian peace- these concrete points will be taken on the parliamentary leaders of Armenia's keepers." The statement did not clarify how board." leading opposition parties, including the many additional troops Yerevan is ready to "From the wording [of the asnwers] Armenian National Congress (HAK), the dispatch to the UN Interim Force in we received, we firmly proceed from the most vocal opponent of the controversial Lebanon (UNIFL) deployed near the coun- assumption that there will be considerable reform. All of those leaders expressed seri- try's borders with Syria and Israel. The changes," Grabenwarter told a news con- ous concern at the proposed two-round Armenian military joined the UNIFL with ference. elections, saying that they would only ben- 32 soldiers in November. Another Venice Commission represen- efit the ruling Republican Party of Armenia Ohanian personally inspected the tative, Aivars Endzins, said they specifi- (HHK). Armenian contingent in April. He flew to cally called for the removal of a highly The HAK's Levon Zurabyan revealed Lebanon from Rome, where he held talks contentious amendment meant to ensure at that meeting that his party has turned with Italian Defense Minister Roberta that future parliamentary elections in down Sargsyan's invitation to meet and Pinotti and top executives of several Italian Armenia always produce a clear winner. It discuss the matter as part of his fresh con- defense companies. Ohanian's press office envisages a run-off vote between the two sultations with the parliamentary forces. reported afterwards tentative Armenian- top election contenders if no party or bloc Zurabyan also stood by the HAK's claims Italian agreements on joint manufacturing wins a majority of parliament seats in the that Sargsyan is pushing for the radical of military equipment. But it gave no first round of voting. change of constitutional order with the sole details. Ambassador Ricciulli was reported The Venice Commission objected to aim of clinging to power after completing on Wednesday to praise Italian-Armenian this unusual arrangement shortly after it his second and final presidential term in military cooperation and say that his gov- was made public last month. In a state- 2018. ernment is ready to deepen it. ment, it said that details of the electoral Sargsyan and his political allies main- Ohanian's first deputy, Davit Tonoyan, system must be spelled out in Armenia's tain that the parliamentary system would expressed Armenia's readiness to step up its electoral code, rather than the constitution. decentralize power and thereby speed up participation in UN peacekeeping missions Nevertheless, Sargsyan's commission Armenia's democratization. Asked by a around the world when he met with senior kept that clause in its final text which was reporter whether the Venice Commission UN officials in New York late last month. sent to the president and promptly agrees with this assertion, Grabenwarter Some 120 Armenian soldiers currently approved by the latter on Friday. Davit said, "The commission cannot guarantee serve in Afghanistan and 35 others in Harutiunyan, a member of the presidential that in two or three years democracy in Kosovo as part of NATO-led multinational panel, on Monday did not exclude that the Armenia will be in a better shape than it is missions. clause will be removed or altered. now." 1 September #31 (1071) 2015 POLITICS The Noyan Tapan Highlights www.nt.am 3 Major Armenian party hints at support for constitutional changes ward," BHK spokesman Vahan Babayan nesses. The tycoon close to former told RFE/RL's Armenian service. President Robert Kocharyan initially resis- Babayan said that Serzh Sargsyan has ted the onslaught, calling Sargsyan's ouster accepted most of the BHK's proposals on "the greatest cause of my life." But he the constitutional reform and that the nom- caved in shortly afterwards, resigning as inally opposition party no longer thinks BHK chairman and ending his political that the president is keen to amend the activities altogether. Armenian constitution in order to prolong The BHK has since significantly toned Just months after threatening street his rule. "There is no such issue anymore," down its criticism of Sargsyan, while protests against President Serzh Sargsyan's he said. "We have nothing to say about [the claiming to remain in opposition to his controversial constitutional reform, the regime's] reproduction because we now administration. Its opposition credentials Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) said on think that this reproduction component is are increasingly questioned by Armenian August 26 that it is ready, in principle, to now eliminated." observers. back far-reaching amendments drafted by "Having examined the final [constitu- Serzh Sargsyan on Wednesday also met his administration. tional] package and presented our propos- with leaders of Dashnaktsutyun and The leadership of Armenia's second als, we are arriving at a conclusion that we Orinats Yerkir, two other opposition parties largest parliamentary party, until recently can create a document that could be accept- previously represented in his government. headed by businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, able for the society," added Babayan. Dashnaktsutyun is the only opposition made this clear immediately after a meet- As recently as in February, the BHK force to have officially endorsed his consti- ing with Sargsyan. and Tsarukyan in particular fiercely tutional changes so far. Orinats Yerkir has The meeting was part of his fresh con- opposed the reform drive jointly with more followed a more ambiguous line. sultations with the country's leading politi- radical opposition forces. Tsarukyan Two other, more radical opposition par- cal groups aimed at drumming up support organized a special conference for that pur- ties, the Armenian National Congress for Armenia's transformation into a parlia- pose on February 5. He threatened to top- (HAK) and Zharangutyun, continue to mentary republic envisaged by the draft ple Sargsyan with street protests if the lat- strongly object to Armenia's transition to a amendments. They began less than a week ter presses ahead with the controversial parliamentary system of government, say- after the amendments were formally constitutional changes. ing that would only enable Sargsyan to stay endorsed by Sargsyan and sent to the Serzh Sargsyan hit back hard a week in power after 2018. They have pledged to Armenian parliament for approval. later, lashing out at Tsarukyan at a meeting campaign against the corresponding con- "It was a fairly productive meeting, and with his political allies and ordering a gov- stitutional changes that are expected to be I think that we should keep moving for- ernment crackdown of his numerous busi- put on a referendum in November. Opposition party rebuffs Sargsyan on Constitution Talks the invitation at a meeting of its govern- Armenia's transition to a parliamentary ing board in Yerevan.
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