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COMMENTARY: A WITCH-HUNT OR PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN? OPINION
By Edmond Y. Azadian
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2012/06/20/a-witch-hunt-or-presidential-campaign/
June 20, 2012 3:53 pm
Last May, a global sex scandal broke out when the head of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Dominique Straus-Kahn was arrested on
charges of raping a hotel maid in New York. The charges were dropped
later but Straus-Kahn, who had been considered the front-runner in
the French presidential election, saw his career collapse. It is hard
to prove collusion by his opponent, former French President Nicolas
Sarkozy, but he was definitely the beneficiary of the scandal for a
while when Straus-Kahn's reputation was damaged.
That was until another - the Socialist candidate Francois Hollande -
caught up with Sarkozy and won the race.
A similar political scandal is brewing in Armenia, however, not within
a sexual context, but rather regarding financial accountability. It
has all the hallmarks of political motivation. Some even call it a
witch-hunt, given the timing and the process the government has chosen.
The target once again is a prominent statesman, namely the former
Foreign Minister of Armenia Vartan Oskanian, who has been accused of
money laundering. After 10 years of service, when Oskanian retired from
the position of the foreign minister, he continued to remain visible
through his non-governmental organization, Civilitas Foundation. But
last May's parliamentary election propelled him into the limelight
when Oskanian emerged as a leading figure when the Prosperous Armenia
Party parted from the ruling coalition.
Finally, the other shoe was dropped and the party decided to continue
its independent course. Of course, the political pundits see the shrewd
political tactician, former President Robert Kocharian, behind all
these maneuverings to set the stage for his comeback or to promote
a surrogate.
As long as the party was symbolized by the opulent lifestyle of its
founder Gagik Zaroukian it was not considered a serious political
asset, but Oskanian's emergence as the second man in command changed
the political complexion of the party. Therefore, it became apparent
that if not Kocharian then Oskanian would be facing Serge Sargisian as
a contender during next year's presidential election. That perception
was enough to mark him as a target in the presidential race. Hence,
the accusation of money laundering to tarnish his reputation by the
election time. Some people believe the inspiration for the accusation
comes from the Ukraine, where one-time presidential contender and
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko (nee Grigyan) was convicted to a
seven-year prison term for abusing her office in brokering a gas deal
with Russia in 2009.
Oskanian seems to be in the same kind of hot water and the state
security office has been interrogating him and his assistant Salpi
Ghazarian has also been invited for questioning. At issue are grants
provided to Civilitas by some foreign governments and wealthy donors.
Civilitas Foundation has issued a press release revealing the sources
of its funding. Thus $1.5 million was received from the Norwegian
government and $150,000 from Eduardo Eurnekian.
The press release is concluded with the following paragraph: "Civilitas
expresses thanks to all current donors as well as those
with whom we have partnered in the past. They are the government
of Germany, the government of Norway, the government of Poland,
the government of Switzerland, the government of the Netherlands,
the government of the UK (DFID), government of the US (USAID),
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Eurasia
Partnership Foundation and the German Marshall Fund of the US/Black
Sea Trust. Special thanks go to Mr. Jon Huntsman."
One may question why would so many governments and other agencies
provide these funds, certainly not for charity but to buy influence,
but not the type of influence that brought the Revolution of Roses in
Georgia or the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, through a global policy
of containing Russia. Those would require a more massive infusion of
funds, and Armenia is not yet ripe for that kind of upheaval.
There are a few factors that lead political analysts to believe
that the investigation is politically motivated. First there was
no investigation whatsoever before Oskanian was elected to the
parliament. The timing of the investigation could not be coincidental.
In the Armenian parliamentary elections, sometimes the prominent
leaders heading the list drop their mandate to let the second person
in line to serve in the parliament.
There were some speculations that Oskanian would do the same, but on
May 25 it became apparent that he would stay and he meant business;
that triggered the investigation.
Also, tax evasion cases are not uncommon. Many oligarchs are caught in
those cases and after a slap on the wrist they pay a fine on a portion
of back taxes and they are relieved (especially when they are on the
right side of the political spectrum). And such mat- ters are handled
normally by tax authorities. But in this case, the prosecutor's office
and state security agency are involved to crim- inalize the case.
Oskanian himself has made a strong statement about the case: "In order
to launder the money that money has to be dirty to begin with. In this
case, the sources of money are known and the recipient is known, too.
The contributions to me and to Civilitas have been transferred in a
transparent manner, through the bank and through the wishes of the
donors. The lawyers have not identified any violations of tax laws in
these transactions. According to the contracts the funds transferred to
the recipient are considered donations, and the recipient is entitled
to use them to achieve the purposes conscribed in the by-laws of
the organization. Only people with political motivation can reduce
these donations, made by good people for good causes, to political
money change."
The opening salvo against Oskanian came from a hired gun in California
in a caustic article, which was distributed online. This investigation
seems to be a follow up process. Observers have been wondering where
can this campaign lead. If Oskanian's political profile is enhanced
in Armenia, the campaign may intensify, otherwise it may fizzle
out. Thus far, this investigation has boosted his popularity. Unless
more incriminating facts emerge, the campaign can only improve
Oskanian's popularity.
The present administration has an effective political machine to
mow any opposition. Ter-Petrosian's powerful opposition and popular
movement eventually was pulverized and reduced to a meager and tame
opposition group in the parliament.
By all counts, the presidential campaign is in full gear and the
political witch-hunt with it.
From: A. Papazian
By Edmond Y. Azadian
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2012/06/20/a-witch-hunt-or-presidential-campaign/
June 20, 2012 3:53 pm
Last May, a global sex scandal broke out when the head of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Dominique Straus-Kahn was arrested on
charges of raping a hotel maid in New York. The charges were dropped
later but Straus-Kahn, who had been considered the front-runner in
the French presidential election, saw his career collapse. It is hard
to prove collusion by his opponent, former French President Nicolas
Sarkozy, but he was definitely the beneficiary of the scandal for a
while when Straus-Kahn's reputation was damaged.
That was until another - the Socialist candidate Francois Hollande -
caught up with Sarkozy and won the race.
A similar political scandal is brewing in Armenia, however, not within
a sexual context, but rather regarding financial accountability. It
has all the hallmarks of political motivation. Some even call it a
witch-hunt, given the timing and the process the government has chosen.
The target once again is a prominent statesman, namely the former
Foreign Minister of Armenia Vartan Oskanian, who has been accused of
money laundering. After 10 years of service, when Oskanian retired from
the position of the foreign minister, he continued to remain visible
through his non-governmental organization, Civilitas Foundation. But
last May's parliamentary election propelled him into the limelight
when Oskanian emerged as a leading figure when the Prosperous Armenia
Party parted from the ruling coalition.
Finally, the other shoe was dropped and the party decided to continue
its independent course. Of course, the political pundits see the shrewd
political tactician, former President Robert Kocharian, behind all
these maneuverings to set the stage for his comeback or to promote
a surrogate.
As long as the party was symbolized by the opulent lifestyle of its
founder Gagik Zaroukian it was not considered a serious political
asset, but Oskanian's emergence as the second man in command changed
the political complexion of the party. Therefore, it became apparent
that if not Kocharian then Oskanian would be facing Serge Sargisian as
a contender during next year's presidential election. That perception
was enough to mark him as a target in the presidential race. Hence,
the accusation of money laundering to tarnish his reputation by the
election time. Some people believe the inspiration for the accusation
comes from the Ukraine, where one-time presidential contender and
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko (nee Grigyan) was convicted to a
seven-year prison term for abusing her office in brokering a gas deal
with Russia in 2009.
Oskanian seems to be in the same kind of hot water and the state
security office has been interrogating him and his assistant Salpi
Ghazarian has also been invited for questioning. At issue are grants
provided to Civilitas by some foreign governments and wealthy donors.
Civilitas Foundation has issued a press release revealing the sources
of its funding. Thus $1.5 million was received from the Norwegian
government and $150,000 from Eduardo Eurnekian.
The press release is concluded with the following paragraph: "Civilitas
expresses thanks to all current donors as well as those
with whom we have partnered in the past. They are the government
of Germany, the government of Norway, the government of Poland,
the government of Switzerland, the government of the Netherlands,
the government of the UK (DFID), government of the US (USAID),
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Eurasia
Partnership Foundation and the German Marshall Fund of the US/Black
Sea Trust. Special thanks go to Mr. Jon Huntsman."
One may question why would so many governments and other agencies
provide these funds, certainly not for charity but to buy influence,
but not the type of influence that brought the Revolution of Roses in
Georgia or the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, through a global policy
of containing Russia. Those would require a more massive infusion of
funds, and Armenia is not yet ripe for that kind of upheaval.
There are a few factors that lead political analysts to believe
that the investigation is politically motivated. First there was
no investigation whatsoever before Oskanian was elected to the
parliament. The timing of the investigation could not be coincidental.
In the Armenian parliamentary elections, sometimes the prominent
leaders heading the list drop their mandate to let the second person
in line to serve in the parliament.
There were some speculations that Oskanian would do the same, but on
May 25 it became apparent that he would stay and he meant business;
that triggered the investigation.
Also, tax evasion cases are not uncommon. Many oligarchs are caught in
those cases and after a slap on the wrist they pay a fine on a portion
of back taxes and they are relieved (especially when they are on the
right side of the political spectrum). And such mat- ters are handled
normally by tax authorities. But in this case, the prosecutor's office
and state security agency are involved to crim- inalize the case.
Oskanian himself has made a strong statement about the case: "In order
to launder the money that money has to be dirty to begin with. In this
case, the sources of money are known and the recipient is known, too.
The contributions to me and to Civilitas have been transferred in a
transparent manner, through the bank and through the wishes of the
donors. The lawyers have not identified any violations of tax laws in
these transactions. According to the contracts the funds transferred to
the recipient are considered donations, and the recipient is entitled
to use them to achieve the purposes conscribed in the by-laws of
the organization. Only people with political motivation can reduce
these donations, made by good people for good causes, to political
money change."
The opening salvo against Oskanian came from a hired gun in California
in a caustic article, which was distributed online. This investigation
seems to be a follow up process. Observers have been wondering where
can this campaign lead. If Oskanian's political profile is enhanced
in Armenia, the campaign may intensify, otherwise it may fizzle
out. Thus far, this investigation has boosted his popularity. Unless
more incriminating facts emerge, the campaign can only improve
Oskanian's popularity.
The present administration has an effective political machine to
mow any opposition. Ter-Petrosian's powerful opposition and popular
movement eventually was pulverized and reduced to a meager and tame
opposition group in the parliament.
By all counts, the presidential campaign is in full gear and the
political witch-hunt with it.
From: A. Papazian