Chairman of the “Strong Armenia” party, Samvel Karapetyan, published a message on the occasion of the 111th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, where it is said:

“My dear Armenian people,

A strong Armenian nation that has gone through many tragedies, but is standing up again. Today, we are all united by one sorrow and one pain: the Armenian Genocide. We are the descendants of those Armenians who became victims of the heaviest crime against humanity, genocide.

We are witnessing a painful and unbelievable reality for Armenians. today’s leaders of Armenia are trying to justify the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide, moreover, they are trying to put a sign of equality between the victim and the executioner. And they openly declare that the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide is no longer one of the priorities of our foreign policy.

But they forget or ignore an important fact. weak people like them come and go, but the historical memory of the Armenian people remains. It is permanent. That memory is in our genetic code.

At the same time, we are very clearly aware that we cannot change our geography, our neighbors. Regional stability and peace is a priority for us. The rapid development of Armenia’s economy has no other option. Therefore, having closed borders in the twenty-first century cannot but affect the normal development of the country. We are in favor of the establishment and stability of diplomatic relations with Turkey, based on the fundamental principles of international law and without compromising the historical truth and national dignity.

A nation that has no memory is like a tree without roots, which breaks and falls in a very short time. But we are not that nation, we are like the thousand-year-old oak whose roots are very deep in the soil. We are firmly attached to our land.

Dear compatriots,

History leaves us no choice but to be strong. We see that when we are weak and stubborn, the evils that befell us become more severe. We witnessed the loss of our second homeland, our wonderful Artsakh, under those weak and incompetent authorities.

We will not allow them to kill us anymore. A strong and prudent leader is the one who predicts the tragedy and prevents it, and not interprets what happened and tries to find excuses.

Today, we join hands with our compatriots in the Diaspora, our sisters and brothers, with Armenians all over the world and set before us one goal: to have a Strong Armenia.

We will not be weak anymore.”

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The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Armenia has issued a message on the occasion of the 111th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

“We mourn together with the Armenian people on the day of remembrance of the victims of the Armenian Genocide,” the message states.

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A hundred years after the catastrophic events of the genocide, when it seemed that such terrible crimes remained in the past, unfortunately, Artsakh was depopulated with new genocidal acts.

It was said in the address of the Catholicos of All Armenians.

“Dear pious people,

Today, in Armenia and the Diaspora communities, we commemorate the memory of our holy martyrs of the Armenian Genocide carried out in the Ottoman Empire, who became immortal, keeping their love for Christ and their country unquenchable in their souls.

April 24 symbolically sums up the collective suffering of our people, in which are concentrated the memories of one and a half million martyred Armenians, patriots, children of our exiled nation, our monasteries and churches subjected to cultural persecution, destroyed settlements. That tragedy, however, did not break the spirit of our nation. Our people survived the genocide, sprouted a new life everywhere, reaffirmed the independent Armenian statehood.

April 24 is a day of commitment, intertwined with the demand of our people worldwide, which is free from enmity and hatred, aimed at the restoration of justice and truth and the exclusion of denying the scourge of genocide.

A hundred years after the catastrophic events of the genocide, when it seemed that such terrible crimes remained in the past, unfortunately, Artsakh was depopulated by new genocidal acts, more than 120,000 Artsakh residents were forcibly displaced. In response to this difficult situation and existing threats, the sacrifice of our martyrs obliges us to strengthen our unity and solidarity and strengthen the Armenian state. Indeed, it is with national unity that we will be able to achieve the efforts for the universal recognition of the Armenian Genocide and to bring to fruition the steps and initiatives for the sake of national progress and a peaceful and safe life.

Let us pray and ask that through the intercession of our martyred saints, the heavenly graces of peace and the mercy and love of our Lord Jesus Christ will be distributed to the whole world, our homeland and people today and always. Amen.”

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The chairman of the “Prosperous Armenia” party, Gagik Tsarukyan, laid flowers at the eternal fire at the Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex and paid tribute to the memory of the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide.

The PAP president was accompanied by the candidates of the pre-election list, party members and supporters.
In a conversation with journalists, Gagik Tsarukyan noted that we cannot forget our past. if we forget, we cannot have a future.

“Just as Germany accepted the Genocide of the Jews, Turkey should recognize the Armenian Genocide in the same way,” declared the head of the “Prosperous Armenia” party.

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The third president of RA, RPA chairman Serzh Sargsyan visited the Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex with his daughter and grandchildren today on the occasion of Genocide Memorial Day.

President Sargsyan paid tribute to the memory of the victims of the Great Genocide, laid a wreath at the memorial and laid flowers at the eternal fire that perpetuates the memory of the innocent victims.

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This is evidenced both by the statements made by Armenia and the general processes. The Armenian authorities actually linked the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations exclusively with the implementation of the TRIPP project, while Turkey, in turn, conditions the settlement of Armenian-Turkish relations with the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. As a result, a chain consisting of three interrelated processes was formed: implementation of the TRIPP project, regulation of Armenian-Azerbaijani and Armenian-Turkish relations, which became a complete package dependent on each other. Under these conditions, the failure of any one of them immediately affects the others.

At the moment, there is no significant progress in the direction of TRIPP, which implies a slowdown in other processes as well. The project’s implementation prospects partly depend on Iran-US relations. During the last war, Iran has repeatedly shown that it can attack not only American military but also economic initiatives in the region, such as TRIPP. Therefore, the implementation of the project depends not only on the USA, but also on Iran.

As for Azerbaijan, if TRIPP is not implemented for various reasons, Baku will naturally follow its “Zangezur Corridor”. Whether it will be called TRIPP or Zangezur Corridor, its strategic objective will remain the same, but the moderator will be different.

Thus, the following logic is formed: if there is no TRIPP, it is difficult to imagine the progress of Armenian-Azerbaijani peace and the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations. And if TRIPP is not implemented, the possibility of alternative, riskier scenarios increases. The lack of alternatives is another failure of the Armenian government’s foreign policy calculations.

Political scientist Suren Sargsyan

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According to Azerbaijani mass media, today another batch of grain will be transported through the territory of Azerbaijan to Armenia.

The cargo consists of 5 wagons.

The previous delivery took place on April 1.

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Anna Hakobyan, with whom Prime Minister Pashinyan announced the reunification yesterday, says that as the head of the My Step Foundation, he does not call anyone to choose this or that force. According to Anna Hakobyan, she calls to be guided exclusively by her own convictions, as a citizen of the Republic of Armenia.

Let’s leave the potential footnotes aside. When his wife who lives with the Prime Minister (I don’t know what the legal wording is) runs a foundation that actually implements various charitable programs, only if the beneficiaries of those programs are ignorant will they need a special tip on who to vote for.

Accordingly, it is obvious that there is a conflict of interest. In this case, the operation of the My Step Foundation is essentially nothing more than a mechanism of de facto electoral bribery of the ruling power.

Hakob Badalyan

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Under the sounds of Verdi’s “Requiem”, we commemorate the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide with silence and deep respect. Arman Tatoyan, head of the “Wings of Unity” party, spread a message about this.

In particular, he noted: The “Wings of Unity” team attended the event dedicated to the immortal memory of the Genocide victims organized in the Aram Khachatryan concert hall at midnight.

Justice is coming to restore the steps aimed at promoting the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

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The upcoming parliamentary elections promise to be unprecedented in the domestic political life of Armenia, especially in the context of complex geopolitical developments. Will these elections become the breakthrough and, as many characterize it, “the most geopoliticized” in our recent history? What influence can external forces and neighboring countries have on Armenia’s sovereign decisions, and what is the goal of the newly emerging discourse of combating “hybrid threats”?

Does the society choose a new model of the state or does it unwittingly become the scene of external conflicts? VERELQtried to clarify these and other key issues by talking to a political scientist Suren Surenyantsi with

 

Suren Surenyants is in the photo, the source is from Surenyants Facebook page

VERELQ: Mr. Surenyants, there is a widespread opinion among society and political circles that the next parliamentary elections expected in Armenia will be the most geopoliticized in our recent history, that is, the collision and influence of foreign forces on this process will be unprecedented. Do you agree with this view, and if so, why?

Suren Surenyants. Yes, I agree. Moreover, I would say that it will also be the most civilized election. Since the September 21, 1991 independence referendum, these are perhaps the most turning-point elections.

On the one hand, there is a question of choosing a new model of the state. The problem is highly aggravated, because after the painful defeat of the Artsakh war, the concept of the Third Republic, which was based on the 1991 referendum, essentially no longer exists. We see how the struggle of different models and ideas of the state is going on.

On the other hand, unfortunately, there is deep geopolitical tension. This became especially evident after the European Union created an institutional tool to intervene in Armenia’s internal life. I am talking about the mandate of their new mission in Armenia.

VERELQ: Do you mean the new mission or support program of the European Union, which is called to help Armenia fight against “hybrid threats”?

Suren Surenyants. Yes, absolutely true. In my opinion, it is not a mission aimed at the proper organization of elections, but an institutional instrument of intervention. The European Union does not even hide the fact that it is transferring its dispute and conflict with Russia to the territory of Armenia. Naturally, this will be followed by Russia’s opposition. We all saw it at the recent Putin-Pashinyan meeting…

VERELQ: Are we talking about Russia’s latest harsh reactions, the statements of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk and the comments of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov?

Suren Surenyants. Yes, I mean the meeting on April 1, which was followed by the voluminous article of Deputy Prime Minister Overchuk in the TASS agency, then Peskov’s comments, etc.

In addition, Ankara’s and especially Baku’s interference is clearly present. In all their public statements, they essentially connect the upcoming parliamentary elections with the supposed constitutional referendum in Armenia, demanding to change our Mother Law. In this regard, unfortunately, we are dealing with multi-layered external interference and geopolitical conflict.

VERELQ: And what effect will this external geopolitical clash have on Armenia’s internal electoral struggle? We are already seeing parties registering to participate in the elections, and soon the official election campaign will actually start. Do you think it will seriously affect the process?

Suren Surenyants. As a result of all that, the very content of the elections is overshadowed, while the elections are primarily about the organization of the country’s internal life and the sovereign decision of the people. If geopolitical factors influence the electoral process to this extent, it leads to the disruption of the institution of manifestation of the sovereign will of the society and weakening of the state’s subjectivity.

Such examples are numerous. For example, recently Moldova emerged from its electoral processes with a highly polarized society. two social poles were clearly formed there, with a geopolitical, West-Russia characteristic. The same can be said about other post-Soviet countries that have adopted this model. In general, it affects the legitimacy of the electoral process, the country’s independence and level of sovereignty.

VERELQ: And why are you convinced that this program of the European Union is an institutional tool for interfering in our internal affairs? Armenian authorities and European officials claim that the European Union is simply working with the state and is not coming to disturb, but to strengthen our state institutions.

Suren Surenyants. Everything would be very wonderful and right, if there were not two big “buts”.

The first “but” is again the visible example of Moldova. There, we witnessed how political parties that were not pleased with Brussels or the Moldovan authorities were simply pushed out of the electoral process for geopolitical reasons. There was a similar case before that, when the Constitutional Court of Moldova removed the favorite of the first round of elections from the race. Later, it turned out that sufficient and credible facts were not presented to the Constitutional Court, but by the time it was found out, the matter was over. This is the specific case we are dealing with.

The basis of my second claim is the document approved by the European Union. While the mission has not yet arrived, the document clearly identifies from the beginning the specific country from which these hybrid threats allegedly come.

VERELQ: And that country, you assume, is clearly fixed as Russia?

Suren Surenyants. Yes, and this is where the geopolitical issue comes to the fore, not ensuring the quality of the elections. If it was really about impartiality and impartiality, then the fight against hybrid threats should be fixed without targeting specific centers or countries. Especially in the case of Armenia, the real threats are much more realistic and expected from two other neighboring countries than from Russia.

VERELQ: Do you mean Turkey and Azerbaijan?

Suren Surenyants. Of course.

VERELQ: And the last question, Mr. Surenyants. If the European Union clearly states in its statements where the threats come from and which country (Russia) they want to help us fight against, the Armenian authorities often avoid specifying a clear addressee in their public speech. They simply say, “there are hybrid threats, we have to fight them.” Is this a reading of the parties on the same phenomenon or something else?

Suren Surenyants. I am almost sure that this is not a misreading, but the Armenian government is simply addressing different texts to the domestic audience and Brussels. A standard text is presented to our society, as if this is being done to increase the quality of the elections, and the European Union, to put it bluntly, is being asked to save them from the so-called Russian threats. In other words, the problem here lies in the dualistic, dualistic and not so honest behavior of the Armenian authorities, not in interpretations.

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