RFE/RL Armenian Report – 02/27/2021

                                        Saturday, 

Armenian President Refuses To Sack Army Chief


Armenia -- President Armen Sarkissian addresses the nation, November 16, 2020.

President Armen Sarkissian on Saturday refused to fire Armenia’s top army 
general who has demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and 
his government.

He said the sacking of Colonel-General Onik Gasparian sought by Pashinian would 
be unconstitutional and would not address the “unprecedented” political crisis 
in the country.

Pashinian petitioned Sarkissian on Thursday to sign a decree relieving Gasparian 
of his duties shortly after the chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff and 
40 other high-ranking officers issued a joint statement that accused the 
government of misrule and demanded its resignation.

Pashinian rejected the demand as a “military coup attempt.” By contrast, 
Armenian opposition groups trying to oust him over his handling of the autumn 
war in Nagorno-Karabakh voiced support for the military’s top brass.

Sarkissian held a series of talks with senior representatives of the ruling My 
Step bloc, opposition leaders and Gasparian before announcing his decision not 
to sign a relevant presidential decree drafted by Pashinian’s office.


ARMENIA -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his supporters march 
during a rally in Yerevan, February 25, 2021

Citing “leading lawyers and independent experts,” the president suggested that 
the proposed decree runs counter to the Armenian constitution. He also noted 
that Pashinian demanded Gasparian’s sacking after the military’s unprecedented 
statement and amid a “political crisis” and “serious security challenges” facing 
Armenia.

“There is no doubt that the armed forces must maintain neutrality on political 
issues,” Sarkissian said in a statement. “It is also evident that because of the 
war the military personnel now need our support and attention more than ever 
before. Solving problems of the army and its personnel is a top priority that 
cannot be ignored in any way.”

“The existing situation is unprecedented, requires systemic and comprehensive 
solutions, and cannot be resolved with frequent personnel changes that do not 
take into account the state of affairs in the country,” added the statement.

It insisted that the head of state, who has largely ceremonial powers, “does not 
support any political force.”

The Armenian constitution allows the prime minister to again demand that 
Sarkissian sack Gasparian. In that case, the president can sign the relevant 
decree or ask the Constitutional Court to rule on its legality.


Armenia -- Opposition supporters demonstrate in Yerevan to demand Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian's resignation, .

Pashinian was quick to criticize Sarkissian’s decision not to sack the army 
chief. “This decision does not help at all to settle the current situation,” he 
wrote on Facebook, adding that he is resending the draft decree to the president.

Sarkissian's move was swiftly welcomed by an alliance of Armenian parties that 
continued to stage demonstrations in Yerevan aimed at forcing Pashinian to step 
down.

One of the alliance leaders, Vazgen Manukian, described it as a “great victory” 
when he addressed supporters of the Homeland Salvation Movement before they 
again marched through the city center. Manukian again called on Armenia’s police 
and the National Security Service to join the military in demanding Pashinian’s 
resignation.

The opposition alliance holds Pashinian responsible for the Armenian side’s 
defeat in the six-week war with Azerbaijan stopped by a Russian-brokered 
ceasefire on November 10. Sarkissian has likewise called on the prime minister 
to hand over power to an interim government tasked with holding snap 
parliamentary elections.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS