Month: February 2021

YEREVAN. – Territories are being seized from the Republic of Armenia (RA). Former Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan told this to reporters at Liberty Square on Friday, when asked what processes were taking place in Syunik Province at the moment in accordance with documents.

"I have a doubt that in reality there are 2,500 square meters have left in Karabakh [(Artsakh)], from Syunik to Tavush [Provinces], as well as [the Azerbaijani exclave of] Nakhchivan, (…) [Azerbaijan president Ilham] Aliyev will take the 2,500 directly to later decide what status to give to Karabakh. I believe there is such a criminal deal. That whole road is Armenian, they [the Azerbaijanis] crossed the road in some places, went deeper to our territory, took over the Davit Bek-Goris, Kapan-Chakaten sections," Bagratyan added.

To the remark that it is done by Google Maps, Hrant Bagratyan said: "And from whom did Google take it? From the air? (…). The road was built during the Soviet Union, by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the Armenian SSR; the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR did nothing. There are military maps. Did Google look at military maps of the Soviet Union? Google took the bribe, moved that line. Tomorrow we can go, that line will go westward again."

Hrant Bagratyan stressed that the borders are determined as a result of delimitation and demarcation. "Delimitation has been done, there is no demarcation. For example, military maps are chosen as a basis. For example, the Goris and Lachin regional committee made such a decision; that is, it is not that there is no RA border; there is an RA border. If someone says that the RA borders have not been determined, then there is no RA.”

Also, Hrant Bagratyan blamed Armenian President Armen Sarkissian for the ongoing processes. "According to Article 123, the guarantor of the RA territorial integrity is the RA President, but it’s not [PM] Nikol [Pashinyan]," he added.

The roadmap, strategy and plan of the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement remain unchanged. This is what Spokesperson of the Republican Party of Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov said during today’s press conference.

“This plan consists of the following three actions: resignation of land giver Pashinyan, formation of an ad-hoc anti-crisis government and holding of snap elections without Nikol Pashinyan as Prime Minister. I refer to this as the second Karabakh movement. This must become and will become a pan-national uprising,” Sharmazanov said.

According to him, none of the political parties of the Movement has planned snap elections with Nikol Pashinyan as Prime Minister. “I agree with the My Step faction and say that yes, there is no demand for snap elections, but there is a demand for Nikol’s resignation. Nikol must resign. With Nikol in power, going to snap elections will lead to more turbulence, more problems and more clashes in Armenia. We need to concentrate our efforts, exert pressure and make Nikol resign.”

As for second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan’s statement that he will participate in the elections organized by the incumbent authorities and win, Sharmazanov said Kocharyan expressed his opinion and he has nothing to say about it.

The bestial response of an Azerbaijani woman who answered a Turkish journalist’s question on the street has sparked great reactions in Turkey.

The Turkish journalist, who was conducting a survey from passersby on the streets of Istanbul, asked a woman what crime she would commit, if she knew that she wouldn’t be punished, and in response, the woman said she would decapitate 20 Armenians and not care about it. Surprised, the journalist asked the woman where she was from, and the latter said she was from Azerbaijan.

Turkish-Armenian Member of Parliament Garo Paylan has already filed a lawsuit against the Azerbaijani woman wishing to decapitate Armenians.

The Municipality of Stepanakert (Nagorno-Karabakh) has made the following statement:

“Property tax and land tax payers of Stepanakert shall take note of the fact that the periods for payment of property tax and land tax for the year 2020 have been extended until February 20, 2021 for natural persons due to the consequences of the war, the periods for submission and payment of the property tax for organizations for the second semester of the year 2020 has been extended until February 20, 2021, and the penalties paid for property tax and land tax for the year 2020 will be offset to arrears or the obligations calculated for the year 2021.”

Armenia’s Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan today posted the following on his Facebook page:

“Important facts about the gross violations of the rights of peaceful civilians in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) during the war that Azerbaijan unleashed in September-November 2020

During the war, more than 100,000 peaceful civilians were displaced from their permanent places of residence.

In consequence of the war, nearly 40,000 people were left homeless, deprived of their homes, personal items, the opportunity to live with basic living conditions and other rights.

As a result of the attacks of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, during the war, nearly 30,000 schoolchildren and kindergarten age children were deprived of education, 12 kindergartens and 71 schools were either damaged or destroyed.

Between September 27, 2020 and January 28, 2021, 72 civilians have been killed, including in consequence of cruel treatment and torture; 163 peaceful civilians have been injured or become disabled, health has been distorted for life.

Information according to reports of the Human Rights Defender"

There might not have been a war. On July 5, I said Armenia has 3-4 months and that we are going to lose Karabakh. This was clear. When the Azerbaijanis lost an army general during the incidents in July, the Turks started holding military exercises, and we Armenians needed to get ready, negotiate with Russia and restore the friendly ties. We’re living in the 21st century, and the war wasn’t fought with guns (99% of Armenian soldiers died from the strikes of unmanned aerial vehicles). This is what leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party Gagik Tsarukyan said in an interview with Hraparak Armenian newspaper.

“Armenia needed two TOR systems and two divisions to close airways. Two divisions could make sure the adversary wouldn’t come forward. The major problem was lack of organization. The detachments left for the battlefield, but there was nobody to escort them. I met the chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, and he told me he didn’t know where to send the detachments to fight. My men underwent training and were sent to the battlefield. On September 29, the Russian State Duma held a session, we received documents stating that Russia could immediately send peacekeepers to Armenia and peace talks could begin, but Russia was rejected. If Armenia could have won without so many casualties and the embarrassing capitulation…There was a phone call and a document. My political party’s objective is to enhance ties with Russia. The people in Armenia who go against Russia are the enemies of the nation,” Tsarukyan said.

Asked if he has a pretension to become Prime Minister, Tsarukyan said now is not the time for that. “It will depend on elections, the people and the given situation, but I don’t want that now. If necessary, our party will consider it. It’s not the purpose of my life,” he said.

Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross today visited Maral Najarian, who is in captivity in Azerbaijan, and reported information to Najarian’s family, Maral’s sister, Ani told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Ani said the representatives had told her that Maral is fine. She refuted the news spread on social networks according to which Maral has been released and urged to not spread fake news.

Maral was captured on November 10 in Berdzor while she was going to take her personal items.

The European Court of Human Rights had confirmed that Maral was a captive in Azerbaijan.

Maral is a dual citizen of Lebanon and Armenia.

The possibility of the official opening of borders and ensuring of trade of Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan was manipulated in too many different ways. This is what deputy of the ruling My Step bloc of the National Assembly of Armenia Hayk Gevorgyan said during today’s parliamentary briefings, responding to the question about possible risks in case of such development of the situation.

According to him, there is already mutual trade between Armenia and Turkey today, regardless of whether there are diplomatic ties or not and regardless of Armenia's views on Turkey.

As for the question about what may happen when the borders are officially opened, the parliamentarian said it is first necessary to state that Armenia is a member state of the Eurasian Economic Union and that Armenia’s borders are also the borders of the Eurasian Economic Union, adding that there will be obstacles and customs restrictions of the Eurasian Economic Union when being imported on the border with Armenia.

YEREVAN. – The text of the statement on Karabakh [(Artsakh)] and Syunik [Province of Armenia], which was recently published on the Internet but was secretly signed in December last year, should in fact normalize relations between the parties by December 18. Taron Simonyan, a member of the opposition Bright Armenia faction in the National Assembly (NA), said this Friday during the traditional briefings of the NA

Bright Armenia demands clear explanations in this regard from the government.

According to Simonyan, the published document contains only the text, whereas there is no signature in it from the Armenian side. "I do not know what power it has. Even if the current government signs it, it will be not only an anti-state and anti-national act, but a document which, in fact, will be in gross violation of the law and will be deprived of legal force," the MP said.

Also, he stated that under Armenia’s constitution, in order for such documents to enter into force in the country, they need to be considered in the Constitutional Court, then in the National Assembly, and only after their ratification will they have any practical importance.