Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Armenian President Paves Way For Army Chief’s Sacking
Armenia - President Armen Sarkissian delivers a televised address to the nation,
November 6, 2020
President Armen Sarkissian signaled on Tuesday his intention to stop blocking
the sacking of Armenia’s top army general demanded by Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian.
Pashinian petitioned Sarkissian last week to sign a decree relieving General
Onik 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.”
Sarkissian refused to sign such a decree on Saturday, saying that it appears to
be unconstitutional and would deepen the “unprecedented” political crisis in the
country. Pashinian criticized the refusal as “unfounded” and resent his motion
to Sarkissian in another attempt to have him fire Gasparian.
Under Armenian law, the president can now keep blocking or at least delaying the
sacking only by asking the Constitutional Court to declare the decree drafted by
the prime minister unconstitutional. Otherwise, the decree will enter into force
even if Sarkissian refuses to sign it for a second time.
“The president has decided not to sign the draft decree,” Sarkissian’s office
said in a statement released on Tuesday.
Significantly, the office announced no decision to challenge its legality in the
Constitutional Court. This means that Gasparian will automatically lose his post
if the head of state does not appeal to the court by Thursday morning.
The Homeland Salvation Movement, an opposition alliance campaigning for
Pashinian’s resignation, was quick to express serious concern over Sarkissian’s
apparent decision to refrain from such an appeal. Its leaders demanded an urgent
meeting with him.
The alliance blames Pashinian for Armenia’s defeat in the autumn war with
Azerbaijan and wants him to resign. Accordingly, it has hailed the unprecedented
statement issued by the military’s top brass.
Sarkissian already met with opposition leaders as well as pro-government
lawmakers and Gasparian before making his first decision on the issue at the
weekend.
Pashinian visited Sarkissian on Monday. Addressing thousands of supporters who
gathered in Yerevan’s Republic Square later in the day, he urged the president
to stop objecting to Gasparian’s removal.
On Sunday, a senior lawmaker close to Pashinian suggested that Sarkissian
himself appears to have violated the Armenian constitution and might be
impeached because of that. Sarkissian insisted afterwards that he acted
“impartially” and in strict conformity with the constitution.
Opposition Party Accepts Pashinian’s Election Offer
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (R) meets with Bright Armenia Party
leader Edmon Marukian, December 29, 2020
One of the two opposition parties represented in Armenia’s parliament on Tuesday
accepted Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s latest offer to hold snap general
elections to end the continuing political crisis in the country.
The leader of the Bright Armenia Party (LHK), Edmon Marukian, said he and
Pashinian spoke by phone in the morning and will meet on Wednesday for further
discussions on the proposed elections.
Marukian himself called for the conduct of such polls late last week, portraying
that as a compromise solution to the crisis deepened by the Armenian military’s
unprecedented demand for the government’s resignation. He said Pashinian should
stop, for his part, trying to fire the country’s top general, Onik Gasparian.
Pashinian has since continued to push for Gasparian’s removal. At the same time
he expressed readiness on Monday to organize pre-term elections.
Speaking to journalists, Marukian did not clarify what his party will do if the
prime minister does get rid of the defiant general.
The Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), the other parliamentary opposition force,
reacted more ambiguously to Pashinian’s proposal. A senior BHK member, Mikael
Melkumian, said the party leadership has not discussed it yet.
Unlike Marukian’s LHK, the BHK is part of an alliance of more hardline
opposition forces that resumed street protests in Yerevan late last month in a
bid to force Pashinian to resign over his handling of the recent war in
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Pashinian already expressed readiness in late December to organize fresh
elections. The opposition dismissed the offer, saying that they be held by an
interim government after Pashinian’s resignation. The ruling political team
stated afterwards that it longer sees the need to dissolve the Armenian
parliament controlled by it.
Under Armenia’s existing constitution, snap polls must be called only if
Pashinian resigns and the National Assembly twice fails to elect another prime
minister. His My Step bloc officially controls 83 seats in the 132-member
parliament and should in theory be able to easily prevent the election of
another premier nominated by the opposition minority.
Nevertheless, Pashinian demanded in January that the two parliamentary
opposition parties formally pledge to refrain from such nominations in the event
of his tactical resignation. Both parties refused to do that.
The LHK now seems ready to sign a pre-election “memorandum” with My Step.
But the BHK sees no need for such a deal. Melkumian argued that the ruling bloc
controls enough parliament seats to hold elections on its terms.
It was not clear if Pashinian is planning to meet with BHK leader Gagik
Tsarukian as well.
Armenian Military Rejects Criticism
Armenia -- Colonel-General Onik Gasparian (C), the chief of the Armenian army's
General Staff, meets with senior Russian military officials, Yerevan, January
25, 2021.
The Armenian military rejected “baseless accusations” and effectively reiterated
its demands for the government’s resignation on Monday night after Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian lambasted its top general.
Pashinian again accused General Onik Gasparian, the chief of the army’s General
Staff, of a coup attempt and “treason” as he rallied thousands of supporters in
Yerevan. He claimed that Gasparian initiated the February 25 statement by the
military’s top brass at the behest of former President Serzh Sarkisian.
The unprecedented statement said Pashinian and his government must step down
because they have put Armenia “on the brink of destruction” after the autumn war
in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The top brass of the Armed Forces reaffirms its evaluations of the existing
situation and emphasizes that despite attempts to draw the Armed Forces into
political processes they remain unwavering, determined and composed,” read
another statement issued shortly after the pro-government rally.
It demanded an end to “baseless accusations directed at the Armed Forces and
some officials.” It also insisted that the military is sticking to the Armenian
constitution and “serving only the people.”
Pashinian and his allies say that Gasparian and other generals have violated a
constitutional provision upholding civilian control over the armed forces.
Pashinian petitioned President Armen Sarkissian late last week to sack
Gasparian. Sarkissian refused to sign a relevant decree at the weekend.
Despite the rebuff, the prime minster resent the draft decree to Sarkissian for
approval. The president had to decide by Wednesday night whether to continue
blocking Gasparian’s sacking.
The generals’ demands are strongly backed by Armenian opposition forces trying
to oust Pashinian over his handling of the war with Azerbaijan.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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