Month: March 2021

 11:01, 1 March, 2021

YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. The National Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports 158 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the cumulative total number of confirmed cases to 172,216.

With 117 recoveries over the past day, the total number of recoveries reached 163,511.

3 patients died, bringing the death toll to 3195. This number doesn’t include the deaths of 817 (2 in the last 24 hours) other individuals infected with the virus, who according to authorities died from other, pre-existing conditions.

As of 11:00, March 1 the number of active cases stood at 4693.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 10:15, 1 March, 2021

YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. President Armen Sarkissian paid tribute to the memory of the victims of the 2008 March 1 unrest. His office said that he sent flowers to the Myasnikyan statue in downtown Yerevan as a tribute.

“The events of 2008 March 1, as a result of which we had innocent victims, are painful for us all,” Sarkissian said in a message.

“Political struggle should not go beyond the framework of lawfulness, should not lead to turmoil and instability, disagreements should not transform into intolerance and an atmosphere of mutual hatred, moreover it should not lead to confrontation and division. I am once again calling everyone to tolerance and solidarity. We are in need of unity and solidarity. Especially today unity and tolerance are vital for our state and nation,” the President said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 13:17, 1 March, 2021

YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. The Security Council of Armenia issued a statement “strongly condemning all attempts on dragging the military into political processes.”

The Security Council called on the President to approve the Prime Minister’s motion on sacking the Chief of the General Staff Colonel-General Onik Gasparyan.

It mentioned that involving the military into political processes is inadmissible by the Constitution and that the military is under civilian control. The Security Council also cited the law stipulating that the recommendation on appointing or dismissing the Chief of the General Staff is based on the prime minister’s discretion.

The president, it added, is “obliged to definitively display a relevant approach.”

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 14:31, 1 March, 2021

YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has expressed satisfaction over Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan’s spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan’s statement regarding the Iskander missile systems.

“It is very important that truth was restored in this issue,” Peskov told RIA Novosti.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 16:21, 1 March, 2021

YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. President Armen Sarkissian and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a meeting today, the president’s office said.

According to a news release issued by the presidency, Sarkissian is unwell at home, therefore the prime minister visited him at his residence.

“Naturally, the President and the Prime Minister also addressed the domestic political situation. Other disseminated information are completely false, and are attempts to further escalate the already tense situation,” it said, referring to reports alleging the PM visited him to convince him to sign the order on dismissing the army chief.

“By once again urging to refrain from disseminating provocative and false information, at the same time we once again underscore that the President is guided exclusively by the Consitution and pan-national and state interests, and is acting within the framework of his constitutional powers,” the presidency said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 20:04, 1 March, 2021

YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan’s refusal to grant the status of prisoners of war to the Armenian servicemen and to repatriate them, as well as to release civilians as announced by the Azerbaijani president in an interview to foreign journalists on 26 February and by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on 27 February, is a flagrant violation of Azerbaijan’s international obligations under international humanitarian law and does not stand up to scrutiny, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Artsakh.

The manufactured position of official Baku that these captured Armenians are not prisoners of war, claiming they were captured after the signing of the Trilateral Statement by the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan cannot exempt Azerbaijan from its obligations under the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Azerbaijan, as a signatory of the Geneva Conventions, does not have the liberty to redefine persons at its leisure to escape its international humanitarian law obligations. Azerbaijan's obligation to comply with, and strictly observe, international humanitarian law (jus in bello) and ensure its observance cannot be absolved by arguments regarding the rules of use of force, (jus ad bellum), which is governed by other international treaties, in particular the UN Charter. The obligation of States to comply with the principles of international humanitarian law is absolute, and it is not diluted in any manner whatsoever by arguments as to the lawfulness of any use of force.
 
In its argumentation that the captured servicemen are not POWs, Azerbaijan also openly distorts the facts on the ground and demonstrates utter impunity. The 64 Armenian servicemen captured by Azerbaijan in December 2020 were deployed in the villages of Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher of the Hadrut region of the Republic of Artsakh, which were under the control of the Artsakh Defence Army at the time of the signing of the Trilateral Statement. They were maintaining their positions as clearly required by Paragraph 1 of the Trilateral Statement. The capture of these 64 servicemen was a direct consequence of Azerbaijan’s violation of the Trilateral Statement’s clear call for a cessation of hostilities.
 

Azerbaijan’s semantic gymnastics — redefining POWs in order to avoid its international humanitarian law obligations — is immediately apparent by the fact that, in addition to the 64 servicemen captured in December 2020, Azerbaijan still refuses to repatriate persons captured during its military aggression against the Republic of Artsakh, which it unleashed on 27 September 2020. Azerbaijan’s position is legally and factually bankrupt.
 
Azerbaijan's blatant circumvention of its obligations under international humanitarian law in relation to the captured Armenian military personnel and civilians is not only contrary to the requirements of the Geneva Conventions relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War and to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War but it renders the Armenians held by Azerbaijan hostages. Indeed, Azerbaijan is detaining such persons for the very purpose of leverage to promote its position in the ongoing implementation of its strategic objectives against the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia.
 
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh sent letters to the specialized agencies of the UN and the Council of Europe, furnishing them a detailed analysis concerning the continuing application of international humanitarian law to persons captured by Azerbaijan. The letters thoroughly explained why members of the armed forces of a State, while in a dispute with another State, are entitled to POW status if they fall into the hands of the enemy, regardless of whether there are full-scale hostilities between the two States.
 
The international specialized institutions charged with monitoring the implementation of Azerbaijan's commitments under international humanitarian and international human rights law, are in accord. In fact, these institutions have demanded, repeatedly, the immediate release of the prisoners of war and civilians held captive by Azerbaijan; they have done so in public statements and during closed meetings with Azerbaijani representatives. Azerbaijan refuses to comply.
 
Consistent with the requirements of the Trilateral Statement and the Geneva Convention, we demand that Azerbaijan comply with its international humanitarian law obligations rather than continue to try to justify its manifest violations with unlawful and vacuous statements. We further urge the international community, in accordance with the Common article 1 to all Geneva Conventions, to compel Azerbaijan to immediately and comprehensively comply with its clear obligations under the Conventions.

We are ready to hold snap elections, if opposition agrees – PM Pashinyan

 19:58, 1 March, 2021

YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan announced that they are ready for snap elections, if the parliamentary forces give consent, ARMENPRESS reports Pashinyan said during the rally at the Republican Square.

The PM added that the opposition has made all possible efforts to show in the streets that the people demand his resignation. ‘’They failed to do that, and I give them another chance, I challenge them, let’s hold another election and we will see whose resignation the people demand’’, Pashinyan said.

 19:37, 1 March, 2021

YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan records that the Constitution adopted in 2015 that fully entered into force in 2018, has shown many shortcomings during this period, ARMENPRESS reports the PM said during the rally at the Republican Square.

''We see also today that, unfortunately, the Constitution creates numerous crisis risks. I think it's time to record that we have to make efforts to adopt a new Constitution or Constitutional amendments in October of this year by a national referendum, and transition to a semi-presidential system should be one of the possible options. We have to carry out this procedure in a close collaboration with the National Assembly, the Government, the President, political forces and the civil society’’, Pashinyan said.