Tuesday, June 8, 2021
Another Armenian Soldier Captured By Azerbaijan
• Susan Badalian
Armenia - A view of an area in Armenia's Syunik province where Armenian and
Azerbaijani troops are locked in a border standoff, May 14, 2021. (Photo by the
Armenian Human Rights Defender's Office)
Another Armenian soldier was captured by Azerbaijani forces on Tuesday in a
continuing military standoff on Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan.
The Armenian Defense Ministry said that the 25-year-old soldier, identified as
A. Katanian, lost his way and strayed into Azerbaijani-controlled territory in
thick fog.
It flatly denied Azerbaijani authorities’ claims that he was part of an Armenian
“sabotage group” that tried to lay landmines in the Lachin district bordering
Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province.
Narek Ordian, a local councilor from the Syunik village of Verishen, said the
incident took place at a nearby section of the frontier where Armenian and
Azerbaijani troops have been facing off against each other for the past month.
He described the official Armenian version of events as credible.
“When it’s foggy up there locals also often lose their way,” Ordian told
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
The Defense Ministry in Yerevan said nothing about efforts to secure the
soldier’s release. Meanwhile, lawyers representing the Armenian government asked
the European Court of Human Rights to order Baku to provide information about
his whereabouts and health and detention conditions.
The border standoff began after Azerbaijani troops reportedly crossed several
sections of the border and advanced a few kilometers into Syunik and another
Armenian province, Gegharkunik, on May 12-14.
The Armenian Defense Ministry repeatedly threatened to take military action to
force them to pull back. However, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian effectively
ruled out the use of force even after one Armenian soldier was killed and six
others captured by Azerbaijani forces late last month.
Ordian echoed critics’ claims that the caution exercised by the Armenian
government only encourages Azerbaijani forces to remain in Armenian territory
and keep holding the Armenian prisoners and even capture new ones.
“The authorities are to blame for all this,” he said. “Our army, our boys are on
standby, waiting for an order. But that order isn’t coming. As soon as the order
is issued we will capture not one but eleven [Azerbaijani soldiers] without a
gunshot.”
Tsarukian Calls For Closer Ties With Russia
• Narine Ghalechian
Armenia - Gagik Tsarukian (C), the leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia
Party, holds an election campaign rally in Nor Hachn, June 7, 2021.
Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) leader Gagik Tsarukian said forging even closer
ties with Russia is vital for Armenia’s national security as he campaigned in
Gegharkunik province on Tuesday.
“There is only one way to ensure the security of our people: Russia, our
centuries-old ally and friend. It has always demonstrated that it stands with us
on any issue,” Tsarukian said at a campaign rally held in the provincial capital
Gavar.
“We must now reinforce this friendly relationship not only with words but also
real actions. Armenian and Russian soldiers must now stand on our borders side
by side so that people feel safe,” he told supporters.
Tsarukian also spoke of a “very severe situation” in Armenia, saying that many
of its citizens lack decent jobs and access to free healthcare. The BHK leader,
who is one of the country’s richest men, reiterated his pledges to use his
business connections to attract large-scale investments in the Armenian economy
if his party manages to return to government.
“Tsarukian is an established, affluent and renowned man who has seen a lot,” he
said. “Tsarukian’s main aim is to help every person realize his potential to the
benefit of his country and people.”
The BHK, which maintains regular contacts with Russia’s ruling party, finished a
distant second in the last parliamentary elections held in December 2018,
winning 8.3 percent of the vote.
Tsarukian insisted late last month that he will not strike any power-sharing
agreements with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian as a result of the upcoming vote
slated for June 20. He again ruled out such a possibility on Monday during the
official launch of the BHK’s election campaign.
The tycoon noted on Tuesday that he was “the first” to demand Pashinian’s
resignation and accuse the premier of incompetence and misrule in June 2020.
Shortly after that criticism Tsarukian was controversially prosecuted on what he
sees as politically motivated charges. He was arrested in September but freed on
bail almost one month later.
Like other opposition groups, the BHK blamed Pashinian for Armenia’s defeat in
the autumn war in Nagorno-Karabakh and demanded that he step down. It joined a
coalition of opposition parties that staged street protests in a bid topple the
prime minister.
Resignations Of Top Armenian Diplomats Accepted
• Sargis Harutyunyan
Armenia - Outgoing Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazian addresses Armenian Foreign
Ministry staff, Yerevan, May 31, 2021.
Three of Armenia’s four deputy foreign ministers, who have tendered their
resignations due to apparent disagreements with the government, were formally
relieved of their duties on Tuesday.
All four diplomats decided to resign after Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazian stepped
down on May 27 following an emergency session of the Armenian government’s
Security Council which discussed mounting tensions on the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border.
At a May 31 farewell meeting the Armenian Foreign Ministry staff, Ayvazian
hinted that he disagrees with government decisions which he believes could put
the country’s sovereignty and national security at risk.
One of Ayvazian’s deputies, Gagik Ghalachian, also handed in his resignation on
May 27. The Foreign Ministry confirmed on Monday that the three other
vice-ministers -- Artak Apitonian, Avet Adonts and Armen Ghevondian -- followed
suit.
Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian, who is currently filling in for Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian campaigning for the June 20 parliamentary elections,
accepted the resignations of Adonts, Apitonian and Ghalachian on Tuesday.
It was not clear whether Avinian refused to approve Ghevondian’s letter of
resignation and whether the latter intends to continue performing his duties.
The Foreign Ministry did not comment on that.
Neither Pashinian nor key members of his administration have made any public
statements on the unprecedented resignations. A government spokesperson said
last week that the post of foreign minister will likely remain vacant at least
until the elections.
“When such experienced diplomats leave the system … it can only testify to the
existence of a crisis,” said Armine Margarian, a political analyst who worked at
the Foreign Ministry and the Security Council from 2005-2018.
“This is an extremely dangerous situation,” Margarian told RFE/RL’s Armenian
Service. She pointed to grave security challenges facing Armenia after last
year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Speaking at the May 27 meeting of the Security Council, Pashinian called for the
deployment of international observers along contested portions of the frontier
where Armenian and Azerbaijani troops remain locked in a standoff.
Critics denounced the proposal, accusing Pashinian of failing to defend Armenia
against foreign aggression and plotting to cede Armenian territory to Baku.
Ayvazian’s May 31 remarks gave Pashinian’s detractors more ammunition.
Pashinian’s press secretary challenged the outgoing minister last week to
publicly clarify “who, where and how was going to take some steps or to make
decisions contradicting our country’s national and state interests.”
Ayvazian has declined to do that so far. His deputies have likewise avoided
publicly explaining their resignations.
Pashinian Vows Post-Election ‘Vendettas’
• Anush Mkrtchian
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks at a campaign rally in Armavir,
June 7, 2021.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Tuesday pledged to “purge” the state
bureaucracy and wage “political vendettas” against local government officials
supporting the Armenian opposition if he wins the June 20 parliamentary
elections.
“There will be staff purges and the staff purges will target those officials who
took advantage of the 2018 revolution to huddle in the corridors of the people’s
power and play the role of Trojan horses during all this time,” Pashinian said
during a campaign trip to Armenia’s central Aragatsotn province.
“Give us the mandate to carry out the staff purges and we will throw the ‘Trojan
horses’ out of Armenia’s state governance system,” he said in a fiery speech.
Pashinian went on to promise a tough crackdown on heads of local communities and
private entities who he claimed are forcing their subordinates to attend
campaign rallies held by his political opponents.
“I want to make it clear that after the elections there will be vendettas
against those heads of communities and entities … who are trying to coerce
people,” he told supporters rallying in the town of Talin.
“I’m not talking about physical violence. I’m talking about political and civil
vendettas,” he added.
Pashinian did not name any individuals or produce evidence of such coercion. He
said only that he has seen photographs of ordinary Armenians present at
opposition rallies. He said their facial expressions suggest that they attended
the rallies against their will.
Opposition parties and blocs running in the snap elections claim that the
Armenian authorities themselves are forcing civil servants, schoolteachers and
other public sector employees to attend campaign gatherings organized by
Pashinian and his Civil Contract party. They say the prime minister also broke
the law by holding rallies before the official start on Monday of campaigning
for the polls.
Pashinian already pledged to purge Armenia’s government, judiciary and security
apparatus of “remnants” of the country’s former leadership in April 2020. He
accused them of trying to discredit him and scuttle his far-reaching initiatives.
Campaigning in another Aragatsotn town on Tuesday, Pashinian likened Armenia
under his rule to “paradise.” “Our challenge is to notice our own paradise,” he
declared.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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