Tuesday,
Armenia Marks Independence Anniversary
• Naira Nalbandian
• Marine Khachatrian
Armenia - A concert dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Armenia's independence
is held in Yerevan's Republic Square, .
Armenia marked on Tuesday the 30th anniversary of its declaration of
independence from the Soviet Union with official ceremonies and an open-air
concert boycotted by opposition leaders and condemned by some relatives of
Armenian soldiers killed in last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The ceremonies began in the morning at the Yerablur Military Pantheon in Yerevan
where President Armen Sarkissian, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and other
senior officials laid wreaths at a Karabakh war memorial.
Journalists were barred from not only approaching the officials but also
watching the wreath-laying ceremony. Security officers deployed at Yerablur also
interrupted their interviews with the parents of several fallen soldiers who
wanted to prevent Pashinian from approaching their graves.
“He must not come to my boys’ home,” said one woman. “I didn’t invite him.”
Moments later the angry father of another soldier was forcibly removed from the
military cemetery where hundreds of Armenian victims of the first Karabakh war
of 1991-1994 were also laid to rest.
“Nikol, you will answer for ruining our independence,” shouted another man
holding Pashinian responsible for Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 war that left
about 3,800 Armenian soldiers dead and more than 200 others unaccounted for.
He and other protesters, most of them relatives of soldiers killed in action,
argued with riot police after the prime minister left Yerablur.
Armenia - Riot police scuffle with relatives of Armenian soldiers killed during
the war in Nagorno-Karabakh at the Yerablur Military Pantheon, Yerevan,
.
More than 200 other relatives led by a well-known political activist staged a
candlelight march to Yerablur from the city center in the afternoon. They not
only paid their respects to their loved ones but also protested against the
Independence Day concert organized by the Armenian government in the city’s
central Republic Square.
Pashinian announced the concert on September 8, saying that it will be the
culmination of “large-scale and colorful” celebrations of Armenia’s main public
holiday. He said it will be “first and foremost dedicated to our martyrs who
sacrificed their lives for Armenia’s independence.”
The announcement prompted strong condemnations from many families of war victims
as well as opposition politicians and other critics of his government. They said
that any festivities would be highly inappropriate in a country which is still
mourning the war dead and has not yet found, identified and buried all of its
fallen soldiers.
Pashinian last week apologized for using the word “colorful” but said the
concert will not be an affront to the soldiers’ memory and will go ahead as
planned.
The concert featured classical, folk and modern music played in front of the
country’s political leadership and other dignitaries. It also attracted hundreds
of ordinary people to the sprawling square guarded by an unusually large number
of police officers and other security personnel.
Armenia - President Armen Sarkissian (R) and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian
shake hands at the Yerablur Military Pantheon, Yerevan, .
Addressing the crowd before the live performances, Pashinian paid tribute to the
fallen soldiers. He said they must be regarded as “symbols of life, not death.”
He also urged Armenians to “transform our defeat into victory” and “defeat
desperation, destiny and death.”
Lawmakers representing Armenia’s two main opposition alliances led by former
Presidents Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian were also invited to the event
broadcast live by state television. Predictably, they chose to boycott it.
Also invited was Levon Ter-Petrosian, another former president who led Armenia
to independence in the final months of Soviet rule. Ter-Petrosian, whose
spokesman branded Pashinian a “nation-destroying scourge” right after last
year’s war, shunned the event too.
The government’s press office declined to clarify whether personal invitations
were also sent to Kocharian and Sarkisian, who are even more critical of the
current Armenian authorities.
Both ex-presidents again blamed Pashinian for the outcome of the six-week war
stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire last November in separate statements
issued earlier on Tuesday on the occasion of the independence jubilee.
“As recently as one year ago, we were proud of our Armed Forces and were an
essential factor in the geopolitical configuration of the South Caucasus,” read
Kocharian’s statement. “But now we have not only ceased to be the security
guarantor of Artsakh (Karabakh) but are also unable to protect our own
sovereignty and citizens.”
Macron Wants To Deepen France’s ‘Special’ Ties With Armenia
FRANCE -- French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the annual dinner of
the Co-ordination Council of Armenian organisations of France (CCAF), in Paris,
February 5, 2019
France and Armenia enjoy a “special relationship” that should be deepened
further, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday.
“France and Armenia have forged a special relationship deeply rooted in history.
This relationship of friendship, dense and trustful, continues today in all
areas,” Macron said in a congratulatory message sent to President Armen
Sarkissian on Armenia’s Independence Day.
“I would like this link, which forms the richness of our bilateral relationship,
to deepen even further when it comes to our cooperation in various sectors such
as culture, education, health or even economic cooperation,” he wrote.
France, Macron went on, “stands with Armenia to help it overcome the challenges
facing it one year after the deadly conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.” He said Paris
will also remain actively involved in international efforts to resolve the
Karabakh conflict spearheaded by the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the
OSCE Minsk Group.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian discussed those efforts in a
September 17 phone call with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan. According
to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the two men also agreed on the need to expand
“multidimensional cooperation” between their countries.
“The sides agreed to discuss in greater detail soon prospects for stepping up
their cooperation in the economic sphere, including through the implementation
of new development programs in Armenia,” the ministry said in a statement.
Mirzoyan praised France’s position and actions taken during and after last
year’s Armenian-Azerbaijani war over Karabakh.
Macron criticized Azerbaijan and accused Turkey of recruiting jihadist fighters
from Syria for the Azerbaijani army shortly after the war broke out in September
2020. Le Drian demanded “the departure of the Syrian mercenaries” from the
conflict zone following a Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the
hostilities in November.
Turkey denied sending members of Turkish-backed Syrian rebel groups to fight in
Karabakh. Azerbaijan also denied their presence in the Azerbaijani army ranks.
Both Ankara and Baku accused Paris of pro-Armenian bias.
Macron was also quick to voice strong support for Yerevan after Azerbaijani
forces reportedly crossed some sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and
advanced several kilometers into Armenian territory in May.
“The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenia’s sovereign territory,” he said
during a June 1 meeting in Paris with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Baku maintains that its troops took up new positions on the Azerbaijani side of
the frontier and did not cross into Armenia.
France is home to an influential Armenian community. The latter was instrumental
in the December 2020 passage by both houses of the French parliament of
resolutions calling on Macron’s government to recognize Karabakh as an
independent republic. The government ruled out such recognition, saying that it
would be counterproductive for France and the Karabakh negotiating process.
Biden Vows Continued U.S. Efforts For Karabakh Peace
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the Delta variant of coronavirus,
September 9, 2021.
President Joe Biden said the United States will continue to strive for a
peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict when he congratulated Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian on Armenia’s Independence Day on Tuesday.
In a message sent on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the South Caucasus
state’s declaration of independence from the Soviet Union, Biden also promised
continued U.S. support for the Armenian government’s “efforts to strengthen your
democratic institutions, advance human rights, combat corruption, and uphold the
rule of law.”
“The Armenian people have faced challenges over the last year, including the
tragic loss of life in the fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” added the
letter publicized by the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan.
“As we mourn with the people of Armenia, we will work hand in hand with your
government, including through the OSCE Minsk Group and other regional formats,
to promote regional stability and conflict resolution. The United States will
continue to advocate for the release of all Armenian detainees held in
Azerbaijan.”
Biden similarly assured Pashinian in early August that Washington remains
committed to facilitating a “comprehensive” Karabakh settlement together with
Russia and France, the two other co-chairs of the Minsk Group.
The U.S. ambassador to Armenia, Lynne Tracy, has repeatedly said since then that
the Karabakh conflict remains unresolved after last year’s Armenian-Azerbaijani
war.
“We do not see the status of Nagorno-Karabakh as having been resolved,” Tracy
insisted on September 13.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry condemned the envoy’s remarks. It echoed
President Ilham Aliyev’s repeated claims that Azerbaijan’s victory in the
six-week war put an end to the conflict.
Aliyev ruled out on July 22 any negotiations on Karabakh’s status, saying
Yerevan must instead recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over the
Armenian-populated territory.
Later in July the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the Minsk Group issued a
joint statement calling for a “negotiated, comprehensive, and sustainable
settlement of all remaining core substantive issues of the conflict” and urging
the conflicting parties to resume talks “as soon as possible.”
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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