Month: June 2022

YEREVAN. – Zhoghovurd newspaper of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: The shots fired on June 19 in Aparan have caused serious concern in the law enforcement system. In particular, the law enforcement system has established strict control in the city of Aparan, as well as in the [Aragatsotn] province—with the aim of keeping the situation under control.

Moreover, according to the information received by Zhoghovurd daily, a decision has been made to establish police control both at the residences of those killed as a result of the shooting and at the residences of the other participants of the incident, in order to avoid cases of possible revenge.

It means that the law enforcement agencies have fears of a possible vendetta, and have resorted to concrete steps to resolve the situation.

Let us recall that on June 19, 2022, shots were fired in the city of Aparan, as a result of which two people were killed, for which one citizen is in custody. According to press reports, the reason was cursing at the RA Prime Minister, whereas the law enforcement system claims that the reason is domestic.

Shots were fired from various weapons on the aforementioned day, and the 32-year-old man detained at the moment is not the only one who fired in the direction of the participants in the dispute. According to the information we received, one of the shooters is a [ruling] CC [(Civil Contract Party)] supporter, whom RA Police Chief Vahe Ghazaryan and RA Investigative Committee Chairman Argishti Kyaramyan are doing everything to clear from the criminal case.

Sona Ghazaryan, a member of Armenia’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), delivered remarks at the PACE Plenary Session.

“I highly appreciate the report, well-penned and very much on time. Political parties, among other actors, are responsible for combating hate speech, racism, and xenophobia. However, what we often see today is that political parties, instead, build their election campaigns, rhetoric, sometimes even actions on hatred, racism, and xenophobia.

This happens in Europe, and this happens beyond Europe.

And then sometimes, these political parties and their leaders find themselves in their own trap. They build up and build on hate so much that they then do not know how to control and deal with the amount of hatred they have created themselves.

This is especially dangerous when hatred is proliferated towards a society living in close proximity, towards a neighbor. And even more dangerous when there is an unresolved conflict in need of a robust peace process. This is the case in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the systemic Armenophobia in Azerbaijan.

You know too well the case of the trophy park in Baku that glorifies war and that depicted Armenian soldiers in captivity degrading human dignity and dehumanizing Armenians. Schoolchildren were taken to this park. This was an outrageous case of state-sponsored hatred and racism. The mannequins of Armenian soldiers were taken down only after Armenia filed a case at the International Court of Justice based on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

The International Court of Justice has already produced an interim decision in which it calls on Azerbaijan to “take all necessary measures to prevent the incitement and promotion of racial hatred and discrimination, including by its officials and public institutions, targeted at persons of Armenian national or ethnic origin.” I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the International Court of Justice has stated that it is the officials and public institutions in Azerbaijan that incite and promote hatred against Armenians.

I believe that the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly should also be very vocal and direct calling state-level hate speech, racism and xenophobia by name, and we should together combat this because hatred is a poison similar to mercury; it is very hard to collect once it spills over,” Sona Ghazaryan said in her speech.

The UN International Court of Justice has indirectly recognized the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) from Azerbaijan. The Democratic Party of Armenia has noted about this in a statement which reads as follows, in particular:

“It seemed that the legal settlement of the Artsakh issue is no longer promising. But the UN International Court [of Justice] is coming to aid with its well-known precedent decision. Considering the case concerning Kosovo, the court has made a decision defining general legal terms. That is, when a territory separates from a state by the will of its population, according to the UN Charter, the need to obtain permission from the central government is not required.

Dozens of countries have recognized Kosovo’s independence based on the [aforesaid] decision of the authoritative court. (…).

Now a question: Are the diplomatic organizations of Armenia and Artsakh not familiar with the mentioned decision of the court? (…).

(…) we [hereby] PROPOSE to submit to the [OSCE Minsk Group] Co-Chairs a new agenda, making the cornerstone of the negotiation process the [aforementioned] precedent decision of the UN International Court [of Justice], whereby the independence of the Artsakh Republic from Azerbaijan is also indirectly recognized; this is a fact.”

The Homeland Party has not yet discussed the participation of its leader, Artur Vanetsyan, in the Yerevan mayor elections.

On Wednesday’s interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am, party spokesman Sos Hakobyan commented on rumors that Artur Vanetsyan will quit his parliamentary seat and run for Yerevan City Council seat.

There is still time for that, according to the spokesperson. It is not even clear yet whether these elections will be regular or extraordinary. “So at the moment we are busy with other things. We’re working on a strategy where the mayoral election is not a priority. There are no discussions and decisions on this yet,” Hakobyan said.

If the capital’s elections are regular, they should be held in September next year.  

The Armenian Defense Ministry has not circulated reports about the death of Hrach Piliposyan, who was fatally wounded by enemy fire on 18 June, for the fifth day already.

Calls from Armenian News-NEWS.am to the Defense Ministry remain unanswered. The Defense Ministry remains silent about the circumstances under which the 19-year-old serviceman died.

David Shahnazaryan, head of the “United Vardenis” faction of the Vardenis Council of Elders, told Armenian News-NEWS.am about the death of a soldier because of enemy gunfire in the direction of Vardenis.

Hrach Piliposyan, 19, was shot by the enemy.

He was from the village Byurakan, he served his first year. Hrach Pilposyan was the eldest son in his family. He has two brothers.

19-year-old Hrach Pilposyan was buried yesterday, in his native village of Byurakan.

The Investigative Committee told Armenian News-NEWS.am that an investigation is underway to clarify the circumstances, after which a report will be issued.

The Investigative Committee is initiating criminal cases on the murders of servicemen by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. However, the Investigative Committee has not made a statement yet in connection with what happened on 18 June.

It is already the second day that the Republican Party of Armenia and the parliamentary faction of “With Honor” opposition bloc do not comment on Artur Vanetsyan’s resignation.

They also do not comment on whether the rest of the deputies will retain their mandates.

There is a discussion on the audio recording of the conversation with Ruben Vardazaryan, the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council (powers suspended) and Gagik Jhangiryan, the acting head of the SJC, as well as the recent murder in Aparan in the park near France Square.

After the discussions the members of the “Armenia” and “With Honor” parliamentary factions will speak with the citizens and answer their questions of concern.