Thursday, February 1, 2024
Pashinian Again Criticizes Armenia’s Independence Declaration
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks during a news conference in
Yerevan, July 25, 2023.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has reiterated his criticism of a 1990
declaration of Armenia’s independence resented by Azerbaijan as he defended his
plans to try to enact a new Armenian constitution.
The declaration made reference to a 1989 unification act adopted by the
legislative bodies of Soviet Armenia and the then Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous
Oblast. It also called for international recognition of the 1915 genocide of
Armenians “in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia.” The declaration is cited in a
preamble to the current Armenian constitution adopted in 1995.
In an interview with Armenian Public Radio broadcast on Thursday, Pashinian gave
more indications that he wants to exclude this reference from the new
constitution.
“We really need to settle our relations with the declaration today,” he said.
“The question is whether our state policy should be referenced to it and whether
our state policies should be guided by that message and based on the decision of
the National Council of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Supreme Council of Armenia on
the reunification of Karabakh and Armenia.”
“If so, it means we will never have peace. Furthermore, it means that we will
now have war,” claimed Pashinian.
Pashinian did not deny Armenian opposition claims that he wants to change the
constitution under pressure from Azerbaijan. He said at the same time that Baku
is publicly demanding such a change in a bid to discredit the constitutional
reform and eventually “weaken” Armenia.
He also admitted that the new constitution envisaged by him would not
necessarily prevent Azerbaijani aggression.
Pashinian’s political opponents and other critics say that his continuing
unilateral concessions to Baku only increase the risk of another war.
Aliyev Demands Constitutional Change In Armenia
• Astghik Bedevian
AZERBAIJAN - Electoral officials stick up a poster of Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev in Baku on January 15, 2024, on the first day of the official
campaigning for the February 7 presidential election.
Armenia must change its constitution in order to make peace with Azerbaijan,
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Thursday, stoking Armenian opposition
claims that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has already agreed to make such a
concession to Baku.
“In case of changing Armenia’s constitution and other documents, peace could be
achieved,” Aliyev said. “Armenia’s Declaration of Independence contains direct
call for uniting Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region to Armenia and infringing on
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. Armenia’s constitution cites that document.”
Pashinian stated on January 18 that Armenia must adopt a new constitution
reflecting the “new geopolitical environment” in the region. Critics believe he
first and foremost wants to get rid of the current constitution’s preamble that
makes reference to the declaration cited by Aliyev.
The declaration adopted in 1990 in turn cites a 1989 unification act by the
legislative bodies of Soviet Armenia and the then Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous
Oblast. It also calls for international recognition of the 1915 genocide of
Armenians “in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia.”
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan acknowledged last week that Azerbaijan has
objected to this constitutional introduction during talks on a peace treaty with
Armenia. But both he and Pashinian allies claimed that the Armenian leadership
is not seeking to change the constitution because of that.
Armenian opposition leaders portrayed Aliyev’s latest statement as further proof
of their claims that Pashinian is planning to enact a new constitution at the
behest of Baku as well as Ankara. One of them, Artsvik Minasian, said the two
Turkic allies want to force the Armenians to “renounce their historical past and
rights.”
“If you do what your enemy wants, it means you obey its rules of the game,”
Minasian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Vladimir Vartanian, a senior pro-government lawmaker, stuck to the official line
that Pashinian’s administration is not forced to embark on the constitutional
reform. “No constitution can be adopted under pressure because if we adopt a
constitution under pressure it means that we have a problem with our
sovereignty,” he said.
Pashinian called for the new constitution just days after complaining that
Aliyev has toughened its position on the Armenian-Armenian peace treaty and
openly laid claim to Armenian territory. He went on to offer more security
“guarantees” to Baku. Pashinian’s political opponents say this appeasement
policy will not lead to a lasting peace between the two South Caucasus nations.
Armenian Minister Defends Arrested Deputy
• Artak Khulian
Armenia - Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian attends a conference in Yerevan,
February 1, 2024.
Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian on Thursday effectively denied corruption
accusations brought against one of his deputies and other subordinates arrested
on Wednesday.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee raided the Ministry of Economy building in
Yerevan and conducted searches there together with the National Security Service
(NSS). In a statement issued afterwards, the committee said that seven
individuals were taken into custody in two criminal investigations conducted by
both law-enforcement agencies.
In particular, the statement said, unnamed ministry officials illegally
disqualified a private entity from a procurement tender to make sure that it is
won by another bidder that charged a much higher sum. Ani Ispirian, who was
sacked as deputy economy minister the night before her arrest, is understood to
have been indicted in this criminal case.
The other case involves a ministry official, also not identified by the
Investigative Committee, who allegedly abused his or her position to help other
individuals receive government funding for an agribusiness project in violation
of rules set by the ministry.
Speaking to reporters, Kerobian pointed out that the investigators have not
accused the suspects of taking bribes or embezzling public funds.
“Therefore, I need an additional clarification of what they mean by abuse [of
power,]” he said. “The biding process was constantly under the control of
lawyers, other partners, including the Ministry of Finance, and we are more than
sure that both the court and the investigation will conclude that there was no
violation of procurement and related laws.”
It was still not clear whether Ispirian and other arrested ministry officials
also deny the accusations.
It emerged, meanwhile, that other suspects in the case include Ashot Hovanesian,
the founder of the software development company Synergy International Systems
which is registered in the United States but mainly operates from Armenia. A
Yerevan court on Thursday formally remanded Hovanesian in pre-trial custody.
Another arrested suspect, Ani Gevorgian, is the wife of Armenian parliament
speaker Alen Simonian’s brother Karlen. Simonian is a key political ally of
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Armenia Formally Joins International Criminal Court
France - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian meets Karim Khan, the
International Criminal Court prosecutor who issued arrest warrant for Russian
President Vladimir Putin, Paris, November 10, 2023.
Armenia formally joined the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday four
months after its parliament ratified the court’s founding treaty despite stern
warnings from Russia.
Armenia’s Constitutional Court gave the green light for the ratification last
March one week after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President
Vladimir Putin over war crimes allegedly committed during Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine. Moscow vehemently denies the accusations and claims that The Hague
tribunal executes orders issued by Western governments.
The Armenian government pushed the treaty, also known as the Rome Statute,
through the National Assembly on October 3, adding to its unprecedented tensions
with Moscow. Russian officials said the “unfriendly” move will cause serious
damage to Russian-Armenian relations. They dismissed Yerevan’s assurances that
the ratification does not commit it to arresting Putin and handing him over to
the ICC in the event of his visit to Armenia.
Still, Putin seemed to downplay the development afterwards, saying that he will
visit the South Caucasus country again in the future. Accordingly, Putin’s press
secretary, Dmitry Peskov, reacted cautiously to the country’s formal accession
to the ICC confirmed by Armenian officials.
“This is generally the sovereign right of Armenia,” Russian news agencies quoted
Peskov as saying. “But on the other hand, it is important for us that such
decisions do not affect both de jure and de facto our bilateral relations, which
we value and hope to further develop.”
The Pashinian government’s stated rationale for accepting the ICC’s jurisdiction
is to take more legal action against Azerbaijan and prevent further Azerbaijani
attacks on Armenia.
Armenian opposition politicians counter that Azerbaijan is not a party to the
Rome Statute and would therefore ignore any pro-Armenian ruling by The Hague
court. They say the real purpose of ratifying the treaty is to drive another
wedge between Russia and Armenia and score points in the West.
The United States and the European Union swiftly praised Yerevan for ratifying
the Rome Statute. Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU’s executive body,
said that the extension of the ICC’s jurisdiction to Armenia applies to Putin.
“The world is getting smaller for the autocrat in the Kremlin,” von der Leyen
said in October.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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