Friday,
Armenian Government Mum On Pashinian’s Trip To Moscow
• Artak Khulian
Armenia -- Armenian Justice Minister Rustam Badasian talks to journalists and
opposition protesters in Yerevan, January 8, 2021.
The Armenian government did not confirm or refute on Friday reports that Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian will fly to Moscow on Monday for further talks on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Armenian opposition figures and some media outlets critical of the government
have said in recent days that Pashinian will hold there a trilateral meeting
with Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan.
A pro-opposition social media account claimed on Thursday that they will sign an
agreement on Armenian territorial concessions to Azerbaijan in an effort to
cement the Russian-brokered ceasefire in the Karabakh conflict zone. It said the
draft agreement has already been sent to Armenian Ministry of Justice for
examination.
Justice Minister Rustam Badasian and his press office were quick to deny the
claim in separate statements.
Despite the denials, several dozen opposition activists and supporters rallied
outside the ministry building in Yerevan on Friday to demand explanations.
Badasian emerged from the building to talk to the protesters and repeat his
assurances.
Speaking to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, Pashinian’s press secretary, Mane
Gevorgian, also denied the existence of such a document.
Earlier this week Gevorgian did not rule out the possibility of Pashinian’s
visit to Moscow. She did not comment further.
The opposition claims appeared to have prompted concern from President Armen
Sarkissian. In a statement issued by his office, Sarkissian said the government
should be accountable to the public and stick to Armenia’s constitution and laws
when implementing the ceasefire agreement that stopped the war on November 10.
Meanwhile, Pashinian identified his administration’s top “priorities” in the
implementation process: the release of all Armenian prisoners remaining in
Azerbaijani captivity, the recovery of the bodies of Armenian soldiers and
civilians killed during the war, and the opening of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border for cargo and passenger traffic.
The truce accord commits Yerevan to opening a transport link between the
Nakhichevan exclave and the rest of Azerbaijan, which would pass through
Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province.
In a Facebook post, Pashinian again stressed that Baku will have to allow, for
its part, Armenia to use Azerbaijani territory as a transit route for cargo
shipments to and from Russia and Iran.
Armenian Ministers At Odds Over Coronavirus Restrictions
Armenia -- Officials from Armenia's Health and Labor Inspectorate inspect a shop
in Yerevan to verify its compliance with coroanvirus safety rules, July 22, 2020.
Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian has publicly objected to a Ministry of Health
proposal to extend restrictions aimed at preventing coronavirus infections in
Armenia.
The Armenia government kept the restrictions in place when it lifted a
coronavirus-related state of emergency in September. The government introduced a
nationwide “quarantine” regime which allowed it to continue requiring people to
wear face masks in all public areas and enforcing social distancing and hygiene
rules set for businesses.
The new regime was due to remain in force until January 11. The Ministry of
Health formally asked the government late last month to extend it by six month
months, citing the continuing large number of coronavirus cases in the country.
Kerobian criticized the request in an interview with Armenian Public Television
aired late on Thursday.
He claimed that the restrictions would hurt the Armenian economy which has
already been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The economy badly needs more
“oxygen” after contracting by at least 7 percent in 2020, said he 44-year-old
businessman who was appointed as economy minister in late November.
Armenia - Businessman Vahan Kerobian at a news conference in Yerevan, January
17, 2019.
A spokeswoman for Health Minister Arsen Torosian dismissed the criticism on
Friday, saying that the existing rules do not place restrictions on economic
activity and only reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections within businesses and
other entities.
“Minister Vahan Kerobian noted that what the economy needs most now is oxygen,”
the official, Alina Nikoghosian, said. “Individuals treated for the coronavirus
over the last several months have also needed oxygen first and foremost, which
has been provided by the Ministry of Health.”
“We hope that the Ministry of Economy too will save no effort to provide the
economy with oxygen without increasing the number of [COVID-19] patients,” she
said.
Nikoghosian insisted that the rules criticized by Kerobian are essential for
containing the further spread of COVID-19. She argued that many other countries
are still imposing lockdowns and other tougher restrictions to deal with the
pandemic.
Armenia -- A healthcare worker clad in protective gear looks after COVID-19
patients at the Surb Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center, Yerevan, June 5, 2020.
The Armenian authorities largely stopped fining people and businesses to enforce
the rules following the September 27 outbreak of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The daily number of new COVID-19 cases reported by them grew rapidly as a
result. But it has been steadily falling since mid-November.
According to the Ministry of Health, there were 9,850 active cases in Armenia as
of Friday morning, sharply down from 22,850 cases reported on December 1.
More than 161,000 coronavirus infections and at least 2,908 deaths caused by
them have been officially confirmed in the country of about 3 million to date.
The real number of cases is believed to be much higher.
Citing “some international projections,” Nikoghosian warned that another 1,000
Armenians may well die from the disease by April 1.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
If there was any doubt that Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s business-like manner would be missed while she was on a break this week, it might have dissipated when her deputy took over the daily COVID briefings yesterday.
Acting Premier John Barilaro – “four chilling words right there” tweeted Herald correspondent Bevan Shields – was not just a reminder of how well Berejiklian does in the role, but also of all the obstacles she faced last year and the many that still confront her.
She is not just trying to protect the health of the state, but also ensure her own political survival. The two are intimately entangled.
Hard as some find it to believe, given her strong handling of the pandemic thus far, she is not Saint Gladys but also a political animal who has had to suppress far more than the current COVID outbreak.
She has won plaudits for her handling of the crisis even from the Prime Minister, whose office has previously been lukewarm about the moderate NSW Premier, but Morrison now publicly lauds her work in keeping open the state as the “gold standard” in state COVID responses. She’s a useful foil to her Victorian counterpart.
Daniel Andrews’ disastrous mid-year hotel quarantine fail and Victoria’s ensuing four-month lockdown came as NSW maintained business as usual. On everything from using police and military to QR codes and contact trading, NSW has been far ahead of Victoria. It overshadowed memories of NSW’s Ruby Princess debacle early in the crisis.
But then came the December northern beaches outbreak and partial lockdown which has caused havoc across the country. Borders slammed shut again and voters are polarised along political as well as state lines.
The NSW government’s stubborn refusal to follow the Victorian example and make masks mandatory early in the lockdown has been criticised by the left – but she has been under pressure from the right to avoid following the man it dubbed “Dictator Dan”.
While Berejiklian finally backflipped on the mask issue, she held firm over holding the New Year’s Eve fireworks and is refusing so far to back down on allowing crowds to attend the upcoming Sydney cricket Test.
Berejiklian has the advantage over Andrews in facing a tamer right-wing media. Her decision to take the week off has attracted less heat while Andrews is under pressure to return from his break because of the growing outbreak.
But Berejiklian is in the politically more difficult position. While both have weak Opposition parties, the NSW Premier has a slimmer majority and her Coalition partner is headed by the aggressively populist Barilaro who has constantly undermined her authority.
In September he spectacularly threatened to blow up the union by voting against his own government over koala habitat legislation. Berejiklian took an uncharacteristically tough line and called his bluff, but her victory was short-lived as October saw an even more dramatic turn with the Maguire affair.
Few would ever have thought of the inscrutable Berejiklian even appearing before the ICAC, much less admitting to a secret seven-year affair with the target of an investigation.
The political well of goodwill is now very shallow for the Premier. She survives with the support of the Left faction led by the dynamic Environment Minister Matt Kean who was able to push through a landmark energy package this year.
For now, the Right is happy for her to carry the COVID can and give heir apparent Treasurer Dominic Perrottet more distance from his icare scandal.
Since his return from mental-health leave, a chastened Barilaro has kept a low profile and while he is playing nice with most of the Liberal ministers, that is not said to include the Premier.
Should her “proportionate” response to the outbreak bubbling along in NSW succeed, it will shore up her political stocks, providing some crucial ballast should the ICAC report go against her. Or for any other disaster, natural or man-made.
Head of the Henaket Analytical Center Tigran Abrahamyan calls for sweeping changes to the combat duty of servicemen both in Armenia and Artsakh.
“This issue requires urgent action, otherwise we will find ourselves in a difficult situation in the near future,” he wrote on Facebook late on Sunday.
“It is necessary to urgently review the approaches to the fulfilment of combat duty with the oversupply of technical means, new engineering solutions, as well as the formation and regrouping of mobile units.
“I don’t consider it expedient to speak about the emerging risks openly, but the issue of operational solutions remains a priority.
“P.S. I understand that there are no major expectations from the current authorities, but I am sure that the General Staff of the Armed Forces realizes how serious the issue is and will finally take action to deal with its own military problems,” he said.
Azerbaijani reports on renewed clashes could be “information provocation”, says Armenian military
09:15,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. Several Azerbaijani news outlets are reporting about alleged resumption of battles between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops near the village of Togh of the Hadrut region. The reports mention victims and wounded.
The Ministry of Defense of Armenia commented on the reports, noting:
“We remind that the village of Togh is under the complete control of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.
The Artsakh Defense Army is strictly adhering to the ceasefire, no unit has taken part in any action in the given section, moreover, no emergency incident relating to the Artsakh Defense Army units was recorded.
Nevertheless, the Armenian side is attempting to find out additional information, not ruling out the possibility that we are dealing with an Azerbaijani information provocation.”
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
17:42,
YEREVAN, 22 DECEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 22 December, USD exchange rate up by 0.31 drams to 521.97 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 2.10 drams to 637.06 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.04 drams to 6.91 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 10.06 drams to 699.49 drams.
The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.
Gold price up by 22.93 drams to 31549.64 drams. Silver price up by 5.97 drams to 438.93 drams. Platinum price down by 811.96 drams to 16597.12 drams.
December 21, 2020
Asbarez is 112 years old.
We have reached the end of a year, which, by all accounts, was tragic to say the least.
In addition to the economic uncertainty brought on by the pandemic, the events of 2020 also mandated that we band together as a nation and ensure that our brothers and sisters—be they in Lebanon or on the frontlines of Armenia and Artsakh—received the immediate assistance they required after experiencing unfathomable tragedies and loss.
Despite the myriad challenges this year, Asbarez was on the frontlines of covering the important news that impacted the Armenian community and Armenians around the world. In fact, those challenges propelled us to work even harder to provide critical public health information about the coronavirus emergency, the horrific explosion in Lebanon, the hate crimes gripping our community, and, of course, up-to-the-minute coverage of the Artsakh War, the outcome of which has impacted all of us as a nation.
Our National priorities always take precedence and require that we unite and collectively address the needs of our Nation. Our homeland is on the road to a tenuous recovery and we are certain that each and every one of you will rise to that challenge.
For 112 years Asbarez has counted on the generosity and support of our community organizations and institutions, our advertisers and you, our readers. In return, our dedicated staff has worked tirelessly to make the news accessible to you. In January 2021, we look forward to unveiling our new website and introducing our mobile applications to make it easier for you to stay informed and become engaged. These additions will complement and enhance our already-existing print publication, our electronic newsletters and our presence on social media platforms.
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In lieu of our annual Year-End Issue, Asbarez will publish a special edition on January 6 that will focus exclusively on Artsakh, and give impetus to our collective efforts to advance our national aspirations. Your generous contributions will be published in a list in that edition, cementing your dedication to advancing our publication—Asbarez.
YEREVAN – Both opponents and supporters of Armenia’s prime minister rallied Saturday as the nation paid tribute to the thousands who died in fighting with Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Critics demanded that the leader resign and tried to pelt him with eggs.
The Azerbaijani army pushed deep into Nagorno-Karabakh in six weeks of hostilities that ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal on Nov. 10 that saw Azerbaijan reclaim large parts of the separatist region and surrounding territories.
The loss of lands that had been controlled by ethnic Armenian forces for more than a quarter-century has traumatized Armenians, triggering weeks of protests demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
On Saturday, thousands of protesters rallied near the Yerablur military memorial cemetery on the outskirts of the Armenian capital of Yerevan as Pashinyan visited it to honor the soldiers killed in the latest fighting. The nation is observing a three-day mourning period for the dead.
The prime minister’s opponents, shouting “Nikol, you traitor!,” engaged in scuffles with his supporters and police. Police dispersed the protesters to clear the way for Pashinyan and his security guards covered him with shields and umbrellas as protesters attempted to hit him with eggs.
Later in the day, about 20,000 opposition supporters marched across Yerevan for a memorial church service for the victims of the conflict.
Also on Saturday, 14 retired military generals issued a statement calling for the resignation of the government over its handling of the latest fighting.
Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.
In 44 days of fighting that began in late September and left more than 5,600 people killed on both sides, the Azerbaijani army fought its way deep into Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing Armenia to accept last month’s peace deal.
Russia has deployed nearly 2,000 peacekeepers for at least five years to monitor the peace agreement and facilitate the return of refugees.
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) offered a $50,000-reward for Thursday for information leading to the arrest of an arsonist who set fire to an Armenian church back in September.
The Sept. 17 fire at St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church, set by an unknown perpetrator, burned the church’s administration building where its offices, Sunday school and a library reside. No one was injured but the blaze basically gutted the building.
READ MORE: Fire Burns Armenian Church Building Overnight in San Francisco; Arson Suspected
While announcing the reward in a video recorded in front of the church, FBI San Francisco Special Agent in Charge Craig Fair said that the investigation was about protecting the congregation’s first amendment rights, which protect the freedom of religion.
“This act of violence was not just an attack on a building, but on a congregation,” Fair said. “This was an attack on a community.”
#Breaking: FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig Fair announces reward in #SF church arson. https://t.co/nJ7Nv89U0M pic.twitter.com/ouldY80a2h
— FBI SanFrancisco (@FBISanFrancisco)
Around the time of the fire, church leaders told asbarez.com that they suspected the fire was harassment. The incident followed an act of vandalism back in July when someone spray-painted the Krouzian-Zekarian Vasbouragan Armenian School and the adjacent community center with anti-Armenian, pro-Azerbaijani graffiti.
Inside of St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church after fire. (FBI)
“For some context, in our history and around the globe, every time Armenians have been targeted, they come for our churches and our schools,” Alex Bastian, deputy chief of staff for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, tweeted at the time. “But you know what? It’s very hard to terrorize my community, no matter how hard people try. We are hardened by the millennia of hardship and the centuries of injustice. Most of us in the community are refugees, or the children of refugees, from war zones around the world.”
The FBI asked that anyone with information concerning the case contact the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office at (415) 553-7400, the San Francisco Police Department’s Anonymous Tip Line at (415) 575-4444, or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD, which guarantees the callers’ anonymity. You may also contact your local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or you can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
To see more photos of the damage from the fire, visit the FBI’s website.
Armenia’s Defence Ministry has reported that 73 Armenian soldiers have gone missing in Nagorno-Karabakh following skirmishes near the villages of Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher.
Videos published on Telegram over the past several days appear to show a number of Armenian soldiers in Azerbaijani captivity. A number of Armenian residents have since come forward and said that they recognised relatives in the videos, adding that they were part of a volunteer contingent deployed to Khtsaberd (Chaylaggala) and Hin Tagher (Kohna Taghlar).
In a live address on 16 December, Nagorno-Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan stated that ‘dozens of Armenian soldiers had fallen captive near Khtsaberd’.
Skirmishes took place in and around the two villages from 11-13 December.
They were the only remaining populated settlements in the Hadrut region under Armenian control since the tripartite peace declaration was announced on 9 November.
According to the Nagorno-Karabakh Infocentre, Azerbaijani forces violated the ceasefire and during the ensuing battle, managed to enter Hin Tagher and the vicinity of Khtsaberd. The Armenian side reported that six soldiers were wounded as a result.
The skirmish apparently continued until 13 December, when Russian peacekeeping forces entered the two villages.
In a statement on 13 December, Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry said that the Azerbaijani military had conducted an ‘anti-terrorist operation’, in response to Armenian forces they claimed had remained ‘in forested areas’ and had carried out the attack. They said the attacks had left four Azerbaijani soldiers dead and one civilian was injured.
Soon after Russian peacekeepers entered Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher on 13 December, the Russian Defence Ministry released a new version of its peacekeeping map in which the two villages fell under Armenian-controlled territory, extending to the south in a narrow strip of territory. Previous maps had shown Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher under the Azerbaijani side of the ‘line of contact’ between the two sides and outside the mandate of the peacekeeping forces.
A map from the Russian Defence Ministry from 13 December showing a new line of contact in the South. An updated map on 14 December.
The next day on 14 December, Russian peacekeeping forces again updated their map of Nagorno-Karabakh — this time excluding the two villages from the territory under their supervision.
Russian news publication Kommersant reported that the skirmishes were at least in part a result of differing interpretations of the 9 November declaration.
Azerbaijani officials have publicly stated that they understand point 4 of the agreement, ‘the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation is deployed in parallel with the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces’ to mean the complete withdrawal of Armenian troops from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Kommersant cites sources within the Armenian government as telling them that the Armenian government understands the document to mean that Armenian forces needed to withdraw only from areas outside of the Soviet-era boundaries of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO).
Additionally, point 1 of the agreement states that, excluding the areas outside of the former NKAO, ‘the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia […] shall stay at the positions they occupy’. As Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd are on the territory of the former NKAO, the Armenian authorities understood it to mean that Armenian troops would remain stationed in the villages.
There has been no official explanation from the Russian authorities as to why the map was changed to include and then subsequently to exclude Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd from the peacekeepers’ mandate.
Additional clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh have also been reported. On 13 December, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry reported that Azerbaijani forces broke the ceasefire near the Armenian controlled villages of Mets Shen and Hin Shen, located near the Azerbaijani controlled city of Shusha (Shushi).
According to Nagorno-Karabakh presidential spokesperson Vahram Poghosyan, the Russian peacekeeping forces were able to negotiate with Azerbaijani forces and that the latter left the bases they had set up around the villages. Poghosyan stated that Armenian Armed Forces and Russian peacekeeping forces are now stationed in the villages of Hin Shen (Kirov) and Mets Shen (Boyuk Galadarasi).
Azerbaijani authorities have not commented on the incident.
Armenian authorities stated on 15 December that the Defence Army had lost contact with several military bases near Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd that evening and that a search was underway to find them or confirm their capture with the help of the Russian peacekeeping forces.
After the dissemination of videos purportedly showing the POWs on Telegram, Armenia’s Human Rights Defender, Arman Tatoyan, stated that information on the POWs featured in the videos, which are based on reports of their relatives who have identified them, has been sent to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Both Tatoyan and Nagorno-Karabakh Human Rights Defender Artak Beglaryan have stated that Armenian and Nagorno-Karabakh authorities must provide clear information to the relatives of the POWs and communicate with the public as transparently as possible in order to avoid ‘misinformation and unnecessary tensions’.
During an interview with Azatutyun on 16 December, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that ‘there was information from the Armenian side that several Russian peacekeepers were also surrounded [by Azerbaijani forces] near Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd’
‘We have a certain crisis situation there,’ he said.
Pashinyan’s claim was denied by the Russian Defence Ministry. ‘Information about the alleged encirclement of units of the Russian peacekeeping forces by one of the parties in Nagorno-Karabakh does not correspond to reality’, a statement by the ministry reads.
For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.