10:43, 4 March, 2021
STEPANAKERT, MARCH 4, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh search and rescue teams did not find any remains of war casualties in the southern direction of Artsakh during the recent search operation, the country’s interior ministry said.
3 search and rescue detachments continue the search operations in Jrakan, Hadrut and the southern parts of Kashatagh.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
The candidate of the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement for an interim prime minister, Vazgen Manukyan, has asked GM Levon Aronian to reconsider his decision to leave Armenia.
The Armenian chess star announced his decision to leave the country and switch to the U.S. on 26 February, accusing the authorities of turning away from chess in general and him personally.
In an appeal to Aronian on Thursday, Manukyan said he was deeply saddened to learn about the grandmaster’s decision.
“Armenia has always been proud of you; you have been our pride and a source of inspiration for thousands of teenagers and young people. Thanks to your efforts, Armenian chess has conquered new heights and achieved numerous victories for our country,” the opposition leader noted.
“You are right, the current authorities succeeded in dividing the friendly chess family and creating chaos in the field, just like in all the other sectors and the whole country. But believe me, the people will no longer allow the victories of our country and talented sons be blown away.
The current government will leave soon, and through joint efforts we will handle the chaos in every sphere, restore our dignity and victory, while the state will again support chess at the highest level, since this is one of our visiting cards in the world.
“I am asking you to find a way to reconsider your decision. I am also ready to meet with you and other leading chess players to discuss issues related not only to chess, but also to your invaluable contribution to the development of our country’s future,” Manukyan said.
Political scientist Andranik Tevanyan, who heads the Political Economy Research Institute, urged the Prosecutor’s Office of Armenia and law enforcement agencies to take action following former President Robert Kocharyan’s remarks at a press conference on Thursday.
“At a news conference for the Russian media, Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan raised very specific questions concerning Nikol Pashinyan’s guilt and betrayal in the Artsakh war,” he wrote on Facebook.
“The Armenian Prosecutor’s Office and law enforcement agencies are obliged to take appropriate measures. Otherwise, they may become accomplices,” Tevanyan said.
The writer is a Deputy Researcher at TRT World Research Centre. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Politics from Queen Mary University of London and a Master of Arts in Transnational Studies from University College London.
ISTANBUL
Nikol Pashinyan, a former journalist and marginal figure of the opposition, became the leader of Armenia after the “velvet revolution” of 2018. Apart from his pro-Western and “pro-peace” image, his profile indeed mattered because his two predecessors were prominent members of the “Karabakh clan” who had a direct involvement in the war crimes committed against Azerbaijani civilians during the war in the early 1990s. As a result, many hoped that Pashinyan would be a man of peace and finally turn the page of war and help resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
However, Pashinyan’s so-called “peaceful” rhetoric died down a year after coming to power. His messages became more aggressive vis-à-vis Azerbaijan and his speeches in the occupied territories fueled more tensions. The violations of the ceasefire in his tenure led to the attempted Armenian attack on Tovuz last summer. The latter failed but the continued provocations by the Armenian side increased the risk of war exponentially.
The implications of these provocations prompted the Azerbaijani army to launch a counteroffensive, which resulted in a full-scale war between the two countries. The ensuing 44-day war became a disaster for Armenia and its prime minister, as Azerbaijan liberated much of its occupied land and exposed the vulnerability of the Armenian armed forces.
The war came to an end thanks to the trilateral agreement signed in November. The agreement, however, resulted in increasing Russian pressure over Yerevan, combined with the devastating effects of the war on Armenian society. As a result, Pashinyan has been placed in the cross hairs by various quarters.
The military command’s tacit support was one of the main elements that helped Pashinyan to hold on to power after the 44-day war. When the furious mob stormed the parliament and attacked the personal quarters of the prime minister, the armed forces and police chose to protect the status quo.
Nevertheless, the military institution had some unaddressed grievances pertaining to the war. As a result, the military command issued a statement demanding the prime minister’s resignation right after Pashinyan’s dismissal of Tiran Khachatryan, the second highest-ranking official in the armed forces.
The primary reason for Khachatryan’s dismissal is connected to the scandal of the unusable Russian weaponry during the Nagorno-Karabakh war. Armenian forces used Russian-made Iskander missiles to target Azerbaijani civilian centers. However, most of the missiles failed to hit their targets. Notwithstanding the war crime per se, Khachatryan defended the efficiency of the missiles, thereby publicly contradicting the prime minister. The jury is still out to determine whether the general acted as the mouthpiece of Moscow . One thing is clear, though: the general’s statement caused his dismissal and created greater frictions between the military and the government.
The military leadership stood in defense of Khachatryan and criticized the government’s foreign policy, objecting to the army being targeted as a scapegoat after the war. While Chief of the Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan was dismissed by the prime minister, the Armenian president still did not sanction the two dismissals despite Khachatryan’s comments, adding to the confusion.
The military’s involvement in the civilian administration is a threat to the democratic process in Armenia. Even though Pashinyan has made mistakes during his term, he remains an elected leader with widespread popular support, as he recently proved, once again, by walking in the streets of Yerevan and gathering his supporters for a rally.
Russia’s official position on the attempted coup is interesting. The Kremlin described the event as an internal affair. Subsequently, some observers suspect that Russia is involved in this situation. Moscow never welcomed the pro-Western direction of Pashinyan. Others claimed that Russia did not become involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh war until the last moment to punish the prime minister. Some consider this attempt to be a false flag operation to gauge the support for Pashinyan. If these scenarios hold some truth, Russia’s greater game could possibly be focused on bringing a pro-Russian leader to Yerevan to ensure that the country does not seek an alternative path by moving closer to the West and becoming less dependent on Russia.
Turkey was one of the first countries to condemn the failed coup against the elected government. Likewise, Azerbaijan expressed its concern about any unpredictable change in Armenia, as the November agreement’s integrity is a priority for the preservation of peace. The prospect of a new leader in Armenia supported by a pro-Russian military head may well reignite the conflict. Therefore, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev warned Armenia against “revanchist thinking” and stated that the war had ended.
Washington has once again prioritized its pro-democratic interests and expressed support for a civilian administration in Yerevan. The anti-Russian stance of the new Biden administration could be decisive in determining Pashinyan’s fate. After the latest coup attempt, Armenia’s prime minister is faced with a tough decision: either siding totally with Moscow or getting closer to the West. Considering the Russian military base in Armenia, the Russian troops in Karabakh and increasing domestic instability, the price of any split with Moscow could be fatal.
The situation in Armenia remains unstable and will most probably lead to a new election rather than a civil war. Fortunately, the first serious attempt of the armed forces has had no major consequences for now. However, this endeavor shows that the power grip can easily slide away from Pashinyan’s grasp despite all the popular support he has.
* Opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Anadolu Agency.
A military-civilian putsch broke out in Yerevan today (February 25) against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his government, who are blamed for Armenia’s disastrous defeat by Azerbaijan in the 44-day Second Karabakh War (September 27–November 9, 2020), for complying with the armistice terms, and for general mismanagement of the country.
Armenia’s top military brass demanded Pashinian’s resignation in a collective statement on February 25, backed instantly by a wide array of political parties, some of which were holding pre-scheduled protests in downtown Yerevan on the same day. Civilian opposition parties had organized protest actions almost continuously in Yerevan and some provinces since November, but they were not gaining much traction until the military leadership made its move today.
The military’s deep-seated discontent, hitherto concealed from public view, rose to a boiling point over a seemingly trivial incident: Pashinian’s February 23 interview with a state media outlet, in which he offered yet another self-serving account of the war, lashed out again at his critics, and displayed ignorance of the military issues he attempted to address. His clueless comments about the Russian Iskander missiles in this interview (News.am, February 23) went viral and were ridiculed in Armenia and Russia.
The matter may have been laid to rest had Pashinian not moved to dismiss Lieutenant General Tiran Khachatrian, the first deputy chief of staff of Armenia’s Armed Forces, from his post on February 24. Khachatrian, a recipient of the National Hero of Armenia medal in the Karabakh war, was punished for an interview of his own (News.am, February 24), in which he laughed openly and repeatedly at Pashinian’s earlier remarks. Armenia’s head of state, Armen Sarkissian (convalescing after medical treatment abroad), granted Pashinian’s wish and co-signed for Khachatrian’s removal.
On February 25, 40 senior officers of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff—among them 20 generals, including the commanders of five Army Corps, and 20 colonels of the General Staff—signed a public statement demanding the government’s resignation. The statement describes Pashinian as “ignoring the national interests, proceeding [instead] from personal sentiments and ambitions,” and the government as “incapable of taking adequate decisions for the Armenian people in this fateful crisis… The current authorities’ ineffective management and misconceived foreign policy have brought the country to disaster.” The Armed Forces’ chief of the General Staff, Colonel General Onik Gasparian, and his first deputy, Khachatrian, led the list of signatories (Arminfo, February 25).
Pashinian upped the ante with a statement terming the military leaders’ action as “an attempted coup d’état” and insinuating that they “rose against civilian authorities in order to avoid scrutiny into the details of the 44-day war.” Pashinian, moreover, ordered the chief of staff, General Gasparian (see above), dismissed; and he asked President Armen Sarkissian to co-sign the dismissal. Sarkissian, however, did not hasten to comply this time (Armenpress, February 25).
The prime minister promptly followed up with a televised appeal “to all” to immediately gather on Republic Square (Yerevan’s traditional venue for mass protests, including those led by Pashinian in the past) in order to thwart the “coup d’état.” Implicitly threatening to turn a crowd against the military high command, Pashinian warned the latter, “The military cannot be allowed to avoid accountability. We ourselves cannot fail to ask them certain questions in order to find out the truth about the war… Some Armenian generals do not like to answer society’s questions about certain events of this war. This does not mean that something must necessarily happen based on the answers, but answers must be given” (News.am, February 25). This final sentence seemed to contain an offer of leniency if the military desisted from the “coup.”
The defense minister, General (ret.) Vagarshak Harutiunian, appeared to remain silent through the day and evening. Two short, unsigned statements on the defense ministry’s behalf adopted an equidistant posture (Armenpress, February 25).
Pashinian’s party, My Step, holds a majority of almost two thirds in the current parliament (since 2018). The government’s resignation or ouster would probably trigger pre-term parliamentary elections, in which Pashinian’s party would be highly unlikely to match its 2018 performance.
Only two other parties are currently represented in the legislature, both opposing the government. These are Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia (an “oligarchic” party, associated with the old establishment) and Edmond Marukian’s Enlightened Armenia party (opposing both Pashinian and the old establishment, Marukian switched from pro-Western liberal to strident pro-Russia positions, as a political lesson of the lost war). These parties have joined a coalition of 17 small extra-parliamentary parties, including the old and still-influential Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutiun) in the anti-government protests on Republic Square. Former prime minister and defense minister Vazgen Manukian is the nominal leader of the 17-party alliance.
All these groups and personalities had been demanding the government’s resignation since November, along with all three former heads of state (Levon Ter-Petrosian, Robert Kocharian, Serge Sarkissian), both Catholicoses (of Etchmiadzin and of Cilicia), and an array of cultural institutions from the old establishment (see EDM, January 7). The military leadership’s entry into the fray should add the weight they seemed to lack thus far.
18:16,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian met with the leadership of ‘’Fatherland Salvation Movement’’ on February 26 – the joint candidate for Prime Minister of the movement Vazgen Manukyan, Artur Vanetsyan, Vahram Baghdasaryan and Artsvik Minasyan.
As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the President’s Office, during the meeting the sides exchanged views on the situation in the country, discussed options for de-escalating the situation and finding a peaceful solution to the issue.
The representatives of the opposition presented their views and approaches to the President.
16:48, 18 February, 2021
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. 9094 servicemen of the Armenian military were wounded in action during the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh War, the general prosecution announced today at a consultation on the military prosecution’s activities.
The final death toll isn’t yet available because of the ongoing identification of bodies and the search operations.
But the prosecution noted that in 2020 the bodies of 3389 servicemen were identified.
Speaking on the criminal cases related to the war, Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan said that it is necessary for a deep, comprehensive and fully objective investigation to give legal assessments to the Turkey-backed Azerbaijani war of aggression, the gross violations of international humanitarian law against servicemen, civilians and towns of Armenia and Artsakh, the Azeri crimes against humanity and use of prohibited munitions, as well as deployment of international terrorists by Azerbaijan.
Other issues related to the military were also discussed at the meeting.
Defense Minister V. Harutyunyan said that revealing all circumstances concerning the war is of urgent necessity.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
10:44,
STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. No bodies were found during search operations in Hadrut on February 15, the State Service of Emergency Situations said. But on the same day, the Azeri authorities transferred 1 body to Artsakh in the Madaghis region.
“According to preliminary information it is a body of a serviceman,” State Service of Emergency Situations spokesperson Hunan Tadevosyan told ARMENPRESS. The body will undergo medical examination for identification.
1379 bodies of the war casualties were retrieved since the ceasefire was signed in November 2020.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan