Author: Ara Felekian

COVID-19: Armenian CDC reports 360 new cases

Ara Felekian

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 11:03, 3 March, 2021

YEREVAN, MARCH 3, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian National Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports 360 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the cumulative total number of confirmed cases to 172,816.

The total number of recoveries reached 163,906 (168 in the last 24 hours).

Two people died from COVID-19 complications, raising the death toll to 3202. This number doesn’t include the deaths of 819 other individuals (1 in the last 24 hours) infected with the virus, who according to authorities died from other, pre-existing illnesses.

As of 11:00, March 3 the number of active cases stood at 4889.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Thousands of opposition supporters rally in Armenia to demand PM Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation

Ara Felekian
The Globe and Mail, Canada
March 3 2021

Avet Demourian
YEREVAN, Armenia
The Associated Press
Published March 3, 2021 Updated 3 hours ago

Opposition supporters rally outside the National Assembly building to demand Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation over his handling of last year’s war with Azerbaijan, in Yerevan, on March 3, 2021. KAREN MINASYAN/AFP/Getty Images

Armenian authorities on Wednesday deployed snipers in the parliament building as thousands of protesters rallied nearby, and launched a criminal probe against a top opposition leader amid the country’s spiralling political crisis.

Thousands of opposition supporters rallied in the Armenian capital Wednesday to demand the prime minister’s resignation, amid a heavy presence of security forces.

Nikol Pashinyan has faced opposition demands to step down since he signed a November peace deal that ended fierce fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, in which Azerbaijan routed the Armenian forces.

The political tensions escalated last week when the military’s General Staff demanded Pashinyan’s resignation, and he responded by firing the chief of the General Staff, Col. Gen. Onik Gasparyan.

On Wednesday, about 10,000 opposition demonstrators rallied outside the parliament building at a time when Pashinyan arrived to attend a session.

As part of tight security measures, security agents armed with sniper rifles took positions in the building’s windows and on its roof and remotely controlled stun grenades were placed in a park outside.

Vazgen Manukyan, a veteran politician whom the opposition named as a prospective caretaker prime minister, denounced the security measures as an attempt by Pashinyan to scare his opponents.

The country’s top investigative agency said Wednesday it has accused the 75-year-old Manukyan, who served as prime minister in 1990-91 when Armenia was still part of the Soviet Union and served as defence minister when it became independent, of making calls for the seizure of power and violent change of the constitutional order.

The prime minister’s order to dismiss the chief of the General Staff is subject to approval by Armenia’s largely ceremonial president, Armen Sarkissian, who has refused to endorse it. Some legal experts argued that the order would take effect automatically following Sarkissian’s failure to contest it in the nation’s high court, but others pointed to legal caveats that could allow the top military officer to stay on.

Manukyan, the opposition leader, warned that if Pashinyan manages to force the military chief out, the army would likely disobey the prime minister.

As part of manoeuvring to defuse the political crisis, Pashinyan offered to hold a snap parliamentary vote later this year but rejected the opposition’s demand to step down before the vote and let a caretaker successor take the helm.

Pashinyan has faced opposition demands to resign since Nov. 10 when a Russia-brokered peace deal ended six weeks of intense fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. The agreement saw Azerbaijan reclaim control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas that had been held by Armenian forces for more than a quarter-century.

Pashinyan, a 45-year-old former journalist who came to power after leading large street protests in 2018 that ousted his predecessor, still enjoys wide support despite the defeat in the fighting that lasted 44 days and killed more than 6,000.

He has argued that the peace deal was the only way to prevent Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region, which lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994.

Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeepers to monitor the peace deal.

Armenian CDC reports 240 new coronavirus cases

Ara Felekian

 11:07, 2 March, 2021

YEREVAN, MARCH 2, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s National Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports 240 new cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the cumulative total number of confirmed cases to 172,456.

With 227 recoveries, the total number of recoveries reached 163,738.

5 people died from COVID-19 complications, raising the death toll to 3200. This number doesn’t include the deaths of 818 other individuals (1 in the last 24 hours) infected with the virus, who according to authorities died from other, pre-existing illnesses.

As of 11:00, March 2 the number of active cases stood at 4700.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Nothing should imperil people’s right to form Government – Pm Pashinyan

Ara Felekian

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 19:28, 1 March, 2021

YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan assesses the right of the people to form a Government as one of the key achievements. ARMENPRESS reports Nikol Pashinyan emphasized during the rally at the Republican Square that all the existing crisis situations should not be solved at the expanse of the Constitutional rights of the people, but vice the versa, by the reaffirmation of the people’s power.

‘’Nothing should imperil people’s right to form a Government, but the contrary, that right must be reinforced. This means only the people should decide in Armenia who should be in power and who should not. The key point of the crisis we are now undergoing is just that. Some forces are trying to take away the power from the hands of the people and we have gathered at the Square to say that we will not allow that’’, Nikol Pashinyan said.

On February 27, President Armen Sarkissian refused to approve Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s motion on dismissing the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan. The President returned the motion with objections. Shortly afterwards, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan again forwarded the same motion to the President. The President has three days to either approve it or apply to the Constitutional Court.




Armenian army demands prime minister resign | TheHill

Ara Felekian
The Hill, DC
Feb 25 2021
By Zack Budryk – 02/25/21 10:13 AM EST

Armenia’s army has demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan over his management of a six-week conflict with Azerbaijan.

The conflict took place in 2020 in the Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave internationally considered part of Azerbaijan but which has a majority ethnic Armenian population. The 2020 fighting ended with Armenian forces ceding territory to Azerbaijan, leading to calls for Pashinyan’s resignation. The prime minister has said he takes responsibility for the outcome but will not step down, Reuters reported.

The army officially called for the prime minister’s resignation Thursday, saying “the ineffective management of the current authorities and the serious mistakes in foreign policy have put the country on the brink of collapse.”

It specifically cites his decision to fire the first deputy head of the Armenian army’s general staff.

Pashinyan rejected the army’s call for his resignation and said the demand constituted an attempted coup. “The most important problem now is to keep the power in the hands of the people, because I consider what is happening to be a military coup,” he said in a Facebook livestream.

Pashinyan said in his livestream that he has fired the head of general staff of the armed forces, which also requires the approval of President Armen Sargsyan.

The prime minister then addressed a crowd of thousands of supporters outside the main government building in the capital of Yerevan. “The danger of the coup is manageable,” Pashinyan said, according to Reuters. “We don’t have enemies inside Armenia. We have only brothers and sisters.”

Pashinyan is set to deliver additional remarks later in the day.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his Armenian counterpart that the Kremlin, which has a military base in the former Soviet state, is closely monitoring the situation but considers it a domestic matter at this point, according to Reuters.

Kremlin says Armenia should comply with Karabakh ceasefire agreements despite crisis

Ara Felekian
Reuters
Feb 26 2021

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin on Friday said Armenia should comply with agreements reached with Azerbaijan after last year’s Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, despite the political upheaval in Armenia, with the army on Thursday demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan quit.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan marches through the streets of the capital Yerevan with his supporters after accusing the military of mounting an attempted coup.

Thousands rallied behind Pashinyan after the army’s written demand plunged the impoverished former Soviet republic of less than 3 million into a new political crisis in what he said was an attempted coup.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Alison Williams)

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 02/27/2021

Ara Felekian 
                                        Saturday, 
Armenian President Refuses To Sack Army Chief
Armenia -- President Armen Sarkissian addresses the nation, November 16, 2020.
President Armen Sarkissian on Saturday refused to fire Armenia’s top army 
general who has demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and 
his government.
He said the sacking of Colonel-General Onik Gasparian sought by Pashinian would 
be unconstitutional and would not address the “unprecedented” political crisis 
in the country.
Pashinian petitioned Sarkissian on Thursday to sign a decree relieving Gasparian 
of his duties shortly after the chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff and 
40 other high-ranking officers issued a joint statement that accused the 
government of misrule and demanded its resignation.
Pashinian rejected the demand as a “military coup attempt.” By contrast, 
Armenian opposition groups trying to oust him over his handling of the autumn 
war in Nagorno-Karabakh voiced support for the military’s top brass.
Sarkissian held a series of talks with senior representatives of the ruling My 
Step bloc, opposition leaders and Gasparian before announcing his decision not 
to sign a relevant presidential decree drafted by Pashinian’s office.
ARMENIA -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his supporters march 
during a rally in Yerevan, February 25, 2021
Citing “leading lawyers and independent experts,” the president suggested that 
the proposed decree runs counter to the Armenian constitution. He also noted 
that Pashinian demanded Gasparian’s sacking after the military’s unprecedented 
statement and amid a “political crisis” and “serious security challenges” facing 
Armenia.
“There is no doubt that the armed forces must maintain neutrality on political 
issues,” Sarkissian said in a statement. “It is also evident that because of the 
war the military personnel now need our support and attention more than ever 
before. Solving problems of the army and its personnel is a top priority that 
cannot be ignored in any way.”
“The existing situation is unprecedented, requires systemic and comprehensive 
solutions, and cannot be resolved with frequent personnel changes that do not 
take into account the state of affairs in the country,” added the statement.
It insisted that the head of state, who has largely ceremonial powers, “does not 
support any political force.”
The Armenian constitution allows the prime minister to again demand that 
Sarkissian sack Gasparian. In that case, the president can sign the relevant 
decree or ask the Constitutional Court to rule on its legality.
Armenia -- Opposition supporters demonstrate in Yerevan to demand Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian's resignation, .
Pashinian was quick to criticize Sarkissian’s decision not to sack the army 
chief. “This decision does not help at all to settle the current situation,” he 
wrote on Facebook, adding that he is resending the draft decree to the president.
Sarkissian's move was swiftly welcomed by an alliance of Armenian parties that 
continued to stage demonstrations in Yerevan aimed at forcing Pashinian to step 
down.
One of the alliance leaders, Vazgen Manukian, described it as a “great victory” 
when he addressed supporters of the Homeland Salvation Movement before they 
again marched through the city center. Manukian again called on Armenia’s police 
and the National Security Service to join the military in demanding Pashinian’s 
resignation.
The opposition alliance holds Pashinian responsible for the Armenian side’s 
defeat in the six-week war with Azerbaijan stopped by a Russian-brokered 
ceasefire on November 10. Sarkissian has likewise called on the prime minister 
to hand over power to an interim government tasked with holding snap 
parliamentary elections.
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.

National Assembly extraordinary sitting initiated by the opposition factions does not take place

Ara Felekian

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 19:21,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS.  The National Assembly extraordinary sitting initiated by ‘’Prosperous Armenia’’ and ‘’Bright Armenia’’ Parties did not take place, ARMENPRESS reports MP representing the ‘’Prosperous Armenia’’ Party Iveta Tonoyan said during the protest near the National Assembly.

‘’The National Assembly sitting had to take place at 18:00, but none of the MPs representing the ruling bloc arrived. This means that this government rules out any civilized option for stepping down’’, she said.

We should stay ready to instantly take power through uprising every moment – Vazgen Manukyan

Ara Felekian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 20 2021

“The moment is exciting, as 33 years ago on this day and under similar weather conditions we gathered here for our first rally that marked the beginning of the Karabakh movement,” Vazgen Manukyan, the candidate for the PM’s post from the Homeland Salvation Movement stated on Saturday during the opposition rally in Yerevan. 

Manukyan reminded that after the Genocide ‘Artsakh was the only island settled by ethnic Armenians’ who applied to rejoin with Armenia. “Artsakh applied to Mother Armenia with a desire to rejoin, and the whole nation stood up,” said Manukyan. He reminded that the Karabakh movement formulated the primary task of creating an independent state based on ideas of freedom and liberty, justice in the state and prosperity for the whole people not only for a group. 

Speaking of ‘the 2018 revolution’ in Armenia and its consequences, Manukyan said: “What do we have after three years? We have lost everything. All our military victories vanished. Our country is not even independent, as our security is ensured by Russia which means we are totally dependent on Russians in security issues. They [government] tried to eliminate the national ideas. They have spoken about freedom, while in reality our country is turning into a police state where dedicated and patriotic people are arrested,” said Manukyan, pointing also to the unfortunate situation in the economy.  

The opposition figure next spoke of the two options as a way out of the existing situation, which, in his words, require the removal of the current leaders in the first place.  

“Only after that real actions may follow. Some of the steps are not only about recovering what we have lost, but also building the state we have dreamed about. If Pashinyan is gone or replaced by others who are fond of electoral fraud, money and thirst for power,  we will again fail. It will be quite difficult as we need to rebuild our army, and our security should be ensured not by Russian but Armenian troops,” said Manukyan. 

“Let me state that no matter how many rallies we hold Pashinyan may not leave the post on this own. That is why we should break the pillars supporting him. Which are those pillars? First, they are the part of our compatriots who does not realize the way our country moves forward. Our task is to explain these citizens the real state of affairs in the country. The law enforcement is the second pillar – the Police the National Security Service. They do not perceive they are serving the Turkish-Azerbaijani interests. We should be tough and convincing at the same time. We should also leave an exit strategy for those parliamentarians who are still supporting Pashinyan. Armenia must boil,” said Manukyan. 

As to the second option, Manukyan noted every moment they should stay ready to uprise and instantly take the power. 

“We will proceed with the first option, always staying ready for the second one,” concluded the oppositionist. 

Armenia parliament majority leader says she doesn’t know why Nikol Pashinyan isn’t visiting Artsakh after war

Ara Felekian
News.am, Armenia
Feb 19 2021
Armenia parliament majority leader says she doesn’t know why Nikol Pashinyan isn’t visiting Artsakh after war
16:03, 19.02.2021

It is wrong to claim that representatives of the Armenian authorities haven’t been visiting Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) since the end of the war. This is what leader of the My Step faction of the National Assembly of Armenia Lilit Makunts told reporters in parliament today when she was asked if the authorities of Armenia are prohibited from visiting Artsakh or if there is a problem with visits.

“The deputies of my faction visit Artsakh. For instance, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, one of our deputies, is actively dealing with the problems regarding Armenian prisoners of war, and she and other deputies pay visits to Artsakh on a regular basis,” she said.

As for the political elite, Makunts said she can only speak on behalf of the parliamentary faction and isn’t aware of the political authorities’ schedules for visits.