09:01, 11 March, 2021
YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has big opportunities in the high-tech and tourism sectors, and the government of the Netherlands is already working with the Armenian government in several directions, such as cadastre reforms and agriculture, the Ambassador of Netherlands to Armenia Nico Schermers told ARMENPRESS, presenting their plans and upcoming activities.
The ambassador attached importance to the establishment of the Dutch embassy in Yerevan, which in his words will make cooperation more effective. He said that now the technical issues are being solved and soon the embassy will be opened.
“We have several political programs with the government of Armenia, first of all it is the support to rule of law and democracy in Armenia. The rule of law is important not only in terms of security, but also attracting foreign direct investments, and overall in terms of economic development. Our next priority is supporting human rights. If people have equal opportunities for development and integration, and so on, then the country’s economy will also be on a high level,” the Dutch ambassador said.
Schermers also highlighted cooperation in agriculture, stressing that it is a very important sector for Netherlands.
“I think that there are numerous cooperation areas and we can support Armenia, and Armenia has a lot to offer to us,” he said.
Ambassador Schermers spoke highly about their work with the Armenian government. “There is always room for improvement, and this is the reason why we are opening an embassy in Armenia, so that we make our cooperation better and more effective. In addition, for me it is truly a pleasure to be in Armenia, to work with Armenians and to get to know the culture. I’ve met many Armenians and I received the warmth of Armenian hospitality. This is a very hospitable country and I hope that I will be here for many years,” he said.
Since the beginning of his diplomatic mission in Armenia in August 2020, the Ambassador of the Netherlands says he has already managed to visit numerous cultural sites and sightseeing locations. He pointed out the temple of Garni, the Geghard monastery and the Symphony of Stones, a portion of the Garni Gorge.
“The Armenian mountains are unique, I spend a lot of time in Tsakhkadzor, which is one of my favorite places,” he added.
Interview by Karen Khachatryan
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Armenia’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan on Saturday deplored a government-drafted bill which would cut the funding of the Ombudsman’s Office as “discriminatory”.
“It seeks to cut only the funding of the human rights defender,” Tatoyan told a news conference on Saturday.
Examining the financing of other state institutions, the Ombudsman’s Office found out that there are ministries which receive 9 billion drams, 32 billion drams, 211 billion drams and 200 billion drams. There are institutions independent of the government, which have funding in the amount of more than 1 billion drams. There are independent bodies, the funding of which has increased to over 100 million drams, the ombudsman said.
Arman Tatoyan highlighted the increase of complaints filed with the Ombudsman’s Office, noting in 2015 they received 5,214 complaints, while in 2020 – almost 15,000 complaints.
“In the first two months of this year alone, we received 3,000 complaints. In 2020, we received 300 complaints per month for a while. In 2020, we received 12,000 calls only through the hotline. These numbers do not include our visits. The issues that received positive solutions also increased several times,” Tatoyan said.
He stressed that after the 2020 war in Artsakh the workload of the Human Rights Defender’s Office has increased dramatically, covering new issues and areas, including issues related to prisoners of war, missing persons and Armenia’s borders.
“Can you imagine how overloaded we are? Complaints about all the ministries and state structures are filed to us,” he said.
Tatoyan reminded that earlier the government had taken some of the official cars from the Ombudsman’s Office.
“At first, the government proposed to take 8 cars, most of which were purchased through EU funds. Then, without waiting for our opinion, to be honest, I delayed because of the heavy workload, it was decided to take 7. It made 70-80% of our cars. Such a decision would create serious obstacles, thus a decision was made to take only 3,” he said.
Tatoyan underlined that they use these cars to visit psychiatric institutions, boarding schools, penitentiary institutions, children’s homes, border settlements and police departments. Moreover, in most cases, these visits are confidential.
“In addition, our drivers are obliged to keep secret the findings and our discussions in the cars … There are completely different principles here,” he said.
13:43,
YEREVAN, MARCH 12, ARMENPRESS. German lawmaker Mark Hauptmann (CDU) has resigned amid lobbying allegations, Deutsche Welle reports.
Hauptmann’s departure follows a report by news magazine Spiegel over Azerbaijani, Taiwanese and Vietnamese tourism ads run in the “Südthüringer Kurier,” a CDU-near local newspaper he publishes. He had been accused of accepting money from foreign agencies.
He denies wrongdoing.
Mark Hauptmann is the third German parliamentarian among Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives to exit over lobbying claims.
On March 5, the Bundestag stripped MP Axel Fischer from immunity to pave way for an investigation into alleged bribery from Azeri authorities.
Rally of Fatherland Salvation Movement kicks off at Baghramyan Avenue
17:47, 9 March, 2021
YEREVAN, MARCH 9, ARMENPRESS. The rally of opposition Fatherland Salvation Movement has kicked off at Baghramyan Avenue. ARMENPRESS reports the participants of the rally continue to keep the avenue blocked, demanding PM Pashinyan’s resignation.
Member of the Movement, representative of the ARF Supreme Body Ishkhan Saghatelyan had told the reporters on March 8 that they will decided the future steps during the rally.
He had also said that they do not plan to unblock the avenue and will continue their struggle.
March 1, 2021
At His Own Rally, Pashinyan Again Backtracks on Snap Elections
Homeland Salvation Movement activists, who have been blocking Baghramyan Street for days, were joined by thousands of other protesters on Monday, when the movement held a rally in support of the Armenian Armed Forces under the banner of “Nation, Army, Victory.”
Minutes later, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, whose resignation the Homeland Salvation Movement is demanding, held his own rally at Republic Square, where he told his supporters that he would call snap parliamentary elections if the parliamentary opposition agreed to it. This was another u-turn by the prime minister who weeks ago announced that snap elections were not necessary because there wasn’t enough popular support for them, at that time, backtracking from a pledge he had made in December to consult with all political factions and schedule snap polls.
The Homeland Salvation Movement followers continued to voice their support for the Armed Forces Chief of Staff Colonel-General Onik Gasparyan, who on Thursday issued an announcement calling for Pashinyan’s resignation. This statement was also supported by Armenia’s military brass and sparked a very public disagreement between the prime minister and the president, who opposed Gasparyan’s firing by Pashinyan.
One of the speakers at the rally, former defense minister Seyran Ohanyan, said the purpose of the rally was to express support to the Armed Forces. “Today we all stand in the ranks of the Armenian army,” said Ohanyan who urged the law enforcement bodies to not interfere in the activities of the army, calling on the people to support the Armed Forces.
“Keep your back straight and your fists raised up high. For four months every day has been November 9,” said Ruben Mkhitaryan, referring to the agreement Pashinyan signed, along with the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan to end the military actions in Karabakh. The agreement also called for the surrender of the territories in Artsakh and Armenia to Azerbaijan.
Saying that “November 9 continues every day and night,” Mkhitaryan said in order to have a better future Armenia needs to rid itself of Nikol Pashinyan.
“These people [the government] aren’t going heal wounds. They want to prove that for them their positions are more important,” said Armenian Revolutionary Federation Supreme Council of Armenia member Taron Tonoyan in an address the rally.
“They [the country’s leadership] already retreated when they proposed dialogue and elections. When they thought that the movement on the street had diminished, they said there is not public demand [for elections]… For them the security of Armenia has no value,” added Tonoyan.
The ARF leader added that for the past three years the country’s leadership divided the nation, disenfranchised the army and called academicians, intellectuals and businesspeople “looters,” saying that the reason for all this was became the leadership “loves their positions more than the homeland.”
Ishkhan Saghatelyan, the chairman of the ARF Supreme Council of Armenia and the coordinator of the Homeland Salvation Movement, referenced an apology issued Pashinyan during his dueling rally at Republic Square.
“We are not going to bring our lost boys [soldiers] with an apology; we are not going to bring back Shushi and Hadrut with an apology. We are not going to be satisfied with an apology. You have to leave,” said Saghatelyan referring to Pashinyan.
The Homeland Salvation Movement’s candidate for prime minister Vazgen Manukyan told protesters that “we not only must rebuild what we had in the past, we must achieve a higher level,” saying that the mistakes of the past allowed Pashinyan to come to power and “for the enemy to invade Armenia. If we continue in the same vein the enemies will again invade Armenia.”
At the conclusion of the rally, the protesters marched the presidential office and expressed their support to President Armen Sarkissian. Earlier in the day, Sarkissian again rejected a proposal by Pashinyan to fire Colonel-General Gasparyan.
During his rally, Pashinyan said he would agree to snap elections if the parliamentary opposition supports that proposal. He also called for a new constitution that envisions a semi-presidential form of government for Armenia.
Pashinyan also offered an apology to the all Armenians in Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora for the “mistakes that I have allowed.” He said the reason mistakes were allowed because the “government was popular and well-liked.”
He, once again, blamed the previous governments and opposition forces for the shortcomings of his administration.
International Azerbaijani-language media outlets have begun to react to the statements of Armenia’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan that the border process in Syunik Province violates the rights of residents. These statements refer to the assertions of impermissibility of the presence of the Azerbaijani armed forces, signs and flags in Syunik, Tatoyan said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
“The BBC Azerbaijani Service, in response to the Armenian Ombudsman’s statement, has reported that the Azerbaijani authorities have not responded to that “accusation”. By so opining, an attempt is made to characterize the Ombudsman’s statements that the rights of the border residents of Syunik region were violated or endangered due to the border-related process as unsubstantiated or baseless,” he said, sharing the link of the report.
“The Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia once again firmly states that the process related to the borders with Azerbaijan in Syunik and Gegharkunik Provinces of Armenia is not based on the rule of law and contradicts the principles of international law.
“The main logic remains the same: the border demarcation process can not disrupt the normal living conditions of border residents, nor can it violate their rights. The issue here is not only human rights to houses and land, but also to water resources, livelihoods, and so on.
“All possible damages or injuries that a person or a person engaged in business can suffer must also be calculated. All of this should also be the subject of international negotiations and discussions.
“There can be no conditions for a person that justify the disruption of one’s normal life in his/her own permanent residence simply because a person’s rights have not been taken into account due to some border process,” Tatoyan said.
15:04, 25 February, 2021
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. The two opposition parties of the Armenian Parliament, the Prosperous Armenia (BHK) and Bright Armenia (LHK), have initiated a petition among lawmakers in order to convene an emergency session of parliament after the military demanded the resignation of PM Nikol Pashinyan.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan