Author: Chmshkian Vicken

                                        Monday, 
Opposition Leader Under Investigation
        • Artak Khulian
Armenia -- Vazgen Manukian (C) and other leaders of the opposition Homeland 
Salvation Movement talk during a rally at Liberty Square, Yerevan, February 20, 
2021.
Police launched criminal proceedings against a veteran Armenian politician on 
Monday after he said that opposition forces trying to topple Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian must be ready to stage an uprising.
Vazgen Manukian made the statement in a speech delivered at a weekend rally held 
by the Homeland Salvation Movement, an alliance of more than a dozen opposition 
parties.
“At any moment -- it could be today, one week later or ten days later -- we must 
be ready for revolting and taking power at lightning speed,” said Manukian.
He described that as “Plan B” of the opposition campaign for Pashinian’s 
resignation involving peaceful protests. “We will follow Plan A but must always 
be ready for Plan B,” said the 75-year-old politician whom the opposition 
alliance wants to head an interim government to be formed after Pashinian’s 
resignation.
A spokeswoman for Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian said that the Armenian police 
launched a criminal investigation into public calls for a violent overthrow of 
the government. He told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that the criminal case has 
been sent to the Investigative Committee for further inquiry.
The law-enforcement authorities did not say whether Manukian will be summoned 
for questioning.
Manukian already floated the idea of an “uprising” when he met with opposition 
supporters late last month. His calls have not been officially endorsed by the 
Homeland Salvation Movement.
The alliance rallied thousands of supporters in Yerevan’s Liberty Square on 
Saturday in what its coordinator, Ishkhan Saghatelian, described as a “new 
start” of its drive to oust Pashinian. Saghatelian said the opposition forces 
will stage “nonstop” street protests in the coming days.
On Monday evening, a smaller crowd of opposition supporters marched to downtown 
Yerevan from the city’s northern Arabkir district. Opposition leaders addressed 
the protesters after blocking a key street intersection in the city center. They 
condemned the criminal case opened against Manukian.
“We want to save the Armenian nation and this state,” declared Manukian. He 
scoffed at the authorities’ reaction to his weekend statement, saying that 
“government buildings will fall into our hands like ripe pears.”
Armenian Government Critics Prosecuted Over ‘Fake’ Facebook Page
        • Naira Bulghadarian
        • Artak Khulian
Armenia - Karen Bekarian (L) and Ara Saghatelian.
Four anti-government activists were arrested and indicted over the weekend for 
allegedly creating a social media account that regularly spreads offensive 
comments about Armenia’s leadership.
Two of them were set free on Sunday and Monday in accordance with court orders.
The National Security Service (NSS) charged Ara Saghatelian, a former chief of 
the Armenian parliament staff, Karen Bekarian, a veteran pundit and former 
lawmaker, and two other men with calling for violence and criticizing government 
actions in breach of martial law declared during the autumn war in 
Nagorno-Karabakh.
In a statement, the NSS claimed that the “group” led by Saghatelian did that 
through a Facebook page opened in the name of a certain “Gagik Soghomonyan.” It 
cited in particular the “fake” Facebook user’s abusive statuses blaming Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian for Armenia’s defeat in the war, branding him a 
“traitor” and insulting his supporters.
The Facebook page continued to be updated after the arrests.
All four suspects denied any connection with “Gagik Soghomonyan.” Lawyers 
representing them dismissed the accusations as politically motivated.
A Yerevan court sanctioned on Sunday the two-month pre-trial arrest of 
Saghatelian, who had also run a government-funded public relations agency during 
former President Serzh Sarkisian’s rule. His lawyer said he will appeal against 
the decision.
Another, little-known suspect, Aram Sargsian, was also remanded in custody.
At the same time the court ordered Bekarian and the fourth suspect, Mher 
Avagian, released from jail. Avagian heads a non-governmental organization 
called the International Center for the Development of Parliamentarianism.
Bekarian described the criminal case as “political persecution” when he spoke to 
reporters following his release on Monday.
“When you can’t understand the essence of the case, can’t understand what is 
being prosecuted, when you see no logic [behind it] you quickly realize that the 
[investigators’] motive is completely different,” he said.
Bekarian used to represent Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK) in Armenia’s 
former parliament. He is a co-founder of the Qaryak Media company comprising a 
TV channel, a radio station and an online news website. All three media outlets 
are highly critical of the current government.
Representatives of the HHK and other opposition groups strongly condemned the 
arrests.
Yerevan Sees Stronger Russian Military Presence In Armenia
Armenia -- Russian and Armenian troops hold joint military exercises at the 
Alagyaz shooting range, September 24, 2020.
Russia is helping Armenia modernize its armed forces after the recent war in 
Nagorno-Karabakh and will also expand Russian military presence in the South 
Caucasus state, according to Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutiunian.
“The issue of expanding and reinforcing the Russian military base in the 
Republic of Armenia has always been on the agenda and the Armenian side has 
always been interested in that,” Harutiunian told the RIA Novosti news agency in 
an interview published on Monday.
“Of course, the leadership of Russia’s Defense Ministry has taken into account 
existing military-political realities in the region and taken right steps 
towards strengthening and rearming the base, and I’m sure that this is going to 
be a long-term process,” he said without elaborating.
Harutiunian stressed that there is “no need” to open a second Russian base in 
Armenia. “It’s probably more correct to speak about the possibility of a 
redeployment of a detachment of the [existing] Russian base, given its 
expansion, to Armenia’s eastern direction,” he said, adding that Moscow and 
Yerevan are already working on that.
Harutiunian referred to Armenia’s Syunik province bordering districts southwest 
of Karabakh which were retaken by Azerbaijan during and after the six-week war 
stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire on November 10. Russia deployed soldiers 
and border guards to the region to help the Armenian military defend it against 
possible Azerbaijani attacks.
Yerevan announced plans to further deepen Russian-Armenian military ties shortly 
after the war. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian stated on New Year’s Eve that his 
country now needs “new security guarantees.” Pashinian reaffirmed those plans at 
a January 11 meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Later in January, a delegation led by Colonel-General Sergei Istrakov, the 
deputy chief of the Russian military’s General Staff, visited Yerevan for nearly 
weeklong negotiations with the Armenian army’s top brass.
Harutiunian told RIA Novosti that the talks were aimed at “assisting us in the 
reform and modernization of Armenia’s armed forces.” The two sides worked out 
concrete “recommendations” on how to modernize the Armenian army in the current 
circumstances, he said.
“A very serious emphasis was put on the military-technical component of the 
matter,” the minister added in reference to arms acquisitions.
Russian military officials are thus already involved in Armenian defense reforms 
in “in the most direct way,” he said.
Armenia has long received Russian weapons at knockdown prices and even for free 
thanks to its bilateral defense agreements with Russia and membership in the 
Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization.
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.
 

                                        Saturday, 
Armenian Opposition Resumes Anti-Government Protests
        • Artak Khulian
Armenia -- Opposition supporters demonstrate in Yerevan to demand Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian's resignation, February 2021.
Traffic was brought to a standstill in much of central Yerevan on Saturday as an 
alliance of more than a dozen Armenian opposition parties resumed street 
protests aimed at forcing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian to resign.
The Homeland Salvation Movement alliance rallied several thousand supporters in 
the city’s Liberty Square in what its coordinator, Ishkhan Saghatelian, 
described as a “new start of our movement” sparked by the autumn war with 
Azerbaijan.
“As long as Nikol [Pashinian] is in power there will be no stability, peace and 
calm in our country,” Saghatelian told the crowd that gathered in the square 
amid a heavy snowfall. The opposition forces will continue “nonstop” civil 
disobedience actions in the days ahead, he said.
At the organizers’ urging, the protesters split and marched in four different 
directions after the rally, chanting “Armenia without Nikol!” and blocking major 
street intersections in the city center. Riot police did not attempt to disperse 
them and guarded key government buildings instead.
The opposition alliance blames Pashinian for Armenia’s defeat in the six-week 
war in Nagorno-Karabakh stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire on November 10. 
It staged a series of demonstrations later in November and December in a bid to 
force him to hand over power to an interim government.
Armenia -- The opposition Homeland Salvation Movement holds a rally at Liberty 
Square in Yerevan, .
Those protests did not attract large crowds, leading Pashinian to insist that he 
still has a popular mandate to govern the country.
The prime minister also expressed readiness on December 25 to hold snap 
parliamentary elections to end the political crisis in the country. Opposition 
leaders continued to insist on his resignation.
The ruling My Step bloc pointed to the opposition stance when it stated on 
February 7 that Pashinian and his allies see no need to dissolve the current 
parliament. It also claimed that most Armenians do not want snap elections. The 
Homeland Salvation Movement announced afterwards its decision to resume 
anti-government rallies.
“As long as there are upheavals there will be no development in our country. If 
they don’t resign things will get even worse,” Gagik Tsarukian, the leader of 
the movement’s largest party, Prosperous Armenia, said in a speech delivered 
during the Liberty Square rally.
“Armenia must boil. There must be daily rallies. The city must be paralyzed,” 
said Vazgen Manukian, another opposition leader whom the alliance wants to take 
over as a caretaker prime minister after Pashinian’s resignation.
Armenia -- Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukian speaks at an 
opposition rally in Yerevan, .
Manukian also declared that the opposition should be prepared to mount an 
“uprising” if it fails to topple Pashinian with conventional street protests. 
“We will follow Plan A but must always be ready for Plan B,” he said.
Saghatelian, who is affiliated with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation 
(Dashnaktsutyun), backed the idea when he spoke with journalists after the 
rally. He said Armenians have a right to revolt against “this government of 
evil.” He stressed at the same time they must be patient and ready for a 
prolonged struggle against Pashinian’s administration.
While demanding Pashinian’s resignation, Tsarukian and another opposition 
leader, former National Security Service Director Artur Vanetsian, again made 
clear that their parties would participate in possible fresh elections organized 
by the current authorities. Other alliance leaders, notably Manukian, believe 
the opposition should boycott such a vote.
Saturday’s rally was timed to coincide with the 33rd anniversary of the start of 
a popular movement for Karabakh’s unification with Armenia.
Pashinian issued a statement on the anniversary. “I am sure that, like many 
peoples who have faced serious problems throughout their history, the Armenian 
people will soon heal the wounds of the past war and take even more decisive and 
firm steps into the future,” he said.
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.