Author: Emma Jilavian

                                        Tuesday, 
Armenian Soldier Killed At Border With Azerbaijan
An Armenian serviceman was killed at the border with Azerbaijan on Tuesday, 
Armenia’s Ministry of Defense reported.
It said that the incident occurred in the afternoon at the southwestern border 
with Azerbaijan’s Nakhijevan exclave and that 26-year-old contract soldier 
Zohrab Simonian was fatally wounded in the chest after a shot fired from 
Azerbaijani military positions.
The incident comes days after Armenia and Azerbaijan traded accusations over 
fresh border fighting that left at least one Azerbaijani soldier killed and one 
Armenian soldier injured.
On March 6, the Armenian military claimed to have thwarted an Azerbaijani 
commando raid on one of its positions along the northeastern section of 
Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan.
According to the Defense Ministry in Yerevan, an Azerbaijani “sabotage” unit 
attacked the outpost but was repelled by Armenian soldiers deployed there, 
“suffering losses” as a result.
Azerbaijan’s State Border Guard Service, whose troops protect that section of 
the border, denied the attempted incursion. It said that Armenian troops opened 
“intensive” fire on some of its positions from heavy machine-guns and sniper 
rifles earlier that day.
Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement later on Tuesday, 
describing the latest ceasefire violation as “yet another attempt of Azerbaijan 
to intentionally escalate the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani state 
border.”
“Regular attempts by Azerbaijan to escalate the situation on the state border 
with Armenia, to expand the geography of escalation and refrain from applying 
the existing mechanisms of de-escalation attest to the deliberate nature of 
Azerbaijan’s attempts to undermine regional security and peace,” it said.
“Such actions of Azerbaijan demonstrate that the establishment of international 
risk reduction mechanisms is an important priority of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace 
process, and the implementation of agreements reached in that regard is a 
necessary condition for the advancement of the peace process.”
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh for 
years.
A war in the early 1990s in which some 30,000 people were killed left ethnic 
Armenians in control of the region.
Diplomatic efforts to settle the conflict have brought little progress.
Armenian, Russian PMs Discuss ‘Global Economy’ Processes
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (L) and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail 
Mishustin, Kazakhstan, Jan. 31, 2020
Processes taking place in the global economy have become a subject of discussion 
during a telephone conversation between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian 
and his Russian counterpart Mikhail Mishustin.
The conversation was reported by Pashinian during a constitutional referendum 
campaign rally in the southern town of Kapan on Tuesday.
“I’ve had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister of the Russian Federation 
Mikhail Mishustin. We discussed the processes taking place in the global market 
and economy, and our plans,” the Armenian prime minister said, without 
elaborating.
Pashinian took a vacation today to start a series of rallies ahead of the April 
5 referendum in which his political team seeks the termination of powers of 
seven of the nine judges of the Constitutional Court, including the body’s 
chairman Hrayr Tovmasian.
His remarks at the rally in the provincial town came amid growing concerns among 
Armenians about the economic situation in Russia fueled by plummeting oil prices.
The Russian ruble continued to depreciate on Tuesday reaching a four-year low 
against the U.S. dollar amid a nearly 30-percent plunge in international oil 
prices –the largest decline since 1991.
Russia is one of the key trade and economic partners of Armenia. According to 
Armenia’s Statistics Committee, the Russian market accounted for nearly 28 
percent of Armenia’s exports (worth over $730 million in absolute terms) in 2019.
Armenian Economy Ministry spokeswoman Anna Ohanian told RFE/RL’s Armenian 
Service (Azatutyun.am) on Monday that the Armenian government was conducting “a 
comprehensive analysis” of the global and regional economic trends influenced by 
the falling oil prices and the tumbling Russian ruble in order to send “correct 
signals” to local manufacturers and exporters.
She said that changes taking place in Russia cannot but have an effect on the 
Armenian economy, which is a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, 
a post-Soviet trade bloc also including Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
“The Russian Federation is one of our main trading partners. The Eurasian 
Economic Union, and Russia in particular, are a market for a considerable amount 
of our exports. Naturally, changes taking place there cannot but have an effect 
on our economy. Other things being equal, a depreciating ruble may have an 
impact on the competitiveness of Armenian manufacturers as compared to other 
main producers,” Ohanian said.
Pashinian Starts Rallies In Provinces Ahead Of Referendum
        • Artak Khulian
        • Sargis Harutyunyan
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian addresses a campaign rally in Meghri, 
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian took a vacation on Tuesday to get 
actively engaged in political campaigning ahead of next month’s constitutional 
referendum in which citizens will be asked to approve the termination of powers 
of several High Court judges.
Pashinian and his political team believe Constitutional Court Chairman Hrayr 
Tovmasian and six other judges elected before the 2015 constitution was fully 
enforced in April 2018 must be removed from office and new judges must be 
elected to replace them in order to maintain the spirit of the constitution.
To this end, the pro-government My Step faction in parliament initiated the 
constitutional amendment in February amid objections from opposition groups, 
including the extra-parliamentary former ruling Republican Party of Armenia 
(HHK) that alleged that Pashinian is simply seeking to gain control over the 
Constitutional Court and thus tighten his hold on power.
The HHK and other opposition parties have abstained from taking part in the ‘No’ 
campaign ahead of the April 5 referendum, considering the holding of the 
referendum itself unconstitutional.
Tovmasian and other judges to be affected by the change have also accused the 
government of putting pressure on the judiciary in an attempt to jeopardize its 
independence.
In his speech at today’s rally in Meghri Pashinian described the Constitutional 
Court as “the only remaining institution in Armenia that is not in compliance 
with the current constitution.”
“The Constitutional Court today does not represent the people. I urge you to go 
to polling stations on April 5 and confirm that you are sending home this old 
Constitutional Court, which had patronized all electoral frauds in Armenia in 
the past,” Pashinian said.
Pashinian earlier claimed that Tovmasian, who co-authored the 2015 constitution, 
had struck a deal with the then government to be elected chairman of the 
Constitutional Court only days before the new constitution was to be fully 
enforced.
Running the court under the previous constitution allows Tovmasian, who is now 
49, to hold the post until he is 65, that is until 2035. By contrast, had 
Tovmasian been elected after April 9, 2018, he would be confined to just one 
six-year tenure.
In his speech in Meghri Pashinian said: “Under the new constitution the election 
of the Constitutional Court’s chairman should be held once every six years and 
the same person cannot be elected for more than one term. But according to their 
interpretation, the next election should be held in 2035. It would be the same 
if we as a bloc that was elected to parliament for five years concocted some law 
that would allow us not to hold the next elections until 2035 because of some 
‘legal practice’ or something like that.”
Speaking at a rally in the town of Kapan, Syunik’s provincial center, Pashinian 
emphasized that the vote of Armenian citizens in the upcoming referendum will be 
a sovereign decision.“There is no force in the world that can challenge the 
decision of Armenia’s sovereign citizen,” stressed the prime minister, comparing 
the upcoming ballot with the 1991 referendum in which an overwhelming majority 
of Armenians voted in favor of gaining independence from the Soviet Union.
Pashinian visited several other towns in Armenia’s southern Syunik province and 
held rallies there today. He is expected to proceed with the campaign and hold 
more public rallies in other provinces of the country in the coming days.
The ‘No’ campaign in the current referendum is represented by a group of lawyers 
who have said they will not engage in public campaigning, but will limit their 
campaign to Facebook posts about alleged violations and reports to the Central 
Election Commission.
Former deputy Justice Minister Ruben Melikian, who represents the ‘No’ campaign, 
complained on Tuesday about what he described as yet another case of the prime 
minister using his administrative resource to promote his political campaign. 
He, in particular, pointed to the fact that Pashinian went to Syunik on board a 
helicopter that is assigned to the prime minister by law. “Using the helicopter 
citizen Nikol Pashinian got an advantage in his campaign over the opposite 
side,” Melikian claimed.
Earlier, the representative of the ‘No’ campaign also criticized Pashinian and 
other members of his political team for allegedly campaigning in their official 
capacity. The officials shrugged off the criticism.
Teenage Victim Of Domestic Violence Regains Consciousness In Armenian Hospital
        • Susan Badalian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (R) and Health Minister Arsen Torosian (L) visit 
13-year-old Nazeli Khachatrian in hospital, Yerevan, March 8, 2020
A teenage girl from Gyumri who was severely beaten up by a man who had also 
beaten her mother to death has regained consciousness, according to a hospital 
official in Yerevan.
Nazeli Khachatrian, 13, has been treated for multiple traumas, including a brain 
injury, in an intensive care unit of Yerevan’s Surb Astvatsamayr Medical Center 
since last week.
The girl allegedly tried to intervene to stop the beating of her mother by her 
cohabitant on March 5. Her 43-year-old mother succumbed to her injuries later 
that day.
Police arrested a 28-year-old man in Gyumri. He was later charged with 
manslaughter and “premeditated infliction of severe harm to other persons’ 
health.” The man faces up to 10 years in prison under the charges.
The case has shocked the Armenian public, renewing the debate in the country 
about the need to make domestic violence a more specific crime in the penal code.
A group of civil activists held a march in Gyumri on Monday raising their 
concerns about cases of domestic violence and what they described as 
indifference that exists in society towards the problem.
World Vision’s child protection program manager Aida Muradian believes it is 
necessary that domestic violence be separated from beatings in the criminal 
code. “We are dealing with the case of domestic violence, but this is not 
reflected in the indictment. Why is it so important?.. Because the victim of 
domestic violence is subjected to violence by a member of her own family. As a 
rule, the victim of domestic violence is in a certain dependence on the 
perpetrator -- be it emotional, economic or some other form of dependence. This 
means that these are significant circumstances that affect the case, and they 
cannot simply be ignored,” she said.
On March 8, International Women’s Day, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian 
together with Health Minister Arsen Torosian visited 13-year-old Nazeli in the 
hospital’s intensive care unit when she was still switched to an artificial 
ventilation apparatus.
“Many of us took with pain the news about this girl and her killed mother, but 
let’s admit that this girl and her mother have also become victims of the 
opinion that violence in general and violence against women in particular can 
have some justification,” Pashinian wrote in a Facebook post later that day.
Gevork Derdzian, of Yerevan’s Surb Astvatsamayr Medical Center, cautioned on 
Monday that despite regaining consciousness and having said a few words, “the 
condition of the girl still remains heavy, as she has multiple injuries.”
Nazeli, according to the hospital spokesman, is under doctors’ strict 
supervision.
The teenager, whose father died two years ago, has now become an orphan. Her 
other close relatives have refused to adopt her, but according to child custody 
workers in Gyumri, there are people who are ready to take care of the girl.
Armenians Urged To Return From Italy Over Coronavirus
Italy - A man wearing a protective mask passes by the Coliseum in Rome on March 
7, 2020
Armenian citizens who are currently in Italy have been urged to “urgently 
suspend their trips and return to Armenia” because of the spread of the new 
coronavirus (COVID-19) in this part of Europe.
In a statement issued on Tuesday Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also 
urged Armenian citizens to strictly refrain from visiting Italy “given the 
measures being taken by the Italian authorities aimed at preventing the spread 
of COVID-19.”
Authorities in Yerevan also called upon citizens who are currently in Italy to 
remain in constant contact with Armenia’s embassy in Rome.
Later on Tuesday the Irish budget airline Ryanair, which entered Armenia’s civil 
aviation market earlier this year, announced suspension of all flights from 
Yerevan to Italy and back until April 8.
Italy appears to have become the hotbed in Europe for COVID-19, a new 
coronavirus infection that broke out in China late last year, affecting more 
than 100,000 people and killing over 4,000 people globally since then.
The whole of Italy, a country of some 60 million people, has been placed under 
quarantine, as the Italian authorities have stepped up efforts to tackle the 
coronavirus outbreak that has affected more than 9,000 people and left 463 dead 
in the country.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced late on Monday that he was 
extending restrictions on travel, which had been in place in the north, 
throughout the country.
Earlier, authorities in Armenia also urged citizens to temporarily avoid 
visiting Iran, China, South Korea, Japan and EU countries (particularly Italy, 
Germany, France and Spain) over coronavirus risks, except in urgent cases.
Armenia reported its first and yet only coronavirus case on March 1. A 
29-year-old citizen of Armenia who had been evacuated from coronavirus-hit Iran 
along with scores of others had tested positive and was hospitalized. Thirty-one 
other citizens who may have had close contact with the infected person had also 
been placed under a two-week quarantine in a disused hotel in Armenia’s resort 
town of Tsaghkadzor.
No new coronavirus cases have been reported in Armenia since then as the country 
tightened control at its border with Iran and re-introduced entry visas for 
Iranian citizens.
Armenia’s universities and schools resume classes on March 9 one week after 
being closed by the government following the confirmation of the first 
coronavirus case.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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