Wednesday,
Pashinian Again Rejects Resignation Calls
• Sargis Harutyunyan
• Karlen Aslanian
Armenia -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks during his
government's question-and-answer session in parliament, Yerevan, December 9,
2020.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian continued to reject calls for his resignation and
accused his political opponents of trying to create “anarchy” in Armenia as he
faced more street protests on Wednesday.
Pashinian said opposition forces staging the protests and blaming him for the
Armenian side’s defeat in the Nagorno-Karabakh war to try to install a “puppet
government” not backed by most voters. He was also dismissive of resignation
calls made by President Armen Sarkissian, prominent public figures, the Armenian
Apostolic Church and the heads of dozens of local communities.
“Why do those political forces and representatives of the elite keep proposing
scenarios which pursue only one goal: to leave the people out of the [political]
process and do so irreversibly?” he said during his government’s
question-and-answer session in the parliament.
He claimed that the Armenian opposition is not actually demanding snap
parliamentary elections.
Opposition parties have repeatedly said that such elections must be held within
a year by an interim government to be formed after Pashinian’s resignation.
Sixteen of them joined forces to launch anti-government demonstrations following
the announcement of the ceasefire that stopped the Karabakh war on November 10.
The opposition coalition rallied supporters outside the National Assembly
compound in Yerevan as Pashinian and members of his cabinet answered questions
from lawmakers. The rally came one day after the prime minister ignored their
ultimatum to step down or face a nationwide campaign of “civil disobedience.”
Armenia -- Opposition supporters demonstrate outside the parliament building in
Yerevan, December 9, 2020.
Ishkhan Saghatelian, a leader of the opposition Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), insisted that Pashinian has lost popular support
and legitimacy. “There is a pan-Armenian discontent and a popular demand for
Nikol’s ouster,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service earlier in the day.
Still, Saghatelian, whose party is a key member of the opposition alliance, did
not deny that attendance at the ongoing opposition demonstrations is a far cry
from the 2018 mass protests that brought Pashinian to power.
“There are many citizens who believe that Nikol Pashinian must go but lack trust
in political forces standing on the podium and our common candidate [for interim
prime minister,]” he said. “That is why we are telling our citizens that this is
not a struggle for bringing us to power. This is a struggle for saving our
homeland.”
Only one of the 16 opposition parties, Prosperous Armenia (BHK), is represented
in the current parliament. The second parliamentary opposition party, Bright
Armenia (LHK), has so far declined to join their campaign or endorse the interim
premier nominated by them. But the LHK too insists on Pashinian’s resignation.
Yerevan Rules Out Release Of ‘Syrian Mercenaries’
• Susan Badalian
Armenia- A man who claims to be a Syrian mercenary who fought for Azerbaijan in
Nagorno-Karabakh is shown on Armenian television, November 3, 2020.
The two Syrians captured during the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh cannot be
swapped with Armenian prisoners of war or civilians held by Azerbaijan, an
Armenian law-enforcement agency said on Wednesday.
Karabakh’s Armenian-backed army claimed to have captured the two men during
fierce fighting with Azerbaijani forces halted by a Russian-mediated ceasefire
November 10. They both were handed over to Armenia to face a string of criminal
charges, including terrorism.
A spokeswoman for Armenia’s Investigative Committee, Rima Yeganian, told
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that they are not prisoners of war and cannot be
covered by the ceasefire agreement calling for the exchange of all POWs and
civilian captives held by the conflicting parties.
“They have been indicted, remain under arrest and cannot be exchanged under the
all-for-all formula,” said Yeganian.
In their testimonies shown on Armenian television, the arrested Syrians admitted
being recruited and paid by Turkey. Armenian officials have portrayed that as
further proof that scores of Syrian mercenaries fought in Karabakh on
Azerbaijan’s side.
The Armenian claims have also been backed by France and, implicitly, Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron accused Turkey of recruiting jihadist fighters
from Syria for the Azerbaijani army shortly after the outbreak of large-scale
hostilities in and around Karabakh on September 27. Russia also expressed
serious concern about the deployment of “terrorists and mercenaries” from Syria
and Libya in the Karabakh conflict zone.
Azerbaijan has denied the presence of any foreign mercenaries in its army ranks.
It has dismissed the televised confessions of the two detained Syrians as a
fraud.
Multiple reports by Western media quoted members of Islamist rebel groups in
areas of northern Syria under Turkish control as saying in late September and
October that they are deploying to Azerbaijan in coordination with the Turkish
government.
Constitutional Court Refuses To Strip Tsarukian Of Parliament Seat
• Astghik Bedevian
ARMENIA -- Gagik Tsarukian, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party, arrives
at the parliament ahead of a vote that stripped him of immunity from
prosecution, Yerevan, June 16, 2020.
The Constitutional Court has thrown out an appeal by the leadership of the
Armenian parliament to strip Gagik Tsarukian, the leader of the opposition
Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), of his parliament seat.
The senior lawmakers representing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s My Step bloc
appealed to the court late last month, citing the findings of a state
anti-corruption body.
The Commission on the Prevention of Corruption claimed that Tsarukian has
violated a constitutional clause that bans parliament deputies from engaging in
entrepreneurial activity. The commission said that he has continued to run at
least some of the several dozen companies owned by him.
Tsarukian’s political allies rejected the claims and said the appeal to the
Constitutional Court is part of a continuing government crackdown on the BHK,
which is Armenia’s largest parliamentary opposition force.
A spokeswoman for the court announced on Tuesday night that it has refused to
even hold hearings and rule on the appeal. She said the court will publicize the
legal grounds for the decision by Friday.
One of the court’s nine judges, Edgar Shatirian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service
on Wednesday that the appeal was rejected on a technicality.
Shatirian said most of his colleagues believe that the parliament leadership
failed to meet a legal deadline for reacting to the anti-corruption commission’s
recommendation. He said he disagreed with them.
Tsarukian, who is one of the country’s richest men, was arrested in late
September on vote buying charges strongly denied by him. A Yerevan court freed
him on bail on October 22.
Tsarukian’s BHK is one of 17 opposition parties that launched on November 10
street protests against Pashinian’s handling of the recent war with Azerbaijan.
They accuse Pashinian of a sellout and demand his resignation.
France Insists On Removal Of ‘Syrian Mercenaries’ From Karabakh
France -- French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (R) and his Armenian
counterpart Ara Ayvazian hold a jont news conference after talks in Paris,
December 8, 2020.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian reiterated his country’s calls for
the withdrawal of all “Syrian mercenaries” from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
zone after meeting with his Armenian counterpart Ara Ayvazian in Paris late on
Tuesday.
Le Drian also said that France will remain actively engaged in international
efforts to kick-start Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks following the
Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the recent war in Karabakh.
“A ceasefire is not an accord, it’s the end of a war,” he told a joint news
conference with Ayvazian. “We think that we need a lasting solution to this
conflict, notably on the questions relating to the future status of
Nagorno-Karabakh, its administrative [border] delimitations, mode of governance.
Under the auspices of the co-presidency of the OSCE Minsk Group, France will
assume all its responsibilities to achieve that.”
“France will stand with Armenia in order to accompany it on this trajectory,” he
said.
Le Drian cited a joint statement to that effect which he, Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun issued
on December 3.
The top diplomats of the three world powers co-heading the Minsk Group urged the
conflicting parties to “commit to substantive negotiations to resolve all
outstanding issues.” They also called for the parties’ full compliance with all
provisions of the ceasefire agreement.
In that regard, Le Drian singled out the return of all refugees and internally
displaced persons, protection of religious and cultural sites and “the departure
of the Syrian mercenaries deployed with one of the conflicting parties.”
French President Emmanuel Macron accused Turkey of recruiting jihadist fighters
from Syria for the Azerbaijani army shortly after the outbreak of large-scale
hostilities in and around Karabakh on September 27. Karabakh’s Armenian-backed
army claimed last month to have captured two such Syrian fighters during the
fighting.
Turkey has denied sending members of Turkish-backed Syrian rebel groups to fight
in Karabakh on Azerbaijan’s side. Azerbaijan also denies the presence of such
mercenaries in the Azerbaijani army ranks. Both Ankara and Baku accuse Paris of
pro-Armenian bias.
Speaking after the talks with Le Drian, Ayvazian thanked France for its
“courageous and at the same time impartial position adopted since the beginning
of the war.” The Armenian foreign minister also praised Macron for speaking out
against “Turkey’s extremely damaging and dangerous involvement in the war.”
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, a secretary of state at the French Foreign Ministry,
visited Yerevan late last month. He said after talks with Armenian leaders that
Paris expects Ankara to “remove the mercenaries from the region.”
Lemoyne arrived in the Armenian capital with a delegation of French officials,
aid workers and French-Armenian community activists on a board a plane that
brought a second batch of French humanitarian assistance to Armenian victims of
the Karabakh conflict. It mainly consisted of medical supplies for Armenian
soldiers and civilians wounded during the war.
Le Drian announced on Tuesday that two more planeloads of French humanitarian
aid will be delivered to Armenia in the coming days. “In the medical field, we
are going to reinforce cooperation between Armenian and French hospitals,” he
added.
France is home to a sizable and influential Armenian community. The latter was
instrumental in the recent passage by both houses of the French parliament of
resolutions calling on Macron’s government to recognize Karabakh as an
independent republic. The government has ruled out such recognition, saying that
it would be counterproductive for France and the Karabakh negotiating process.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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