”Fatherland Salvation Movement” starts protest at Baghramyan Avenue

”Fatherland Salvation Movement” starts protest at Baghramyan Avenue

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 18:40, 1 March, 2021

YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Opposition ”Fatherland Salvation Movement” has started protest at Baghramyan Avenue demanding the resignation of PM Pashinyan. ARMENPRESS reports representative of the movement Gegham Manukyan said in his speech that many representatives of various spheres have expressed support to them, adding that it’s necessary to stand with the army.

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.

Photos by Mkhitar Khachatryan, Tatev Duryan


Armenia’s Defense Ministry denies reports of provocations on Nakhichevan border

Panorama, Armenia
Feb 26 2021

The Armenian Defense Ministry on Friday dismissed media reports alleging the Azerbaijani military carried out provocative actions on the Nakhichevan-Armenia border.

“A number of media outlets widely disseminated information published by some Facebook users about provocations carried out by the Azerbaijani forces on the Nakhichevan border,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Such information has nothing to do with reality. We once again urge to refrain from spreading disinformation,” it noted. 

Armenian defense ministry urges not to drag army into political processes

TASS, Russia
Feb 27 2021
The Defense Ministry also added that the Armenian Armed Forces do their utmost to ensure the country’s security, irrespective of political processes

TASS, February 27. Armenia’s Defense Ministry urged on Saturday not to involve the national armed forces into political processes.

“We demand to refrain from making statements on behalf of the armed forces. [We demand] that the army should not be involved in political processes and that the country’s security should not be subordinate to [personal] interests,” reads the communique posted on the Defense Ministry’s site.

The Defense Ministry also added that the Armenian Armed Forces do their utmost to ensure the country’s security, irrespective of political processes.

On February 25, mass rallies of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s supporters and critics began in Armenia after the General Staff of the Armed Forces had called for the resignation of prime minister and his cabinet. The statement was signed by Chief of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan, his deputies and other military top brass. Pashinyan slammed the move as a military coup attempt and announced his decision to dismiss the General Staff chief.

Earlier on Saturday, President Armen Sarkissian sent back to the prime minister his order to dismiss Gasparyan, pointing out that the decree, according to lawyers, was unconstitutional. The president added that he was not supporting either of the political forces and that the current crisis cannot be solved with frequent reshuffles. After Pashinyan re-submitted his proposal, the president has three days to either sign the decree or to appeal it at Armenia’s Constitutional Court.

Newspaper: Several Armenia diplomats to also demand PM Pashinyan’s resignation

News.am, Armenia
Feb 27 2021

YEREVAN. – Past daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: Armenia finally responded to [Azerbaijan president] Ilham Aliyev’s statements. But it was done … by the office of the RA third president [Serzh Sargsyan]. “He (Aliyev-ed.) does not lag behind his current Armenia counterpart in lying shamelessly and irresponsibly,” the statement said.

Some time ago, RA second president [Robert Kocharyan] also had given a harsh response to Aliyev, saying in particular: “Aliyev would never have dared to start a war, he would never have dared. Now he has become cocky, he has the right to become cocky now. But if his father [the late Azerbaijan president Heydar Aliyev] were alive; he, by the way, was a smart man. He [Heydar] would have pulled [Ilham’s] ear, say [to him] take it easy.”

This is noteworthy from the point of view that especially after the [recent Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)] war; [Armenian PM] Nikol Pashinyan has never opposed [Ilham] Aliyev, who consistently makes shameful statements not only against Pashinyan himself, but also against Armenia and Armenians.

Moreover, according to our information, he [Pashinyan] does not allow the MFA to respond either; moreover, not only regarding Azerbaijan, but also Turkey. In particular, according to our sources, the RA MFA was to respond to Turkey’s MFA statements condemning the “coup d’état” attempt in Armenia, as well as the statements of other Turkish officials. Even a [respective] text was prepared, but Pashinyan forbade it to be disseminated on February 25; this once again caused great anger within the [Armenian] diplomatic corps.

By the way, this is not the only reason. So, according to our information, the patience of most of the representatives of the [Armenian] diplomatic corps has run out. We were receiving information last night that a number of diplomats, including ambassadors, will demand Pashinyan’s resignation.

Former French FM Bernard Kouchner shares impressions from Artsakh visit

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 17:21,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Bernard Kouchner, co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières, former French Foreign Minister and member of the Aurora Prize Selection Committee, who arrived in Armenia at the invitation of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and also paid a visit to Artsakh, expresses his solidarity to the victims of the recent Artsakh war.

Sharing his impressions from his visit to Artsakh, the former French FM told Armenpress that the goal of his visit was first of all to show support to the war victims and the wounded.

During the visit internationally renowned humanitarian and physician Bernard Kouchner was  accompanied by humanitarians Alain Boinet, Founder of Solidarités International, and Patrice Franceschi, former Chairman of the Société des Explorateurs Français. Together, they had a chance to take a closer look at the regional humanitarian projects supported by Aurora and focused on promoting micro and small enterprises, restoring infrastructure, and boosting economy.

In Stepanakert, the capital of the Republic of Artsakh, Mr. Kouchner and others visited the Lady Cox Rehabilitation Center to meet with wounded soldiers in treatment.

Aurora supports the infrastructure improvement of the Center within the framework of the Initiative’s aid program for Artsakh, focused on assisting projects that facilitate the region’s long-term social development.

“I was impressed by the philosophy of the Lady Cox Center to integrate the whole family and environment in the therapeutic process. The whole place had a quiet and positive atmosphere, and I am happy that Aurora supports this institution that is so much needed in Artsakh,” Dr. Kouchner said after the visit.

Mr. Kouchner’s delegation also toured the areas of Stepanakert that had been most affected by the war and talked to the representatives of the projects assisted by Aurora, including The HALO Trust’s operation to clear cluster munitions and other explosives in civilian areas to allow the safe return of displaced people to Artsakh.

Armen Sarkissian meets with Rustam Muradov, highlights return of Armenian POWs

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 18:02,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 24, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian received Commander of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno Karabakh, Lieutenant-General Rustam Muradov.  Russian embassy’s military attaché, Colonel Andrey Grischuk and special representative of the President of Artsakh Boris Avagyan also attended the meeting, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the President’s Office.

Rustam Muradov informed the Armenian President about the implementation process of the tasks of the Russian peacekeeping forces, emphasizing the warm attitude of the population of Nagorno Karabakh towards the Russian servicemen.

Armen Sarkissian highly assessed the role of the Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh and wished them success in their service.

The interlocutors discussed issues related with the return of Armenian war prisoners and other civilian detainees kept in Azerbaijan, as well as discovering and returning to the Armenian side those missing in action. President Sarkissian assessed hindering of the searches by the Azerbaijani side as inadmissible and highlighted the solution of this extremely sensitive issue.

Armenian Ombudsman receives UNDP Resident Representative

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 14:24,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan received Dmitry Mariyasin, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Armenia, the Ombudsman’s Office told Armenpress.

Ombudsman Tatoyan thanked Mr. Mariyasin for his important mission aimed at protecting human rights, as well as for the productive cooperation with his Office.

Mr. Tatoyan highlighted the partnership with the UNDP and the importance of the projects implemented so far.

Dmitry Mariyasin highly valued the work of the Ombudsman in safeguarding human rights and the high- level of the current cooperation.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

The trilateral summit of Azerbaijani-Georgian-Turkish foreign ministers to be held in Baku

Panorama, Armenia
Feb 17 2021

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoglu will pay an official visit to Azerbaijan on Feb. 18-19 to attend the ninth meeting of the trilateral mechanism between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia, the country’s foreign ministry statement said Wednesday.

The meeting will be held between Çavuşoglu and his Azerbaijani and Georgian counterparts, Jeyhun Bayramov and David Zalkaliani. The three ministers will discuss bilateral and trilateral relations as well as regional issues to enhance strategic cooperation. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will also receive Çavuşoglu, the source added.

It is reminded that the three countries are a part of the trilateral mechanism that was initiated by the Trabzon declaration on June 8, 2012. Since that date, military chiefs and the foreign ministers of the three countries have been organizing regular meetings. The framework provides fertile ground for discussions on the consolidations of regional stability and security.

As Azeris destroy WWII memorial in Artsakh, newspaper warns of fascism rebirth and new Hitler’s rise

 17:18, 18 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Multiple cases of vandalism are recorded in the territories of Artsakh that have gone under Azerbaijani control after the 2020 war.

Infoteka24, a leading online news portal, labeled the Azeri vandalisms as a “rebirth of fascist ideology”.

“The memorial honoring the heroes of the Great Patriotic War wasn’t chosen coincidentally by the brutes. Today, a rebirth of fascist ideology is taking place in Azerbaijan, against which the entire world fought in the 20th century. The silence of the international community will soon lead to two new Hitlers emerging in the world, in person of Erdogan and Aliyev,” Infoteka wrote in an article, referring to the desecration of the WWII memorial in the village of Avetaranots.

It mentioned that international organizations, politicians, including the Russian ministry of foreign affairs, have all condemned the vandalisms committed by Azerbaijanis in Artsakh, but no actions followed.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

David Phillips: The reality of Turkey’s occupation in Syria, and human rights violations in Nagorno Karabakh

eKathimerini, Greece
Feb 19 2021
| eKathimerini.com

Expert David Phillips joins The Greek current to explain why a recent New York Times article is being called out by a number of experts who say it whitewashes Turkey’s occupation of Afrin in Syria. We also explore David Phillips’ latest article on the international community’s failure to protect civilians in Nagorno Karabakh from human rights abuses.

Phillips is the Director of the Program on Human Rights and Peace-building at Columbia University. Phillips is also a former senior adviser to the UN Secretariat and US State Department, and the author of the books The Great Betrayal: How America Abandoned the Kurds and Lost the Middle East, and An Uncertain Ally: Turkey Under Erdogan’s Dictatorship.

Listen to the interview at the link below