Wednesday,
New Armenian Foreign Minister Named
Armenia - Newly appointed Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazian.
Career diplomat Ara Ayvazian was appointed as Armenia’s new foreign minister on
Wednesday.
President Armen Sarkissian signed a relevant decree, initiated by Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian, two days after the resignation of Foreign Minister Zohrab
Mnatsakanian.
Pashinian announced on Monday that he has decided to sack Mnatsakanian. The
latter insisted, however, that he himself tendered his resignation. He gave no
reason for the move.
Earlier on Monday, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anna Naghdalian
publicly contradicted Pashinian’s comments regarding Shushi (Shusha),
Nagorno-Karabakh’s second largest city captured by Azerbaijani forces during the
recent war.
The prime minister claimed that peace proposals made by U.S., Russian and French
mediators in recent years called for the restoration of Azerbaijani control over
Shushi.
“The issue of giving up [Karabakh Armenian control of] Shushi was not raised
during any stage of the peace process,” Naghdalian said in a short statement.
One of Mnatsakanian’s deputies, Shavarsh Kocharian, also stepped down following
a Russian-mediated ceasefire that stopped the bloody war in Karabakh.
Ayvazian also served as deputy foreign minister before being named to replace
Mnatsakanian. The 51-year-old was appointed to that position as recently as on
October 16. He had previously worked as Armenia’s ambassador to Mexico and
various European countries.
Tsarukian Risks Losing Parliament Seat
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia -- Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukian arrives for a court
hearing on his pre-trial arrest sought by prosecutors, Yerevan, June 17, 2020.
Gagik Tsarukian, the leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK),
could be stripped of his parliament seat after being accused by a
anti-corruption state body of illegally engaging in entrepreneurial activity.
Article 95 of the Armenian constitution bans parliament deputies from doing
business and most types of paid work during their tenure.
The Commission on the Prevention of Corruption claims that Tsarukian has
violated this provision by continuing to run at least some of the several dozen
companies owned by him. It says that he has chaired meetings of their executive
boards, personally hired new employees for them and discussed business projects
with investors.
The commission has submitted a relevant report to the Armenian parliament after
dismissing objections from Tsarukian’s lawyers. The latter argued that the BHK
leader had to take care of his business assets because the chief executive of
his Multi Group holding company, Sedrak Arustamian, is under arrest.
The leadership of the parliament controlled by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s
My Step bloc is due to meet next week to decide whether to ask the
Constitutional Court to oust Tsarukian from the National Assembly.
The BHK has condemned the proceedings as baseless and politically motivated. It
says that they are part of a continuing government crackdown on Armenia’s
largest parliamentary opposition force.
The chairwoman of the anti-corruption commission, Haykuhi Harutiunian, dismissed
the BHK claims. Harutiunian said that the commission began investigating
Tsarukian in July and submitted its findings to the parliament on October 26,
two weeks before the start of opposition protests against Pashinian’s handling
of the war with Azerbaijan.
Tsarukian’s party is one of 17 opposition forces that launched the protests
following a Russian-mediated ceasefire that stopped the fighting. They accuse
Pashinian of a sellout and demand his resignation.
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.
Turkish Parliament Approves Troop Observer Deployment To Karabakh
TURKEY -- Members of the Turkish parliament attend an extraordinary session in
Ankara, January 2, 2020
(Reuters) - Turkey’s parliament on Tuesday approved the deployment of troops to
join Russian forces at an observation post near Nagorno-Karabakh after Armenia
and Azerbaijan signed a Russian-brokered ceasefire deal to end fighting over the
enclave.
The mandate will allow Turkish troops to be stationed at the center for one year
as part of an accord between Ankara and Moscow to monitor the implementation of
the ceasefire, which locked in territorial gains by Azerbaijan. Some 2,000
Russian peacekeeping troops are now also deploying to the region.
In a letter to parliament asking for the mandate’s approval, President Tayyip
Erdogan said the presence of Turkish troops and, “if needed, civilian personnel
from our country, (will) be to the benefit of the peace and prosperity of the
regional people, and necessary for our national interests”.
The ceasefire signed on November 10 halted military action in and around
Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but populated
by ethnic Armenians, after the worst fighting in the region since the 1990s.
Turkey has accused Armenia of occupying Azeri lands and pledged solidarity with
its ethnic Turkic kin in Azerbaijan. Ankara has blamed the Minsk group - formed
to mediate the conflict and led by Russia, France and the United States - of
freezing the issue for nearly 30 years.
A Russian military delegation held talks in Turkey last week to discuss the
parameters of the Turkish-Russian center. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar
said on Tuesday Ankara’s and Moscow’s cooperation would continue.
Dozens Prosecuted Over Yerevan Riots
Armenia - Anry protesters ransack the main meeting room of the Armenian
government at the prime minister's office in Yerevan, November 10, 2020.
An Armenian law-enforcement agency said on Wednesday that it has launched
criminal proceedings against dozens of men who attacked and ransacked key state
buildings in Yerevan early on November 10 following the announcement of a
Russian-brokered ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The angry mobs broke into Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s office and residence
and the Armenian parliament and severely beat up parliament speaker Ararat
Mirzoyan in protest against the ceasefire agreement which they said amounted to
Armenia’s capitulation in the six-week war with Azerbaijan.
Several dozen men also attacked RFE/RL’s Yerevan bureau, branding its employees
“traitors” and “Turks” and attempting to assault some of them.
In a statement, the National Security Service (NSS) said it has identified more
than 70 organizers and participants of the riots and arrested 15 of them. The
detainees and more than two dozen other persons have been indicted on relevant
charges, it said, adding that law-enforcement authorities are now trying to
track down the other rioters.
The NSS also said that supporters of some opposition politicians played an
“active role” in the violence. It did not name them.
Armenia - Angry protesters break into the Armenian parliament, Yerevan, November
10, 2020,
Pashinian’s press secretary, Mane Gevorgian, publicized on Tuesday security
camera footage of the ransacking of the prime minister’s office. It shows that
several young supporters of former Presidents Serzh Sarkisian and Robert
Kocharian as well as two sons-in-law of Gagik Tsarukian, the leader of the
opposition Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), and the head of the BHK’s youth wing
were among the men that illegally entered the main government building.
Pro-government lawmakers seized upon the video to accuse the BHK of involvement
in the unrest. Their BHK colleagues angrily denied that during a heated session
of the National Assembly.
One of Tsarukian’s sons-in-law, Davit Manukian, is a parliament deputy while the
other, Karapet Guloyan, used to work as a provincial governor.
Manukian confirmed on Tuesday that he and Guloyan went into the building. He
insisted, however, they did not smash any furniture there and on the contrary
tried to stop the violence.
Armenian PM Vows Cabinet Shakeup (UPDATED)
• Robert Zargarian
ARMENIA -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian addresses the parliament in
Yerevan, November 16, 2020
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Wednesday pledged to reshuffle his government
and gave no indications that he will resign or agree to snap general elections
in the aftermath of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
In a statement that outlined his further actions, Pashinian again accepted
responsibility for the outcome of the six-week war that resulted in significant
Armenian losses and Azerbaijani territorial gains.
“I am also primarily responsible for overcoming the situation and establishing
stability and security in the country,” he said. “I want to stress that I not
only do not intend to abandon that responsibility but am also fully committed to
that task.”
Pashinian went on to present a 15-point plan of government actions and
objectives for the next six months. They include the return of ethnic Armenian
refugees to Karabakh and reconstruction of their homes damaged during the war,
the restart of Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks mediated by Russia, France and
the United States, and the repatriation of all Armenian prisoners of war and
civilian captives.
Pashinian’s “roadmap” also envisages a major reform of Armenia’s armed forces,
continued fight against corruption and government efforts to contain the spread
of the coronavirus and stimulate economic activity in the country.
“In order to implement this roadmap, I am carrying out changes in the
government’s composition,” he said without elaborating.
“In June 2021 I will submit a report on the roadmap’s implementation. Based on
its results, we will decide our further actions by taking into account public
opinion and reactions,” added the embattled prime minister.
Armenia - Opposition parties hold an anti-government rally in Liberty Square,
Yerevan, .
Pashinian made no mention of his resignation and fresh parliamentary elections
demanded by the Armenian opposition. Opposition forces hold him responsible for
the Armenian side’s defeat in the six-week war that was stopped by a
Russian-mediated ceasefire agreement on November 10.
President Armen Sarkissian has also called for snap polls, saying that they
would “save the country from upheavals.” In a televised address to the nation
aired on Monday, Sarkissian said they should be held by a new, interim
“government of national accord.”
Two members of Pashinian’s cabinet, Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian and
Minister for Emergency Situations Felix Tsolakian, have resigned this week.
Later on Wednesday, 17 opposition parties campaigning for Pashinian’s
resignation held another rally in Yerevan’s Liberty Square attended by several
thousand people. Opposition leaders repeated their allegations that the current
government has lost its legitimacy and must go.
ARMENIA -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian addresses supporters demonstrating in
Yerevan,
Meanwhile, about 200 supporters of Pashinian, many of them demobilized army
reservists and volunteers, gathered in the city’s Republic Square to voice
support for Pashinian and condemn the opposition.
Pashinian approached the small crowd and urged it disperse, saying that he will
rally supporters “if need be.”
One of his aides, Nairi Sargsian, denied opposition claims that the government
itself organized the pro-Pashinian demonstration. “Had we organized it this
square would have been packed,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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