Category: 2020

Armenia Chamber of Advocates: Lawyers will join actions aimed at expressing no confidence in PM Pashinyan

Arpi Talalian
News.am, Armenia

Dec 18 2020
17:32, 18.12.2020

A meeting of the Advocates’ Club took place at the Chamber of Advocates of Armenia, its chairman Ara Zohrabyan informed on Facebook.

As a result of the discussion, the lawyers who are members in this club decided to join the December 22 protests, including strikes, to express no confidence in PM Nikol Pashinyan; and on that day, to march from the location of the Chamber of Advocates to the National Assembly (NA) and then to the Prosecutor General's Office to hand the following documents: a) the demand to the NA speaker to lift the current martial law in Armenia and to express no confidence in the Prime Minister, b) the appeal to the majority My Step parliamentary faction members who are lawyers by profession to leave the faction, and c) a crime report to the Prosecutor General.




ANN/Armenian News – Conversation with Arthur Khachatryan of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun

Varazdat Torgomian

Armenian News Network / Armenian News

Conversation on Armenian News: Conversation with ARF’s Arthur Khachatryan

ANN/Armenian News

Guest

  • Arthur Khachatryan

  • Hovik Manucharyan

  • Asbed Bedrossian

Hello and welcome to the Armenian News Network, Armenian News. We’ll be talking about the demands of the political opposition in Armenia for a provisional government to lead the country out of the crisis following the catastrophic loss in the war in Artsakh. 

This episode was recorded on Thursday, .

Following the trilateral Karabakh ceasefire of Nov 9, the Armenian opposition has nearly universally condemned Nikol Pashinyan’s agreement to the deal. 

The largest opposition grouping, called Movement of the Salvation of the Homeland (Հայրենիքի փրկության շաժում in Armenian), composed of 17 political parties including the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), Prosperous Armenia, and the Republican Party, are demanding Pashinyan’s immediate resignation and the appointment of their unified candidate, Vazgen Manukyan as interim PM. 

This group has been holding regular protests featuring a growing number of participants, with the latest gathering Wednesday, December 17, estimated to be 20K in size. 

Today, we’ll be talking with a representative of one of the political forces behind the movement, to better understand the internal political developments in Armenia and specifically the goals of the Movement of the Salvation of the Homeland.

To talk about these issues, we are joined by:

Arthur Khachatryan, who is a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF Dashnaktsutyun) Supreme Council in Yerevan. In the past, he held government posts such as Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Development, Governor of Shirak, and Minister of Agriculture. Currently, Arthur is a professor of finance at the French University of Armenia and lectures on Leadership at the Public Administration Academy of the Republic of Armenia.

What made the ARF Dashnaktsutyun join forces with the 16 other political parties and what is the broad position of the movement, and the ARF specifically?

Especially during the earlier days of the protest, we heard that many of the organizers of the protests were being detained by police and national security forces. Can you say that police intimidation is still taking place and how has it affected the leadership of the protests?

Nikol Pashinyan criticized this movement for being an “elitist protest”, not representative of the entire Armenian populace. How would you respond to that?

How does the ARF differentiate from the wider opposition goals, especially during the “provisional” 6-12-month period that you suggest? Specifically, we’ve heard Vazgen Manukyan express a position on foreign funding of Armenian NGOs for instance. Is that position also shared by the ARF?

What do you think of the government’s proposal and effort to change the electoral code? Is this a change that should be prioritized in the interim period?

The Alliance settled on Vazgen Manukyan as the interim Prime Minister to head a provisional government and lead to preterm elections. As the politics evolve in Yerevan, if the situation requires that a different potential candidate be nominated, would the ARF support that? What are the red lines for the ARF about who might or might not be acceptable as an interim Prime Minister?

During the 2018 elections the ARF didn’t receive sufficient votes to gain any seats in the parliament. What are your party’s plans for becoming a relevant political force, represented in the parliament in Armenia? What is your party’s vision for Armenia over the next 5-10 years?

That concludes this Conversation On Armenian News. We hope it was helpful in your understanding of some of the issues involved. We look forward to your feedback, including your suggestions for Conversation topics in the future. Contact us on our website, at groong.org, or on our Facebook Page “ANN – Armenian News”, or in our Facebook Group “Armenian News – Armenian News Network”.

Special thanks to Laura Osborn for providing the music for our podcast. On behalf of everyone in this episode, we wish you a good week. Thank you for listening and we’ll talk to you soon.

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Armenia, Artsakh, Karabakh, Opposition, Salvation of the Homeland, ARF, Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Dashnaktsutyun, Arthur Khachatryan, Stepanakert


Turkey: Rights leader Osman Kavala faces new trial

Emil Lazarian 
Deutsche Welle


Dec. 18, 2020

Jailed Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala is going on trial on
charges connected with a failed 2016 coup. His yearslong imprisonment
without a conviction has been condemned by rights groups across the
world.

Kavala has been in prison in Turkey for more than three years without
being convicted of a crime

Turkish civil society leader Osman Kavala is to appear on Friday
before a court in Istanbul for a fresh trial seen by critics as part
of a government campaign to crack down on dissent.

Kavala, a 63-year-old businessman and philanthropist, who is known
partly for his efforts to promote human rights through the arts, has
been in prison in Turkey for more than three years without a
conviction. His case has drawn condemnation from around the world,
with the EU and US both calling for his immediate release.

Kavala is the director of Turkey's Anadolu Kultur civil society
organization and has supported a range of art and social projects. He
was also a founding member of philanthropist George Soros' Open
Society Foundation in Turkey.

He was acquitted in February of attempting to overthrow the Turkish
government during 2013 protests against the planned demolition of an
Istanbul park that turned into anti-government rallies. However, he
was rearrested almost immediately on fresh charges of espionage and
trying to destroy the constitutional order in connection with a failed
coup in July 2016.

Quashing dissent

In the aftermath of the coup, Turkish authorities have carried out a
massive crackdown on suspected government opponents. Tens of thousands
of judges, teachers, police and civil servants have been suspended or
dismissed from their jobs, with many arrested and imprisoned.

Human rights group say that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has
used the failed coup as a pretext to enact authoritarian policies.

 Turkey's constitutional court is currently deliberating on whether
Kavala's detention is lawful. It is not known when it will deliver its
verdict.

Yerevan citizens demanding Armenian PM’s resignation at metro stations, chanting "Nikol traitor"

Garik Boshkezenian
News.am, Armenia

Dec 18 2020
Yerevan citizens demanding Armenian PM's resignation at metro stations, chanting "Nikol traitor"
18:41, 18.12.2020

Today, citizens burned their homes and cattle farms remaining on the other side of the border before transferring all the posts of the city of Kapan of Armenia’s Syunik Province to the Azerbaijani side. Armenian News-NEWS.am’s correspondent reports that before 5 p.m. the citizens whose homes were located in the village of Kashatagh region bordering Kapan were removing their items from their homes. They were also burning their constructions passing along the border, and one of them, for example, is located next to the airport in Kapan.

Armenian News-NEWS.am’s correspondent reports that as of 5 p.m. Armenian border guards had already left the posts near Kapan. They had to retreat more than 10 km. The locals told Armenian News-NEWS.am that Kapan and, for example, Syunik village will completely be at the observation post of the adversary since the highest peaks of that territory will be transferred to the adversary.




Armenia National Academy of Sciences History Institute reaffirms demand for government’s and PM’s resignation

Jhanna Virabian
News.am, Armenia

Dec 18 2020
Armenia National Academy of Sciences History Institute reaffirms demand for government's and PM's resignation
21:10, 18.12.2020

The History Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia has issued the following statement:

“Taking as a basis the November 25 statement by the presidency of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia on the resignation of the Government and Prime Minister of Armenia, as well as the fact that the humiliating trilateral statement signed on November 9, the Academic Council of the History Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia expresses its indignation with the inconsistent and passivity of the authorities of Armenia in regard to the events unfolding in the country.

In particular, the withdrawal of Armenian troops located in several settlements of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), including Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd villages of Hadrut region), Sanasar (Kubatlu) and Kovsakan (Zangelan) regions poses a direct threat to the security of Artsakh and the eastern borders of Armenia.

As a matter of fact, such a demand for the retreat from positions under Armenians control in the Kubatlu and Zangelan regions isn’t even envisaged by the unacceptable document signed on November 9. Proceeding from the processes that are already getting out of control, the History Institute of the National Academy of Sciences reaffirms the demand for the resignation of the Government and Prime Minister of Armenia.”



Marking 102nd anniversary of founding, ARMENPRESS eyes modernization and diversification

Lara Chatinian
 

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 09:37,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. December 18th 2020 marks the 102nd anniversary of the founding of ARMENPRESS State News Agency.

ARMENPRESS chief executive Aram Ananyan remarked that the agency is planning to further strengthen its international reputation in the next year.

“Our goal is to increase our agency’s presence in international news flows, as well as make our production more diversified, modern and in conformity with the consumers’ demands. Soon we will have the technical opportunities for this, and we believe that our readers, subscribers and colleagues will very quickly notice the changes,” Ananyan commented.

In his words, ARMENPRESS has all opportunities to become the voice of Armenia. This year, all news agencies around the world were working in emergency regimes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the Armenian media operated in extra difficult conditions because of the Artsakh war. “The pandemic and the war showed that the agency is able, and must have the strategic goal of becoming Armenia’s voice, and solve this objective. Today, it is more than important for our voice and ideas to be heard first of all to our allies, as well as all people, states and organizations interested in the fate of Armenia and Artsakh. We will make vigorous efforts in this direction,” Ananyan said.

ARMENPRESS was established on December 18, 1918. Back then, it was known as the Armenian Telegraph Agency.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenia registers highest decline in investments in main capital within EAEU

Emil Lazarian

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 09:21,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Investments in main capital in Armenia comprised 462,4 million USD with the current prices and the average exchange rate of the Armenian dram against the US dollar calculated by the Central Bank for the period of January-September 2020: this figure has declined by 15.7% compared to the same period of 2019 with the permanent prices, the Eurasian Economic Commission reports.

According to the EEC data, the total capital investments in the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) comprised 197 billion 374,7 million dollars in January-September 2020, which declined by 4.2% compared to January-September 2019.

In Belarus, 8 billion 389,9 million USD investments were made in January-September 2020, which declined by 2.1% compared to the same period of 2019.

In Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia capital investments comprised 20 billion 194,4 million USD (a decline of 4.9%), 1 billion 20,7 million USD (a decline of 14.7%) and 167 billion 306,7 million USD (a decline of 4.1%) respectively.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

EU stands ready to assume a role in shaping durable settlement to Nagorno Karabakh conflict

Garnik Zakarian

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 10:12,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. The 3rd Partnership Council meeting between the European Union and the Republic of Armenia was held in Brussels on , the EU Delegation to Armenia told Armenpress.

The Council was chaired by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Mr Josep Borrell, and attended by EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi. Foreign Minister Mr Ara Ayvazyan led the Armenian delegation.

The Partnership Council reviewed the implementation of the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which covers a wide range of cooperation in the political, economic, trade, and other sectoral areas. It also discussed other issues relevant for EU-Armenia relations. The EU reiterated that it remains fully committed to the joint agenda as well as to supporting Armenia in overcoming challenges on its reform path.

The Partnership Council also addressed the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, underlining the EU's support to Armenia’s efforts protect lives and livelihoods, and to reopen societies and the economy.

The EU and Armenia also discussed the situation in and around Nagorno Karabakh following the cessation of hostilities on 10 November 2020, the EU's role in supporting recovery and reconciliation, as well as regional issues.

“The EU welcomes and supports Armenia's strong commitment to further pursue its reform agenda and to fully implement our bilateral agreement, despite the challenges the country is confronted with”, said High Representative, Josep Borrell. “The EU stands ready to assume a role in supporting and shaping a durable settlement to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, in close complementarity with the Minsk Group Co-Chairs. We are ready to use our peacebuilding and reconstruction tools to support this”.

Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, underlined that “The EU is strongly committed to support Armenia's socio-economic recovery and continued domestic reforms for the benefit of the Armenian citizens and businesses. With substantial assistance already provided to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government's priority reforms in justice and police, we stand ready to explore how to further support Armenia under the current challenging circumstances. We are also ready to contribute €10 million to further humanitarian assistance and to work towards more comprehensive conflict transformation and longer-term socio-economic development”.

Ahead of the Partnership Council, the European Union issued a report on developments in Armenia and EU-Armenia relations since May 2019. The report underlines Armenia's progress in implementing the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, its commitment to domestic reforms, and the key role of the EU in supporting them.

The EU-Armenia Partnership Council took place one day ahead of the EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council. These meetings reiterate the importance of the EU's partnership with the countries in the region and the EU’s support to its recovery and to sustainable peace.

Belgium’s Chamber of Representatives condemns Azerbaijan’s aggression against Artsakh

Tania Jagharian

Belgium’s Chamber of Representatives condemns Azerbaijan's aggression against Artsakh

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 12:14,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. The Chamber of Representatives of Belgium adopted 130/12 a resolution condemning the Azeri attack on Artsakh, the Committee of Armenians of Belgium reported.

The resolution “condemns the resumption of military actions by Azerbaijan on September 27, 2020” and calls upon the government to take several actions to help the affected civilians, to reveal and bring to accountability those guilty for war crimes, maintain the ceasefire and lead the negotiations to a peace treaty that would respect the borders of Artsakh and its right to self determination.

The resolution also condemns Turkey’s destructive role in the war and demands Ankara to stop meddling militarily in the NK conflict and refrain from actions that destabilize the region.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan