Category: 2021

Pope Francis ended his historic tour of Iraq on Monday, departing by plane from Baghdad after visiting conflict-torn cities, meeting Muslim and Christian leaders and preaching peace and coexistence over war.

During his trip, the first ever papal visit to Iraq, Francis toured four cities, including Mosul, the former ISIS stronghold where vast areas still lie in ruins.

As Catholic Philly reports, in the northern city of Mosul, Francis prayed in a square containing the remnants of four churches — Syriac Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox and Chaldean — nearly destroyed in the war to oust ISIS from the city.

Pope Francis listened to the stories of Christians forced to flee, the fear many have to return and the encouragement of Muslim neighbors committed to making the city a thriving, multicultural metropolis again.

It is noted that the 2003 invasion of Iraq by U.S. and coalition forces battered the city but the biggest, most horrifying blow came in early June 2014 when militants of the Islamic State group launched an offensive. They controlled the city for three years, terrorizing the population, executing hundreds and kidnapping, raping and selling women. They blew up major landmarks, both Muslim and Christian. They destroyed libraries and museums and tens of thousands of lives.

Later, in the Christian town of Qaraqosh, where an entire Christian community was forced out by the brutality of ISIS militants, Francis urged Christians to forgive their oppressors and rebuild their lives.

Armenia’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan on Monday delivered a special report at a discussion hosted by the Armenian National Committee of the United Kingdom, highlighting the urgency of the return of the Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) – servicemen and civilians – being held in Azerbaijan.

The meeting was attended by UK Ambassador to Armenia John Gallagher, Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Armenia Tim Loughton and others, the Ombudsman’s Office reported on Tuesday.

Arman Tatoyan noted that the Azerbaijani authorities are artificially delaying and politicizing the process to cause mental suffering to the Armenian society, especially to the families of the prisoners, and to create tensions in the country.

The ombudsman presented in detail the international humanitarian and human rights rules which require the immediate release of prisoners and their safe return. Wrongly portraying POWs as “terrorists” is a gross violation of international humanitarian law and the rights of prisoners given the circumstances of ongoing armed conflict, he underlined.

Tatoyan also briefed the participants on war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Azerbaijani military during the recent war in Artsakh (beheadings, torture, mutilation of bodies, etc.).

Referring to the border determination process, Arman Tatoyan presented his new concept calling for the creation of a demilitarized zone in Armenia’s Syunik Province to guarantee the security of the people. He presented concrete evidence and facts which his new approach is based on.

“The process related to the borders has violated and seriously endangered the rights of Armenia’s border residents, disrupted their normal life, continuing to cause concerns to the villagers,” the defender said.

Animator Davit Sahakyants on Tuesday urged the Armenian military to “take a decisive step” to remove Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his cabinet from power.

In a statement earlier in February, Chief of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan and 40 other senior military officers demanded the resignation of Pashinyan and his cabinet, accusing them of misrule.

“Everything is in the hands of the army. It’s the military that should take an important step. I expect a decisive step from the military,” Sahakyants told reporters before the rally of the Homeland Salvation Movement on Baghramyan Avenue in Yerevan.

According to him, having the support of the most of Armenians, it will be possible to achieve the ultimate goal.

“I am convinced that it is one of the institutions that has great support,” Sahakyants emphasized.

He noted that many people are skeptical about the activity of the Homeland Salvation Movement, seeing some threats or disliking some of its members, that’s why they do not join the nationwide movement. At the same time, he said everyone’s support is crucial in achieving success.

Separately, Sahakyants noted that “decisive steps” taken by the premier bring him to a less adequate state, pushing him to make bigger mistakes. He believes Pashinyan refuses to step down due to his fears, for which he must answer. 

The joint candidate of the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement for interim prime minister, Vazgen Manukyan, on Tuesday dismissed the claims of an MP from the ruling My Step bloc that the domestic political situation prevented the return of a group of prisoners of war (POWs) from Azerbaijan as “nonsense”.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the opposition rally on Baghramyan Avenue in Yerevan, he said pro-government lawmakers make “stupid statements”, stressing that there must be at least one argument that the activities of the opposition impede the repatriation of prisoners.

Touching upon the criminal case launched against him, Vazgen Manukyan said that it has been forwarded to the court and the trial will be held soon.

“I never comment on my calls, it is the job of lawyers,” he said, answering the question if he sees anything dangerous in his statements.

Vazgen Manukyan noted that they will continue their activity, adding until 6pm today they will wait for President Armen Sarkissian’s decision on whether or not to ask the Constitutional Court to determine the legality of the dismissal of the army’s General Staff chief by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. According to him, their further actions will become clear afterwards.

To the remark that people are awaiting decisive steps, but the movement seems to be slowing down, Vazgen Manukyan said that decisive actions are ahead.

“You should take into account one thing: Nikol Pashinyan cannot retain hold on power, as day by day broader sections of the society turn away from him. He has only one option –  to establish dictatorship, but for that he needs the army. That is why he wants to break the army, but he will fail,” the opposition leader said. 

Opposition rallies do not in any way hinder the return of the Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) from Azerbaijani captivity and the solution of security issues in general, former Director of the National Security Service and opposition Homeland Party leader Artur Vanetsyan told reporters ahead of the rally of the Homeland Salvation Movement on Yerevan’s Marshal Baghramyan Avenue on Tuesday.

He noted that the current authorities once again try to blame others for their “incompetence and inability to take action”.

Vanetsyan expressed hope that the president will eventually ask the Constitutional Court to determine the legality of the dismissal of the Armenian army’s General Staff chief, Onik Gasparyan, by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, after refusing to sign the draft decree on his dismissal twice.

“We hope that today we will receive news from the President’s Office that the president has nevertheless applied to the Constitutional Court. Otherwise, we will decide what next steps to take on the spot,” the opposition leader said.

He is convinced that their persistent struggle and increased public pressure will yield results.

“From now on, the political agenda will be dictated from Baghramyan Avenue, and all issues related to further developments in Armenia will be resolved here,” Vanetsyan said.

Asked whether his Homeland Party plans to team up with the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF, Dashnaktsutyun) party and nominate Robert Kocharyan as their candidate for prime minister in the event of snap elections in the country, as suggested by some media reports, Vanetsyan said: “We have a primary task – the removal of Pashinyan from office, followed by the formation of an interim government and early elections. Once we get to that point, we will talk about it. During my activity of the past year, I realized that nothing can be ruled out in politics, but now it is also impossible to make any assertions.” 

The former chief of staff of the Armenian parliament, Ara Saghatelyan, who was set free on Saturday pending trial, thanked people for the “struggle against the dictatorship and for his freedom” at an opposition rally on Yerevan’s Baghramyan Avenue on Tuesday.

“You won and I am standing here today. We won. We will achieve another victory soon. Thank you. They [PM Nikol Pashinyan and his cabinet] have broken all the written and unwritten rules and crossed all the red lines,” Saghatelyan said in his speech.

He noted that instead of reporting on 5,000 war casualties, prisoners of war, missing persons and all losses of the country, the authorities think that resorting to repressive measures, imprisoning people and discrediting them will help them retain hold on power.

“It won’t work. Today I declare from here that all the slaves of the regime, all the servants will answer before the law, generations and God,” Saghatelyan said, blaming Nikol Pashinyan and his cabinet for the large number of war victims and territorial losses.

Saghatelyan said he was in Artsakh almost throughout the whole period of the recent war and witnessed the “mess” created there.

“The current authorities of infantile idiots even turned the war into a show. Bayraktar drones and cluster munitions were being used against us, while they were assuring people here that we were winning. Then he [Pashinyan] says, “I am sorry”. Seriously? Do you understand what you have done? Do you give yourself an account of what you have done, the lights of how many homes you have extinguished? Do you realize that you have deprived a whole nation of their homeland and honor? Do you realize that you have left tens of thousands of people homeless and thousands of children orphans? There is and will be no forgiveness for you for the simple reason that everyone who will share that responsibility will become an accomplice, and no sane person will go for it,” Saghatelyan emphasized.

As reported earlier, Ara Saghatelyan had been arrested for two months as part of a criminal probe into a case concerning a fake Facebook account opened in the name of “Gagik Soghomonyan”. The page continued to be updated while the former senior parliament staffer was remanded in custody. 

Clashes broke out between police and opposition activists at a rally in Yerevan on Tuesday, as the latter tried to block all the entrances to the National Assembly building at the urging of Vazgen Manukyan, the prime ministerial candidate of the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement.

“We are blocking the building of the National Assembly,” Manukyan told protesters on Baghramyan Avenue.

Demonstrators tried to block the entrance to the parliament building from the side of Demirchyan Street, but police began to obstruct them. Clashes erupted between police officers and activists, with police starting to push the citizens back.

“We call on police not to succumb to provocations, we are not trying to enter the National Assembly, we simply continue our disobedience action,” ARF member Ishkhan Saghatelyan said.

However, police proceeded to push protesters back, including representatives of the media.

“The police have resorted to provocations,” Saghatelyan added.

Protesters demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his cabinet continue the rally, chanting “Nikol the traitor!”, “Armenia without Nikol!” and “Nation, army, victory!”.