Category: 2021

Chess: Chess-Grandmaster Aronian says he is leaving Armenia, will represent U.S.

Garo Vardanian
Yahoo! News
Feb 26 2021

Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber

, 5:47 a.m.·1 min read

By Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Chess grandmaster Levon Aronian said on Friday he was leaving Armenia and would represent the United States, citing what he said was Armenian officials’ indifference to chess as one of the reasons.

The 38-year-old, who is ranked sixth in the world, announced his decision on his Facebook page.

“The past year has been very difficult for all of us with a pandemic, a war and in my case there was personal adversity and the state’s absolute indifference towards Armenian chess,” he wrote, referring to six weeks of fighting between ethnic Armenian and Azeri forces over the Nagorno-Karabkah enclave.

“I was faced with a choice: quit my job or move to where I am valued,” he wrote.

Smbat Lputian, deputy head of the Armenian Chess Federation, said he regretted Aronian’s decision.

“This is a big loss for Armenian chess,” he told Reuters.

Mike Hoffpauir, president of the U.S. Chess Federation, said it welcomed Aronian’s decision to relocate to the United States.

The Saint Louis Chess Club said Aronian was moving to the U.S. city to continue his career and would represent the United States at future competitions.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) told Reuters it could not comment on Aronian’s intentions and plans.

“A player can represent the country/federations where he resides,” FIDE said. “That doesn’t necessarily imply that he changes his nationality.”

Aronian’s move follows political unrest in Armenia, where Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan condemned what he said was an attempted coup on Thursday after the army demanded he quit.

(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Nvard Hovhannisyan; Editing by Timothy Heritage, Kirsten Donovan)

Kremlin sees no risk now of Karabakh accords being derailed due to events in Armenia – Russian Politics & Diplomacy

Garnik Tadevosian
TASS, Russia
Feb 26 2021
The spokesman noted that, despite the developments in Armenia, it is important to follow the path of the implementation of the agreements on Nagorno-Karabakh
Kremlin sees no risk now of Karabakh accords being derailed due to events in Armenia – Russian Politics & Diplomacy – TASS

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Developments in Armenia have so far not affected the implementation of the agreements on Nagorno-Karabakh, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday when asked whether Moscow saw the threat of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process being derailed because of the situation in Yerevan.

“No, everything is being implemented so far,” he said. The Kremlin spokesman noted that, despite the developments in Armenia, it is important to follow the path of the implementation of the agreements on Nagorno-Karabakh.

Mass rallies of opponents and supporters of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan began in Armenia on Thursday, after the General Staff of the Armed Forces issued a statement demanding the resignation of the government. Pashinyan branded that as an attempted coup and announced the decision to dismiss the chief of the General Staff. President Armen Sarkissian who, according to the Constitution, appoints and dismisses the chief of the General Staff at the prime minister’s suggestion, has not signed the documents yet.

Lavrov says developments in Armenia ‘internal affair’, hopes for peaceful solution

Hunanian Jack
TASS, Russia
Feb 26 2021
Armenia’s Armed Forces demand the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government, the General Staff said in a statement on Thursday, stressing that the cabinet is incapable of taking adequate decisions in a critical situation

MOSCOW, February 25./TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed hope for a peaceful settlement to the situation in Armenia in a phone call with his Armenian counterpart Ara Ayvazyan, emphasizing that Moscow viewed the latest developments as an internal affair of Yerevan.

“Ayvazyan reported on the latest developments in the republic. The Russian side emphasized that we consider the situation to be an internal affair of Armenia, and expect that it will be settled peacefully,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a report circulated after the phone call.

Armenia’s Armed Forces are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government, the General Staff said in a statement on Thursday, stressing that the cabinet is incapable of taking adequate decisions in a critical situation.

“The prime minister and the Armenian government are no longer able to make adequate decisions in this critical and pivotal situation for the Armenian people. In connection with the current situation, the Armenian Armed Forces demand the resignation of the Prime Minister and the Government of the Republic of Armenia, while warning to refrain from using force against the people, whose children died defending the Motherland and Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh],” the statement said.

Pashinyan qualified the demand as a coup attempt, urging his supporters to converge on Yerevan’s Republic Square.

Armenian opposition leader urges army to rebel after PM’s coup accusation

Jagharian Tania
KFGO
Feb 26 2021
Fargo, ND, USA / The Mighty 790 KFGO | KFGO
Thomson Reuters
Feb 26, 2021 9:42 AM

YEREVAN (Reuters) – Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s grip on power appeared to be slipping on Friday, a day after the army called on him to quit.

Hundreds of demonstrators rallied in the capital Yerevan to demand his downfall, and a leading opposition figure called on the army to rebel against him. Two former presidents have already said he must step down.

Pashinyan, 45, accused the military of a coup attempt on Thursday and tried to sack the chief of staff, after the army issued a written statement calling for him to resign.

He has faced calls to quit since November from countrymen who blame him for a disastrous six-week war that saw ethnic Armenian forces lose swathes of territory in neighbouring Azerbaijan they had held for decades.

While crowds on Friday demanded he resign, thousands of others had gathered in the capital to rally behind him on Thursday.

Pashinyan told his supporters on Thursday he was firing Onik Gasparyan, the chief of the army’s general staff. But by Friday the dismissal had not yet been approved by Armenia’s president, a step needed for it to enter force.

President Armen Sarkissian held a meeting with Gasparyan, the president’s office said, without releasing further details.

Vazgen Manukyan, a politician who has been touted by the opposition as a possible interim prime minister to replace Pashinyan, told hundreds of supporters at a rally that the army would never allow Gasparyan to be sacked.

“You think the army will easily agree that Pashinyan illegally removes their head? No. The army will rebel. I call on the army to rebel. The army shouldn’t carry out illegal orders,” Manukyan said.

The General Prosecutor’s Office told Reuters on Friday that it was investigating whether the army’s call for the prime minister to go constituted a crime.

“The general staff’s statement and the possible risk of developments around it are the subject of our attention,” Gor Abrahamyan, an aide to the prosecutor general, told Reuters by telephone. “If any elements of a crime outlined in the criminal code are revealed, a legal response will immediately follow.”

Pashinyan, a former journalist and lawmaker, came to power in a peaceful popular uprising in May 2018 known as Armenia’s velvet revolution.

But the loss of territory in and around the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh last year was a bitter blow for Armenians, who had won control of the area in the 1990s in a war which killed at least 30,000 people.

The conflict was brought to a halt by a ceasefire deal brokered by Russia. Moscow, which has deployed peacekeepers to enforce the ceasefire, said on Friday it was vital the agreements be fully implemented despite Armenia’s crisis.

(Reporting by Artem Mikryukov and Nvard Hovhannisyan; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Peter Graff)

Turkish Press: ‘Armenia has never been in such a pathetic situation’

Frangulian Shushan
Anadolu Agency, Turkey
Feb 26 2021
Ruslan Rehimov   | 26.02.2021

BAKU, Azerbaijan 

Azerbaijan’s president criticized Armenia on Thursday, saying internal conflicts occur almost daily in the country and the principles of democracy are ignored. 

“Armenia has never been in such a pathetic situation,” said Ilham Aliyev, addressing the current crises in Armenia in his speech at a ceremony in the capital Baku to hand out apartments to the families of martyrs and veterans.

“It is their leaders who put them in this situation, both the Kocharyan-Sargsyan regime, which ruled the country for 20 years, and the administration that came after them,” said Aliyev.

“But for some reason, some states and non-governmental organizations that talk about democracy turn a blind eye to it. The opposition in Armenia is pressured every day, arrested and killed, but no one reacts. What does this mean?”

He said that “30 years of history shows once again that we did not win this victory only against Armenia. Organized and powerful circles were united against us and wanted to keep our land under occupation forever. Armenia was just a tool. We have destroyed this insidious policy and restored justice.”

Earlier in the day, the Armenian military released a statement calling on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to step down.

The premier blasted the military’s call as a “coup attempt” and urged his supporters to take to the streets to resist. He later announced the dismissal of the Chief of General Staff on Facebook.

The unrest follows the end of a military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan last fall widely seen as a victory for the latter.

During the six week-conflict, which ended with a Russian-brokered truce, Azerbaijan liberated several strategic cities and nearly 300 of its settlements and villages from Armenian occupation.

Before this, about 20% of Azerbaijan’s territory had been under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly three decades.

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

*Writing by Merve Berker

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/-armenia-has-never-been-in-such-a-pathetic-situation-/2157569





Azerbaijan Stops Searches Ahead of Armenian Pogrom Anniversary

Alex Jidarian
Feb 26 2021

02/26/2021 Azerbaijan (International Christian Concern) –  Today marks the 33rd anniversary of the Sumgait pogrom that took place against ethnic Armenian Christians. In late February 1988, Azerbaijanis attacked Armenians living in Sumgait, Azerbaijan, resulting in many deaths, looting, burnings of cars, and rioting. Pogroms and other acts of violence resulted in the near erasure of Armenians from Azerbaijan.

Now 33 years later, the violence and targeting of Armenians continue. Through the Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian: Artsakh) war this past fall, Armenian Christians were again forced from their homes. A new, hateful narrative is being rewritten by Azerbaijan in an attempt to negate the Christian history there and also justify their aggression. This aggression is supported and encouraged by Turkey, who is also amplifying Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev’s speech today that shows a desire for complete subjection of Karabakh’s Armenian community.

Azerbaijan has also forcibly stopped all search operations in Nagorno-Karabakh since February 15. This is the longest searches have stopped since the ceasefire agreement. These operations were conducted by Armenians looking for the bodies of those who died during the war.

Armenian Christians are being denied the right to bury their dead, or even to have confirmation of what happened to their loved ones as a result of Azerbaijan cutting off access to their newly-controlled territory. The Azerbaijani and Turkish narratives continue to reinforce how little they value the lives of ethnic Armenian Christians.

Episode 56: From Armenia to America Part 2 | Persecution

Hambik Zargarian
Feb 26 2021

Jeff King continues his conversation with two Armenian Genocide descendants to hear their story and to discuss the current political climate in Turkey. Jeff sits down with Anahit Khosroeva, a genocide scholar, to talk about her unique position as an Assyrian-Armenian genocide descendant as well as the insight of her work studying genocides.

Listen to more episodes .

General Staff chief ‘categorically rejects’ Pashinyan’s demand for resignation – Mediaport

Maghakian Mike
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 26 2021

Chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff Onik Gasparyan has “categorically rejected” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s demand for resignation, stating that “the demands of the army cannot be reversed”, Mediaport reported.

“The generals also sent a signal to Pashinyan that if pressures on Onik Gasparyan continues, the situation will further worsen,” it added.

Mediaport said earlier that Director of the National Security Service Armen Abazyan and President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan were in the office of the General Staff chief. “They locked the door from the inside and demanded his resignation,” the source said. 

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

Toneyan Mark
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. 

Opposition leader: Army’s demand for resignation ‘final verdict’ for Pashinyan

Jirair Kafian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 26 2021

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan does not appear to understand that the demand of the army’s General Staff for resignation is a “final verdict” for him, Vazgen Manukyan, the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement’s candidate for interim prime minister, told reporters during a rally on Marshal Bagharmyan Avenue in central Yerevan on Friday.

The opposition leader believes that Pashinyan either has to resign voluntarily or will be removed from office through a parliamentary vote.

Addressing the concerns that the statement of the army’s top brass demanding the resignation of Pashinyan and his government violated Armenia’s security, Manukyan said “the security of Armenia is at zero level and can no longer be violated,” adding Pashinyan further reduced the country’s security level with his remarks about the Russian-made Iskander missiles.

According to Manukyan, the army ensures the country’s security and finds a target that threatens it, while Nikol Pashinyan “is posing a threat” to the country’s security and must step down.

He noted that the leadership of the General Staff and the commanders of all 5 army corps joined the statement, adding it is a matter within their competence.

Vazgen Manukyan believes that Nikol Pashinyan sought to provoke clashes when he organized a rally in Yerevan on Thursday, as it was the case on March 1, 2008.

He said a meeting of a parliamentary council will take place at 11am today to discuss the demand of the opposition factions to convene a special sitting, since the required number of signatures have been collected.

The opposite leader unveiled their plans to hold a march and return to Baghramyan Avenue during the sitting of the National Assembly.

In Manukyan’s words, the current authorities have almost completely lost everything, they have no popular support and are in “agony”. The opposition has taken all necessary actions for a nationwide rally to take place, he said, adding demonstrators from Armenia’s regions are going to join them today.