Category: 2021

I am convinced that we should not have any contact without resolving the issue of captives; that should be a precondition for taking all the other steps. The second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, said this in an interview with three media outlets on Wednesday, referring to the issue of POWs.

“Now, what does ‘state secret’ mean? Another question arises: from whom, could Azerbaijan not know how many [Armenian] captives it has? (…). It is a matter of principle; they must be returned (…).

Why does Azerbaijan not give to the captives? It wants to stop the replenishment of the Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] army. (…). I am convinced that [Azerbaijani president Ilham] Aliyev is under constant pressure over the captives’ issue. He keeps [them] for a very specific purpose; he keeps that tool to destroy the fragments of the Artsakh state system. After handing over the captives, they will take [captives] again, until they receive an assurance from here that they will not send any military from Armenia to Artsakh; the price will be that, and our government will go for it,” Kocharyan added.

In connection with the publication of [Armenian Prime Minister] Nikol Pashinyan’s diplomatic passport, our sources report that the fact of stealing diplomatic passports from the government building did not appear in any way in the criminal case from the beginning, Dejavu wrote on its Telegram channel.

“That is, this fact is not reflected on at all in the criminal case to this day; therefore, the reason for publishing the RA MFA [Republic of Armenia Ministry of Foreign Affairs] is very incomprehensible,” it added.

Leaflets that read “Eliminate the traitor” on one side can be seen all over the central streets, bus stops, and subway stations in virtually all administrative districts of Yerevan since early Thursday morning.

In all likelihood, “traitor” alludes to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

According to the Telegram channel Mediaport, on the other side of these leaflets it is written “Blow,” which, according to the Telegram channel, is presumably the name of the group that carried out this act of protest.

There can be talks about snap parliamentary elections when the incumbent authorities resign, after which a national salvation committee will be set up and will lead the country to new elections. This is what Merited Artist of Armenia Hrant Tokhatyan told reporters during the rally at Republic Square today.

When told that second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan has declared that he will run in the possible elections and asked if people will unite around him, Tokhatyan said the following:

“Robert Kocharyan is highly experienced, and the country recorded economic growth during his administration, but later, there were major flaws, and perhaps this is the reason why we have the government we have today.”

Asked if he shares Kocharyan’s view that Armenia has turned into Russia’s protectorate, the actor said if things continue the way they are, it will become Russia’s protectorate.

Reporters also asked how he assesses the statement by the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement’s candidate for Prime Minister Vazgn Manukyan that the opposition movement will rebel if it doesn’t achieve Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation through the Constitution, Tokhatyan says he doesn’t support it, if it means rebelling with arms.

Whoever’s name we announce here as candidate for Prime Minister, there will be people who will have differing views. This is what leader of the Armenian National Guard NGO, freedom fighter Arshak Zakaryan said during a protest held in front of the Prosecutor General’s Office today.

“We propose to set up an ad-hoc government. The incumbent authorities are trying to delay this as much as possible and stay clung to their positions. The Prime Minister says he wants to stay and organize elections, but it’s clear that he will use administrative resources and falsify those elections. They say they weren’t corrupt when they came to power, but they annulled the penalties of hundreds of thousands of citizens and released prisoners before elections. Isn’t this a bribe? We have given the Prosecutor General time to detain Pashinyan. He should have been detained a long time ago. Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan has presented substantiated facts, but is there anyone who doubts that we Armenians are living in a dictatorship? We hope the Prosecutor General comes. If he doesn’t, we also have the responsibility to detain him because he refuses to fulfill the people’s demand.”

According to him, after the authorities resign, the ad-hoc government needs to comprise several intellectuals, military figures and, why not, honorary officers.

Army general Movses Hakobyan today told Armenian News-NEWS.am that the situation needs to be assessed correctly in order to empower the army.

He also congratulated all Armenians on the 29th anniversary of the formation of the Armenian Army and said the following: “I wish that the army gets out of the current situation very quickly. Our army needs to make a comeback and achieve victories. All us Armenians need to support the empowerment of our army.”

Touching upon the statements on the provision of weapons to citizens, Hakobyan said there has to be a relevant decision, adding that he isn’t against that.

Asked if Armenia’s borders are protected today, the army general said the following: “I’m afraid to give an evaluation of that. All Armenians, including Armenians in Artsakh and the Diaspora are in danger. If Armenians abroad don’t have a place to call their homeland, their security is also at risk in their respective countries of residence.”

Vice-President of the Republican Party of Armenia Armen Ashotyan posted the following on his Facebook page:

“When Armenia is represented by ‘bagpipes’ of the authorities

The session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe showed that the existing ‘pack’ of conspirators is unable to pursue Armenia’s interests.

The delegation representing Armenia failed to:

1. Introduce the return of prisoners of war in the agenda of the PACE session.

2. Reach targeted statements blaming Azerbaijan in the report of the PACE Monitoring Committee.

However, I believe the third one is the biggest omission.

During the war, I had stated the need to use international mechanisms for investigation into the war in order to enshrine Azerbaijan’s military aggression and war crimes at the international level, along with all the consequences. This international mechanism first and foremost concerns the PACE, which has such a mandate and toolkit.

Moreover, through our efforts, the political message to investigate the war through the PACE was also conveyed the European People’s Party (the most influential political family in Europe) on December 7, 2020. It was stated that the need for a detailed and transparent investigation into the circumstances of the war and war crimes is important, including through the use of the toolkit and mechanisms of the PACE.

Similar statements on the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh were also included in the annual Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) Report adopted by the European Parliament on January 20, 2021, and in the annual Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) Report, the European Parliament calls for an international investigation into all the allegations regarding the existence of foreign militias and the use of cluster munitions and phosphorus bombs.

This year in Strasbourg, in its report, the PACE reiterated the alarms sounded and the need for investigation of war crimes stated during the war, that is, the following: “The Assembly expresses its serious concern about reports and allegations of violations of humanitarian and human rights law by all sides during this conflict and allegations of degradations to some religious sites and monuments, as well as destruction of private property, and expects these reports to be fully investigated and any violations to be remedied and the perpetrators prosecuted.”

One has to be perfectly insane to overlook this very prospective proposal and to be satisfied with primitive texts for the internal audience in a favorable international environment.

The PACE should have and could have launched this process that is in the interests of Armenia.

Unfortunately, Armenia was represented by ‘bagpipes’ of the authorities.”

Chief of Staff of the President of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Artak Beglaryan posted the following on his Facebook page:

“Today is the hardest day for us Armenians to celebrate since the declaration of independence, but in any case, congratulations on the occasion of Armenian Army Day and Homeland Defender’s Day!

Our pain and losses are infinite, just like our dues and real expectations.

Yes, since establishment, a lot has been done for the functioning of Armenian statehood and the army, but there have been crucial mistakes and omissions that led to the current situation.

If we Armenians truly want to fix the mistakes and continue the path to empowerment of statehood, we need to be smart and work hard, as well as analyze, properly assess the global risks and raise the level of effectiveness of governance systems.

I congratulate and thank everyone who has made a certain contribution to homeland defense and the functioning of the Armenian Army, and as for the martyred boys and men, we have no right to forget about our great moral duties to them for a minute.”