Category: 2021

The Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of the Holy See Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, who is visiting Armenia on an official trip, visited on Wednesday the Armenian Genocide Museum. 

The guests were welcomed by AGMI Deputy Director Lusine Abrahamyan, who presented them with the history of the creation of the Memorial.

Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra placed flowers at the Eternal Flame and honored the memory of the innocent martyrs with a minute of silence. The guests also toured the Armenian Genocide Museum, saw with permanent and temporary exhibitions after which the Archbishop left a note in the Honorable Guests’ Book.

“There is only one topic the opposition “With Honour” faction at the National Assembly can discuss with Nikol Pashinyan and that is the text of his resignation,” the member of the opposition bloc Hayk Mamijanyan stated on Wednesday. Mamijanyan’s statement came during the Q/A session at parliament attended by Pashinyan and the cabinet members. 

“In all other cases the Government and its leader are accountable to the National Assembly. There will be different inquiry committees, discussions of various formats can take place at the parliament. I will find another opportunity to raise my questions since I consider pointless to ask question in this atmosphere,” Mamijanyan said in response to the stir among the deputies that followed his remarks. 

Armenia’s former Deputy Defense Minister and member of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Artak Zakaryan states the power in Armenia does not belong to the people.

“Armenia and Artsakh are falling victim to the conformist indifference of the rich, the ignorance of the poor, the silent obedience of those receiving salaries from the budget and the total disorganization of the compassionate,” he wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

“The power in the Republic of Armenia belongs not to the people, but to Turkish-Azerbaijani (as well as other foreign) circles.

“Today, we all, led by Nikol the capitulator, renounce the Artsakh and Armenia of tomorrow. We need to drive out the main conspirator as quickly as possible, and only after that to put things in order in the Armenian House,” Zakaryan said.

“Erdogan’s latest statement clearly contains preconditions, specifically about the so-called corridor,” opposition lawmaker Tigran Abrahamyan told reporters on Wednesday, commenting on the possibility of normalizating relations with Armenia by Turkish president Erdogan made in Varanda. 

In Abrahamyan’s words, despite the assurances of the Armenian leaders, it is obvious that Turkey and Azerbaijan are exerting huge pressures to achieve desired results. That is expressed either in incidents on the borderline or in certain stages in political processes. “Armenia is under huge pressure at present. In the current situation, it is with regret to record that even in the post-war developments Azerbaijan and Turkey exert additional pressures on Armenia and bring forward new preconditions,” stressed Abrahamyan. 

Apart from the corridor, per Abrahamyan, there is another factor to consider. “Azerbaijan continuously says that the Nagorno Karabakh issue is resolved, however, the part of Artsakh is in no way controlled by Azeris which makes them dissatisfied. “Azerbaijan seeks to fix in a document its desired solution through every mean, including through various documents and processes,” added Abrahamyan. 

The Armenian parliament did not pass a statement on Artsakh drafted by the opposition Armenia and With Honor factions after urgent debates on the border situation during a special session of the National Assembly held behind the closed doors on Tuesday.

The statement read out by With Honor faction MP Tigran Abrahamyan on Wednesday condemned the 2020 Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression against Artsakh, involving terrorist groups and mercenaries.

The gross violations of international law with regard to prisoners of war and civilian captives, even after the end of hostilities, as well as continuous provocations against Artsakh and the invasion of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia were also condemned.

The statement highlighted that Azerbaijan continues to use hate rhetoric, incite Armenophobia, disseminate distorted information and make territorial claims against Armenia.

The state borders are determined on the basis of international law, the UN Vienna Convention, which stipulates, inter alia, that any agreement on borders using or threatening to use force is invalid. The right of the people of Artsakh to live on their historical land and the de-occupation of the territories of Artsakh is the key precondition for establishing peace in the region in the OSCE Minsk Group format, the draft statement said.

It also obliged the Armenian government to refrain from engaging in negotiations, written or verbal agreements, which would run against the Armenian Constitution and the will of the Armenian people enshrined in the Declaration of Independence.

In addition, accoridng to the document, the authorities had to provide information about the army reforms, as well as step up the modernization of security system to make it in line with the post-war challenges.

The head of the ruling Civic Contract party’s parliamentray faction, Hayk Konjoryan, said that  they received the draft document on Tuesday afternoon, and the political majority was not involved in drafting the statement.

He stated that the statement included certain wording of domestic political nature, reflecting the opposition’s political approaches. Meanwhile, he said, a document on such an important issue should be consensual.

Therefore, Konjoryan announced his facton’s decision not to take part in the voting.

The statement failed to be adopted after receiving 26 votes.