Thursday, September 1, 2022
More Charges Brought Against Former Karabakh Army Chief
• Anush Mkrtchian
Former Nagorno-Karabakh army commander Mikael Arzumanian.
An Armenian law-enforcement agency brought additional criminal charges against a
former commander of Nagorno-Karabakh’s army on Thursday hours after a court in
Yerevan allowed his pre-trial arrest.
Lieutenant-General Mikael Arzumanian was detained and charged with criminal
negligence immediately after entering Armenia from Karabakh earlier this week.
The Investigative Committee initially indicted Arzumanian over the capture by
Azerbaijani forces of the Karabakh town of Shushi (Shusha) which happened at the
end of the 2020 war. It claims that he failed to deploy more troops around
Shushi beforehand.
Arzumanian was appointed as commander of Karabakh’s Armenian-backed Defense Army
on October 27, 2020 less than two weeks before the fall of the strategic town.
The Investigative Committee said on Thursday that the 49-year-old general also
ordered Karabakh Armenian forces to withdraw from “strategically important”
positions retaken by them days after the war broke out on September 27, 2020. It
said that the order amounted to abuse of power.
Arzumanian’s lawyer, Yerem Sargsian, did not return phone calls throughout the
day. He reportedly said on Wednesday that his client rejects the first
accusation leveled against him.
Armenian opposition leaders have criticized Arzumanian’s arrest, saying that it
is part of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s efforts to deflect blame for the
disastrous war. They continue to hold Pashinian primarily responsible for
Armenia’s defeat.
Movses Hakobian, Armenia’s former top general, also denounced the criminal case
against Arzumanian. He implied that it is aimed at lending credence to
Pashinian’s “political statements” on the outcome of the war.
“Accusing Arzumanian is not honest, to say the least, because he took over the
army at a time when everything was already predetermined,” Hakobian told
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “Secondly, nobody can judge whether a commander made
a right or wrong decision in a particular situation.”
“Although I used to be Arzumanian’s superior, I wouldn’t reserve myself the
right to say whether he made the right or wrong decision at that point because
there are lots of factors that influenced it,” added the Karabakh-born general.
Arzumanian was dismissed as Karabakh army commander last year. He has worked as
an advisor to Arayik Harutiunian, the Karabakh president, since then. A
spokeswoman for Harutiunian on Tuesday described Arzumanian as “one of our best
military commanders.”
Armenian Prosecutor Favors Death Penalty For Treason
Armenia - Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian speaks at an official ceremony in
Yerevan, July 1, 2022.
Armenia’s outgoing Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian on Thursday called for
restoring the death penalty for individuals convicted of high treason in the
country.
Davtian’s office reported that he has filed a corresponding appeal to Justice
Minister Karen Andreasian, who heads a government task force on constitutional
reform.
According to the office, Davtian cited in his letter the increased number of
espionage cases investigated by Armenian law-enforcement authorities since the
2020 war with Azerbaijan. He said punishment for such crimes should be toughened
“especially against the background of existing security challenges in the
region.”
Dozens of Armenians, including military officers, have been arrested and/or
accused of spying for Azerbaijan during and after the war. None of them is known
to have been convicted by local courts so far.
Armenia agreed to abolish capital punishment when it joined the Council of
Europe over two decades ago. The ban is enshrined in Article 24 of its
constitution.
Citing research conducted by his office, Davtian claimed that Armenia has no
“direct international legal obligation” to maintain the full ban on the death
penalty. He also said various “manifestations of high treason” pose a growing
threat to national security.
Representatives and political allies of the Armenian government did not
immediately react to the appeal.
By contrast, the country’s human rights ombudswoman, Kristine Grigorian, was
quick to reject Davtian’s calls, saying that they run counter to people’s right
to life and “democratic values.” Armenian authorities should deal with high
treason through “more effective preventive measures” rather than death
sentences, she said in a statement.
Grigorian said that the constitutional reform council, of which she too is a
member, should therefore not even consider the chief prosecutor’s proposal.
The Office of the Prosecutor-General deplored the ombudswoman’s “extremely
hasty” and “superficial” comments. It said that it is ready to present more
detailed arguments in support of the idea floated by Davtian.
Davtian will complete his six-year term in office on September 15. He will be
replaced by a former aide to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Talks With Aliyev ‘Not Easy,’ Says Pashinian
• Gayane Saribekian
Belgium - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev begin talks in Brussels, .
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian described his latest talks with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev as “not easy” but gave no other details on Thursday.
“The discussion was extensive, the discussion was not easy,” he said the day
after the talks hosted by European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels.
Pashinian reaffirmed the Armenian government’s commitment to its “peace agenda”
declared after the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“We all need to understand that it’s not easy and simple and that possible
solutions are not obvious,” he added at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting in
Yerevan. “We need to continue our consistent work.”
Michel said late on Wednesday that Aliyev and Pashinian agreed to intensify
negotiations on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty sought by Baku. The
Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers will meet in September to “work on
draft texts,” he said in a statement.
“Clearly, Azerbaijan will try to secure solutions maximally beneficial for it,”
said Vigen Khachatrian, an Armenian pro-government parliamentarian. “Our
objective is the opposite. Our aim is to guarantee the territorial integrity of
Armenia and the kind of conditions for the people of Artsakh that would not
jeopardize their life in their homeland.”
The Azerbaijani side did not publicly comment on the results of what was
Michel’s fourth trilateral meeting with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in
nine months. Aliyev’s chief foreign policy aide, Hikmet Hajiyev, praised the top
European Union official’s efforts to “facilitate bilateral peace treaty talks.”
Azerbaijan wants Armenia to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh
through such a treaty.
Armenian opposition leaders claimed that Wednesday’s talks in Brussels brought
Baku closer to achieving this goal.
Armenia - Opposition deputy Hayk Mamijanian attends a parliament session,
September 13, 2021.
“Every negotiation conducted by Pashinian presupposes losses,” said Hayk
Mamijanian of the opposition Pativ Unem alliance. “They could be territorial
losses or losses in terms of security guarantees.”
“The whole negotiating process bypasses the issues of Karabakh’s status,
prisoners of war and the withdrawal [of Azerbaijani forces] from Armenian
territory and is based on the logic of selling out our lands and homeland,” he
told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
An Armenian government statement on the Brussels talks said the return of
Armenian soldiers and civilians remaining in Azerbaijani captivity was also on
the agenda. Michel said in this regard that he “stressed to Azerbaijan the
importance of further release of Armenian detainees.”
“Having essentially accepted the enemy's latest orders, Nikol continues to talk
about the so-called peace agenda,” charged Ishkhan Saghatelian, a leader of the
other parliamentary opposition force, Hayastan.
In a Facebook post, Saghatelian urged Armenians to attend the next
anti-government rally which Hayastan and Pativ Unem will hold in Yerevan on
Friday. He said they must show Pashinian and the international community that
“the Armenian nation has not abandoned Artsakh.”
The opposition blocs launched daily street protests on May 1 two weeks after
Pashinian signaled his readiness to recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity
and “lower the bar” on Karabakh’s status acceptable to the Armenian side. They
scaled back the protests six week later after failing to unseat the prime
minister.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Category: 2022
CivilNet: Pashinyan proposes major university complex near Yerevan
CIVILNET.AM
01 Sep, 2022 10:09
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said his government would pursue wide-ranging educational reforms, including establishing a major university complex in the town of Ashtarak.
Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan proposed introducing capital punishment for treason.
Armenian-born Russian businessman Ruben Vardanyan said he renounced his Russian citizenship and moved permanently to Karabakh.
Olesya Vartanyan, the International Crisis Group’s senior South Caucasus analyst, talked with CivilNet about this week’s Brussels meeting between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Court approves arrest of former Artsakh army commander
Panorama
Armenia – Sept 1 2022
A court in Yerevan has granted a motion filed by the Investigative Committee to remand former Artsakh army commander Mikayel Arzumanyan in pre-trial custody, his lawyer Yerem Sargsyan said on Thursday.
"As expected, the court fulfilled its mission and arrested Mikayel Arzumanyan. The show continues," he wrote on Facebook.
Lieutenant-General Arzumanyan, who has been charged with criminal negligence during the 2020 Artsakh war, currently serves as an advisor to the Artsakh president.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Investigative Committee claimed that Arzumanyan failed to properly perform his official duties after being appointed as commander of the Artsakh Defense Army on October 27, which led to “severe consequences”.
The law enforcement agency particularly blamed him for the capture of the town of Shushi by Azerbaijani forces, which left many Armenian soldiers dead and wounded.
‘Another act of treason’: Oppositionist touches on Brussels meeting between Pashinyan, Aliyev
Panorama
Armenia – Sept 1 2022
The deputy head of the opposition Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), Armen Ashotyan, touched on Wednesday’s talks between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hosted by European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels.
"As I predicted, the Brussels meeting set the stage for Nikol to finally surrender Artsakh,” he wrote on Facebook.
Ashotyan claimed the Armenian government readout of the meeting was vague and misleading. He highlighted Charles Michel’s statement following the meeting made no mention of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“1. Azerbaijan's demand is in fact being met: the parties are starting to prepare a "peace treaty" and the foreign ministers have been tasked to meet within one month to work on draft texts.
2. This paragraph makes it clear that the treaty will not touch upon the Artsakh issue; official Yerevan is abandoning Artsakh, leaving it to Russia, to the mercy of fate or for Azerbaijan to rip it apart.
3. Incidentally, while the statement on the previous meeting used the word "Karabakh" instead of Nagorno-Karabakh, now it is not mentioned at all, which again completely expresses Baku’s position,” the oppositionist said.
“To sum up, this is another act of high treason,” he stated.
Avetik Chalabyan: Struggle for final establishment of justice continues
Panorama
Armenia – Sept 1 2022
Public and political figure Avetik Chalabyan was set free on Wednesday after the Armenian Court of Appeals agreed to grant him bail set at 15 million drams.
Chalabyan, a member of the opposition Consolidation Movement, was first arrested on May 13 for allegedly trying to pay university students to participate in anti-government protests in Yerevan. The oppositionist was released from custody after his detention period expired on July 27.
The judge presiding over his trial sent Chalabyan back to jail on August 3, a ruling appealed by the defense lawyers in the higher court.
The appellate court judge, Ruzanna Barseghyan, ruled on the appeal late on Wednesday.
In a statement posted on Facebook on Thursday, the opposition activist praised the judge for “resisting strong government pressure” to keep him under arrest.
Also, he thanked his lawyers for their “huge efforts”, media outlets raising violations in his case as well as all his supporters.
"Although I was released yesterday, the struggle for the final establishment of justice continues. The fabricated criminal case against me is still ongoing, and our goal will be to prove the invalidity of the charges and obtain my final acquittal, even if it takes years and great efforts in the future,” Chalabyan said.
“In a broader sense, the fight for the freedom of all political prisoners and the rule of law in our country continues. We will make every effort to support our compatriots who are suffering due to the ruling regime's unlawful conduct and to initiate legal reforms that will further reduce the possibility of arbitrariness.
“Naturally, the struggle to restore the sovereignty of our state, our shattered security and rights continues, and I will join, with renewed vigor and energy, our daily work and struggle until a real and tangible victory is achieved for all of us. To this end, in the near future I will issue a separate statement to outline my ideas and upcoming plans," reads the statement.
Opposition MP: Now discussions focus on whether Azeris built new Armenia-Artsakh road well or not
Panorama
Armenia – Sept 1 2022
MP Tigran Abrahamyan of the opposition Pativ Unem faction, who stays focused on the security challenges facing Armenia and Artsakh, recalled that the Vardenis-Martakert highway linking Armenia to Artsakh was inaugurated on September 1, 2017.
"On this day five years ago, the inauguration of the Vardenis-Martakert highway, the second highway connecting the Republic of Armenia with Artsakh, took place,” he wrote on Facebook.
“I and many others like me stood proud and excited, assessing the importance of the event for Armenia and Artsakh.
“Then Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Bako Sahakyan were naturally the most enthusiastic, as they knew that it was one of the key undertakings in their lives and activities both in the military and economy.
“And what do we have now? The discussions focus on whether the Azerbaijanis built the new road linking Armenia to Artsakh well, whether the road has the status of a corridor or not, whether the Azerbaijanis will set up a checkpoint on it or not.” Abrahamyan said.
436,494 people living with dementia in Armenia, study reveals
Panorama
Armenia – Sept 1 2022
At the start of World Alzheimer’s Month, Alzheimer’s Care Armenia (ACA), and Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI), the global federation for over 105 Alzheimer’s and dementia associations across the world, are calling on the World Health Organization (WHO), governments and other public health bodies to urgently put in place the necessary post-diagnostic support for those living with dementia in light of the striking new prevalence forecasts.
Research from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation has shown that currently 436,494 people are living with dementia in Armenia, a number expected to rise to 1,501,050 by 2050, an extraordinary increase of 244%. While these figures are striking, it is likely that they underestimate the true scale of the problem, with evidence emerging that the COVID-19 may increase the risk of developing dementia later in life, in conjunction with poor diagnosis rates for dementia in many countries, Alzheimer's Care Armenia said in a statement on Thursday.
ADI CEO, Paola Barbarino, says that most governments around the world are not prepared, and while time is running out, there is still time to act. “Dementia experts around the globe have demonstrated that we are on route for an extraordinary increase in the prevalence of dementia over the coming years. We know that any other disease, which had predicted to increases of 244% in less than 30 years would most certainly have the attention of the government. Frustratingly, however, most governments still do not have dementia plans in place, despite committing to developing them in 2017. And sadly, we know that the stigma and discrimination, which still exists around dementia, means that many people still do not come forward for a diagnosis, excluding millions of people around the world from vital treatment and support.”
World Alzheimer’s Month is an annual awareness raising campaign which unites people from all corners of the world to raise awareness and to challenge the stigma that persists around Alzheimer’s disease and all types of dementia.
The theme for this year’s World Alzheimer’s Month is Know Dementia, Know Alzheimer’s and is based on the power the knowledge, with a particular focus on post-diagnostic treatment and support for those living with dementia. In Armenia, post-diagnostic support is severally lacking with many people diagnosed with condition unable to access the treatment and support that they require․
Dr. Jane Mahakian from Alzheimer’s Care Armenia (ACA) said “There is an increase in dementia prevalence in Armenia which exemplifies the importance of mitigating the risks as well as post-diagnostic support for those living with dementia and their carers in Armenia.”
Armenia’s chief prosecutor seeks death penalty for high treason
Panorama
Armenia – Sept 1 2022
Armenia’s Prosecutor-General Artur Davtyan calls for constitutional amendments that would allow capital punishment for high treason.
In a statement on Thursday, Davtyan said the probes into the multiple cases of high treason committed during the 2020 Artsakh as well as the recruitment of Armenian citizens by Azerbaijan’s intelligence agencies through modern technologies highlight the need to step up the fight against this crime and impose tougher punishments on criminals.
"Such disgusting manifestations of high treason are recorded in which ensuring social justice and security requires the harshest punishment for perpetrators, up to death penalty," said Davtyan said.
According to him, the study carried out by the Prosecutor General's Office shows that Armenia has no international legal obligation to fully abolish the death penalty. Although the applicable Constitution bans death penalty, the ban can be lifted through constitutional changes.
Davtyan has applied to Minister of Justice Karen Andreasyan, who also heads the Constitutional Reforms Council, asking him to discuss the matter.
Turkish tourists, Armenians reportedly clash in Vedi
PanARMENIAN
Armenia – Sept 1 2022
September 1, 2022 – 13:47 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Individuals involved in an incident in the Armenian town of of Vedi have been detained, police said on Monday, September 1.
The incident reportedly involved Turkish-speaking tourists and Armenian locals, Sputnik Armenia reports. In a video published online, a man and a woman are seen exiting a minibus with Turkish license plates, after which the man addresses the residents of the town in Turkish.
Eyewitnesses noted that Turkish people got drunk and began to insult Armenians, while the woman tried to raise the Turkish flag.
The police said that the incident took place between Armenians and foreigners, without specifying their nationality.
Pashinyan says discussion with Aliyev "was not easy"
PanARMENIAN
Armenia – Sept 1 2022
September 1, 2022 – 14:25 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday, September 1 that the discussion he had with the President of Azerbaijan in Brussels the previous day "was not easy".
European Council President Charles Michel hosted a meeting with Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan on Wednesday.
Pashinyan explained that the decisions reached during the meeting "are of a working nature."
"It is clear that the discussion was lengthy, not easy. But I want to note that our goals remain and must remain unchanged. I have repeatedly spoken about them publicly. The Armenian government is guided by the peace agenda, and we need determination to implement it," Pashinyan said.
According to him, everyone should understand that possible solutions along the way are not obvious. He stressed that it is necessary to work consistently to achieve the goals.
He assured that all the matters will be discussed with the society and political forces when the right time comes.