Category: 2022

Lawmakers from the opposition Hayastan and With Honor (Pativ Unem) alliances were allowed to enter the Armenian Foreign Ministry building after opposition demonstrators broke through police cordons and blocked all entrances to the building on Tuesday morning.

Protesters, led by Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a senior Hayastan MP and ARF Armenia leader, had marched to the Foreign Ministry from central France Square as part of the ongoing civil disobedience campaign to oust Nikol Pashinyan.

Opposition MPs wanted to enter the ministry headquarters to relay the message of the protesters and to warn against concessions to Azerbaijan over Artsakh, but the police initially rejected their request.

“We will not allow the violations of the deputies’ rights to continue,” Saghatelyan said, urging police officers to open the door.

Eventually, the MPs were let in.

The opposition staged a protest near the building of the Armenian Foreign Ministry in central Yerevan on Tuesday.

The protesters demanding Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation and concerned about the security of Armenia and Artsakh wrote the word “Artsakh” on its windows using small Artsakh flags.

After the end of the protest, when the demonstrators unblocked entrances to the Foreign Ministry and returned to France Square, the flags began to be ripped off the windows.

The statement following the trilateral meeting hosted by European Council President Charles Michel with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in Brussels on Sunday “totally ignores” the right of Artsakh’s (Nagorno-Karabakh) indigenous Armenian population to self-determination, former Armenian Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan claims.

“The May 23 statement completely ignores the inherent right of Artsakh’s indigenous people to self-determination and Azerbaijan’s genocidal policy against Artsakh,” he wrote on Facebook.

“Armenia’s security is evidently being undermined and there are no guarantees. But what is happening is also the consequence of the Armenian authorities’ consistent efforts to dismiss our fundamental historical theses, starting with the fact that the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has nothing to do with Artsakh,” Tatoyan said.

The accused the incumbent authorities of legitimizing the unlawful deployment of the Azerbaijani military in Gegharkunik and Syunik Provinces and conceding Armenia’s territorial jurisdiction to Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijan’s crimes have been and remain hidden from the outside world, the domestic public and the Diaspora,” the ex-ombudsman said.

“In order to hide their own mistakes, not to cause discontent and stay in office, the current leaders put pressure on all those who speak about them.

“They have tied Armenia’s hands in the use of international mechanisms, making the country a victim of geopolitical interests. All this has further untied Azerbaijan’s hands to spread fake news. They have blunted and continue to blunt people’s vigilance,” he stated.

Opposition leader Ishkhan Saghatelyan has defended the move to block entrances to the Armenian Foreign Ministry by opposition demonstrators on Tuesday, saying it is a tool to make the people’s voice heard.

Members and supporters of the opposition Resistance Movement demanding Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation blocked all entrances the Armenian Foreign Ministry building for nearly three hours to prevent employees from entering it.

“Today, we have proved once again that we can fulfil any task set if we stand together,” Saghatelyan told reporters after protesters led by him unblocked the building entrances and returned to France Square.

“The activities of the government agencies that no longer cater for Armenia’s interests should be blocked, thus showing the will of the people and achieving complete dual power,” he stated.

Saghatelyan recalled that a rally would be held near the statue of Sasuntsi Davit (David of Sassoun) on Tuesday evening, to be followed by a march to France Square.

No document was signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan at the meeting hosted by European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels on Sunday, opposition member Edgar Ghazaryan, a former chief of the Constitutional Court staff, said on Monday, referring to the statement following the talks between Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev.

“None of the documents signed by Nikol Pashinyan to date has undergone domestic ratification procedures,” he wrote on Facebook.

“The Republic of Armenia has made no commitments to Azerbaijan, any other country or international organization. All the anti-Armenian documents have been signed personally by Nikol Pashinyan. It also applies to the agreements reached.

“As long as Pashinyan stays in power, he can implement them. After his ouster, Armenia will have no obligation to implement the agreements,” Ghazaryan stated.