Tuesday,
Opposition Leaders Insist On Pashinian’s Resignation
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and opposition leader Gagik Tsarukian
meet in Yerevan, .
The leaders of the two opposition parties represented in Armenia’s parliament
met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and reiterated demands for his
resignation on Tuesday.
“I said to the prime minister what I had said publicly: that his resignation is
necessary for getting the country out of this situation. That is the only way
out,” Gagik Tsarukian, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), told
reporters after his meeting with Pashinian held in the Armenian parliament
building.
“My position hasn’t changed,” Tsarukian said, adding that Pashinian must step
down “as soon as possible.”
Edmon Marukian, the leader of the Bright Armenia Party (LHK), said he also
insisted on the prime minister’s during their separate conversation. He said
they reached no common ground on how to end the political crisis in the country.
Pashinian did not make public statements after his talks with the two
parliamentary opposition leaders. The talks came three days after he expressed
readiness to hold snap parliamentary elections and discuss their practical
modalities with the Armenian opposition.
The offer was rejected by a coalition of 16 opposition parties, including
Tsarukian’s BHK, that have been holding anti-government demonstrations since the
Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the war in Nagorno-Karabakh on November
10. In a weekend statement, the Homeland Salvation Movement again demanded that
Pashinian hand over power to an interim government that would hold fresh
elections within a year.
Armenia -- Edmon Marukian, the leader of the opposition Bright Armenia Party, at
a news conference in Yerevan, December 23, 2020.
The LHK is not part of the opposition coalition trying to unseat Pashinian with
the street protests. But it too wants Pashinian to resign before the elections.
The prime minister, who rejects the opposition demands, has not yet commented on
possible election dates.
“The elections must be held as soon as possible and they are needed by everyone,
including the authorities,” said Alen Simonian, a senior member of Pashinian’s
My Step alliance. “As for time frames, they depend on various political and
technical solutions that need to be agreed with our partners.”
Marukian warned in that regard that he and his party will try to block the
conduct of such polls if Pashinian continues to reject the opposition demands.
“This parliament cannot be dissolved without [the consent of] Bright Armenia and
Prosperous Armenia,” he claimed.
State Body Defends Armenian Courts Against Criticism From Government
• Artak Khulian
Armenia - The head of Supreme Judicial Council, Ruben Vartazarian, at a press
conference in Yerevan, .
The head of a state body overseeing Armenian courts rejected on Tuesday Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian’s latest strong criticism of the country’s judiciary.
Ruben Vartazarian, the chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, insisted that
the courts do not execute orders issued by the government or the opposition. Nor
are they influenced by public opinion, he said.
“If there are such judges they will face disciplinary or criminal proceedings,”
Vartazarian told a news conference.
In the last few months various Armenian judges have refused to allow
law-enforcement authorities to arrest dozens of opposition leaders and members
as well as other anti-government activists. Virtually all of those individuals
are prosecuted in connection with angry protests sparked by the Pashinian
administration’s handling of the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Pashinian charged over the weekend that Armenia’s judicial system has become
part of a “pseudo-elite” which is trying to topple him in the aftermath of the
disastrous war. Justice Minister Rustam Badasian likewise accused judges last
week of routinely acting in an unprofessional and “non-objective” manner.
Vartazarian dismissed those statements while admitting that “as a citizen” he
has “many questions” about decisions made by local courts. He said that the
Armenian Justice Ministry and law-enforcement agencies have legal authority to
initiate disciplinary action or criminal proceedings against allegedly
delinquent judges.
The Armenian constitution gives the Supreme Judicial Council wide-ranging
powers, including the right to nominate, sanction and even fire judges. No judge
can be indicted without the state watchdog’s consent.
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian chairs a meeting with senior
law-enforcement and judicial officials, Yerevan, November 30, 2020.
Pashinian was accused by opposition leaders and Armenia’s human rights ombudsman
of pressuring the judiciary after summoning several senior judges and members of
the Supreme Judicial Council to a meeting with top law-enforcement officials
late last month.
The meeting focused on ongoing criminal investigations into riots that broke out
in Yerevan on November 10 following the announcement of a Russian-brokered
ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. Pashinian seemed upset with courts’ refusal to
sanction the pre-trial arrest of many of the individuals charged with ransacking
key government buildings and beating up parliament speaker Ararat Mirzoyan.
Pashinian also sparked controversy when he urged supporters to block court
buildings across the country after a Yerevan court released former President
Robert Kocharian from custody in May 2019. He accused the judiciary of remaining
linked to the “corrupt former regime” and vowed to replace many judges.
Pashinian’s government subsequently abandoned its plans for a mandatory
“vetting” of all judges after consultations with European legal experts. A
government bill on judicial reforms enacted in March 2020 calls instead for a
“verification of the integrity” of judges which is carried out by a state
anti-corruption body.
Opposition Lawmaker Stripped Of Parliament Post
• Naira Nalbandian
Armenia - The Prosperous Armenia Party's Naira Zohrabian speaks at a news
conference in Yerevan, .
The Armenian parliament voted on Tuesday to dismiss the chairwoman of its
standing committee on human rights representing the opposition Prosperous
Armenia Party (BHK).
The parliamentary majority representing the ruling My Step bloc engineered the
move in response to what it regards as offensive comments posted by the BHK’s
Naira Zohrabian on Facebook.
In an apparent attack on hardcore supporters of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian,
Zohrabian last week lambasted “scum” which she said has taken over Armenia and
is responsible for its recent misfortunes. She said it must be disenfranchised
and even forcibly “educated” for the good of the country.
“I am not going to hand over my homeland to the scum,” wrote the outspoken
parliamentarian.
Pro-government lawmakers were quick to condemn the comments. They said that
Zohrabian lost her moral right to lead the parliamentary committee because she
not only insulted hundreds of thousands of Armenians but also called for them to
be stripped of their civil rights.
Zohrabian denied insulting anyone when she spoke to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service at
the weekend. But she also said: “I regard all those who believe Nikol was right
to surrender Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) … as scum.”
Zohrabian claimed that the My Step motion to strip her of her parliamentary
position is “political persecution” ordered Pashinian. She said on Monday that
she will appeal to the Constitutional Court if the parliamentary majority
approves it.
The National Assembly adopted the motion by 78 votes to 4. BHK deputies
boycotted the vote.
Zohrabian’s BHK is part of a coalition of more than a dozen opposition parties
that have been holding demonstrations in a bid to force Pashinian to resign.
They blame him for Armenia’s defeat in the recent war in Karabakh and say he is
not capable of dealing with security challenges facing the country.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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