Monday, March 1, 2021
Pashinian Again ‘Ready’ To Hold Snap Elections
March 01, 2021
ARMENIA -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian delivers a speech during a
rally of his supporters on Republic Square in downtown Yerevan, March 1, 2021
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Monday expressed readiness to hold fresh
parliamentary elections to resolve the political crisis in Armenia deepened by
the Armenian military’s demands for his resignation.
Speaking at another rally organized by him in Yerevan’s Republic Square,
Pashinian again rejected those demands as a coup attempt and said
Colonel-General Onik Gasparian, the chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff,
must himself step down.
He charged that the February 25 statement by the army’s top brass was initiated
by Gasparian at the behest of former President Serzh Sarkisian. He accused
Sarkisian and other opposition leaders of using the military in a bid to end
“the people’s power.”
Pashinian moved to dismiss Gasparian immediately after the statement that
accused the current government of having put Armenia “on the brink of collapse”
after the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
President Armen Sarkissian refused, however, to sign at the weekend a decree
relieving the country’s top general of his duties. Despite the rebuff, Pashinian
resent the draft decree to Sarkissian for approval.
Addressing thousands of supporters, the prime minister urged Sarkissian to stop
blocking Gasparian’s dismissal. He confirmed that he met with the president
earlier in the day but gave no details of their conversation.
ARMENIA -- Supporters of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian listen to his
speech during a rally on Republic Square in downtown Yerevan, March 1, 2021
In his hour-long speech, Pashinian also renewed his offer to hold snap
parliamentary elections, which he first made in late December following
opposition protests sparked by Armenia’s defeat in the war.
Opposition forces dismissed the offer, saying that such polls must be held by an
interim government after Pashinian’s resignation. The ruling political team
stated afterwards that it longer sees the need to dissolve the Armenian
parliament controlled by it.
“We will agree to pre-term parliamentary elections if that offer is accepted by
the parliamentary forces,” Pashinian said. He singled out the two opposition
parties represented in the parliament: Bright Armenia (LHK) and Prosperous
Armenia (BHK).
LHK leader Edmon Marukian said on Sunday that his party would settle for
elections organized by the current government in order to defuse mounting
political tensions in the country. Marukian said that as part of this compromise
deal Pashinian must stop trying to sack General Gasparian.
ARMENIA -- Opposition supporters rally outside the National Assembly building to
demand Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's resignation, March 1, 2021
Unlike Marukian’s party, the BHK is a key member of the Homeland Salvation
Movement, an alliance of more hardline opposition groups trying to topple
Pashinian with street protests. Thousands of its supporters rallied on Monday on
a street outside the parliament building in Yerevan where the alliance set up a
tent camp late last week.
“We will leave the street only if we oust that traitor,” the alliance
coordinator, Ishkhan Saghatelian, told the crowd. He said that the opposition
demonstrations are gaining momentum and will continue in the days ahead.
The Homeland Salvation Movement has voiced strong support for Gasparian and 40
other high-ranking army officers who signed the anti-government statement.
Accordingly, the alliance has praised President Sarkissian for not firing the
army chief.
EU-Armenia Accord Takes Effect
March 01, 2021
Belgium - EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Armenian Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandian sign the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced
Partnership Agreement in Brussels, 24Nov2017.
The Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed by the
European Union and Armenia more than three years ago entered into force on
Monday after being ratified by all EU member states.
The 350-page agreement commits the Armenian authorities to carrying out
political reforms that will democratize the country’s political system and boost
human rights protection. They must also gradually “approximate” Armenian
economic laws and regulations to those of the EU.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the CEPA’s entry into force
“sends a strong signal that the EU and Armenia are committed to democratic
principles and the rule of law, as well as to a wider reform agenda.”
“Across political, economic, trade, and other sectoral areas, our Agreement aims
to bring positive change to people’s lives, to overcome challenges to Armenia’s
reforms agenda,” Borrell said in a statement.
The statement also quoted Oliver Varhelyi, the EU commissioner for neighborhood
and enlargement, as saying: “The entry into force of the bilateral EU-Armenia
agreement on 1 March will allow us to strengthen our work on the economy,
connectivity, digitalization and the green transformation as priority areas.
These will have concrete benefits for the people and are key for socio-economic
recovery and the longer-term resilience of the country.”
The Armenian Foreign Ministry last month described the CEPA as a “solid legal
basis” for deepening Armenia’s ties with the EU in a wide range of areas.
The CEPA was signed in November 2017 as a less ambitious substitute for an
Association Agreement which Armenian and EU negotiators nearly finalized in
2013. Then Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian scuttled the signing of that
agreement with his decision to seek his country’s membership in a Russian-led
trade bloc.
Pashinian Blames Other Officials For ‘Wrong’ Claim About Russian Missile
March 01, 2021
• Aza Babayan
RUSSIA -- Russian tactical missile Iskander -M during Zapad 2017 military
exercises on Luga range in St. Petersburg, September 19, 2017
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian effectively retracted on Monday his claim that
the Armenian army’s most advanced Russian-made missiles seriously malfunctioned
during the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Pashinian said last week that the Iskander missiles “did not explode or exploded
by 10 percent.” He also suggested that the sophisticated missile system might be
outdated.
Pashinian’s remarks provoked a storm of criticism from Russian pro-government
lawmakers and pundits. They accused him of incompetence and deceit.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday that it was “bewildered and
surprised” by the remarks. The ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said the
Armenian army did not fire any Iskander missiles during the six-week hostilities
stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire on November 10.
“In all likelihood, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian was misled,”
Konashenkov said.
Pashinian’s press secretary, Mane Gevorgian, gave the same explanation on Monday.
“An analysis of available facts and data has led the Armenian prime minister to
conclude that he did not receive correct reports about this matter,” she said,
adding that Pashinian and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed it in a
February 25 phone call.
Gevorgian went on to stress that “Russian weapons are one of the best in the
world” and that Armenia intends to deepen military ties with Russia.
The Kremlin publicly accepted the explanation. “It is very important that the
truth about this issue has been restored,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told
journalists.
Several Armenia media outlets quoted on February 24 the first deputy chief of
the Armenian army’s General Staff, Tiran Khachatrian, as also refuting
Pashinian’s claim. Khachatrian was sacked hours later.
In a statement issued the following morning, the army’s top brass strongly
condemned the sacking, accused Pashinian’s government of incompetence and
misrule and demanded its resignation. The prime minister responded by accusing
the military of attempting to stage a coup d’etat and moving to fire the chief
of the General Staff, Onik Gasparian.
Sarkissian Defends Opposition To Army Chief’s Sacking
March 01, 2021
Armenia -- President Armen Sarkissian (L) and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian
meet in Yerevan, November 12, 2020.
President Armen Sarkissian defended on Monday his decision not to fire Armenia’s
top army general strongly criticized by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Pashinian petitioned Sarkissian on Thursday to sign a decree relieving General
Onik Gasparian of his duties shortly after the chief of the Armenian army’s
General Staff and 40 other high-ranking officers issued a joint statement that
accused the government of misrule and demanded its resignation. Pashinian
rejected the demand as a “military coup attempt.”
Sarkissian refused to sign such a decree on Saturday, saying that it appears to
be unconstitutional and would deepen the “unprecedented” political crisis in the
country.
Pashinian criticized the refusal as “unfounded” and resent his motion to
Sarkissian. A senior lawmaker allied to him suggested on Sunday the president
himself appears to have violated the constitution and might be impeached because
of that.
The Armenian constitution allows the head of state to again reject the proposed
decree by Wednesday evening. In that case, he will have to ask the
Constitutional Court to rule on its legality.
In a statement issued on Monday, Sarkissian insisted that he acted “impartially”
and in strict conformity with the constitution. He also denounced “unacceptable”
reactions to his weekend decision.
“The president of the republic does not represent the interests of any political
force,” said the statement.
Pashinian held, meanwhile, a meeting of Armenia’s Security Council that
discussed the political situation in the country. In a statement, it called on
Sarkissian to stop blocking Gasparian’s sacking. It also strongly condemned “all
attempts to draw the Armenian Armed Forces into political processes.”
Gasparian, who is a member of the council, was conspicuously absent from the
meeting.
Pashinian was due to again rally supporters in Yerevan later on Monday. An
alliance of Armenian opposition parties campaigning for his resignation planned
to hold another anti-government demonstration elsewhere in the city center at
around the same time.
The Homeland Salvation Movement alliance has hailed the military’s demands for
Pashinian’s resignation.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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