Friday, January 7, 2022
Armenian Church Head Deplores Abuse Of Power
Armenia - Catholicos Garegin II blesses worshippers after celebrating Christmas
Mass at St. Gregory the Illuminator’s cathedral, Yerevan, January 6, 2021.
Catholicos Garegin II, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, spoke
out against abuse of authority in Armenia’s “public, political or state spheres”
on Thursday as he celebrated Christmas Mass again shunned by the country’s
leadership.
In a message read out at St. Gregory the Illuminator’s Cathedral in Yerevan,
Garegin also renewed his calls for Armenians to stick to their Christian faith
in the face of grave challenges confronting their nation.
“In the current difficult situation, we need to sober up, reject the paths that
draw us away from God, firmly anchor our lives on the national and spiritual
values that have been passed down through the centuries and guaranteed the
survival of our people,” he said.
“Every position and authority in the public, political or state spheres must
serve the progress of the country and general welfare and security; just as in a
pious family. When a position ceases to be perceived as a service it turns into
a cause of arbitrariness, of evil and unjust deeds,” added Garegin.
He went on to make a case for a “new reality where mutual understanding and
solidarity, uprightness and patriotism will prevail.”
“With this vision, by the grace of Christ's salvation, dear faithful, let us
transform the course of our lives, let us always walk the path of upliftment and
loving life,” he said.
Armenia - Worshippers attend Christmas Mass at St. Gregory the Illuminator’s
cathedral, Yerevan, January 6, 2021.
As was the case during the previous Christmas celebration, Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian and members of his government were conspicuously absent from the
liturgy held in Armenia’s largest cathedral.
Pashinian’s frosty relationship with the Armenian Church has significantly
deteriorated over the past year. The ancient church added its voice to
opposition calls for his resignation in the wake of Armenia’s defeat in the 2020
war with Azerbaijan.
Pashinian openly attacked the church when he campaigned for the June 2021
parliamentary elections. He said “corrupt clergymen” are part of Armenia’s
traditional political, intellectual and spiritual elites that tried to prevent
the 2018 “velvet revolution” which brought him to power.
Garegin’s office rejected the “unfair accusations,” saying that they reflect the
Pashinian government’s “attitude towards the national and spiritual values of
the Church.”
Armenian Soldiers Sent To Kazakhstan
Armenia - Armenian soldiers board a military transport plane bound for
Kazakhstan, Yerevan, January 7, 2022.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry said on Friday that it has sent 100 soldiers to
Kazakhstan as part of a Russian-led “peacekeeping” operation designed to help
the Central Asian country’s government quell angry protests sparked by a sharp
rise in fuel prices.
“During the mission, the peacekeeping unit of the Armenian Armed Forces will
solely perform the functions of protecting strategically important buildings and
infrastructure,” it said in a statement.
The ministry released photographs of Armenian troops boarding a military
transport plane bound for Kazakhstan. It did not say whether they will be
deployed in Almaty, the country’s largest city and the epicenter of
unprecedented unrest that began five days ago.
The troops are part of a 2,500-strong military contingent deployed by Russia and
four other former Soviet republics making up the Russian-led Collective Security
Treaty Organization (CSTO).
Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev asked the military alliance for urgent
intervention on Wednesday as mobs stormed government buildings, setting some of
them on fire, and looted businesses.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian of Armenia, the current holder of the CSTO’s
rotating presidency, announced hours later that the bloc will send troops to
help “stabilize and normalize the situation” in Kazakhstan.
RUSSIA -- This handout image grab released on January 7, 2022 by the Russian
Defence Ministry shows Russian paratroopers boarding a military cargo plane to
depart to Kazakhstan at the airport of Ivanovo.
Pashinian spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Friday. His
office said they discussed the situation in Kazakhstan and “joint steps taken
within the framework of the CSTO.”
Toqaev declared, meanwhile, that order has been "basically" restored in the
country. But he said Kazakh security forces will continue "counterterrorist"
operations.
Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry said 26 "armed criminals" have been "liquidated"
and more than 3,000 of them detained. It added that 18 police and national guard
troops have been killed since the start of the protests that escalated into
deadly violence on Wednesday.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Vahan Hunanian, said on Friday that
Yerevan has no plans yet to evacuate Armenian citizens from Kazakhstan. None of
them has been injured in the continuing unrest, he said.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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