Garo Paylan, a Turkish politician of Armenian descent, is facing a possible aggravated life sentence in Turkey along with eight other lawmakers from his Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
Mr. Paylan talks with CivilNet’s Ani Paitjan about the lack of democracy in Turkey, the perception of the Artsakh war in the Turkish society and the future of relations between Turkey and Armenia.
12:28, 9 March, 2021
YEREVAN, MARCH 9, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan had a meeting with Japan’s Minister of Justice Yōko Kamikawa while in Kyoto for the 14th UNODC Congress, the justice ministry said in a news release.
Badasyan thanked for the hospitality and invitation to the congress and noted that Armenia and Japan have many similarities, such as ancient civilization, rich culture and innovative spirit. He highly appreciated Japan’s stance in the UNHRC over the matter of the return of Armenian PoWs, as well as the Japanese government’s 3,6 million dollar assistance to Armenia for eliminating the consequences of the 2020 war.
Speaking about the Turkey-sponsored large-scale Azerbaijani military aggression against Artsakh in 2020, Badasyan noted that during the 44 days of war the Armenian people witnessed gross violations of international conventions committed by the Azeri forces.
“Currently, the issue of concern for us all is the return of the Armenian prisoners of war. Azerbaijan refuses to return them contrary to the terms of the ceasefire agreement. This is a gross violation by Azerbaijan of the Geneva Convention on Treatment of Prisoners of War,” Badasyan said.
Minister Kamikawa thanked Badasyan for participating in the Congress and attached importance to effective bilateral cooperation and expressed readiness to continue it. She expressed hope that the Kyoto declaration of the Congress will become a guideline for countries for strengthening the rule of law and assured that Japan – as a country presiding over the congress – will continue to contribute to deepening of rule of law.
The ministers underscored that the high-level mutual contacts are a good basis for deepening bilateral cooperation.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Animator Davit Sahakyants on Tuesday urged the Armenian military to “take a decisive step” to remove Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his cabinet from power.
In a statement earlier in February, Chief of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan and 40 other senior military officers demanded the resignation of Pashinyan and his cabinet, accusing them of misrule.
"Everything is in the hands of the army. It’s the military that should take an important step. I expect a decisive step from the military,” Sahakyants told reporters before the rally of the Homeland Salvation Movement on Baghramyan Avenue in Yerevan.
According to him, having the support of the most of Armenians, it will be possible to achieve the ultimate goal.
"I am convinced that it is one of the institutions that has great support," Sahakyants emphasized.
He noted that many people are skeptical about the activity of the Homeland Salvation Movement, seeing some threats or disliking some of its members, that's why they do not join the nationwide movement. At the same time, he said everyone's support is crucial in achieving success.
Separately, Sahakyants noted that “decisive steps” taken by the premier bring him to a less adequate state, pushing him to make bigger mistakes. He believes Pashinyan refuses to step down due to his fears, for which he must answer.
YEREVAN. – There is definitely a significant change, first of all, in the mood of our people. The chairman of the opposition Homeland Party, Artur Vanetsyan, on Saturday told this to reporters on Marshal Baghramyan Avenue, across the National Assembly of Armenia.
"Initially, the government tried to turn this struggle into a fight between the former and the incumbent [authorities], into a fight for the seat of power. But our society realized that it was not about that, but about more serious things: the existence of our country, the future, the welfare of our people. People who do not support us, do not have sympathy for the Homeland Salvation Movement also visit [Marshal] Baghramyan Avenue today. But they come here to show their protest, their position," Vanetsyan added.
According to him, the agenda of the aforesaid movement is the same: PM Nikol Pashinyan's resignation, the formation of an interim government, after which the holding of snap parliamentary elections. "The people must decide—through free _expression_ of will—who should be in power in Armenia. Nikol Pashinyan has recently shown that he is unable to remain Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. Nikol Pashinyan will not be able to ensure fair elections. If the elections are organized under Nikol Pashinyan's prime ministership, they will not enjoy the trust of the majority of the people," Artur Vanetsyan said.
After yesterday's statement of Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, any method of struggle to save the Motherland can be used against internal and external enemies, Artsakh hero Arshavir Karamyan wrote on his Facebook page.
Earlier, Aliyev noted that “the new transport corridor will pass through the historical territories of Azerbaijan, Zangezur, connecting the main part of Azerbaijan with its integral part, Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, and Turkey.”
"Armenia is trying to hinder the implementation of the Zangezur corridor. But it will not succeed," he said. "One cannot expect a simpler and more daring statement from the enemy than this. The Homeland Salvation Movement operates in methods and forms that are disproportionate and disproportionate to the dangers described and declared by them. It seems that we have a lot of time, but we do not have it at all, and the countdown has already started…"
12:36, 1 March, 2021
YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. President Armen Sarkissian issued a statement regarding his objections on sacking the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces General Onik Gasparyan as requested by the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
“The fact that the President of the Republic returned the draft decree with objections is inadmissibly being manipulated and has received an inadequate reaction. On this occasion we are once again stressing that the President of the Republic is executing his functions solely through the powers vested in him by the Constitution, unbiased and is making decisions guided exclusively by pan-national and state interests,” Sarkissian’s Office said in a statement.
It said that the President does not represent the interests of any political force and any manipulations are inadmissible and unacceptable.
“The most important mission of the President, as Head of State, is to ensure that the Constitution is being maintained and to serve the institute of the President as an arena for negotiations and finding ways for resolving the situation in the country. The President of the Republic has numerously offered and is reaffirming his readiness to bring together political forces around the table of negotiations with the purpose of settling disagreements and finding mutually acceptable solutions. The President returned with objections the draft decree on dismissing from office the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Colonel-General Onik Gasparyan by exercising his powers under clause 2, article 139 of the Constitution.”
The President also cited the Constitutional Court’s decision 1518 dated March 31, 2020, which enshrines that the President has alternative “discretionary” powers in appointing and dismissing the high command of the military.
On February 27, President Armen Sarkissian refused to approve Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s motion on dismissing the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan. The President returned the motion with objections. Shortly afterwards, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan again forwarded the same motion to the President. The President has three days to either approve it or apply to the Constitutional Court.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin on Friday said Armenia should comply with agreements reached with Azerbaijan after last year's Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, despite the political upheaval in Armenia, with the army on Thursday demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan quit.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan marches through the streets of the capital Yerevan with his supporters after accusing the military of mounting an attempted coup.
Thousands rallied behind Pashinyan after the army's written demand plunged the impoverished former Soviet republic of less than 3 million into a new political crisis in what he said was an attempted coup.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Alison Williams)
Armenian President Armen Sarkisian said on Saturday he had refused to sign the Prime Minister’s order to dismiss the Army’s Chief of Staff, deepening a national political crisis.
The ex-Soviet nation has faced turmoil since Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a Moscow-brokered peace accord in November, sealing a humiliating defeat to Azerbaijan after six weeks of fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Divisions widened on Thursday when Mr. Pashinyan defied a call by the military to resign, accused the Army of an attempted coup, and ordered the Chief of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan to be fired.
On Saturday, Armenian President Sarkisian said that he would not back the sacking. “The president of the republic, within the framework of his constitutional powers, returned the draft decree with objections,” the presidency said. It added that the political crisis “cannot be resolved through frequent personnel changes”.
During a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am, Vice-President of the Union of Armenians of Russia Herman Ananyants said there are elements of lack of confidence in the government of Armenia.
Ananyants explained that even though the first fundraiser for support helped raise more than 100,000,000 Russian rubles, the Union still doesn’t know what happened to the funds.
“In addition, during the war, the Union sent helmets, body armor, sleeping bags and many other items. We were told that all these items remained at Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan. The Union isn’t going to send money so that it doesn’t go to the bank accounts of ministers. Everything is robbed. We’re fed up with it,” Ananyants added.