Shushan Frangulian – Page 34 – Armenian Directory & News

Iranian Foreign Minister visits Nakhichevan

January 31, 2021January 31, 2021 Shushan Frangulian

15:21,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 30, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif has visited the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic to hold talks with its senior officials on various issues, including bilateral relations, IRNA reports.

Upon his arrival there, Zarif said that at the end of his trip to five countries [Armenia, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey] in the region, he is visiting the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic to discuss transit facilities and cooperation conditions in the region in the wake of the Nagorno Karabakh War.

Armenian delegation to PACE plans to present Azeri war crimes, PoW situation in France

January 25, 2021January 25, 2021 Shushan Frangulian

09:15, 22 January, 2021

YEREVAN, JANUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will raise the issues of the Azeri war crimes in the 2020 Artsakh war, and the Armenian prisoners of war whom Azerbaijan is refusing to repatriate long after hostilities ended.

“The priority is naturally the latest Artsakh War and the issues of its consequences which should be voiced there, to be able to consolidate all our international partners to increase pressure on Azerbaijan and to achieve the return of the prisoners of war and detained civilians. We will also speak about the war crimes committed by Azerbaijan and all what’s taken place so far,” Armenian lawmakers Edmon Marukyan, a member of the Armenian delegation to PACE, told ARMENPRESS.

A discussion on the war is scheduled in the monitoring commission, not during the plenary session, but Marukyan says they will raise these issues in their remarks at the plenary session as well.

“I hope we will be able to do a good job there despite the fact that a curfew is in place in France and there are numerous problems due to the coronavirus restrictions,” Marukyan said.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the upcoming PACE winter sitting (January 25-28) in Strasbourg will take place in a hybrid mode, i.e. lawmakers can chose whether or not they want to take part physically or remotely. The Armenian delegation chose to participate in person.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Cabinet accepts resignation of Shirak Governor Tigran Petrosyan

January 22, 2021January 22, 2021 Shushan Frangulian

11:16,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. The Cabinet dismissed Tigran Petrosyan from the position of Governor of Shirak, 5 days after he tendered his resignation.

He served as Governor of Shirak since February 2019.

Petrosyan did not elaborate on the reasons behind his resignation but said he would do so after being officially relieved from office.

The Cabinet is also expected to appoint a new governor for the province during today's session.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

HRW on Armenia in 2020: police violence, the Karabakh war and the coronavirus

January 21, 2021January 21, 2021 Shushan Frangulian

JAM News

Jan 21 2021

JAMnews, Yerevan

The main events in Armenia in 2020 included the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the second Karabakh war.

The defeat in the war caused an acute political crisis in Armenia, as the opposition has been since demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

In its report on Armenia for 2020, Human Rights Watch examined all these events and human rights issues in the country.

The HRW report said that on September 27, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive which led to an escalation of hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as the de facto authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The report stated that the parties violated international humanitarian law, which “resulted in the injury of civilians”:

HRW report also noted that the Armenian military used banned cluster munitions in populated areas, which “led to dozens of civilian casualties”:

“During the conflict, Armenian forces carried out indiscriminate attacks, launched unguided artillery missiles, and fired heavy artillery shells and ballistic missiles at populated areas. Moreover, some of the attacks were carried out in areas with no obvious military targets, which resulted in the death and injury of civilians”.

Armenia confirmed its first coronavirus case on March 1. On March 16, the government declared a state of emergency and extended it five times, only canceling it on September 11.

The following example is given as a violation of human rights:

“In March, parliament passed amendments requiring telecommunications companies to provide the authorities with telephone records of all their subscribers to make it easier to track down people who might have been infected.”

The report said the authorities stopped tracking their data only after the state of emergency was lifted.

During the same period, about 4,000 children were affected by the closure of schools. Research conducted by World Vision Armenia on 3,000 families showed that almost 14 percent of school-age children did not attend online classes. Nearly 80 percent did not have the right equipment or internet connection.

According to the data of the Helsinki Committee of Armenia, which tracked about 30 protests and rallies during the state of emergency, the police response was selective.

The report states that in some cases the police did not intervene, and in others, they stopped gatherings with less than five participants and even single-person protests, “even when the protesters wore masks and observed social distance”.

In April, the government approved a strategy and action plan for police reform of 2020-2022. The plan includes rebuilding the Ministry of the Interior and strengthening parliamentary oversight of the police:

“The reforms also include the creation of a new patrol police and the enhancement of police investigative powers”.

That being said, the report states that investigations into past abuse of authority conducted by law enforcement agencies remain pending:

“Investigations into cases of police violence during the 2016 protests were reopened in 2019, but no charges were filed. In January, authorities indicted a police officer involved in the violent crackdown on protests in 2015 and suspended investigations into further incidents related to the same protests. In July, authorities also suspended police investigations of the summer 2018 protests”.

In all cases, the authorities stated that they were unable to identify the alleged perpetrators.

Pashinyan sends Diaspora Commissioner to Artsakh to review support programs

January 21, 2021January 21, 2021 Shushan Frangulian

15:23,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is sending the High Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan to Artsakh to meet with the country’s government officials and discuss the organization of “the Diaspora potential’s targeted assistance” in the post-war period and to plan the work for improving the current support programs.

Sinanyan’s chief of staff Sara Anjargolyan will accompany him during the visit scheduled for January 22-24, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Iran ready to contribute in implementing economic projects with Armenia

January 20, 2021January 20, 2021 Shushan Frangulian

12:12,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. On January 19, Artashes Toumanian, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the Islamic Republic of Iran, was received by Seyed Rasool Mohajer, Deputy Foreign Minister on Economic Diplomacy, the Armenian Embassy in Iran reports.

During the meeting, Armenian Ambassador briefed the Deputy Minister on existing situation of Armenia – Iran economic relations, projects in infrastructure, trade and investment issues were pointed out.

Both sides discussed the objectives, challenges and capabilities for developing bilateral and multilateral economic relations in the aftermath of Artsakh war.

Mr. Mohajer affirmed the willingness of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran as well as his readiness to contribute in implementing of Armenia – Iran economic plans and projects.

Azerbaijan and Russia got what they wanted, Armenia’s concerns remained unsolved – Tigran Abrahamyan

January 18, 2021January 18, 2021 Shushan Frangulian

Panorama, Armenia

Jan 12 2021

Azerbaijan and Russia got what they wanted, Armenia's concerns remained unsolved – Tigran Abrahamyan

"Azerbaijan and Russia got what they wanted out of yesterday's trilateral meeting in Moscow, while Armenia's prime minister only stated that the two issues raised by him – the status of Artsakh and the exchange of war prisoners – remained unsolved. Those issues supposedly weren't even discussed seriously," Tigran Abrahamyan, the head of 'Henaket' analytical center wrote on Facebook.

In Abrahamyan's words, it became clear from the press statements of the three leaders that regional economic issues were at the center of the talks, including unblocking communications, issues of infrastructure and international transportations, while the regional security and mechanism to ensure it were touched upon in generic formulations.

"This comes despite Pashinyan's statement that he had put forward the issue of war prisoners and the return of the bodies of the killed as a precondition to be considered before substantive discussions on unblocking communications," Abrahamyan added.

Armenian PM arrives in Moscow on working visit

January 11, 2021January 11, 2021 Shushan Frangulian

12:34,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Moscow, Russia, on a working visit, his spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan said on Facebook.

“Hours later the trilateral meeting of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will kick off. Official statement will be released over the results of the meeting”, she said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Putin holds consultations on Nagorno Karabakh

January 11, 2021January 11, 2021 Shushan Frangulian

Public Radio of Armenia

Jan 10 2021

Ahead of the meeting with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, Vladimir Putin held a meeting to discuss the issues of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement and the situation in the South Caucasus, Kremlin informs.

The meeting was attended by Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Defense Sergey Shoigu, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin.

Armenia strongly condemns initiation of prosecution against Armenian POWs by Azerbaijan

January 10, 2021January 10, 2021 Shushan Frangulian

14:48, 9 January, 2021

YEREVAN, JANUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia has issued a statement on the violations of the trilateral statement and international humanitarian law by Azerbaijan.

The statement says:

“We strongly condemn the initiation of prosecution of the Armenian prisoners of war by Azerbaijan, as stated by the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan. These actions of the Azerbaijani authorities are a gross violation of international humanitarian law. During the 44-day Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh, the Azerbaijani side extensively and systematically violated international law by committing war crimes. These war crimes have no statute of limitations, and the perpetrators should be held accountable.

The release and repatriation of the prisoners of war is clearly enshrined in the November 9 statement, and the prosecution of the prisoners of war after the adaptation of the trilateral statement constitutes its gross violation.

It should be noted that the Armenian servicemen were captured as a result of the violation of another provision of the trilateral statement: Azerbaijan launched military operations in the direction of the villages of Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher in the Hadrut region of the Republic of Artsakh a month after the establishment of the ceasefire. Notably the Azerbaijani side announced the prosecution of POWs about a month after the capturing of Armenian servicemen, which demonstrates that Azerbaijan is using Armenian prisoners of war as hostages to advance its political agenda.

The consistent and deliberate violations of the trilateral statement by Azerbaijan seriously undermine the full implementation of the statement and pose new challenges for regional security and peace”.