Author: Suren Karakhanian

                                        Friday, 

Opposition Calls For Armenian Referendum To Be Postponed

        • Astghik Bedevian

Leader of the opposition Bright Armenia party Edmon Marukian

An Armenian opposition leader has called on the authorities to postpone the 
constitutional referendum scheduled for April 5 because of the risks posed by 
the spread of the new coronavirus infection in the country.

“The situation tends to get worse rather than better,” Edmon Marukian, the 
leader of the parliamentary Bright Armenia party, warned on Friday. “The number 
of those infected is increasing, so it will be impossible to hold the ballot, 
and decisions in this regard must be made now.”

Marukian also said that he was in favor of introducing a state of emergency for 
at least 14 days in order to shut down all public and private institutions and 
stop all mass events. “Citizens are waiting for the government to tell them, for 
example, not to organize wedding parties so they can postpone such events. We 
should not delay these measures and wait for the number [of coronavirus cases] 
to increase and the situation to get worse.”

The oppositionist’s statement came as Armenia reported its eighth coronavirus 
case on Friday. Five more people were hospitalized in Vanadzor with 
coronavirus-like symptoms later today.

Dozens of people have either been quarantined or self-quarantined in Armenia at 
present after having suspected contacts with the infected persons, four of whom 
had come from coronavirus-hit Italy and Iran.

Naira Zohrabian, of the largest parliamentary opposition faction, Prosperous 
Armenia, also believes that if the coronavirus continues to spread, the 
referendum should be canceled. The lawmaker thinks the ongoing campaign in the 
referendum must be stopped in any case, as crowded places are the biggest risk 
of the spread of the deadly virus.

Elections authorities in Armenia have not yet spoken about any plans to postpone 
the current referendum.

The political team of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, who until Friday was 
actively engaged in campaigning, has suspended rallies for several days.

Deputy Parliament Speaker Alen Simonian, who is a senior member of Pashinian’s 
Civil Contract party, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service (Azatutyun.am) on Friday 
that they have no decision yet as to when the campaign can be resumed. As for 
the possibility of postponing the referendum, he said they will follow the 
dynamics of the spread of the disease. “There will be no such thing as 
continuing the political process if there is a danger of epidemic or if the 
situation gets dramatically worse. It is not an end in itself. We will make 
decisions based on the dynamics [of the coronavirus spread] and the information 
that we have.”

At the same time, Simonian warned against “demagogic statements about extreme 
measures.” “The authorities have so far proved their openness, their ability to 
respond quickly, and the measures that have been taken to date have produced 
maximum results. If we feel the need to do so [introduce a statement of 
emergency], if professionals and not politicians make such assessments, surely 
everything will be done. But today I still can’t talk about such things. And I 
don’t want to rule out anything,” the deputy parliament speaker said.

Earlier today the Armenian government decided to close all schools, universities 
and kindergartens until at least March 23. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian also 
called on citizens, especially those exhibiting coronavirus-like symptoms, to 
refrain from participating in mass events.

A number of government and private institutions have canceled public events. 
Thus, for example, Armenia’s soccer federation announced that all tournaments 
held under its umbrella will be suspended until March 23.

Armenian Vice-Premier Tigran Avinian, meanwhile, announced late on Friday that 
under a mutual agreement beginning on March 14 morning Armenia and Georgia will 
suspend the movements of the two countries’ citizens across the border for a 
period of 10 days.

“At the same time, the two countries will ensure the unimpeded entry of their 
citizens who wish to return home. These restrictions apply to all types of 
transportation. The restrictions will not apply to cargo traffic,” Avinian said 
in a Facebook post.

Earlier this month Armenia also re-introduced a visa regime and tightened 
controls at the border with neighboring Iran over coronavirus-related risks.



Armenian Church Calls For Coronavirus Precautions


A woman wears a medical mask during a church service in Yerevan, March 1, 2020.

The Armenian Apostolic Church on Friday called on all followers and other 
citizens of Armenia to abide by protective measures recommended by the 
authorities to contain the spread of the new coronavirus infection that has 
already affected eight people in the South Caucasus country.

In a statement disseminated by the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, bishops of 
the church headed by Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II said: “We urge all 
to exercise the utmost vigilance and responsibility, to comply with the 
requirements and instructions of the specialized agencies in a consistent and 
serious manner and to carry out all preventive measures.”

The clergy said the Church will continue to carry out its mission of providing 
“spiritual care to its faithful children, encouraging them to remain strong in 
their faith, to face difficulties and tribulations with faith in God and 
prayers.”

Two new cases of the new coronavirus known as COVID-19 were confirmed in Armenia 
on Friday, raising the total number of infected people to eight. Dozens of 
people are either quarantined or self-quarantined in Armenia at present after 
having suspected contacts with the infected persons, four of whom had come from 
coronavirus-hit Italy and Iran.

Earlier today the Armenian government decided to close all schools, universities 
and kindergartens until at least March 23. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian also 
called on citizens, especially those exhibiting coronavirus-like symptoms, to 
refrain from participating in mass events.

Armenia’s soccer federation announced later on Friday that all tournaments held 
under its umbrella will be suspended until March 23.

Meanwhile, to reduce the risk of the spread of the coronavirus infection through 
cash, the Central Bank of Armenia urged citizens to use more non-cash methods of 
payments and online banking services.



Armenia Slams Azerbaijan’s Aliyev Over ‘Hate Speech’


Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anna Naghdalian

Authorities in Yerevan have accused President Ilham Aliyev of using hate speech 
against Armenia and Armenians in his remarks at an inaugural session of 
Azerbaijan’s newly elected parliament earlier this week.

In her comment published on the official website of Armenia’s Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs on Friday, spokesperson Anna Naghdalian referred to Aliyev’s 
extensive speech on March 10 that she said “contained clear manifestations of 
hate speech towards Armenia and the Armenian people.”

“The authorities of Azerbaijan try to disguise the low level of legitimacy of 
recent parliamentary elections, inability to implement political and democratic 
reforms under the veil of aggressive, groundless and false allegations which 
target not only Armenia and the Armenian people, but also European countries, 
European structures and the International Election Observation Mission to the 
parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan,” Nalbandian charged.

In his speech Aliyev, in particular, again called for “offensive diplomacy” in 
the context of Nagorno-Karabakh settlement and rebuked Muslim countries for 
having good relations with Armenia and not supporting Azerbaijan in the issue.

The Armenian diplomatic representative said in this regard: “It is particularly 
concerning that the Azerbaijani leadership tries to instrumentalize religion in 
its unjustified allegations, on the one hand, accusing European countries of 
violating the rights of migrants on religious grounds, and calling for religious 
solidarity in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the other hand.”

Naghdalian said that “the promotion of enmity against the Armenian people, 
accompanied by new historical and geographical ‘discoveries’ by the president of 
Azerbaijan, fundamentally contradicts the commitment of Azerbaijan to build up 
an environment conducive to peace and prepare populations for peace.”

“From this perspective it should be noted that extremely low standards of human 
rights and democracy in Azerbaijan seriously hinder the advancement of the 
Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, particularly the implementation of agreements, 
reached within that framework.

Attempts of the leadership of Azerbaijan to build its own legitimacy on the 
grounds of hatred towards the neighboring nation and of mistrust towards the 
international community are irresponsible and can undermine the regional peace 
and security,” the Armenian Ministry’s spokeswoman said.

Naghdalian’s statement came amid heightened tensions between Armenia and 
Azerbaijan over recent border skirmishes in which at least one Armenian and two 
Azerbaijani soldiers were reportedly killed.

Yerevan and Baku accused each other of violating the fragile ceasefire agreed in 
1994 to stop a three-year war over Nagorno-Karabakh that killed some 30,000 
people.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has led 
international efforts to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the conflict through 
its Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France. The 
diplomatic efforts have brought little progress in recent decades.


Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan (R) meeting with personal representative 
of the OSCE chairman-in-office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, March 12, 2020

Meeting with Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Personal Representative of the OSCE’s 
Chairperson-in-Office on the conflict, in Yerevan on March 12, Armenian Defense 
Minister David Tonoyan expressed his concern over what he called recent attempts 
by Azerbaijan to intensify action at some sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani 
border. He said that “the regional military-political developments, the 
international economic and epidemic situation, the weather conditions and a 
number of other factors increase the likelihood of destabilization.”

The press service of Armenia’s Ministry of Defense quoted Ambassador Kasprzyk as 
expressing readiness to exert “maximum efforts” in his mediation mission “to 
ease tensions.”

The same day during a press briefing in Moscow official representative of the 
Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to 
“show restraint, refrain from the use of force and activate the negotiating 
process aimed at achieving a settlement through political means.”



Armenia Closes Schools Amid New Coronavirus Cases


Armenia’s government has decided to close all schools, universities and 
kindergartens until at least March 23 as the number of confirmed coronavirus 
cases reached 13 in the country on Friday.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian held consultations with his cabinet and other 
agencies today after interrupting his vacation and suspending campaign rallies 
ahead of next month’s constitutional referendum to discuss further measures to 
contain the spread of the highly contagious and potentially deadly disease in 
Armenia.

In a live broadcast on Facebook after the meeting Pashinian announced the 
suspension of classes in all schools, calling on all citizens to show individual 
responsibility in following all basic protective measures against the new 
coronavirus known as COVID-19 that has already affected nearly 140,000 people 
around the world (with more than 5,000 deaths) and has been declared a pandemic 
by the World Health Organization.

“We will get back to the issue on March 18 or 19 and will extend the suspension 
if necessary,” he said. “We also urge citizens to avoid as much as possible 
organizing and participating in mass events, especially those citizens who have 
[coronavirus-like] symptoms.”

In another related development Armenia’s soccer federation announced on Friday 
that all tournaments held under its umbrella will be suspended until March 23.

Armenia identified its first coronavirus patient on March 1. The infected person 
was an Armenian citizen evacuated from Iran. He was immediately hospitalized and 
31 other people who might have had close contacts with him were placed under a 
two-week quarantine then.

On March 11, three people who had arrived from Italy, including two Armenian 
citizens and one Italian working in Armenia, also tested positive for COVID-19. 
Fifty-seven people were placed under quarantines. The following day two members 
of the extended family of one of the Armenian patients, a woman from Echmiadzin, 
also tested positive and were isolated. Another five patients were identified on 
Friday, including from among those quarantined after having contacts with the 
woman.

It turned out that after returning from Italy the woman participated in an 
engagement party for her son in the town situated about 20 kilometers to the 
west of capital Yerevan. The party was attended by more than three dozen people, 
according to reports.

Pashinian said that the woman, who had been properly registered upon returning 
from Italy and was under the monitoring of health officials, later concealed 
from authorities the fact that she developed coronavirus symptoms, including 
fever.

“She hid it not only form the state, but also from her family, as she deemed it 
important for her – as this is part of our tradition – to attend a family 
member’s engagement party… Before the party itself the woman was in contact with 
her hairdresser, a jeweler… And now we have a situation when her cousin and 
husband have already tested positive for coronavirus and other people she had 
contacts with are under quarantine,” said Pashinian, adding that by saying this 
he was far from intending to blame the citizen for what happened under the 
circumstances.

He said his government could not have possibly prevented a case like that, 
calling for individual responsibility of citizens. “State administrative bodies 
can take numerous measures, but if a person wants to bypass these measures, he 
or she will find the way to do that. But it is important that each of us show a 
responsible approach in this situation,” Pashinian said. “The conclusion that we 
arrived at following our discussions is that our main message to our citizens 
should be that they realize their individual responsibility in this period of 
epidemic.”

The prime minister reiterated that basic steps like temporarily refusing to 
shake hands and greet each other by kissing may prove effective in containing 
the spread of the deadly virus.

Earlier this week the Armenian government announced that a charter flight from 
Rome to Yerevan will be organized on March 15 to evacuate Armenian citizens from 
coronavirus-hit Italy.

Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian said on Thursday that a 14-day quarantine 
regime will be instituted for all citizens to be brought to Armenia from Italy.

Earlier this month Armenia also re-introduced a visa regime and tightened 
controls at the border with neighboring Iran, another coronavirus hotspot in the 
world.



Pashinian Condemns Retaliation Against Opponents Over Insults

        • Robert Zargarian

A group calling themselves “Revolutionary Guards”

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has condemned the actions of a group of 
supporters considering themselves to be “revolutionary guards” as a video was 
circulated on the internet earlier this week showing them demanding an apology 
from a man for allegedly offending the premier.

During a referendum campaign rally in Vayk, Armenia’s Vayots Dzor province, on 
Thursday, Pashinian called such actions “unacceptable.”

“For two days now I have been constantly saying that we should not respond to 
swear words by swearing, to insults by insulting others, but some people who say 
they act in our defense, in my defense still do such things,” he said.

Pashinian urged his supporters not to succumb to provocations. “If they swear, 
let them do so, their curses will fall on their own heads,” he said.

Police have launched a probe into the video on which a group of men calling 
themselves “Revolutionary Guards” makes another man apologize to Pashinian for 
allegedly swearing at him.

The founders of the radical group are Hayk Stepanian and Vahe Khandilian. 
According to the group’s Facebook page, “the initiative is aimed at protecting 
the [2018] revolution and its values in Armenia.”

In a Facebook post Stepanian writes: “Nikol Pashinyan is the prime minister of 
Armenia, the face of this country. Swearing at him is tantamount to swearing at 
the people who have elected him.”

Human rights activist Artur Sakunts believes that any action degrading a 
person’s dignity and aimed at making a person change his or her opinion is 
unacceptable and reprehensible regardless of who commits it.

“The responsibility for preventing such actions, exposing those who commit such 
actions and holding them accountable lies directly with the authorities,” 
Sakunts said.

Deputy Parliament Speaker Alen Simonian also described the actions of the group 
as unacceptable. The senior member of Pashinian’s Civil Contract party said: “I 
have to say that such situations do not bring any benefit and have the opposite 
effect, and doing this in general is unacceptable.”


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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