Friday,
Armenia’s Heated Election Campaign Ends
• Gayane Saribekian
• Robert Zargarian
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - The opposition Hayastan alliance led by former President Robert
Kocharian holds its last campaign rally in Yerevan, .
Campaigning officially ended in Armenia on Friday for Sunday’s parliamentary
elections which appear to be the most unpredictable in the country’s history.
Former President Robert Kocharian’s Hayastan (Armenia) alliance, widely seen as
the main challenger of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party,
held its last campaign rally, attended by thousands of supporters, in Yerevan’s
central Republic Square.
The sprawling square was the scene of a large demonstration held by Civil
Contract the previous night. Another major election contender, the opposition
Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) led by businessman Gagik Tsarukian, also
concluded its campaign on Thursday evening with a rally held elsewhere in the
city center.
Kocharian and his political allies again pledged to restore security in Armenia,
end the country’s post-war political crisis and kick-start its economy as they
addressed supporters demonstrating outside the prime minister’s office.
“These authorities are not capable of solving any of these problems because they
themselves created and are still fuelling these problems. We are coming to put
an end to all this,” said the 66-year-old ex-president, who had ruled Armenia
from 1998-2008.
“Trust us. Allow us to assume responsibility for the country’s future and push
country forward in all directions,” he said in a speech repeatedly interrupted
by “Kocharian!” chants from the crowd.
Kocharian again expressed confidence that his bloc will win most votes in the
snap elections meant to end a serious political crisis resulting from Armenia’s
defeat in the autumn war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“We started an election campaign and are now concluding a victorious campaign,”
he declared.
Armenia - Former President Robert Kocharian greets supporters during an election
campaign rally in Yerevan, .
Pashinian predicted that his party will score a “crushing” victory in the polls
when he addressed supporters on Thursday.
The 12-day campaign has been marked by bitter accusations and threats traded by
Pashinian and Kocharian and another ex-president, Serzh Sarkisian, who is also
challenging the incumbent. Sarkisian leads an opposition bloc called Pativ Unem.
Other, more moderate opposition contenders, notably the Bright Armenia Party
(LHK), have sought to cast themselves as an alternative to the country’s current
and former rulers.
Campaigning in Yerevan’s northern Arabkir district on Friday, LHK leader Edmon
Marukian reiterated that he will try to form a “government of national unity”
comprising all rival factions if his party again wins seats in the National
Assembly.
“We will do everything to make this agenda prevail,” Marukian told reporters.
“This agenda reflects the people’s demand.”
Meanwhile, former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, who leads the opposition
Armenian National Congress (HAK), hit out at the “rival extremist forces,” in a
clear reference to Pashinian on one side and the opposition forces led by
Kocharian and Sarkisian on the other. He claimed that the political crisis will
only deepen if one of them wins the elections.
“These forces have nothing to say or to do about the country’s future,”
Ter-Petrosian said in a video appeal to Armenians.
A total of 26 parties and alliances are running for at least 101 seats in the
Armenian parliament under the system of proportional representation. The parties
need to win at least 5 percent of the vote in order to be represented in the
legislature and potentially form a new government. The vote threshold for
alliances is set at 7 percent.
ARMENIA -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian gives a speech during a
campaign rally in central Yerevan,
The tense election campaign has also been marred by mutual accusations of foul
play, arrests of opposition activists accused of bullying or bribing voters, and
at least one reportedly violent incident.
On Friday, law-enforcement authorities detained Armen Charchian, the director of
a Yerevan hospital running for the parliament on the Hayastan ticket, after a
local non-governmental organization publicized a leaked audio recording of his
meeting with hospital personnel.
Charchian can be heard telling them that they must participate in the June 20
elections. “After the elections I will take voter lists and see who went to the
polls and who didn’t,” he warns.
It was not clear if Charchian explicitly told his employees to vote for Hayastan.
A senior Hayastan figure condemned the prominent medic’s arrest and demanded his
release at the start of Kocharian’s rally.
The Special Investigative Service (SIS) also announced the arrest of an unnamed
election candidate of Pativ Unem accused of vote buying. The opposition bloc did
not immediately react to it.
Five other individuals, all of them opposition candidates or supporters, were
arrested earlier on charges of trying to hand out vote bribes.
Also taken into custody on Thursday was the director of a cultural center in the
southeastern town of Goris run by a senior Hayastan member. He allegedly
threatened to fire one of his employees who took part in Pashinian’s rally held
there earlier this week. The Kocharian-led bloc demanded his immediate release.
Several Hayastan and Pativ Unem sympathizers holding senior positions in
schools, provincial medical centers and other public institutions have claimed
in recent days to have been fired for publicly showing support for Pashinian’s
political foes. Law-enforcement authorities have not yet reacted to their
allegations.
Hayastan also said that several of its activists in another southeastern town,
Yeghegnadzor, were detained and beaten up by local police when Pashinian held a
campaign rally there this week. Prosecutors instructed the SIS to look into
these claims.
Russia Warns Of Response To Turkish Military Base In Azerbaijan
• Aza Babayan
Armenia - Russian soldiers march during an official Armenian ceremony to mark
the 76th anniversary of Soviet victory in World War Two, Yerevan, May 9, 2021.
Russia will take steps to ensure its national security if Turkey opens a
military base in Armenia, the Kremlin said on Friday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not rule out Turkey’s permanent
military presence in Azerbaijan after visiting on Tuesday the Nagorno-Karabakh
town of Shushi (Shusha) captured by Azerbaijani forces during last year’s war.
In a joint declaration signed there, Erdogan and his Azerbaijani counterpart
Ilham Aliyev pledged to further deepen military and other ties between their
nations. Aliyev said the declaration calls for their “mutual military
assistance” in the event of an armed conflict with third states.
Erdogan on Thursday did not exclude a Turkish military base in Azerbaijan.
“There may be development, expansion here later,” he told Turkey’s NTV channel.
Commenting on Erdogan’s statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “The
deployment of military infrastructure by the [NATO] alliance countries near our
borders is cause for our special attention as well as a reason for us to take
steps to ensure our security and interests.”
Peskov also said Russia is “in close contact” with Turkey, Azerbaijan and
Armenia on “further stabilizing the situation” in the South Caucasus after the
Armenian-Azerbaijani war stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire in November.
Regional players must not take actions containing “any elements that could cause
a rise in tensions,” Russian news agencies quoted him as saying.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was more dismissive of the talk of
Turkish military presence in Azerbaijan. “We have not discussed that issue and
do not comment on rumors,” he told a news conference on Friday.
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev,
accompanied by their wives Emine Erdogan and Mehriban Aliyeva, visit Shusha on
June 15, 2021.
Lavrov’s remarks contrasted with concerns voiced by some Russian lawmakers and
pundits. Gazeta.ru, a major Russian news website, said Moscow’s reaction to a
possible Turkish military deployment in Azerbaijan would be “very negative.”
It quoted Alexander Sherin, the deputy chairman of a Russian parliament
committee on defense, as saying that Azerbaijan can already be considered a de
facto NATO member because its soldiers fought alongside Turkish troops against
Russia’s ally Armenia during the Karabakh war. “Its de jure membership [in NATO]
is only a matter of time,” claimed Sherin.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry has condemned Aliyev’s and Erdogan’s visit to
Shushi as a “provocation against regional peace and security.”
In a statement released on Thursday, the ministry accused Turkey and Azerbaijan
of threatening Armenia’s territorial integrity after their “joint aggression”
against Karabakh. It pointed to the Shushi declaration’s references to a
“corridor” that should connect the Nakhichevan exclave with the rest of
Azerbaijan via Armenia’s Syunik province.
Ankara lent Baku strong military and diplomatic support during the six-week
Karabakh war. Yerevan says that Turkish military personnel participated in the
hostilities on the Azerbaijani side along with thousands of mercenaries
recruited in Syria’s Turkish-controlled northern regions.
The truce accord led to the deployment of 2,000 Russian peacekeeping soldiers in
Karabakh. Russia has also deployed soldiers along some sections of Armenia’s
border with Azerbaijan.
Kocharian Endorsed By Former PM, Ex-Army Chief
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia - Former President Robert Kocharian (L) and former Prime Minister Karen
Karapetian meet at the election campaign headquarters of the opposition Hayastan
alliance, Yerevan, June 15, 2021.
Armenia’s former Prime Minister Karen Karapetian and former top army general,
Onik Gasparian, have urged voters to back an opposition alliance led by former
President Robert Kocharian in Sunday’s general elections.
In separate statements, they described Kocharian as an experienced and competent
leader who can confront grave security challenges still facing the country after
last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“I believe that in this situation we must support Armenia’s second President
Robert Kocharian and all those forces that are fighting against the current
authorities,” read the statement released by Gasparian on Friday, the last day
of campaigning for the snap elections.
Gasparian accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian of trying to scapegoat the
Armenian military and dodge responsibility for Armenia’s defeat in the war in
hopes of “retaining power at any cost.”
The general was fired as chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff in early
March after he and four dozen other high-ranking officers accused Pashinian’s
government of misrule and demanded its resignation. The demand was hailed by
Armenian opposition groups but rejected as a coup attempt by Pashinian.
Gasparian challenged his sacking in court. Pashinian has repeatedly attacked him
during the election campaign.
ARMENIA -- Colonel-General Onik Gasparian.
Karapetian endorsed Kocharian on Monday. In a written statement, he said the
ex-president can “get the country out of the crisis,” “quickly restore our
security system” and make Armenia a “predictable and trustworthy partner” for
foreign powers.
“He will create an environment where our society’s potential will be realized in
full and we will have a national, modern, rational and efficient state,” added
the statement.
Kocharian and Karapetian met at the ex-president’s election campaign
headquarters in Yerevan and dined at a restaurant in Gyumri in the following
days. A short video released by Kocharian’s Hayastan (Armenia) alliance showed
the two men strolling in downtown Gyumri late on Wednesday.
Hayastan is widely seen as the main opposition challenger of Pashinian and his
Civil Contract Party. It was due to conclude its election campaign late on
Friday with a rally at Yerevan’s central Republic Square.
Karapetian was appointed as prime minister in September 2016 by then President
Serzh Sarkisian. The former business executive ceded that post to Sarkisian and
was named first deputy prime minister in April 2018 after the latter engineered
Armenia’s transition to a parliamentary system of government.
Karapetian became the country’s acting prime minister just one week later, after
Sarkisian resigned amid Pashinian-led mass protests against his continued rule.
But he too had to step down after the former Armenian parliament reluctantly
elected Pashinian prime minister in May 2018.
Sarkisian now leads another opposition bloc running in the June 20 elections.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Author: Zhanna Nahapetian
COVID-19: Over 55,000 vaccinations carried out in Armenia so far
11:13,
YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. Vaccinations against COVID-19 continue in Armenia.
As of June 13, more than 55,000 people have been vaccinated against the disease since the launch of the vaccination process, the ministry of healthcare reported.
Vaccinations are carried out in centers of primary healthcare all days of the week.
Foreigners in Armenia can also get vaccinated for free.
AstraZeneca, Sputnik V and Coronavac vaccines are available in Armenia.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Current Armenian authorities ‘totally ignored’ issue of POWs, RPA member says
Panorama, Armenia
June 9 2021
Member of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Supreme Body David Harutyunyan, a representative of the election campaign headquarters of the I’m Honored bloc, on Wednesday blamed the current Armenian authorities for “totally ignoring” the issue of Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) held in Azerbaijan.
"The current authorities are not concerned and have never been concerned about the issue of prisoners at all,” he said.
Harutyunyan called attention to the fact that the November 9 tripartite statement on the Karabakh ceasefire included specific timeframes for the settlement of all issues, except the issue of POWs.
"When it comes to handing over the territories [to Azerbaijan], the incumbent authorities undertook clear commitments and set deadlines, whereas no deadline has been set for the return of the POWs,” Harutyunyan said.
He underlined that the statement made in January, as well as the leaked document on border delimitation and demarcation also made no mention of Armenian POWs.
"In other words, the current authorities have totally ignored the issue of POWs. I guess they [the authorities] probably insist now that a great deal of work is being done to bring back the POWs, simply it is visible to no one – neither the Armenian people, nor Azerbaijan or Russia. I guess such secret work is probably being done only on mind.
“The reality is, the POWs have been totally ignored," Harutyunyan said.
"Armenia" bloc member: Pashinyan dismissed regiment commanders because they refused to advocate for him
News.am, Armenia
June 8 2021
20:10, 08.06.2021
Nikol Pashinyan dismissed commanders of regiments Mehrab and Meghri an hour ago. This is what representative of the “Armenia” bloc Vahe Hakobyan announced during a meeting with residents of Vayk today.
According to Hakobyan, the reason for this is that the commanders have refused to spread propaganda in his favor among military servicemen. “The dismissals won’t change anything for Nikol. He will continue to go down. We will definitely restore the army. We need to be ready for war so that war doesn’t break out,” he stated.
EU calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to solve humanitarian issues, including release of captives
10:45, 5 June, 2021
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. Lead spokesperson for the external affairs of the EU Peter Stano called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve the humanitarian issues, including the release of captives.
Commenting on yesterday’s landmine explosion in Karvachar as a result of which Azerbaijani reporters were killed, Peter Stano tweeted: “Civilian casualties of landmines must be prevented. All information necessary for demining must be exchanged. The EU supports ban on land mines and urges Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve pending humanitarian issues, including release of detainees”.
Number of Armenians leaving the country without returning grown sharply in past 4 months – Kocharyan
Aysor, Armenia
June 5 2021
Armenia’s second president, candidate of Armenia bloc Robert Kocharyan and representative of ARF-D Ishkhan Saghatelyan and leader of Reviving Armenia party Vahe Hakobyan met today with their teammates in Sevan.
Kocharyan said during the recent few months the number of those leaving the country and not returning back has sharply grown. He said during the 4 months the negative balance reached 80 thousand people. He stressed that such index was registered in Armenia in early 90s.
“This is already called de-population – escape. If everything is good in the country, why they [people] flee. It means they do not trust the authorities. The only opportunity to change the situation is the change of power,” Kocharyan said.
Ishkhan Saghatelyan noted that Gegharkunik is the province which has become the bordering province and feels the danger as the enemy has reached Vardenis.
As to not accepting the invitation of debate with Armenia’s acting PM he said they have nothing to talk about with traitor.
Resolution calling for release of Armenian POWs to be one of priorities of California Democratic Party in 2021
09:25, 4 June, 2021
YEREVAN, JUNE 4, ARMENPRESS. The resolution introduced by Elected Member of the California Democratic Party Central Committee Elen Asatryan, which calls on the US Congress and the Biden Administration to take actions for the return of Armenian prisoners of war from Azerbaijan, urges to impose sanctions on Azerbaijan and Turkey, will be one of the 13 priorities of the party within the coming year, Elen Asatryan, who is in Armenia these days, said in an interview to ARMENPRESS.
“This is not only a resolution that passed during the convention, but it also became one of the party’s priorities. 159 resolutions were submitted, but only 13 could pass during the convention. It means that the issue of Armenia, Artsakh, the return of captives, imposing sanctions on Turkey and Azerbaijan will be among the priority issues to be discussed by the party’s all bodies during the year”, she said.
The resolution condemns Turkey and Azerbaijan for their war crimes during the recent war in Artsakh. It also calls on the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the State Teachers’ Retirement System to divest all public employee retirement funds from investment vehicles issued by Turkey and Azerbaijan until Turkey recognizes the Armenian Genocide, and until the people of Artsakh are afforded the opportunity of self-determination on their indigenous lands.
The California Democratic party is the dominant political party in the state. Representing over 10.3 million democrats, it is also the largest democratic entity in the United States. The resolution has been submitted to the Biden Administration, the State Department and the Congress. Elen Asatryan said the Biden Administration is democratic, and the resolution submitted by the CDP definitely has its share.
“It was not a topic of one day, the lines of this resolution will be discussed during the whole year. It must be discussed at all conventions as one of the priorities”, the author of the resolution said.
This is not the only one pro-Armenian initiative by Elen Asatryan. She has started her activities in the United States at the age of 16 and has come up with a number of initiatives. Elen Asatryan has also served as Director of the Armenian National Committee of Glendale. Thanks to the adoption of the law introduced by her, 15 Armenian policemen received jobs in Glendale. “The law required the police officer to be able to speak in Armenian as there are people in the city who do not speak in English”, she said, adding that now Armenians are not only working in the police system, but also occupy higher positions in the City Hall.
Elen Asatryan has also served as Director of the ANCA Western Region. In 2014, thanks to her efforts, the Armenian Genocide was taught in schools of California in the 10th and 11th grades. “In 2012 we created the Armenian Vote project which aimed to be sure that the Armenian community is participating in the elections. At that time it has been revealed within two years that 50,000 Armenians have participated in the elections for the first time. Thus, you manage to create a political power for your community”, she said.
During the recent war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, Elen Asatryan has also been active by using all her ties in the United States. She came up with an initiative aimed at gathering all organizations and individuals who were active on Armenian issues around a table to collect true information and work together. She highlighted Diaspora’s getting accurate information from Armenia in order to understand the needs.
Elen Asatryan arrived in Armenia on a private visit, but she has already managed to meet with NGOs, as well as different governmental agencies to try to understand the needs in order to voice them in the US.
Talking about the Armenian community, she stated that although the community is broken after the war but is ready to help. Mrs. Asatryan is confident that the cooperation between Armenia and the Diaspora must continue. “The war showed that people, who are professional, no matter in which field, can play a role in Armenia”, Elen Asatryan added.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Armenia-Russia-Azerbaijan trilateral group suspends activity
MediaMax, Armenia
June 1 2021
June 1 2021
Yerevan /Mediamax/. Acting Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan has stated today that the work of the trilateral group of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan has been suspended.
“I have stated many times that these activities will be effective if the general situation is at least stable. And in this situation, given what is going on at the border, I do not believe that constructive work is possible on that platform. The contacts were interrupted after the border incidents,” Grigoryan said at a press briefing in the National Assembly.
The decision to set up a trilateral working group was announced during a meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Moscow on January 11.
French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM’s visit to France
News.am, Armenia
June 1 2021
French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France
21:58, 01.06.2021
Today, French-Armenians gathered in front of the Embassy of Armenia in Paris and held a protest against the visit of acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.
The protesters chanted “Nikol, Traitor” and held signs reading “Capitulator”, “Traitor” and “Land Giver”.
“This is the last time you will come to France at the expense of the state budget, you scum. You led 7,000 Armenian soldiers to death and come here to party. This is the last time. We must kill you, you must be killed like a dog,” one of the female protesters said.
Outgoing Armenia acting FM opens brackets: My decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason
News.am, Armenia
14:12, 31.05.2021
YEREVAN. – Outgoing Acting Foreign Minister of Armenia Ara Aivazian on Monday had a farewell meeting with the Foreign Ministry staff, the ministry informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.
In his speech, Aivazian noted as follows, in particular: "We had no right to take a step for which our people and our history would not have forgiven us in the future.
When I took office, I declared that [Armenian] diplomacy is not defeated, and I still insist to this day that our diplomacy is not defeated.
I believe our international partners have realized that Armenia is not defeated, Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] is not defeated, the Armenians are not defeated; our enemies also have realized this.
It was very difficult for me to make this decision; but when I assumed this position, there was a criterion for me: This ministry, which is the birth of independence, shall steadfastly defend our sovereignty, our independence, our state, national interests. (…) and my decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason (…).”