Armenia Politics News Digest for Thursday, February 20, 2020
This is the Daily Digest of political news for Armenia for Thursday, February 20, 2020. The top stories are:
Artsakh firmly following the path of democratic development – MFA
Artsakh is firmly following the path it has taken, consistently developing
its statehood based on democratic values as the most important guarantee of the
freedom and security of its people, the Artsakh Foreign
Ministry said on Artsakh Revival Day.
On February 20, 1988, 32 years ago, an extraordinary session of the 20th convocation Council
of People’s Deputies of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast took a
decision to appeal to the Supreme Soviets of the Azerbaijani Soviet
Socialist Republic and the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic
for considering the issue of transferring the NKAO from the
structure of the Azerbaijan SSR to the structure of the Armenian SSR.
“This historic decision marked the beginning of a new
stage of the national-liberation struggle of the Armenians of Artsakh – the
Karabakh Movement. It was a truly democratic movement, a struggle for civil
rights, national identity, economic equality and dignified life. From the very
beginning, the Karabakh Movement was peaceful and embodied the aspiration of
the people of Artsakh to exercise its inalienable right to self-determination
by using the operating legal mechanisms,” the Foreign Ministry
said.
“The response of Baku to the legitimate demand of the
Armenians of Artsakh was its refusal of political dialogue and bloody crimes
against the Armenian population of the Azerbaijani SSR. In an attempt to
intimidate the people of Artsakh by force, the Azerbaijani authorities launched
ethnic cleansing in Sumgait, Baku, and other Armenian-populated cities of
Azerbaijan, as well as in the settlements of Northern Artsakh, which
subsequently grew into large-scale military aggression against the civilian
population of Artsakh,” the statement reads.
However, the Ministry said, “Armenians of Artsakh united in the imposed war and
succeeded in defending their right to live freely in their historic homeland
and with the support of all Armenians creating an independent state – the
Republic of Artsakh.”
“Today, Artsakh is firmly following the path it has taken,
consistently developing its statehood based on democratic values as the most
important guarantee of the freedom and security of its people,”
the Foreign Ministry concluded.
Armenia the most militarized country in Europe – GMI ranking
Armenia is ranked the first in Europe and third worldwide in the Global Militarisation Index (GMI) 2019 presented by Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC).
In this year’s Global Militarisation Indix ranking, the ten countries that provided the military with markedly large amounts of resources in relation are Israel, Singapore, Armenia, Cyprus, South Korea, Russia, Greece, Jordan, Belarus and Azerbaijan.
These countries allocate particularly high levels of resources to the
military in comparison to other areas of society.
Every year, BICC’s Global Militarisation Index (GMI) presents the relative weight and importance of a country’s military apparatus in relation to its society as a whole. The GMI 2019 covers 154 states and is based on the latest available figures (in most cases data for 2018).
The index project is financially supported by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The report compares, for example, a country’s military expenditure with its
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its health expenditure.
It contrasts the total number of military and paramilitary forces in a country
with the number of physicians.
Finally, it studies the number of heavy weapons available to a country’s
armed forces. These and other indicators are used to determine a country’s
ranking, which in turn makes it possible to measure the respective level of
militarization in comparison to other countries.
Artsakh celebrates Revival Day – a symbol of courage, determination and love for freedom
The Republic of Artsakh celebrates Revival Day. On February 20, 1988, the Council of People’s Deputies of the Nagorno-Karabagh Autonomous Region passed a decision on unification with Armenia.
“On February 20, 1988 an extraordinary session of the c was held in Stepanakert and lent legitimacy to the Arsakh people’s perennial aspirations and announced the start of realizing their cherished dreams and goals,” President Bako Sahakyan said in a congratulatory address.
“The session took place despite the brutal oppressions
of the dictatorial Azerbaijan, it took place in strict conformity with
democratic principles and norms, complying with the letter and spirit of the
law. And for the decision was made, a decision for which our people had been
fighting for decades,” he added.
According to the President, it was a struggle aimed at
the restoration of historical justice, the protection of human rights and
freedoms, universal and national values.
“It was a struggle the whole Armenian people stood for
in Karabakh, Mother Armenia and the Diaspora. This very day became the
symbol of our people’s courage, determination and love for freedom, our
nation-wide solidarity,” Bako Sahakyan said.
Armenia authorizes Azerbaijani search operation near the village of Movses
At the request of the Azerbaijani side, with the mediation of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk and with the support of the ICRC, an Azerbaijani de-mining team conducted a search for an Azerbaijani soldier lost in unknown circumstances days ago on the territory between the defense posts of the Armenian and Azeri armed forces near the village of Movses.
As a result of the search work, the remains of the killed Azerbaijani soldier were found and recovered a few meters away from the Azerbaijani positions, the Armenian Defense Ministry reports.
Throughout the Armenian-authorized operation, all the
security conditions were provided for the work of the Azerbaijani search team.
PM pays tribute to Gurgen Margaryan’s memory, condemns the heinous crime
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to Twitter to commemorate the memory of slain Armenian Officer Gurgen Margaryan and condemn the heinous crime.
“Today we are paying tribute to the memory of Gurgen Margaryan, an Armenian officer who became an innocent victim of hatred, racism and anti-Armenian policy,” the Prime Minister tweeted.
“We express
our solidarity to all members and friends of the Margaryan family,” he added.
In a separate tweet the Prime Minister said “the murder of Gurgen Margaryan and the further pardon and glorification of the convicted murderer is a vivid promotion of impunity for heinous crimes that violate fundamental human rights.”
“We are committed to preventing further occurrences of similar identity-based crimes,” the Prime Minister stated.
China appreciates Armenia's help in fighting coronavirus
February 19, 2020 – 19:12 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net – Chinese Ambassador to Armenia Tian Erlong on Tuesday, February 18 haded to the Armenian President Armen Sarkissian a letter from Chinese Leader Xi Jinping who thanked Armenia for supporting the fight against the coronavirus epidemic.
Sarkissian hosted the ambassador in the presidential palace on Tuesday and discussed the situation created by the coronavirus and the preventive measures undertaken by governments worldwide.
The Chinese envoy handed Jinping’s letter in which the the President of the People’s Republic expressed his gratitude to the President of Armenia, noting that support of the Armenian side in the fight against coronavirus epidemic has had its impact on the mutual trust and friendship between the two nations.
“I attach the utmost importance to the development of the Armenian-Chinese relations and stand ready together with you to put efforts to elevate our bilateral relations to a new level for the benefit of our two countries and peoples,” the letter read.
At the meeting, the parties hailed the existing level of the interstate relations and expressed confidence that the sides would continue to make efforts aimed at the development of the Armenian-Chinese friendship and expansion of the existing partnership.
The coronavirus epidemic topped two benchmarks on Tuesday, February 18, according to new numbers released by Chinese officials. With the 136 new deaths and 1,749 new cases reported, the global death toll of the virus climbed above 2,000, and the total number of confirmed cases rose to more than 75,000.
Two top military officials dismissed
Based on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recommendation, President Armen Sarkissian has signed a decree dismissing Artur Baghdasaryan from the post of the Chief of Military Police.
According to another decree, Aleksan Aleksanyan has been dismissed from the post of the head of the department of Moral and Psychological Support of the Armed Forces.
The dismissals follow consultations chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the recent death cases in the Army.
The Prime Minister announced after the meeting that important decisions had been made, including ones on personnel changes.
Interdepartmental Commission Meets to Discuss Urban Development Projects That Call for Comprehensive Solutions
Wednesday, 19 February 2020
Interdepartmental Commission Meets to Discuss Urban Development Projects That Call for Comprehensive Solutions
On February 18, 2020, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan, the interdepartmental commission, established to discuss such urban development projects as may call for comprehensive solutions, met in the Office of Government.
Tigran Avinyan noted that the Commission will discuss major urban development projects, problematic projects, as well as problems existing in the field of urban development and the proposed solutions. The meeting agenda featured four key items: the Old Yerevan Urban Development Program, the project of District 33 in Yerevan, the Kond District Rehabilitation Program, as well as the issue of suspended construction permits.
There was an active discussion on the progress and existing issues concerning the projects of Old Yerevan, Kond and District 33. It was decided to appoint responsible persons to coordinate the work of the programs of Old Yerevan and District 33 in order to speed up the ongoing activities and organize them more efficiently. A special task force will be set up for the Kond District project to work out and study the prospective concepts for Kond’s development.
Reference was made to the sites suspended due to disputes over construction permits in Yerevan. The Mayor of Yerevan reported the current situation and the statistics of the suspension of construction. It was decided that the Commission should examine the matter in all detail and find solutions that would minimize unnecessary and groundless disputes.
China’s Xi Jinping hails Armenia’s support in fighting the coronavirus
China’s President Xi Jinping has commended Armenia’s efforts in helping China fight the new type of coronavirus.
President Armen Sarkissian received today the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Armenia Tian Erlong.
The President of Armenia and Ambassador of China spoke in particular about the situation created by the coronavirus infection and preventive measures.
Ambassador Tian Erlong passed to President Sarkissian a letter from the President of China Xi Jinping in which the latter expressed his gratitude to the President of Armenia noting that support of the Armenian side in the fight against coronavirus epidemic has had its impact on the mutual trust at the highest level and friendship of the two nations.
“I attach the utmost importance to the development of the Armenian-Chinese relations and stand ready together with you to put efforts to elevate our bilateral relations to a new level for the benefit of our two countries and peoples,” the letter of the President of the People’s Republic of China reads.
At the meeting, the parties hailed the existing level of the interstate relations and expressed confidence that the sides would continue to make efforts aimed at the development of the Armenian-Chinese friendship and expansion of the existing partnership.
Today on Twitter
These are some of the tweets about Armenia from some of the Twitter accounts we follow. Contact us via Twitter if you want to be included in this Twitter list. We retweet occasionally.
According to preliminary data, @Armenia 
registered 7.6% economic growth
for 2019, which is the highest record since 2008
#StopGenocide
#Armenian Genocide, #Turkey
Viktor Pietschmann (1881-1956) Austrian
Served in Austrian army in World War I in Turkey
Witnessed Armenian Genocide & took many photographs of the deportees
In Erzurum, witnessed Armenian Genocide carried out by the local government
PR of #ArmeniaChair of #CSW64 Mher Margaryan met with @UN_PGA Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, discussing #genderequality agenda across #SDGs in the #Decadeofaction. Upcoming anniversaries of #Beijing25, #SDG5 should serve as momentum for accelerated action for all #women & girls
Journalist Irina Keleshaeva stands accused of slander against the #SouthOssetia|n authorities – this isn’t the first time she’s come under the gun
https://jam-news.net/trial-in-south-ossetia-minister-of-justice-v-journalist/
Thank you @GermanyNATO for hosting our colleagues from #Armenia and consistent engagement with @NATO partners.
32 years ago, these days, the #Karabakhmovement began. With mass demonstration the people of #Artsakh demanded from the Soviet Union the withdrawal of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) from the #Azerbaijan SSR and its reunion with the Soviet #Armenia.
#selfdetermination
On February 19, #Armenia celebrates #Book-Giving Day. On this occasion, the Human Rights Defender Mr. Arman Tatoyan @atatoyan gave an interview to #Armenpress correspondent. @armenpress
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1005384.html?fbclid=IwAR20z8u__Q3U6P_hM6BmRG7xwQDU466ioxqFqE-DKvKvuQm6IvmPdmR2fJc
From the #Archives: A promotional drawing from the 1974 US Tour of the #Armenian State #Dance Ensemble (#Հայաստան|ի Պարի Պետակական Անսամբլ)
The result of the #Karabakh #movement is today’s Republic of #Artsakh. Ashot Ghulyan
https://artsakhpress.am/eng/news/121494/the-result-of-the-karabakh-movement-is-today%E2%80%99s-republic-of-artsakh-ashot-ghulyan.html
Politics Digests
Armenia, Armenians, Artsakh, Karabakh, Yerevan
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