Armenian Dictator Nikol Pashinian praised a controversial border-demarcation deal with Azerbaijan, calling it a great success, in opening remarks to a cabinet meeting on May 16. Thousands of protesters opposing the agreement gathered again outside the government building, which was cordoned off by police in riot gear.

Protesters led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian have opposed what they call “unilateral territorial concessions” to Azerbaijan as they demand Pashinian’s resignation over his security policies.

On Friday, as tens of thousands of Armenians gathered in the capital of Yerevan to demonstrate against the Armenian government’s plans to cede more land to Azerbaijan, CSI’s international president, Dr. John Eibner, wrote a letter of solidarity to Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the informal leader of the protest movement.

Tens of thousands of Armenians have gathered in the capital, Yerevan, to protest the government’s policy of unilateral concessions to Azerbaijan. ANC-UK

CSI’s international president, Dr. John Eibner, has written a letter of support to Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the leader of Armenia’s “Tavush for the Homeland” protest movement, as tens of thousands of Armenians have gathered to demonstrate against their government’s concessions to Azerbaijan.

Archbishop Galstanyan serves as primate of the diocese of Tavush, a region where the Armenian government recently announced its decision to unilaterally cede strategic territory to Azerbaijan – in order, it said, to prevent an Azerbaijani invasion.

A new protest movement

The government’s decision led to weeks of protests and civil disobedience by Armenians in Tavush. The protestors feared losing their villages or having Azerbaijani troops – who regularly fire on Armenian villages along the border – stationed so close to their homes.

On Friday, May 3, Archbishop Galstanyan set out on a march from Tavush to Yerevan with a group of 100 supporters, a march they called “Tavush for the Homeland.” On Thursday, May 9, they arrived in Yerevan’s Republic Square and were greeted by 30,000 supporters. Daily protests against the Armenian government have continued in the capital since then.

In his letter, Eibner praised Archbishop Galstanyan’s “courageous efforts” and argued that Azerbaijan’s attacks on Armenia are “a continuation of the Armenian Genocide process.” “The voice of the multitude you lead must be heard by the faction in power in Yerevan,” he said.

Threat of war

According to Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia had offered to withdraw from the disputed territory in Tavush in exchange for Azerbaijani troops withdrawing from the 214 square kilometers of Armenian territory it has occupied since May 2021. When Azerbaijan refused, Pashinyan decided to withdraw from the territory anyway, saying, “We must not allow a war to start.”

The land concessions follow Azerbaijan’s conquest last year of Nagorno Karabakh, which led to the forced displacement of over 100,000 Armenian Christians from their homeland. In the months before the conquest, Pashinyan had formally recognized Nagorno Karabakh (or Artsakh) as part of Azerbaijan, although it had never in history been ruled by an independent Azerbaijani state.

Eibner’s letter to Archbishop Galstanyan follows:

Your Eminence, Dear Archbishop Galstanyan,

May the Almighty bless your courageous efforts to amplify the voice of the politically marginalized. You do so at a critical moment in Armenian history. The Armenian nation faces today an existential crisis. The Azeri-Turkic state has already succeeded in ethnically cleansing Armenian Christians from Nagorno Karabakh and in occupying territory inside the Republic of Armenia. It has done so with impunity.

The Aliyev dictatorship now demands more territorial concessions, with no end in sight. It is a continuation of the Armenian Genocide process. The voice of the multitude you lead must be heard by the faction in power in Yerevan.

National unity is now urgently needed. We have therefore read with dismay the CivilNet report in which Prime Minister Pashinyan accuses the Tavush protesters whom you lead of seeking to “incite war” and the “de facto dissolution of Armenian sovereignty and statehood,” while acting under the influence of “drug lords, criminals and foreign special services.” No state can survive at the expense of the nation upon which it is built.

Over the centuries, the Armenian Apostolic Church has stood in solidarity with its suffering people throughout many trials and tribulations and continues to do so today. Please be assured that many Christians of different traditions throughout the world stand in solidarity with you in your non-violent efforts to ensure that the views and sentiments of those most threatened by the continuing Genocide process are heard by those in power.

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the First Christian Nation at this time of crisis.

Yours sincerely,

John Eibner

International President

Christian Solidarity International

By Harut Sassounian,

A lot has happened in Armenia this past week that has shaken to the core the incompetent, inexperienced, defeatist and deceptive Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan who should have resigned on Nov. 10, 2020, the day he signed the capitulation agreement with Azerbaijan.

Pashinyan came to power by exploiting the people’s gullibility and their resentment of the former leaders. He claimed that he will bring peace to Armenia, their sons will no longer die in wars, they will live in prosperity with high-paying jobs, there will be no corruption, and a million other falsehoods with which he misled the public.

Drunk with his newly-found power, Pashinyan became completely unhinged. He arrogantly announced, while he and his mob of followers surrounded the Parliament building in 2018, that either he will become the Prime Minister or Armenia will not have a Prime Minister! This is the pronouncement of a self-declared democratic leader who became a dictator.

During the campaign for the parliamentary elections in 2021, Pashinyan stood on a stage holding a hammer and promising to crush the heads of his political opponents. He also pledged to slam his Armenian rivals to the wall and flatten them on the asphalt. This is his crude understanding of democracy.

Pashinyan told his crowd of followers in 2018 that he will leave his office when the people demand his resignation. Since then, he has ignored all demands for his resignation clinging to his seat of power. During one of the many demonstrations calling for his resignation, when a journalist asked him if he will keep his word and resign, he pompously replied, “they aren’t people,” implying that he considers only those who support him as “people.”

Even though Pashinyan’s supporters falsely claim that he was elected Prime Minister, the fact is that he was not, since the Prime Minister’s post is not an elective position. He was chosen by his parliamentary majority which is composed of equally incompetent and inexperienced young men and women.

Pashinyan has no tolerance for dissent. If anyone living in Armenia dares to criticize him, the Prime Minister orders his well-fed police squad to lay the critic on the ground, beat him up and arrest him. His top ally, Alen Simonyan, the Chairman of the Parliament, spit on the face of an Armenian in the street, just because he criticized him. And if a Diaspora Armenian disagrees with Pashinyan, he will not be allowed to enter Armenia after he arrives at the Yerevan Airport. Under Pashinyan, Armenia has become a dictatorship, ruled by the whims of one man.

Now comes Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the Primate of the Diocese of Tavoush, who opposes Pashinyan’s arbitrary decision to turn over to Azerbaijan four Armenian border villages without a referendum and parliamentary approval.

The Archbishop has come immediately under vicious attacks by Pashinyan himself and his cronies, including the thousands of fake Facebook followers who are paid to defame anyone who dares to criticize the Prime Minister.

Pashinyan called the Archbishop and his supporters “Drug Lords” and “Foreign Agents sent from overseas” without a shred of evidence. It is very ugly when the head of a government uses street language to denigrate his political opponents. Anyone who dares to criticize Pashinyan is immediately labeled “a Kremlin agent” who is paid thousands of dollars to “undermine the country.” Why should anyone get paid to undermine Armenia when Pashinyan is already undermining the country all by himself?

In a strange turn of events, the Archbishop has copied the same tactic Pashinyan used to come to power by marching from Gyumri to Yerevan in 2018. Thus Srpazan is giving Pashinyan a dose of his own medicine. The only difference is that Pashinyan violated many laws to come to power by smashing the doors of the Armenian Radio Station’s headquarters, surrounding a Court House with his followers to prevent the judges from entering the building, and blocking the entrances to the Parliament.

The Archbishop has advantages and disadvantages. Srpazan is a clergyman whose weapon is truth and morality. He preaches peace, love and non-violence. All attempts by various opposition groups to topple Pashinyan by street protests in the past six years have failed. The Archbishop is the only person who has gained the trust of a large number of Armenians who eagerly joined his march from Tavoush to Yerevan. Over 100,000 Armenians flooded the city’s main square to listen to his message.

When Srpazan arrived in Yerevan on May 9, he announced that he was giving Pashinyan one hour to resign. When the hour passed and there was no resignation, the Archbishop did not want to go to the next step of urging his 100,000 followers to storm the building and oust the Prime Minister. Instead, Srpazan announced a series of civil disobedience acts throughout the country.

Srpazan is now consulting with various opposition leaders to discuss the next steps. If and when Pashinyan resigns or is impeached, both unlikely scenarios, the Archbishop said that a transition government will be formed which will later hold elections for Parliament to choose a new Prime Minister. It remains to be seen if Srpazan’s peaceful plans will succeed to oust Pashinyan.

The best reason for getting rid of Pashinyan is that the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey have eagerly praised Pashinyan for his repeated and endless concessions. Prominent Azeri analyst Ali Hajizade even suggested the possibility of sending Azeri and Turkish troops to Yerevan to support Pashinyan’s government!

All patriotic Armenians, putting aside their internal differences, should form a coalition to establish a transitional government that will hold the next elections. Public pressure must be exerted on Pashinyan to resign as soon as possible before the country ceases to exist due to attacks by internal and external enemies. This may be the last chance to save Armenia.

The despotic Pashinyan regime and their cronies, fueled by hatred and coercion, have embarked on a campaign of vilification targeting not only former government officials but also various Armenian factions such as ARF and Artsakh, as well as aligning themselves with Turkish and Azerbaijani interests, painting anyone who doesn’t fall in line as adversaries, even the Russians. Their latest victim is Bishop Bagrat Galstanyan, now under attack. Discrediting tactics in Armenia now often involve insinuations connecting individuals to the Kremlin, as seen during the 2023 Yerevan elections, where opposition figures were unjustly ‘linked’ to Russia. This time, the defamatory onslaught is directed towards Archbishop Bagrat, with malicious pages allegedly tied to Civil Contract and its affiliates. This criminal regime must be removed at any cost

Tens of thousands of Armenians congregated in the heart of Yerevan following Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian’s passionate call for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his administration to step down due to a contentious land agreement with Azerbaijan.

Leading the rally in Yerevan’s central square, Archbishop Galstanian, head of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, voiced opposition to the disputed border-demarcation pact with Baku, which relinquishes control of four villages previously part of Azerbaijan during the Soviet era but under Armenian authority since the 1990s.

While the border deal has garnered support from the United States, the European Union, and Pashinian himself, opposition figures have criticized the prime minister for conceding territory without adequate assurances.

Addressing a massive crowd in Republic Square, Galstanian issued an ultimatum, giving Pashinian until 7:40 p.m. local time to announce his resignation.

“In the Republic of Armenia, you hold no authority,” Galstanian declared, echoing Pashinian’s own words to his predecessor, then Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, during successful protests six years prior.

Pro-government members of Azerbaijan’s Parliament proposed on Tuesday (May 7) that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian be officially invited to visit Baku and criticized the Armenian Apostolic Church, which is increasingly at odds with him.

“We could invite Pashinian to Baku,” said one of them, Zahid Oruj, during a parliamentary session. “At the same time, the road to Azerbaijan must be closed to all individuals who are our political enemies and who call for sanctions against our country. »

Mr. Oruj was referring to pro-Armenian American elected officials and other Western politicians who have accused Azerbaijan of military aggression against Armenia and ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. In recent months, the Armenian government appears to have stopped supporting their calls for sanctions against Baku. A year ago, Mr. Pashinian publicly recognized Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Karabakh.

The Armenian prime minister is increasingly accused by his political opponents and other critics of making significant concessions to Azerbaijan and Turkey to cling to power. They strongly condemned its recent decision to cede several border areas to Azerbaijan without obtaining Azerbaijani territorial concessions in return.

The move sparked angry protests led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian and was welcomed by the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Another Azerbaijani lawmaker, Sahib Aliyev, attacked the ancient church, to which the vast majority of Armenians nominally belong, for “trying to disrupt the border demarcation process.” Aliev called the church a “den of terrorists.”

Source: https://www.armenews.com/spip.php?page=article&id_article=115692&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2RXEFU68vnBuAL5hlI8qOLdZ4-q4wgSy4k9sppXOf7A-GWPPcC00kcFJA_aem_AYZWDdCV95v-RWWUOaiemaVXqqX7lCP4Vu704or23OubuzlkJc1CZFEe24KYlKmSGOh6pc6AuWIdB7W0akfyRQFa

Gayane Aslamazyan write on Her Facebook

Presenting Bagrat Srbazan’s Credentials:

In 2013, England’s Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal was awarded.

In 2012, I successfully defended my doctoral thesis in Theology and Biological Ethics at Concordia University of Montreal (M.A), titled “The Healthcare System of Armenia: A Historical, Social, and Theological Analysis with Perspectives on Past, Present, and Future Development.”

In 2002, defended master’s thesis titled “The Problem of the Council of Jewish Consecration in the Armenian Church,” earning four degrees of private mastery.

From 1998 to 2000, pursued studies at Leeds University in England and Murfield Holy Resurrection Theological College, while serving as visiting pastor of the Armenian Holy Trinity Church in Manchester.

From 1996 to 1998, instructed courses on Holy Liturgy commentary, Chronology, and General Church History at Gevorgyan Theological Seminary and Vazgenyan School.

From 1988 to 1994, I pursued studies at Gevorgyan Theological Seminary, culminating in graduation in 1995 with excellent progress and the defense of my thesis titled “The View of the Episcopal Personality’s Schedule: Commentary and Theology (including Novel Manuscripts and Mathematical Study).”

Bagrat Archbishop Galstanyan

Additionally, in 2018, I received a diploma from the State University of Armenia.

Regarding the resemblance to Nikol Pashinyan, Yellow Journalist Street Activist become PM of Armenia

On May 4, at 18:00, the 72-hour sit-in announced by Ishkhan Gevorgyan ended in front of the Government building. It was, in his words, a step to express impatience with the “one-sided process of handing over the homeland” to what is happening in Tavush. According to him, the conditional duration of the action was related to the 72-hour “detention” (ed.-arrest) of people fighting against injustice in Tavush. With this “voluntary 72-hour detention” he expresses his support to all those Armenians who do not agree with the government’s actions.

Ishkhan Gevorgyan is a participant in the 44-day Artsakh war, and later also in combat operations in various positions in Armenia. Today, on the last day of his sit-in, having learned about the protest march from Tavush to Yerevan, together with the other “irreconcilable citizens” who joined him, he decided to perform round-the-clock duty in front of the Government building and welcome the marchers on May 9.

“During these three days, I got to know many real Armenians who are also not at peace with all this. Today, at 3 o’clock, I learned that Bagrat Srbazan will come to Yerevan with the Armenians fighting in Tavush. We decided to establish round-the-clock shifts and create a corner of people who are not reconciled with this situation here. Let’s gather, express our lack of peace, discuss ways to get out of this situation, and finally welcome the march led by Bagrat Srbazan,” said Ishkhan Gevorgyan, handing over the “shift” to his friend Andranik Yeghoyan.

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While Pashinyan demilitarizes the Armenian military, he is further militarizing the police, those most loyal to the regime will find their way into a new ‘police guard’ “If the draft passes the National Assembly, a purely police service will be created with new weapons and trained personnel in accordance with international standards,

which will be entrusted with the maintenance of public order and public safety, the protection of state buildings and important objects, the escorting of delegations provided for by the state protocol, as well as ensuring the legal regime of martial law and state of emergency.” The US has been in the process of ‘assisting’ Armenia in police training and anti-riot training for years now while it assisted Azerbaijan in militarization. All of this feeds into the greater plan of making Armenia more susceptible to invasion, while ensuring Pashinyan keeps his position of power. All leads to the creation of a win-win situation for NATO, pan-Turkic, and Israeli plans in the region.