The official ceremony dedicated to the 131st anniversary of the “Armenian Revolutionary Federation” party started in Yerevan. As reported by “Armenpress”, heads of parliamentary and extra-parliamentary political forces from Armenia and Artsakh, politicians, public figures, representatives of the working class were present.

Those present observed a minute of silence in memory of those who died defending the homeland. The solemn event started with a film about the past of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. Different stages of the party’s activity were presented: organization and leadership of the national liberation struggle, focus of European countries on the Armenian issue, self-defense of the Armenian population, volunteer army, etc.

According to the representative of the Supreme Body of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun, RA NA Deputy Speaker Ishkhan Saghatelyan, it has been a tradition for decades to celebrate ARF Day every year. It is an opportunity to evaluate the way passed, to talk about the omissions, the things that have not been done.

“It is an occasion to publicize the ARF’s approaches and views on the key issue. In 1890, an organization was founded that was challenged to play a crucial role in the history of the Armenian people. It is impossible to separate the history of the ARF from the history of the Armenian people. “During the 131 years of struggle and dedication, the ARF Dashnaktsutyun has remained faithful to its mission to serve the cause of liberation of Armenia and the Armenians,” said Ishkhan Saghatelyan, emphasizing that the ARF Dashnaktsutyun has been, will be the force that is loyal to the Armenians and the land. According to him, the ARF Dashnaktsutyun is an organization with a past, a present and a vision of the future. “1999-2009 և 2016-2018 Dashnaktsutyun was part of the government in different ways. We not only know how to fight well but also how to build. It’s time to get down to business. There is a lot of talk about the “achievements” and “omissions” of those years. “We participated in Armenia and Artsakh with our own forces and pan-Armenian structure and contributed to the construction of two states,” Ishkhan Saghatelyan added.

Freedom House@freedomhouse·7h We are concerned with the first conviction of an Armenian citizen under a new law criminalizing “serious insults” of government officials. This shows a clear degradation of democratic norms and creates a chilling effect for free expression in Armenia.

An Armenian citizen has been found guilty of insulting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan — the first conviction on the recently passed ‘grave insults’ law.

The unidentified person was fined ֏500,000 ($1,000).

According to the Prosecutors Office, the person called a Police Station in September last year and swore towards Pashinyan and other high-ranking officials using ‘sexual swear words. 

‘In doing so, he deliberately insulted the prime minister’, they said in a statement. 

The Armenian parliament criminalized ‘grave insults’ in 2021, with more severe penalties reserved for those who direct such language at officials. The maximum fine is ֏3 million ($6,000) or up to three months in prison.

As of 31 December 2021, over 260 criminal investigations had been launched under the law, with 31 people charged so far. Seven people are currently on trial. 

The law has been widely condemned by Armenian and international human rights organisations. 

‘The enforcement of this legislation, which has resulted in the initiation of over 260 criminal cases in 2022 alone, signifies a clear degradation of democratic norms in Armenia and creates a chilling effect for free expression’, Andranik Shirinyan, the Armenian project coordinator of human rights watchdog Freedom House, told OC Media.

‘We call on the parliament to revoke this law that so brazenly violates the principles enshrined in the Armenian Constitution, the country’s OSCE commitments, and the European Convention on Human rights to which it is party’, added Shirinyan.

Freedom House We are concerned with the first conviction of an Armenian citizen under a new law criminalizing “serious insults” of government officials. This shows a clear degradation of democratic norms and creates a chilling effect for free expression in Armenia.

Have you signed the Petition https://www.change.org/We-Demand-Pashinyan-Resignation-Now

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He came to his homeland and did not leave it after his dismissal, although he could have done a fairly well-paid legal job in a paradise in the United States. He did not do it.

He adhered to his convictions, did not betray the noble principles he had adopted, as evidenced by the thoughts he expressed at a press conference on February 4, 2022.

Washington, D.C. – The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) welcomed a bipartisan letter, spearheaded by Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), addressed to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, rejecting the recent proposal by Turkey to purchase Block 70 F-16 fighter jets as well as mechanical upgrades to F-16s from the United States. The letter states in part:

“Approving this proposal would reward President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for ignoring both Turkey’s alliance commitments to the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the vast human rights abuses his regime continues to commit at home and abroad.” Turkey has destabilized multiple regions around the world, including the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East, North Africa, and particularly the South Caucasus, when F-16s were used against the Armenian people during the 44-day war in Artsakh in the Fall of 2020. Turkey deployed its lethal and armed unmanned aerial vehicle, the Bayraktar TB2, to cause irreparable damage to civilians and civilian infrastructure, which was confirmed by satellite images. The letter continues: “The purchase of advanced fighter jets from the United States for Turkey’s military arsenal…

will more likely lead to further death and destruction in the region at the hands of his [Erdoğan] military.” Erdoğan also continues to “jeopardize American national security” by utilizing the Russian-manufactured S-400 missile defense systems, which can expose “important tactical information about U.S. weaponry and military operations to Russia,” in an attempt to “pit the United States and Russia against each other.” The letter highlights Erdoğan’s human rights abuses in Turkey, the suppression of civil society, the promotion of unfair elections, and the restriction of freedom of speech, leading to the detainment of a Turkish journalist last week who was arrested for reportedly insulting Erdoğan. The letter concludes:

“We strongly urge you to reject Turkey’s request for new F-16s and modernization kits and take immediate action to hold the Erdoğan regime accountable. The United States must not provide any further support to Turkey’s military until President Erdoğan takes tangible steps to halt his destabilizing actions and violations of international law at home and abroad.” “Congress and the American people are well aware that Turkey, under the Erdogan regime, has become an unreliable ally that has placed U.S. interests at risk,” said Congressional Relations Director Mariam Khaloyan. “We applaud Reps. Pallone and Bilirakis for spearheading this important initiative with the Administration.” Joining Reps.

Pallone and Bilirakis on the letter are Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Katherine Clark (D-MA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Danny Davis (D-IL), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Kathy Manning (D-NC), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Grace Meng (D-NY), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Katie Porter (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Bobby Rush (D-IL), Linda Sánchez (D-CA), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Mark Takano (D-CA), Dina Titus (D-NV), Lori Trahan (D-MA), David Valadao (R-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Susan Wild (D-PA).

In the first 6 months of 2021, about 22,000 citizens received Russian citizenship. The index is a record compared to the same period of the last 4 years. 2021 In the first 6 months, about 300 thousand people started the process of obtaining legal status in Russia. And in the same period last year, this figure was less than 200 thousand. 2021 63,713 RA citizens left Armenia and did not return in the first quarter.

The same index in 2020 was 11 thousand, in 2019 – 3000, in 2018 – 5200. The number of RA citizens who left the country in January-September 2021 was 103 thousand more than those who arrived. The increasing rates of emigration will lead to the inevitable decrease of the population. Public Reception of the Republican Party of Armenia

ՀՀ քաղաքացիները զանգվածաբար լքում են երկիրը:

2021 թվականի առաջին 6 ամիսներին Ռուսաստանի քաղաքացիություն է ստացել մոտ 22.000 քաղաքացի։ Ցուցանիշը ռեկորդային է անցած 4 տարիների նույն ժամանակահատվածի համեմատ:

2021 թ․ առաջին 6 ամիսներին մոտ 300 հազար մարդ Ռուսաստանում օրինական կարգավիճակ ստանալու գործընթաց է սկսել։ Իսկ անցած տարի նույն ժամանակահատվածում այս ցուցանիշը 200 հազարից քիչ էր:

2021 թ. առաջին եռամսյակում Հայաստանը լքել ու չի վերադարձել 63 713 ՀՀ քաղաքացի։ Նույն ցուցանիշն 2020 թ․-ին, 11 հազար էր, 2019-ին՝ 3000, 2018թ-ին` 5200։

2021 թվականի հունվար-սեպտեմբերին երկրից մեկնած ՀՀ քաղաքացիների թիվը 103 հազարով ավելին է եղել, քան ժամանածներինը։
Արտագաղթի ահագնացող տեմպերը հանգեցնելու են բնակչության թվի անխուսափելի նվազմանը։

Հայաստանի Հանրապետական կուսակցության Հանրային ընդունարան

The International Republican Institute (IRI) has published the data of a new social survey, from which CivilNet has singled out the section on foreign policy.

The survey was conducted among 1,512 citizens, covering the period from November 22 to December 5. The polls were conducted by telephone. Citizens consider Russia to be the most important political, economic, and security partner for Armenia, and the biggest threat, according to 90% of respondents, is Turkey. 57% think that Russia is the most important political partner for Armenia, 50% think that it is France, 38% think that it is the United States, and 23% think that it is Iran.

The picture is almost the same with the most important security partners: Russia 64%, France 32%, Iran 31%, US 26%. As the most important economic partners, however, the Armenians mentioned: Russia – 61%, Iran – 40%, China – 29%. In response to the question “Which two countries pose the greatest political threat to Armenia” 90% of citizens said Turkey, 77% – Azerbaijan, 15% – Russia. 92% of respondents positively assessed the current state of relations with France, 80% – the state of relations with Iran, 77% – the United States, 75% – China, 69% – the European Union և 64% of Russia. At the same time, when asked “which relations with the two countries should be improved for the development of Armenia”, 53% answered that the country is Russia, 35% think that it is the United States, and 29% – Iran. 25% – France, 15% – China.

By Harut Sassounian,

It is simply amazing that every time Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan opens his mouth, he makes a new and bigger blunder. To be convinced of this, all one has to do is follow his speeches, press conferences, contradictory statements in the Armenian Parliament, Facebook postings, flawed decisions, and unqualified nominations. To make matters worse, he does not seem to learn from his errors. Pashinyan neither realizes nor admits his mistakes. He seems to be incorrigible.

On January 24, 2022, the Prime Minister gave another one of his so-called press conferences. No reporters were present to ask questions and challenge his misstatements. It was a poorly-orchestrated show to mislead the public. A young lady read the questions supposedly sent by the media. When one of the journalists complained later that his question was presented in a garbled manner, the young lady honestly confessed that she had simply read the questions given to her by the Prime Minister’s aides.

Among the Prime Minister’s biggest blunders was his reply to a question about Armenian historical demands from Turkey. Pashinyan stated that “the Republic of Armenia has never conducted a policy of the Armenian Cause. Never.” I seriously doubt that he knows the meaning of “the Armenian Cause.” His comment is no different than what a Turkish official would have said. It is shameful that after the horrendous genocide that was committed against Armenians in 1915-1923, killing 1.5 million innocent men, women, and children, and dispossessing them of their historic homeland, the Prime Minister so casually dismisses Armenians’ just demands and acts as if nothing had happened. This is exactly what the Turkish leaders want — that Armenians forget about the past and drop their demands. Furthermore, the Prime Minister falsely stated that Pres. “Robert Kocharian in 2005 publicly announced that Armenia does not have territorial demands or territorial expectations from Turkey,” I recall reporting about Kocharian’s statement back in April 2005, when a Yerevan State University student asked him about Armenia’s demands for land from Turkey. Kocharian cautiously responded: “This issue would have to be taken up by a future President.” It is clear that at a time when Armenia had its hands full dealing with the conflict with Azerbaijan over Artsakh, it was not in Armenia’s best interest to open a second front with Turkey over Armenian territories. Kocharian did not say that Armenia had no territorial demands from Turkey. He simply said that the resolution of that issue has to be taken up at a later date. It is a shame that Prime Minister Pashinyan repeated what the Turkish media had falsely reported rather than what was actually said by the previous President of Armenia.

Going from one distortion to the next, Pashinyan falsely added that Pres. “Serzh Sargsyan had made a reference to Kocharian’s statement.” I do not recall Sargsyan making such a reference. Pashinyan continued by stating that “Armenia never placed in doubt the Armenia-Turkey border. You will not find a single leader or government of the Armenian Republic who put in doubt the Armenia-Turkey border. We have not resigned from this policy.” In reality, until Pashinyan, no Armenian President or government had accepted the current Armenia-Turkey border nor stated that Armenia did not have territorial demands from Turkey.

Coming to the issue of the Armenian Genocide, Prime Minister Pashinyan wrongly stated: “We must register that the locomotive behind the process of the recognition of the Genocide has always been the Diaspora and Diaspora organizations.” This is exactly what the Turkish government would want the Armenian leader to say. There are several things wrong with the Prime Minister’s statement.

1) Pashinyan is once again splitting the Diaspora from Armenia.

2) The Armenian Genocide is not exclusively a Diaspora issue. The descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors constitute today over one-third of Armenia’s population. That is why every year on April 24 over one million Armenians march to the Armenian Genocide Monument in Yerevan.

3) All previous Armenian governments have pursued the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. In fact, Armenia’s Declaration of Independence, issued on August 23, 1990, declared the following: “Aware of its historic responsibility for the destiny of the Armenian people engaged in the realization of the aspirations of all Armenians and the restoration of historical justice,” and “The Republic of Armenia stands in support of the task of achieving international recognition of the 1915 Genocide in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia.” Significantly, the Declaration used the words “Western Armenia,” which is now being abandoned by the Prime Minister. Later, Armenia’s Constitution included a link to the Declaration of Independence.

4) The pursuit of the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide is a pan Armenian issue which concerns both the Diaspora and Armenia. Therefore, there must be a coordinated division of labor between the Diaspora and the Armenian government. What the Diaspora is able to do is different from what the Armenian government can do and vice versa.

The Prime Minister also made many other misstatements in his over two-hour-long so-called press conference. However, an entire book has to be written, not just an article, to expose all of his misstatements.

Exactly what you said proves the fact that this man has a poor understanding of the negotiation process and does not know the details of the negotiation process nor the essence, said Armenia’s third President Serzh Sargsyan in an exclusive interview.

He referred to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statements that the issue of Nagorno Karabakh was delegated to the UN Security Council after the April War, while recalling the UNSC resolutions of 1993, and also speaking about the possibility of the UNSC to adopt or not to adopt a document.

“First of all, what does the UN Security Council resolution of 1993 have to do with it?  It had to do with a completely different issue. All those resolutions passed in 1993 dealt with the cessation of hostilities. It was not a status issue or any other issue. As for the fact that the UN Security Council’s decision would not have been made, it begs the question, comparing what arguments does he come to that conclusion?” said Serzh Sargsyan.

“And I say that there would necessarily have been this Security Council resolution, based on the fact that three of the five permanent members of the Security Council – the United States, Russia, and France – have proposed this draft. I mean, can you imagine a situation where, I repeat, three of the five permanent members would present a resolution, and even if two voted against it, what would happen? Even if we went to extreme measures – one of the permanent members vetoed it – what would we lose from that? The co-chairmen could not make a proposal and then turn 180 degrees during the discussion and make a different decision. That’s impossible,” Sargsyan said.

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In response to the remark that if such a thing had happened, the responsibility for the non-resolution would have fallen on the international community, the third president of Armenia said that not even the international community but a particular member of it would have become responsible. “But there could be no such thing. And it wasn’t a disaster, but for us, of course, it wasn’t the most desired document, and the Kazan document wasn’t our dream, but for us it was an acceptable document and in practice it was an implementable document,” Serzh Sargsyan said.

Earlier it became known that Vahagn Khachatryan, Minister of High Technologies Industry, was chosen by the Civil Contract party as a candidate for the post of RA President, Hraparak.am reported.

In 1996-1998 Vahagn Khachatryan was a political associate of Levon Ter-Petrosyan. Vahagn Khachatrian held the position of advisor to RA President Levon Ter-Petrosian.

2000 – Member and founder of Armat Center for the Development of Democracy and Civil Society.

2002 – Vice President of the Center for Political Science, Law and Economic Research.

2006 Elected founding member of the Alternative socio-political initiative.

2019- 2021. – Member of the board of Armeconombank.

After the revolution of 2018 he began to work closely with the Civil Contract party.

On August 4, 2021, Vahagn Khachatryan was appointed Minister of High-Tech Industry, replacing Hayk Chobanan.