Day: January 22, 2024

YEREVAN (Azatutyun,am)—Armenia’s prime minister and their cabinet should no longer necessarily enjoy the backing of the parliamentary majority, according to constitutional reform proposed by the country’s Ministry of Justice.

The current Armenian constitution requires the government to have a “stable majority” in the National Assembly, meaning that the prime minister has to be backed by most parliament deputies. It envisages a second round of voting in cases where up to three parties or blocs fail to form a majority government as a result of a general election.

A reform “concept” submitted by the Ministry of Justice to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s office earlier this month would the abolish this requirement and make it much easier for a political force winning the plurality of votes to come to power. It claims that “stability can cause political and economic stagnation.”

The document obtained by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Monday proposes two ways of forming a minority government. One option is for the largely ceremonial president of the republic is to appoint the leader of the political force that won most votes but fell short of a parliamentary majority as prime minister.

Alternatively, the parliament itself would pick the premier through a plurality voting system. A similar system is already in place in Yerevan. It enabled Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party to install its top candidate as mayor following municipal elections held in September.

In what is widely considered a serious setback, Civil Contract fell well short of an absolute majority in the city council empowered to appoint the mayor. The ruling party capitalized on opposition contenders’ failure to quickly agree on a common mayoral candidate.

Armenian opposition groups refrained from commenting on this proposed arrangement, saying that they have not yet seen the Ministry of Justice document. At least some opposition figures are bound to say that Pashinyan is simply trying to make sure that he can cling to power despite a serious decline in his popularity.

Pashinyan said Armenia must have a new constitution when met with senior Ministry of Justice officials late last week. Commenting on the wisdom of such a change, he made no mention of domestic politics and cited instead the need to ensure country’s “external security” in the “new geopolitical environment” in the region.

Pashinyan has repeatedly called for constitutional changes and made conflicting statements about them during his nearly six-year rule. Two years ago, he set up a new body tasked with coordinating the constitutional reform process. The body now headed by Justice Minister Grigor Minasyan has still not drafted any constitutional amendments. It is not clear whether it approves of the document put forward by Minasyan’s ministry.

The European Union expressed serious concern over Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s latest territorial claims from Armenia when he doubled down on his scheme to have a land “corridor” through Armenia to Nakhichevan.

“The latest territorial claims by President Aliyev are very concerning, and any violation of Armenia’s territorial integrity would be unacceptable and will have severe consequences for our relations with Azerbaijan,” the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday after a meeting of EU foreign ministers, which discussed the Armenia and Azerbaijan normalization process.

The EU foreign ministers reportedly called for ongoing peace talks between Yerevan and Baku, which have stalled because Azerbaijan has canceled previous-scheduled talks mediated by Brussels.

“We agreed that Azerbaijan needs to return to substantive peace and normalization talks with Armenia,” Borrell added.

Citing the November 9, 2020 agreement, Aliyev, earlier this month, renewed his claims for a so-called “corridor” through Armenia, saying that without such a route he would not open Azerbaijan’s borders with Armenia.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week said that the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan never discussed a corridor, adding that it is not part of the November 9, 2020 agreement.

When making his “corridor” remarks, Aliyev also renewed his demand for Armenia’s withdrawal from “eight Azerbaijani villages,” which he claims Armenia is occupying.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Monday challenged Azerbaijan’s credentials to the body on which called “substantive grounds.”
 
In making the challenge, Frank Schwabe (Germany) cited political prisoners in the country, the violent displacement of people from Nagorno-Karabakh, the fact that Assembly rapporteurs were unable to visit Azerbaijan at least three times during 2023, and the lack of an invitation to the Assembly to observe the country’s February 7 presidential election in Azerbaijan, a press statement from PACE said.

At least 30 other members from five delegations supported Schwabe’s motion.
 
“The challenge was immediately referred to the Assembly’s Monitoring Committee for report and to its Rules Committee for opinion, and will be debated by the Assembly on the evening of Wednesday January 24,” the statement added.
 
It is noted that under the PACE rules, the body must vote for one of three options: to ratify the credentials, not to ratify them, or to ratify them “together with depriving or suspending the exercise of some of the rights of participation or representation of members of the delegation concerned in the activities of the Assembly and its bodies.
 
“The members of Azerbaijan’s delegation may sit provisionally with the same rights as other Assembly members until the Assembly has reached a decision, but shall not vote in any proceedings relating to the examination of their credentials,” the statement explained.

WASHINGTON – Armenian National Committee of America leaders rallied Congressional support to reverse Azerbaijan’s genocide of Artsakh Armenians and defend Armenia’s security during policy-level consultations this week on Capitol Hill.

ANCA National Board members Aida Dimejian, Dzovinar Hamakorzian, and Ani Tchaghlasian were joined by ANC Artsakh Executive Director Gev Iskajyan and ANCA staff members Tereza Yerimyan and Alex Galitsky in meetings with Congressional leaders throughout the week, with additional district meetings scheduled during upcoming weeks. 

This first Capitol Hill fly-in of 2024 was timed as Congress begins writing the Fiscal Year 2025 Foreign Aid Bill and Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. The ANCA is calling for support for Artsakh Genocide survivors, enforcing Section 907 restrictions on U.S. security assistance to Azerbaijan, and exploring additional Azerbaijan sanctions opportunities through White House and Congressional action.

In each of the meetings, ANC Artsakh’s Gev Iskajyan shared the harrowing realities of Azerbaijan’s genocidal ethnic cleansing of the over 120,000 Artsakh indigenous Armenians, forced from their homes in September 2023 following a brutal 10-month blockade and September 19th attack that devastated the civilian population. Throughout the Artsakh blockade and its aftermath, Iskajyan served as a trusted Capitol Hill news source, participating in dozens of briefings with Congressional leaders, arranged by national, regional, and local ANCA advocates.

The ANCA praised Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) for their leadership on the unanimous passage of S.3000, blocking U.S. security aid to Azerbaijan, and called for immediate U.S. House consideration of its companion measures.  ANCA leaders also hailed Sen. Robert Menendez’s (D-NJ) efforts to press the State Department on a flawed U.S. policy of Azerbaijani appeasement, which aided and abetted President Aliyev’s genocidal actions against Artsakh.

In meetings with Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Adam Schiff (D-CA), and House Foreign Affairs Committee Member Mike Lawler (R-NY), ANCA leaders discussed Azerbaijan’s ongoing occupation of the Republic of Armenia’s territory and threats of renewed attacks against Armenia.  Congressional Armenian Caucus Leaders Pallone, Schiff, Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and David Valadao (R-CA) issued a statement this week condemning January 10th remarks by President Aliyev laying to sovereign Armenian territory and urging US and international action.  “It is past time we hold his regime accountable for the belligerent rhetoric and actions it has taken against Armenians in the South Caucasus. The United States and our regional partners should use every diplomatic tool, including sanctions, to help guarantee the territorial integrity of Armenia and push back against Aliyev’s blatant threats against it. We call on the State Department and our international partners to take immediate action to halt any further Azeri aggression and ensure Armenia’s safety and security,” stated the Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs.

ANCA National Board members thanked retiring Armenian-Assyrian Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) for her decades of leadership to end Turkey’s gag-rule on proper U.S. affirmation of the Armenian Genocide, and for spearheading current efforts to secure Congressional funding for Armenian Genocide education.  Since Turkey and Azerbaijan’s 2020 war against Armenia and Artsakh and the September 2023 Artsakh genocide, Rep. Eshoo has repeatedly led initiatives calling on the Biden Administration to demand accountability from the Aliyev regime.

During their meetings, ANCA National Board members called for expanded U.S. aid to assist Artsakh refugees with emergency food, as well as, longer-term housing and job placement needs. The delegation also explored the role of the U.S. and international community in enforcing Artsakh Armenian property rights and ensuring the population’s safe return to their ancestral homes, under clear, long-term security guarantees.  ANCA leaders called for U.S. action to secure Azerbaijan’s immediate release of Republic of Artsakh leaders and over 80 Armenian prisoners of war illegally imprisoned by Azerbaijan in the aftermath of the 2020 war and 2023 Artsakh genocide.