Various political factions have been locked in a standoff since the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia joined the ranks of the opposition forces demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation in a move he has condemned as a military coup attempt.
At the heart of the political turmoil is a dispute over the use of the Russian-provided Iskander missile system in the 2020 Artsakh War. On February 25, Pashinyan issued a dismissal order for the First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Tiran Khachatryan after he laughed at the PM’s claim that the Iskander missile system only partially fired during an interview. Pashinyan’s statement was a response to an accusation made by former President Serge Sarkisian that the military did not deploy the Iskander systems during the critical stage of the war. The Russian Defense Ministry released a statement alleging that the PM had been “misled” and that Iskander missile systems were not deployed during the conflict. Pashinyan’s spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan told the press that the PM “hadn’t been briefed correctly regarding this situation.”
On Thursday Pashinyan also announced the creation of a working group to lead reforms of the Armed Forces headed by Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan.
In response to the PM’s interventions into its inner workings, the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces released an incendiary press release on Thursday morning demanding his resignation. “The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia expresses its resolute protest against the dismissal of the First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia for short-sighted reasons,” the statement reads. “The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and the Government are no longer able to make adequate decisions in this critical situation for the Armenian people.
“For a long time the Armed Forces patiently tolerated the ‘attacks’ aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces from the current leadership, but everything has its limits,” the statement continues. “Inefficient governance by the current authorities and grave mistakes in foreign policy have brought the country to the brink of collapse.”
The statement immediately provoked divergent reactions. Pashinyan condemned the announcement as a “military coup attempt.” The Ministry of Defense concurred, sustaining that “all attempts to involve the Armed Forces in any political process are inadmissible.” Indeed, according to Articles 14 and 155 of the Armenian Constitution, the Armed Forces must maintain neutrality in political matters as they are under the subordination of the government and civilian control.
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They should be ashamed. This is not the time for division and divisiveness. This is when a nation comes together to rebuild what was lost. Let the people decide at the next elections as to who should be leading the country. The army chiefs should not be interfering with politics. We need to show political maturity not this kind emotional anger.
Two additional facts about this political crisis in Armenia:
1) Armenian President Armen Sarkissian met with representatives of the government, the other political factions, the Armed Forces, and independent experts regarding the proposal to dismiss Chief of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan.
When meeting with representatives of the Armed Forces, the President was presented with “hundreds of facts about the illogical and treacherous instructions that Nikol Pashinyan had given during the war”.
https://news.am/eng/news/630981.html
2) The issue of holding snap elections has been discussed since shortly after the end of the war on November 10, 2020. The issue has been that Prime Minister Pashinyan refuses to step aside and be replaced by a new interim government before the next elections.
A seamless relation between the government and armed forces is essential for our security. The army should not be subject to any other forces either internal or external otherwise we have no real independance. Our political parties should stop their selfish endless struggle for power at least during a crisis and think of country. It is about time Pashinyan also came to a political understanding with Russia based on common interest and lead the nation out of this stalemate.
Very good article. I’m glad to see that you are not taking sides. It was good to see it all in one big article, drawing it together. Because from afar I was not making much sense out of it.