On 3 March, Armenia’s President Armen Sarkissian met with the Chief of the General Staff of the Armenia’s Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan to discuss the current situation in the country.
After the meeting Sarkissian’s press service stated that the interlocutors confirmed that regardless of decisions in regard to Gasparyan’s sacking, the security and stability of the country were of primary importance. Sarkissian also noted that the armed forces should always be the subject of common concern and that he will continue to keep the army and its problems at the centre of attention.
Afterwards part of the country’s military also released a statement which said that Gasparyan would stay on as the Chief of Armenia’s Armed Forces until the end of the 8-day deadline. “According to Article 139 of the Constitution, the president can, within three days, return the petition with his objections to the body that submitted it. If the body does not accept his objections, then the president signs a corresponding act or applies to the Constitutional Court. If this does not happen, then the corresponding act comes into force,” read the statement posted on the Facebook of Samvel Asatryan, the head of the information department of the general staff of the armed forces.
The statement also noted that according to Article 168 of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court is not empowered to decide on the constitutionality of the draft presidential decree or on the dismissal of the chief of the general staff. It also said the deadline for the president to apply to the Constitutional Court is 8 days after the return of the draft decree.
The opposition Homeland Salvation Movement announced intermission of its rallies in Yerevan. The movement stated that they are waiting for news from the presidential residence whether Sarkissian would apply to the Constitutional Court in regard to the petition to dismiss Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan or not. The representatives of the movement also said that the situation in the country would be “explosive” if Sarkissian does not apply to the Constitutional Court. “The Armenian army and the people are united, therefore, this unity cannot and must not be conceded to a person who with his anti-constitutional and anti-state and anti-national steps is trying to weaken and finally ruin our statehood,” stated the member of the movement Artsvik Minasyan. He noted that the president must show consistency, otherwise both the army and the people will not allow both the activities of the government and the president.
It was also reported that charges have been made against the movement’s prime minister candidate Vazgen Manukyan for public calls to usurp power and overthrow the constitutional order. The head of the press service of the Investigative Committee of Armenia Rima Yeganyan said that Manukyan was charged because of the statements he made during a rally at the Freedom Square on 20 February.
Meanwhile, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that he would meet with the leaders of the parliamentary opposition parties Prosperous Armenia Gagik Tsarukyan and Bright Armenia Edmon Marukyan to discuss the holding of snap elections. “If our parliamentary opposition partners accept the proposal (signing a memorandum on holding extraordinary elections), we will hold extraordinary parliamentary elections. I have already sent the invitation… to the heads of the parliamentary opposition and I plan to meet with them in [soon] and I hope an agreement will be reached,” he stated in the parliament.
Pashinyan also said that the elections should be held based on consensus. “We see elections as a tool for recovering public solidarity, it’s a tool for solving that issue and giving the people an opportunity to express their will,” Pashinyan added, emphasising that the government and the political forces must ensure the free, fair and legal elections.
The PM’s fellow party colleague and vice-speaker of the parliament Alen Simonyan stated that new elections were “inevitable.” “In my view, there is no way we can avoid pre-term elections because they are first and foremost needed by the authorities. The elections may take place only if all sides, or at least most of them, reach an agreement, and so we are going down that path,” he stated.
It was also reported that sniper units were stationed inside the parliament building. Police officers armed with machine guns were patrolling the yard of the building during the session.
