Armenia – CIVILNET
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Armenia protest leaders call for acts of civil disobedience May 10, 2024
Armenia – CIVILNET By Paul Vartan Sookiasian Protesters from the “Tavush for the Motherland” movement gathered in Yerevan’s central Republic Square for a second evening after a day of marches and student boycotts. The demonstrators are demanding an immediate halt to ongoing work in Armenia’s bordering region of Tavush to legally define part of Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan. The deal is expected to result in Armenia ceding control of four villages to Azerbaijan. At yesterday’s rally, the movement’s leader Archbishop of Tavush Bagrat Galstanyan also demanded the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. More than 30,000 people attended yesterday’s […]
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Stirrings of Solidarity: Assessing Protests and Demands in Georgia May 09, 2024
Armenia – CIVILNET On this week’s edition of Insights, Eric Hacopian discusses the latest anti-government protests in Georgia and what they mean for democracy in the region. He also analyzes new positive developments regarding the International Criminal Court case against Israel and what that means for Azerbaijan and the progress being made towards accountability. Eric also analyzes the implications of Hungary’s blocking of EU military aid to Armenia, and what Yerevan’s options are amid challenging geopolitical situations.
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Anti-government protests grow in Armenia amid border deal with Azerbaijan May 08, 2024
Armenia – CIVILNET By Paul Vartan Sookiasian A second senior clergyman of the Armenian Apostolic Church has started a march to Yerevan in opposition to a controversial border delimitation deal with Azerbaijan. Protesters led by Mikael Adjapahyan, Archbishop of the northwestern Shirak region, left Gyumri today with plans to join Archbishop of Tavush Bagrat Galstanyan’s march as it approaches Yerevan. The Diocese of Artsakh, led by Bishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan, has also encouraged its followers to join the marches. Upon reaching Yerevan, the protesters will rally at four in the afternoon in the city’s central Republic Square. Meanwhile, the border delimitation […]
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Armenia hopes to normalize relations with Baku by November, says May 07, 2024
Armenia – CIVILNET By Mark Dovich Yerevan hopes to sign a normalization deal with Baku by November and expects steps in that direction at talks later this week in Kazakhstan, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has indicated. “I share the idea of signing a peace agreement by November…and I hope that progress will be made at the upcoming meeting in Almaty,” Pashinyan told reporters during a lengthy and wide-ranging press conference in Yerevan Tuesday. November is the month Azerbaijan is set to host this year’s United Nations climate talks. That arrangement came about after Baku agreed last year to hand […]
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Armenia watches as protests against ‘foreign agent’ bill rock Georgia May 07, 2024
Armenia – CIVILNET Tens of thousands of people have been taking to the streets in cities across Georgia for over a month now to protest the ruling Georgian Dream party’s renewed plans to require groups that receive funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents.”The country’s law enforcement has been cracking down on the demonstrations, detaining and injuring dozens, including Ana Tsitlidze, a member of parliament from the United National Movement, Georgia’s main opposition party. Ana Tsitlidze joins CivilNet’s Mark Dovic to discuss the latest developments in Georgia and what they may mean for the region as a whole.
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U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Pays First Visit to Shushi Under May 07, 2024
Armenia – CIVILNET By Paul Vartan Sookiasian The U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mark Libby made a visit to the occupied town of Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh today following public pressure from Azerbaijani officials. In an interview published Friday with Radio Azadliq, Radio Liberty’s Azerbaijani service, Libby was asked why he has yet to make a visit to Shushi, a historic town in Karabakh that is part of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Libby replied that while he has visited many parts of Azerbaijan, “It is clear that the returned territories are slightly different. Even more coordination is required. However, I don’t want […]
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Tavush residents march to Yerevan as opposition to border delimitation May 06, 2024
Armenia – CIVILNET By Mark Dovich Hundreds of residents from the border village of Kirants in Armenia’s northeastern Tavush region and supporters are marching to Yerevan, as opposition to a border delimitation agreement reached with Azerbaijan last month continues to grow. That first-of-its-kind deal to delimit, or legally define, a section of the border between Tavush and Azerbaijan’s northwestern Gazakh district is expected to involve Yerevan handing over to Baku four abandoned villages along the border. That prospect has prompted concern in Kirants and other nearby communities that people may be forced from their homes if Azerbaijan takes control of […]