At the end of the siege of police headquarters in Yerevan, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today sought reassurance from the foreign minister of Armenia that journalists’ rights and safety during times of civil unrest would be protected.
The gunmen are demanding the release of jailed opposition leader Jirair Sefilian as well as President Serge Sarkisian’s resignation. Sefilian is accused by the ex-Soviet state’s authorities of plotting civil unrest. He was jailed in June over allegations of illegally possessing weapons. A former military commander, Sefilian has accused Armenian leader Sarksyan of mishandling a long-running conflict between Armenian-backed separatists in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and Azeri forces.
“We are following developments with growing concern. We deplore the death of another police officer this afternoon and wish to express our condolences to his family. With a view to the growing risk of escalation, we call on all sides to show maximum restraint from violence and to refrain from provocations. The situation should be resolved and public order restored in compliance with the rule of law.”
We remain committed to working in partnership with civil society and individuals within the government who are truly committed to strengthening rule of law. At the same time, information gleaned by the investigations into police misconduct, as well as information gathered by credible independent reports, will inform future decisions about participation in Embassy programs and activities. Amidst the calls for further protests this evening, we strongly urge all parties to sincerely work for a peaceful resolution of the situation.
On one hand, Russia and the West are pushing Yerevan to make progress on finding a political solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. But on the other, Sarkisian is aware that any major concessions could threaten his position in office, and potentially even topple the government. Though the hostage crisis is not driven solely by concerns over Nagorno-Karabakh, it is strongly influenced by them and is proof of the instability that a diplomatic deal on the region could produce.
“Maria Zakharova mentioned that Turkey can have a positive investment in the conflict settlement process, as it has repeatedly supported Azerbaijan’s activities. I perceive Zakharova’s remarks this way, it’s clear that Turkey won’t become a participant to negotiation format, Armenia will be against, and even in case of such a perspective Armenia won’t allow it. Russia hasn’t changed its policy, essence of which is balance maintenance between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and Turkey will divert that balance, which isn’t beneficial for Russia,” Russian Turkologist said.
There are indications that the Russian government is now prepared to push harder for a two-step solution to the Karabakh conflict by pressing Armenia to withdraw its forces from five (of the seven) regions of Azerbaijan other than Karabakh and then later to negotiate about some future autonomous status for the separatist Karabakh territory after that happens. That is something most Armenian political leaders and the Armenian public more generally oppose, but now their country may not be able to block such a resolution of this “frozen” conflict.
“The occurrence was qualified as a failed attempt of military coup. Military officers in Istanbul stopped the traffic on all the bridges, few movements were observed in different parts of the city. In Ankara, where I live, 2-3 military helicopters were flying rather low targeting some parts of the city, including the Police department of the Parliament. While attacking the Parliament building shooting from the helicopter was recorded. The eyewitnesses claim that civilians have been killed as well.”
The US and Russia are working on a number of different issues, including resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the US Secretary of State John Kerry said in an interview with NBC.
“The country’s security along its border perimeter is ensured at a proper level. However necessary measures are being taken in view of the latest reports,” Peskov said. At the same time, he noted that the situation in Turkey, Armenia and Kazakhstan cannot be considered in the same way.”
