09 March 2021, 19:17
Advocates: Armenian President to resolve dispute on resignation of General Headquarters' chief
Advocates and activists gathered in front of the residence of the President of Armenia. They demanded from the leader of the country to send to the Constitutional Court a draft decree on the resignation of Onik Gasparyan, the chief of the General Headquarters of the Armenia's Armed Forces. Armen Sarkisyan does not use his powers to prevent the development of a political crisis, the activists note.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Onik Gasparyan's term as the chief of the General Headquarters of the Armenia's Armed Forces expires today, since the President of Armenia has not sent the draft decree on his resignation to the Constitutional Court. On March 6, at a rally in Yerevan, war veterans demanded from the President to challenge the Prime Minister's proposal to dismiss Onik Gasparyan in court. More than 120 officers of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defence Army spoke out in support of Onik Gasparyan.
On February 25, the General Headquarters of the Armenia's Armed Forces called on Nikol Pashinyan to resign. The Prime Minister considered the above call an attempt of a coup d'etat and drew up a decree on the dismissal of the chief of the General Headquarters of the Armenia's Armed Forces. However, Armen Sarkisyan twice refused to sign the document.
Lawyers and public figures took part in the action held in front of the residence of the President of Armenia, the "News-Armenia" reports.
Ara Zograbyan, the chairman of the Chamber of Advocates of Armenia, reproached the President for inaction. "We are witnessing a dispute between two constitutional bodies, that is, the Prime Minister and the General Headquarters of the Armenia's Armed Forces. Instead of transferring the resolution of the dispute to a political platform, the President actually renounces the above tool and leaves us to our fate," the chairman of the Chamber of Advocates of Armenia claims.
Ara Zograbyan explains that the situation is "fraught with threats to the constitutional order," since in case if Onik Gasparyan refuses to resign and the generals support him, "a new conflict" will likely arise.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 9, 2021 at 01:07 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
