| March 2 |
Former aide to President
Robert Kocharian, Aleksan Harutiunian, begins a hunger strike to protest
his detention on charges of complicity in the assassinations of senior
Armenian political leaders during the October 27th attack on parliament.
Harutiunian is also protesting the decision of Military Prosecutor
Gagik Jahangirian to reject the appeal for his case to be transferred
to the civilian prosecutor-general's office. |
| March 3-4 |
The leadership of the
Unity bloc, the majority group in the parliament, issues an ultimatum
to President Kocharian demanding the dismissal of presidential chief
of staff Serge Sarkisian and State Television Director Tigran Naghdalian.
The ultimatum charges the two with actively impeding the investigation
into the attack on the parliament and the subsequent killings of the
prime minister, parliamentary speaker and other political officials.
The Unity bloc adds that the two officials have manipulated media
coverage to criticize the investigation and the imprisonment of the
Deputy Director of the state television, Harutiun Harutiunian, and
former presidential aide Aleksan Harutiunian. |
| March 6 |
President Kocharian dismisses
the recent Unity bloc ultimatum demanding the firing of the head of
the state television and the presidential chief of staff as "ludicrous
and absurd." Kocharian further states that the Unity bloc leadership
lacks political maturity and contends that the junior member of the
bloc, the People's Party of Armenia, only agreed to the ultimatum
after being coerced by the more powerful Republican Party of Prime
Minister Aram Sarkisian. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)
affirms Kocharian's position by warning that there must not be political
involvement of any kind in judicial investigations nor any move to
restrict the media and expresses concern that the recent agreement
on "solidarity and cooperation" signed by the prime minister
and the eight political parties holding seats in the parliament is
not being observed. The same day, Kocharian issues a presidential
decree stipulating that all senior military promotions, assignments
and appointments are constitutional powers held solely by the president.
This decree supersedes an August 1999 government directive granting
the prime minister the power of appointment and promotion within the
"power" ministries of defense, interior and national security. |
| March 7 |
A large majority of deputies
vote to adopt the 2000 state budget submitted to the parliament by
Finance Minister Levon Barkhudarian in January. The state budget contains
252.7 billion drams ($482 million) in expenditures and 202 billion
drams in revenue, with the state budget deficit equal to less than
five percent of projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and fully covered
by foreign loans and grants. The government forecasts an overall increase
in GDP of 6 percent for this year, compared to a 3.7 percent increase
for last year. |
| March 8 |
Criticizing the recent
presidential decree on military appointments, Unity bloc leader Andranik
Markarian vows to file an appeal with the Constitutional Court. Several
deputies of the People's Party of Armenia, the junior partner in the
Unity bloc, oppose the move and affirm the constitutionality of the
decree as being in line with the presidential role as Commander in
Chief of the armed forces.
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian reports to the Armenian
Parliament that the internal political tension in the country has
significantly impeded the mediation efforts of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) over the Nagorno Karabagh
conflict and has forced him to cancel several meetings and visits
abroad. The series of direct talks and meetings between the Armenian
and Azerbaijani presidents over the past several months had provided
a new impetus to the active engagement of the OSCE mediators. |
| March 10 |
Speaking at a press conference,
Military Prosecutor Gagik Jahangirian reveals that the five gunmen
led by Nairi Hunanian responsible for the attack and killings in the
parliament were acting for "powerful political patrons"
and will face an additional charge of "conspiring to seize power"
in addition to murder and seizing hostages. Jahangirian adds that
he has uncovered evidence that the National Security Ministry had
considered recruiting Hunanian in December 1998 as an intelligence
operative. |
| March 12 |
The opposition National
Democratic Union (NDU) issues a declaration at the conclusion of its
three-day party congress criticizing the tension between the president
and the prime minister, characterizing the present "clan system"
of government as a serious impediment to efficient governance, economic
development and democratization. |
| March 13 |
Following demands by the
Unity bloc calling for his dismissal, Tigran Naghdalian, the head
of state television, submits his resignation citing the "constant
political pressure" directed against him and citing the need
for political stability. Naghdalian also reaffirms his rejection of
accusations that he manipulated media coverage of the investigation
of the October attack on parliament. |
| March 14 |
President Kocharian issues
a presidential decree promoting two key leaders of the Yerkrapah Union
of Karabagh Veterans to higher military posts. Yerkrapah chairman
and strong supporter of Prime Minister Sarkisian, Major General Manvel
Grigorian is promoted to the position of Deputy Defense Minister and
Colonel Seyran Saroyan is named as commander of the Second Army Corps.
The decree also promotes Colonel General Artur Aghabekian and Colonel
General Gurgen Melkonian as Deputy Defense Ministers and names Major
General Yurii Khachatrian as the new commander of the Fourth Army
Corps. |
| March 14-15 |
Prime Minister Aram Sarkisian
meets with the leadership of the Unity bloc to discuss the recent
presidential decree promoting several prominent Yerkrapah figures
to senior military positions. The prime minister expresses his anger
at the president's failure to inform him in advance of the decree.
Adding that he does not necessarily oppose the promotions, Sarkisian
criticizes Kocharian for "violating the rule of the game,"
and states that Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutiunian is also angered
at not being informed in advance by the president. President Kocharian
responds that he promoted the Yerkrapah leaders to ease the political
tension by allowing him to "control the army and bear full responsibility
for the country's security" as commander in chief. |
| March 15 |
The Nagorno Karabagh parliament
adopts a draft election law featuring a single-mandate system for
elections to the 33-seat legislature "as a basis for further
discussion." The election legislation fails to include any provision
for a party-based list of candidates. The parliamentary leadership
has rejected the opposition's demands for such a party list system,
contending that the political parties in Karabagh are currently too
weak and fragmented to be able to offer any feasible alternative to
the current system. |
| March 16 |
A group representing the
Armenian community of Nakhichevan (a historically Armenian exclave
which was ceded to Azerbaijan from Armenia by the 1921 Treaty of Moscow)
issues a statement to the Russian lower house of parliament calling
on the Duma to reverse the 1921 treaty. The group, the National Council
of Nakhichevan Armenians, accuses the Azerbaijani government of implementing
a policy of ethnic cleansing and forced depopulation of the native
Armenians once it took control of Nakhichevan. |
| March 16-17 |
During a meeting with
the leaders of the political parties represented in the parliament,
President Kocharian criticizes the cabinet's performance on economic
issues and conveys his strong displeasure with the growing level of
wage arrears among public sector workers. Yerkrapah senior figure
and Yerevan Mayor Albert Bazeyan tenders his resignation to Kocharian
but then withdraws it after talks with Yerkrapah chairman Major General
Manvel Grigorian. The recently promoted Yerkrapah officials also reassure
Prime Minister Aram Sarkisian of their loyalty to him in an attempt
to ease the premier's anxiety over their inclusion into the government
as Deputy Defense Ministers by Kocharian. |
| March 17 |
The Nagorno Karabagh Foreign
Ministry issues a statement condemning recent Azerbaijani pronouncements
warning that any foreign investment in Nagorno Karabagh would have
an adverse effect on the ongoing mediation effort seeking a negotiated
resolution to the Karabagh conflict. The Karabagh Foreign Ministry
statement criticizes Azerbaijan for impeding the natural economic
and political development of Karabagh and warns that such a position
endangers peace and stability throughout the region. |
| March 21 |
President Kocharian, Defense
Minister Harutiunian and Foreign Minister Oskanian receive the deputy
commander of U.S. Forces in Europe, Admiral Charles Abbot, in Yerevan
to discuss regional security issues and to coordinate plans for the
expansion of bilateral security and military ties between the United
States and Armenia.
Karabagh defensive military positions along the northern border of
Nagorno Karabagh are attacked in a pre-dawn offensive by a detachment
of Azerbaijani troops. The attack is effectively repulsed and Karabagh
troops reinforce the area. Initial reports indicate that at least
ten Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in the attack with no losses
for the Karabagh side.
Nagorno Karabagh President Arkady Gukasyan is wounded in an attack
by unknown gunmen as he is driven home from the presidential office.
The attack leaves the president wounded in the back and the legs,
and seriously wounds the driver and the president's bodyguard. President
Gukasyan undergoes an emergency operation in Stepanakert and is then
rushed with the other two wounded men by armed convoy to Armenia for
further medical treatment. Karabagh security forces arrest over twenty
suspects, including former Defense Minister Samvel Babayan and his
brother Garen Babayan, the Mayor of Stepanakert and former Interior
Minister. Tensions between Gukasyan and Babayan have escalated in
recent months, to the point that Babayan physically assaulted Prime
Minister Anushevan Danielian. Reacting to the assassination attempt,
the Karabagh government issues a declaration of support for the president,
defining the attack as an attempt to "undermine the statehood
of Nagorno Karabagh" and a direct move to subvert the Gukasyan
government's policy of political reform and democratization. The Armenian
president also condemns the attack, affirming his "absolute support"
for the wounded leader. |
| March 23 |
Armenian President Robert
Kocharian and Prime Minister Aram Sarkisian visit recovering Nagorno
Karabagh President Arkady Gukasyan in a Yerevan hospital. Doctors
reveal that their operation was a success and report that Gukasyan
is in satisfactory condition. In an announcement in Stepanakert, Karabagh
Deputy Prosecutor-General Aramis Avagian states that Karabagh security
forces have uncovered a significant store of "illegal weapons
and ammunition" hidden in the homes of Samvel Babayan and his
brother Garen Babayan, both currently imprisoned awaiting charges
related to the attempted assassination. |
| March 24 |
Ghoukassian survives assassination
attempt; 28 arrested; Karabagh calm. |
| March 24-25 |
Supporters of former Defense
Minister Samvel Babayan call on the Karabagh authorities to release
him, contending that there is no evidence of Babayan's involvement
in the attack and criticizing the authorities for targeting Babayan
in a politically motivated investigation. Two Karabagh parliamentarians
add that the assassination seems to be part of a covert plot to remove
both President Gukasyan and Babayan from Karabagh's "political
arena" in an attempt to "destabilize the political situation."
Two political factions within the Karabagh Parliament, the Right and
Accord and Unity groups, are criticized by the government's press
department for prematurely expressing skepticism over Babayan's guilt. |
| March 26 |
Several Armenian Parliamentarians
meet in Stepanakert with Nagorno Karabagh Prime Minister Anushevan
Danielian to demand the release of Samvel Babayan from custody. Danielian
along with Foreign Minister Naira Melkoumian both state that the overall
situation in Nagorno Karabagh has returned to calm, but add that the
Karabagh government will not allow any political pressure to effect
the course of the investigation into the March 22nd assassination
attempt against President Gukasyan.
The Nagorno Karabagh prosecutor-general's office reports that several
of the suspects arrested previously have confessed to involvement
in the attempted assassination of Karabagh President Arkady Gukasyan.
The prosecutor-general's office adds a later statement revealing that
three of the men arrested in the investigation immediately following
the shooting attack on President Gukasyan are security guards of former
Defense Minister Samvel Babayan. |
| March 28 |
Officials in the prosecutor-general's
office announce that they are releasing twelve suspects arrested on
suspicion of complicity in the recent assassination attempt on the
president. The suspects are released for a lack of evidence. In comments
during a visit to Georgia, Armenian President Kocharian states that
Karabagh authorities have arrested all participants in the attack
and adds that the assassination is linked to local opposition to President
Gukasyan's campaign to fight corruption and strengthen law and order
in Karabagh. |
| March 29 |
President Robert Kocharian
concludes a two-day state visit to Georgia which results in the signing
of several bilateral agreements, including a plan to construct a electrical
power line to supply energy from Armenia to the ethnic-Armenian Djavakheti
region of southern Georgia. The two countries also formalize a debt
rescheduling agreement concerning the $4.4 million Georgian debt for
Armenian hydroelectric energy. Discussion is also held on a proposal
to seek financing from the European Union for the modernization of
the Yerevan-Tbilisi highway. |
| March 30 |
Deputy Prosecutor-General
Aghvan Hovsepian submits a petition to a Yerevan court requesting
the complete lifting of parliamentary immunity held by Vano Siradeghian
to allow for his imprisonment during trial. Siradeghian, on trial
since September for allegedly organizing a series of politically motivated
murders, is currently free from detention in accordance with a special
deal reached in February 1999 when the parliament removed his immunity
from prosecution as a deputy. Hovsepian charges that the relatives
of the victims of Siradeghian's reputed assassinations have been subject
to harassment and intimidation in recent weeks by supporters of the
former interior minister. The other defendants in the case have remained
in prison for the past eleven months awaiting the outcome of the trial. |