Parents of missing soldiers, PoWs block roads in Yerevan, GyumriDecember 8, 2021 - 11:22 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The parents and families of missing and captured Armenian servicemen blocked all the streets leading to the Republic Square in downtown Yerevan on Tuesday, December 7, while another group gathered in front of the governor's office in Gyumri, the province of Shirak. The campaign came after a leaked video showed Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan describing the captives as "deserters" and saying that "the captives do not exist" for him. In Yerevan, the police attempted to detain Arsen Ghukasyan, one of the demonstrators, and when he asked for a reason, officers said he had violated traffic rules. A video began to spread on Telegram channels on Tuesday, showing Simonyan at an event and speaking to an unidentified person, accusing the captives of laying down arms and surrendering, and claiming that they "no longer exist" for him. The President of the National Assembly went on to describe the prisoners of war still being held in Azerbaijan as "deserters". Later in the day, an extended version of the video featured Simonyan saying: "If I have to lose Syunik, Sisian because of the captives, I'm sorry for saying this, I think they (the PoWs - Ed.) no longer exist". He also said that the government will nonetheless bring back the captives and added that "the whole country cannot be held hostage to the issue." Top stories The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has visited the southern Armenian province of Syunik, the Defense Ministry reported on March 18. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Macron says France commemorates 109th anniv. of Armenian genocide Today France commemorates the 109th anniversary of the Armenian genocide of 1915, Macron says. |