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Armenia

Country in western Asia, bounded east by Azerbaijan, north by Georgia, west by Turkey, and south by Iran.

Government

Under the 1995 constitution, there is a directly elected executive president, serving a five-year term, and a 190-member national assembly, to which deputies are elected, for a four-year term, by an additional member system, with voters casting two ballots; in November 1998 a new election law was approved, providing for 80 of the 131 legislature seats to now be elected in single-member constituencies. From the majority grouping within the assembly, a prime minister (chair of the cabinet of ministers) is drawn. There is also a vice-president.

History

Armenia was in ancient times a kingdom occupying what is now the Van region of Turkey, part of northwest Iran, and what is now Armenia. Under King Tigranes II (95-55 BC) the kingdom reached the height of its power, controlling an empire that stretched from the Mediterranean to the Caucasus. Thereafter, it fell under the sway of the Byzantine Empire, then the Muslim Turks from the late 11th century, the Mongols in the 13th century, and the Ottomans from the 16th century. This domination by foreign powers bred an intense national consciousness and encouraged northward migration of the community.

Under Soviet control

With the advance of Russia into the Caucasus during the early 19th century, there was a struggle for independence which provoked an Ottoman backlash and growing international concern at Armenian maltreatment. In 1915 an estimated 1,750,000 Armenians were massacred or deported by the Turks. Conquered by Russia in 1916, Armenia was briefly independent in 1918 until occupied by the Red Army in 1920. Along with Azerbaijan and Georgia, it formed part of the Transcaucasian Soviet Socialist Republic, but became a constituent republic of the USSR 1936.

Growth of nationalism

As a result of glasnost, Armenian national identity was reawakened and in 1988 demands for reunion with Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian-peopled enclave within Azerbaijan, led to a civil war 1989-91, resulting in the intervention of Soviet troops. The Armenian Pan-Nationalist Movement (APM), which was formed in November 1989 by Levon Ter-Petrossian and Vazguen Manukyan, and the militant Karabakh Committee were at the fore of this growing nationalist campaign. The campaign included attempts to secure full control over the Azeri enclave of Nakhichevan, leading to the flight of almost 200,000 Azeris from the republic. In the 1990 elections to the republic's supreme soviet (parliament) nationalists polled strongly and Ter-Petrossian and Manukyan were chosen as president and prime minister respectively.

Struggle for independence

In August 1990 a declaration of independence was made but ignored by Moscow. The republic boycotted the March 1991 Soviet referendum on the preservation of the USSR and in April 1991 property belonging to the Communist Party of Armenia (CPA) was nationalized. Four months later the CPA dissolved itself. In a referendum held in September 1991, shortly after the failed anti-Gorbachev coup in Moscow, 94% voted for secession from the USSR. Independence was formally proclaimed by President Ter-Petrossian, but this failed to secure Western recognition.

Nagorno-Karabakh dispute

A ceasefire agreement signed by Armenia and Azerbaijan in September 1991 collapsed in November when the Azeri parliament, dominated by communists-turned-nationalists, voted to annul Nagorno-Karabakh's autonomous status. Soviet troops were gradually withdrawn from the enclave, leaving it vulnerable to Azeri attacks. In response, after a referendum and elections in December 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh's parliament declared its ‘independence’, precipitating an intensification of the conflict.

Armenian independence achieved

In October 1991, Ter-Petrossian was overwhelmingly re-elected president, capturing 83% of the vote, in the republic's first direct election. In December 1991 Armenia joined the new Commonwealth of Independent States, which was formed to supersede the USSR. Also in December Armenia was accorded diplomatic recognition by the USA and in January 1992 was admitted into the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE, from 1994 the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE); in March 1992 it became a member of the United Nations.

End to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

During early 1992 Armenia suffered a trade and energy embargo imposed by Azerbaijan in the escalating conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenian forces captured several strategic Azeri strongholds in May, but by August had lost much of their newly gained territory in a surprise Azeri counteroffensive. They recovered their losses during 1993 and by July reputedly controlled one-fifth of Azeri territory, including much of Nagorno-Karabakh. A ceasefire was signed in May 1994.

Internal problems

Both the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh and unrest in neighbouring Georgia blocked many supply routes to Armenia during 1993. Severe food and energy shortages resulted and large antigovernment demonstrations were held in the capital, Yerevan, in July and November 1994. In response to the unrest, the president suspended the chief opposition party and closed down a number of anti-government newspapers. Economic reforms continued and a new privatization and price liberalization programme was launched in March 1995. Parliamentary elections in July 1995 resulted in a victory for the ruling party, and a new constitution, strengthening presidential powers, was concurrently approved. However, the election was tarnished by intimidation of the opposition.

In September 1996 Ter-Petrossian was re-elected president for a second five-year term, amid allegations of electoral fraud. Tanks were sent to Yerevan to quell the protests. In November 1996, Prime Minister Hrand Bagratian resigned, disenchanted with mounting opposition to his harsh reform programme which had brought rising unemployment, lower wages, and deteriorating social services. He was replaced by Armen Sarkissian, formerly Armenia's ambassador to the UK. Ter-Petrossian resigned early in February 1998 amid a deepening political crisis. His resignation was viewed as a triumph for nationalists who opposed a compromise in the settlement negotiations over Nagorno-Karabakh, the issue that led to a war with Azerbaijan. Under the plan advocated by Ter-Petrossian, Armenia would have withdrawn its troops from occupied parts of Azerbaijan east of Nagorno-Karabakh as a preliminary to wide-ranging talks. This brought about a split in the ruling coalition, and the hardline Prime Minister Robert Kocharian was elected president in spite of reports of electoral infringements.

In May 1998 Kocharian lifted the ban on the centre-left Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and brought two members of the ARF into his cabinet. In the same month, a commission, chaired by Paruyr Ayrykian, was appointed to recommend changes in the constitution to reduce the president's executive powers.

In July 1998 the People's Party of Armenia (PPA) was formed by the former Communist Party leader and presidential candidate, Karel Demirchyan.

Five gunmen burst into Armenia's parliament in October 1999 and shot dead the prime minister, Vazgen Sarkisian, and seven other officials and lawmakers. The full Armenian cabinet had been attending a question-and-answer session. The assassinations were broadcast live on national television and radio. The gunmen, who surrendered after all-night negotiations with President Kocharian, said they had intended to kill only the prime minister who, they claimed, had been leading the country into economic and political deadlock.

In November 1999, Amen Sarkisian was named the new prime minister of Armenia, replacing his assassinated brother, Vazgen. Sarkisian, who was appointed by the president, had no political experience. In May 2000, President Kocharian dismissed Sarkisian, and appointed Andranik Margaryan as the new prime minister.

In January 2001, Armenia was admitted to the Council of Europe. This committed it to democracy and human rights, making it unlikely to attempt to settle the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh by force.

In May, the Hayastani Komunistakan Kusaktsutyun (HKK; Communist Party of Armenia) led a rally in Yerevan, attended by 100,000 people, demanding Armenia's accession to the Russia-Belarus Union State. President Kocharian opposes membership of the union.

Aras Azerbaijan Caucasia Erivan Gregory the Illuminator

Kars Leninakan Moses of Khoren Nagorno-Karabakh Yerevan