Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 22.12.2020:

They were pitching tents at Republic Square, in downtown Yerevan, to spend the night there.

The main building of the government, the building of the Prosecutor General's Office, and the building of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports have been blocked.

The opposition’s actions of civil disobedience were in progress as well.

Armenia opposition has also given the ruling bloc faction time until 6pm Tuesday to come with a delegation to discuss with the leadership of the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement the situation in the country.

  • Human Rights Defender of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Artak Beglaryan has submitted his resignation letter to the Speaker of the National Assembly and will be holding a position in government.

“The resignation of the Ombudsman is due to his offer to hold a position in government, proceeding from the current challenges and needs," the statement added.

  • The bodies of another eight Armenian servicemen were found Monday during the search operations.

Earlier on Monday, the State Service for Emergency Situations of Artsakh reported that two more citizens who had been in obscurity for 61 days have been found as well.

Thus, the bodies of over 1,000 fallen Armenian servicemen have been retrieved so far.

On 18 December, immediately after the meeting menia of the Representative of Armenia before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Yeghishe Kirakosyan, with the relatives of 62 Armenian servicemen who were captured in Artsakh, another request for the indication of interim measure against Azerbaijan on behalf of 53 servicemen was prepared and lodged by the Office of the Representative to ECtHR, along with supporting evidentiary materials.

Attorneys have already submitted interim measure request for 9 servicemen out of 63.

They are demanding a detailed analysis of the impact of US military aid to Azerbaijan and Armenia and its ramifications on the balance of power in the Caucasus region, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) reported.

The Congressional request for the Artsakh report is included in the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY2021) foreign aid bill (H.R.133), adopted by the House in parallel to the COVID-19 stimulus package earlier Monday.

  • UNESCO has issued a statement as it is awaiting Azerbaijan’s response regarding the mission to Nagorno-Karabakh.

In its press release of 20 November, UNESCO reiterated countries’ obligation to protect cultural heritage in terms of the 1954 Convention for the Protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict to which both Armenia and Azerbaijan are parties. The Organization proposed to carry out an independent mission of experts to draw a preliminary inventory of significant cultural properties as a first step towards the effective safeguarding of the region’s heritage.

The proposal received the full support of the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group and the agreement in principle of the representatives of both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Since 20 November, UNESCO made proposals and led in-depth consultations with a view to organizing the mission which, in the terms of the Convention, requires the agreement of both parties.

Hayk Tsirunyan and Mesrop Papikyan, members of the Council’s majority My Step faction, had submitted petitions to terminate their powers as members of the Council of Elders. Before that, Arsen Karapetyan also had submitted a similar request.

Besides, Ernes Avanesov and Sergey Gyozalyan, members of the My Step faction, have submitted requests to leave the faction, but they will continue to be members of the Yerevan municipal council.

In its turn, the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party faction resigned—in writing—from the post of Deputy Chairman—held by Markos Harutyunyan—of the Standing Committee on Urban Development and Land Use Affairs of the Yerevan Council of Elders.

Armenia civil disobedience participants pitching tents at Republic Square