Author: Adrine Hakobian

On 19 January Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the United Nations, Ambassador Zohrab Mnatsakanyan today delivered a statement at the Security Council Open Debate on “Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict”.

In his statement Ambassador Mnatsakanyan stressed, that Armenia shares the concern of the Secretary General about the disturbing challenges for the protection of civilians in conflict-affected areas, which remain persistent as ever. While the humanitarian aspects of affected populations are of high concern, basic physical security of civilians continues to be wracked. The persistently rising numbers of civilian casualties call for a resolute action.

Ambassador Mnatsakanyan also emphasized, that the question of accountability requires amplified consolidation of the Council in demonstrating resolve against parties, responsible for denying basic security or humanitarian relief to affected populations. The idea of enabling the UN peace operations with a mandate for a preventive, protective and tactical use of force to protect civilians under threat of physical violence needs to be given thorough consideration. The reputation of the Organisation is judged not by words of condemnation, but by deliverable protection. Strengthening the capacities of field missions, including those of the relevant regional organizations, remains an on-going priority. Last, but not least, protection of civilians in armed conflicts is closely tied to the prevention of mass atrocities, including the crime of genocide. A culture of assessing every crisis situation affecting civilian populations through the prism of massive crimes, including the crime of genocide, should be further cultivated within the Organization, – underscored Zohrab Mnatsakanyan.

The Ambassador of Armenia referred to the recent situation in the region, stressing that Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh have been experiencing significant challenges to the security of its civilian populations as a result of the on-going disregard by Azerbaijan to respecting and upholding the 1994 cease-fire agreement. Increasingly, Azerbaijan continues to target civilians across the line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh and the border with Armenia. As a result of intensified cease-fire violations and massive shelling of populated areas with the unprecedented use of heavy artillery, considerable damage has been inflicted on the livelihoods of the bordering villages. In September 2015 three women were killed by Azerbaijani fire. Armenia strongly deplores the purposeful acts of Azerbaijan to violate the cease-fire regime and damage the on-going peace process within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship. Once again, Armenia urges Azerbaijan to heed the calls of the international community and agree without delay to establish an investigative mechanism into the cease-fire violations, and to withdraw snipers. By rejecting such mechanism, Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for the violations and the escalation of tensions.

In conclusion, Ambassador Mnatsakanyan underlined, that the on-going negotiations for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship is a positive example of effective utilization of the capacity of regional organizations in conflict resolution. Armenia highly commends the support of the international community, of the United Nations and of the Secretary General rendered to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairmanship in the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. He stressed that Azerbaijan should be denied the attempts to undermine the efforts of the Co-chairs or to engage in forum and mediation shopping.

The Open debated was presided by José Luis Cancela, Deputy Foreign Minister of Uruguay. Representatives of about eighty state members, including Deputy Foreign Ministers of Spain and Ukraine, as well Jan Eliasson, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Christine Beerli, Vice-President of the International Committee of the Red Cross took part in the Debate.

Photo: Reuters

 

Microsoft ended support for Windows 8 on Wednesday, which means the three-year-old operating system will no longer receive the necessary security updates to keep hackers at bay, reports.

This leaves more than 40 million users with the only option to upgrade to a later version of Windows to remain supported.

Microsoft still supports Windows 7 and Windows Vista, which surprises several users about the end of support for Windows 8. Technically, Windows 8 users must be supported till 2022, as per Microsoft’s 10-year support policy. But a quirk in the support life cycle changes that and requires Windows 8 users to upgrade immediately.

Users upgrading to Windows 8.1 Update will be supported till 2023, according to Microsoft’s lifecycle page.

A  bill that would make it a crime to deny that the 1915 killings of Armenians was genocide will be voted on by the French Parliament on Thursday, Today’s Zaman reports. 

The bill – prepared by Valerie Boyer, a deputy from the main opposition party, the Republicans – states any denial of the genocide and the crimes against humanity committed in the 20th century should be a punishable crime.

The bill was discussed by the parliamentary Justice Commission on Nov. 25.

Turkey had suspended military, economic and political ties with France when the lower house of the French Parliament passed a similar bill in December 2011.

The French Senate then also passed the bill in January 2012, ignoring warnings from Turkey that passage of the legislation would lead to additional sanctions.

A month later, France’s Constitutional Council overturned the bill.

 

A man armed with a knife attacked the Russia Today (RT) office in Tel Aviv on Thursday. The channel’s staff is safe, but at least two people have been killed and one was injured, reports.

Turkish fans booed during the minute’s silence for the victims of the Paris attacks before their national team drew 0-0 with Greece in a friendly international soccer game on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

According to The Daily Mail, chants of ‘Allahu Akbar’ were reportedly heard in Istanbul as some Turkey fans shamefully booed a pre-match minute’s silence for the victims of the Paris attacks.

The mark of respect was observed at matches across Europe, including at Wembley where France faced England, after Islamic State militants struck Paris on Friday killing 129 people.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras watched the game together, in a sign of reconciliation between the two neighbors, whose relationship has suffered from hostilities in the past.

It was the first time the two teams had met for eight years and the Turkish Football Federation had announced a string of additional security measures before the match at the Istanbul Basaksehir stadium, which was a 17,000 sell out.

 

 

 

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party resorts to all means to get votes on November 1, political scientist Mushegh Khudaverdyan says. According to him, the decision to return Kamp Armen to the Armenian community also fits into this policy.

Turkey is currently living the most strained period of its modern history, Khudaverdyan told reporters today. “Surveys show the situation has not changed after the previous elections of June 7 and the ruling party will again fail to gain majority. Therefore, the chaos in Turkey will continue,” the political scientist said.

The expert does not exclude there will be an internal split in the Justice and Development Party after the failure, but the collapse of Erdogan’s party is unlikely.

According to Khudaverdyan, yesterday’s move to return the historic orphanage to the Armenian community was also a demonstration of “flattery.”

People, who struggled for Kamp Armen for 175 days, always hoped it would be returned, Anush Kazan Asaturoglu told Public Radio of Armenia. She did not exclude, however, that the motive behind the decision was to ensure the votes of Armenians at the forthcoming elections.

The deed to Camp Armen, a historic Armenian orphanage in Istanbul, was returned to its original owners after protests against the then owner  over the demolition of the site.

Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church Foundation, the first owner of the orphanage located in the Tuzla district of Istanbul, received the deed on Tuesday.

The Spanish city of Aldaia (Valencia) officially recognized the Armenian Genocide on October 27.

The resolution introduced by the Armenian “Ararat” Union was put on a vote at the City Council by Spokesman for the Left Union Juanjo Llorente.

All four parties represented in the City Council unanimously voted to call the massacre of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey “genocide” and condemn its denial.

Present at the sitting were representatives of the Armenian community and public and political figures of Spain.

Ambassador James Warlick, the lead U.S. negotiator in the Nagorno Karabakh peace process, has voiced the Obama Administration’s support for common-sense measures, advanced by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY) and a growing number of their Congressional colleagues, to stop increased cease-fire violations along the Karabakh line of contact.

In a statement issued to H1 Television’s Haykaram Nahapetyan, Ambassador Warlick explained, “We fully support the initiatives proposed by Congressman Royce and Congressman Engel. Confidence building measures and people-to-people programs reduce tensions and lay the basis for a lasting peace. We have raised each of these initiatives with the parties and will continue to pursue all steps that can lead to a negotiated settlement,” concluded Warlick.

“We are pleased to see the Obama Administration joining with key Congressional leaders from both parties in supporting common-sense peacekeeping proposals for Nagorno Karabakh,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “These U.S.-backed life-saving initiatives have long been endorsed by both Artsakh and Armenia, but – at the cost of lives on both sides – rejected by the increasingly aggressive and isolated Azerbaijani regime of Ilham Aliyev.”

Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel are currently collecting Congressional signatures on a letter addressed to Ambassador Warlick – the U.S. representative to the OSCE’s Minsk Group tasked with reaching a resolution of Nagorno Karabakh-related security and status issues – specifically calling for the U.S. and OSCE to abandon their failed policy of false parity in responding to acts of aggression, noting that: “The longstanding U.S. and OSCE practice of responding to each new attack with generic calls upon all parties to refrain from violence has failed to de-escalate the situation. Instead, this policy of artificial evenhandedness has dangerously increased tensions. There will be no peace absent responsibility.”

The letter outlines three concrete pro-peace steps that would, “in the short-term, save lives and help to avert war. Over the longer term,” the letter notes, “these steps could contribute to a comprehensive and enduring peace for all the citizens of the region:”

— An agreement from all sides not to deploy snipers along the line of contact.

— The placement of OSCE-monitored, advanced gunfire-locator systems and sound-ranging equipment to determine the source of attacks along the line of contact.

— The deployment of additional OSCE observers along the line of contact to better monitor cease-fire violations.

Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh have both expressed support for these life-saving initiatives; Azerbaijan has not.

ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian, Executive Director Aram Hamparian, Government Affairs Director Kate Nahapetian and the ANCA Eastern Region’s Armen Sahakyan met with Ambassador Warlick last week, in the immediate aftermath of the latest fatal Azerbaijani attacks against Armenia and Artsakh, expressing concern about the OSCE negotiators’ reluctance to clearly and unequivocally condemn Azerbaijan’s fatal ceasefire violations.

The Greek government and the UN refugee agency have brought in extra staff and ships to deal with some 25,000 stranded migrants on the island of Lesbos, the BBC reports.

A processing centre has been also set up on an abandoned football ground to help the migrants to get to Athens.

A Greek minister said on Monday Lesbos was “on the verge of an explosion”.

Meanwhile, hundreds of migrants broke through police lines on Hungary’s border with Serbia and started walking towards the capital, Budapest.

The migrants faced down pepper spray used by police as they broke out of a holding centre in a cornfield and marched down a motorway towards Budapest. They later agreed to be taken by bus to another reception centre.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan will meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as part of a working visit to Moscow, President’s Press Office reports.

The leaders of the two countries will discuss a wide range of issues related to Armenian-Russian bilateral relations, cooperation in the political, economic and humanitarian spheres.

They will exchange views on issues of cooperation within the framework of integration processes after Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union and will refer to the future programs.