Author: Alex Nanijanian

Ex-US President Trump faces criminal charges for plotting to overturn 2020 election

Alex Nanijanian

 10:42, 2 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 2, ARMENPRESS. Former US President Donald Trump has been charged with plotting to overturn his 2020 election defeat, BBC reported.

Trump denies the accusations, calling the case “ridiculous”.

The former US President is charged with 4 counts, among them conspiracy to defraud the US, tampering with a witness and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.

The law provides up to 20 years in prison in case of two of the charges.

"The attack on our nation's capital on January 6 2021 was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” special counsel Jack Smith said.

This is the third and most serious criminal charge against Trump. The other two cases were mishandling classified files and falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to a porn star.

Trump is due to appear in court on August 20.

The Trump campaign said in a statement, "The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes".

Armenian Foreign Minister, new Ambassador of France discuss bilateral agenda

Alex Nanijanian

 19:55, 28 July 2023

YEREVAN, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. The new French Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies has presented the copy of his credentials to Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

FM Mirzoyan congratulated Ambassador Decottignies on assuming office and expressed certainty that he will make all efforts for maximally developing the relations between the two countries, in line with the current special nature of the ties, the ministry said in a readout.

The sides underscored the high level political dialogue between Armenia and France, the active mutual visits and regular contacts in high formats, which contribute to finding new areas of partnership in the current situation full of challenges.

The Foreign Minister and the French ambassador also discussed the programs of bilateral agenda, addressing the implementation of the 2021-2026 Roadmap of Armenian-French Economic Cooperation , and expansion of cooperation with the French Development Agency and in the areas of culture and education.

Speaking about Armenia’s vision of peace and stability in the region, FM Mirzoyan underscored the need for clear actions by, and continuous involvement of, actors interested in this issue.

Canada is committed to supporting the peaceful resolution of NK conflict. Mirzoyan highly appreciates Canada’s presence

Alex Nanijanian

 21:47,

YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly stated that Canada is committed to supporting a peaceful political solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan praised Canada's decision to become part of the EU civilian mission in Armenia.

ARMENPRESS reports, Mélanie Joly wrote on her Twitter page: "Canada is committed to supporting a peaceful political solution to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh and ensuring stability in the region. That is why we have increased our footprint in the region.

Now we are announcing that Canada will participate in the EU mission in Armenia."

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan also commented on this post on his Twitter page.

"We really appreciate Canada's contribution and presence in Armenia for the sake of peace and stability in our region, as well as for enhancing bilateral relations based on shared commitment to democratic principles," Mirzoyan noted.

Florida PeeWees make Homenetmen Navasartian Games debut

Alex Nanijanian
 Tamar Kassarjian Diaspora, Youth 0

All of Florida’s Homenetmen members and participants

As I was growing up, attending the Homenetmen Navasartian Games was an annual event, one my parents, aunt and uncles began years before I came along. The Homenetmen games was one of the first significant Armenian events I attended as a youngster. I was excited about this year’s games, because it’s the first year that the Florida chapter had a PeeWee soccer team participating. This meant that the PeeWee team members would be experiencing the Homenetmen games for the very first time. 

Florida PeeWee soccer team on day 2 after playing the New York B Team

For the first time in 13 years, the games were held in New Jersey. The Florida chapter brought over 30 members, with 27 athletes participating in various sports such as basketball, chess, track and soccer. 

Our PeeWee soccer team consisted of eight players: Gabriel Balaban, Arshak Boyajian, Adam Danielian, Ara Jamgochian, Joseph Kochkerian, Narine Tokatlian-Maltez, Nadya Yaghjian and Razmig Yaghjian. Before the Navasartian Games, the team met and practiced every week, and their efforts paid off on the fields! As a first-time team attending the games, they made it to the semi-finals against the New York chapter’s PeeWees.

Narine Tokatlian-Maltez and Ara Jamgotchian during the chess matches

Florida also had four senior men, including Souren Badikyan, Gor Badikyan, Karen Rezikyan and Vahe Boyajian, participate in soccer, joining the New York A team and making it to finals in second place against Boston. 

Meanwhile, in chess, Ara Jamgochian, Alec Samra, Sevag Tokatlian and Narine Tokatlian-Maltez participated, and Alec Samra and Ara Jamgochian were winners! 

In basketball, brothers Shant and Shiraz Bardakjian joined the Boston team, and Alec Samra and Khatchig Boyajian played on the Detroit team. 

Florida track winners

Finally, in track, Florida had multiple athletes participate in various races. The PeeWee group results included Arshak Boyajian winning the gold in the 100 meters, Nadya Yaghjian racing to a gold in the 800 meters, Jasmin Kochkerian running for a silver, and Narine Tokatlian-Maltez and Razmig Yaghjian each winning bronze medals in the 200 meters. As the senior track participant, I won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800-meter races. Running the 800-meter, Florida veterans Raffi Yaghjian and Sevag Tokatlian won gold and bronze, respectively. 

At the end of the games, the Florida chapter came in fifth place overall and was awarded “Most Improved Chapter” this year. There was an overwhelming amount of love and excitement over the weekend for everyone who attended. The Florida chapter has high hopes for next year to come back even stronger. 

After the weekend’s events, I asked the Florida PeeWee athletes for their impressions.

Victory night with our trophy for most improved chapter and plaque for 5th place overall

What was your favorite part of the weekend? 

Nadya Yaghjian: “The victory barahantes.”
Razmig Yaghjian: “Whenever my team won a game.”
Gabriel Balaban: “The soccer games.”

What do you look forward to next year? 

Adam Danielian: “Bouncing back to win it all!”
Narine Tokatlian-Maltez: “Improving our team and hopefully making it to finals.”
Razmig Yaghjian: “Looking forward to seeing all my friends again and winning the soccer cup in Providence.”

What is something that happened that you weren’t expecting over the weekend? 

Gabriel Balaban: “Going to one of the largest malls in the U.S.”
Adam Danielian: “Losing the semi-finals in the last few minutes of the game.”
Nadya Yaghjian: “Getting first place in track.”

  •  Bio
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Tamar Kassarjian is a native Floridian and currently working toward her masters in healthcare administration. She serves on the executive of the ARS "Sosseh" Chapter, where she’s been a member for nine years. She also serves as the secretary for the AYF South Florida “Arev” Chapter, where she has been a member for five years. Tamar is active in her local Armenian community as an Armenian dance teacher at Arevig Dance Ensemble and an Armenian language kindergarten teacher at the local Sunday school.


Artsakh’s President addresses international players with urgent appeal to prevent the impending catastrophe

Alex Nanijanian

 17:28,

YEREVAN, 14 JULY, ARMENPRESS: President of the Republic of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, has sent letters to heads of all UN Security Council member states, the UN Secretary General, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, the President of the European Council, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, as well as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, urging them to fulfill their international obligations and promptly implement effective measures to halt the illegal and complete blockade imposed on Artsakh by Azerbaijan, and to put an end to the systematic mass crimes and acts of terrorism against the people of Artsakh.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the office of the President of Artsakh, the letter not only conveyed the expectations of the Republic of Artsakh from each recipient but also provided an overview of the current situation. The main part of the letter reads as follows:

"As the President of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), I urgently appeal to the international community on behalf of the government and people of Artsakh. I wish to draw your attention to the escalating security and humanitarian crisis in Artsakh, which is rapidly evolving into a full-blown disaster. This dire situation is a direct result of the following criminal actions committed by Azerbaijan:

– On December 12, 2022, as a result of Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin (Kashatagh) Corridor, which connects Artsakh with Armenia and the outside world, approximately 120,000 residents of Artsakh found themselves under siege. Furthermore, about 30,000 citizens of the Republic of Artsakh were deprived of the opportunity to exercise their right to return to their homeland;

– Since then, humanitarian movement of people and cargo through the Lachin Corridor has been exclusively carried out by the International Committee of the Red Cross and Russian peacekeeping forces, with very limited capacity and certain periodic disruptions, while the movement of vehicles belonging to the residents of Artsakh has been completely prohibited;

– Since January 9, 2023, Azerbaijan has disrupted the supply of electricity through the sole high-voltage line between Armenia and Artsakh, which has caused significant energy and humanitarian problems in Artsakh over the past 185 days. There have been daily six-hour power outages, a 48% decrease in electricity consumption, and depletion of local electricity production and supply systems. Starting from December 13, 2023, Azerbaijan periodically, and since March 21, almost continuously, has been interrupting the only gas supply from Armenia to Artsakh (for a total of 148 days), thereby deepening the energy and humanitarian crisis;

– On April 23, Azerbaijan established an illegal checkpoint in the Lachin Corridor at the border between Artsakh and Armenia, officially and openly imposing strict and arbitrary military control over all movements;

– Since June 15, Azerbaijan has imposed a complete blockade on the Lachin Corridor, prohibiting the transportation of any individuals or goods (including food, medicine, hygiene items, and fuel) in both directions even by the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers;

– From June 25 to July 10, the transportation of patients with urgent medical needs to medical centers in Armenia, along with the import of some medicines into Artsakh, were resumed in a very limited capacity only through the Red Cross. However, starting from July 10, the movement of the Red Cross has been blocked again;

– Throughout this entire period, Azerbaijan has been using force and the threat of force against the people of Artsakh, with clear manifestations of ethnic hatred and terrorism, and with the evident goal of ethnic cleansing;

– By using force and the threat of force, Azerbaijan continues to obstruct agricultural activities on approximately 10,000 hectares of land adjacent to the contact line, which constitutes a significant portion of the total cultivated land;

– The suspension of all humanitarian supplies since June 15, coupled with the utilization of limited domestic stocks, has resulted in a worsening humanitarian situation, in particular:

  • The food shortage is worsening, especially considering that prior to the blockade, around 90% of all consumed food was imported from Armenia;
  • Due to the diminishing availability of fuel and other essential resources, approximately 70% of planned agricultural work has been halted, while the impact on other sectors of the economy is even more significant;
  • Due to the same reason, internal public transportation has been reduced by approximately 50%, while private transportation has nearly come to a standstill;
  • The growing shortage of medications, medical supplies and hygiene items, coupled with the ban on transporting medical patients to Armenia, poses an increasing threat to people's lives and well-being;
  • Daily power outages and fuel shortages have severely impacted the operation of medical equipment, leading to a decrease in the volume and quality of healthcare services;
  • Due to the lack of essential food and vitamins, approximately 2,000 pregnant women and around 30,000 children are struggling to survive under conditions of malnutrition.

The daily power outages, fuel shortages, and lack of other essential items are causing significant disruptions in water supply and telecommunication infrastructure in many populated areas.

The blockade and disruptions in the supply of electricity and gas have rendered over 12,000 people unemployed and deprived of their livelihoods, which represents over 60% of the private sector workforce.

The complete blockade of the Republic of Artsakh and its isolation from the outside world, pursued with the intermediate goal of forcibly subjugating the people of Artsakh, deepens the humanitarian crisis and sets the stage for the transformation of Azerbaijan's ongoing crimes against humanity into the crime of genocide. Through these actions, Azerbaijan deliberately creates unbearable conditions for the people of Artsakh, with the clear intention of depopulating the region and annihilating its people.

The aforementioned and many other security and humanitarian issues pose an increasing threat to the survival of the people of Artsakh. The current situation is highly volatile and has the potential to rapidly transform into a full-fledged catastrophe, not only for the people of Artsakh but for the entire region.

Regrettably, Azerbaijan continues to demonstrate a willful disregard for its international obligations, repeatedly violating the provisions of the Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020, the ruling of December 21, 2023, from the European Court of Human Rights, the orders issued by International Court of Justice on February 22 and July 6, 2023. Azerbaijan's actions persist despite the demands and appeals of numerous international organizations and states. Furthermore, Azerbaijan's aggressive and criminal activities have been fueled by the prevailing sense of impunity within the international community".

USC Viterbi Delegation Visits Armenia for First Time

Alex Nanijanian
July 6 2023
USC Viterbi Staff | July 6, 2023

Last month, a delegation from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering visited Armenia. The visit, a first to the Caucasus region for USC Viterbi Dean Yannis C. Yortsos and Viterbi’s Vice Dean of Global Initiatives, Raghu Raghavendra, allowed the school to provide students from National Polytechnic University of Armenia who had taken a USC Viterbi continuing education computer science course earlier in the year, with their earned certificates.

With support from the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies and the Institute’s chairman Charly Ghalian who helped to organize the trip, Yortsos and Raghavendra were also able to get a close-up look at the country’s academic and tech ecosystems for future collaborations.

Shushan Karapetian, the director of the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies, describes Armenia as the region’s “Silicon Valley.” Geography plays into this, Karapetian explains. The country is landlocked and not rich in natural resources. “It’s rich in brain power,” she says.  Showcasing the technology and engineering prowess of the country, Karapetian says is aligned with the mission of the USC Dornsife Institute for Armenian Studies, which she emphasized highlights contemporary Armenian studies.

One stop on the visit was the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST), an organization that functions as an incubator for Armenian innovation, including supporting technology startups and research collaborations. AI researcher Aram Galstyan, who is a Research Professor of Computer Science and Principal Scientist at USC Information Sciences Institute, is one such international scholar whose work is supported by FAST.

Another stop on this expedition was the American University of Armenia (AUA) where USC Viterbi’s leadership met with interim President Armen Kiureghian, and the Dean of Science and Engineering Aram Hajian. The founding president of AUA, was Mihran Agbabian, a former Viterbi faculty and former chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering at USC.

The USC delegation also traveled to the TUMO Center, which houses a free after-school program for students, aged 12-18. More than 15,000 students attend after-school programs at the Yerevan TUMO Center. A number of TUMO centers have also been established across Armenia and many cities across the world.

Dean Yortsos said of his experience, “It was exciting to visit these universities and institutions in Armenia and explore possibilities for future partnerships and exchange. We look forward to future collaborations.”

The delegation also visited the Tacori Center, which Karapetian describes as the USC Dornsife Institute for Armenian Studies’ “academic hub” for “research, collaboration and creation.”

https://viterbischool.usc.edu/news/2023/07/usc-viterbi-delegation-visits-armenia-for-first-time/ 

Iran joins Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Alex Nanijanian

 15:38, 4 July 2023

YEREVAN, JULY 4, ARMENPRESS. Iran joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) during the organization’s summit on July 4.

Iran’s membership was announced by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he chaired the SCO leaders’ virtual summit.

The meeting was attended by China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, among others.

RFE/RL Armenian Service – 07/04/2023

Alex Nanijanian 
                                        Tuesday, July 4, 2023


Armenia Denied EU Military Aid


Poland - Polish President Adrzej Duda meets Armenian parliament speaker Alen 
Simonian, Warsaw, July 4, 2023.


The European Union has refused to provide Armenia with military aid from a 
special fund designed to boost EU partners’ defense capacity, parliament speaker 
Alen Simonian said on Tuesday.

Simonian complained about the rebuff as he met with Poland’s President Andrzej 
Duda during a visit to Warsaw.

He told Duda that the Armenian government had requested “technical assistance” 
from the European Peace Facility (EPF) which the EU created in 2021 to help 
developing countries buy military equipment.

“Through that mechanism, the EU allocates aid to Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia,” 
he said, according to the Armenian parliament’s press office. “Unfortunately, 
Armenia’s request was rejected on the grounds of the EU’s mediation efforts in 
the improvement of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan as well as the issue 
of ‘conflict sensitivity.’”

“I would like to repeat that we are talking about technical assistance aimed at 
increasing [Armenia’s] defense capacity,” added Simonian.

The speaker, who is a key member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s political 
team, did not specify what kind of security aid was sought by Yerevan.

Ukraine is the main beneficiary of the EPF, having received 4.6 billion euros 
($5 billion) in military aid from the EU fund since being invaded by Russia in 
February 2022. As recently as on June 26, EU countries agreed to increase the 
maximum size of the fund by 3.5 billion euros to 12 billion euros. The bulk of 
the extra funding is expected to be channeled into the Ukrainian military.

A member of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), 
Armenia is not known to have ever received major weapons from the EU or its 
individual member states. Russia has long been its principal supplier of 
military hardware and ammunition.

As well as criticizing the EU’s refusal to provide such aid, Simonian praised 
the 27-nation bloc for deploying earlier this year 100 or so monitors along 
Armenia’s volatile border with Azerbaijan.

Russia has been very critical of the deployment, saying that it is part of the 
West’s efforts to drive Moscow out of the South Caucasus.




Pashinian Praises U.S. Peace Efforts


Armenia - Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian speaks during an Independence Day 
reception at the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, June 29, 2023.


Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian praised U.S. efforts to facilitate an 
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal when he congratulated U.S. President Joe Biden 
on America’s Independence Day on Tuesday.

“We highly appreciate the position of the United States in supporting the 
territorial integrity, sovereignty and democracy of the Republic of Armenia, 
which was demonstrated in practice in 2021-2022,” Pashinian said in a 
congratulatory message to Biden publicized by his press office.

“We also highly appreciate the U.S. efforts to establish lasting and sustainable 
peace in the South Caucasus, normalize Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, and address 
the rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh,” he wrote.

Pashinian also praised the current state of U.S.-Armenian relations, saying that 
they are based on “mutual trust between our governments.”

In recent months, the United States has stepped up its involvement in 
negotiations on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty. The U.S. State Department 
hosted two rounds of marathon talks between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign 
ministers in early May and last week.

Later in May, Pashinian expressed readiness to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty 
over Karabakh through that treaty. His statement was hailed by a senior U.S. 
official but strongly condemned by Karabakh’s leadership and the Armenian 
opposition.

A few days later, the State Department welcomed Azerbaijani President Ilham 
Aliyev’s offer of “amnesty” to Karabakh’s leaders conditional on their 
“surrender” to Baku. The move prompted criticism from not only the authorities 
in Stepanakert but also the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

A senior Karabakh lawmaker said on Monday that Karabakh’s leadership turned down 
last month a U.S. offer to meet with Azerbaijani officials in a foreign country 
for talks on the Armenian-populated region’s “integration” into Azerbaijan. 
Washington had not reported such offers.




Man Arrested For Insulting Pashinian

        • Ruzanna Stepanian

Armenia - Davit Avetisian.


The Armenian police have arrested a young man who allegedly called Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian a “traitor” after approaching him in a public park in 
Yerevan.

Pashinian was confronted by the 21-year-old man, Davit Avetisian, as he strolled 
in the city center together with his family on Sunday. Avetisian was detained on 
the spot and remained under arrest on Tuesday.

Armenia’s Investigative Committee said that it is conducting a criminal inquiry 
into an act of “hooliganism” that took the form of verbal abuse and other 
“inappropriate phrases.” It gave no other details of the incident.

Avetisian’s lawyer, Ara Papikian, said the criminal proceedings are based on a 
police officer’s claim that his client described Pashinian as a “traitor” and 
“scumbag.” He claimed that the police are not telling the whole truth about the 
incident and that Avetisian shouted the insults while being choked by one of the 
officers.

“Davit approached him not to call him a traitor,” Papikian told RFE/RL’s 
Armenian Service. “He said, ‘You will answer for my fallen friend and other 
guys.’ They toppled him to the ground … only then he uttered those words.”

Avetisian appeared to refer to Armenians killed during the 2020 war in 
Nagorno-Karabakh. Opposition leaders and other government critics blame 
Pashinian for Armenia’s defeat in the six-week war that left at least 3,800 
Armenian soldiers dead. They have also denounced as treasonous his apparent 
readiness to agree to the restoration of Azerbaijan’s control over Karabakh.

Alen Simonian, the Armenian parliament speaker and a close Pashinian associate, 
was likewise branded a “traitor” by an opposition activist as he visited a 
popular dining area of central Yerevan in April. The Canadian-Armenian activist, 
Garen Megerdichian, said Simonian ordered his bodyguards to overpower him before 
spitting in his face. Simonian did not deny that.

Avetisian was not formally charged with hooliganism as of Tuesday afternoon. 
Under Armenian law, law-enforcement authorities must indict or free him before 
Thursday.

“Insults were decriminalized in our country long ago. I think this is the reason 
why they still can’t charge Davit,” said Avetisian’s lawyer.

The arrested man is a son of Varuzhan Avetisian, who led an armed group that 
seized a police base in Yerevan in 2016 to demand that then President Serzh 
Sarkisian free the jailed leader of their radical opposition movement and step 
down.

The three dozen gunmen, who took police officers and medical personnel hostage, 
laid down their weapons after a two-week standoff with security forces which 
left three police officers dead. All but two of them were released from custody 
shortly after Sarkisian was toppled in the 2018 “velvet revolution” led by 
Pashinian.

Varuzhan Avetisian and six other key members of the group called Sasna Tsrer 
were sent back to jail in May 2022 after Armenia’s Court of Cassation upheld 
prison sentences handed down to them by a lower court. Avetisian received a 
7-year jail term.


Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NM: Turkish parliament report fails to refer to ISIS, al-Qaeda as terrorist organizations

Alex Nanijanian
by Levent Kenez
March 24, 2023

Levent Kenez/Stockholm

The Turkish parliament’s Human Rights Committee published a report on Islamophobia and racism on March 9. Turkish lawmakers visited the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Netherlands during the two-year preparation of the report, which includes such chapters as racism, the presence of Muslims and foreigners in Europe, the historical origin of Islamophobia in Europe, the reasons for its rise and the role of politics and media in the rise of racism. The report, which includes accusatory language targeting the Western world, calls European-based right-wing extremist groups “terrorist organizations” while referring to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al-Qaeda simply as “organizations.”

Stating that many acts alleged to have been carried out in the name of Islam fueled racism and Islamophobia in Europe, the report claims that the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics turned the opinion of Europeans, which until then had been positive, against the Palestinians and Muslims as well.

The report mentions al-Qaeda and ISIS as “some organizations” that cause Islamophobia.

“Islamophobia has turned into a state-sponsored movement,” the report states. “Islam and Muslims, as victims of an organized network, have been turned into objects of a lynching culture through a media industry based on lies. According to lawmakers, in countries such as France and Germany, all elements of the security sector, especially the law enforcement agency put state power at the service of anti-Muslim movements.

“The effects of the attacks carried out by organizations such as al-Qaeda and DAESH (ISIS) in Europe on the increase of Islamophobia and the formation of prejudices against Muslims in Europe cannot be denied. At this point, September 11, 2001 attacks in the US, the Madrid train station attack in 2004, the London attack in 2005, the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack, the 2015 Paris attacks and the 2016 Belgian airport attack are among the biggest reasons for the increase of Islamophobia in the West because with these attacks, the perception that Islam is a religion that does not exclude violence has been created,” the report reads.

The report, which describes far-right organizations such as the German-based Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA) as terrorist organizations, does not make similar references to ISIS or al-Qaeda.

Parliamentary committee chair Hakan Çavuşoğlu argued that violent acts against Muslims were organized but added that they have generally been considered individual crimes and covered up by the European authorities. 

Ruling party lawmaker and committee member Osman Nuri Gülaçar claimed that Islamophobia is entirely of Western origin and was invented to prevent the spread of Islam. Gülacar, who asserted that between 170,000 and 190,000 people a year converted to Islam in the US before the September 11 attacks in 2001, said Islam was deliberately presented by the West as a threat.

The report includes serious accusations against the French and German governments, with French President Emanuel Macron in particular accused of trying to dilute the basic teachings of Islam by creating “French Islam.”

The report also states that the far-right Gray Wolves were discriminated against in France because they were Turkish. In 2020 France banned the group, which is linked to a key ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and is seen as the extremist wing of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a staunch supporter of the Erdoğan government.

Erdoğan often refers to the fight against Islamophobia, telling his followers that European governments discriminate against Turkey because of its Muslim identity,

Erdoğan on February 25, 2022 wanted members of the Union of International Democrats (UID), his ruling party’s organization in Europe, to be united in the fight against Islamophobia and urged them to help other non-Turkish Muslims.

Turkish parliament’s report on Islamophobia and racism:

[see web page for image]


Pashinyan urges int’l community to take action amid high risk of destabilization in South Caucasus

Alex Nanijanian

 14:22,

YEREVAN, JUNE 28, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has called on the international community to take action to protect the rights and security of the people of Nagorno Karabakh amid a high risk of destabilization in the region.

“Urging international community to take practical steps to ensure rights & security of Nagorno Karabakh people. Meanwhile Lachin Corridor remains illegally blocked, tonight as result of Azerbaijani attack with use of UAVs there are 4 casualties. High risk of destabilization in South Caucasus,” Pashinyan tweeted Wednesday, hours after an Azeri attack in Nagorno Karabakh killed four troops.

Azerbaijani forces bombarded Nagorno Karabakh military positions with artillery and drone strikes in the early hours of June 28.

Lachin Corridor, the only road linking Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since December 2022.

The United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan on February 22 to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has so far ignored the order. Furthermore, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor.