Author: Anna Tamamian

Lawmaker urges Diaspora-Armenians to be cautious, not to give in to Turkish-Azeri provocations

Anna Tamamian

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 11:53,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Head of the opposition Bright Armenia faction of the Parliament Edmon Marukyan calls on Armenians living abroad to be cautious and not to give in to provocations of Turks and Azerbaijanis.

“I want to call on our compatriots living in different countries to be as cautious as possible, not to give in to any Turkish-Azerbaijani provocation”, he said during parliamentary briefings, reminding the October 28 incident in France when Turks attack Armenian peaceful protesters with a knife.

At night Turks in France went to the streets looking for Armenians, voicing threats. “In general, transferring the conflict from the battle field to other places is impermissible. I call on our compatriots to be cautious and refrain from any actions which can lead to confrontation. We are in war, the war is taking place in the frontline, outside of this we cannot endanger the peaceful way of life of Armenians”, he said.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

CivilNet: Bodies of 29 Fallen Soldiers Handed to Armenia

Anna Tamamian
CIVILNET.AM

03:07

"On October 29, with the exceptional mediation of Russia and with the participation of the field team of the  Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the bodies of 29 Armenian servicemen were handed over to the Armenian side,” Shushan Stepanyan, press secretary of the Minister of Defence of Armenia, wrote.  

During this same period, the ICRC was also able to repatriate one civilian to Armenia.

While Azerbaijan does not disclose its military losses, Armenia’s Defense Ministry says its military death toll is at 1,116 since fighting with Azerbaijani forces broke out on September 27. Both sides have also reported dozens of civilians killed and wounded since the start of the hostilities.

“The Armenian side, adhering to the arrangements of the humanitarian ceasefire, reiterates its readiness to hand over the bodies of Azerbaijani servicemen, start the process of recovery of bodies along the Artshakh-Azerbaijan frontline, the exchange of info on POWs, and respective handover in future.” wrote Stepanyan.

Armenian President expressed his gratitude to Canada for suspending Turkey’s export permits for acquisition of military gear

Anna Tamamian
Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 20 2020
Armenian President expressed his gratitude to Canada for suspending Turkey’s export permits for acquisition of military gear

President Armen Sarkissian sent a congratulatory message to the Governor General of Canada Julie Payette on the occasion of her birth anniversary. President Sarkissian expressed confidence that through the joint efforts Armenia and Canada will develop and deepen their cooperation in bilateral and multilateral formats.

The President noted the September 27 resumption of military aggression of Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh and said in particular, “As you know, Azerbaijan has unleashed an unprecedented in its scale, brutal and inhumane attack on the Republic of Artsakh, targeting also civilians and civilian infrastructure. All this is done with one purpose only: to cleanse Artsakh of Armenians once and for all. The inspirer and direct participant of Azerbaijan’s barbaric behavior is Turkey which is purposefully trying to carry out the scheme adopted more than one hundred years ago – to erase Armenians as a nation.

Canada, which is well-aware of the fact and recognized the Armenian Genocide, today too manifested its principled and human nature and suspended Turkey’s export permits for acquisition of military gear. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to you and the government of Canada for that decision.”


Swiss call for an end to violence in Nagorno-Karabakh

Anna Tamamian
SwissInfo, Switzerland
Oct 20 2020
Men examine a shop damaged by shelling by Azerbaijan's artillery in the frontline city of Martakert on October 19 Keystone

The Swiss foreign ministry has called for an immediate stop to the violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It has also allocated CHF1 million ($1.1 million) to the humanitarian operations of the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“Attacks on the civilian population and civilian objects must cease. The parties to the conflict are called upon to comply with international humanitarian law,” the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The contribution was being made in response to an appeal by the ICRC, it said.

“Furthermore, the ministry expresses Switzerland’s regret that the humanitarian ceasefires of October 10 and 17 have not been respected. It reiterates its call to the parties to the conflict to stop the violence and condemns the ongoing shelling of residential areas.”

Observance of the principles of distinction and proportionality were paramount, it added. “This also means that cluster munitions must not be used, as such weapons do not make any distinction between civilians and combatants.”

The Swiss government said that it was only through peaceful means that a lasting solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict could be found. The foreign ministry therefore called on both parties to the conflict “to resume meaningful negotiations without delay or preconditions”.

A ceasefire in the mountain territory of Nagorno-Karabakh was under severe strain on Tuesday after fierce new clashes between Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces fighting their deadliest battles since the 1990s.

The ceasefire, agreed on Saturday, has had little impact on fighting that began on September 27, despite concerns it could spark a wider conflict involving Russia and Turkey.

Several hundred people have been killed since September 27 in fighting involving drones, warplanes, heavy artillery, tanks and missiles, raising fears of a humanitarian crisis and concerns about the security of oil and gas pipelines in Azerbaijan.

The new ceasefire appears to have had no more effect on fighting than an earlier deal brokered by Russia that failed.

Azerbaijan wants an end to what it calls Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia rules this out and accuses Azerbaijan of making a land grab.



Children of Artsakh under existential threat. UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors call for immediate action

Anna Tamamian

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 17:36,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. The Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, Sergey Smbatyan, has joined Armenian Goodwill Ambassadors of UNICEF of different years in their call addressed to the UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore. They are calling on the leadership of UNICEF, UN sister agencies and other Goodwill Ambassadors to break the silence in these days of Azerbaijan's large-scale military aggression and take bold steps to save the lives of people who have become victims of merciless bloodshed.

Sergey Smbatyan’s collaboration with UNICEF has a history of many years, since Maestro established the UNICEF Children's Chamber Orchestra in 2009 and had performances in Armenia and Europe.

Nouneh Sarkissian, the Wife of the President of the Republic of Armenia and a UNICEF High Level Advocate for Children (since 2019), Alla Levonyan, the distinguished Artist of the Republic of Armenia and the First UNICEF National Goodwill Ambassador (since 2007), Maria Guleghina, the renowned soprano with Armenian origins, Honorary Board member of the International Paralympic Committee, People’s Artist of Ossetia and Alania, Honoured Artist of Belarus and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador (since 2009), Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the Professional Footballer at AS ROMA, Armenia National Football Team Captain and a UNICEF National Goodwill Ambassador (since 2016) and Artur Aleksanyan, the Greco-Roman wrestler, Olympic / World / European Champion and a UNICEF National Goodwill Ambassador (since 2019) have addressed their message to the UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore, reflecting upon the large-scale military offensive against Nagorno Karabakh, launched by Azerbaijan on September 27, which continues to escalate to this date with the support and participation of Turkey.

“As evidenced by ad-hoc reports of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia and Ombudsman of Artsakh, massive airborne and land attacks have been targeting civilians, hospitals, emergency centers, schools, churches and other vital infrastructures, with extensive use of military aviation, weaponry banned by all international conventions, such as cluster warhead missiles and other terror inspiring means. Indiscriminate and intentional strikes against the peaceful population and civilian infrastructures have resulted in widespread destruction, numerous casualties and severe injuries, including to children and women. Today Artsakh is facing a humanitarian catastrophe.

This is a gross violation of human rights, the Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian Law. This is not just an attack against Armenians but an attack against the fundamental norms of humanity, an attack against what the UN stands for. Unfortunately, it takes place under the international community’s watchful eyes.

Children fall victim to violent bloodshed, they are subjected to psychological trauma and sufferings and are in dire need for help regardless of what nation they belong to and irrespective of the area they live in, with unwavering determination of leaving no one behind. Now the children of Artsakh are under existential threat, but as all children in the rest of the world, they have the right to live and the right to be protected. All of them – 15-year-old Robert who is in coma, 2-year-old Artsvik who is still struggling between life and death, Artsvik’s 9-year-old sister, who was killed, and many others….

As UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors, we are calling upon the leadership of UNICEF, UN sister agencies and our fellow Goodwill Ambassadors to speak up, extend a helping hand and act now to prevent further bloodshed. Expressing concern and calls to peace have not rendered due results. Extend humanitarian assistance to people living in Artsakh, in accordance with the Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Make sure that the principle of the universality of human rights and your pledge to leave no one behind are implemented unconditionally for everyone and everywhere.

Let’s not allow our silence to stifle the cries of babies and their unarmed caretakers!

Let ourselves not fail to act as true caretakers of compassion, justice and peace!

Bold action is needed at this very critical moment to save human lives. We wish to remain proud members of a UNICEF family that notices the obvious, condemns the immoral and cares for the vulnerable and aggrieved”, reads the message.

Aliyev’s statement on capturing Hadrut is “total lie”, says Artsakh

Anna Tamamian

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 17:38, 9 October, 2020

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev’s statement on his military having captured the town of Hadrut in Artsakh is a “total lie”, Artsakh presidential spokesperson Vahram Poghosyan told ARMENPRESS.

He said Aliyev’s statements are “from the genre of non-science fantasy.”

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

21 more Armenian troops confirmed killed repulsing Azerbaijani offensive

Anna Tamamian
Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 5 2020

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The Artsakh Defense Ministry has published the names of 21 more servicemen killed repelling the Azerbaijani aggression.

Burnusuzyan Valentin Shavarsh, born in 1985
Matosyan Edgar Arthur, born in 1984
Vanesyan Garik Misha, born in 1975
Davidyan Arthur Boris, born in 1989
Torosyan Hovhannes Yura , born in 2002
Karapetyan Armen Edik, born in 2001
Petrosyan Eric Levon, born in 2001
Malkhasyan Rudik Arkady, born in 1976
Osipyan Alexander Vladislav, born in 1985
Dashtoyan Liparit Ashot, born in 1997
Hovhannisyan Sasun Samvel, born in 1977
Hanyan Nubar Andranik, born in 1998
Martirosyan Gevorg Karo, born in 1996
Harutyunyan Artavazd Vardan, born in 1997
Harutyunyan Manvel Suren, born in 1991
Poghosyan Gevorg Hovik, born in 1997
Sargsyan Pyotr Varazdat, born in 1990
Hovsepyan Eric Vilen, born in 2001
Yeghiazaryan Hayk Artik, born in 2000
Martirosyan Emil Suren, born in 2001
Sargsyan Sargis Armen, born in 2001

VoA: Armenia to Work With OSCE on Nagorno-Karabakh Cease-Fire

Anna Tamamian
Voice of America
Oct 2 2020
By VOA News
11:05 AM

Armenia responded positively on Friday to a call by France, Russia and the United States for a cease-fire between its forces and the Azerbaijani forces, which continue to clash over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in an ongoing conflict that is threatening to escalate into all-out war. 

Armenia is "ready to engage" with the OSCE Minsk Group "to reestablish a cease-fire regime based on the 1994-1995 agreements," the country's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday. 

Azerbaijan has not yet responded to the call. Both sides had previously dismissed the demands for a truce in the disputed region, where fighting has escalated in recent days to levels not seen since the 1990s. 

A woman collects drinking water from a spring on a street during the ongoing fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh's main city of Stepanakert, Oct 2, 2020.

Azerbaijani forces struck Stepanakert, the main city in Azerbaijan's breakaway region, wounding "many" people on Friday, an Armenian official said as fighting continued for a sixth day. 

Warning from France

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned against the risks of an "internationalization" and "out of control" escalation of hostilities between the two countries. 

Le Drian called his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts and told them that failure to halt the fighting would "bring the risk of an out of control escalation," according to a statement by his office. 

In a joint statement as co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is tasked with finding a peaceful solution, the French, Russians and Americans called for "an immediate cessation of hostilities" between Armenia and Azerbaijan and for leaders of the two countries to "commit without delay to resuming substantive negotiations."  

Russia also has offered to host the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers for talks to end the fighting that erupted Sunday, reviving a decades-long conflict over the landlocked enclave. The region is within Azerbaijan's borders but is governed by ethnic Armenians and supported by the Armenian government.  

A mannequin inside a shop damaged by shelling during fighting over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Agdam, Azerbaijan, Oct. 1, 2020.

Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in the fighting, which has since spread to areas outside the enclave's borders.  

The conflict intensified on Tuesday as Yerevan claimed a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down one of its SU-25 fighter planes in Armenian airspace, killing the pilot.  

Turkey and Azerbaijan denied the claims. 

Turkey, Russia

Speaking on Russian state television Tuesday, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan both rejected the possibility of talks, despite urgent appeals to end the violence.   

Also this week, the United Nations Security Council called for an immediate halt to the hostilities, as did a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the U.S. State Department.  

Armenia and Azerbaijan declared martial law and troop mobilizations on Sunday amid fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh.  

The enclave seceded from Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh War that ended in 1994 but has not been recognized by any country as an independent republic.  

A war between the two former Soviet republics could also involve regional powers Turkey and Russia, which has a defense agreement with Armenia. The Turkish government supports its own ethnic Turkic kin in Azerbaijan. Moscow is a vital supporter of Yerevan and maintains a military base in Armenia.  

Armenpress: Macron says has facts about Turkey-backed Syrian Islamists fighting in Karabakh

Anna Tamamian

Macron says has facts about Turkey-backed Syrian Islamists fighting in Karabakh

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 16:56, 1 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that he has facts about Syrian Islamists from Turkey participating in the military operations against Artsakh, TASS reports.

Multiple evidence has surfaced about Syrian mercenaries, including jihadists, being transported from Turkey to Azerbaijan to fight against Armenians in recent days.

“Today, we have information, with certainty, that indicates that Syrian militants have left the field of combat … to re-join the field of combat in Karabakh", he said, according to Sputnik.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan