16:31, 3 November, 2020
STEPANAKERT, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Army of Artsakh released a video on the elimination of an Azeri armored convoy formation and special forces who were attacking the Shekher-Karmir Shuka – Taghavard lines.
The Defense Army said it released the video as “an additional affirmation of our previously issued statement”, since the Azeri side was refuting it.
In recent days, a number of legislators across the globe under the worrying influence of Armenian lobbyists have called for the international community to recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is ruled by a puppet regime of Armenia and that has been illegally occupied in violation of four UN Security Council Resolutions for the past few decades.
In the early 1990's, Armenia illegally seized the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent districts belonging to Azerbaijan in a military campaign that utilized brutal ethnic cleansing and was followed by the Khojaly massacre. Up to one million Azerbaijani citizens became internally displaced persons, as 20% of Azerbaijani territory became occupied.
As Israeli citizens, it is pivotal that we do not recognize the independence of Nagorno Karabakh, and we should support Azerbaijan's right to territorial integrity.
The Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh has an uncanny resemblance to our conflict with the Palestinians. Article 15 and 16 of the League of Nations Mandate engrained Israel's legal right to Judea and Samaria into international law, a fact that was confirmed by Article 80 of the UN Charter. Similarly, UN Security Council Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 888 ingrained Azerbaijan's legal claims to the Nagorno-Karabakh region into international law.
However, the Armenians presently make up the majority in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, just like the Palestinians presently make up the majority in Judea and Samaria. Thus, if the Armenians are permitted to unilaterally declare a state in Nagorno-Karabakh in violation of four UN Security Council resolutions, it could pave the way for the Palestinians being able to do the same.
For this reason, it is an Israeli interest that Nagorno-Karabakh never receives international recognition, especially given the fact that Iran has taken a stance against Azerbaijan due to their positive relationship with Israel. An Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added: "Israel utilizes Azerbaijan to wage intelligence missions in Iran. Azerbaijan is also a strategic ally of Israel. Therefore, it is important that Azerbaijan not be weakened by a war with Armenia."
In an exclusive interview, former Israeli Communications Minister Ayoob Kara, who presently heads the Center for Economic Peace, offered to mediate between both sides in order to find a solution that avoids bloodshed while upholding international law: "I have a good relationship with both Azerbaijan and Armenia. For many years, I was in the government and now head the Center for Economic Peace. I already dispatched a member of my center, Alexander Shapiro, to try and find a solution to stop the violence."
"They must negotiate and make peace," he added. "I propose to help both sides if they need anything. They must make a decision, like we made in Southern Lebanon." In 2000, Israel withdrew from Southern Lebanon in the hopes that it would eventually lead to a peace agreement, for the country lost too many lives in order to control the area. Kara argued that the value of human lives takes precedence over any piece of land.
"Thus, just as Israel withdrew from Southern Lebanon hoping for peace, Armenia should do the same regarding Nagorno-Karabakh. In conclusion, Kara noted: "Both sides must support the UN Security Council resolutions. Everyone must have a judge. We do not have another judge."
Former Israel Consul General Eli Shaked stressed, "Too many countries are getting involved in this conflict: Turkey, Israel, Russia, America, Greece and the Iranians, of course."
"Israel is on the sidelines, but we have historic diplomatic relations and military interests in Azerbaijan, taking into consideration that Azerbaijan is a Muslim Shia country that borders Iran," he added. "We have an embassy in Baku. In contrast, our relations with Armenia have been complicated for many years for various reasons. Of course, international law and UN resolutions are particularly important.
"Yet, there are many emotions and political interests involved, and the superpowers got their own interests. It is not simple to talk about international law and UN resolutions for there are great emotions involved."
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Nevertheless, even though it is not simple, every nation has a sacred duty to uphold international law. For this reason, the community of nations should not recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh and instead recognize Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, alongside impose economic and political sanctions against Armenia because of its aggression and war crimes against Azerbaijan
The international community should also encourage Armenia to withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh in the upcoming talks in Washington, DC, so that both peoples can avoid future bloodshed and violence. To achieve these results, the world should stop calling upon both sides to be calm and instead focus their attention upon those who are violating international law!
Rachel Avraham is a political analyst with the Safadi Center for International Diplomacy, Research, Public Relations and Human Rights. She is the author of "Women and Jihad: Debating Palestinian Female Suicide Bombings in the American, Israeli and Arab Media."
14:52,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Ukraine’s deputy minister for reintegration Davit Makaryan has expressed his support to the Armenian people, AnalitikaUA.net reports.
“My heart is with the people affected in the hostilities in Nagorno Karabakh. My public activity also includes the fulfillment of power of deputy head of the Union of Armenians of Ukraine. The Union is implementing a number of important projects both in Ukraine and Armenia in different directions – culture, education, sport, history, etc”, the deputy minister said.
He informed that the Union held an emergency meeting aimed at assisting Armenians affected from the military operations.
The Armenian community of Ukraine is actively assisting Armenia, by providing ambulance, medical items, warm clothes and other means.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
October 19, 2020
[see video]
Video footage showing the wreckage of the five drones downed by Artsakh’s Defense Army proves that at least one of them was a Turkish Bayraktar TB2, the Artsakh Defense Ministry reported.
The sensor and optic gyroscope of the footage is similar to that of Bayraktar TB2 drone. Additionally, one of the power cables has an inscription in Turkish that reads, “GÜÇ ve Haberleşme Kablosu,” which means power supply and communication cable.
An official investigation is pending.
1 - Azerbaijan Doesn’t Retrieve Its War Dead;
Continues Shelling Civilians in Artsakh
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
2- Azerbaijan Violates Ceasefire Agreement, Targets Artsakh’s
Hadrut Region
3 - Over 100,000 Armenian Americans, allies join
'Artsakh Under Attack: March for Victory' in Los Angeles
4- Lebanese-Armenian opera singer Kevork Hadjian killed in Artsakh
5- Canadian-Armenian killed during Azerbaijan's Attacks on Artsakh
6- LAUSD board adopts emergency resolution condemning
Azerbaijani aggression, adds day off to commemorate Armenian
Genocide
7- Armenia Continues Fighting Pandemic Amidst Artsakh War
*****************************************
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1 - Azerbaijan Doesn’t Retrieve Its War Dead;
Continues Shelling Civilians in Artsakh
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
Azerbaijan and Turkey kept insisting that they will not accept a
ceasefire until the Armenian armed forces vacate Artsakh. In other
words, they want to reoccupy Artsakh and eliminate the Armenian
presence there.
Turkey, an outsider, kept pouring fuel on the fire by stressing that
the war on Artsakh should not stop until Armenians return the land
back to Azerbaijan. However, as the Azeri and Jihadist terrorists’
losses mounted, Pres. Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan started softening his
stance by announcing last Friday that the “principles to settle the
Nagorno-Karabagh conflict, which had been put forward by the United
States, Russia and France, should form the basis for a settlement.”
That same day, at the invitation of Pres. Vladimir Putin of Russia,
the Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia met for over
10 hours in Moscow and agreed to a humanitarian ceasefire starting on
Oct. 11, at 12 noon (local time), for the purposes of exchanging
prisoners of war and retrieving the bodies of dead soldiers. Under
Islamic law, a burial ceremony should be held within 24 hours of
someone’s death.
However, not surprisingly, Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan had no intention of abiding by the ceasefire. Azerbaijan
continued the shelling of civilian and military targets within few
minutes of the start of the ceasefire. Aliyev showed no respect for
the dead and their grieving families by refusing to make arrangements
to pick up the bodies of killed Azeri soldiers. He also showed no
respect for the strict Islamic burial time table as he is not a devout
Muslim.
The real reason Aliyev pretended to accept the ceasefire was to use it
as a cover to regroup its shattered armed forces and rush in new
military hardware from Israel. Meanwhile, Turkey continued to recruit
more terrorist mercenaries from Syria as they kept getting killed in
the field of battle.
The blatant Azeri and Turkish violations of the ceasefire should
finally wake up Pres. Putin from his slumber. The transfer of these
mercenaries to Azerbaijan is not only against the interests of Armenia
and Artsakh, but more importantly, against the national interests of
Russia. If Putin does not care about the killings of Armenians, he
should care about future acts of terrorism by the mercenaries who had
been fighting in Syria against the Russian forces. Armenia and Artsakh
are doing a big favor to Russia by eliminating hundreds of Islamist
Jihadists that were a menace in Syria and potentially in Russia. These
mercenaries could not fight well against Artsakh since they are not
trained soldiers, but are capable of committing suicide bombings and
blow up civilian targets in Russian cities.
Furthermore, Pres. Putin should feel embarrassed that a ceasefire he
had arranged between Armenia and Azerbaijan is being disrespected by
Aliyev and Erdogan. This may finally force Putin to take more decisive
measures against both Azerbaijan and Turkey. Otherwise, Russia’s own
prestige will go down the drain.
Russia also has to respect its commitment to the CSTO (Collective
Security Treaty Organization) with Armenia. It has to defend Armenia’s
borders since Azerbaijan has repeatedly shelled civilians inside
Armenia.
Even more concerned with these Islamist terrorists is Iran which has
been fighting them in Syria. To have thousands of terrorists on Iran’s
border is a serious security risk. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
has repeatedly warned Azerbaijan and Turkey about the transfer of
these mercenaries to areas next to the Iranian border. Rouhani even
spoke with Putin about this threat. If the danger persists, Iran may
be forced to take military action against these foreign terrorists to
defend its own borders.
One thing that remains puzzling is the polite and civilized reaction
of the Armenian forces in the battle. Azerbaijan has kept shelling the
civilian population of Stepanakert, Artsakh’s capital, on a daily
basis, causing dozens of deaths and injuries both before and after the
ceasefire. However, it is not understandable why the Armenian forces
refrain from shelling Azeri cities and villages in return. The only
exception was the Armenian shelling of the airport of Ganja (Gantsak)
in Azerbaijan where Azeri and Turkish air force jets are stationed.
Armenians have every right to respond to Azeri targets. This is war.
When the enemy does not respect international law and commits war
crimes repeatedly, Aliyev should understand that Armenians will hit
back until he stops targeting Armenian civilians. Even the historic
Cathedral of Ghazanchetsots in Shushi came under Azeri missile attack
causing major damage to this house of worship. Unless such barbaric
Azeri attacks cease, Armenia should hit back all Azeri targets,
particularly Azerbaijan’s oil pipeline.
I was very pleased that on October 11, a massive protest was organized
by the Armenian community of Los Angeles in front of the Turkish
Consulate.
Erdogan, the delirious leader of Turkey, should be pressured to stop
its continuation of the genocide against the Armenian people. Armenian
communities around the world should organize similar demonstrations
against Turkish Consulates and Embassies and demand that all
governments pressure Turkey to stop its involvement in the war and the
recruitment of terrorist mercenaries. The war has unified 10 million
Armenians worldwide who are ready to support their homeland against
the pan-Turkic onslaught which is far more sinister than the
coronavirus pandemic. Everything must be done to foil Erdogan’s
attempt to stick his nose in the Artsakh conflict. Contrary to the
Turkish Foreign Ministry’s announcement, Turkey should have no
involvement either at the war zone or at the negotiating table.
Just as importantly, protests must be held in front of Israeli
Consulates and Embassies in various countries as Israel has sold and
continuous to sell billions of dollars of lethal sophisticated drones
and missiles to Azerbaijan, killing and maiming hundreds of innocent
Armenian men, women and children. A statement circulated on Facebook
appropriately describes this insane situation: “The grandchildren of
genocide perpetrators are killing the grandchildren of genocide
survivors with weapons provided by the grandchildren of Holocaust
survivors!”
Last week, a group of prominent Israeli intellectuals issued a joint
statement calling on Israel “to cease immediately the sales of arms to
Azerbaijan… aimed mainly against a people that like the Jewish people
suffered genocidal attacks in the twentieth century. We call upon
other Israelis to raise their voice on this important issue.” I am
pleased that among the signatories are Professors Yair Auron, Israel
Charny and Michael Stone, who have always defended the truth of the
Armenian Genocide and called for its recognition by the Israeli
government.
Since the Russian government has failed to take decisive action
against Azerbaijan and Turkey, I suggest that protests be organized in
front of Russian Consulates and Embassies in various countries,
particularly in Yerevan and Moscow to let Pres. Putin know that his
inaction in this war is causing Armenians everywhere to lose their
sympathy for Russia and its government.
Finally, the governments of Artsakh and Armenia have urged everyone in
the world to recognize the independence of the Republic of Artsakh.
This is a very sensitive subject with far reaching consequences.
However, given these tragic circumstances, Armenians have no choice
but to resort to such a measure, as a reaction to the Azeri and
Turkish attempts to annihilate the Armenians of Artsakh. The
recognition of Artsakh’s independence would be an adequate response to
Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s war crimes. However, the first step should
be the recognition of the Artsakh Republic by the Armenian government.
Otherwise, when Armenians approach foreign leaders, they will be told
why should they be the first to recognize Artsakh, since Armenia
itself has not!
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2- Azerbaijan Violates Ceasefire Agreement, Targets Artsakh’s
Hadrut Region
By Lillian Avedian
(The Armenian Weekly)—On Saturday, October 10, Azerbaijan failed to
hold its end of the bargain with Armenia, severely violating a
Russian-brokered humanitarian ceasefire by firing on civilian
settlements in the Republic of Artsakh throughout the day and staging
provocations along the Line of Contact.
Moments after the ceasefire agreement was announced by Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow overnight, Azerbaijan increased its
use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the southern direction of
the Line of Contact (LoC). Hostilities persisted along the LoC until
noon—the agreed-upon time of the ceasefire. Armenia’s Ministry of
Defense (MoD) representative Artsrun Hovhannisyan said the Azerbaijani
military suffered 200 casualties and the loss of three UAVs, four
armored vehicles and other small units. Artsakh’s military casualties,
officials say, reached 429 as of October 11.
Later, Armenian officials reported that Azerbaijan began conducting
drone strikes on the territory of Armenia proper, violating Armenian
airspace. The strikes were directed toward the communities of
Artsvanik and Yeritsvank near the town of Kapan in the province of
Syunik; these attacks lasted from 9:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Armenian
officials say one civilian was killed and three wounded. No military
operations took place in the Syunik province after the commencement of
the ceasefire at noon.
Stepanakert was also a target during what was meant to prepare both
sides for a ceasefire as missiles were launched at the capital, as
well as the surrounding towns of Shushi and Martuni. Those attacks
continue tonight. “Baku uses the same style of war crimes by the very
last moment,” Artsakh Ombudsman Artak Beglaryan tweeted.
At 12:00 p.m., the Artsakh Defense Army, in accordance with the truce,
was ordered to cease fire so that they could carry out the
humanitarian purpose of exchanging prisoners of war and collecting
casualties. The Azerbaijani forces, however, ignored the ceasefire,
and at 12:05 p.m., launched an assault on a settlement known as
Karakhambeyli.
Artaskh’s Defense Army attempted to collect the bodies of its
casualties but was impeded by further provocations staged by the
Azerbaijani military along the LoC. In his evening press briefing,
Hovhannisyan asserted that the exchange of bodies will only take place
in the presence of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
moving forward in order to guarantee compliance with the ceasefire
agreement.
The morning of the ceasefire, small groups from the Azerbaijani
military’s diversionary positions attempted to infiltrate the town of
Hadrut in Artsakh. Operations to stop the incursion and halt the
shelling of Hadrut continued for several hours after the start of the
ceasefire. On Friday, President Ilham Aliyev declared that Hadrut had
been captured by Azerbaijan, but according to the MoD, this invasion
was staged one day later to validate Aliyev’s false claim. Two
civilians were killed in their home during the attack, one mother and
her son, who is said to have been disabled. The diversionary positions
were eventually neutralized by the Defense Army.
Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan visited Hadrut on Saturday and
confirmed that the town was under the supervision of the Defense Army.
“The fighting spirit of our boys is strong,” he said.
In a statement condemning Azerbaijan’s “perfidious violation” of the
humanitarian ceasefire agreement, Artsakh’s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs also underscored the importance of recognizing the
independence of the Republic. “Azerbaijan’s actions have once again
demonstrated that it is a rogue state, which is not willing to fulfill
its obligations even for minutes,” the statement read. “The
recognition of the independence of the Republic of Artsakh remains the
only way for the international community to stop the rogue state.”
Turkey, for its part, upheld that a humanitarian ceasefire cannot
replace a “lasting solution” for Azerbaijan to “reclaim its
territories under occupation.” “Turkey will continue to stand by
brotherly Azerbaijan on the ground and at the table,” read the
statement from its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which also echoed
President Aliyev’s statements ahead of the Moscow truce talks that
this ceasefire was Armenia’s opportunity to “withdraw from the
territories it has occupied.”
It has been widely reported and asserted by world powers including
France that Turkey has been employing Syrian mercenaries to fight
alongside Azeri forces against Artsakh’s Defense Army. On Saturday,
the Armenian Unified Infocenter published two videos—both graphic in
nature—providing evidence of this claim. The first shows an
Arabic-speaking individual walking around a battlefield filming the
bodies of deceased Armenian soldiers. The second shows a group of
Arabic-speaking individuals firing ammunition in Artsakh.
The ICRC issued a statement on Saturday, October 10 welcoming the
agreement on the humanitarian ceasefire and affirming its role as a
neutral intermediary to facilitate the exchange of the remains of
those killed in action and of released detainees under the dictates of
international humanitarian law.
Overnight on Wednesday, October 7, Azerbaijani forces bombarded the
Holy Savior Cathedral, also known as Sourp Ghazanchetsots, the symbol
of the city of Shushi in Artsakh.
The Artsakh authorities released images of the heavy damages from the church.
Built around 1868 to 1887, the cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of
Artsakh of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Standing at over 115 feet tall, this cathedral is an iconic landmark
of Shushi and Artsakh.
************************************************************************************************************************************************
3 - Over 100,000 Armenian Americans, allies join
'Artsakh Under Attack: March for Victory' in Los Angeles
Tens of thousands of Armenian Americans and their allies marched to
the Turkish consulate in Beverly Hills Sunday to decry the bloodshed
in Artsakh. The march began at 3 p.m. at Pan Pacific Park and
concluded at the Turkish Consulate in Beverly Hills.
Video showed the massive procession—“Artsakh Under Attack: March for
Victory”— make its way from the Fairfax area to Beverly Hills, with
demonstrators waving Armenian flags and raising signs, some of which
read “Armenia wants peace,” “Artsakh is Armenia” and “Turkey guilty of
war crimes.” In a sea of red, blue and orange, demonstrators flooded
Wilshire Boulevard in a passionate call for peace. LAPD’s Wilshire
station said it estimated over 100,000 people participated in the
peaceful march. A group of demonstrators also participated from their
vehicles, blocking a roadway in Beverly Hills with cars displaying
Armenian flags.
“We stand with our brothers and sisters in Armenia and Artsakh and the
diaspora in L.A.,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said. “We welcome
the ceasefire and it must be respected. We need our national
leadership to step up and help bring peace to the region. Turkey must
disengage.”
“In coming together today as a community, we’re hoping to demonstrate,
through this great show of solidarity, is the need for the
international community to act, the need for the international
community to condemn Azerbaijan and Turkey’s aggression and to
immediately place sanctions on Turkey and Azerbaijan and all military
assistance to those two countries,” Alex Galitsky of the Armenian
National Committee of America told KTLA as he stood among the
demonstrators.
Fighting broke out on Sept. 27 in Nagorno-Karabakh, or Artsakh.
Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a Russia-brokered cease-fire in
Nagorno-Karabakh starting Saturday, Oct. but immediately accused each
other of derailing the deal intended to end the worst outbreak of
hostilities in the separatist region in more than a quarter-century.
Turkey is offering strong political support to Azerbaijan, and
Armenian officials say Turkey is involved in the conflict and is
sending Syrian mercenaries to fight on Azerbaijan’s side. Turkey has
denied deploying combatants to the region, but a Syrian war monitor
and three Syria-based opposition activists have confirmed that Turkey
has sent hundreds of Syrian opposition fighters to fight in
Nagorno-Karabakh.
The violence has since prompted several protests in Los Angeles, home
to the largest population of Armenians outside the country itself.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************
4- Lebanese-Armenian opera singer Kevork Hadjian killed in Artsakh
(Combined Sources)—Lebanese-Armenian opera singer Kevork Hadjian was
killed in fighting in Artsakh on Tuesday, October 6, Yerkir.am
reports.
Hadjian was a volunteer from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and
a member of the regiment that, alongside a Defense Army special-ops
team overran Azerbaijani positions on the height of Varangatagh
(Lulasaz).
The singer had repatriated to Armenia in 2005 with his wife and young
son. “My life is here. I have some land and a house. My wife and I
have become dual citizens. You can say that I have arrived home. I
should have made the move earlier, but I thank the Lord above that my
dream finally came true.”
In September 2018, Hadjian performed in the Artsakh border village of
Norashen in a program organized by the Artsakh office of the
Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society. On stage, the
Hadjian said that when he sings on the soil of Artsakh, he feels the
full power of every word in his lyrics. He said he is convinced again
and again that the future of the homeland starts with having developed
villages where villagers have opportunities to connect with the
Armenian culture. Hadjian also held concerts at two barracks in
Artsakh to inspire and support the Armenian soldiers. The songs
sounded “more authentic” in the soldiers’ presence, as they were
dedicated to them, Hadjian suggested. The barracks’ command gave the
singer a special certificate of gratitude for his support of the
Defense Army.
“Today I am very saddened to hear about the martyrdom of Deacon Kevork
Hadjian, a person that the New York community got to know and love
very much. Kevork was a graduate of the Armenian theological seminary
in Bikfaya, a place where we sang every morning about the flame of our
Christian faith and the love of our nation inspired us seminarians in
our journey serving the Armenian nation. These are the thoughts and
prayers that shaped someone like Kevork to leave behind his
comfortable life in the suburbs of Yerevan and enlist himself as a
volunteer in Artsakh where he became a martyr of the armenian nation,”
said Rev. Fr. Nareg Terterian, pastor of the St. Sarkis Armenian
Apostolic Church of Douglaston, New York. “Our thoughts and prayers
are with you our beloved Armenian sisters and brothers in Artstakh.
Our hearts are pierced with your pain. We are engaged in different
rallies, demonstrations, fundraising campaigns, seeking humanitarian
aid to support you. We know that whatever we do here is nothing
compared to the sacrifices you are making to protect our lands. And we
are praying for you constantly—asking the merciful Lord to protect and
guard the brave children of Armenia against the vicious strikes of the
enemy. Our people have suffered enough. I pray especially for the soul
of Kevork Hadjian, may he rest in peace.”
Born in Anjar, Lebanon, in 1971, Hadjian studied at the “Parsegh
Ganachian” musical institute of Lebanon’s Hamazkayin Armenian
Educational and Cultural Society and previously conducted the
children’s chorus of Anjar’s “Harach” college, which won first place
in the “Parsegh Ganachian” competition among 14 choruses of Armenian
schools. He performed with the “Shnorhali” Chorus of the Catholicosate
of the Great House of Cilicia, “Kousan” Chorus, “Gomidas” Chorus, and
“Fayha” Chorus of Tripoli, among others. He gave many concerts to
Armenian troops serving on the front lines in Artsakh and in Armenian
border towns. He also performed solo concerts in Lebanon, Syria,
Bulgaria, Kuwait, Armenia, Artsakh, Cyprus, Canada, and across the
United States. ************************************************************************************************************************************************
5- Canadian-Armenian killed during Azerbaijan's Attacks on Artsakh
By Ben Cousins
TORONTO—A Canadian-Armenian has been killed in the growing conflict
between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the separatist region of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Krisdapor Artin, a Toronto native who moved to
Armenia in 2011, was killed while fighting for Armenia, the Armenian
National Committee of Canada (ANCC) confirmed to CTV News.
Artin had been working in the mining industry and owned a business in
Armenia before the conflict began. He lived with his family in Kapan,
a town in southeast Armenia close to the battlegrounds.
In a Facebook post, the ANCC described Artin as “an active member of
the Toronto Armenian community, before repatriating with his family.”
“Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones,” the post
continued. “May his soul Rest In Peace.”
Sevan Hajiartinian, a member of the Armenian Community Centre of
Toronto and a friend of Artin’s, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview
Wednesday that Artin died on Tuesday while volunteering on the front
lines of the conflict.
She described Artin as a “very humble, honest, loyal friend.”
“He volunteered in our community from the moment that he arrived
here,” she said. “He was a youth group leader. He was a member of the
organization. He was a mentor to all of the youth from age six and up
and everyone looked up to him.”
“He taught us the balance between being Canadian, Armenian and our
passion for the country we live in now and the importance of our
roots.”
Hajiartinian said that Artin had moved to Canada in the 1990s from
Lebanon “to have a better life with his family” and later moved to
Armenia for a temporary job, but found a passion for the country and
decided to stay.
“He felt that that is home for him and they built their future there,” she said.
According to a February 2020 article in TorontoHye, a news site
focusing on topics of interest for the Armenian community in Toronto,
Artin was also involved in chinchilla breeding and the fashion
industry in Armenia, and provided employment to dozens of people
through those ventures.
This article appeared in CTV News on October 7, 2020.
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6- LAUSD board adopts emergency resolution condemning
Azerbaijani aggression, adds day off to commemorate Armenian
Genocide
By Sareen Habeshian and
Ellina Abovian
In a move of solidarity with its students and employees, the Los
Angeles Unified School District Board of Education unanimously adopted
an emergency resolution Tuesday, condemning Azerbaijani aggression
against Armenia.
Los Angeles, home to the largest Armenian population outside of
Armenia, has seen a number of demonstrations in recent days after
Azerbaijan launched a military attack on Sept. 27 in the autonomous
enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, also called Artsakh — a mountainous
region bordering Armenia and Azerbaijan.
LAUSD’s resolution, called “Standing with the Armenian People and the
Republic of Artsakh,” states that attacks launched by Azerbaijan’s
military are a direct threat not only to “the Armenian population that
has lived in Artsakh for millennia, but also to regional stability
fundamental to United States’ interests,” according to a press release
from the district.
The resolution comes after the biggest escalation in a decades-old
conflict over the autonomy of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is home to about
150,000 people — about 95% of whom are ethnic Armenians, according to
a 2015 census.
For the past week, the Armenian American community in L.A. has decried
the escalating violence overseas as a massacre against Armenians and
has been calling for international intervention. On Monday, elected
officials from the L.A. area also demanded U.S. action to halt
Azerbaijan’s attacks.
“Innocent Armenian civilians are dying as a result of this unprovoked
attack on their country by Azerbaijan,” said board member Scott
Schmerelson, who authored the resolution. “It is important for people
around the world to condemn the outrageous aggression.”
And, because Turkey intervened in the conflict, LAUSD board members
also called upon the California State Teachers Retirement Fund to
divest from “any and all holdings, debt securities, global equities
and currency investments by the Republic of Turkey for their
continuation of a campaign of genocide against the Armenian people.”
The board also unanimously voted Tuesday to add a new holiday to
school calendars to commemorate Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day on
April 24. Glendale Unified was the first school district in the
country to add the day off in 2016 as a day of remembrance for the 1.5
million Armenians killed at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.
“Our Armenian students are a single example of the immense diversity
that exists among our student body and we want to acknowledge the
significance of their history,” said board member George J. McKenna
III, one of many co-sponsors of the resolution.
Superintendent Austin Beutner added that the board recognizes and
remembers the Armenian Genocide of 1915 in hopes of helping to prevent
such an atrocity from happening again.
“This resolution reaffirms our commitment to teaching students about
the importance of human rights,” Beutner said.
Schmerelson said that the world must be stand with the Armenian people
as they are once again under attack.
“LA Unified has a robust curriculum on the Armenian Genocide and the
Jewish Holocaust,” he said. “I urge every Social Studies and English
teacher in our schools to be sure that they are teaching their
students this curriculum. We must never forget.”
This article appeared in KTLA 5 News October 7, 2020.
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7- Armenia Continues Fighting Pandemic Amidst Artsakh War
Armenia continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic as Artsakh is under
attack by Azerbaijan. According to the Ministry of Health, there were
9,904 active coronavirus cases in Armenia as of Monday, October 5. The
Ministry has recorded 56,821 coronavirus cases and 1,026 deaths;
45,891 have recovered.
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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida Armenians gathered to protest in downtown West Palm Beach on Saturday.
There is currently a temporary cease-fire in place between Armenia and Azerbajian.
The two sides have been fighting over a disputed region for the past two weeks.
The BBC reports more than 300 people have died in the latest fighting.
Facebook has cracked down on a massive network of fake activity connected to Azerbaijan’s ruling party. The site has removed more than 1,000 accounts and close to 8,000 pages.
Weeks after firing the whistleblower who called for Facebook to take action against the fake users, Facebook removed the troll farm connected to Azerbaijan’s President.
“This network appeared to engage individuals in Azerbaijan to manage Pages with the sole purpose of leaving supportive and critical commentary on Pages of international and local media, public figures including opposition and the ruling party of Azerbaijan, to create a perception of wide-spread criticism of some views and wide-spread support of others,” said Nathaniel Gleicher, head of Facebook security policy.
In an explosive internal memo obtained by BuzzFeed News, Sophie Zhang said Facebook was ignoring manipulation of its platforms by corrupt political parties and heads of government.
In Azerbaijan, Zhang found a large network of inauthentic accounts used to attack opponents of President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and his ruling New Azerbaijan Party.
“This network posted primarily in Azerbaijani, and also in Russian and English. Their comments frequently touched on local and regional news and events, politics, government policies, tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Armenia’s actions during past escalations in Nagorno-Karabakh, praise of President Ilham Aliyev and the New Azerbaijani Party, criticism of the opposition party and leaders accusing them of treason, and denials of human rights abuse allegations in Azerbaijan,” Gleicher said.
10:59, 6 October, 2020
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian parliament adopted at second reading a bill on extending for another 3 years the social assistance program for border communities.
The bill, authored by ruling My Step bloc lawmakers Sisak Gabrielyan and Sipan Pashinyan, passed with 100 votes in favor.
The bill was amended so that it envisages compensation to the farmers and other residents of border towns for damages they suffered from Azerbaijani military or terrorist attacks from across the border.
All kinds of agricultural damages ( livestock, agricultural equipment, harvest gardens, etc.) will be compensated by the government.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
An Azerbaijani artillery strike directed at Shatvan and Mets Masrik towns in Armenia’s Gegharkunik region killed Gevorg Vardanyan (53), and injured two other civilians.
Armenian authorities said its air defense force downed three Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the Gegharkunik area, including the one which fired the missile into the towns.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote on his Facebook page that a fourth drone has been shot down, and the total of four unmanned vehicles were in the Gegharkunik and Kotayk regions in Armenia.
Kotayk is located roughly 20 kilometers from Armenia’s capital of Yerevan.
15:33, 1 October, 2020
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. This is no longer just an issue of Karabakh, this is an issue of the international security, and the Armenian people are protecting also the international security, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Facebook.
“Why Turkey has returned to the South Caucasus 100 years later? To continue the Armenian Genocide. But the continuation of genocidal policy for Turkey is not only a mean to exercise Armenophobia, but also is a pragmatic issue. Armenia and the Armenians of the South Caucasus are the last obstacle for continuing the Turkish expansion to the north, south-east and east and fulfilling the imperial dream. This is no longer a Karabakh issue, this is not an issue of the security of the Armenian people only. This is an issue of the international security, and the Armenian people are also protecting the international security, assuming perhaps a new historical mission”, the Armenian PM said.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan