Author: Arpi Talalian

Alumni of program of U.S. Department of State address a letter to U.S. Ambassador to Armenia

Arpi Talalian

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 18:48,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 14, ARMENPRESS. 40 alumni of the Professional Fellows Program funded by the U.S. Department of State addressed a letter to the Ambassador of the USA to Armenia Lynne M. Tracy, with a call to prevent the Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression against the civilian population of Artsakh. ARMENPRESS reports, the letter runs as follows,

Honorable Lynne M. Tracy,

It is with the extreme concern we, the Professional Fellows Program Armenia alumni network, write you this letter to one more time bring to your attention the unprovoked ignition of war by  Azerbaijan and Turkey against Artsakh Republic and its civilian population, and call upon the United States to take all possible actions to cease the Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression.

Since the start of the war late September Azerbaijan with the direct support of Turkey has been using cluster munitions and indiscriminately attacking civilians, civilian objects and entire cities and villages of Artsakh Republic. All these violent acts have caused the death of the peaceful population of Artsakh Republic and brought about grave human rights violations, destruction of homes, and infrastructures. The direct targeting of civilians, the repeated bombardment of cities of Artsakh, including the spiritual and ethnic symbol of Armenians – the Ghazanchetots cathedral in Shushi – leaves us with no doubt that the Azerbaijani-Turkish army, backed by thousands of terrorist mercenary groups from Syria, pursue a clear objective of ethnic cleansing of Artsakh from Armenians. That being said, we witness yet another genocide of Armenians, this time in Artsakh.

As you know, Azerbaijan broke the cease-fire agreement reached in Moscow on the 10th of October, and as of October 12 almost all the civilian settlements of Artsakh are again the target of Azerbaijani-Turkish terrorist forces. The situation is on the brink of humanitarian crisis and requires immediate intervention of the international community to contain Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s genocidal war against Armenians.

As part of the Armenian youth, we are firm, both in Armenia and Artsakh, in our choice of building Armenian statehood that hinges on democracy, rule of law, respect for human dignity, rights and freedoms which was even more strengthened during our fellowships in different parts of the United States. But today, not only massive violations of international human rights and humanitarian law are taking place in Artsakh, but also the very existence of Armenians is under imminent threat. This war is not only a threat for us, Armenians, but is also a global threat as we are dealing with international terrorism, obvious violation of human rights, and crimes against humanity.

Recalling our experiences in the United States, the necessity to bring and implement best practices and values and seeing your commitment, as a US Ambassador to Armenia, to the sustainable and democratic development of our country, we are hopeful  that United States will

-take immediate and vigorous action to stop the aggression of Azerbaijan and Turkey against Artsakh Republic and the Armenians,

-recognize the independence of the Republic of Artsakh, respecting the right of self-determination exercised by the people of Artsakh,

-call into questions the direct support of terrorism and aggression by Turkey, a member of NATO.

The letter is an individual initiative of Professional Fellows Program Alumni and does not represent the opinion of American Councils or the PFP Program




How Erdogan is testing bond with Putin, or ‘his patience’, in Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict

Arpi Talalian
The Print
Oct 5 2020
 
 
 
 
Turkey and Russia have already taken opposite sides in two major conflicts, in Syria and Libya. The current stalemate at Caucasus seems to be another bone of contention between the two.
 
Marc Champion and Ilya Arkhipov 5 October, 2020 1:15 pm IST
 
London/Moscow: If Vladimir Putin made one thing clear over the years, it’s that no power but Russia—not the U.S., the European Union, or even China—is allowed to meddle in the security affairs of its former Soviet stomping ground.
 
It appears Recep Tayyip Erdogan didn’t get the message. By ramping up support for Azerbaijan as it tries to win back territories lost to Armenian forces in 1994, the Turkish president has put his relationship with Russia to the test.
 
Erdogan’s forceful approach has broad support at home and may have unlocked a fitful stalemate in the Caucasus that lasted almost 30 years. It could also win him a voice in the settlement. But if over-reached, it risks rebuke from a military power able to strike at Turkish interests in multiple theaters. Putin has long pressed for a new multipolar world order where regional powers would pursue their interests without meddling from the U.S., but this was not what he had in mind.
 
“Erdogan is really testing Putin’s patience,” said Alexander Dynkin, president of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which also advises the Kremlin. “He irritates Putin more and more.”
 
The relationship was under strain before fighting broke out around Nagorno-Karabakh on Sep. 27, despite perceptions in the West that Turkey has abandoned the U.S. and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies to partner with Moscow.
 
Russia and Turkey have had either military advisers, mercenaries or troops deployed on opposite sides of two major conflicts, in Syria and Libya. Now concern is growing in Moscow that red lines could be crossed in the ex-Soviet Caucasus, amid claims that Turkey has sent Syrian militants to aid Azerbaijan.
 
The number of disputes for the two leaders to manage and compartmentalize is only growing. Russia perceives Turkey to be squeezing its natural gas giant, Gazprom PJSC. Turkey imported 28% less Russian gas in July compared with a year earlier, while imports from Azerbaijan rose 22%. Turkey will soon also open a new pipeline that will allow Azeri gas to compete directly with Gazprom for market share in Europe.
 
Speaking to the Turkish parliament on Oct. 1, Erdogan condemned as “unacceptable” Putin’s call for an immediate cease-fire in Azerbaijan, which the Russian leader made in a joint statement with U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron. France, Russia and the U.S. are co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s so-called Minsk Group aimed at resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.
 
In his speech, Erdogan said the Minsk Group was no longer fit for purpose. He also linked the latest resurgence of fighting to Russia, saying it was part of a wider crisis that began with the “occupation” of Crimea. Russian forces annexed Crimea in 2014, part of a conflict in eastern Ukraine that’s still playing out.
 
________________________________
 
Also read: Israel’s new friendship with the UAE will come at a cost
 
________________________________
 
 
 
On Saturday, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan each said they would consider a truce, but only on terms the other is unlikely to entertain.
 
The mainly ethnic Armenian enclave and seven districts around it are recognized by the United Nations as occupied territories that, according to U.K.-based Caucasus specialist Thomas De Waal, account for 13.6% of Azerbaijan’s land.
 
Russia and France, meanwhile, say Turkey has sent militants from Syria to fight for Azerbaijan, a move that could introduce an Islamist element to a conflict that already pits Muslim Azeris against Christian Armenians. Turkey and Azerbaijan have denied the accusation.
 
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based group that monitored death tolls throughout the war in Syria, said on Saturday that 36 Syrian fighters had been killed in the fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh in the previous 48 hours, bringing the total to 64. The group said Turkey had sent 1,200 Syrian fighters to Azerbaijan so far, mostly ethnic Turkmen.
 
“If the direct participation of the Turkish military or militants from Syria is proven, that will be a red line,” said Dynkin. “This isn’t the kind of multi-polarity Putin wanted.”
 
Turkey has long supported fellow Turkic-speaking Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but the strength of Erdogan’s intervention this time is unprecedented. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said his country will do more if Azerbaijan should ask. Large-scale joint Turkish-Azerbaijani military exercises finished as recently as August.
 
Russia is hardly hands off. It has a security treaty with Armenia and has sold arms to both sides. The Kremlin has publicized at least two conversations between Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan since Sep. 27, though none with Erdogan or Azeri President Ilham Aliyev.
 
According to a senior official in Ankara, far from betraying NATO for Moscow, Turkey sees itself as standing alone against a crescent of Russian pressure in the region.
 
That’s not a view widely shared in the West. While Turkey’s leaders never harbored illusions about their essentially transactional relationship with Russia, they’ve left the country exposed by simultaneously alienating NATO allies that might have acted as a backstop, said Sinan Ulgen, a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, a Brussels-based think tank.
 
Erdogan’s goal in Azerbaijan is to marginalize the Minsk Group and force his way to a place at a new negotiating table where an eventual settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict would be worked out, according to Ulgen.
 
That’s the same strategy of leverage building Erdogan has used with some success in Libya, Syria and the eastern Mediterranean. But it also involves risk, because Putin can strike back in Turkey in any of these theaters, should events on the ground run beyond what he is willing to accept.
 
“Turkey is in a much more brittle position than it needs to be, because of the erosion of trust in its traditional alliances, and that is mutual,” said Ulgen. Erdogan’s decision to take delivery of Russian S-400 air defense systems played a part in that.
 
The problem for Russia is that unlike in other so-called frozen conflicts in the ex-Soviet space, it has no troops on the ground to control the situation and—unlike Turkey—is trying to keep a relationship with both sides, according to De Waal, author of “Black Garden,” a book on Nagorno-Karabakh.
 
“So long as there is equilibrium, they have leverage, but they cannot afford to pick sides,” he said. “That always seemed a bit of a losing strategy and it seems to be running out of road.”
 
Russia may also be holding back to teach a lesson to Armenia’s reformist government that “anti-Russian policies could lead to the total halt of support,” said Arkady Dubnov, a Moscow-based analyst. Pashinyan replaced a more pro-Kremlin leadership in 2018.
 
“For the moment these two big bears are managing to mark out their territory, but Erdogan should be careful not to overstep the limits,” said Dubnov. “His country is a major regional power, but he mustn’t forget that Russia considers itself the dominant player here.” – Bloomberg
 
 

UN Security Council Calls for ‘Immediate’ End to Fighting in Karabakh

Arpi Talalian

September 30,  2020



U.N. Security Council discusses Azerbaijan’s attack on Artsakh on Sept. 29

The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday called a special session to discuss Azerbaijan’s unprovoked attacks along the entire border of Artsakh, expressing concern that the most recent clashed could “spiral into all-out war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”

The 15-member security council held a close-door discussion on the matter and emerged with a strong condemnation of “use of force.”

“Security Council members voiced support for the call by the Secretary General on the sides to immediately stop fighting, de-escalate tensions and return to meaningful negotiations without delay,” the council said in a statement.

The meting was held at the request of Estonia, a permanent member of the Council. What the meeting did not do is condemn Azerbaijan for its aggression, nor did it address Turkey’s intervention in the conflict, which threatens the stability of the region.

Ahead of Tuesday’s security council meeting, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who pointed to Turkey’s “direct destabilizing” involvement in Azerbaijan’s latest attacks.

Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan sent a letter to Guterres on Monday detailing Azerbaijan’s latest aggression in Artsakh, including the deliberate targeting of the civilian population and infrastructures using heavy artillery and force/
“The aggression was pre-planned, and the statements of the Azerbaijani side on the alleged counter-attack are absolutely falsified. Azerbaijan has never concealed its strategic goal of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by the use of force, while continuously maintaining tension along the line of contact and the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border,” said Mnatsakanyan in his letter.

The foreign minister also expressed Yerevan’s concern over Turkey’s unconditional and unilateral support to Azerbaijan and its aggression. Strongly condemning Azerbaijan’s aggression, Mnatsakanyan emphasized that Azerbaijan’s attacks, which violate the ceasefire, are not only a gross violation of international humanitarian law, but also pose the risk of escalating into a full-scale regional war.

Mnatsakanyan criticized Azerbaijan’s attacks pointing out that they directly oppose Guterres’ calls for a global ceasefire during the Covid-19 pandemic. He stressed that the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for the aggression.

Mnatsakanyan told the U.N. leader that Armenia, as the guarantor of the security of the people of Artsakh, will take all necessary measures to protect the inalienable rights of the people of Artsakh and will give an adequate response to the Azerbaijani aggression.

“The right of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination is an integral part of the conflict resolution, and by virtue of this right the people of Artsakh must be able to determine its status without any limitation,” Mnatsakanyan said in the letter, reiterating Armenia’s commitment to a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

Turkish Opinion: Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict: Why Armenia Needs To Pull-Out From Occupied-Regions Of Azerbaijan: OPED

Arpi Talalian
Eurasian Times
Sept 29 2020

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper-Karabakh conflict was sparked with the open territorial claims of Armenians to Azerbaijan’s historical lands, as well as ethnic provocations in 1988. From 1987 to 1989, over 250,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled from their historical lands in Armenia, while 216 of them were brutally murdered and wounded

The intensification of conflict and violent clashes along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border is the latest rekindling of a historical conflict between the two former Soviet states.

Some 20% of Azerbaijan’s territory, including the Upper Karabakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh region, has remained under occupation by Armenia for roughly three decades.

Four UN Security Council and two UN General Assembly resolutions as well as decisions by many international organizations refer to this fact and demand the withdrawal of Armenia’s forces from Upper Karabakh and seven adjacent regions of Azerbaijan.

The Upper Karabakh region includes the towns of Shusha, Khankendi, Khojaly, Asgaran, Khojavand, Aghdara and Hadrut.

The seven other occupied regions of Azerbaijan are the districts surrounding the Upper Karabakh area, including Lachin, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Qubadli and Zangilan.

During the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, over one million Azerbaijanis became internally displaced persons (IDPs), while 20,000 were martyred in military operations and 50,000 were wounded and became disabled, according to Azerbaijan’s official figures.

At least 4,000 Azerbaijanis went missing during the conflict and their fate remains unknown. More than 2,000 Azerbaijanis were captured and taken hostage by Armenian forces.

In 1923, the Soviet government established the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), with a total area of 4,400 square kilometers (around 1,700 square miles) in the mountainous part of Karabakh, laying the foundation of separatist trends in that region.

In the early 1980s, Armenians in the Soviet Union’s leadership along with the leaders of Soviet Armenia and its diaspora abroad exploited the weakening of the central government of the USSR to embark on a campaign to annex the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast to Armenia.

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper-Karabakh conflict was sparked with the open territorial claims of Armenians to Azerbaijan’s historical lands, as well as ethnic provocations in 1988.

From 1987 to 1989, over 250,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled from their historical lands in Armenia, while 216 of them were brutally murdered and another 1,154 wounded.

At the Feb. 20, 1988 session of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast Soviet of People’s Deputies, members of the region’s Armenian community adopted a resolution to appeal to the legislative body the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR and the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (Armenian SSR, or Soviet Armenia) to annex NKAO to the Armenian SSR.

On Feb. 22, 1988, the Armenians opened fire on a peaceful demonstration staged by Azerbaijanis near the town of Asgaran to protest against this resolution, which left two Azerbaijanis dead.

On Dec. 1, 1989, the Supreme Soviet of Armenian SSR adopted the unprecedented resolution: “On the unification of Armenian SSR and Nagorno-Karabakh.”

On Jan. 10, 1990, the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet adopted the resolution: “On the nonconformity with the USSR Constitution of the acts on Nagorno-Karabakh adopted by Armenian SSR Supreme Soviet on December 1, 1989 and January 9, 1990.” The resolution described as illegal the Armenian SSR’s demand on the unification of the Armenian SSR and Nagorno-Karabakh, noting that such an act could only come about with the Azerbaijan SSR’s consent.

On Aug. 30, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan declared the restoration of state independence, which was first gained back in 1918.

On Oct. 18, the country adopted the Constitutional Act: “On the State Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan.”

On Nov. 26, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijani Republic adopted the Law “On the abolition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the Republic of Azerbaijan.”

In late 1991 to early 1992, the conflict entered a military stage.

During that time, having exploited the collapse of the Soviet Union and political instability in Azerbaijan caused by the internal standoff, Armenia began military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh with external military support.

On Feb. 26, 1992, Armenian forces committed a massacre — known as the Khojaly Genocide — of ethnic Azerbaijani people of the town of Khojaly.

During the two-hour Armenian offensive, 613 Azerbaijani citizens including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly people were killed and 487 others critically injured, according to Azerbaijani statistics. Eight families were completely wiped out, while 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both parents.

In May 1992, Armenian separatist forces occupied the towns of Shusha and Lachin. In 1993, the Armenian Armed Forces captured six more Azerbaijani districts around Nagorno-Karabakh, including Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Qubadli and Zangilan.

On April 30, 1993, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 822 demanding the immediate withdrawal of all forces from Kalbajar district and other areas of Azerbaijan.

The Security Council noted “with alarm the escalation in armed hostilities and, in particular, the latest invasion of Kalbajar district of the Republic of Azerbaijan by local Armenian forces,” said the resolution.

On July 29, 1993, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 853 demanding the “immediate complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying forces” from Aghdam district and all other recently occupied areas of Azerbaijan.

On Oct. 14, 1993, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 874 calling for the immediate implementation of the reciprocal and urgent steps provided in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) Minsk Group’s “Adjusted timetable,” including the withdrawal of forces from recently occupied territories.

On Nov. 11, 1993, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 884 condemning the recent violations of the cease-fire established between the parties which resulted in a resumption of hostilities and “particularly condemning the occupation of Zangilan district and the city of Horadiz, attacks on civilians and bombardments of the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan.”

The resolution also demanded the “unilateral withdrawal of occupying forces from Zangilan district and the city of Horadiz and the withdrawal of forces from other recently occupied areas of the Republic of Azerbaijan.”

In February 1992, the mediation process for the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was launched as part of the CSCE.

On March 24, 1992, the Committee of Senior Officials convened the Additional Meeting of the CSCE Council in Helsinki, where the Council decided to convene a special conference in Minsk that would act as a permanent framework for negotiations to find a “soonest possible peaceful solution to the conflict” in accordance with CSCE principals, commitments and provisions.

On May 12, 1994, the parties declared a cease-fire.

On Dec. 5-6, 1994, at the CSCE Budapest Summit, the heads of state and government of the CSCE participating states set up the institution of the co-chairmanship of the Minsk Conference in order to coordinate all mediation efforts within the CSCE framework.

The Budapest Summit tasked the CSCE chairman-in-office with conducting negotiations aimed at concluding a political agreement on the cessation of the armed conflict, eliminating the consequences of the conflict and allowing the convening of the Minsk Conference.

The Minsk Group has 17 members including Turkey. But only three — France, Russia and the US — hold co-chair positions. However, the co-chairs have not done much seriously to end the occupation.

On March 23, 1995, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) chairman-in-office issued a mandate for the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Process.

On Dec. 2-3, 1996, at the OSCE Lisbon Summit, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and the OSCE chairman-in-office recommended the principles that should be the basis for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

However, Armenia did not accept those principles and was the only country out of 54 OSCE participating states not to support them.

On March 14, 2008, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution which covered legal, political and humanitarian aspects of the conflict and reaffirmed the principles of its settlement.

These principles reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, expressed support for the country’s internationally recognized borders and demanded the immediate withdrawal of all Armenian forces from all occupied territories, reaffirmed the inalienable right of the Azerbaijani population to return to their homes and reaffirmed that no state should recognize as lawful the situation resulting from the occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories or render assistance in maintaining that situation.

The EU also called for the execution of the resolutions of the UN Security Council, the withdrawal of the Armenian army from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, respect for the territorial integrity and internationally-recognized borders of the sides, and an end to the internationally illegitimate and forced situation.

The Joint Declaration signed at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels on Nov. 24, 2017, reaffirmed the EU’s determination to support the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of all its partners.

In April 2016, Armenia once again committed a military provocation, shelling densely populated areas of Azerbaijan along the line of contact, leading to casualties.

By Jeyhun Aliyev: Views Personnel. Does Not Reflect The Editorial Policy Of The EurAsian Times

Paris police barricade Eiffel Tower after bomb threat

Arpi Talalian

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 16:51,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Paris police have blockaded the area around the Eiffel Tower after a phone-in bomb threat, ABC News reports.

Police cars and tape surrounded the streets below the tower and the bridge stretching across the Seine River to Trocadero Plaza. Some tourists were still walking in the area, but it was unclear if any were still inside the tower on Wednesday.

Two police officers at the scene told The Associated Press that the operation was the result of a phone-in bomb threat. Eiffel Tower management did not respond to requests for comment.

Sports: Armenia returning from Romania with 3 gold medals

Arpi Talalian
News.am, Armenia
Sept 21 2020

Опубликовано Armenian Athletics Federation Понедельник, 21 сентября 2020 г.

Armenia’s athletics team is bringing home three gold medals from the Balkan Athletics Championships held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Yervand Mkrtchyan scored gold medals after running 1,500 meters (3:47.60) and 3,000 meters (8:12.02).

Triple jumper Levon Aghasyan also won after running 16.53 meters.

Armenian American Alexander Donikian won fourth place after running in 10.44 seconds during the 10-meter race, which is Armenia’s record.

ANN/Armenian News – Week in Review – 09/13/2020

Arpi Talalian

Armenian News Network / Armenian News

Armenian News: Week in Review

ANN/Armenian News

  • Asbed Kotchikian

  • Emil Sanamyan

  • Alen Zamanyan

  • Hovik Manucharyan

  • Asbed Bedrossian

Hello, and welcome to Armenian News Network, Armenian News, Week in Review.

Before we begin, we always appreciate your help in reaching a wider audience, so please don’t forget to subscribe and Like us on whatever platform you listen to us on, and help spread the word by sharing this podcast on your social media channels. Thanks in advance!

I’m Hovik Manucharyan and today, along with Asbed Bedrossian and our panel, we’re going to talk about the following major topics:

  • Electoral Reforms In Armenia

  • Journalist Dana Mazalová passes away

  • The ANSEF Reorganizes

  • My Step MP Arsen Julfalakyan’s resignation from Parliament

  • Russian Opposition leader Navalny’s poisoning and recovery

  • And finally we’ll spend a little time on – what’s going on in Baku.

We have with us:

Asbed Kotchikian, who is a senior lecturer of political science and international relations at Bentley University in Massachusetts, where he teaches courses on the Middle East and former Soviet space.

Emil Sanamyan a senior research fellow at USC’s Institute of Armenian Studies specializing in politics in the Caucasus, with a special focus on Azerbaijan.

And

Alen Zamanyan who is a software engineer in Los Angeles, who follows and has analyzed Armenian affairs for over a decade.

Hello and welcome everyone!

YouTube           Apple            Google         Spotify       Facebook

The parliament is working on changes to the electoral code and process with the announced intent of making elections more reliable. One example is the proposal to lower the electoral threshold for a party to get into the parliament from 5 to 4% (and from 7 to 6% for “Blocs”). Another example discussed recently is the effort to clean up Armenia’s notoriously problematic voter lists by removing people whose identity documents are expired. This might remove up to 200,000 people from the electoral lists in the next election.

What does Armenia need in order to build trust in its elections and therefore its democracy?

Gor Hakobyan, a political analyst and consultant, in a discussion on Civilnet, emphasized the importance of political consensus while instituting such foundational reforms to ensure that all sides trust the results of future elections. 

Given that My Step (Im Qayl) has an absolute majority in parliament and therefore the ability to unilaterally pass any of these measures, how has the parliamentary and extra-parliamentary opposition reacted to some of these proposals to date?

 

This past week Czech journalist Dana Mazalová passed away. She covered the Nagorno Karabakh war extensively, and President Sarkissian, the HR Ombudsman of Artsakh, prime minister Pashinyan, and also the foreign minister of Armenia all extended condolences over her death.

 

While Armenians hold Mazalová in high esteem, Mutalibov and Azerbaijani authorities today deny the accuracy of Mazalová's interview with Mutalibov and some even claim that she was engaging in war crime denial. 

 

What should we think about all this?

Last week The Armenian National Science and Education Fund (ANSEF) announced a reorganization. First it has renamed itself after its founding father so they’re now the Yervant Terzian Armenian National Science and Education Fund; and they’ve also established an Advisory Board to their Executive Board, to allow their organization greater agility and depth of focus.

How much do we know about the ANSEF?

Former wrestling champ and My Step MP Arsen Julfalakyan has resigned from his seat in Parliament, citing irreconcilable differences with the Minister of Education. The 29-year-old acting mayor of Kapan, Narek Ghahramanyan, will replace Julfalakyan.

Do we know anything about these “fundamental” differences that caused Julfalakyan to part ways with the ruling party? What do we know about Ghahramanyan?

Check out this interesting interview with Julfalakian back in July that touches a bit on Julfalakian’s relationship with Gagik Tsarukyan and his decision to represent Prosperous Armenia (Bargavach Hayastan) and his subsequent decision to jump ship to My Step (Im Qayl).

The German government said last week that it knows the origin of the poison that was used on Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny but will not disclose it, expecting that Russia will come clean. Navalny came out of a medically induced coma on September 7 and has regained consciousness. Reportedly he speaks and remembers the day of poisoning, and is expected to physically recover at least 90%.

This is not the first time Russian opposition figures drink bad tea or have poison for breakfast. How important is Navalny, especially for the EU? How did Navalny get whisked away to Germany for detox and revival, does the EU have some latent interest in him?

Outside of the obvious human factor here, how much do we care about this incident from an Armenian political standpoint? What are Armenia’s ties to Navalny?

 

During the July war, Ilham Aliyev replaced his foreign minister and instructed the new one to take an aggressive stance in making progress towards Karabakh. Aliyev and his ministers have since upped the level of friction with countries who have anything to do with the supply arms to Armenia, for example: Serbia, Iran, Russia and so on. After talking with Putin, Aliyev recently Rebuked Putin about it. Of course, all the time Azerbaijan outspends Armenia 10 to 1 in defense spending and has been meeting constantly with Turkey and Israel over its own arms supplies and technology.

Why is so much effort spent by Azerbaijan on countries associated with supplying Arms to Armenia, especially such harsh rhetoric towards Russia? Is there a qualitative change in Azerbaijan’s foreign policy or is this a reactive tactic for their domestic consumption after a poor military performance in July?

Should Armenia spend some minimal effort on PR and talk about Turkey and Israel arming Azerbaijan, and say that Armenia has a right to defend itself?

Azerbaijan arrested Musavat party leader Tofig Yagublu in March; last month they arrested Eldar Hasanov, their ambassador to Serbia on corruption  charges;  Azerbaijan has seen an intensification of a domestic political struggle between Ramiz Mehdiyev, Ali Hasanov, and other long-serving officials under the father and son Aliyevs on one hand, and a cadre of younger, rising officials associated with Ilham Aliyev’s wife, Mehriban Aliyeva.

The picture is even more complicated because some of Aliyev’s own people, for example Mehdiyev, who was sacked last year from his position as Aliyev’s right-hand man, are suspected of being pro-Russian and possibly working against Aliyev, but not being in Aliyeva’s camp.

What are the dynamics driving Baku’s domestic politics?

Finally: Armenia will join Russia, China, Belarus, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan and some other countries for the Caucasus 2020 joint military exercises scheduled to take place September 21-26 in Russia. India and Azerbaijan have opted out, citing COVID-19 concerns.

What are the real reasons for their non-participation?

  • Parliament has approved the ratification of the three Implementing Protocols of the Armenia-EU Readmission Agreement.

  • Ukraine has green-listed Armenia for travel, due to the declining numbers of COVID-19 infections in Armenia.

  • 50 children were provided with computers in the frames of “The power of 1 dram” initiative.

  • The families of the 2008 March 1 victims have announced that they will boycott the court proceedings which were re-opened in 2018 after the revolution.

  • PM Pashinyan and his wife Anna Hakobyan visited the border towns in the Province of Tavush on Monday. The PM met with the residents of Movses and discussed road constructions in the region and was introduced to the renovation works of homes destroyed by Azerbaijani shelling in Aygepar in July.

  • The 7th Byurakan International Summer School (7BISS) for Young Astronomers in the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO) in Armenia began September 7 and will last until September 12th themed “Astronomy and Data Science.”

  • A bill on setting stricter liability for insult and defamation passed a parliamentary committee. The Union of Journalists of Armenia has come out against this legislative initiative.

  • Former Speaker of Parliament Ara Babloyan went on trial on charges of abuse of power and official falsifications. Babloyan was allowed to temporarily leave Armenia for a short trip to Belgium related to work as head of Armenia’s largest children’s hospital.

  • Armenia became the 47th state to complete the ratification of the CoE’s Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (“Lanzarote Convention”).

  • The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople Sahak Mashalyan conducted the annual service at Akhtamar Church in Van on Sept. 6, 2020. The roughly two-hour mass ceremony aired live. A team of 25 people came from Istanbul to perform the ritual.

  • President of the Armenian Chess Federation, former Pres. Serge Sargsyan wrote to FIDE president Dvorkovich. Two weeks ago, the Armenian Chess team withdrew from the semi-finals. Later in the finals there were similar Internet connectivity problems, and the FIDE was inconsistent in its decision-making:

During the final of the FIDE Online Olympiad between Russia and India, the internet connection was not always stable, which affected the outcome of some games. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich intervened in a solomonic way and declared both teams, Russia and India, as winners of the event. At the semi-final between India and Armenia there had been similar problems, but the verdict had been different, and Armenia withdrew under protest.

  • Róbert Ragnar Spanó, president of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is facing criticism for having accepted an honorary degree from Istanbul University and for having met with Turkish President Recep Erdoğan.

  • Finally 364 people returned to Russia from Armenia.

  • The RA Investigative Committee addressed the victims of "Beauty of Armenia" charity.

  • Two people have been charged with large-scale embezzlement in the FFA.

  • In Turkey, the HDP led tributes to Greeks, Armenians and Jews massacred in Istanbul pogrom.

  • Russian and Armenian army generals met in Moscow over the weekend as troops from the two countries began a joint military exercise near the Armenian-Turkish border.

  • Health authorities continued to hospitalize people at the weekend as a result of Armenia’s worst-ever alcohol poisoning which has left 17 people dead and nearly 30 others seriously ill.

  • The Iranian embassy in Azerbaijan has denied that Iran transfers Russian weapons to Armenia through its land border. 

  • Cal Poly Pomona’s ASA fundraised for the Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund over this summer.

  • Georgia’s leading opposition party, the United National Movement (UNM), has nominated former president Mikheil Saakashvili, as its candidate for prime minister in elections next month.

  • CBA chairman Martin Galstan says that The financial system in Armenia is stable, but there are risks due to problems in loan repayments due to COVID.

  • Top Turkish, Azerbaijani officials met in Istanbul, and agreed to establish Turkish-Azerbaijani media platform. Tigran Abrahamyan, the head of the Yerevan-based Henaket think tank thinks that this opens up a wide information war front for the Armenians worldwide, to consolidate our information space in case the war renews.

  • My Step has proposed to remove 200,000 people whose identity documents are expired, in an effort to clean up Armenia’s notoriously problematic voter lists.

  • The President and the HR Ombudsman or Artsakh, and the president, prime minister and also the foreign minister of Armenia all have extended condolences over the death of Czech journalist Dana Mazalová, who covered the Nagorno Karabakh war extensively.

  • Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko has received the Russian-made vaccination against Coronavirus after negotiating with his Russian counterpart Mikhail Mishustin.

  • Artsakh lifted entry and exit restrictions as COVID-19 numbers have dropped in Armenia.

  • The Army’s Son – book honoring the life and legacy of Captain Armenak Urfanyan published.

  • The ECHR judgment in Mukuchyan and Minasyan v. Azerbaijan and Hungary has been appealed to the Grand Chamber. This is regarding the #RamilSafarov case. The Artsakh president’s spokesman, Davit Babayan, slammed the ECHR decision.

  • The Yerevan City Council approved the installation of a memorial in honor of the 2008 March 1 victims.

  • Gyumri City will provide AMD 1 million in aid to Lebanon’s Armenian community affected from the recent explosion in Beirut.

  • Convicted criminal Tatul Mirzoyan, serving a life sentence, at the Nubarashen Correctional Facility, has set a national record for the most kettlebell reps.

  • 3rd President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan has tested negative for Coronavirus.

  • The EU and WHO handed over 100 oxygen concentrators, 20 electrocardiographs and 10,000 PCR tests for COVID-19 to the Ministry of Health.

  • Director of the National Archive of Armenia SNCO Amatuni Virabyan has been relieved from his position by a decree of Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan, citing tax accounting irregularities for this decision. Amatuni pledged to challenge his dismissal in court.

  • The Armenian National Science and Education Fund (ANSEF) has announced a reorganization of its board of directors.

  • The NA approved the ratification of the "Meghri Border Checkpoint Program" Loan Agreement with the EBRD for 10.6 million Euros.

  • The special service of Azerbaijan may have hacked the social networks of the citizens of Artsakh.

  • Relatives of nine people killed in the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan have decided to boycott the ongoing trial of former President Robert Kocharian and three other former officials because it has become a “farce.”

  • A law-enforcement agency brought corruption charges against Mher Sedrakian, aka “Tokhmakhi Mher,” an influential member of former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia (HHK).

  • French Armenian politician and businesswoman Astrid Panosyan has been honored with a rank of the Knight of the National Order of Merit.

  • Armenia’s national soccer team beat Estonia 2 to 0 in the 2nd round of the European League of Nations Division C matchup.

  • The German government says it knows the origin of the poison that poisoned Navalny, but will not disclose it expecting that Russia will come clean. The Navalny case is undermining Nord Stream 2.

  • The activities of over 5000 organizations have been suspended for violating the guidelines of the State of Emergency.

  • My Step Foundation awarded scholarships to Armenian students to study in the world’s top universities.

  • A live RPG-7 projectile was found in a canal in Yerevan.

  • Armenia continues mafia clampdown as more suspects face “thief-in-law” charges.

  • Healthcare authorities have significantly ramped up COVID-19 testing since Monday because teachers are being tested ahead of the planned school re-opening on September 15. Over 3500 were tested on Monday.

    • Meanwhile, Chief of Staff of the Constitutional Court of Armenia, former Armenian Ambassador to Poland Edgar Ghazaryan has called on parents not to send their children back to school on 15 September, questioning the efficiency of the coronavirus safety rules set by the education ministry.

  • Kim Kardashian has announced that Keeping Up With The Kardashians will air its last episode in early 2021. Meanwhile Ryanair announced on Twitter that the final season of Keeping Up will be about a big family trip to Armenia in 2021.

  • The full report on the April 2016 war is expected to be delivered to Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan before the end of September.

    • There is a report by Bright Armenia (LHK) MP Gevorg Gorgisyan that the report had leaked into the hands of a person without appropriate clearance to see it, and had in turn leaked portions of it to the public.

  • The Hayastan All Armenian Fund transferred around $70,000 to the Embassy in Damascus on Wednesday, earmarked for mitigating the COVID-19-related healthcare and socio-economic situation of the Syrian-Armenians.

  • Remittances from Russia to Armenia decreased by 28.2%, and from the United States increased by 22.1% in the first half of 2020, compared to 2019.

  • DM Tonoyan met with the Polish Ambassador to Armenia and the military attaché. They discussed defense cooperation projects already in progress and the security developments in the region. Meanwhile, Azerbaijani FM Jayhun Bairamov met with the Polish ambassador to Azerbaijan, as well as the Italian ambassador.

  • First president Levon Ter-Petrosyan met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kopirkin at his private house. Issues relating to the development of the Armenian-Russian relations, the regional security and the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict were discussed.

  • My Step MP Arsen Julfalakyan has resigned from his seat in Parliament, citing irreconcilable differences with  the Minister of Education. The 29-year-old acting mayor of Kapan, Narek Ghahramanyan, will replace Julfalakyan.

  • Armenia's total public debt at the end of July 2020 stood at AMD $7.94 billion, an increase of AMD $220.7 million from the previous month.

  • FM Mnatsakanyan spoke at a UN Security Council open debate on the role of La Francophonie (OIF) in the context of cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations. Armenia is chairing the Summit of the International Organization of OIF.

  • ‘We Are Gyumri’ Announced its 2020 Mina Shirvanian Scholarship Recipients.

  • Deputy Minister of Justice Srbuhi Galyan and her husband own a dozen properties. Her husband Petros Mkryan has declared an annual salary of AMD 6M, yet in 2019 he bought two apartments in the center of Yerevan, one of which costs AMD 206M, the other AMD 117M.

  • Zvartnots Airport will have 20 Coronavirus testing points.

  • A second wave of coronavirus has started in Georgia, Prime Minister Gakharia said. As a result the government banned weddings and other ceremonies as virus cases rise.

  • A massive fire has broken out at Beirut's devastated port close to the epicentre of the blast a month ago. It happened in a warehouse which contained oil and tires and was damaged by the August 4 explosion. Traumatised residents feared there would be another large blast. Thankfully no injuries were reported in the aftermath of this fire.

  • Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny has come out of a medically induced coma on September 7 and has regained consciousness. He speaks and remembers the day of poisoning and is expected to physically recover at least 90%.

  • PM Pashinyan chaired a consultation today discussing the 2020-2025 draft development strategy for HayPost.

  • DM Tonoyan met with UK’s Chargé d’Affaires ad interim in Armenia Helen Fazey, focusing on bilateral military-political discussions aimed at exchanging positions over international and regional security issues.

  • The MFA continues to work towards opening the Consulate General of Armenia in Erbil, in  Iraq.

  • The Armenian government plans to donate 10 medical vehicles to the Republic of Artsakh.

  • Former president of the EC, Head of the European People’s Party (EPP) Donald Tusk proposed to nominate Belarussian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovsky and her husband Sergei for the Nobel Peace Prize.

  • Many airlines are expected to re-launch flights to Armenia in September.

  • The government approved a 3-bill package of reforms in the public services sector, allowing various government services to be offered online, reducing time to service, as well as fees.

  • Armenia will join Russia, China, Belarus, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan and several other countries for the Caucasus 2020 joint military exercises scheduled to take place September 21-26 in Russia. India and Azerbaijan have opted out, citing COVID-19 concerns.

  • Armenia has proposed common regulations and conditions for restoring regular passenger transportations within the Eurasian Economic Union.

  • Georgian Authorities Seek to Block Azerbaijani Investment in Telecommunications Infrastructure.

  • Georgia has launched joint maneuvers with NATO as part of its longstanding bid to join the alliance. The Noble Partner drill has triggered further tensions with Moscow.

  • Azerbaijan has sent a request to put two Armenian officers on the international wanted list: Vazgen Vartanyan, Armen Jamalyant, whom POW Gurgen Alaverdyan has allegedly implicated as his team mates.

  • The government approved a list of six structural subdivisions of the Corruption Prevention Commission.

  • The Digital Initiatives Fund of the Eurasian Development Bank has announced a competition presented on its website. To fill out the applications you need to go to the link by October 4.

  • The Armenian Academy at Blair High School opened its doors to the first 50 students this August. The Armenian Dual-Language Program was approved on March 20 by the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) Board of Education.

  • Niagara Falls to be lit up with the colors of the Armenian flag on Independence Day.

  • The Armenian army has reaffirmed its ban on visits and free leaves in order to control the spread of Coronavirus to servicemen.

  • Two separate groups of people staged a protest outside the Armenian government building on Thursday: Armenian citizens who demand to be able to travel back to Russia; and Clothing and footwear traders who complain about the government’s new customs clearance pricing policy and rules.

  • Azerbaijan has seen an intensification of a domestic political struggle between between Ramiz Mehdiyev, Ali Hasanov, and other long-serving officials under the Aliyevs on one hand, and a cadre of younger, rising officials associated with Ilham Aliyev’s wife, Mehriban Aliyeva.

  • Turkey’s state-controlled missile maker, Roketsan, has set out to an ambitious program to produce the country’s first surface-to-surface, laser-guided missile, the 230mm TRGL-230.

  • Artsakh Security Council Secretary Samvel Babayan's assertion that President Arayik Harutyunyan transferred part of his powers to him have ignited a constitutional controversy.

  • President Armen Sarkissian met with UK Minister for European Neighborhood and the Americas Wendy Morton, and discussed a range of bilateral issues, and international topics such as climate change, Artificial Intelligence and more.

  • MPs propose new assistance programs for residents of bordering communities.

  • Seven CIS countries are testing the combat readiness of the Joint CIS Air Defense System on Sept. 11.

  • FM Mnatsakanyan will travel to Egypt on an official visit from September 12th to 15th.

  • The US State Department says in its 2020 Investment Climate Statements: Armenia report that progress in fighting corruption after the 2018 revolution and improvements in several sectors have increased the country’s appeal for foreign investments.

  • The Republic of Artsakh has extended its state of emergency over coronavirus by one month.

  • Armenia lifted the state of emergency after 6 months and replaced it with quarantine measures which would allow the authorities to continue enforcing safety rules and restrictions. The quarantine regime will  be effective until January 11, 2021.

  • Air France will resume Paris-Yerevan regular flights on Sep. 13. All Airlines previously granted permits for regular flights to Armenia can restart operating.

  • US policy and Erdogan

  • US eyes Greek island as alternative to Turkish base due to ‘disturbing’ Erdogan actions, senior senator claims.

  • Abraham Tovmasyan, a member of the Armenian Secret Liberation Army (ASALA), died in a car accident in Lebanon on September 5. On September 14, at 14:00, a requiem service will be held in his memory at the Yerablur Pantheon in Yerevan.

  • Many employees of Gazprom Armenia have been laid off and the salaries of other employees have been cut by 20%. Bright Armenia (LHK) leader Edmon Marukyan has sent inquiries to understand the reasons for these moves.

  • Prosperous Armenia (BHK) MP and Chair of the Standing Committee on Regional and Eurasian Integration Mikael Melkumyan met today with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kopirkin to discuss facilitating many Russian Armenians who have been stuck in Armenia during COVID, to leave for the Russia.

  • "My Step" MPs Mkhitar Hayrapetyan, Andranik Kocharyan, and independent MP Arman Babajanyan authored a bill by which citizens over 27 years of age who have not completed compulsory military service and are criminally charged, may opt to pay a two-year salary of a contract serviceman which would release them from criminal prosecution.

  • Catholicos Garegin II said that the Ministry of Education has not made "sufficient efforts" to cooperate with the Armenian Apostolic Church on matters of education, and that the reforms should be based on "the opinions and proposals of the professional community." He noted: "We are confident that the History of the Armenian Church should be taught separately.”

  • GM Levon Aronian is participating in the Chess 9LX tournament which started on Friday.

  • Two female MPs representing the BHK have announced plans to introduce legislation that would ban abortions except in cases of medical emergency.

  • Ilham Aliyev Rebuked Putin Over Russian Military Arms Deliveries to Armenia.

  • Baroness Caroline Cox Slammed Baku’s Warmongering, after she and many British lawmakers received letters from Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the UK Tahir Taghizade, threatening them to fall in line with Baku’s propaganda.

  • An outdoor reception was held at the Armenian Consulate in LA honoring prominent artists Harout Pamboukjian and Razmik Mansourian.

  • Remains Dating to Urartu Kingdom Unearthed in Van.

  • US, Kosovo’s and Serbia’s governments nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

  • Yerevan mayor Hayk Marutyan met with Ambassador of Turkmenistan Mohammetgeldi Ayazov, and discussed the potential furthering of friendship and cooperation between the capitals of the two countries.

  • PM Pashinyan and DM Tonoyan participated in Sparapet Day events, paying tribute to the memory of heroes fallen at the Great Patriotic War and the Artsakh Liberation War  in Khndzoresk, in Syunik province. Later the PM visited Goris where he got acquainted with the town’s tourism infrastructure, in particular the restoration of Old Goris.

  • A 40th day (Karasounk) requiem mass was held at St. Sargis in Yerevan in memory of the victims of the August 4 explosion in Beirut.

  • President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan attended the re-opening of a school building in the Jivani community of Martuni region.

  • The EEC Council will expand the exchange of information between the EAEU country customs to limit the imports of personal cars from Armenia and Kyrgyzstan at lower rates of duties than those in other EAEU member states.

  • A court in Armenia has ordered police to reinvestigate a 2018 case in which 30 homophobes brutally assaulted nine LGBT+ activists.

  • POW Gurgen Alaverdyan’s captivity by Azerbaijan continues. One expert has warned of growing pressure on him as Red Cross officials have now failed to visit him after 20 days of captivity.

  • Egypt’s FM Sameh Shoukry and Armenia’s Zohrab Mnatsakanyan held talks in Cairo aiming at bolstering bilateral relations and regional and international developments of common interest.

  • GM Levon Aronian shared a point with Garry Kasparov (Croatia) in the 7th round of the  Chess 9LX Champions Showdown. Aronian then became the sole leader after winning all three games on the second day of the tournament.

The Greece vs. Turkey animosity has been escalating in the past weeks. We will dedicate a section here to the headlines we’ve seen building:

  • Turkey’s Muscle Flexing in the Med Isn’t Just About Gas.

  • Turkey’s strongman, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, takes to the world stage

  • One Way the Kurdish Insurgency Could Lead to the Collapse of Turkey

  • Erdoğan warns Macron: ‘Don’t mess with Turkey’

  • A new message resounds in the Arab world: Get Ankara

  • Is The US About To Move Its 50 Nuclear Bombs From Turkey To A Greek Island? – Greek City Times

French Armenian politician and businesswoman Astrid Panosyan has been honored with a rank of the Knight of the National Order of Merit. President Emmanuel Macron handed over the Order during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace.

That concludes our Armenian News Week in Review. We hope it has helped your understanding of some of the issues from the previous week. We look forward to your feedback, and suggestions for issues to cover in greater depth. 

Contact us on our website, at groong.org, or on our Facebook Page “ANN – Armenian News”, or in our Facebook Group “Armenian News – Armenian News  Network”.

Special thanks to Laura Osborn for providing the music for our podcast. I’m Hovik Manucharyan, and on behalf of everyone in this episode, I wish you a good week. Thank you for listening, and talk to you next week.

Karabakh Negotiations, Madrid Principles, Covid19, State of Emergency,repatriation

Additional: Emil Sanamyan, David Sandukhchyan, Asbed Kotchikian, Sergey Lavrov, Arayik Harutyunyan, Masis Mayilian, Pashinyan, Gurgen Alaverdyan, Babayan, Marutyan, Aronyan, Kasparov, ANSEF, Minsk Group, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Artsakh, Quarantine, Karantin, Alexei Navalny, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Belarus, France, Paris, Georgia, Greece, Egypt, Shoukry, Macron, Saakashvili, Kopyrkin, Erdogan, Aliyev, Mehdiyev, Hasanov, Nobel Peace Prize, Requiem, Gazprom, Tikhanovsky, Gyumri, Blair High School, Beirut, Erbil, Iraq, Niagara Falls, Tonoyan, Kim Kardashian, #KUWTK, Caucasus, Francophonie, Byurakan, Ombudsman, Ragnar, Spanó, Iran, ASA, Golovchenko, Astrid Panosyan

Director of National Archive of Armenia dismissed

Arpi Talalian

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 17:48, 8 September, 2020

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Director of the National Archive of Armenia SNCO Amatuni Virabyan has been relieved from the position by the decree of Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan, the minister’s spokesperson Lusine Martirosyan said on Facebook.

“As I receive inquiries from media outlets about the grounds for Mr. Virabyan’s dismissal, I would like to inform that based on a number of appeals the Justice Ministry has started an examination aimed at checking the legal activity of the SNCO and submitted an inquiry to the State Revenue Committee for getting information about the tax inspections carried out in the National Archive. According to the information received, Director of the National Archive of Armenia SNCO Amatuni Virabyan conducting the accounting with such violations which caused tax decline as a result of which the tax liabilities were not made on time”, the spokesperson said.

Taking into account the aforementioned, the powers of Amatuni Virabyan as the Director of the National Archive of Armenia SNCO have been suspended.

Amatuni Virabyan has been serving as Director of the National Archive of Armenia since 2003.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Azerbaijani press: Armenia turning Caucasus into second Middle East

Arpi Talalian
ARMENIA7 September 2020 17:43 (UTC+04:00)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.7

By Azer Ahmadbayli – Trend:

After the collapse of the USSR, maintaining influence in the post-Soviet space has always been considered one of the main priorities of the Russian Federation.

The plans to destroy Russia as the largest and richest (in terms of natural resources) state in the world, according to Moscow, have not disappeared, and the post-Soviet republics are a kind of the last geographic (geopolitical) frontier protecting Russia from a potentially hostile space (NATO). Therefore, stability in the former Soviet republics bordering on Russia is an important condition for ensuring the security of Russia itself, and one of the tasks of its foreign policy.

Recently, new circumstances have emerged that may pose a potential threat to stability of not only the South Caucasus, but also Russia. Planes flying from Beirut with Lebanese Armenians on board arrived in Yerevan. According to the regional media outlets, their settlement in Nagorno Karabakh has begun.

Judging by the way the plotters of the Armenian far-fetched moves are accustomed to act, at the initial stage everything looks rather harmless – as a purely humanitarian action and care for compatriots.

However, coupled with plans to build roads and infrastructure, as well as residential settlements directly in the occupied territories (especially, Gubadli, Zangilan and Kalbajar districts of Azerbaijan), satellite images of which were recently provided by Azercosmos, it becomes obvious that the settlement of Armenians there is a deliberately planned powerful irritant factor for Azerbaijan.

Why is all this being done?

The background is not immediately apparent. The main goal is not only the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, which the Armenians finally decided not to return, but Russia. Such conclusion can be explained.

In Lebanon, which, by the way, is often called the Middle Eastern Switzerland, an Armenian community of about 160,000 people has lived (and does not live in poverty) in a warm Mediterranean climate for more than a century. The Armenian deputies of the Lebanese parliament and the Armenian ministers of the Lebanese government are some kind of indicator of the Armenian community’s authority in this Arab country.

The terrible explosion in Lebanon’s capital Beirut, according to the Armenian media outlets, left 13 Armenians killed and 300 wounded. But, this doesn’t look like a reason to promptly leave one’s habitual place. Nobody, except for the Armenians, began to leave Lebanon, especially since the aid was being provided, and the EU, on behalf of France and Germany, guaranteed the provision of significant financial support to the Lebanese government.

While the rate of migration of the population from Armenia itself remains consistently high, the resettlement of the Lebanese Armenians looks more than strange. It’s very difficult to believe in the sincerity of even the poorest sober-minded Lebanese Armenian, who decided to snap and move to a completely devastated foreign territory, where bullets are flying, and which he will sooner or later lose.

The change in climate, lifestyle, field of activity (Lebanese Armenians are mostly not farmers) hardly counts as the search for a better life, as it was during the development of America.

What is it then?

Yes, changing the demographic balance in Nagorno Karabakh or the arrival there under the guise of migrants of Armenian militants from Lebanon (and other Middle Eastern countries) to conduct hostilities, as many analysts write, are also the goal of the Armenians, but these are tactical goals.

The resettlement of Lebanese (and before that Syrian) Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh means the emergence of an alien Middle Eastern element in the South Caucasus and the transfer of Middle Eastern ties, including terrorist ones, to the post-Soviet space.

Armenia has been tasked to turn the Caucasus into a second Middle East. The strategic goal is the destabilization and collapse of Russia.

The absence of an immediate response from the international community to the settlement of the occupied Azerbaijani territories, which is a direct violation of international laws, gives one more reason to assume that this is not a spontaneous process, and that there is a powerful force behind it, which gave the command not to take serious actions against Armenia.

The calculation is unmistakable: Azerbaijan will not silently observe the illegal settlement of its historically and legally recognized territories, and sooner or later will sharp reaction to the actions of Armenia, using its right to liberate the occupied territories. This will be the beginning of a series of tragic events and, as a result, complete destabilization of the situation in the South Caucasus. Further, it’s quite likely that the fire of the war will also affect the Russian North Caucasus.

A big war on the borders of Russia or already on its border territories is what the West needs. At the same time, the goal will be achieved to put Russia and Turkey on opposite sides of the barricades, since their cooperation is the Achilles' heel of the West.

Russia is a large and strong country, and large and strong countries do not immediately feel the potential danger, relying on inertia on a sense of self-confidence. But sometimes it happens that even a huge bear, having received a small wound, eventually dies from blood poisoning.

The conflict in Nagorno Karabakh was the first destructive impetus to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Now a similar scenario may be realized once again. Armenia is fulfilling a new order of overseas patrons – to kindle the fire of a big war in the Caucasus region.

One can ask: what is the benefit of this for Armenia?

The Armenians are sure, or rather, they were convinced that after the collapse of Russia, they will be helped to change again the borders in the region and finally become "Great Armenia".