Azerbaijanis are renaming streets in Armenia’s capital Yerevan after heroes of the Azerbaijani army on Google Maps, Armenian social media users have warned, sharing photos of the maps.
"In fact, I live on a street named after a certain Polad Hasimov,” opposition Prosperous Armenia MP Naira Zohrabyan wrote on Facebook on Saturday, referring to the issue.
"Continue to preach peace with the Azeris!" she added.
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Armenia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Mher Margaryan delivered remarks at the UN Security Council VTC meeting “Mine action and sustaining peace: stronger partnerships for better delivery” on Thursday.
“Landmines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices continue to pose a serious threat for security of the civilian population, peacekeepers and humanitarian personnel. People residing in conflict areas are particularly vulnerable to the threats posed by landmines and unexploded ordnance, which affect their daily life and have a negative impact on the realization of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to life and the right to development," the diplomat said in his statement.
He stated that Armenia is committed to the global efforts in the field of mine action.
“The Armenian Humanitarian mission in Syria continues to conduct physical de-mining activities in the residential areas of Aleppo province and to promote mine-awareness, with the view to ensure safety and security of the civilian population in close cooperation with the UNMAS.
“The Armenian Center for Humanitarian Demining and Expertise, a state non-commercial institution, has developed cooperation with international and regional organizations, as well as humanitarian demining agencies in the field of mine awareness, survey and clearance of contaminated areas and victim assistance,” the ambassador said.
Margaryan highlighted that the large-scale military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) with the support of Turkey and foreign terrorist fighters launched on 27 September 2020, has led to further contamination of the territory of Artsakh, in particular the civilian settlements by unexploded ordnance.
“Azerbaijan has been using all types of heavy weaponry, including multiple launch rocket systems, artillery, missiles, various types of UAVs, military aircraft and banned cluster munitions to conduct targeted attacks on the civilian population in gross violation of the international humanitarian law. Hundreds of cluster bomblets, sub-munitions and other explosive remnants in residential areas of Nagorno-Karabakh have caused serious security risks to civilians. Human Rights Watch has documented use of cluster munitions in various populated areas of the capital city Stepanakert and other settlements of Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said.
The ambassador noted that since the establishment of ceasefire and the deployment of Russian peacekeeping forces in Artsakh, the humanitarian deminers have cleared 1,873 hectares of territory, including residential areas and agricultural fields from unexploded ordnance and neutralized more than 25,000 explosive objects, which also highlights the scope of the challenge.
12:02, 8 April, 2021
STEPANAKERT, APRIL 8, ARMENPRESS. 8 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Republic of Artsakh in the past one day, the ministry of healthcare said.
47 COVID-19 tests were conducted on April 7.
Currently, 27 infected patients receive treatment at hospitals, while the others – at home.
The ministry once again urged citizens to follow all the safety rules to prevent the further spread of the disease.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Return of POWs again delayed – comment by Office of Deputy PM
22:47, 8 April, 2021
YEREVAN, APRIL 8, ARMENPRESS. The return of POWs, unfortunately, is again delayed, since the adversary does not implement the 8th point of the November 9 trilateral declaration, which is a gross violation of the humanitarian post-war process, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Avinyan.
‘’Negotiations under the Russian mediation continue and we hope that the Azerbaijani side will finally respect the declaration and will implement the humanitarian agreement, fostering the establishment of stability in the region’’, reads the comment.
Armenia’s former President Robert Kocharyan has filed a lawsuit against the Republic of Armenia and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for “slander”, his lawyers said on Thursday.
The lawsuit is based on Pashinyan's statements made during the March 1 rally at Republic Square in Yerevan.
The lawyers demand that the statements of the premier be declared “defamation” and renounced, as well as the presumption of innocence of the ex-president be recognized.
The total amount of compensation demanded for the violations is 4 million drams.
The President of Azerbaijan, authorities of this country have been implementing a policy of hatred, enmity, ethnic cleansing and genocide against Armenia, citizens of Armenia and the Armenian people for years," the Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan wrote on facebook adding, the Turkish authorities have done the same or have openly encouraged the same policy.
Tatoyan shared three examples of the anti-Armenian hatred spread at the highest level of the Azerbaijani leadership.
"In his remarks at the congress of the “New Azerbaijan Party (March 5-7, 2021), the President of Azerbaijan proudly stated, “the younger generation has grown up with a hatred of the enemy." By enemy, he means Armenia and the entire Armenian people, who are hated by a whole generation.
During the military event in Baku on the 10th of December, in 2020, the President of Turkey compared the war in Artsakh with the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire and the massacre of Armenians in Baku in September of 1918. According to him, that day was a day of glorification of the souls of Ahmed Jevat Bey, Nuri Pasha, Enver Pasha, and members of the Caucasus Islamic Army.
The ECHR judgments have confirmed that killing of Armenian in Azerbaijan has ethnic motivations and is encouraged by authorities. Therefore, no matter what process, program or words are used, these foundational facts cannot be overlooked.
This means that no one-sided process can develop at the expense of the life, physical security, or any other right of the citizen of the Republic of Armenia, or the normal life and peace of the Armenian population; and, the hatred and enmity towards Armenia and the Armenian people with state support has not only not diminished in Azerbaijan or Turkey, but due to lack of any responsibility, is taking on new manifestations," wrote Tatoyan.
In the words of the Ombudsman, his statement is directly based upon and conditioned on the gross human rights violations recorded and continuing during and after the September-November 2020 armed attacks; and, it takes it into account that the issue has become the subject of widespread public debate.
Armenia's Emergency Situation's Ministry's Seismic Protection Service recorded magnitude-1.9 earthquake in Armenia, on Aril 3 at 1:03pm local time, 4 km northeast of Shorzha town in Gegharkunik Province and 10 km beneath the surface.
The seismic activity measured magnitude 2 to 3 at the epicenter.
The quake was felt in Shorzha village of Gegharkunik with magnitude 2.
Armenia has been swept by mass protests since early November 2020 in the wake of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signing an agreement with Azerbaijan to end hostilities in the breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, viewed by Armenians as a defeat in the long-lasting conflict.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that he will resign in April, ahead of early parliamentary elections in the country.
"Yes, I will resign very soon, in April — not to leave, but for snap elections to take place. Until they happen, I will remain a caretaker prime minister," Pashinyan said.
According to the country's constitution, in order to hold early parliamentary elections, the authorities must lift the martial law, declared in Armenia in late September due to the escalation of the conflict in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Armenia has seen numerous protests since Pashinyan signed a Russia-brokered ceasefire deal with Azerbaijan over the disputed Karabakh region in November. Under the agreement, both countries stopped hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh region and remained at whatever positions they were holding at the time.
As a result, Azerbaijan gained control over some territories. Russian peacekeepers have since been deployed at the contact line.
Protesters in Armenia have been calling for Pashinyan to step down.
The decades-long Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan flared up in late September, resulting in the significant military and civilian casualties on both sides.
The conflict began in February 1988, when the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its secession from the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic. During an armed confrontation in 1992-1994, Azerbaijan lost control of Nagorno-Karabakh and its adjacent areas. Since 1992, talks were ongoing on peaceful settlement of the conflict with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group, led by Russia, the United States and France.