David Nargizian – Page 30 – Armenian Directory & News

Armenian, Assyrian and Greek communities of Sydney to March for Justice on April 24

April 12, 2021April 12, 2021 David Nargizian

Public Radio of Armenia

The 2021 March for Justice, to take place in Sydney’s CBD on Saturday 24th April, will be co-sponsored by the peak advocacy groups representing the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia.

The Joint Justice Initiative, which is represented by the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU), the Assyrian National Council – Australia and the Australian Hellenic Council, are calling on their respective communities to turn up to The Domain in Sydney to begin the March for Justice, which sends a clear message to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his government – that these communities demand Federal Government recognition of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides.

This cooperative _expression_ of demand is a graduation of the Joint Justice Initiative’s activities from the strictly political to the grassroots. Since the three communities’ advocacy arms formalised their cooperation with a launch in February 2020, over 40 Federal parliamentarians have signed up to the Joint Justice Initiative, pledging allegiance to national Australian recognition of the 1915 genocides.

The annual March For Justice will begin at 3pm (AEST), and typically attracts thousands of marchers. This year’s procession will begin at The Domain and proceed through Sydney’s Central Business District before concluding with a special programme at Sydney Town Hall.

Led by the Homenetmen Scouts Marching band, the leading delegation will also include political representatives, clergy, community leaders, youth groups and school students from the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities.

“Most Armenian-Australians, as well as many Assyrian-Australians and Greek-Australians, are direct descendants of survivors of what we commemorate as the Armenian Genocide,” said ANC-AU Political Affairs Director, Michael Kolokossian. “Many of us have been directly impacted by the the Turkish State’s genocidal policies, execution and denial in our own ways, and us Armenians saw this manifest again during the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh War.”

“We are pleased to be standing in solidarity with our sisters and brothers from the Assyrian and Greek communities at this year’s March for Justice, and are determined to project our voices all the way to Canberra.”

Buses have been organised to be leaving from numerous locations across Sydney including Willoughby, Chatswood, Ryde, Bonnyrigg, Lidcombe and Wentworthville. Announcements detailing specifics will follow.

The March for Justice is also co-sponsored by the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee and organised by a group of the largest Armenian-Australian organisations.

A similar group of organisations in Melbourne have announced a Melbourne March for Justice for the same day, 24th April 2021.

Armenia’s Chief of General Staff meets parents of captured and missing servicemen, briefs on carried out works

April 11, 2021April 11, 2021 David Nargizian

Aysor, Armenia

On April 9 Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Artak Davtyan met with the relatives and parents of the captured and missing servicemen.

During the meeting Lieutenant-General Artak Davtyan briefed on the details of the search operations, answered to the voiced questions.

The Chief of the General Staff convinced that the raised issues are always in the focus of the military-political leadership and the utmost is being done to ensure the return of the captured servicemen and revealing the fate of the missing servicemen, finding the bodies and identifying them.

At the end of the meeting an arrangement has been reached to conduct regular meetings.

Artsakh on 29th anniversary of Maragha massacre: ‘Crimes against humanity have no statute of limitations’

April 11, 2021April 11, 2021 David Nargizian

Panorama, Armenia

The Artsakh Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the 29th anniversary of the Maragha massacre marked on April 10. The full text of the statement is provided below.

“April 10 marks the 29th anniversary of the genocide of the Armenian civilian population of Maragha settlement of the Martakert region of the Republic of Artsakh committed by the armed forces of Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani troops, having invaded Maragha, brutally killed and tortured the local civilian population, including women, children, and the elderly.

The perpetrators were awarded high state awards, and their commander was awarded the title of National Hero of Azerbaijan, which testifies that the Armenophobic and genocidal policy in Azerbaijan is encouraged at the highest state level.

Crimes against humanity have no statute of limitations and must be condemned.

The tragic events in Maragha will remain an incurable wound in the memory of our people.”

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 04/07/2021

April 10, 2021April 10, 2021 David Nargizian

                                        Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Justice Minister Unhappy With Court Ruling In Favor Of Kocharian
April 07, 2021
        • Naira Nalbandian

Armenia -- Justice Minister Rustam Badasian speaks with journalists, April 7, 
2021.

Justice Minister Rustam Badasian deplored on Wednesday an Armenian court’s 
decision to throw out coup charges brought against former President Robert 
Kocharian in connection with the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan.

A Yerevan judge presiding over the two-year trial of Kocharian and three other 
former officials made the decision on Tuesday ten days after the charges were 
declared unconstitutional by Armenia’s Constitutional Court.

The high court argued that they cannot be prosecuted for the alleged “overthrow 
of the constitutional order” because there was no such article in the country’s 
former Criminal Code which was in force during the events of March 2008.

“I can say that I am very upset with the processes that have taken place,” 
Badasian told reporters when asked to comment on the development.

Badasian declined to comment on the future of the long-running criminal case on 
the worst street violence in Armenia’s history. He said it is up to prosecutors 
to decide whether to appeal against the decision made by Anna Danibekian, a 
judge of the Yerevan court of first instance.

The minister implied that the decision may have been made possible by the 
current Armenian authorities’ failure to radically reform the judiciary and 
“vet” all judges.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian demanded a mandatory “vetting” of all Armenian 
judges in May 2019 just days after another judge, who initially presided over 
Kocharian’s trial, freed the ex-president from custody and questioned the 
legality of the coup charges. Pashinian’s government subsequently agreed to 
refrain from such a purge of the judiciary at the urging of European legal 
experts.

The prime minister has repeatedly stated that law-enforcement authorities have 
identified those responsible for the March 2008 deaths of eight opposition 
protesters and two police servicemen in vicious street clashes between security 
forces and demonstrators. His critics dispute that claim.

Kocharian and the other defendants deny responsibility for the bloodshed and 
reject the accusations as politically motivated.



Putin Meets Pashinian On ‘Strategic’ Ties, Karabakh Peace
April 07, 2021

RUSSIA -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Russian President Vladimir 
Putin meet at the Kremlin in Moscow, April 7, 2021

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian on Wednesday for talks that focused on bilateral ties and the 
implementation of a Russian-brokered agreement that stopped last year’s 
Armenian-Azerbaijani war.

Putin emphasized the “strategic character” of Russia’s relationship with Armenia 
in his opening remarks at the meeting held in the Kremlin. He also noted the 
“solid” volume of Russian-Armenian trade, expressing confidence that it will 
grow again after shrinking last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Putin went on mention the “post-war situation” in the Karabakh conflict zone 
and, in particular, renewed transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan 
envisaged by the ceasefire agreement which he brokered in November.

He said the reopening of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border for commercial traffic 
will give Armenia “new opportunities for the country’s development.” “In my 
view, this is an extremely important thing,” he told Pashinian.

Pashinian complained, for his part, that Azerbaijan is continuing to hold many 
Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives in breach of the truce accord. 
“I am very glad that we have no differences regarding how to resolve this 
problem,” he said.

Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev failed to reach an agreement on 
the prisoner release during their trilateral meeting with Putin held in Moscow 
on January 11. They only agreed to set up a Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani working 
group tasked with working out practical modalities of restoring transport links 
between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The group co-headed by deputy prime ministers of the three states has held 
several meetings since January 30. Its Russian co-chair, Alexei Overchuk, 
visited Baku and Yerevan last week.

No concrete agreements were announced after Putin’s and Pashinian latest talks.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said late last week that Armenia’s forthcoming 
snap parliamentary elections will also be on the meeting’s agenda.

Pashinian has pledged to hold the elections in June in a bid resolve a domestic 
political crisis sparked by Armenia’s defeat in the six-week war.

Moscow has expressed concern at the deepening crisis. Putin discussed it with 
Pashinian in a February 25 phone call.

Neither leader mentioned the Armenian elections at the start of Wednesday’s 
meeting.

Pashinian cited instead the need to ascertain “some nuances” of Russian-Armenian 
military cooperation. He also announced that Armenia will receive on Thursday 
the first 15,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19.

“We need more than a million doses,” the Armenian leader said, implicitly asking 
Putin to facilitate their delivery.

“Our [vaccine] production is gaining momentum,” replied Putin. “We are talking 
about a fairly large volume of production of this vaccine. So I think that we 
will solve this problem.”



U.S. Supports COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts In Armenia
April 07, 2021
        • Narine Ghalechian

GEORGIA -- A health worker holds a vial containing the AstraZeneca vaccine 
against COVID-19 used at the Infectious Diseases, AIFS and Clinical Immunology 
Research Center in Tbilisi, March 15, 2021

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced on Wednesday 
that it will allocate $1 million to help health authorities in Armenia vaccinate 
people against COVID-19.

In a statement, the U.S. government agency said the United Nations children’s 
agency, UNICEF, will receive the funding to “provide targeted technical 
assistance to support and ensure effective implementation of COVID-19 
vaccination efforts in Armenia.”

The statement said the allocation brought to $11 million the total amount of 
coronavirus-related aid provided by USAID to the country since the outbreak of 
the pandemic.

“This includes emergency funding to address immediate health needs and efforts 
to address the secondary and tertiary impacts of the pandemic on democratic 
development and economic growth,” it said.

Although Armenia has been hit hard by the pandemic and is currently grappling 
with a third wave of coronavirus infections, its government plans to vaccinate 
only a limited proportion of the population.

The country of about 3 million received on March 28 the first major batch of a 
COVID-19 vaccine from the COVAX Facility, the World Health Organization’s global 
vaccine-sharing scheme. The 24,000 doses of the vaccine developed by the 
AstraZeneca pharmaceutical giant and Oxford University will be made available to 
medical workers, care home personnel, persons aged 65 and older as well as 
younger people suffering from chronic diseases.

Healthcare workers were due to start administering the vaccine on Monday. The 
inoculations were postponed by several days due what the authorities called 
logistical problems.

Deputy Health Minister Lena Nanushian said on Wednesday that Armenia is 
continuing to negotiate with Russia on the acquisition of a smaller amount of 
the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.

Nanushian also told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that COVAX has offered the 
Armenian government to supply other coronavirus vaccines developed by the U.S. 
companies Novavax and Johnson & Johnson.

“[The offer] has been discussed with a team of [health] specialists and the 
country has replied to COVAX that it is ready to acquire these vaccines as 
well,” she said.

The official did not specify how many doses of the Novavax and Johnson & Johnson 
vaccines could be delivered to Armenia.

The daily number of coronavirus cases in the country and deaths caused by them 
has increased sharply since the end of February.

The Armenian Ministry of Health said earlier on Wednesday that 1,025 new cases 
have been registered in the past day. It also reported the deaths of 24 more 
people infected with COVID-19.

According to the ministry, there were only 6 vacant beds at the intensive care 
units of Armenian hospitals treating COVID-19 patients. Nearly 280 of those 
patients were in a critical condition.



Russian, Armenian Defense Chiefs Talk Again
April 07, 2021

Defense Ministers Vagharshak Harutiunian (L) of Armenia and Sergei Shoigu of 
Russia.

During a fresh phone call on Wednesday Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu 
reportedly discussed with his Armenian counterpart Vagharshak Harutiunian 
Russia’s military presence in Armenia and sweeping defense reforms announced by 
Yerevan.

The Russian Defense Ministry gave no details of the conversation, saying only 
that the two men spoke about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and “other issues of 
mutual interest.”

According to a longer readout of the phone call released by the Armenian Defense 
Ministry, Harutiunian and Shoigu focused on the activities of the Russian 
military base in Armenia as well as “large-scale reforms launched in the 
Armenian army” after last year’s war with Azerbaijan.

Harutiunian and the chief of the Russian military’s General Staff, General 
Valery Gerasimov, also discussed the reforms when they spoke by phone on March 
23. Harutiunian’s press office said they agreed that a high-ranking Russian 
delegation will visit Yerevan soon for more detailed talks on the subject.

A delegation led by one of Gerasimov’s deputies, Colonel-General Sergei 
Istrakov, already held weeklong negotiations with the Armenian army’s top brass 
in Yerevan in January. Harutiunian said afterwards that the talks were aimed at 
“assisting us in the reform and modernization of Armenia’s armed forces.”

The minister said concrete “recommendations” have already been made on how to 
rearm the Armenian army in the current circumstances. He did not elaborate.

Harutiunian’s also asserted that that the Russian military base in Gyumri will 
be expanded in view of the post-war “military-political realities in the 
region.” He suggested that more Russian troops could be deployed to Armenia’s 
southeastern Syunik province.

Syunik borders districts southwest of Karabakh which were retaken by Azerbaijan 
during and after the six-week war stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire on 
November 10. Russia deployed soldiers and border guards to the region to help 
the Armenian military defend it against possible Azerbaijani attacks.

The Defense Ministry in Yerevan said “security issues in Syunik” were also on 
the agenda of Harutiunian’s latest phone call with Shoigu.

The conversation came as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian flew to Moscow for talks 
with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Pashinian announced plans to further deepen Russian-Armenian military ties 
shortly after the Karabakh war. He said his country now needs “new security 
guarantees.”


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

President Armen Sarkissian receives Minister of Education Vahram Dumanyan

April 6, 2021April 6, 2021 David Nargizian

16:44, 5 April, 2021

YEREVAN, APRIL 5, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian received Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Vahram Dumanyan, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The minister reported the President on the situation and ongoing activities in the aforementioned sectors, as well as the development vision and programs.

President Sarkissian noted that the ministry is coordinating the most important sectors for the country’s future, each of which are highly important and require a major work. He stated that the system needs major attention and changes which should be exclusively directed for raising and developing the efficiency and competitiveness of governance.

The officials discussed the legislative package on Higher Education and Science which has been approved recently by the Parliament.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenia ruling party MP explains how citizens will vote during upcoming snap parliamentary elections

April 2, 2021April 2, 2021 David Nargizian

News.am, Armenia

April 1 2021

23:09, 01.04.2021

Deputy of the My Step faction of the National Assembly of Armenia Maria Karapetyan posted the following on her Facebook page:

“Dear citizens, during the elections, you will vote for only one political party, not one of the candidates included in the list of the particular political party. You will simply take the ballot indicating the name of your preferred political party and place it in an envelope. However, this doesn’t mean you won’t know who is included in the political party’s list since the lists will be promulgated in advance. This electoral system is referred to as simple proportional.”

Today the National Assembly of Armenia adopted, in the first and second readings, the bill on making amendments and supplements to the “Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia” Constitutional Law, which proposes to do away with the rating electoral system and introduced the proportional electoral system with closed lists.

As reported earlier, Armenia will hold snap parliamentary elections on June 20, 2021.

APT Gen-Sec sends letter to Armenian parliament President over funding of Human Rights Defender

March 30, 2021March 30, 2021 David Nargizian

21:33,

YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. Secretary-General of the Association for Prevention of Torture Barbara Bernath sent an open letter to President of the National Assembly of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, noting that the financial independence of the Defender should be preserved.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, the open letter runs as follows,

''Dear President Mirzoyan, The Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) is an international non-governmental organisation that is at the origin of the international torture prevention system established by the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT). This system opens all places of deprivation of liberty to independent monitoring by both an international body – the United National Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) – and national preventive mechanisms (NPMs) in over 90 states. We work closely with both the SPT and NPMs around the world to strengthen this system and to prevent torture and ill-treatment. In this context, we have a long history of close and constructive cooperation with the Armenian Human Rights Defender / NPM.

I am writing to you in relation to the proposed amendments to the Constitutional Law on the Human Rights Defender, submitted by the Armenian government on the 11th of March 2021. I understand that the current proposals would remove Article 8(5) of the Constitutional Law, which provides that the amount of funding in the state budget for the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) and the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) cannot be below the amount provided in the preceding year. I further understand that these changes have been initiated without proper consultation or discussion with the Human Rights Defender.

These proposals must also be considered in the context of other reported actions with a negative impact on the resources and technical capacity available to the NHRI and NPM, including restrictions on the use of government vehicles, which are essential to its work, including its ability to effectively monitor places of deprivation of liberty across the country.

As you are no doubt aware, Article 18(3) of the OPCAT, to which Armenia became a party in 2006, contains a positive obligation on states parties to provide both the necessary resources and adequate funding for the effective functioning of NPMs.

In line with the Paris Principles, financial autonomy is a fundamental requirement of NPM independence. It underpins the essential ability of NPMs to take operational and other decisions free from undue pressure or influence. As the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) notes in its 2010 Guidelines on NPMs, “the NPM should enjoy complete financial and operational autonomy when carrying out its functions under the Optional Protocol.”

The current constitutional guarantee against a regressive provision of funds to the Armenian Human Rights Defender has been widely considered an international best practice and is commonly cited by us in our advice to other countries in the process of establishing NPMs. Indeed, it is this and other guarantees of independence that have made the Armenian Human Rights Defender such a strong and reliable partner in the fight against torture and ill-treatment. Our cooperation over many years is built on the foundation provided by the NPM’s independence and technical expertise.

While many states face budgetary constraints, particularly in the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is also at such times that the most vulnerable in society are at the greatest risk. It is thus essential that institutions mandated with their protection are not only supported but further strengthened at such moments in time.

In the light of the relevant international standards and Armenia’s obligations as a state party to the OPCAT, we thus recommend that the current Article 8(5) of the Constitution of Armenia is retained – as a best practice among NHRIs and NPMs – and that the Human Rights Defender is fully consulted in relation to any further discussions relating to amendments to its founding legislation.

We remain available for further information and discussion’'.

Armenpress: Export from Armenia to EAEU states grows 19.3% in the beginning of 2021

March 24, 2021March 24, 2021 David Nargizian

Export from Armenia to EAEU states grows 19.3% in the beginning of 2021

09:27,

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. The export from Armenia to the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) grew by 19.3% in January 2021 compared to January 2020. The largest share of export belongs to Russia, comprising 43 million 651 thousand USD, the Statistical Committee of Armenia reports.

Export worth 156 million 697.2 thousand USD has been conducted from Armenia in January 2021. Meanwhile last year this number was 176 million 623.6 thousand USD. Thus, the export declined by 11.3% in the first month of the year.

The export to the EAEU countries comprised 44 million 794.0 thousand USD. The export to Belarus declined by 27.4%, whereas to Kazakhstan it increased by 24.8%.

In January 2021 the export from Armenia to Ukraine has greatly declined by 68.7%, comprising 458.2 thousand USD.

The export to the EU states has declined by 36%, comprising 27 million 773.5 thousand USD. However, the export to some member states of the EU has registered a major increase in January. For instance, the export to France has increased by 69.7% compared to January 2020, comprising 562.4 thousand USD, to Germany – by 18.7%, comprising 5 million 331.3 thousand USD.

The export to China increased by 2.6 times.

The export declined to the following countries: Japan (97.7%), Switzerland (51.1%), Iran (36.3%), Georgia (13%).

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenian students prevent Turkish Ambassador’s conference on Nagorno-Karabakh in Concordia University (Montreal)

March 21, 2021March 21, 2021 David Nargizian

Public Radio of Armenia

Quebec Armenian Student Associations (ASAs) Prevent Turkish Ambassador’s Conference on Nagorno-Karabakh in Concordia University.

The ASAs inform that the event at Concordia University which was scheduled to host the Turkish Ambassador, on a matter concerning Armenian ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, is cancelled. ASAs appreciate the cancellation of the event organized by International Relations Society and the Strategic and Diplomatic Society, two subsidiaries of Concordia Political Science Students Association – PSSA.

The ASAs acknowledge the efforts made by the aforementioned organizations to rectify the errors of inviting a Turkish official to spread misinformation and propaganda on the subject, in addition to the clear Armenophobia that is codified in Turkish policy.

“Following our efforts to restructure the biased event into a more diplomatic dialogue presented as a series of conferences on Nagorno-Karabakh, the societies sought permission from the Turkish Embassy to invite her Excellency, Anahit Harutyunyan, the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Canada, for a completely separate event. Furthermore, by deleting Armenian students’ comments which questioned the ethics of this event on Facebook and Instagram, the moderators countered their declared neutrality, obstructed free speech, and exhibited clear favouritism. In an academic setting, we condemn any efforts to present a biased and one-sided argument, all while silencing the other party,” the Student Associations said.

It is important to note that any steps taken to raise awareness on Nagorno-Karabakh is praiseworthy, but this awareness cannot come from the side of the aggressor’s accomplice, the misinformation spreader, and genocide perpetrator. The ASAs remind their audience that the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict is not a matter of controversy or contention; rather, it is a matter of human rights violations, a denial of inalienable right to self-determination, and cultural genocide. By choosing to provide a free platform to a representative of a State with an official policy of #ArmenianGenocide denial, and invite them to speak about the Artsakh conflict, the IRS and SDS failed to evaluate the harmful and offensive consequences of the “perspective” of the Turkish official.

ASAs invite any and all student organizations to host appropriate and academic discussions on the subject of Artsakh, with the condition that there may be adequate representation of the oppressed party.

Past.am: Russia is concerned about events regarding Armed Forces of Armenia

March 11, 2021March 11, 2021 David Nargizian

News.am, Armenia

21:18, 10.03.2021

Past.am reports that Russia is concerned about the events in regard to the Armed Forces of Armenia.

“Today Minister of Defense of Armenia Vagharshak Harutyunyan and Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, army general Sergey Shoygu had a phone conversation. According to the official press release, the counterparts touched upon several issues related to the countries’ military cooperation, the course of implementation of the mission of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh and other issues. However, Past.am’s insider from Moscow reports that there was actually one occasion for the phone conversation, that is, the Russian side is keeping the events regarding the Armed Forces of Armenia in its focus and is concerned about them. Shoygu told Harutyunyan that Russia won’t tolerate destruction of the Armenian Army and views it as the plan of the West, and the Armenian authorities’ encroachments against the army — ordered by the West. Harutyunyan tried to assure that there is no aim to destroy the army and that the only problem is Onik Gasparyan and the servicemen who have gone against the country’s leadership. However, according to Past.am’s sources, Shoygu warned rather harshly that, besides Onik Gasparyan’s dismissal, Russia will view other dismissals within the prism of destruction of the army — something that is inadmissible for Russia since the Armenian Army is of strategic significance for Russia in this region and is the army of a member state of the Collective Security Treaty Organization,” as reported on the website.