Author: Edgar Tavakalian

The Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) launched a new assault at Deir Ezzor City on Monday that targeted the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) controlled west district near the 137th Artillery Brigade Headquarters,  reports.

ISIS began the offensive on Monday by seizing Majbal area of Deir Ezzor City after a violent battle with the Syrian Arab Army’s 137th Artillery Brigade of the 17th Reserve Division. On Tuesday, ISIS continued their offensive by imposing full control over the Armenian Cemetery that is situated along the International Highway.

With the Armenian Cemetery under their control, ISIS once again cruised their way to the Panorama Checkpoint, capturing this site from the Syrian Armed Forces after a long battle on Tuesday.

The terrorist group is now targeting the Panorama Roundabout in western Deir Ezzor City for the second time in seven days; if captured, the Syrian Armed Forces will be in serious trouble at Al-Firat University.

“The United States, along with the rest of the international community, does not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh’s final status will only be resolved in the context of a comprehensive settlement, so we urge the sides to come to the negotiating table in good faith in order to reach a settlement that achieves those goals,” US Department of State Deputy Spokesperson Mark C. Toner told a daily briefing, as he commented on Artsakh recognition submitted to Armenian parliament by two MPs.

“All of this needs to be worked out within the context of the Minsk group. There is a process here, and that process needs to be returned to by all sides,” he said.

Asked about the harassment of ethnic Armenian MP Garo Paylan, Toner said “I don’t have the details of this particular individual or his case. Obviously, the member of any political party who is being harassed or beaten or detained in any way would be of concern to us.”

He added, however, that they have no details of the case and refrained from further comments.

Photo by Danny Liao

 

By Liz Ohanesian

Sona Movsesian applied to be a production assistant on Conan O’Brien’s late-night talk show — and ended up becoming his assistant. The San Gabriel Valley native has been a part of the famed comedian’s team beginning with his West Coast stint on NBC, through the live tour that followed his well-documented breakup with the network, and through the move to TBS, his show’s current home. “Honestly, it has not stopped being one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” Movsesian says.

A television obsessive, Movsesian says she watches “a staggering amount of television,” adding that she once watched five seasons of Friday Night Lights in a week. When she was a student at USC, Movsesian thought she would work in film. Then she landed an internship at NBC and fell for the small-screen life. From there, she got into the network’s page program and her career path was set.

She never intended to be on camera, but Movsesian has become a familiar face to the Conan audience. She’s the assistant whose fury over a missing coffee mug sparked O’Brien’s interrogation of the show’s staff. Her apartment was the starting point for a Magic Mike XXL girls’ night out that the boss and a camera crew joined. Movsesian’s star turn, though, came last fall when Team Coco headed to Armenia.

Movsesian, who is of Armenian heritage, inspired the episode. “I wish I could take credit and say that I pitched going to Armenia, but it wasn’t me,” she says. “It was Conan.”

Born in Montebello and raised in Hacienda Heights, Movsesian is the daughter of ethnic Armenian parents who immigrated to the United States from Turkey. “It’s not that I’ve been very vocal about being Armenian, but I think when you’re a first-generation Armenian-American, it’s very hard to hide the fact that you’re Armenian,” she says. “I think that Conan just absorbed the fact that I’m very in tune with my culture and I had never been to Armenia.”

The trip was a big deal for Movsesian, a chance to make an excursion that’s seen as a pilgrimage of sorts for members of the Armenian diaspora. It also was a project that made her a little nervous. She was the only Armenian involved in making the episode and worried that something might inadvertently offend those who share her heritage. “My concern was, what if this thing is a huge disaster and I’m excommunicated from the Armenian community completely?” she says.

That didn’t happen. In fact, the positive reaction was greater than she’d expected. “Now, the amount of Armenians from all over the world who contact me, who tweet at me, who send me Facebook messages,” she says, “I never anticipated that in a million years.” Movsesian became Armenian-famous, something that became fodder for a joke on the show after she rode on the “Discover Armenia” float in the 2016 Rose Parade.

While Movsesian has received a lot of attention for “Conan in Armenia,” she gives the credit for the episode’s success to others on the team. “The fact that they did it without having been part of the culture, to me, is really the success of the episode,” she says. “I think that, to me, was the most touching part of it.”

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, called for a “Leahy Law” investigation into reports that the Azerbaijan armed forces, which annually receive millions of dollars in U.S. military aid, committed gross violations of human rights during Baku’s April 2nd offensive against Nagorno Karabakh, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

In remarks during an Armed Services hearing today on the National Defense Authorization Act, Rep. Sanchez noted that she has reviewed credible allegations that units of the Azerbaijani military have committed gross violations of human rights.  “I believe that these blatant human rights violations warrant action on our part to direct our Secretary of Defense to work with our Secretary of State on an investigation on possible human rights violations.  And I believe the U.S. should conduct an investigation on whether the ‘Leahy Law’ is being violated by the Azerbaijani military,” stated Rep. Sanchez.  “We, the United States, we are a leader on human rights and we cannot afford to support militaries that commit human rights violations.”

In her remarks, Rep. Sanchez cited sharp criticism of Azerbaijan’s human rights record and called attention to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev’s pardon and praise for Ramil Safarov, who axe-murdered an Armenian officer while he slept during a NATO peace-keeping training program in Hungary.  Rep. Sanchez’s statement accompanied an amendment that she submitted, but later withdrew for procedural purposes.

A musical project in Dresden has come under fire for branding the Armenian massacre a “genocide.” The head of Germany’s cultural council says it’s yet another case of Turkey’s inappropriate interference abroad, reports. 

The director of the Dresdner Sinfoniker Markus Rindt conceived an ambitious project in November 2015, alongside German-born Turkish guitarist Marc Sinan. Musicians from Turkey, Armenia and Germany would come together for the concert project “Aghet” in remembrance of the persecution and massacre of Armenians 101 years ago during the final days of the Ottoman Empire. The event was intended to be a sign of reconciliation.

Turkey, however, has taken umbrage in this, and is particularly offended by the use of the term “genocide” on the homepage of the European Commission, a main sponsor of the event. The EU appears to respect Turkey’s position and has removed its related pages. But Olaf Zimmermann, head of the German Cultural Council, says that this could become a slippery slope leading to encroachment of freedom of art and expression.

DW: Turkey appears to be targeting German cultural figures once more. This time it has taken aim at a concert by the Dresdner Sinfoniker orchestra, scheduled to be performed this weekend to commemorate the Armenian massacre at the end of the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish government does not view the killings as a “genocide” – but surely that’s not all?

Olaf Zimmermann: No, it’s not just about that one word, of course. It’s about an artistic endeavor that examines the unique fate suffered by Armenians as they were forced into migration. Needless to say, the characteristics of this project deal with a situation 101 years ago. So referring to these massacres as genocide is not a creative concept, but rather builds on the opinion of reputable historians. Those artists in Dresden don’t represent dissenting views, but are part of the mainstream interpretation of events.

But Turkey has repeatedly resisted being associated with the terminology of genocide in the past when it comes to Armenians.

And that’s perfectly fine. Everyone has to find their own way to come to terms with the past. But trying to enforce one particular interpretation of a historic event amounts to a transgression and is, simply put, unacceptable. What they are doing is like aiming their cannons in the general direction of Dresden to do nothing but hit mere sparrows.

But Turkish President Erdogan skipped the immediate step of voicing his grievances at the orchestra and rather went straight to the EU, which is one of the sponsors of the project. And in response to his complaint, the EU actually went ahead and removed the description of the concert from its website to rephrase its wording. What do you think about these measures?

I think that’s problematic. Mr. Erdogan tells our leaders to jump and they seem to ask “how high?” At first it was only our chancellor, who reacted that way to that poem recited by comedian Jan Böhmermann, and now it’s the entire EU. Instead they could just tell him that it’s none of his business and that we won’t do anything about these things.

There have been such interventions in the past already, but they’re beginning to amass. And this is on account of the fact that Erdogan apparently seems to believe that the German government and the EU as a whole have become susceptible to such blackmail since we need his assistance in dealing with the refugee crisis. That’s why he seems to feel free to intervene in our domestic issues. Both the German government and the European Commission have become nervous and fearful, and the Turkish president is abusing this. This is a considerable problem.

Markus Rindt, director of the Dresdner Sinfoniker, says that this amounts to a major encroachment on freedom of expression and freedom of art. Are these freedoms being undercut?

At the very least, we’re getting accustomed to a foreign president having something to say about what we choose to do artistically in Germany, and if he doesn’t like something he seeks to prevent it. That is a rather unusual way of dealing with things, and I would really, really, really like to ask the government for more backing here, telling Erdogan to keep out of our business.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow received today Armenia’s Deputy Defense Minister David Tonoyan.

Among other issues the parties referred to the Nagorno Karabakh issue.

“There can be no military solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict,” NATO Deputy Secretary General said.

“Nagorno Karabakh conflict urgently requires de-escalation and diplomatic progress under the auspices of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs,” Mr. Vershbow said.

On 11 April President Bako Sahakyan held a meeting with the Armenian National Assembly deputy chairman Edward Sharmazanov and a group of deputies from Greek and Latvian parliaments.

The meeting addressed issues relating to the military operations recently launched by Azerbaijan against the Artsakh Republic.

Bako Sahakyan hailed the support of many countries, representatives of their political and public circles to the peace process and condemnation of aggression

The President noted at the same time that the international community must have a tough and targeted assessment of the Azerbaijani militaristic and destructive policy, highlighting the importance of an adequate of the response for restraining aggression.

Thirty-six Armenian soldiers have been killed since the start of large-scale military actions launched by Azerbaijan the night of April 2, Colonel Victor Arustamyan, Head of the operative department of the NKR Defense Army, told a press conference today.

The rival continue violating the ceasefire today, as a result of which a Defense Army soldier was wounded.

A drone of the Azerbaijani armed forces was shot down, Col. Arustamyan said.

As for the missing, he said search works continue. The Defense Army has provided completed data to the International Committee of the Red Cross..

 

Heavy fighting continues in the northern and southern directions of the line of contact of armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, Spokesman for the Armenian Ministry of Defense Artsrun Hovhannisyan said. He added, however, that the Armenian side holds the initiative and there can be no talk about Azerbaijan’s success.

“We continue to take measures to restrain the actions of the rival, and are dictating the situation on many sections of the frontline. It should be noted, however, that the heavy fighting continues at some parts of the line of contact, where the rival has accumulated a large amount of armaments,” he said.

The Spokesman advises to ignore Azeri reports on the loss of Armenian troops and combat equipment and notes that the information is meant to create panic, as information war is an indispensable part of contemporary war.

 

 

 

As a country presiding over the OSCE, Germany expresses its support to the implementation of new mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, German Ambassador to Armenia Matthias Kisler told on the sidelines of a conference in Yerevan titled “German Presidency of the OSCE: Dialogue, trust and reinforcement of security in the OSCE area.”

The Ambassador stressed the importance of investigation of incidents at teh Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the line of contact, and attached special significance to the responsibility of the conflicting parties.

“The Karabakh settlement principles have been agreed and are on the table of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, but the political will of the parties is needed for their implementation,” Amb. Kisler said.

“We strongly support the three Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. It’s up to them to make new proposals on the issue. Easing of tensions at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the line of contact is very important to us. That’s why we insist on the investigation of border incidents in order to find out who’s violating the ceasefire,” he added.