Author: Eduard Nalbandian

Ombudsman: Azerbaijan continues advancing the plans of eviction of Armenians from Artsakh under the veil of false peace-loving

Eduard Nalbandian
panorama.am
Armenia – Jan 11 2022

The Artsakh Republic Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan and Prosecutor General Gurgen Nersisyan visited Karmir Shuka and Taghavard communities of the Martuni region of the Republic of Artsakh to collect facts on the consequences of the shootings by the Azerbaijani side in the direction of the abovementioned communities on January 10, at around 2:30 pm.

As the Ombudsman reported, according to the collected facts, in recent days the Azerbaijani side from the positions located near the peaceful settlements has fired more intensively in the direction of the civilian communities. 

As a result of the January 10 shooting, a UAZ car, which was parked in the yard of a residential house, belonging to a civilian was set on fire. Three civilians were present at that moment in the house. The mentioned residential house is about 50 meters away from the community kindergarten. Due to the shooting and fire, the normal work of the kindergarten was disrupted as a result of the fear created among the staff and children attending the kindergarten. The children were evacuated immediately.

During the scene inspection by the law enforcement bodies, the bullets which penetrated into the trunk of the car were found. Remnants of rifle bullets were found in the yard of another house in the central part of the community.

On the same day, as a result of the Azerbaijani shootings, in one of the pastures belonging to the Taghavard community, the cattle of one of the residents were injured, and the herdsman was able to take shelter and reach home safely.

On January 10, the Azerbaijani side also fired intensively for about 15 minutes at four civilians carrying out agricultural work in the territory of Nakhichevanik community of the Askeran region of the Artsakh Republic, as a result of which no casualties were reported, but the agricultural equipment belonging to the villagers was damaged. The civilians were under fire for more than an hour and were taken out of the area only with the intervention of Russian peacekeepers.

The targeting of civilian communities by Azerbaijan is an encroachment on the rights of the civilian population, first of all against the right to life. The criminal actions of Azerbaijan aim to intimidate, create an atmosphere of fear and despair among the population of Artsakh.

"Today's incidents and numerous similar cases registered last year clearly show that under the veil of false peace-loving, the Azerbaijani side continues to advance the plans of eviction of Armenians from Artsakh, keeping in constant fear the civilian population of Artsakh, particularly in border areas. For the security and proper protection of the rights of the people of Artsakh, the immediate removal of the Azerbaijani armed positions from the vicinity of the civilian communities of Artsakh remains crucial," the Ombudsman said. 

Civilian car parked outside kindergarten in Artsakh set ablaze by Azeri gunfire

Eduard Nalbandian

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 15:30,

STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. A civilian vehicle in Artsakh caught fire after being hit by gunfire from Azerbaijani side, the Ministry of Defense of Artsakh said.

It denied Azerbaijani media reports which accused the Artsakh military in opening fire at Azerbaijani positions. The Artsakh Defense Ministry said these reports are fake news and disinformation.

“What actually happened is that the Azerbaijani servicemen, who are deployed in positions adjacent to the village of Karmir Shuka in Martuni region, Artsakh, opened sporadic gunfire at the village, which resulted in a car owned by a civilian which was parked outside a kindergarten catching fire,” the Artsakh Defense Ministry said.

Baroness Cox urges UK to aid thousands of displaced Armenians

Eduard Nalbandian
Jan 8 2022
January 8, 2022 – 13:45 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The United Kingdom should ensure the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance to thousands of Armenians displaced by war, Baroness Caroline Cox told a parliament debate on mass displacement on Thursday, January 6.

Baroness Cox said weighed in on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and said that 80% of the historically Armenian enclave is now occupied by Azerbaijan.

"In 2020, more than 91,000 people fled to Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh; 88% of them were women and children. More than 40,000 people were deprived of their homes in areas such as the Shushi and Hadrut regions, which are still under the occupation of the Azerbaijani armed forces," the Baroness said.

"I have had the painful privilege of visiting the region more than 85 times, during the wars in the 1990s and in 2020. Last September, I visited Syunik region in Armenia to witness the suffering caused by Azeri military incursions into Armenian territory, causing displacement of local villagers within Armenia itself. Countless refugees describe the anguish of the loss of loved ones, and Azerbaijan still violates the conditions of the 2020 ceasefire by detaining Armenian prisoners of war and civilians, and perpetrating atrocities, sometimes taking a prisoner’s phone to film horrendous activities, then sending the pictures back to their families."

Cox remembered refugees describing the loss of livelihoods, agricultural lands, water resources, and other vital infrastructure.

"Yet the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh have received almost no support from the British Government. The UN Secretary-General’s official spokesperson in May last year unequivocally indicated that it is Azerbaijan that, despite the calls of the international community, and the UN in particular, has not provided permission for unhindered humanitarian access in Nagorno-Karabakh, and that situation remains the same," she said.

"In conclusion, can Minister [Zac Goldsmith] confirm that the UK will no longer turn a deaf ear to this cry for help, and will ensure the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance to the thousands of Armenians displaced by war? In both Nigeria’s Middle Belt and Nagorno-Karabakh, the UK has failed to acknowledge, let alone address, the root causes of mass displacement. Perpetrators have carried out atrocities with impunity. There has been no justice or support for victims and their families. I urge the Minister to give greater priority to the problems I have identified and to many others suffering in similar situations."

Travel That Changes You: 10 Favorite Adventures Of 2021 [Wings of Tatev included]

Eduard Nalbandian
Forbes
Dec 28 2021

Travel That Changes You: 10 Favorite Adventures Of 2021

Ann Abel, Senior Contributor
Travel

I’ve never had a bucket list—I detest the term. But I have been gratefully keeping track of my peak adventures and experiences for nearly as long as I’ve been writing about travel.

The year 2021, was, of course, one of reduced expectations and gratitude for ever-smaller little pleasures and tiny glimpses of magic. Maybe transformative travel was too tall an order this year; maybe just getting out and feeling alive was a thing to celebrate.

With that in mind, here are my peak experiences of 2021—the things that made me feel happily, gratefully alive.


The cable car over the mountains of Armenia WINGS OF TATEV

Flying over Armenia

My host during a culinary exploration of Armenia liked to throw out comparisons to both James Bond and Indiana Jones. The country especially lived up to those pronouncements during a ride on Wings of Tatev—a five-kilometer journey on the longest double-track cable car in the world, at some points suspended some 1,000 feet above the ground. Afterward, the trip back to the capital of Yerevan was in an Airbus H130 flown by Armenian Helicopters, zooming (the good kind) over the mountains of the Syunik Province as the sun was setting.

[Armenian News note: to read about the remaining 9 adventures, please click on the link below]

Varazdat Haroyan named player of the year for the first time

Eduard Nalbandian

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 15:15,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian national football team defender Varazdat Haroyan was named Best Football Player of the Year 2021 of Armenia. This is the first time Haroyan is getting the title. 

The Football Federation of Armenia announced that the Cadiz CF defender garnered 92 points.

The national team captain and AS Roma midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan came in second in the vote with 62 points.

National team player and Krasnodar midfielder Eduard Spertsyan received 60 points.

Turkish press: Azerbaijan supports normalization of Turkey-Armenia relations

Eduard Nalbandian
Ruslan Rehimov   |27.12.2021

BAKU, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan "fully supports" the normalization of relations between neighboring Turkey and Armenia, the Azerbaijani foreign minister said on Monday.

Speaking at a year-end evaluation of Azerbaijan's foreign policy, Jeyhun Bayramov said Azerbaijan and Turkey favor relations with all countries on the basis of international law.

“The basis for the normalization of interstate relations can only be international law,” he said. “Both Azerbaijan and Turkey have always shown this attitude. We’re in favor of improving our relations with all countries and neighbors on the basis of international law, and we are doing this. The exception so far on this list has been Armenia. We offer the same proposal to Armenia.”

He added: “I would like to stress the importance of the historical Shusha Declaration signed on June 15, 2021. With this declaration, the relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey were raised to the level of an alliance.”

The declaration affirms joint efforts by the two countries’ armies in the face of foreign threats. It also pledges a wide range of bilateral cooperation in other areas.

Damage done to Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenian occupation

Bayramov emphasized that Azerbaijan's foreign policy is based on continuity and a systematic and logical approach.

“We have conducted and will conduct a transparent, international law-based, and independent foreign policy,” he said.

Noting that Azerbaijan in 2021 continued its independent, active, open and national foreign policy, Bayramov stressed that they are working to consolidate the diplomatic gains of the fall 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and to make the world aware of the new reality in the region.

“We’re in favor of the normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations on the basis of the principles of international law. We even declared that we’re ready to work on a peace agreement. We believe that this can form the basis for the normalization of relations between the countries of the region at a wider level.”

Bayramov also said Azerbaijan telling the world about the damage caused to the Nagorno-Karabakh region by the 30-year occupation of Armenian forces before its liberation is among the priorities of Azerbaijan's foreign policy.

Both countries filed cases against each other in the International Court of Justice, he said, adding that most of Armenia's "baseless claims" were rejected by the court.

Underlining that Azerbaijan will continue its fight in the international judiciary, he said: “We will soon bring several international conventions to international courts for the first time to address the environmental damage and the illegal use of natural resources. This issue is among our duties in 2022.”

Liberation of Karabakh

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from the nearly three-decade occupation.

On Nov. 10, 2020, the two countries signed a Russian-brokered agreement to end the fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution.

On Jan. 11, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a pact to develop economic ties and infrastructure to benefit the entire region. It included the establishment of a trilateral working group on Karabakh.

The cease-fire is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces withdrew in line with the agreement.

Before the victory, about 20% of Azerbaijan's territory had been under illegal occupation for nearly 30 years.

* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara

Newspaper: No contract signed with any lobbying organization since Makunts’ appointment as ambassador to US

Eduard Nalbandian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 25 2021
09:11, 25.12.2021

YEREVAN. – Zhoghovurd newspaper of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: According to Zhoghovurd daily’s information, the RA embassy has not signed a contract with any US lobbying organization ever since Lilit Makunts was appointed ambassador to the US.

We learned that the contract between our embassy in the [United] States and one of the American lobbying organizations expired in March of this year, after which a new one was not signed.

According to the information we received, the former MP, who was appointed ambassador back in August, started having meetings with various American organizations, departments, and people only a month after her appointment—meeting with the members of the [US] Congress committee on Armenian affairs—whereas for any [Armenian] ambassador accredited to the US, it has always been a priority to work, to meet not only with Congress members dealing with Armenian issues, but also with those Congress members and ambassadors of other countries accredited to Washington who even have neutral or slightly opposite dispositions regarding Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Ever since taking office, however, Makunts has not met with the ambassador of another country (at least, we have not come across such information). During this time she had no meetings also with influential religious organizations and churches, such as the Evangelical and Catholic Churches, for example.

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 20-12-21

Eduard Nalbandian

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 17:37,

YEREVAN, 20 DECEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 20 December, USD exchange rate down by 0.58 drams to 480.61 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 4.17 drams to 541.02 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.06 drams to 6.47 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 6.97 drams to 633.78 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 151.93 drams to 27932.52 drams. Silver price up by 6.85 drams to 349.91 drams. Platinum price up by 59.92 drams to 14447.59 drams.