Author: Elizabeth Jabejian

CivilNet: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Karabakh, Russia Representatives Met to Discuss POWs

Elizabeth Jabejian
CIVILNET.AM

03:04

On February 12, Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan, the Director of Armenia's National Security Service, an official representative from Azerbaijan, and the Commander of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Artsakh met to discuss the return of POWs and the search operations for missing soldiers.

Anna Naghdalyan, spokeswoman for Armenia's Foreign Ministry, announced the meeting on Twitter, noting that other humanitarian issues were also discussed by the four sides.

Siranush Sahakyan, the lawyer working on behalf of the prisoners’ families, says Azerbaijan may be holding as many as 223 other Armenian military prisoners and civilian hostages, including women.

However, it remains unclear how many of these 223 individuals taken prisoner remain alive as there have also been reports of widespread torture and execution of Armenian prisoners, both during and after the war. Azerbaijani officials acknowledged holding about 60 Armenian prisoners, not counting the ten released in the last two weeks.

Armenpress: Pope Francis says he closely follows situation in South Caucasus

Elizabeth Jabejian

Pope Francis says he closely follows situation in South Caucasus

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 11:02, 9 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Pope Francis says he follows the developments in the South Caucasus with particular attention.

While addressing the representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, Pope Francis touched upon the geopolitical situation and the instability globally, including the situation in the South Caucasian region. “I follow the situation in the South Caucasus with particular attention where several conflicts continue, some of which erupted last year, distorting the stability and security of the entire region”, Pope Francis said.

He expressed hope that 2021 will be the year of the end of the Syrian conflict, of the resumption of direct dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, of stability in Lebanon and of peace in Libya.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Asbarez: ANC of Canada Purchases New Headquarters

Elizabeth Jabejian

February 10,  2021



ANCC announced the completion of the purchase of a new property (left) to serve as its headquarters in Ottawa

OTTAWA, Canada–The Board of Directors of the Armenian National Committee of Canada on February 1 finalized the purchase of a new property in Ottawa that will now serve as its new headquarters, reported the ANCC.

Since 1965, the ANCC has been the largest and most influential Armenian-Canadian grassroots human rights organization, actively advancing the policy priorities of the Armenian-Canadian community.

Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Canada and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCC advocates for a broad range of issues and works to eliminate abuses of human rights throughout Canada and the world.

In 2006, the ANCC opened it’s first headquarters in the National Capital Region and has maintained a full-time presence in Ottawa ever since.

As a result of the recent Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia and Artsakh, Armenians in Canada and around the world are united more than ever in their pursuit of justice and truth. At such crucial times, the purchase of this new property will expand and diversify the ANCC’s day-to-day operations and help in strengthening its nationwide grassroots activism and engagement.

“We should strive to ensure that borders between EAEU states disappear at digital level”- Armenian PM

Elizabeth Jabejian

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 09:59, 5 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. On the margins of his working visit to Kazakhstan, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan today attended the Almaty Digital Forum 2021, which is held under the motto: “Digital Reset: The Leap To The Next Normal.” Among the participants are the heads of government from EAEU-member states, Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Mikhail Myasnikovich, CIS Executive Committee representatives, the PM’s Office told Armenpres.

A ceremonial video session was held prior to the plenary session, after which the Armenian Prime Minister joined the heads of government of other participating countries to get acquainted with the exhibits displayed in the Museum of Digital Projects.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia delivered a speech at the plenary session of the Digital Conference, in which he stated:

“Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to start my speech by thanking Kazakhstan for hosting this digital conference. The conference has become a traditional platform for discussing issues relevant to the digital economy.

It is obvious that high technologies play a decisive role in enhancing the state’s competitiveness and security, as well as in raising people’s living standards. The highly technological nations are at the forefront of the international arena.

The Government of Armenia considers digitization, innovation and the latest technologies to be the most important tool for engineering an efficient and representative system of public administration, a favorable business environment and ensuring progressive economic growth.

The high-tech sector and digital technologies are the fastest growing sector of our economy. The turnover of IT companies in Armenia amounted to more than USD 400 million in 2020. It grew by about 20% as compared to the previous year. Staffing has grown by 22% in this area. More than 1200 operating IT companies are registered in our country at this point of time. Tangible tax benefits are available in accordance with the policy pursued by the Armenian government.

The pandemic posed highly challenging problems for society, businesses and the state, in general. They had to be addressed in conditions of quarantine or all-out lockdown. The need to work under such conditions led to the introduction of both a new management culture and the widespread use of digital technologies and solutions. The latter turned out to be the most important amid limited opportunities for physical contact practically along the entire chain of government and socio-economic activity.

We have been using digital technologies, electronic document management systems and e-government tools in Armenia. I would like to note that the social groups in need of support were identified with a high degree of accuracy and transactions on support measures were completed in the shortest possible time thanks to the use of appropriate technologies.

We provide for the implementation and development of government data policy, electronic services, e-government systems, coordination of digital processes, creation of common standards and digital environment. The government encourages the use of electronic tools to facilitate the introduction of digital technologies in the private sector.

The digitization process goes in tune with the common EAEU digital agenda. A platform for interaction between databases is being created, which optimizes data exchange processes between different systems and the digitization of a large number of public services.

I am pleased to state that the EAEU countries were able to use digital technologies in overcoming some of the problems caused by the pandemic. I mean the “Traveling without Covid-19: digital platform, which kicked off on February 1, and actually restored the free movement of citizens between Armenia, Russia and Belarus.

Armenia supported the EDB Digital Initiatives Fund project from the very outset, and we are grateful to our colleagues from the Fund and from the governments of Russia and Belarus for the joint work done under this project.

We need to move actively towards the implementation of other joint digital projects by using the capabilities of supranational institutions and development institutions. In addition to implementing joint projects, we should also work to scale successful solutions. There are many of them in each of our countries.

We should strive to achieve full-fledged and all-encompassing digitalization of services provided to citizens by the state. To this end, we need to use the entire range of electronic services – mobile phones, network services, cloud technologies, and so on.

We should strive to ensure that the borders between the EAEU states disappear at the digital level, and that existing restrictions are minimized. We see that the opportunities opened up through digitization can be used to increase the efficiency of free labor movement. The appropriate mobile application can collect and store within a one-stop-shop all information on available jobs throughout the EAEU, enabling people to fill out and submit the necessary documents to get the job of our choice.

I am confident that our joint work and exchange of experience will help us move confidently forward in all sectors of digital technology, to achieve success and the desired results. Thank you.”




Foreign Affairs Committee of Czech Chamber of Deputies calls on Azerbaijan to return Armenian POWs

Elizabeth Jabejian

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 12:37, 5 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament adopted a resolution on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, calling on Azerbaijan to return the Armenian prisoners of war, the Armenian Embassy in the Czech Republic reports.

“At its sitting on February 4, 2021 the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament adopted a resolution on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, by which it welcomed the establishment of the ceasefire and expressed regret over Azerbaijan's non-compliance with the ceasefire clause on returning prisoners, calling on the latter to return the remaining prisoners. At the same time, the Committee called for a political settlement to the conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship”, the statement says.

South Australia state recognizes Artsakh, condemns Azerbaijan and Turkey

Elizabeth Jabejian
News.am, Armenia
Feb 3 2021
12:01, 03.02.2021

South Australia became the second state in Australia to recognize the rights to self-determination of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), condemning Azerbaijan and Turkey for their invasion of the country's indigenous Armenians in a motion passed with a vote in the House of Assembly, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).

The motion follows one passed by the New South Wales Parliament's Legislative Assembly in October 2020, and similarly "calls on the Federal Government to also recognize the Republic of Artsakh as the only permanent solution to the conflict to avoid further attempts of such military aggression".

Member for West Torrens, the Hon. Tom Koustantonis MP moved the historic motion, which also called out "the actions of President Erdogan of Turkey and President Aliyev of Azerbaijan in their pursuit of a policy of Pan-Turkish nationalism, which has previously led to genocide and which now threatens the Armenian population of Artsakh with ethnic cleansing."

The House of Assembly considered a proposal to "adjourn the debate," however this was defeated by the casting vote of the Speaker. The debate resumed and resulted in a vote–without dissent–in favor of the motion.

Armenian opposition National Agenda Party: Threat of war is permanent for Armenia

Elizabeth Jabejian
News.am, Armenia
Feb 3 2021
17:08, 03.02.2021

Today, the threat of war is permanent for Armenia. This is what secretary of the Executive Body of the opposition National Agenda Party Ara Gasparyan told reporters today.

Gasparyan stressed the need for strengthening of the lines of defense in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), and the solution to the issue related to replenishment of the Defense Army (on the backdrop of Azerbaijan’s active counterinfluence), but the authorities don’t want to deal with these issues and aren’t capable of dealing with them.

“What’s more, the authorities led the country to this situation with their actions. The second issue for my political party is the existence of agents in Armenia who have been discrediting the army and power structures and releasing information from Armenia for years. The people were not only defeated on the battlefield, but were also prepared for defeat through split in society. The incumbent authorities did all this with the help of those agents, preparing us for defeat and ‘peaceful coexistence’,” the politician stated.

According to him, this attests to the fact that the authorities are serving the interests of Turkey and Azerbaijan. “Now, amid the military exercises in Nakhchivan and on the border of Armenia, the authorities are still trying to convince people that there is no threat. Turkey is on the path to implementation of its neo-Ottoman plan and hasn’t changed, and Armenia must not fall in its trap,” he added.

Armenians who repatriated to Armenia meet with opposition’s unified candidate for PM Vazgen Manukyan

Elizabeth Jabejian
News.am, Armenia
Feb 3 2021
Armenians who repatriated to Armenia meet with opposition's unified candidate for PM Vazgen Manukyan
20:52, 03.02.2021

The opposition Homeland Salvation Movement has posted the following on its Facebook page:

“During a meeting with Vazgen Manukyan, the opposition’s unified candidate for Prime Minister of Armenia, a group of Armenian repatriates told Manukyan that no government of Armenia has ever presented a serious plan for repatriation.

The leaders and representatives of the Return to Armenia organization dealing with repatriation and integration issues and the Repatriation Advisory Office of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun political party talked about the problems facing Armenians in the Diaspora, the current perceptions of the ideology of repatriation in Armenia and abroad and discussed what can be done to help Armenians abroad return to Armenia.

“Armenia must first have a vision for repatriation and formulate the goals and objectives of repatriation, after which it can develop programs and a strategy,” Manukyan said, adding that these issues were part of the future government’s agenda during the Movement that began in 1988.

The state policy on repatriation must be hinged on not only patriotism and emotions, but must also derive from economic calculations, the country’s security, demography, human and professional resources. The repatriates expressed their views and presented the problems that are creating obstacles for the return to Armenia and later integration.

Manukyan suggested that the attendees prepare a document that can serve as a ground and benchmark for the future authorities of Armenia to develop a concept paper on repatriation and organize the future processes.”

Grigor Yeritsyan: Organizing Young People in Armenia to Be Positive Change-Makers

Elizabeth Jabejian
NASDAQ
Jan 29 2021

CONTRIBUTOR
Ladderworks
PUBLISHED
JAN 29, 2021 4:30PM EST

Ladderworks is a publishing startup of diverse picture books with the mission to empower over a million kids to become social entrepreneurs. Our current series features interviews by a character named Spiffy, with founders working on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. For January, the focus is on SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth. There is so much at stake, so let’s see what’s being done!

Hi friends, it’s Spiffy, back again on Planet Earth with an eye on entrepreneurs making the world a more equitable place! Today I’m excited to cruise around Armenia with Grigor Yeritsyan, co-founder and CEO of the NGO Armenian Progressive Youth.

Spiffy: Welcome Grigor, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me! What can you tell me and our audience about the challenges that you are addressing?

Grigor: Thanks for visiting, Spiffy! I am very proud to talk to you about one of the largest youth movements in Armenia — the Armenian Progressive Youth (APY). APY started out as a small student initiative and has become one of the largest professional youth organizations in the country. This has been a long journey towards youth empowerment by working to develop the skills and knowledge of young people and engage them in community life. For about 11 years, I have been actively advocating for more youth participation and more youth engagement in civic, political and economic domains. Through APY, I have organized young people around initiatives aimed at positive social and political changes, trying to inspire and motivate young citizens to take the lead and act as change-makers.

Spiffy: Be the Change! What motivated you to devote yourself to the youth of your country?

Grigor: When my friends and I founded APY 11 years ago, we did so with a simple and bold idea: to give a voice to young people. From our first small community project back in 2009 to now being one of the most dynamic and fast-growing youth organizations in Europe, our mission has never wavered. Thousands of young people joined our mission and made APY a movement that transforms lives. Having grown up in a society defined by power, corruption, and injustice, I have always believed that I have a responsibility to make a difference and shape a better future for myself and my generation. This is how APY came about  — to support young people to achieve their full potential and become movers and shakers who influence positive change.

Spiffy: With this clear vision, how is APY working towards a more equitable world?

Grigor: Well, Spiffy, boosting the potential of young people, empowering, engaging, and inspiring them to succeed as citizens, entrepreneurs, and change-makers: these things are at the heart of our efforts. We do this by building capacity, helping youth acquire new knowledge and skills, providing mobility opportunities, and engaging youth in volunteering programs. Within our current programming, we provide capacity development training on entrepreneurship and soft skills. In the long run, we aim to foster the employability and self-employability of the young population in Armenia and decrease the levels of poverty and urbanization.

Grigor Yeritsyan facilitating an international workshop for 35 young people from 15 different countries. (Photo courtesy of Grigor Yeritsyan)

Spiffy: What about any new initiatives? What have you been working on lately and what kind of impact is it having?

Grigor: In recent months, APY has shifted its scope of work and launched a rapid humanitarian assistance initiative to support displaced families, particularly women and children from Nagorno-Karabakh — a landlocked region where a deadly war left thousands of people homeless in 2020. Since the war broke out on September 27th 2020, APY mobilized young people across Armenia to support displaced families by providing food, cloths, hygiene items, and other basic necessities. Through our active volunteer network, APY has worked tirelessly during the entire COVID-19 pandemic and war to support as many displaced families as possible. APY has supported about 30,000 war-affected people by helping them to survive poverty and hunger.

Spiffy: That’s amazing, Grigor. With all this hard work, have you ever experienced failure? What did you do and what did you learn?

Grigor: Well, Spiffy, like so many people and organizations, APY faced unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, just when our communities and vulnerable beneficiaries needed us the most. My colleagues and I were in a state of uncertainty and despair due to a myriad of simultaneous challenges — a funding crisis, the war on our doorstep, and the urgent need to cover the immediate humanitarian needs of our community. We had to either stop our operations or find an alternative solution. That is when we decided to stop all our ongoing projects and shift the scope of our work. Together with my team, we have transformed our office into a Rapid Response Center for refugees, offering psychological, social, educational and humanitarian support to war evacuees and the displaced. It's been one of the hardest but most rewarding experiences.

Spiffy:  I’ve learned so much from you today, Grigor. Thank you for talking to me about the situation in Armenia, and sharing about the contributions of your country’s youth. It’s been an honor!

Grigor Yeritsyan is a co-founder and CEO of the Armenian Progressive Youth NGO, a One Young World Ambassador and an elected member of Yerevan City Council, the legislative body of Armenia’s capital. Mr. Yeritsyan is a political scientist and community leader with considerable experience in organizing young people. He is the founder of several civic initiatives, non-profits and an author of articles and publications on civil society development and youth empowerment. (Nominated by One Young World)

Displaced citizens of Karabakh’s Kashatagh region demand compensation for lost properties from Armenia government

Elizabeth Jabejian
News.am, Armenia
Jan 29 2021
Displaced citizens of Karabakh's Kashatagh region demand compensation for lost properties from Armenia government
12:21, 29.01.2021

We were forcefully displaced from our settlements, and now we are demanding compensation for our belongings. This is what a resident who lost his house in the Kashatagh region of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) during today’s protest in front of the government building in Armenia.

“While we were on the battlefield, our territories were transferred. The people here are our citizens who are living in all provinces of Armenia. There is a twelve-member family living in one room, and there are four families in a room. We are all living in very bad conditions. There was a time when we were involved in charities, but now we are in need of charities,” he stated.