Friday,
Torture Allegations Against Armenia’s Top Investigator ‘Still Probed’
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - The head of the Investigative Committee, Argishti Kyaramian, speaks
during a cabinet meeting in Yerevan, January 19, 2023.
The National Security Service (NSS) is still investigating allegations that the
head of another Armenian law-enforcement agency personally tortured four
criminal suspects during a separate inquiry, prosecutors said on Friday.
One of those suspects, Tigran Arakelian, publicly accused Argishti Kyaramian,
who runs the Investigative Committee, and the chief of the committee’s Yerevan
division, Azat Gevorgian, of beating him up in the latter’s office during his
initial, brief detention in June.
Kyaramian dismissed the“baseless” allegations before prosecutors ordered the NSS
to investigate them. His investigators brought more charges against Arakelian
and arrested him in July. It emerged around the same time the three other
suspects also claimed to have been ill-treated by Kyaramian in custody.
The Office of the Prosecutor-General said on Friday that the four-month NSS
probe is still not over. It did not explain why the security service is taking
so long to assess the veracity of the torture allegations.
Zhanna Aleksanian, a human rights activist, believes that the NSS and the
prosecutors were never serious about finding out the truth.
“The NSS knows all too well that it needs the green light [from Armenia’s
political leadership] to open a case against Kyaramian,” Aleksanian told
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “There is just no way they could state that he
tortured those people.”
Kyaramian, 32, is widely regarded as one of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s
trusted lieutenants, having held five high-level positions in the Armenian
security apparatus and government since 2018.
All four arrested men are accused of blackmailing state officials and other
individuals on orders issued by Vartan Ghukasian, a controversial video blogger
thought to be based in the United States. The Investigative Committee charged
Ghukasian with extortion, calls for violence and contempt of court before a
Yerevan court issued in May an international arrest warrant for him. The blogger
nicknamed Dog denies the accusations.
Armenia Coy About Joining Multilateral Talks On Caucasus Peace
Armenia - The main government building in Yerevan's Republic Square decorated
and illuminated by Christmas lights, December 7, 2022.
Armenia is considering an Iranian invitation to a meeting of the foreign
ministers of the three South Caucasus states as well Iran, Russia and Turkey, a
senior Armenian official said on Friday.
The multilateral talks would be held within the framework of the so-called
“Consultative Regional Platform 3+3.” Deputy foreign ministers of all regional
states except Georgia formally created it at a December 2021 meeting in Moscow.
Georgia said at the time that it will not join the cooperation framework because
of its long-running conflict with Russia. No further meetings are known to have
been held in that format since then.
Some regional players, notably Iran, sought to revive the format after last
month’s Azerbaijani takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh. Iranian Foreign Minister
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told a visiting senior Armenian official early this
month that it could be an effective mechanism for addressing security challenges
in the region. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev predicted afterwards that the
six nations will hold more multilateral talks.
The Azerbaijani news agency Trend reported on Thursday that their foreign
ministers, including Armenia’s Ararat Mirzoyan, will meet in Tehran soon. The
Armenian Foreign Ministry did not confirm its participation. According to Deputy
Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanian, the Armenian government has not yet decided
whether to attend the meeting.
Amid its deepening rift with Moscow, Yerevan now appears to be putting the
emphasis on Western mediation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian expressed hope earlier this week that he and Aliyev
will meet in Brussels again and finalize a bilateral peace treaty before the end
of this year.
Russia claims that the main goal of the U.S. and European Union peace efforts is
to drive it out of the South Caucasus. Iran also opposes the West’s involvement
in regional affairs.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke with his Azerbaijani counterpart
Jeyhun Bayramov by phone on Friday. According to a Russian readout of the call,
they discussed, among other things, their countries’ “approaches to the
activities of the Consultative Regional Platform 3+3.”
Karabakh Leader Faces Protests In Yerevan
• Susan Badalian
Armenia - Samvel Shahramanian, the Karabakh president, addresses protesters
outside the Karabakh mission in Yerevan, .
Samvel Shahramanian, the exiled president of Nagorno-Karabakh, appeared to
backtrack on his decision to dissolve the unrecognized republic as he was
confronted by angry Karabakh refugees in Yerevan on Friday.
More than a hundred of them gathered outside Karabakh’s permanent representation
to Armenia in the morning to demand answers on Azerbaijan’s September 19-20
military offensive that allowed Baku to regain control over the region and
caused the mass exodus of its ethnic Armenian population.
The mainly male protests also sought explanations for Shahramanian’s September
28 decree which said that the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, set up
in September 1991, will cease to exist on January 1.
“No document can dissolve the republic created by the people,” Shahramanian told
the angry crowd when he emerged from the building. “I am going to publicly
explain this soon.”
Shahramanian said he signed the decree to stop the hostilities and enable the
Karabakh Armenians to safely flee their homeland.
“We saved the lives of our guys, we saved the lives of our civilian population
which was in danger. Had the war been stopped an hour later, they would have
entered the city [of Stepanakert] and slaughtered people,” the Karabakh leader
added in his first public comments made since the Azerbaijani assault.
The protesters were unconvinced. Some of them broke into the building shortly
afterwards, forcing Shahramanian to meet with them. The meeting did not satisfy
them either.
Armenia - Protesters storm the Karabakh mission in Yerevan, .
Shahramanian again emerged from his office early in the afternoon, condemning
the protesters’ “provocations” and urging them to disperse. The crowd did not
heed the appeal, continuing to block an adjacent street.
Some protesters stopped and vandalized a car that drove out of the Karabakh
mission’s compound later in the afternoon. They also brawled with people,
presumably Karabakh officials, sitting in the black SUV.
The chief of Shahramanian’s staff was reportedly injured in the violence. A
spokesman for the Armenian Interior Ministry said that four men were detained on
the spot.
Some Armenian opposition figures were quick to accuse Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian of organizing the protest through other Karabakh leaders loyal to him.
They said Pashinian, who faced mass protests in Yerevan late last month, is thus
trying to deflect the blame for the fall of Karabakh. Pashinian’s political
allies have openly blamed the region’s current leadership, backed by the
Armenian opposition, for the Azerbaijani takeover of Karabakh and its almost
full depopulation.
Shahramanian was elected president by Karabakh lawmakers mostly critical of
Pashinian just ten days before the Azerbaijani offensive. His predecessor Arayik
Harutiunian, who was arrested by Azerbaijan after the assault, was thought to be
more loyal to Pashinian.
According to Armenian press reports, Shahramanian has tried in vain to meet with
Pashinian since joining more than 100,000 Karabakh Armenians in taking refuge in
Armenia.
EU Said To Expand Border Monitoring Mission In Armenia
• Heghine Buniatian
Armenia - European Union monitors patrol Armenia's border with Azerbaijan.
The European Union is planning to expand its monitoring mission deployed along
Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan in February, a senior European official said on
Friday.
The diplomat told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that the EU will likely approve the
expansion in the coming weeks. He could not say how many additional monitors are
due to be sent to Armenia.
The mission currently consisting of 100 or so observers and experts was launched
at the request of the Armenian government and with the stated aim of preventing
or reducing ceasefire violations along the border. Russia, Armenia’s
increasingly estranged ally, has opposed it from the outset, saying that it is
part of broader U.S. and European Union efforts to drive Moscow out of the South
Caucasus.
The Azerbaijani takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh has raised more fears in Yerevan
that Azerbaijan will invade Armenia to open a land corridor to its Nakhichevan
exclave. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian urged Western powers to prevent Baku
from “provoking a new war in the region” when he addressed the European
Parliament on Tuesday.
“We have made it very clear to President Aliyev and Azerbaijani representatives
that we are very concerned by any attempt to infringe on Armenia’s sovereignty
and territorial integrity,” said the diplomat. “This is something that we take
seriously.”
In his words, the EU is committed to “helping to strengthen Armenia” in addition
to continuing its efforts to broker a peace treaty between Armenia and
Azerbaijan.
The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is on the agenda of a meeting in Luxemburg of
the foreign ministers of EU member states scheduled for Monday. It will be
chaired by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Author: Emil Lazarian
“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS
Local Armenians have contributed to Oakland’s identity, and vice versa
The Oakland Side
Oct 18 2023
With conflict in Azerbaijan, the grandson of an Armenian refugee reflects on the unique relationship between his community and the Town.
Members of St. Vartan Armenian Apostolic Church start wrapping sarma in May for their annual October food festival.
Sarma—brined grape leaves stuffed with rice and spices—is more commonly called dolma in the U.S. I’ve always had an affinity for this mezze. In the 1960s, my grandmother, Ardemis, was profiled in The Trenton Times for her recipe.
Like some of St. Vartan’s founders, Ardemis fled her birthplace of Istanbul. She spent most of her life in New Jersey and died years before I was born. I’ve relied on that old newspaper clipping from The Trenton Times to get a sense of who she was, and how she thought about her identity.
Left: A 1965 newspaper clipping of an article about the author’s grandmother. Right: The author’s grandmother, Ardemis (center), with her mother and daughter in Istanbul. Credit: Courtesy of John Klopotowsky
“Dolma” means “stuffed” in Turkish, which would normally be a fitting way to describe St. Vartan during their special weekend. Festivities take place in the church’s mid-century gymnasium, which transforms into a grocery store, mess hall, dance floor, auction house, and concert venue all at once.
This year’s festival was different, though. It relied heavily upon last-minute planning due to events taking place thousands of miles away, and its story exhibits how Oakland’s Armenian community sees their historical identity vis-a-vis their life in the Bay Area: Instead of viewing their identity as one that needs preserving, local Armenians see their identity as Amerikatsis—the Armenian word for those in the American diaspora—as ever-changing.
Members of St. Vartan didn’t feel right about having a celebratory festival this year. In the final weeks of September 2023, conflict in Azerbaijan displaced over 100,000 Armenians from their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan’s borders that has long sought independence. Protestors in the Armenian diaspora liken this exodus to the Armenian Genocide of 1915, and violence at one such protest at the University of Southern California even made international news.
So, the Friday night dance party for all in attendance was canceled. Instead, groups performed short, traditional Armenian dances. Entrance fees for the event went to the church’s humanitarian fund, and there were tables around the grounds with information about the crisis.
During the event, even more impromptu action was needed. Friday evening, the church’s transformer blew, leaving everyone eating, standing, and talking in darkness.
When the lights went out, there was a moment of confusion. But, as if it were planned, members of St. Vartan were on their feet, walking around with flashlights and passing out water to everyone in the food line.
Parishioners of St. Vartan in Oakland are left in the dark after a circuit shorted during their annual cultural festival. It didn’t stop one family from going ahead with their birthday celebration. Credit: John Klopotowski
Beth Rustigian, whose grandparents were founding members of St. Vartan in 1924, said that this year’s last-minute fundraising represents the attitude of the community in Oakland—and stands in contrast to an insularity within many Armenian communities in the U.S. that prevents them from engaging with their broader metropolitan communities.
For evidence, Rustigian cited the diaspora’s use of the Armenian word odar, meaning “other” in English, to refer to non-Armenians. “It’s derogatory,” she told me.
Rustigian admitted that during her grandparent’s time, the Bay Area community was reluctant to welcome newcomers. But now, St. Vartan welcomes new faces to their church, regardless of their heritage, linguistic abilities, or sexual orientation—a rarity for most Orthodox parishes.
Rustigian said that this openness to change helps in moments like this weekend, when church members need to think on their feet.
Steve Donikian, a deacon at the church, sees similarities between Armenians and Oakland, which both carry reputations as underdogs. “When I was a kid,” he told me, “the most important place outside of the church was the Coliseum.
“We’re always getting put down,” Donikian added. But he thought the festival would show people that “we’re still here.” I wondered, when Donikian said “we,” whether he was talking about Armenians or Oaklanders. He was referring to both.
“It was so cute to see the check-ins throughout the evening,” said Olive Mugalian on Saturday, recalling the blackouts. Olive’s brother, Gabe, joked that attendees who grew up in Soviet Armenia were probably used to blackouts.
The siblings grew up in Los Angeles, but have found the Bay Area community more welcoming.
“As long as Armenians are persecuted in their homeland, the diaspora should stay faithful,” Gabe said. Olive quickly jumped in. “But we’re too proud and nationalistic.” They were both happy to see a large number of non-Armenians over the weekend.
Olive and Gabe Mugalian at the St. Vartan festival in Oakland. Credit: Courtesy of Olive Mugalian
One volunteer at the festival, Serli Höllüksever, is a student at UC Berkeley who grew up in Istanbul. Höllüksever lived in Southern California for two years before coming to Berkeley. “I felt like other Armenian students treated me a little differently when they found out I was from Turkey,” she said to me in Turkish.
I wasn’t surprised to hear this. Some look down upon those, like Serli’s or my family, who stayed in Istanbul after the genocide. They’re cast as sympathizers to the violence, and therefore less Armenian.
A few minutes later, I met Itır Yakar outside at a dining table. She is Turkish and has no Armenian heritage, though she has friends at St. Vartan.
After the 2006 assassination of Istanbulite-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, Yakar organized a discussion group for Turks and Armenians in the Bay Area. The purpose of the group was to brainstorm processes of reconciliation, and it met for over a decade. Today, a book club with a similar purpose exists.
This past summer, I visited Dink’s old paper, Agos, in Istanbul. It sits in a heavily fortified building, requiring visitors to pass multiple security checkpoints. In Oakland, Turks and Armenians don’t need metal detectors to organize to discuss the trauma of the past century that continues to weigh so heavily on us.
Steve Donikian, a deacon at the church, sees similarities between Armenians and Oakland, which both carry reputations as underdogs.
Krikor Zakaryan, the pastor of St. Vartan, offered remarks toward the end of the festival. He talked about politics and community with a passion one would have expected to hear at an altar.
Zakaryan spoke slowly and rhythmically. He articulated every word so clearly that their individual syllables echoed throughout the gym. The audience was rapt.
He thanked Oakland for providing a home for St. Vartan for a century. He wanted to give something to Oakland in return; as festival-goers shared their time and donations with St. Vartan, they presented Armenian culture to Oakland.
Zakaryan ended his remarks with a passage by William Saroyan, a celebrated Armenian-American writer. As he read the words from a small notecard, the priest’s diction became even more precise.
“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race…Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing, and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a new Armenia.”
Zakaryan emphasized, “new.”
I looked across the table at my mother, who was misty-eyed. I was transported to July, when she and I were in downtown Istanbul after visiting Agos. We stood outside of the house that Ardemis fled as a young girl.
“What a world they left behind,” mom said as we stood there. I wanted to comfort her, but I didn’t know what to say.
What is there to say in the face of such a violent tragedy?
But, sitting in Oakland this past weekend—almost 7,000 miles away from my grandma’s house, in a gym with folks of any origin—I had an answer.
See if they will not create a new Armenia. And see if they will not share it with others.
Armenpress: Armenia Human Rights Defender, USAID delegation discuss NK forcibly displaced persons rights
21:28,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS. On October 19, Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia Ms. Anahit Manasyan received the delegation of Melissa Hooper, a lawyer and rule of law expert of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Welcoming the guests, Anahit Manasyan presented the issues related to the protection of the rights of people of Nagorno- Karabakh forcibly displaced as a result of the Azerbaijani aggression, which were recorded as a result of the fact-finding activities.
"The Defender specifically referred to the policy of ethnic cleansing carried out against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as other cases of torture, mutilation, and ill-treatment by the Azerbaijani forces prohibited by the international law.
The Defender also presented the results of the fact-finding work carried out by her and her staff, emphasizing the need to guarantee the rights of forcibly displaced persons continuously.
In this context, the reports submitted by the Defender, through which the results of the monitoring are documented, were emphasized," the message reads.
Within the framework of the meeting, Anahit Manasyan referred to the problems of human rights protection caused by the border security of the Republic of Armenia, noting that the presence of the Azerbaijani armed forces in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia is very worrying from the point of view of the protection and guarantee of human rights.
Possible directions for expanding cooperation between the US Agency for International Development and the Institute of the Human Rights Defender were also discussed.
Reinforce the Rules Based Order, the West Must Back Armenia
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://providencemag.com/2023/10/to-reinforce-the-rules-based-order-the-west-must-back-armenia/__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!vf_FEppMHhuLKHSoYHZA6c36yp5Br6B8Y70qWZo8Oamd-cWEqCSV90rItfZq09dNZffg7tVoMElzfFQWNg$
By Len Wicks on
read10 min
Azerbaijan, noted by Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders as having
a poor track record on human rights, has committed ethnic cleansing against a
group of indigenous Armenians while the world has remained silent. Former Chief
Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo reported that
Baku’s siege of the former Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) is deemed illegal by the
International Court of Justice, as being consistent with Article II (c) of the
Genocide Convention:
Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring
about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
Why should people care? Besides inflicting suffering on the innocent Armenians
of Artsakh, this egregious act has also essentially undermined the so-called
‛rules-based international order’ and has emboldened dictators to use force to
solve political conflicts. The Caucasus could now face a regional war, sucking
in Russia, Turkey, Iran, and Israel while China is undoubtedly taking note with
Taiwan in its sights.
The authoritarian Azerbaijani regime that invaded Armenia in 2021 and 2022, and
which illegally holds Armenian Prisoners of War, has committed sadistic war
crimes like beheadings and bombing of churches and inculcates state-sponsored
racism against Armenians, is trying to justify its actions. It falsely portrays
people subjected to a starvation-inducing blockade as akin to the 1930s
Ukrainian Holodomor and the September 19, 2023 military attack as leaving lands
where they lived for thousands of years “voluntarily.”
Until now, Azerbaijan has been able to control the narrative, using tools like
the infamous Azerbaijan Laundromat bribery scheme of politicians and media, to
avoid the West’s scrutiny of the fact that it is a Russian ally, and even helps
Russia to avoid sanctions by re-selling Russian gas. Baku calls Armenians
“separatists,” and “rebels.” Even Western media use inappropriate terms to
describe Artsakh as “breakaway” or “separatist.” This is an injustice because
Artsakh’s bid for democracy and freedom from Azerbaijan’s human rights abuse was
not a case of separatism.
The First Republic of Armenia was established in 1918 during the Russian
Empire’s collapse. Artsakh was part of the predominantly Christian nation
Armenia, which was recognized as a de jure sovereign state by the Great Powers
in 1920. Unlike Armenia, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic 1918-20 was not
recognized as being sovereign (not even by the Ottoman Empire, nor by the League
of Nations). As a self-declared de facto entity without recognized territory,
Baku had no legal claim to Armenia or Artsakh.
Following the illegal Soviet invasion of sovereign Armenia in late 1920, in 1921
Stalin transferred Artsakh, populated 95% by Armenians, from the Armenian Soviet
Socialist Republic (SSR) to the Azerbaijan SSR as an autonomous oblast. This is
despite the fact that on November 30, 1920, the Azerbaijan SSR had already
recognized Nagorno Karabakh, Zangezur and Nakhichevan as being part of Soviet
Armenia! Stalin’s “divide and rule” policy has caused conflict between Armenia
and Azerbaijan ever since.
During Stalin’s reign, he ignored multiple racist-based pogroms and massacres,
including the Armenian genocide-era 1920 Shushi massacre by Azerbaijanis that
killed 20,000 Armenians and the ethnical cleansing of this Artsakh city.
Armenia’s longstanding wariness of their eastern neighbor is therefore
understandable.
However, there are two critical points as to why Stalin’s decision to transfer
Artsakh to Soviet Azerbaijan is irrelevant to Artsakh’s sovereign status:
The Azerbaijan SSR was only a non-sovereign province of the Soviet Union, and as
such had no right to claim territory by itself under Westphalian sovereignty (no
rule by another party); and
Azerbaijan itself did not claim any sovereign rights from the Azerbaijan SSR
period; instead on August 30th, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan enacted a
Declaration On the Restoration of the State Independence of the Republic of
Azerbaijan on the basis of the unrecognized and non-sovereign Azerbaijan
Democratic Republic of 1918-20!
The first time that Azerbaijan became a sovereign, de jure state able to claim
internationally recognized “territorial integrity” was on December 26, 1991, at
the fall of the Soviet Union. According to the UN Charter, “territorial
integrity” is only relevant to external threats such as invasion and does not
conflict with the self-determination rights of people. This was a pivotal moment
in history, three years after Nagorno Karabakh had legally separated from the
Azerbaijan SSR province by formal referendum. It was also after a vote of 99.9%
in a 1991 referendum (82.1% voter turnout) to support an independence
declaration for Artsakh (and the Shahumyan region) from the USSR itself on
September 02, 1991, in accordance with USSR Secession Law (Articles 3 and 5).
When the Soviet Union and its laws were declared void on December 26, 1991, two
legal entities emerged from the former Azerbaijan SSR’s territory. Both had
“clean sheet” rights under Westphalian sovereignty, consistent with the
Montevideo Convention. Thus, the territory and people that each controlled were
a vital aspect prior to the final step before sovereignty – international
recognition.
Unfortunately, and despite the July 7th, 1988 European Parliament’s support for
Artsakh’s reunification with Armenia due to ongoing pogroms and massacres
against Armenians, the West ignored Article 1 of the ICCPR international law on
self-determination that it has since granted to many others. This can only be
explained as Western ignorance or self-interested geopolitics, as there can be
no logical reason for denying the democratic Artsakh people their rights under
international law while recognizing others such as Montenegro (recognized by
Turkey and Azerbaijan), South Sudan (recognized by Azerbaijan), and Kosovo and
Timor-Leste (Recognized by Turkey).
With the exception of Montenegro, these are all cases of “separatism” from a
parent sovereign state that still existed. As noted, Artsakh is not a case of
separatism, as the parent state (the USSR) no longer existed when it attempted
to reunify with Armenia. Therefore, Artsakh had exactly the same rights to
declare independence as Azerbaijan, under the relevant former Soviet and
international laws.
Of course, Azerbaijan would have everyone believe that once a state is
sovereign, then there can never be any changes to its internationally recognized
borders. If that were the case, then Azerbaijan would not exist, as it was part
of a sovereign Persian Empire (now Iran). Some might also assume that because
the former Nagorno- Karabakh’s borders were within Azerbaijan’s borders, then it
must be part of Baku’s territory, but they have obviously never seen a map of a
sovereign Lesotho!
Moreover, when post-Soviet leaders agreed to the December 21, 1991 Alma-Ata
Protocol’s (non-binding) Preamble that recognized the ‟…territorial integrity of
each other and inviolability of the existing borders” the “existing borders”
must, by definition, include the legally established borders of Artsakh!
The failure of the world to recognize Artsakh in 1991, and to take
Responsibility to Protect action (R2P), led directly to the First Artsakh War.
Tens of thousands needlessly lost their lives after Baku’s invasion, aided by
Soviets during the first years of the war. Azerbaijan committed multiple war
crimes and spread disinformation during this war, including, as the evidence
strongly indicates, the massacre of its own Khojaly citizens near the Azeri-held
city of Aghdam, so it could falsely blame Armenians.
UN Security Council resolutions did not address the status of Nagorno-Karabakh
or even determine the extent of the territory concerned, as the UN Security
Council had mandated the OSCE Minsk Group to facilitate a peaceful settlement of
the conflict in this officially disputed territory. Azerbaijan has repeatedly
ignored its responsibilities under these Resolutions and the 1994 Ceasefire,
including cessation of blockade, rendering them virtually redundant. It seems
that nothing has changed.
The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities were officially signatories for all ceasefire
agreements, which means Azerbaijan de facto recognized Artsakh as an entity – a
key step to sovereignty.
Azerbaijani President Aliyev had agreed to the Lachin Corridor allowing
unhindered access in both directions as part of the Russian-brokered November
9th, 2020 ceasefire. However, Russian “peacekeepers” empowered by the ceasefire
effectively became jailers, supporting Azerbaijan’s genocidal blockade by not
intervening to ensure Baku’s compliance. Refugees interviewed by the author even
confirmed that Russia was given a day’s notice of Azerbaijan’s September 19th,
2023 invasion, while the Kremlin misinformed the world that they only had a few
minute’s notice!
Of deep concern are allegations of possible mass executions of civilians by the
Azerbaijani Army in four villages on September 19, 2023, which may have been
witnessed by Russian peacekeepers at Dzhanyatag. The Russians were reportedly
killed, for reasons that have been downplayed by the Kremlin. These Bucha
massacre-like war crime allegations must be fully investigated by an independent
body.
Azerbaijan’s goal is not just the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, but the
occupation of Armenia. Azerbaijani authorities have openly communicated this for
decades. For example, in 2005 the mayor of Baku at a meeting with German
officials stated: “Our goal is the complete elimination of Armenians. You,
Nazis, already eliminated the Jews in the 1930s and 40s, right? You should be
able to understand us.” In 2004, Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister’s spokesperson
stated: “Within the next 25 years there will be no state of Armenia in the South
Caucasus.” President Aliyev has also been consistently vocal about his genocidal
intentions against Armenians.
The 2020 Artsakh War had significant geopolitical implications and affected
regional stability, even drawing Syrian mercenaries transported by Turkey.
Emboldened with their victory in 2020, Azerbaijan now seeks to force, by
military means, a sovereign corridor through southern Armenia, with regional war
implications, as this would cut off a vital trade route for India and Iran.
The proclamation by an unelected Artsakh authority that Artsakh would cease to
exist on January 1st, 2024, was made under duress without the democratic will of
its people and is therefore illegal. Artsakh had a stronger legal case to be
recognized as independent than separatist examples like Kosovo. However, the
international community’s cynical silence on the genocide by starvation for
nearly ten months followed by the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh Armenians and its
tacit support of Azerbaijan’s genocidal dictatorship for its polluting oil and
gas money as well as transferring Russian gas to Europe is testimony to the
failure of the “international order.” Even the UN and the Vatican were
shamefully silent.
The world’s R2P failure has also allowed the Kremlin to treat Armenians as pawns
in its geopolitical games once again. In response, Armenia ratified the Rome
Convention that created the International Criminal Court, which has indicted
Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is clear that Russia is no longer an ally
of Armenia; quite the reverse, in fact.
As the “Leader of the Free World,” the United States has shamefully done no
better than the Kremlin. It has funded Azerbaijan to support a proxy war with
Iran, while successive presidential administrations have presented these actions
to Congress as preventing terrorism in order to justify a Section 907 waiver,
opening the door to direct US aid to Azerbaijan where previously Azerbaijan was
ineligible. The United States and its allies must now protect Armenia against
the consequences of its actions, which effectively supported ethnic cleansing
and coerced a naïve Armenian government to abandon Armenians of Artsakh.
Magnitsky-style sanctions must be imposed on Azerbaijani officials in charge of
orchestrating war crimes and genocide against Armenians to signal the
unacceptability of ethnic cleansing, as Acting Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs Yuri Kim said just five days before Azerbaijan
ethnically cleansed Artsakh. Internationally experienced lawyers should
immediately work on the case of investigating and prosecuting Azerbaijan’s
dictator Aliyev for committing genocide at the International Criminal Court.
In order to undo the grave injustice perpetrated against Artsakh’s Armenians,
the civilized world must first recognize their immense loss of life, economic
viability, and irreplaceable cultural heritage. Crimes such as these demand
substantial compensation and a pathway to restoration.
Azerbaijan is a corrupt and unstable dictatorship that oppresses its own people
and is potentially threatened by both Iran and Russia, with Russia having lost
influence in the region due to Turkish infiltration into the South Caucasus.
Artsakh met all legal provisions for international recognition, given what
should have been Azerbaijan’s actual legally claimable territory at the USSR’s
fall.
Therefore, Artsakh’s people should never give up the hope of returning to their
ancient homeland as a free and independent nation with international
peacekeepers, if the opportunity permits, by establishing a government-in-exile.
The West must restore confidence in the international order by recognizing the
egregious error committed by allowing Azerbaijan’s illegal annexation of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Otherwise, the world will stand on the abyss of a global
conflict, where the law of the jungle prevails.
Armenia | Azerbaijan | Crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh | Europe & Eurasia | Genocide
| The Latest
Armenian Genocide | Azerbaijan | Christians | Ethnic Cleansing | Genocide |
International Court of Justice (ICJ) | Nagorno-Karabakh (Republic of Artsakh)
Dual national Australian/New Zealander Len Wicks has a background in aviation
management, aviation safety audit and management, tourism, and international
conventions and relations, having worked in New Zealand, Oman (during the 1st
Gulf War) and Thailand (for the United Nations).
The Singaporean government engages Mr. Wicks as a special advisor. He is the
co-owner of a resort complex in Armenia, which is a base for the charity he
founded (Adopt-a-Village).
Mr. Wicks authored, inter alia, the trilogy novel Origins: Discovery and an
expose on the Khojaly Massacre, which was published by the Armenian National
Academy of Science. He also has two patents and an interest in renewable energy,
with new designs for a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine and a green hydrogen system
intended to decarbonize seawater.
In his private life, Mr. Wicks is a human rights activist focused on genocide
awareness. He vlogs on YouTube under Straight Talk from the Homeland and on X at
@OriginsD.
RFE/RL Armenian Service – 10/19/2023
Thursday,
New Yerevan Mayor Criticized For Pompous Inauguration
• Anush Mkrtchian
Armenia - New Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinian prepares to take the oath of office,
October 13, 2023.
Yerevan’s new Mayor Tigran Avinian sparked strong opposition criticism on
Thursday after it emerged that a lavish inauguration ceremony organized by him
last week cost taxpayers over 87 million drams ($220,000).
Avinian, who is allied to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, was sworn in on
October 13 almost one month after municipal elections in which the ruling Civil
Contract party made what many observers see as a poor showing.
The party led by Pashinian won 32.5 percent of the vote, falling well short of
an absolute majority in the city council empowered to appoint the mayor. It
managed to install Avinian thanks to a power-sharing deal with a
pro-establishment party and the effective backing of another group led by a
controversial video blogger wanted by Armenian law-enforcement authorities.
Despite the obvious election setback, Avinian’s inauguration, attended by
Armenia’s top state officials but boycotted by opposition groups, was held with
unprecedented pomp that raised eyebrows in the country.
The municipal administration revealed the cost of the ceremony in a written
statement to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. It said half of the money was spent on
decorations evoking the ancient kingdom of Urartu whose 8th century BC ruler
Argishti I is considered the founder of Yerevan.
Avinian was greeted by men dressed as Urartian warriors as he made his way into
the inauguration hall. The 34-year-old put his hand on a replica of a cuneiform
inscription left by Argishti as he took the oath of office.
Avinian defended the unusual event staging when he spoke to reporters
afterwards. He said it was meant to remind Armenians of “the origins of Yerevan.”
But his political opponents saw extravagance, waste of public money and poor
taste. Izabella Abgarian, a newly reelected city council member representing
former Mayor Hayk Marutian’s party, the election runner-up, said Avinian exposed
his “sick vanity.”
“In my view, this was a real disgrace given the current state of our country,”
Abgarian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “Now that we are receiving refugees
from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) I see a serious problem with morality in such a
pompous and costly ceremony.”
Minister Won’t Rule Out Ban On Russian TV Broadcasts In Armenia
Armenia - High-Technology Minister Robert Khachatrian talks to journalists, July
25, 2022.
Amid mounting tensions between Yerevan and Moscow, High-Technology Minister
Robert Khachatrian on Thursday did not rule out the possibility of banning the
retransmission of state-run Russian TV channels in Armenia.
A lawmaker representing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s party last month called
for such a ban and said it is now considered by the Armenian government. Lusine
Badalian claimed that the Russian broadcasters’ news coverage poses a threat to
Armenia’s national security. She appeared to allude to their recent reports
critical of Pashinian.
“All scenarios are discussed but no decision has been made,” Khachatrian told
reporters when he was asked to comment on the possibility of the ban which has
prompted serious concern from Russian officials.
He cited a 2020 Russian-Armenian agreement that allowed Russia’s two leading
federal channels as well as the Kultura TV station affiliated with one of them
to retain their slots in Armenia’s national digital package accessible to TV
viewers across the country.
“The agreement calls for relevant steps in case of violations and we will take
those relevant steps,” the minister said without elaborating.
Asked whether he too regards the Russian TV broadcasts as a security threat, he
said: “I won’t comment on that.”
The cryptic remarks highlight a continuing deterioration of Russian-Armenian
relations which accelerated after last month’s Azerbaijani military offensive in
Nagorno-Karabakh and Russia’s failure to prevent or stop it.
Addressing the European Parliament earlier this week, Pashinian accused Moscow
of using the conflict to try to topple him. A Russian government source
responded by comparing the Armenian leader to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of
Ukraine which was invaded by Russia last year.
Armenian Official Claims Evidence Of Azeri War Crimes In Karabakh
• Artak Khulian
Nagorno-Karabakh - A doll and children's personal belongings lie on the ground
in Stepanakert, October 2, 2023.
Armenia’s human rights ombudswoman on Thursday accused Azerbaijani troops of
committing war crimes during last month’s offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh that led
to the mass exodus of its ethnic Armenian population.
“There are many bodies, including of civilians, transported from
Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia that carry signs of torture and/or mutilation,”
Anahit Manasian told reporters. “This shows that those people were subjected to
the kind of treatment which was mentioned by me. There were children and women
among them.”
Manasian did not specify the number of the victims of the alleged war crimes,
saying that her office is continuing its “fact-finding work” on the September
19-20 assault that enabled Baku to regain full control of Karabakh.
According to Karabakh officials, the Azerbaijani offensive left more than 200
Karabakh soldiers and two dozen local civilians dead. More than 100,000 ethnic
Armenians lived there prior to the exodus.
Manasian said that her office has drawn up a “preliminary report” containing
purported evidence of atrocities collected by it so far. The reported has been
submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), added the state human
rights defender.
The Armenian government appealed to the United Nations court on September 28 to
order Baku to guarantee the safe and speedy return to their homes of the
Karabakh Armenians who have taken refuge in Armenia. It also wants the
Azerbaijani side to withdraw military and security personnel from Karabakh
civilian facilities, give the UN and other international organizations access to
the depopulated region and protect its religious and cultural monuments.
Baku has denied targeting Karabakh civilians during the two-day military
operation or forcing them to flee their homeland in the following days. It has
pledged to protect the rights of local residents willing to live under
Azerbaijani rule.
Armenian Government Approves More Aid For Karabakh Refugees
• Narine Ghalechian
• Susan Badalian
Armenia - A school gym in Artashat turned into a shelter for Karabakh refugees,
October 9, 2023.
The government formally decided on Thursday to allocate 30 billion drams ($75
million) for the housing needs of tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians who have
taken refuge in Armenia since last month’s Azerbaijani military offensive.
Every refugee lacking decent housing is to receive 50,000 drams ($125) per month
to pay rent and utility bills at least until next March. Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian pledged such support during the mass exodus of over 100,000 Karabakh
Armenians who lived in the region as of September 19.
His government claims to have housed more than half of the refugees in hotels,
disused public buildings and empty village houses. It now expects 40,000 of them
to apply for the housing compensation scheme this month.
“We are thereby encouraging our compatriots to rent apartments,” Pashinian said
during a weekly cabinet meeting in Yerevan. He suggested that the sums allocated
to them should be enough to cover their housing expenses.
Labor and Social Affairs Minister Narek Mkrtchian clarified that starting from
next month those refugees who own homes in Armenia or continue to live in
temporary shelters provided by the government will not be eligible for this
financial aid.
Some refugees are already using their modest savings to rent homes in and
outside Yerevan which have become much more expensive in recent years. They
include the family of Suzanna Arzumanian, a Karabakh mother of two. Their rented
apartment in Yerevan’s Nor Nork suburb did not even have beds when they moved
there earlier this month.
Arzumanian complained that despite repeated government pledges, municipal
authorities have not provided her family with food, clothing or any other basic
necessities.
Armenia - Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh visit a Karabakh office in Yerevan to
inquire about their pensions and other benefits, .
The government approved on Thursday unpublicized rules for the distribution of
such humanitarian assistance. It was not clear whether they will apply to at
least $35 million in aid to the refugees promised by the United States, the
European Union and some EU member states.
The government aid also includes a one-off cash payment of 100,000 drams ($260)
to every refugee. Officials say 80 percent of the displaced Karabakh Armenians
have already received that money. Many of the refugees interviewed by RFE/RL’s
Armenian Services and other media outlets still say that they haven’t, however.
It also remains unclear whether the government will pay Karabakh’s pensions and
other social benefits. Dozens of elderly refugees visit the Karabakh government
office in Yerevan every day to inquire about their pensions.
“They won’t tell us anything,” Sergei Mirzoyan, a pensioner from Stepanakert,
said on Wednesday, referring to Karabakh officials working there. He hopes to
continue receiving his monthly pension of 72,000 drams in Armenia.
Pashinian cited earlier a “legal problem” hampering such payments. He did not
say on Thursday whether it has been resolved.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
FitsAir launches Colombo-Yerevan flights
12:09,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 20, ARMENPRESS. The Sri Lankan FitsAir airline has launched Colombo-Yerevan flights.
Zvartnots International Airport said in a statement that FitsAir will operate the roundtrip flights three times per month starting October 20.
Armenpress: The issue of forced displacement of NK people, Azerbaijani aggression raised at PABSEC meeting
18:10,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS. On 19 October , the 61st Meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) Economic, Commercial and Financial Affairs Committee was held in Yerevan, the Armenian Parliament's press service said in a readout.
The Meeting was attended by delegates from Armenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine.
The topic Strengthening Parliamentary Cooperation in the Field of Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Assistance in the BSEC Region was at the core of the discussions.
The meeting was chaired by the Member of the RA NA Delegation to PABSEC Sergey Bagratyan, who is also the Vice-Chairman of the abovementioned Committee .
Welcoming the guests, the RA NA Vice President touched upon the unblocking of the road, stressing that Armenia can become crossroads, connecting East with the West, stretching from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean , North with South.
“In Armenia we called this project Crossroads of Peace. I hope that the member countries would like to be part of this Crossroads of Peace and have their contribution to its establishment and development. Unblocking the roads is very important for the Republic of Armenia, because our country has been under blockade by Azerbaijan and Turkey for 30 years,” the NA Vice President underlined.
The RA NA Vice President Hakob Arshakyan underscored that the National Assembly of Armenia is interested in strengthening cooperation within the framework of the Parliamentary Assembly. He mentioned with regret the fact that we continue to clash with security serious challenges in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation region.
In this context the NA Vice President reminded about illegal blockade of Lachin Corridor , after the inhumane siege of the peaceful Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan unleashed another large-scale military aggression against those people on September 19. As a result, there have been hundreds of killed and wounded, t he whole population of NagornoKarabakh (more than 100. 000 people) was forcibly displaced and fled to Armenia.
”It is extremely sad, that despite of decisions of the International Court of Justice, resolutions of the European Parliament, PACE and the parliaments of individual countries, appeals of executive bodies, the international community, we all were unable to prevent the ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Azerbaijani actions are not confined to Nagorno Karabakh but extend to the sovereign territories of the Republic of Armenia: In 2021 and then in September 2022, Azerbaijan launched another unprovoked military aggression along Armenia's eastern and southeastern borders, invading and occupying sovereign Armenian territories, some of which remain under Azerbaijan's illegal control. Azerbaijan’s approach is to impose its preferred solutions on Armenia through force ,” the NA Vice President recorded.
According to him, for over three years Azerbaijan has refused to return Armenian prisoners of war and other civilians. To conviction of the NA Deputy Speaker, all these aggressive actions of Azerbaijan endanger the prospect of peace and stability in the region. The situation created by the use of force and aggression against Armenia cannot become a basis for stable and lasting peace.
Touching upon the importance of the topic of the committee meeting, Hakob Arshakyan noted that the issue of prevention of the threat of natural disasters and provision of emergency assistance is more than relevant for the Black Sea region. This is evidenced by the devastating earthquake that took place in Turkey in February of this year, as well as the forest fires and water disasters that some countries of the Black Sea region faced. In this context he underlined that the Republic of Armenia did not remain aloof in sending a rescue team and humanitarian cargo to Turkey.
In his welcoming speech, the PABSEC Vice-President, the Head of the RA NA Delegation to the structure, the Deputy Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Babken Tunyan also referred to the serious security challenges that our country is facing. The Head of the Armenian delegation reminded about the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor and the irreversible consequences of another large-scale aggression of Azerbaijan, the policy of ethnic cleansing. He underlined that the whole population of Nagorno-Karabakh was forcibly displaced and fled to Armenia, adding that Armenia faced an emergency situation in accepting and providing asylum to our compatriots. Babken Tunyan described this situation as a humanitarian disaster. To his assessment, the belligerent rhetoric and destructive approach of one member state of the organization towards another pose security threat to the entire region, undermining every attempt to normalize relations. “ Despite the difficulties and challenges, Armenia remains committed to promote the efforts to establish peace in the region, ” the MP underscored.
Touching upon the topic under discussion, Babken Tunyan highlighted the importance to strengthen the parliamentary cooperation in the field of disaster risk reduction and emergency relief and the enhancement of the legal framework for effective assistance and risk management.
“As our region is often facing various natural and man-made disasters, the prevention and neutralization of consequences of which is often not possible only at the national level. I am sure that the deepening of cooperation at the regional level in this area can be very effective, ” the RA NA representative stated.
The participants of the meeting were welcomed by the Deputy Secretary General in Charge of Organisational Matters of the PABSEC Miltiadis Makrygiannis and the Head of the PABSEC Serbian Delegation, the PABSEC Vice-President Igor Becic.
Since there was no quorum at the meeting, discussions were organized, but the decisions will be made during the General Assembly to be held in the near future. Items on the agenda were discussed, regional issues were touched upon.
The participants of the meeting exchanged ideas on the draft of the report Strengthening Parliamentary Cooperation in the Field of Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Assistance in the BSEC Region. The threats to people's lives and safety due to natural and man-made disasters and the necessity to prevent them and the importance of the joint struggle of the PABSEC member states against them were addressed. It was noted that the PABSEC should be able to ensure legal bases for applying stable and complex mechanisms of struggle in this area. The features of the national legislations in this field were presented, the importance of the methods of combating disasters in war situations was touched open .
The member of the RA NA D elegation to the PABSEC, the Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs Gevorg Papoyan emphasized the response of the PABSEC states in emergency situations, assessment of capacities and relating t o them. The MP presented in detail the steps implemented in this field in our country both at the legislative level and within the framework of the Government's activity programme. To his assessment, due to geographical and climatic conditions, Armenia is exposed to many risks, there are also technological factories, the safety of which is important as well. The RA NA deputy referred to the legislative regulations of the sector, the actions arising from the Government's programme for 2021-2026, highlighted the steps taken in the direction of preventing man-made disasters.
“ It is important for us to be a participant in prevention and elimination of the consequences both at the international and regional level. The last example in this regard was the earthquake that happened in Türkiye and Syria, in which Armenia took part to the maximum extent as a supporting country in the elimination of the consequences. The aim of all the states is one, to prevent not only through criteria, but also through raising people' s awareness, ” Gevorg Papoyan mentioned.
Other items on the agenda were discussed, information was presented about the activity of the organization of the PABSEC. The next Committee meeting is designed to be held in Kyiv, ahead of the plenary meeting.
Two rare oral histories converge in Dr. Gil Harootunian’s newest publication
Book Review | At Four O’clock in the Afternoon and Bones and Bodies, We Had to Walk Over Them
Written by Guleeg Haroian and Eva Hightaian
Translated by Rose D. Guertin, Ph.D.
Edited by Gil Harootunian, Ph.D.
Two oral histories are combined in one collection. At Four O’clock in the Afternoon is the only existing firsthand oral account of an adult female who survived both the 1895 Hamidian massacres and the 1915 Armenian Genocide. Bones and Bodies, We Had To Walk Over Them is the firsthand oral account of her nine-year-old daughter who survived the Genocide.
Both accounts were translated by Rose D. Guertin, Ph.D. and written and edited by Gil Harootunian, Ph.D. This stunning collection is told in four voices.
Dr. Harootunian’s voice provides the introduction to both oral histories with thoroughly researched facts and a relevant overview that shine a light on key points that may have been dimmed during the emotional narration or translation in language. She states there are many reasons why self-narrated histories were not written by women, including but not limited to the lack of literacy skills and the community taboo that precludes females discussing their sexual trauma.
Guleeg (Toomasian) Haroian narrates At Four O’clock In the Afternoon, starting her story at the age of 10, when she witnessed the killing of her father, the theft of their wealth and the burning of their house down to ashes by the Turks. By 1913, she was married to Hagop Haroian, blessed with two daughters and pregnant with a third, when he left for America with the dream of saving money to bring his family a life of freedom. With dreams shattered, she survived the 1915 Genocide through a forced marriage to a Muslim and later reunited with her daughter.
Excerpt: “And soon the crier yelled for us to go. I jumped. I knew that place so well! I ran. They had begun separating the pretty ones, the brides, for rape, marriage and property. They were raping and beating them, then driving them out…I escaped. I had a stick in my hand. I was in my thirties; my eyes and face I had rubbed all black mud on, so the Turks wouldn’t recognize me, and they wouldn’t see how young I was…From roof to roof, I jumped.”
Guleeg Haroian with her husband Hagop and daughters Eva and Mary (infant) in the U.S.
Eva (Haroian) Hightaian, Guleeg’s only surviving daughter from “the old country,” narrates Bones and Bodies, We Had to Walk Over Them. Eva’s oral history is significant, as she reveals the decision-making process of a nine-year-old child experiencing the collections, the Death March and forced transfer into a Muslim household. Eva also talks about her years with an Arab adoptive mother and her reluctance to re-join her mother and the Armenian community.
Excerpt: “After the Turkish government took all the ammunition and everything they saw, they decided you still have more…The soldiers took the women they found to the konagh. They tortured them. No woman would talk about it, but you can imagine what they did to the women. …The Turkish soldiers collected all the old men. They took them to a gorge, shot them, and those old men fell right there…After that, the massacre time came…And now the Turks claim they never did such a thing. But I saw it with my own eyes, in my young days, my childhood, they did all those things…”
The afterword is written by Dr. Rebecca Jinks, Department of History, Royal Holloway, University of London, and a respected authority of women’s experiences during the Armenian and Yezidi genocides and humanitarian responses and representations in the aftermath. Her article “‘Marks Hard to Erase”: The Troubled Reclamation of ‘Absorbed’ Armenian Women, 1919-1927” was published in 2018 in the American Historical Review. Dr. Jinks provides a comparative analysis to a phenomenon called “genocidal absorption” that occurs when children are removed from the ethnic, religious and national communities that they are born into, as part of the process of group destruction. Dr. Jinks states that Guleeg and Eva’s experiences give us real insight into different experiences of genocidal absorption during the Armenian Genocide.
The book is just over 200 pages and flows smoothly for a quick read. However, the words on those pages will stay with you long after as you reflect on the unspeakable horror and remarkable resilience. Please note trigger warnings of violence, sexual trauma and genocide.
This level of firsthand accounts is a rarity, and their value cannot be understated.
It was not lost on me that this rare collection of Armenian history was written by a family matriarchy of four generations of women. The two oral histories consist of excerpts from recordings made beginning in 1976 with all four generations present. Had this not been a collaborative effort among trusted family members, these stories would join others that will never be told. This level of firsthand accounts is a rarity, and their value cannot be understated.
This treasure could not have been written by anyone other than Dr. Harootunian. We highly recommend this book for its rare and unique firsthand points of view, especially for readers and researchers interested in the lesser told stories from women that are written in English.
We also commend and thank Guleeg and Eva for their selfless bravery, for opening deep wounds and for reliving their nightmares, and Rose and Gil for pushing through their generational trauma to share this invaluable treasure with the world.
Lithuanian Prime Minister will arrive in Armenia on a working visit
18:16,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė will arrive in Armenia on a working visit late in the evening on October 18, the Office of the Prime Minister stated.
On October 19, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Ingrida Šimonytė will have a private conversation, afterwards negotiations will continue in an expanded format.
The meeting of Lithuanian Prime Minister with President Vahagn Khachaturyan is also scheduled.
Prime Minister Šimonytė will visit the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial in Yerevan to pay tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims, as well as the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies.
180 people forcibly displaced from Karabakh continue treatment in medical facilities of Armenia
17:56,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS. A total of 180 people forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh continue their treatment in various medical facilities of the Republic of Armenia.
The Prime Minister’s spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan said at a press conference Wednesday.
''32 of them are in severe and 9 others—in critical condition.
During the last week, 75 medical patients have been discharged, but they continue to be under medical supervision," Baghdasaryan said.
According to her, 35 thousand 550 people have already been registered in outpatient clinics and polyclinics.