Author: Garik Boshkezenian

Criminal prosecution of Armenian POWs a malicious violation of international law

Garik Boshkezenian
Public Radio of Armenia
June 4 2021
 
 

The criminal cases against 16 Armenian servicemen, as well as the torture and psychological pressure of other Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians set a precedent for a malicious violation of international law, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Official Baku has started criminal prosecution against Lyudvik Mkrtchyan and Alyosha Khosrovyan, captured during the recent aggression of Azerbaijan against Artsakh.

“Continuing to violate the norms of humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, which explicitly states that prisoners of war are released and repatriated immediately after the cessation of hostilities, Azerbaijan has brought trumped-up criminal charges against 14 captured Armenian servicemen, which also violates the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020,” the Foreign Ministry said.

“The criminal cases against 16 Armenian servicemen, as well as the torture and psychological pressure of other Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians set a precedent for a malicious violation of international law. It is clear that Azerbaijan instrumentalizes the captured people as political hostages and tools to pursue other goals,” it added.

Official Baku also blatantly defies the relevant decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on providing information on Armenian servicemen and civilians held in Azerbaijani captivity.

“Despite numerous calls from the international community, Azerbaijan continues to conceal the true number of the prisoners, denying the captivity of dozens of Armenian servicemen and civilians. Moreover, Azerbaijan denies the detention of those whose captivity in Azerbaijan has been documented both through video coverage and testimonies of repatriated prisoners, which raises suspicions of a number of serious crimes,” the statement reads.

All Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives held in Azerbaijan must be immediately released and repatriated without any preconditions, the Ministry stated. 

Armenia acting PM on Artsakh war casualties’ bodies: We have 50 remains in which case DNA was not separated

Garik Boshkezenian
News.am, Armenia
June 3 2021
12:21, 03.06.2021

YEREVAN. – We must learn lessons from this incident. But on the other hand, the government, or the Minister of Health, cannot go and go around every day, see how it is. Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting of the interim government of Armenia, and referring to the improper preservation conditions of the bodies and remains of the Armenian casualties of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war last fall. He added that this is a matter of professional ethics and education.

"If we sum up the data, I want us to also record that at this moment, the work of DNA testing, identification of bodies has reached the final stage. We have bodies that have not been identified, but there are relatives who did not give a DNA sample for various reasons, and there are also bodies that the relatives did not take for various reasons," he said.

Pashinyan noted that there are about 50 remains in which case the DNA has not been separated even after the fourth or fifth attempts, and therefore they shall turn to foreign partners who are more experienced in this field for help. "There have been cases when relatives have questioned the datum of the examination conducted in Armenia, taken [it] abroad on their own initiative, and the results have been the same—by 99.9 percent," the acting premier added.

‘Round the clock work being carried out for return of captives’ – Armenia deputy NSS director

Garik Boshkezenian

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 17:23, 1 June, 2021

YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. The border situation is the same, negotiations over the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from Armenia’s sovereign territory are underway, Deputy Director of the National Security Service Aram Hakobyan told reporters in the Parliament, commenting on the current situation in the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

“At this moment the situation is the same as it was in the past. Negotiations are taking place so that they pull back. During that period it will be determined what will be the border situation”, he said.

Asked what actions are being taken for the return of the Armenian captives from Azerbaijan, he stated: “Round the clock work is being done for their return”.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Macron: Azerbaijani troops must pull back from Armenia’s sovereign territory

Garik Boshkezenian
Panorama, Armenia
June 1 2021

French President Emmanuel Macron demanded that Azerbaijan withdraw its troops from Armenia’s sovereign territory when he met with caretaker Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan in Paris on Tuesday.

"This working visit is taking place at a crucial time for Armenia, which is facing a serious crisis threatening its security," Macron said in the Élysée Palace.

He said more than 6 months have passed since the November 9 statement on the ceasefire, adding while the ceasefire is generally respected in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), much remains to be done and France is ready to support this process. Macron called for the release of all detained persons, including prisoners of war (POWs) and other detainees. He also called for efforts towards the preservation of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"As a co-chair of the Minsk Group, together with the United States and Russia, France is obliged to do everything possible to achieve de-escalation and resume dialogue, including direct dialogue between the parties," the French leader said.

Macron reflected on the recent Azerbaijan incursion into the sovereign territory of Armenia.

"I would like to speak about the recent acts of violence on the international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. As I said on May 13, the delimitation of the borders between the two countries must take place exclusively through negotiations, without the use of force. The Azerbaijani troops must leave the sovereign territory of Armenia. I urge both sides to return to the positions held by them on May 11,” Macron said.

The president said France stands with Armenia as always.

In the humanitarian sphere, France has provided assistance to Armenia, contacts have been established between various hospitals, and exceptional support has been provided to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which provides communication between Armenian POWs being held in Azerbaijan and their families.

Macron hailed good economic cooperation between Armenia and France in a number of areas, the aim of which is to accompany Armenia in the development of those infrastructures, prioritizing the fulfillment of its commitments undertaken in the fight against global warming.

"We stand in solidarity with Armenia and will continue to do so. Amid these trials, France is determined to work towards the restoration of peace in the region,” he said.

Amman: Armenian tourists to start weekly visits to Jordan early September: JTB

Garik Boshkezenian
Ammon News, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan


Armenian tourists to start weekly visits to Jordan early September: JTB

[31-05-2021 11:16 PM]

Ammon News –

The Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) has signed a charter flight support agreement that includes attracting Armenian tourist delegations to the Kingdom in September.

In the presence of JTB Managing Director Abdul Razzaq Arabiat, the agreement was signed by the General Manager of the Armenian Tourism Company, Areva Travel and Tourism Group, Herbyslim Stamobyan, the General Manager of Travco Tourism and Travel Paolo Nocherino, and the CEO of Dallas Travel and Tourism, Amjad Maslamani.

Arabiat said that the agreement included the support of the JTB for charter flights to the Kingdom through the Armenian company, indicating that the agreement will help activate the tourism movement from Armenia as of September to Jordan, with a weekly flight through Jordanian airlines "Fly Jordan".

He added that the JTB followed a policy of support by attracting chartered flights after the government exempted the departure tax on chartered, regular and low-cost flights at King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba Special Economic City.

Arabiyat indicated that the JTB is working hard to attract aircraft from other countries, noting that the JTB has an integrated strategy to support low-cost chartered aircrafts.

For his part, General Manager of the Travco Company Paolo Nocherino said, "Our hard work with a real effort on our part and with the support of Fly Jordan Aviation and the JTB through the incentives and direct support program launched by the board, contributed to the return of air traffic to the Kingdom."

He stressed that the company is keen on the return of tourist groups to Jordan, as the company is working with its full capacity to provide a distinguished tourism service for these arriving groups.

Fly Jordan CEO, Amjad Maslamani, stressed the importance of this agreement, which would contribute to re-attracting more flights to the Kingdom after the long period of suspension of air traffic due to Covid-19 restrictions.

He said that Fly Jordan is the first Jordanian airline to sign a tourist transport agreement with the Armenian company, which includes transporting tourists to the Kingdom to visit all tourist and archaeological sites, pointing out that the agreement will support tourism forward, and contribute to reactivating the tourism movement.

EU says developments on Armenian-Azerbaijani border worrying, calls for release of POWs

Garik Boshkezenian
Public Radio of Armenia
 

Recent developments on the Armenia/Azerbaijan border are both dangerous and worrying, Peter Stano, lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said in a statement, adding that immediate de-escalation is needed.

“The European Union urges both sides to refrain from any further military deployment and actions. All forces should pull back to positions held before 12 May and both sides should engage in negotiations on border delimitation and demarcation. We continue to call on Azerbaijan to release all prisoners of war and detainees without delay. We welcome all efforts aimed at decreasing tensions, including proposals for a possible international observation mission,” the Spokesperson said.

“The EU is ready to provide expertise and help on border delimitation and demarcation, as well as to support much needed confidence building measures, in order to move towards sustainable peace and prosperity for the South Caucasus,” he concluded.

 

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party’s headquarters, citizens call him ‘capitulator’

Garik Boshkezenian
News.am, Armenia
Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'
18:36, 28.05.2021

Yerevan.today writes the following: “Today, on May 28, right after the visit to Sardarapat Memorial Complex, acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan visited the Malatia-Sebastia district of Yerevan where the headquarters of the Civil Contract Party is located.

According to our sources, nobody greeted him at the headquarters. Moreover, citizens in buses used swear words at him and called him ‘traitor’ and ‘capitulator’.

Pashinyan is still at the headquarters, and head of the district Davit Karapetyan has been instructed to take employees of the district council to a meeting with the acting Prime Minister. We were also informed that Pashinyan is escorted by the drivers of 15 cars.”

Pashinyan calls for unity and soberness during visit to Kut border village

Garik Boshkezenian

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 14:53,

YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Kut border village in the Gegharkunik Province and talked to the local residents about the current situation. Pashinyan prioritized unity of the people in this situation.

“Every time Azerbaijan sees it has a chance to divide us it becomes more active and encouraged. We must clearly show that no matter what internal disagreement there may be, our first reaction to their actions will be unity. We haven’t paid enough attention to this issue during this time. The families of all our victims, the families of our captive compatriots, residents of all border villages, residents from downtown Yerevan to the village of Kut, we are all one family and one home and we must move forward with this logic, there shouldn’t be any trembling in this regard,” Pashinyan said.

“Clearly the situation is very nervous, very emotional, but we shouldn’t lose soberness, because if we lose soberness and balance it will prevent us from assessing the situation correctly and making correct decisions,” Pashinyan said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Up to 1000 Azeri troops illegally located inside Armenian territory – military says

Garik Boshkezenian

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 16:43,

YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. Up to 1000 Azerbaijani troops are currently illegally located inside the territory of Armenia, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Major-General Edvard Asryan said at a May 27 press briefing.

“These Azeri troops don’t have the possibility of carrying out any serious objectives in our territory. If we were to solve the issue militarily, these 1000 troops won’t leave our territory – we’d destroy them all without exception,” Asryan said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenpress: Armenian President receives EU Delegation chief

Garik Boshkezenian

Armenian President receives EU Delegation chief

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 16:38,

YEREVAN, MAY 24, ARMENPRESS. President Armen Sarkissian received Head of the European Union’s Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin, the President’s Office told Armenpress.

The post-war problems in Armenia and in particular, the current border situation were discussed during the meeting.

The Armenian President and the EU Ambassador exchanged views also on the possibilities of deepening the partnership and expanding the cooperation with the EU in a number of areas.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan