10:34,
STEPANAKERT, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. The Artsakh rescuers have resumed the search operations for the bodies of dead servicemen and the missing in action in the Hadrut region, the State Emergency Service of Artsakh told Armenpress.
So far, a total of 1518 bodies have been found during the search operations.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
14:22,
YEREVAN, MARCH 20, ARMENPRESS. On the occasion of Nowruz – the Iranian New Year, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sent congratulatory letters to Iran’s Supreme Leader Seyed Ali Khamenei and IRI President Hassan Rouhani, the PM’s Office told Armenpress.
The letter addressed to Seyed Ali Khamenei reads:
“Your Majesty,
I warmly congratulate you and the friendly people of Iran on the Iranian New Year – Nowruz. May the coming year be a year of new achievements, peace and prosperity for Iran in all areas.
The ongoing mutually beneficial cooperation between our two friendly peoples, which are bound by deep-rooted historical affinities, has become even more important following the recent regional developments. I am confident that we will be able to develop the bilateral relations as much as possible to the benefit of our two countries and nations.
I wish Your Majesty robust health and personal wellbeing, as well as peace and progress – to the friendly people of Iran.”
***
The congratulatory letteraddressed to President Hassan Rouhani reads:
“Excellency,
I warmly congratulate you and the friendly people of Iran on the Iranian New Year – Nowruz. May this ancient holiday bring peace and prosperity to friendly Iran!
The recent developments in the region call for greater efforts to speed up the implementation of bilateral programs. I am convinced that we will be able to use the new geopolitical realities to advance the interests of our two friendly countries and peoples.
I wish Your Excellency robust health and every success, as well as prosperity and peace – to the friendly people of Iran.”
We must always move forward and the way to do it is the topic of today’s discussions, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at Aragatsotn province today, adding that it is the opening of regional communications and roads.
“No matter what they say, the topic of opening communications is mutually beneficial. If someone says that the opening of these roads is beneficial only for Azerbaijan, do not believe it. If someone says that the opening of communications is beneficial only for Armenia, again do not believe it. The opening of communications, especially in this situation is beneficial both for Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the prime minister stated.
Pashinyan said it is beneficial for Azerbaijan as it will ensure communication with Nakhichevan and is beneficial for Armenia as it will get reliable railway communication with Russia and Iran.
“It means that economy of our country may essentially change,” the PM said.
Armenians suffered from a double shock last year, with COVID-19 and a devastating 44-day war with Azerbaijan – the deadliest conflict in 2020. The conflict killed thousands of people within a few weeks while the rest of the world was busy managing COVID’s challenges. Since 1994, Nagorno-Karabakh (N.K.) has been controlled by Armenia, but within a few weeks in 2020, Azerbaijan captured most of the region with unconditional support from Turkey. Azerbaijan’s advanced technology outgunned the Armenians, and a ceasefire was signed on November 9th, with Azerbaijan declaring victory. In Nagorno-Karabakh, ethnic Armenians in newly-captured areas have been forced to move out. Some burnt their homes before leaving.
Nagorno-Karabakh is in the Caucasus, between Europe and Asia. Historically, its population has been largely ethnic Armenian with a substantial Azeri minority. The region is covered with medieval Armenian churches. Since N.K. was part of Soviet Azerbaijan, it was considered part of Azerbaijan when it and Armenia declared independence from the Soviet Union in the 20th century. However, N.K.’s Armenian population never accepted this. The majority-Armenian population moved to declare independence and self-rule, which Azerbaijan strongly opposed, rejecting several peaceful demonstrations for self-determination in 1988. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, this conflict turned into all-out war and these ancient feuds erupted. When Armenian forces claimed victory in 1994, taking control of seven regions of Azerbaijan and five in Nagorno-Kharak, Russia mediated a ceasefire between the countries. Despite the ceasefire, tensions between the two have never cooled down. Skirmishes regularly break out.
The Armenian republic is now suffering the effects of the loss, and its people are feeling major national trauma and post-war depression.
Internally, Armenia’s government handled the war poorly in many different ways. The Azeris had prepared for war, investing in modernizing their military, while Armenia was confident after its 1994 victory and was under the impression that its military superiority would last forever. Azeri military expenses increased significantly in the last decade, thanks to the profits they gained from oil riches. In addition to the larger investiture of military spending, Azerbaijan modernized its military technology, purchasing resources like advanced military drones. When war between the two countries broke out again in September 2020, Azeri forces pushed 20 km into the region, first taking back additional regions under Armenian control beyond Nagorno Karabakh, then a portion of N.K. itself within a few weeks.
Although Armenia tried to fight back, it was nearly defenseless. Armenia prepared to fight a 20th-century war, while Azerbaijan prepared for the modern century. This was the first military conflict in the 21st century where drones played a decisive role, ensuring Azerbaijan’s victory and the collapse of Nagorno Karabakh’s defense, which was mostly built on Soviet technology and tactics from the ’80s.
Armenia’s diplomacy also failed. Turkey saw an opportunity and threw its military weight behind Azerbaijan, which took advantage of the unconditional support. In addition to modern technology, this alliance provided help with military strategy and tactics as used in N.A.T.O. On top of this, Turkey brought in a few thousand mercenaries from Syria, hardened in their fighting skills. No power stood with Armenians when they needed it most.
Finally, Armenia failed its people by creating a false sense of confidence that it was winning the war. The nation wasn’t prepared for a possible defeat. After the first few days, many military experts saw that victory clearly wasn’t within reach. But throughout the war, Armenian leadership fed its people the idea that it was winning, which misled the population. This, in turn, made the defeat even more traumatic. Hundreds of young people enlisted to fight for their country, and these men and women lost their lives when the government could have stopped the war at an earlier stage. The country, promised a win, now suffers an aggravated post-war depression.
Armenia lost because instead of facing reality, its leaders based their judgments on ideological, political, partisan, and personal considerations for over two decades. Armenian-American historian and diplomat Jurair Libaridian explained, “We lost because we refused to see the shifting balance of power, to accept that time was not on our side. We confused feeling good with thinking strategically.”
Armenian leadership should have been honest with its people to ease expectations and prevent war, damage, and lost lives. “Armenia lost a war that should have been avoided at all costs, a war that couldn’t have been won,” Libaridian said. “Another segment of Armenian people lost its ancestral homes and its collective life. Armenia lost a whole generation of young men. Armenia lost the human and financial capital invested in N.K. over many years. We have lost our self-confidence,” Libaridian concluded, “our optimism, and much of the progress that had been made. We may have even lost our faith in democracy. We are a traumatized people not fully ready to accept what happened, and why. We have lost one more slice of our independence and sovereignty.”
Externally, Turkey and Russia had their own motives and acted, not because they wanted to protect Azerbaijan or Armenia, but because they were gaining something from the war. Other countries that could have stopped the war did not come forward as expected. The U.S. was deep into its presidential election drama and facing Donald Trump’s last weeks in power. Europe was fragmented over many internal issues. Turkey’s strong presence in the European Union further limited Europe’s involvement. Even France, possibly Armenia’s closest ally, limited intervention to only a few declarations for peace. Iran, which Armenia saw as supporting their cause, came to welcome the restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.
Turkey played a vital role in Azerbaijan’s victory, but the country hurt Armenia beyond providing Azerbaijan with military strength. Turkey’s involvement adds to a century of psychological trauma that Armenia has seen no justice for. One million Armenians were massacred under Ottoman rule, but Turkey has refused to admit to the Armenian genocide. Now, together with Russia, the country has established a joint monitoring center very close to the N.K. border. Many Armenians expected a more impartial monitoring system under the United Nations umbrella. Other bodies, especially the United Nations, should have monitored Turkey’s involvement in this war.
But no one heard Armenia’s cries. No international organizations, including the United Nations, made substantial effort to stop the war. There was no driving force on the U.N. Security Council strong enough to make those cries for help heard, and this paralysis says much about the Council’s priorities. Long after the fighting had broken out, United Nations Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric released a statement “condemn[ing] the use of force and regret[ting] the loss of life and the toll on the civilian population.” Dujarric continued, “The Secretary-General strongly calls on the sides to immediately stop fighting, de-escalate tensions, and return to meaningful negotiations without delay,” adding that the U.N. chief would be speaking to both the Azeri president and the Armenian prime minister. However, not much was done after that.
Ironically, when conflict erupted in Ethiopia around the same time, the refugees received U.N. support, while none has been given to the N.K., months after the war.
Although the war was short-lived, there were many opportunities for the United Nations to step forth. The U.N. should have begun a process that ensured recognition of the conflict and provided help before it was too late. Instead, the organization remains uninvolved to this day.
In theory, Armenia could have mitigated its losses in one of the bloodiest wars of the last decade if it had prepared better for 21st-century warfare. However, this would have escalated the conflict into a deeper and more destructive war for both Armenia and Azerbaijan. This conflict needs mediation and its refugees require humanitarian aid.
Armenia has opportunities to create solutions, Jurair Libaridarian said. These include demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation, rejecting or amending the November 10th ceasefire agreement, and pushing harder for the international recognition of Nagorno Karabakh’s independence. It is difficult to see peace between these nations in the near future. There must be strong international intervention to mediate the countries’ relations.
15:40,
YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENPRESS. Presented by Councilmember Paul Krekorian and seconded by Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously adopted a resolution reaffirming the support of the City of Los Angeles towards the people of the Republic of Artsakh. The resolution notes that “the City of Los Angeles has a long record of standing in support and friendship with the people of the Republic of Artsakh ( Nagorno-Karabagh).
“The resolution refers to an earlier document officially adopted by the Los Angeles City Council in September 2013, according to which the Republic of Artsakh was recognized as a free, independent and sovereign state. It also refers to the resolution adopted in December 2020, where “the Los Angeles City Council reaffirmed the City’s commitment to uplifting and supporting the struggle of the Republic of Artsakh and its people for self-determination, and called upon the United States federal government to do likewise,” Massis Post reported.
“On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan’s military forces launched a much more massive unprovoked attack against the Republic of Artsakh, coordinated with and supported by Turkey, utterly shredding the 30-year ceasefire and resuming full scale warfare targeted at destroying and ethnically cleansing the indigenous Armenian population and conquering by force the territory of the independent Republic of Artsakh,” stated the resolution.
It also confirms that “throughout its unprovoked invasion, Azerbaijan intentionally targeted civilian areas throughout Artsakh with lethal attacks using heavy weaponry including drones, rockets and heavy artillery, leading to widespread and indiscriminate death and destruction and the displacement of much of the population of Artsakh.
The resolution also affirms that “throughout the brutal invasion, Azerbaijan terrorized civilians by targeting them with munitions that are widely banned and condemned by the international community, including cluster bombs and white phosphorus.”
The resolution further states that “major combat operations ended on November 9, 2020, although Azerbaijan’s forces have continued to engage in violence, aggression and cruelty even after that date.”
“Therefore, be it resolved that by the adoption of this resolution the City of Los Angeles honors and mourns the thousands of lives lost in this attack, and declares November 9, 2020 a day of remembrance and commemoration of the victims of Azerbaijan’s aggression against the Republic of Artsakh,” states the resolution in its conclusion.
Simultaneously, the Los Angeles City Council adopted another resolution that relates to the city of Shushi. As it is known, on April 24, 2012, the City Council of Los Angeles recognized the city of Shushi, under the governance of the Republic of Artsakh, as a “Friendship City” of the City of Los Angeles.
In the new resolution it is mentioned that “the city of Shushi has been the cultural heart of Artsakh for centuries, and holds extraordinary significance to Armenians throughout the world. ”As a result of the Azerbaijani launched large-scale military attack on the Republic of Artsakh on September 27 without warning or provocation, thousands of deaths and the destruction of centuries-old historic and cultural assets occurred. “Having been abandoned by the international community, and facing an existential threat to Artsakh and the very real potential for another genocide of the Armenian people, Armenia signed a cease-fire statement brokered by Russia that allows Azerbaijan to control much of Artsakh, specifically including the city of Shushi,” says the resolution.
Therefore, “the City of Los Angeles does hereby temporarily suspend its “Friendship City” relationship with Shushi for as long as it is illegally controlled by Azerbaijan, and will renew that status when Shushi is again free of Azeri conquest and oppression and restored to democratic governance as part of the Republic of Artsakh.
”Lastly, “the City Council of Los Angeles extends its warm greetings, support and best wishes for safety and security to Shushi’s Mayor Artsvik Sargsyan and the entire democratically elected leadership of Shushi, and the City Council further looks forward to the day that Shushi is once again liberated from Azeri occupation.”
12:30,
YEREVAN, MARCH 12, ARMENPRESS. In accordance to the 2021 Q1 readiness plan, the Armenian Armed Forces will launch combined arms (including special forces) joint tactical military exercises in all operational directions from March 16 to 20, the Armenian Defense Ministry said.
7500 servicemen, 200 rocket-artillery systems, more than 150 anti-tank systems, 100 armored equipment and more than 90 air defense systems will be involved in the drills. Attack aircraft will also participate in the exercises.
The purpose of the drills is to check the combat readiness, the capabilities of the operational management and abilities of responding to situations, to hold firing exercising in various operational-tactical scenarios, including LFX.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Tuesday commemorated a senior Turkish diplomat who was martyred by an Armenian terrorist group in the early 1980s.
"We remember with respect our martyr Galip Balkar, Ambassador of Turkey in Belgrade, who lost his life following a heinous attack perpetrated by the terrorist organization JCAG [Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide] on 9 March 1983," the ministry said on Twitter.
Two members of the terrorist group attacked Balkar with automatic weapons near the Turkish Embassy 38 years ago.
The ambassador was seriously injured in the attack and died two days later.
A Yugoslav student, who was hit by a bullet during the attack, also died.
Kirkor Levonyan and Raffi Aleksandr were arrested on March 9, 1984, and each was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Armenian terror groups killed 31 Turkish diplomats and family members across the globe between 1973 and 1986, including Balkar.
The vast majority of the attacks were conducted by the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) and the JCAG.
Since the 1970s, Armenian terror groups have killed 31 Turkish diplomats and their family members, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA).
Founded in 1975 in Beirut, Lebanon, during the Lebanese Civil War, ASALA is responsible for hundreds of bloody terrorist acts. According to "Armenian Terror," a 2006 study by Ömer Engin Lütem, a former Turkish diplomat, the killings spanned continents, taking place in the U.S., Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Lebanon, Greece, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, Portugal, Iran and the U.K.
While the Marxist-Leninist ASALA not only targeted Turkey but also other countries and became infamous for a 1975 bombing on the Beirut office of the World Council of Churches, the nationalistic JCAG only targeted Turkey because it believed that attacking other countries would damage the so-called "Armenian struggle."
Armenian terrorist attacks intensified from 1980 to 1983, when 580 of the 699 attacks – over 80% – occurred.
15:27, 4 March, 2021
YEREVAN, MARCH 4, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting with lawmaker Edmon Marukyan, the leader of the Bright Armenia (LHK) political party and its parliamentary faction, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
“I’m glad to see you. Honestly, the occasion for continuing the discussions on the topic of early elections of parliament were your statements. And I hope that at least this time we will succeed in reaching common ground not only with you but also our colleagues in the Prosperous Armenia faction, because if eventually the parliamentary forces make a decision to hold early elections, including decisions in terms of a couple of important issues around it, I mean timeframes and so on, then we can consider this issue to be solved. From the very beginning this is what our viewpoint was, that eventually this political chapter must end through the _expression_ of will of the people, and today I will be glad to hear out your viewpoints on how to advance,” the PM said, adding that before making decisions he should also meet with Prosperous Armenia party leader Gagik Tsarukyan, the ruling My Step bloc leader Lilit Makunts, as well as other lawmakers in order to achieve a consensus solution.
“Perhaps we’ll also present the situation to the President, so that he expresses his stance and in a way becomes the guarantor of implementation of our agreements,” the PM added.
In turn, Edmon Marukyan said: “Thank you Mr. Prime Minister for responding to my statement. I’d like to start with the offer itself. I made an offer based on the political crisis, that is, the general staff story added on to what we had before that, and that’s a big part of the political crisis now. Based on this, I stated that in order to avoid further escalation and clashes, there could be countless scenarios, which I oppose. I had offered to stop the army-government opposition and go for elections, because it is obvious that we can’t have any agreement on the pre-election process as long as the issue of the army isn’t resolved. Why am I saying this? Because it is obvious that [you] won’t resign in order to dissolve parliament in conditions when the issue regarding the general staff doesn’t have a resolution – the general staff generals are there, they aren’t leaving, statements and so on. This is the context of my offer , that is – let’s resolve this part together and head for elections. In our case we don’t have any obstacle regarding the election, but I agree with you that we should continue negotiations.”
Marukyan hoped that they will also meet with the BHK.
Pashinyan said it is inadmissible to tie the general staff issue with early elections because the constitution stipulates that the military is apolitical.
Pashinyan and Marukyan agreed to continue consultations for the resolution of the political crisis.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
15:59,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. PACE’s co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Armenia, Boriana Aberg (Sweden, EPP/CD) and Kimmo Kiljunen (Finland, SOC) have expressed their concern over the ongoing developments in Armenia.
“We are extremely concerned by recent developments in Armenia. In particular, we found the statement issued yesterday by the office of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, calling for the resignation of a democratically-elected government, to be unacceptable.
We call upon all political forces and state actors to fully respect democratic principles and the Constitution of Armenia, and to take all necessary steps to immediately de-escalate the current situation,” the PACE co-rapporteurs said.
“Armenia is going through a very difficult phase in its recent history and – more than ever – needs calm, restraint, wisdom and unwavering support for democratic principles by all concerned in order to resolve the political crisis it is facing”, they added.
On February 25 the General Staff of the Armenian Forces of Armenia issued a statement, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his Cabinet.
In his turn Pashinyan commented on the statement, calling it as a “military coup attempt”. He invited all his supporters to the Republic Square to discuss the ongoing developments.
The opposition .
According to party member Ani Samsonyan, "this decision was made taking into account the internal political tensions."
Nearly 57 citizens have been apprehended forcibly during the action of disobedience in Yerevan.