Author: Garik Boshkezenian

CivilNet: Victims of Azerbaijan’s White Phosphorus Attack Continue Treatment

Garik Boshkezenian
CIVILNET.AM

20:58

Dr. Raffi Barsoumian is a general surgeon from New York. Following the 44-day war, he came to Armenia with a group of medical professionals  to assist in the treatment of soldiers and civilian victims who were exposed to white phosphorus. Towards the end of the war, Azerbaijani forces fired white phosphorus munitions over Karabakh.

According to Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, the use of air-dropped incendiary weapons against military objectives within a concentration of civilians is simply prohibited. Per Reuters, white phosphorus munitions can be used on battlefields to make smoke screens, generate illumination, mark targets or burn bunkers and buildings.

When a white phosphorus shell explodes, the chemical inside reacts with the air, creating a thick white cloud. When it comes in contact with flesh, it can maim and kill by burning to the bone.

CivilNet’s Ani Paitjan talks with Dr. Barsoumian about the short-term and long-term recovery process for those who were exposed to the munition. 

Azerbaijan now at war with Armenian cultural property in Artsakh: statement

Garik Boshkezenian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 18 2021
Politics 10:53 18/02/2021NKR

Azerbaijan is now at war with Armenian cultural property in the Artsakh territories controlled by it, Artsakh’s State Service of Historical Environment Protection (Artsakh Monuments) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The monitoring of the state institution and testimony of eyewitnesses have revealed extreme forms of vandalism against Armenian monuments dedicated to the Artsakh Liberation War in the territories occupied by Azerbaijan during the 2020 war.

“Barbaric acts are committed against the graves of the fallen freedom fighters. They have broken and destroyed the monument in honor of the victims of World War II in the village of Tog, the tombstones of Vigen Grigoryan, a prominent figure of Artsakh liberation war, a knight of the "Battle Cross" order of the second degree of Artsakh and Armencho, an active participant in the Liberation War and a knight of the "Battle Cross" order of the first degree.

“The cemetery of the Mets Tager village of the Hadrut region has been leveled to the ground. In Talish, Karin Tak, Mokhrenes, monuments to the Artsakh Liberation War were ruined, and in Zardarashen and Avetaranots they were desecrated, individual khachkars were destroyed in different villages.

“The enemy is now at war with our cultural property,” the statement said.

Real human rights issues overshadowed by power dispute in Armenia, ombudsman says

Garik Boshkezenian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 9 2021

Real human rights issues have been overshadowed by topics of power dispute in Armenia, Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan said in a statement on Monday, urging all to “sober up”. The full text of Tatoyan’s statement is below. 

"Recently, our public discourse has been almost completely filled with topics of power dispute, which have overshadowed the real human rights issues in the country, ignoring the real priorities of the people.

The political system of the state is not meant to be usurped for a power dispute.

The political system with government and opposition parties and forces must serve the people, to bring about solutions to their problems. Its real priorities are meant to be service for the protection of the rights and predictable for people. It is necessary to identify these priorities correctly, to direct public discourse in that direction, regardless of political developments or perspectives.

Both government and opposition, as state institutions, must base their initiatives and actions on urgent human rights issues, that are of public concern, each within its own capacity. By such a focus, the public debate will too, in turn, move in that direction.

By such a manifest objective, the government demonstrates to the public at large the steps it undertakes to tackle real issues, and the opposition ensures proper oversight over the government based on the same principles.

Finally, the society sees that both the government and the opposition are busy with their daily efforts, addressing real problems, and not preoccupied with the narrow topics of the power dispute, that the issues germane to the preservation of the public’s rights are at the center of everyone's real attention, and are not being neglected, but rather are on the forefront of public debate.

Therefore, I urge everyone to sober up.

Our country is facing serious challenges. vital rights of the border residents are violated or seriously endangered; there is no manifest predictability of solutions to the issues concerning them; the Azerbaijani authorities threaten Armenia with a new war and speak about the population of our country in the language of threats; procedures for tackling the war crimes and crimes against humanity should be initiated; socio-economic rights of people should be guaranteed, etc.

These and other critical priorities must be at the heart of each party's initiative or program, regardless of political affiliation or status.

Finally, by adhering to these priorities, we will confirm and ensure that in our country everything is done for the benefit of a person and the rule of law and, that primary objectives take precedent over secondary ones."

Armenpress: ”All for all” best solution for issue of POWs – says Zakharova

Garik Boshkezenian

''All for all'' best solution for issue of POWs – says Zakharova

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 19:54,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. The optimial solution for the issue of war prisoners is the exchange of ''all for all'', ARMENPRESS reports official representative of the Foreign Ministry of Russia Maria Zakharova said in a weekly briefing.

''As refers to the issue of the return of the Armenian POWs, we work with both the Azerbaijani and Armenian partners, including through the Russian peacekeeping unit stationed in the conflict zone. In general, we proceed from the fact that the optimal solution to this issue is the exchange of "all for all", Zakharova said, reminding that a few days ago another act of exchange of prisoners took place through the mediation of the Russian peacekeepers.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 02/02/2021

Garik Boshkezenian 
                                        Tuesday, February 02, 2021

Armenian Official Confirms New Eurobond Issue
February 02, 2021
        • Sargis Harutyunyan

Armenia - Martin Galstian, the governor of the Armenian Central Bank, speaks 
with journalists, February 2, 2021.

Central Bank Governor Martin Galstian confirmed on Tuesday reports that Armenia 
has issued its fourth Eurobond worth $750 million to manage its increased public 
debt and budget deficit.

Galstian said that the dollar-denominated bonds, repayable in 10 years at an 
annual yield of almost 3.9 percent, attracted strong interest from foreign 
investors.

“Never before has there been so much demand for bonds issued by Armenia,” he 
told reporters. “This has to do with a number of factors. International 
financial institutions and investors have accumulated large amounts of cash, and 
they are looking to see where to invest them.”

The Armenian government has not yet commented on the latest Eurobond issue. It 
is not clear whether it plans to use the proceeds to fully or partly buy back 
$500 million in similar bonds sold at a 4.2 percent yield in September 2019.

The government needs cash to finance its 2021 budget deficit projected at 341 
billion drams ($658 million) or 5.3 percent of GDP. Under its budget bill 
approved by the parliament in December, 60 percent of the deficit is to be 
covered from external resources.

The government already resorted to additional external borrowing last year to 
make up for a significant shortfall in its tax revenues resulting from an 
economic recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, Armenia’s 
public debt rose by $647 million, to almost $8 billion, in the course of 2020. 
The debt is projected to pass the $9 billion mark this year.

According to the latest Central Bank estimates cited by Galstian, the Armenian 
economy contracted by 7.8 percent last year but should grow by about 2 percent 
in 2021. The government expects slightly faster growth.



Kocharian To Again Visit Moscow
February 02, 2021
        • Robert Zargarian

Armenia -- Former President Robert Kocharian attends his trial in Yerevan, 
February 2, 2021.

The judge presiding over the trial of Robert Kocharian has allowed the former 
Armenian president to visit Moscow for the second time in less than two months, 
it emerged on Tuesday.

A trial prosecutor, Gevorg Baghdasarian, revealed the permission and demanded an 
explanation from the judge, Anna Danibekian, during the latest court hearing on 
coup charges leveled against Kocharian and three other former officials.

“We don’t know the grounds on which Robert Kocharian is allowed to leave 
Armenia,” complained Baghdasarian. He said Danibekian should have consulted with 
the prosecution before making the decision communicated to the Armenian police.

“If you think that the court’s decision must be appealed you are not deprived of 
that possibility,” countered the judge.

Kocharian was allowed to be absent from the country from February 3-8. His 
spokesman Victor Soghomonian told the “Hraparak” newspaper that the ex-president 
will fly to Moscow to take part in a meeting of the board of directors of a 
major Russian corporation, AFK Sistema.

Kocharian has been a board member since 2009. He reportedly attended a board 
meeting during his previous trip to the Russian capital in mid-December.

The 66-year-old, who governed Armenia from 1998-2008, had not been able to 
attend any Sistema meetings since being first arrested in July 2018. He was most 
recently released from jail on bail in May 2020.

Sistema’s main shareholder, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, was reportedly one of four 
wealthy Russian businessmen who paid the bulk of the $4.1 million bail set by 
Armenia’s Court of Appeals.

Russia has criticized the criminal proceedings launched against Kocharian. 
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly made a point of congratulating 
him on his birthday anniversaries and praising his legacy.

Some Kocharian loyalists claimed that Putin spoke with his former Armenian 
counterpart by phone during the latter’s December trip to Moscow. Kocharian’s 
office did not confirm that.

The ex-president, his former chief of staff Armen Gevorgian and Armenia’s two 
former top generals, Seyran Ohanian and Yuri Khachaturov, stand accused of 
overthrowing the “constitutional order” after a disputed presidential election 
held during the final weeks of Kocharian’s decade-long rule. The charges stem 
from a deadly post-election unrest in Yerevan. All four defendants reject them 
as politically motivated.

Speaking during Tuesday’s court hearing, Kocharian insisted that he is tried for 
his handling of a “political process.”

Kocharian has been at loggerheads with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s 
government ever since it took office following the “Velvet Revolution” of 
April-May 2018. He has joined opposition groups in blaming Pashinian for 
Armenia’s defeat in the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh and demanding his 
resignation.

Kocharian said last week that that he and his political allies will participate 
in snap parliamentary elections even if they are held by Armenia’s current 
government. “We will participate and win,” he declared.



Azeri Soldiers Detained, Freed In Armenia
February 02, 2021
        • Nane Sahakian

Armenian -- Armenian army officers at a new border post in Syunik province 
bordering Azerbaijan, December 11, 2020.

The Russian military announced late on Monday that it has secured the release of 
two Azerbaijani army soldiers detained after crossing into Armenia at the 
weekend.

The Defense Ministry in Moscow said they were detained by officers of Armenia’s 
National Security Service (NSS) near the village of Tegh in Armenia’s 
southeastern Syunik province. It gave no details of the incident.

A ministry statement said the Azerbaijani servicemen were freed at the request 
of Russian peacekeeping troops stationed in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.

The NSS and the Armenian Defense Ministry did not comment on the incident on 
Tuesday. Tegh’s mayor, Nerses Shadunts, confirmed the detentions but said he is 
not allowed to disclose their circumstances.

“The situation here is not tense right now,” Shadunts told RFE/RL’s Armenian 
Service. “There is no panic among local people. Everything is normal.”

“As for our border guards and army, you can conclude that everyone was on duty 
and vigilant and properly did their job,” he said.

Tegh is located close to the so-called Lachin corridor that connects Armenia to 
Karabakh and is controlled by the Russian peacekeepers. The rural community also 
borders the rest of the Lachin district which was handed back to Azerbaijan 
under the terms of the Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement that stopped the war 
in Karabakh on November 10.

During the six-week war Russia deployed soldiers and border guards to Syunik to 
help the Armenian military defend the region located southwest of Karabakh 
against possible Azerbaijani attacks. One of the Russian border guard posts was 
set up near Tegh.

Russian troops also patrol sections of the main regional highway straddling the 
Soviet-era Armenian-Azerbaijani border.



Armenian Central Bank Again Raises Key Interest Rate
February 02, 2021

Armenia -- A statue symbolizing the national currency, the dram, outside the 
Central Bank building in Yerevan.

The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) raised its main interest rate on Tuesday for 
the second time in less than two months.

The CBA’s governing board set the refinancing rate at 5.5 percent, up by 0.25 
percentage points.

The board already raised it by 1 percentage point on December 15 following a 
nearly 6 percent depreciation of the national currency, the dram. The dram’s 
exchange rate has remained largely stable since then.

The CBA said on January 13 that it will again resort to currency interventions 
to ensure “the normal functioning of Armenia’s financial markets.”

In a statement issued later in the day, the bank attributed the latest rate 
increase to stronger inflationary pressures on the Armenian economy. It said 
that the increased cost of imported foodstuffs “considerably” pushed up consumer 
price inflation in the country in December.

CBA data shows that Armenia’s foreign exchange reserves fell from $2.6 billion 
in August 2020 to $2.2 billion in November before growing by over $360 million 
in December.

The Central Bank cut its benchmark rate for four times between March and 
September last year as the Armenian economy plunged into recession due to the 
coronavirus pandemic.

Armenia’s economic outlook worsened further following the ensuing outbreak of 
the war in Nagorno-Karabakh stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire on November 
10. The country’s GDP shrunk by an estimated 8.5 percent in 2020.

In its 2021 state budget approved by the parliament in December, the Armenian 
government forecast a GDP growth rate of 3.2 percent for this year. The 
International Monetary Fund expects the Armenian economy to expand by only 1 
percent in 2021.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

All Azerbaijani Captives Returned Under Karabakh Deal, While Some Armenian Captives Still Await Return

Garik Boshkezenian
The Organization for World Peace
Feb 3 2021
February 3, 2021  in Current Events by Chloe Jackson (updated on February 3, 2021)

As of January 18th, 2021, Armenia has returned all Azerbaijani prisoners from the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The six-week struggle last year ended with a ceasefire agreement initiated by Russia, says Reuters. An end to the violence required both Azerbaijani and Armenian forces to exchange all prisoners. However, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov reports that progress has stalled on the return of Armenian prisoners. Armenia claims many of its prisoners remain in Azerbaijan well after the 2020 conflict ended. Lavrov clarified that the reason Armenian prisoners have yet to be returned is due to lack of communication between the two sides and Armenia’s failure to produce a list of prisoner’s names in a timely manner. Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan announced the return of four Armenian captives on December 28th, 2020 through mediation by the International Committee of the Red Cross of the Russian Federation, but many still await their release. Russian peacekeepers in the Nagorno-Karabakh region are working to uncover the location of remaining Armenian prisoners and ensure their safe return. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, an effort established in 1994 to resolve the land dispute, is aware of the Armenian prisoners that remain in unlawful captivity.

The sluggish exchange of prisoners reflects the inefficacy of previous ceasefires. The peace agreement in November 2020 “leaves many key aspects of the simmering conflict unresolved,” says the Washington Post. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan labels the agreement as “incredibly painful both for me and for our people.” The November truce was a triumph for Azerbaijan but caused outrage and protests against Prime Minister Pashinyan in Armenia. According to the Washington Post’s recount of a January 11th meeting with Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, the Russian-brokered deal also worked out the reopening of transport routes in the region. Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey shut their borders to Armenia at the beginning of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and land-locked Armenia will now supposedly be able to improve their economy with reopened borders. The new border policies will likely contribute to resolving the issue of Armenian prisoners that remain in Azerbaijani captivity. Russian President Vladimir Putin argues “the implementation of those agreements will benefit both the Armenian and Azerbaijani people and the entire region” and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev agrees, stating “it opens completely new perspectives that we couldn’t even imagine in the past.” Prime Minister Pashinyan disputed these claims by maintaining that the region’s status is unclear, but also recognized the reinstated transit routes.

Productive dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan must continue to reach peace in the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Both sides struggle with communication, a crucial element in negotiating disagreements in the region. To arrive at a permanent solution to the violent outbreaks, both sides must agree upon a resolution that ends the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for good.

Conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region has persisted for several decades. During the 20th century, fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan was kept in check under Bolshevik rule. However, as the Soviet Union began to dissolve, the autonomous Nagorno-Karabakh region declared independence and war between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted soon after. As stated by the Council on Foreign Relations, fighting over the region spanned from 1988 to 1994, resulting in 30,000 casualties and hundreds of thousands of refugees. In 1994, Russia brokered a ceasefire that remains in place. Though Nagorno-Karabakh has been classified a frozen conflict since 1994, breaches of the peace agreement have occurred in recent years. The most intense fighting since the ceasefire broke out in early April 2016, effecting dozens of deaths and over 300 casualties. Following four days of violence, the two sides consented to a revised ceasefire agreement.

Tensions heightened again in July 2020, and fighting then escalated in late September 2020, resulting in deaths of over 1,000 soldiers and civilians. The United Nations, United States and Russia encouraged new peace agreements in light of the violence, but both parties rejected such advice and continued to fight. The struggle intensified when Azerbaijani and Armenian forces transitioned from cross-border shelling to heavy weaponry, including long-range artillery. As of October 2020, several new ceasefires have been negotiated via communication with France, Russia and the United States. Infringements of the truce continue as fighting persists in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. While both opposing sides accuse each other of breaking the ceasefire, Russian peacekeepers argue the arrangement is working thus far.

The exchange of Azerbaijani and Armenian captives is a step toward peace in the region. However, future relations between the two sides remain uncertain. Putin deems the November 2020 peace deal as a “necessary basis for a long-term and full-format settlement of the old conflict,” says the Washington Post. While mediators like Putin are optimistic about relations in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, current resolutions may not bring an end to struggles between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

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Chloe Jackson
Chloe has been involved with the OWP since 2020 and is currently working as a Correspondent reporting on world peace issues. Chloe is interested in global human rights debates and inequalities among marginalized groups. She believes that progressive solutions to conflicts regarding world peace are possible through dedication and collaboration.

Armenpress: ECHR considers moving issue of Azerbaijani violations to agenda of CoE Committee of Ministers

Garik Boshkezenian

ECHR considers moving issue of Azerbaijani violations to agenda of CoE Committee of Ministers

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 09:15, 3 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani government is grossly violating the implementation of the terms of the interim measures applied by the European Court of Human Rights over the case of the Armenian prisoners of war, Armenia’s Representative before the ECHR Yeghishe Kirakosyan told Armenpress, adding that they are constantly voicing about the Azerbaijani violations aimed at increasing pressure on the official Baku.

“At this stage the Court is already discussing the possibility of moving the issue to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe: it leads to the political body also based on the fact that Azerbaijan is cooperating very badly or is not cooperating at all with the Court and is not providing information. Even if Azerbaijan sends anything relating to the prisoners of war, it sends not so completely, without details. Therefore, we as well constantly insist that the Court moves the issue to the agenda of the Committee of Ministers because we think that it’s time for the issue of POWs to be discussed at this platform”, he said, adding that there will be more pressures on Azerbaijan at this platform.

Asked why Azerbaijan is trying to present the POWs as terrorists, whether it tries to prolong the process or there are other concerns, Mr. Kirakosyan stated that it is Azerbaijan’s tactics to present the POWs as a terrorist, trying to “justify” the delay of the legal process. According to him, with such steps Azerbaijan is also trying to present itself with the status of a “victim” to the international community.

“This is an absurd attempt. It’s obvious that with such behavior they are trying to remove the suspicions from them as they have used mercenaries, extremist terrorist groups and others during the whole war, and now they are talking about terrorists. I think this is a tactics to deviate the attention, but they will have no success”, Yeghishe Kirakosyan said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Member of Armenian Parliament joins Yazidis in Sinjar to mourn 2014 genocide victims

Garik Boshkezenian
Public Radio of Armenia
Feb 6 2021
– Public Radio of Armenia

Member of the Armenian National Assembly Rustam Bakoyan joined Yazidis in Sinjar to mourn the victims of 2014 genocide.

The city of Sinjar saw the re-burial of the remains of more than 100 Yazidis who were massacred by the Islamic State in the summer of 2014.

“In Sinjar’s Kocho village we are participating in the burial of the victims of our genocide. Yazidis from around the world have gathered here,” the MP said through Facebook Live.

“My heart, soul and mind are in the village of Kocho in Sinjar and part of my existence is now buried with our mothers and sisters, fathers and brothers in this fraternal grave. The pain is abnormal,” said Bakoyan, who represents Armenia’s Yazidi community at the National Assembly.

Earlier this week an official funeral ceremony was held in Baghdad’s Celebration Square to bid farewell to the remains of 104 Yazidi genocide victims, Al-Monitor reports.

The remains were excavated from some of the more than 80 mass graves in Sinjar, of which only a few have been opened. DNA tests to identify the victims were conducted by the Iraqi Medico-Legal Department of the Martyrs Foundation, in cooperation with the International Commission on Missing Persons and the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by IS.

The majority of this first set of victims hailed from Kocho, whose entire male population was killed, while women and children were captured. On Aug. 15, 2014, IS massacred more than 400 men and threw them in four mass graves around the village. The next day, they killed more than 80 elderly women and threw their bodies in what is now known as “the mothers’ grave,” south of the city of Sinjar. Also, more than 1,000 women, girls and children were taken captive and sold in slave markets in Mosul, Raqqa and Tal Afar.

Official statistics indicate that IS’s attack on Yazidis in Sinjar displaced more than 350,000 civilians and killed and captured more than 10,000 unarmed civilians. This is while the fate of nearly 2,880 captivated women and children is still unknown. The war totally destroyed the neglected city of Sinjar, which is located on the Iraqi-Syrian border. More than 70% of its people cannot return home due to the lack of services and insecurity, and because it turned into a regional conflict arena in the absence of a unified administration.

Shots Fired at Sahag-Mesrob Cultural Center in Marseilles

Garik Boshkezenian

January 25,  2020


Shots were fired at the Sahag-Mesrob Armenian Center in Marseilles, France on Jan. 24

At around 6:40 p.m. local time on Sunday shots were fired at the Sahag-Mesrob Armenian Cultural Center in Marseille, France, shattering the window on the second floor, where piano lessons were being conducted.

No one was hurt in the attack, but the music teacher who was present at the scene at the time of the shooting, as well as the president of the cultural center lodged a complaint with the police, which sent several teams to investigate the incident.

“This is one of the most symbolic Armenian centers. More than 250 children study in the hall every week. My anxiety is boundless. I am confident that the government will guarantee the center’s further safe operation. We are unbreakable,” Karen Khurshudyan, President of Abovyan school that operates from the told the Armenians Today television program.

The Cultural Center also serves as headquarters for several Armenian organizations. During the Artsakh war, the center was the hub, from where humanitarian assistance sent from Marseilles and the south of the country to Armenia was coordinated.