Author: Garnik Tadevosian

Homenetmen Eastern Region attends Youth Forum in Cyprus

Garnik Tadevosian
 Homenetmen Eastern U.S. Diaspora, Youth 0

Homenetmen Eastern Region members Lilia Yousefian, left, (Washington D.C.) and Narod Keyvanian (Detroit) at the Youth Forum

NICOSIA, Cyprus—Twenty-six Homenetmen members from 12 different regions and countries around the world gathered in Nicosia, Cyprus at the end of April for the second Homenetmen Youth Forum. Representatives Lilia Yousefian from Washington, D.C. and Narod Keyvanian from Detroit were selected to represent Homenetmen USA’s Eastern Region. The goal of the forum was to discuss a structure and framework for Homenetmen’s new third branch, the Youth Division. The purpose of this new branch is to engage Homenetmen members between the ages of 18-30 and retain their participation within the organization. 

The forum’s opening ceremony began with unified singing of Homenetmen’s anthem, Harach Nahadag, followed by the Armenian and Cyprus national anthems. Opening remarks were presented by Sarhad Demirdjian, chairman of Homenetmen Cyprus, as he welcomed the international representatives and wished them a successful and joyful experience. Vatche Nadjarian, chairman of Homenetmen’s Central Executive Board, greeted the participants and emphasized the key role of youth in the mission of Homenetmen. The ceremony concluded with artistic performances of the duduk and solo vocalists, filling the room with sounds of the homeland.

The following morning, the representatives filled the meeting room with excitement and passion, as they were introduced to one another, selected a chairman and secretary for the meeting, created committees and worked through the agenda of the forum. Over the course of several days, the participants exchanged ideas and experiences, conveyed problems and concerns from their regions, and developed a possible means and platform for Homenetmen’s future Youth Division. The participants also elected representatives to attend the Homenetmen World Congress taking place in Armenia this October, the second such opportunity given to younger Homenetmen members to have a voice at the organization’s highest assembly. 

Homenetmen Youth Forum participants, April 2023

In addition to the Youth Forum’s discussion sessions and presentations, the weekend also included fascinating and educational excursions for the participants. They visited a military cemetery honoring the Cypriot-Greek soldiers who gave their lives during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The representatives also engaged with Homenetmen Cyprus’s scouting activities, visited local Armenian churches and attended a dinner dance organized by Homenetmen Cyprus. Vartkes Mahdessian, the state representative of the Armenian community of Cyprus, also hosted the participants at his home, where they spent the evening singing Armenian patriotic songs. 

As the forum came to a close, the representatives departed to their home countries enriched with Homenetmen’s brotherly and sisterly values, knowledge and inspiration to strengthen the organization for future generations. They said goodbye to one another and began to count down the days to one day reunite in Armenia.

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The Armenian General Athletic Union and Scouts, known as "Homenetmen," is a non-profit organization founded over 100 years ago. Believing in the idea that strong bodies lead to strong minds, Homenetmen has provided Armenian youth across the globe with a moral, physical and psychological education outside the school environment, while also demonstrating richness of the Armenian culture and heritage, while at the same time. Today, Homenetmen is a worldwide organization with over 25,000 members on five continents. On the East Coast U.S., Homenetmen is a thriving organization with 12 chapters and over 900 members, governed by the Homenetmen Eastern Regional Executive.


Putin, Armenian premier Pashinyan discuss situation around Nagorno-Karabakh — Kremlin

Garnik Tadevosian
 TASS 
Russia – July 5 2023
The Russian leader also "confirmed Russia’s readiness to continue providing practical assistance to facilitate the process of working out an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace agreement"

MOSCOW, July 5. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a telephone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the Kremlin press service reported in a statement.

"The parties discussed the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh, including the issue of ensuring an unimpeded flow of traffic through the Lachin Corridor," the statement reads.

In addition, the leaders’ conversation "emphasized the fundamental importance of consistently implementing the entire set of agreements reached by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020-2022."

Putin also "confirmed Russia’s readiness to continue providing practical assistance to facilitate the process of working out an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace agreement."

In addition, the parties agreed to continue maintaining contact at various levels.

https://tass.com/world/1642965

Armenia commends efforts of Western partners for establishing peace in the South Caucasus. MP

Garnik Tadevosian

 18:23, 6 July 2023

YEREVAN, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS. Armenia highly commends the efforts of its Western partners – USA, EU, France, Germany – in the process of establishing peace, stability and security in the South Caucasus, ARMENPRESS reports, Sona Ghazaryan, MP from "Civil Contract" faction, said in her speech at the political affairs committee of the Francophonie Parliamentary Assembly in Tbilisi.

"As you know, Armenia is going through great difficulties, facing the biggest security threats. Since 2021, Azerbaijan, grossly violating the principles of international law and the territorial integrity of Armenia, has illegally occupied a significant part of our sovereign territory.

We highly appreciate the efforts of our western partners – USA, EU, France, Germany – in the process of establishing peace, stability and security in the South Caucasus," said Ghazaryan.

In this context, the MP emphasized the decision of the European Council to deploy a civilian mission of the European Union in Armenia within the framework of the Common Security and Defense Policy, contributing to the stability in the border regions of Armenia, the formation of trust and the provision of an environment conducive to efforts to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Ghazaryan noted that, unfortunately, Azerbaijan is against even this civilian mission.

The MP also drew the attention of those present to the situation of the siege of Nagorno Karabakh, the illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to a severe humanitarian crisis. The Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh live under complete siege. About 30 thousand children are deprived of the right to full education.

In this context, the deputy emphasized the decision of the European Council to deploy a civilian mission of the European Union in Armenia within the framework of the general security and defense policy, contributing to the stability in the border regions of Armenia, the formation of local trust and the provision of an environment conducive to efforts to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Ghazaryan noted that, unfortunately, Azerbaijan is against even this civilian mission.

The MP also drew the attention of those present to the situation of the blockade of Nagorno Karabakh, the illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to a severe humanitarian crisis. The Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh live under complete siege. About 30 thousand children are deprived of the right to full education.

"We believe that the rights and security issues of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh should also be resolved through dialogue between Baku and Stepanakert, with neutral international involvement in the process and the introduction of any mechanism for peace.

A few days before our visit, the Azerbaijani military again bombarded the positions of Nagorno Karabakh with artillery and drones, killing 4 soldiers.

Azerbaijan constantly rejects all efforts aimed at peace, ignores the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and the binding decision of the International Court of Justice, and carries out an open policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh.

We truly believe that democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, peaceful coexistence are the pillars on which humanity should be based in order to live in peace and harmony," said Sona Ghazaryan.

Pashinyan vows uncompromised fight against ‘destructive evil’ corruption without former- current distinction

Garnik Tadevosian

 11:28, 1 July 2023

YEREVAN, JULY 1, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has vowed that his government will continue the fight against corruption on a daily basis and will never tolerate it.

“We are convinced that corruption is a destructive evil for any country, especially a country like Armenia, whose challenges are well-known and are sometimes doubled or even tripled due to objective reasons,” Pashinyan said at the Prosecutorial Independence in Upholding the Rule of Law  high-level seminar dedicated to the 105th anniversary of the establishment of the Prosecution of Armenia.

PM Nikol Pashinyan spoke about the fight against corruption in his remarks about the prosecution.

“The fight against corruption must continue to be a political, judicial, legislative and media priority objective in Armenia. Furthermore, we’ve never had and will never have a tendency on differentiating corruption with the logic of former or current. Corruption is corruption, no matter when it was committed. Any corruption committed in any year inflicts equal damage to the future,” he said, adding that the authorities cannot tolerate the presence of corruption and the everyday fight against the crime must be more and more consistent.

Red Cross evacuates 14 patients from blockaded Nagorno Karabakh

Garnik Tadevosian

 15:31,

YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has facilitated the transfer of 14 patients together with their attendants from Artsakh to Armenia for treatment, the Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) Ministry of Healthcare reported.

The ICRC plans to transfer 7 other patients together with their attendants – who have completed treatment –  back to Artsakh from Armenia on June 30.

The Artsakh healthcare authorities said that 34 children are hospitalized in the Arevik clinic. 3 of them are in neonatal and intensive care. Another 85 patients are hospitalized at the Republican Medical Center. 9 of them are in intensive care, with 7 assessed as critical.

The Lachin Corridor has been blocked by Azerbaijan since 12 December 2022. 

The United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan on February 22 to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.  Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since.

Lachin Corridor is the only road linking Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world.

Deadly clash erupts in Nagorno-Karabakh amid Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks

Garnik Tadevosian
Lilit Shahverdyan Jun 28, 2023

Early on June 28, the de facto government of Nagorno-Karabakh reported that four of its servicemen were killed overnight in a major Azerbaijani attack using artillery and drones.

The previous day, Baku claimed an Azerbaijani soldier had been wounded by firing from Karabakhi Armenian positions. Karabakh's armed forces, the Artsakh Defense Army, denied this assertion and called in an attempt to "lay the informational groundwork" for Azerbaijan's own attack.

The fatal incident followed two claims by Karabakh officials of ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan on June 27.

There have been numerous light escalations in the region recently, with both sides trading accusations that are recorded in the Russian peacekeepers' daily bulletins. In several cases, the Armenian side reported civilians getting shot by Azerbaijani combat units while performing agricultural work in bordering villages. Azerbaijan denied targeting farmers.

A day earlier, on June 26, Azerbaijan's defense minister talked tough on the Artsakh Defense Army, which is referred to in Baku as a collection of "illegal armed units". 

"We do not rate the capabilities of the illegal armed units in Azerbaijan's Karabakh Economic Zone particularly highly. We know their number, armaments, moral-psychological state, and we know what they can do,"  Zakir Hasanov told local CBC TV.

"If they resort to some kind of provocations or illegal actions, it will only take one corps of the Azerbaijani army – not even a whole one – to resolve the issue of these illegal armed formations."

Armenia pledged to withdraw all its troops from Karabakh by September 2022. The de facto administration of Nagorno-Karabakh retains its own armed force, the Artsakh Defense Army, which prior to the Armenian defeat in the 2020 war was largely integrated with the army of the Republic of Armenia. Before the war, conscripts from Armenia were sent to serve in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. 

Azerbaijan has periodically justified its now 6.5-month-old blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh by citing the need to thwart supplies of weapons from Armenia to Karabakh’s Defense Army. 

Things escalated on the ground just as the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan were convening in Washington for talks on a comprehensive peace agreement aimed at ending the neighboring states' decades-long rivalry. 

On June 27, US Secretary Anthony Blinken announced the start of the latest round of negotiations. "We support Armenia and Azerbaijan working together toward a durable and dignified agreement. Dialogue is key to lasting peace," he wrote. 

Two separate tracks of talks, one mediated by the U.S. and EU and the other by Russia, have seemed to achieve little progress in recent months. 

After an EU-mediated meeting in May, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for the first time explicitly stated Armenia's readiness to recognize Azerbaijan's sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh.

The biggest sticking point in the talks is the fate of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia and Western mediators seek "international guarantees" for Karabakhi Armenians once they are under Azerbaijani rule. Baku has flatly rejected this demand claiming the issue is an internal affair. Many Armenians fear the establishment of Azerbaijani sovereignty will be tantamount to "ethnic cleansing."

Baku has signaled recently that it is in no hurry to reach a permanent settlement with Armenia. 

Tigran Grigoryan, an analyst originally from Nagorno-Karabakh, said in a tweet that the timing of the latest incident held a clear message from Azerbaijan: "if you refuse to make concessions during the talks, we will force them on the ground."

"There is another obvious reason why Baku started this escalation amid the talks in DC: they will use it to promote their agenda of disarming NK's self-defense force," he added. 

Karabakh and Armenia were sharply at odds on how to respond to the latest incident. Karabakh's de facto parliament in a statement demanded that Yerevan "immediately stop the negotiations" until a full ceasefire can be put in place. Engaging in talks at such a time amounts to "encouragement of Azerbaijan's aggressive actions," it added.

Alen Simonyan, Armenia's parliament speaker, said in response that there was no alternative to the negotiations and advised against making "hasty statements."

Meanwhile, Nagorno-Karabakh has been totally cut off from the outside world for nearly two weeks, since Azerbaijan closed its checkpoint on the Armenian border to all traffic following a shooting incident. The region has effectively been under blockade since December 12, but until June 15 limited supplies could be brought in and emergency patients could be transported out through the Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross. 

Lilit Shahverdyan is a journalist based in Stepanakert. 

Armenpress: Azerbaijani military again spreads fake news, warns Armenian ministry of defense

Garnik Tadevosian

 09:34,

YEREVAN, JUNE 29, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan has again falsely accused the Armenian Armed Forces of opening fire at their military positions on the border in a renewed disinformation campaign, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia warned Thursday.

“The statement disseminated by the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan as if on June 28 from 10:35 p.m. to 11:15 p.m. the units of the Armenian Armed Forces opened fire against the Azerbaijani combat positions located in the eastern and southwestern parts of the border is disinformation,” the Ministry of Defense of Armenia said in a statement.

BTA. European Parliament to Vote on New Call for Bulgaria, Romania’s Accession to Schengen

Garnik Tadevosian

 14:21,

YEREVAN, JUNE 27, ARMENPRESS/BTA. At its last sitting in Strasbourg before the summer recess, the European Parliament will vote in early July on a new call for the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen. This was decided on Tuesday by the parliamentary committee on petitions.

The decision was adopted with 25 votes in favour, no votes against and no abstentions. MEPs are expected to call on the EU Council to approve the accession of the two countries to Schengen by the end of the year.

Bulgaria and Romania have met the requirements, the draft resolution states, expressing regret that on December 8, 2022 EU countries did not reach unanimity. It adds that Schengen enlargement would have made the EU stronger.

The fact that Romania and Bulgaria are still outside Schengen creates a significant social and economic burden for businesses and citizens in both countries, the document states. Citizens of Bulgaria and Romania are discriminated against as they face delays, bureaucratic difficulties and extra costs when travelling or doing work abroad compared to their counterparts from other EU countries. Delays due to waiting at borders by Romanians and Bulgarians can last from several hours to days, compared to the 10 minutes it takes to cross EU internal borders without checks, and this further worsens working conditions for freight drivers, the text reports.

It adds that the restrictions affect the single market and impede the free movement of goods between EU countries, cause damage to the environment and run counter to environmental protection objectives. The health of drivers, customs officers and people living near border crossings is threatened by increased pollution from the thousands of vehicles waiting to cross the border every day. Every year, 46 000 tons of carbon dioxide are released because of this, the document says.

It calls on the European Commission to assess the additional costs and environmental damage that Romania and Bulgaria have suffered since June 2011 because of their refused Schengen entry. According to the document, the Commission should assess the possibilities for financial compensation. It explains that the issue is being used for anti-European propaganda, including Russian propaganda, and is undermining the EU's ability to promote its values and good governance abroad.

According to the Commission's assessment, Bulgaria and Romania are ready to join Schengen, and the European Parliament has repeatedly supported their accession, most recently in a resolution on 5 October 2022 and a debate on December 14, 2022, the European Parliament said in a statement.

(This information is being published according to an agreement between Armenpress and BTA.)




Azerbaijani Press: Prison life for Armenian minorities in Karabakh: reintegration is only way to independence for them

Garnik Tadevosian
AZERNEWS
Azerbaijan –
Qabil Ashirov

Despite persistence and all provocations done by the Armenian side, being compassionate, Azerbaijan still gives a hug to poor Armenian minorities kept as hostages by separatists in Karabakh. The Azerbaijani side does not miss any opportunity to give a push to the integration process, but the Armenian government, separatists in Karabakh, and their mouthpiece abroad go the extra mile to interrupt it. Once again, the issue was tabled during the meeting between the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, and the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Azerbaijan Dragana Kozich. The top diplomat reiterated that Azerbaijan can provide Armenians in Karabakh with assistance. Like previous ones, the Armenian side and their promoters in the West turned a blind eye to the offer. With unknown reasons, they are keeping to demand that Azerbaijani citizens in Karabakh must integrate not into Azerbaijan, but Armenia.

Speaking to Azernews on the issue, the member of the Azerbaijani Parliament Fazil Mustafa noted that the Armenian side is aware of remaining at an impasse but they resist due to the temptation of some foreign countries. However, he stated that it is their last fidget. The MP underlined that the reckless approaches of Western politicians harm the peace building process instead of promoting it.

“In fact, they themselves know that the Armenians have no way out. This is their last chance to fuss about. The brazen calls of some US congressmen to take decisions that threaten the sovereignty of Azerbaijan, the adoption of certain documents, the adoption of resolutions by irresponsible and lawbreaker PACE MPs in the Assembly using various means to flatter Armenians do not help in solving the issue. On the contrary, it increases the problems of Armenians. Because timely integration would be a more convenient way to solve problems,” Fazil Mustafa said.

Regarding this, MP Fazil Mustafa noted that neither the proposals of the Azerbaijan state nor the initiatives of the ICRC will be accepted by the Armenians at this stage. He emphasized that compactly-settled Armenians in Karabakh are under the hostage of local separatist terror organization. Therefore, the civilian Armenians are cowed to initiate any attempts toward integration. He opined that in case of cleaning the region from the terror organization, the civilian Armenians will be interested in the integration.

“Civil Armenians in Karabakh are under the hostages of the terrorist group, and they are not expected to take a positive approach to any civil initiative until the terrorists are purged. Therefore, the Armenians themselves, perhaps in their hearts, agree that the Azerbaijani side should clean these terrorists from the region as a whole, and after that, I don't think that Azerbaijan will have any problems with the civilian population. It will be possible to put things in order in this direction. At present, it is not credible to show an initiative related to reintegration by any non-governmental organization, civil society or individual due to the fear of terrorists. Armenians can start this process only after these terrorist groups are eliminated. Until then, there is still no hope. Because these groups can terrorize any person who initiates integration in order to terrorize others. If you pay attention, it can be seen that the Azerbaijani soldiers and medical workers provided the necessary assistance and support to a certain sick person or an Armenian who lost his way on a winter day to the post office, proving that the state of Azerbaijan has no problems with civilian Armenians. I do not think that the civilian population there will have any problems with Azerbaijan. Just the terrorist groups and military units that are there should be cleared immediately. After the cleaning operation is completed, it is possible to talk about some kind of reintegration,” the official said.

He also touched on legal benefits of reintegration and noted that it will be in favor of Armenian minorities in Karabakh as well. He recalled that the world does not recognize such quasi-states and it causes problem for locals.

“Reintegration itself will increase economic independence, freedom, and activity opportunities of Karabakh Armenians. That is, they will benefit from the opportunities of the Azerbaijani society and state. Reintegration will also enable Karabakh Armenians to live in on a legal basis. Karabakh Armenians have not been living in a legal regime for years and are in an uncertain situation. The world somehow does not recognize the self-styled state. In such a case, what can they hope for? In what form can a person who has graduated from secondary school continue his higher education? What can he do in the closed environment in Karabakh?” he noted.

Azerbaijani MP Fazil Mustafa also mentioned that Azerbaijan’s economic potential is bigger than Armenia and in terms of logistics, it is more plausible to have trade with Azerbaijani regions, instead of Armenia.

“There are no prospects for expanding any economic opportunities in Karabakh. It is clear to everyone how much the economic potential of Azerbaijan is superior to that of Armenia. But imagine that if relations restored and in this case Armenians in Karabakh can trade with peoples in Aghdam, Kalbajar and other districts. It may be more beneficial for Armenians to go to these areas that are logistically closer than paying a large sum to go to Yerevan. On the other hand, they will have the opportunity to realize their pension, social benefits and other rights,” the MP added.