15:51,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 21, ARMENPRESS. Yerevan will host the Armenian-Korean Economic Cooperation Conference on 14 September to promote and expand economic ties between Armenia and South Korea, the Ministry of Economy announced Monday.
The event is organized jointly by the Armenian Ministry of Economy and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).
Registration for participation is open online.
Since its founding in 2014, Family Rescue Fund — a Glendale-based nonprofit — has worked to support the Armenian community in both Armenia and in the United States through health, social and educational programs as well as supporting veterans from the Artsakh war.
Naz Atikian, president and founder of FRF, began the organization after returning to Armenia since immigrating to the United States in 1985. While Atikian had gone back to Armenia many times, her 2014 trip impacted her greatly.
“When you go into the city [in Armenia], it is so beautiful. Everything is so nice,” she told the News-Press. “You don’t even think for one minute how many poor people we have living in Armenia in villages.”
The organization began with the goal of providing under-resourced Armenian families with the bare essentials: housing, clothing, etc., but expanded its mission as more opportunities for assistance presented themselves, said FRF’s former treasurer of the board, Arminé Chaparyan.
“With each transition in needs, Family Rescue Fund has been phenomenal like a chameleon in transitioning our role and trying to cater to the population that needs our help at that time,” Chaparyan told the News-Press in reference to the organization’s efforts to support soldiers during and after the Artsakh war in 2020.
Partnering with the Zinvori Tun Rehabilitation Center in Armenia, FRF provided the funds for the establishment of the first center dedicated to treating soldiers with severe craniocerebral injuries, which was completed in 2022. Additionally, FRF helped renovate 12 rooms in the center’s surgical unit, as well as houses and apartments of soldiers who returned from war with a disability that required their home be adapted to their new condition. FRF also sponsors dance classes at the center for military veterans as a form of art therapy to promote mental health.
Jacqueline Tomasian, vice president of FRF, emphasized the importance of the organization’s ties to both the U.S. and Armenia. In addition to its work with the Zun Tun Rehabilitation Center, FRF has donated $50,000 to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in Little Armenia. The organization also donates money to Armenian schools in California to allow for the implementation of programs and projects to encourage students to embrace their Armenian heritage.
“We are citizens of this country, so we are American and at the same time, we never forget our heritage in Armenia,” Tomasian told the News-Press. “Our responsibility is to help in America with the all the organization we can do, and also go back home and do whatever we can do there. It’s a combination.”
Tomasian, who recently returned from a mission trip to Armenia, discussed the importance of getting young people involved in the organization’s outreach efforts, adding that many college students from UCLA, UC San Diego and UC Berkeley gain valuable experience from these trips. She recalled her son saying he learned more in 10 days working with FRF than he did in a whole semester at UCLA.
FRF prides itself on being 100% volunteer based, meaning no one gets a paycheck, said Atikian. The organization’s mission to provide relief and resources to Armenian families and veterans is enough to attract both members and donors, said Chaparyan.
“We’ve been able to attract a very strong, steady working group of individuals, whether you’re on the board or on a committee, it’s a working group because it’s boots on the ground,” Chaparyan said. “Everyone’s expected to roll up their sleeves and be a part of all the initiatives.”
Family Rescue Fund has 17 board members, 12 volunteers on a committee and 14 youth members.
Dee Chorlian, Atikian’s sister and FRF board member, boasted that the organization is made up of professional, savvy women.
“We’re all ladies by the way,” she told the News-Press. “We used to have some guys, but I think the woman power was too strong.”
The community trusts FRF because its transparent nature allows donors to choose which program their money is going to and actually see the results, she added.
FRF relies on donations as well as funds and materials generated by their various fundraising events, such as winter coat drives, annual galas with silent auctions, holiday events and the opportunity to adopt a child in Armenia for the holiday to provide toys and support. Brands such as Versace and Vista Alegre have donated items to be auctioned at FRF events, said Chorlian. The organization’s November 2022 gala raised more than $200,000 alone.
Atikian expressed her gratitude for how much the organization has been able to accomplish over the years.
“The thing is, we do so much. Sometimes when you want to talk about it, it’s so much that people don’t believe you can establish something like that,” she said. “But we do it somehow. God gives us the strength and God gives us people who are willing to donate, and we do it.”
First published in the August 12 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
Concerns over the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh have taken centre stage as the United States called on Azerbaijan to reopen the Lachin Corridor, the mountain road that links Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
Being the only road between these two territories, the Lachin Corridor is considered a “lifeline” to the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, as a crucial access route for humanitarian aid and essential goods.
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Representative to the United Nations, made the plea during a UN Security Council meeting addressing the dire situation in the region.
“We are deeply troubled by the closure of the Lachin Corridor, which has cut off access to essential goods and exacerbated the humanitarian situation. Access to food, medicine, baby formula, and energy should never be held hostage,” stated Thomas-Greenfield, stressing the urgency of the situation.
Highlighting the importance of the Lachin Corridor, the ambassador urged Azerbaijan to restore unrestricted movement through the corridor. This appeal encompasses commercial, humanitarian, and private vehicles, ensuring that the population of Nagorno-Karabakh receives necessary provisions. She further acknowledged the potential for alternative routes to facilitate humanitarian deliveries.
In her address, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield also stressed the significance of continuing peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan for a lasting resolution to the conflict.
Urging compliance with international humanitarian law, the ambassador called for unwavering engagement from the international community to facilitate diplomatic discussions and a sustainable, dignified peace. She advocated for negotiations as the cornerstone of lasting peace and affirmed support for a dialogue between officials in Baku and representatives of the Nagorno-Karabakh population.
After the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, which unfolded within the contested confines of Nagorno-Karabakh and its neighbouring territories, Azerbaijan undertook a significant move in December 2022. This involved the imposition of a blockade on the Republic of Artsakh, thereby isolating approximately 120,000 ethnic Armenians residing in the region from external interactions due to the strategic obstruction of the Lachin Corridor.
Turkey, a staunch supporter of Azerbaijan throughout the aforementioned armed conflict, has stood firm in disregarding pleas for the Lachin Corridor‘s restoration. In a statement issued on Monday, the foreign ministry of Turkey articulated its position, underscoring its understanding of Azerbaijan’s substantiated concerns on this matter.
“Unfortunately, these concerns that Azerbaijan has voiced loudly for a long time were not taken into account, and as a result, Azerbaijan took the measures it deems appropriate within the framework of its sovereign rights,” the ministry said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 14. Azerbaijan continues to be the target of concerted provocations by Armenia and pro-Armenian political circles, Trend reports.
This time, representatives of the Armenian lobby staged a protest rally near the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles in connection with the activities of the Lachin checkpoint.
In order to make things more difficult for Baku, the demonstrators overseas are pressuring Azerbaijan to take appropriate responses.
Sadly, there is no information available on the US government, which is perceived to be watching such processes from the outside, interfering with the unlawful activities of the Armenian lobby and activities supporting and fostering separatism.
In order to prevent the transportation of manpower, ammunition, mines, as well as other military equipment from Armenia for illegal Armenian armed groups on the territory of Azerbaijan (which weren't withdrawn contrary to the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020 signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders following the second Karabakh war), and as an adequate response to the unilateral establishment of a border checkpoint by Armenia on the border with Azerbaijan on April 22, 2023, at the entrance to the Lachin-Khankendi road contrary to the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020, on April 23 this year, the units of the State Border Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan set up a border checkpoint in its sovereign territories, on the border with Armenia, at the beginning of the Lachin-Khankendi road.
Despite Azerbaijan ensuring the passage of Armenian citizens, ICRC representatives, and the Russian peacekeeping contingent through the border crossing (temporarily stationed in Azerbaijan under the trilateral statement), the Armenian side spread rumors about the alleged "tense humanitarian situation" in the area in order to carry out its illegal activities in Azerbaijani territory.
At the same time, the Armenian side engaged in provocations, including shelling Azerbaijani border guards on June 15 and attempting to smuggle vehicles into Azerbaijani territory without authorization on July 26.
Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan during an interview with Public TV on Aug. 6
Says There Are Disagreements with Yerevan Over Artsakh Policy
Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan warned that Baku is planning to abandon the November 9, 2020 agreement signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, and by doing so it will continue the war and aggression.
Harutyunyan said during an interview with Artsakh State Television on Sunday that Azerbaijan, is taking advantage of Russia’s war with Ukraine and is trying force Artsakh to give up its rights as cemented in the November 9, 2020 statement. He added that Baku is also attempting push its own agenda during talks with Stepanakert.
“Azerbaijan wants to abandon the trilateral statement and continue the war. This is already war, This is the continuation of the war, the aim of which is to turn Nagorno-Karabakh into a concentration camp through a siege, and then carry out genocide,” Harutyunyan said.
According to the President of Nagorno-Karabakh, one of the goals of Azerbaijan’s genocidal policy in Nagorno-Karabakh is to put pressure on Armenia to have more favorable conditions for a road through Syunik.
Harutyunyan warned of Azerbaijan’s aspirations by quoting its President Ilham Aliyev’s December 2021 remarks made before a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the European Council President Michel, when he claimed that the “Zangezur Corridor should work in the same vein as the Lachin Corridor.”
“Of course, in the beginning, we did not pay attention to it, we thought that it was a statement to put pressure on Armenia’s authorities, but later Azerbaijan emphasized that it in its policy. I can also announce today that Azerbaijan is continuing its pressure to coerce the maximum benefit. We must record that Azerbaijan wants to keep the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh hostage in some sense and simultaneously to commit genocide, by putting pressure on Armenia to get an upper hand in its pursuit of the Zangezur road,” Harutyunyan explained.
Harutyunyan said that Azerbaijan has turned Artsakh into a “major concentration camp” and is committing genocide there. “Now we already have a preliminary conclusion that this constitutes genocide,” he said.
“We have severe shortages of medicine in the healthcare sector. There are shortages of life-saving medications in pharmacies. The number of deaths resulting from various chronic illnesses continues to grow. For example, the cases of deaths from cardiovascular diseases have nearly doubled in the first half of the year. Pregnant women, children and people with chronic illnesses are the most vulnerable ones, and their health is deteriorating because of malnutrition, stress and other issues,” Harutyunyan explained.
The Artsakh President said that he declared nationwide disaster with the expectation that the international community would provide at least humanitarian support. He noted that Armenia was first to respond and sent a humanitarian convoy, but the goods remain blocked at the entrance of the Lachin Corridor because Azerbaijan is not allowing them to go through.
Harutyunyan added that the Azerbaijani blockade has destroyed the economy and restoring it would take decades.
“We are witnessing genocide, and we are planning our steps in this regard,” he added.
The Artsakh leader also said that Yerevan’s policies regarding Karabakh have created disagreements between the two countries.
“We have quite active contacts and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We are in touch regularly —if not every day — and we discuss problems. There are disagreements and the most important disagreement is always related to the Karabakh issue,” Harutyunyan said when asked about relations with Yerevan.
The Artsakh president said that there is a mutual consensus between Yerevan and Stepanakert that Azerbaijan is committing genocide in Artsakh.
While he did not clarify the specifics of the so-called “disagreement” he did appeal to Yerevan to refrain from undermining Artsakh’s right to self-determination.
“No one has the right to question and limit our right to self-determination. It is an inherent right that was not granted by the authorities, but is internationally recognized, and in terms of that right, the people of Artsakh have expressed their willingness to fight, which is supported by the Armenian people,” Harutyunyan added.
20:26, 28 July 2023
YEREVAN, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. German lawmakers have called for an immediate reopening of the Lachin Corridor, which has been blocked by Azerbaijan for nearly 8 months, resulting in a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The Lachin Corridor must be opened,” Member of the Bundestag Renata Alt (FDP) tweeted. “The fact that even the transfer of humanitarian aid by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh has become impossible is unacceptable. It is necessary to pressure Azerbaijan so that the situation doesn’t escalate,” Alt, the chairwoman of the Bundestag Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid added.
Robin Wagener, a Member of the Bundestag and Coordinator for Intersocietal Cooperation with the Southern Caucasus, the Republic of Moldova and Central Asia at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany said that he is following the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh with deep concern. “All actions must be based on the welfare of the local population, and we must be guided by this. This includes the guarantee of uninterrupted and safe routes of transport of persons and goods, including of Lachin Corridor,” Wagener, who heads the Bundestag delegation to the OSCE PA, tweeted.
Member of the Bundestag Merle Spellerberg, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and rapporteur on South Caucasus of the Alliance 90/The Greens faction, underscored that "any blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan must immediately end."
"Human lives cannot become geopolitical levers,” Spellerberg added.
Representatives of the diplomatic corps in Armenia visited on Friday the village of Kornidzor in the Syunik Province where an Armenian humanitarian convoy carrying emergency food and medical aid to Nagorno-Karabakh remains blocked by Azerbaijan at the entrance of Lachin Corridor for the second day.
Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan 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. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno-Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations.
On July 25, the Government of Armenia said that it will try to send over 360 tons of flour, cooking oil, sugar, and other foodstuffs and medication to Nagorno-Karabakh to mitigate the humanitarian crisis resulting from the blockade of Lachin Corridor. Armenia requested the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh to escort the aid. Armenia has also requested Azerbaijan to not obstruct the convoy.
On Thursday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Azerbaijan would only corroborate Armenia’s fears that Baku seeks to commit genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh if the convoy gets blocked.
13:24,
YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that it’s not up to his administration to determine the fate of the people of Nagorno Karabakh and that the representatives of the latter should be a party to the negotiations and dialogue with Azerbaijan.
“Armenia cannot decide the fate of the people of Nagorno Karabakh,” Pashinyan said at a press conference on July 25. “With the logic that representatives of Nagorno Karabakh must themselves be a party to talks and dialogue,” he added.
“This is the agenda that we’ve been advancing, taking into consideration that the rights and security of the people of Nagorno Karabakh must be discussed with participation of Nagorno Karabakh representatives in a Baku-Stepanakert dialogue format under an international mechanism. I believe that within the framework of such formula, the people and government of Nagorno Karabakh will have the chance to address issues of their concern, and not only put forward questions or generate content, but also, which is highly important, bear the political responsibility pertaining to this content,” Pashinyan said.
Pashinyan said that his administration, as stated previously, still doesn’t have a decision whether or not a possible peace treaty with Azerbaijan should include Nagorno Karabakh, or that the rights and security of the people of Nagorno Karabakh should be addressed in another logic. He did stress that although they don’t have a decision on this matter, they do have a stance.
14:25,
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has facilitated the transfer of 11 patients, together with attendants, from blockaded Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia for treatment, the Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) Ministry of Healthcare announced on Monday.
Another 13 patients, accompanied by attendants, who’ve completed treatment in Armenia will be taken back to Artsakh later in the day.
The Nagorno Karabakh healthcare authorities said that 20 children remain hospitalized in the Arevik clinic. 7 of them are in neonatal and intensive care.
Meanwhile, 76 patients are hospitalized in the Republican Medical Center in Stepanakert. 12 of them are in intensive care (2 are in critical condition).
Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan 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. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations and the Red Cross has been facilitating the medical evacuations of patients.
19:11,
YEREVAN, JULY 19, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin, ARMENPRESS was infomred from teh Office of teh Prime Minister.
The interlocutors discussed issues on the Armenian-Russian economic cooperation agenda and current programs.
Issues related to cooperation within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union were also addressed.
20:25,
YEREVAN, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS. The Court of First Instance of the General Jurisdiction of the Republic of Artsakh rejected the petition to remand Artsakh hero Vitaliy Balasanyan, Rafael Martirosyan, Vitaly Balasanyan's advocate, told ARMENPRESS.
The lawyer informed that at the moment Vitaly Balasanyan is in freedom.
Vitaly Balasanyan was arrested on July 14. He was suspected of using violence against the government or threatening to use violence. On July 17, a motion to remand Vitaly Balasanyan was submitted to the court.