Are Azerbaijan and Armenia ready to improve relations?

Al-Jazeera, Qatar
Oct 15 2021

One year has passed since the Nagorno-Karabakh war and there are hints that diplomatic ties could be built.

The Azerbaijan flag in Shusha, Azerbaijan, [Emre Caylak/Al Jazeera]

Baku and Shusha, Azerbaijan – A year after a deadly conflict over the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh region that killed thousands and led to accusations of war crimes from both sides, arch foes Armenia and Azerbaijan have shown some signs that they are open to improving relations.

Azerbaijan’s deputy foreign minister, Elnur Mammadov, told Al Jazeera from his office in Baku that it is time for a fresh start for the two countries, which currently have no diplomatic relations

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“We believe the conflict should be put behind us and we should now look into confidence and trust building,” said Mammadov, adding that you “cannot live in a state of war forever”.

Relations between the former Soviet republics have been tense since the first Karabakh war in the early 1990s, which left the territory and seven adjacent regions – all of which are recognised internationally as part of Azerbaijan – in the hands of ethnic Armenians.

The conflict prompted neighbouring Turkey, which shares close cultural and linguistic ties with Azerbaijan, to sever relations and close its borders with Armenia in 1993.

In September last year, tensions spilled over again, resulting in a 44-day war that killed more than 6,000 mostly soldiers across the two sides. Turkey provided sophisticated weaponry such as drones that were thought to have helped sway the conflict.

However, despite a historically difficult relationship due to the mass killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have signalled that they are ready to move towards restoring diplomatic relations following Azerbaijan’s victory.

Both sides stand to make economic and geopolitical gains as a result.

Mammadov said that for Azerbaijan, although conditions would have to be met along the way, normalisation also fits the overall long-term outlook.

“What’s happening with Turkey and Armenia fits into the big picture of normalisation and that’s exactly what we’re interested in. Nobody wants to live in this hostile environment,” he said.

“We have always said that it’s not a question of not liking Armenians. We did not establish diplomatic or other relations with Armenia before because they had occupied our land. As a result of the war, the territories have been liberated, and now we are ready to talk.”

Among the demands that would need to be met are the opening of a transport corridor with Nakhichevan, an Azerbaijan exclave bordering Armenia and Iran, which was agreed under last November’s ceasefire statement.

The corridor will allow direct access between Turkey and Azerbaijan, without using the far longer land routes through Georgia or Iran.

Recently, the first Azerbiajani passenger plane for seven years flew over Armenian airspace from Baku to the exclave, and the deputy prime ministers of both countries are set to meet later this month to discuss further opening up of the corridor via Russia.

For Azerbaijan, a comprehensive peace agreement would also need to be agreed to replace the tripartite ceasefire statement, co-signed by Russia, that ended the conflict last year.

Negotiations of which, should they go ahead, are expected to be a lengthy process.

Before the war, negotiations were mediated by the OSCE’s Minsk Group, led by France, Russia, and the United States, but Moscow has now taken a dominant role.

Alex Melikishvili, principal research analyst with IHS Country Risk focused on the Caucasus and Central Asia, said that Azerbaijan is keen to move on with the comprehensive peace agreement with Armenia, which will include provisions on the non-use of force.

“President [Ilham] Aliyev has said that the Karabakh conflict is over, as far as Azerbaijan is concerned. On the Armenian side, the situation is far more complicated for a number of reasons,” he said.

“President Aliyev has firmly rejected any type of autonomy for what’s left of the breakaway region, but you still have an Armenian population there, even though they only control one third of the territory they controlled before November 2020.”

Armenia’s ministry of foreign affairs, as well as its representatives, did not respond to Al Jazeera’s requests for comment.

Nikol Pashinyan, Armenian prime minister, attends a rally after snap parliamentary election in Yerevan, Armenia June 21, 2021 [Vahram Baghdasaryan/Photolure via Reuters]

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in August that he was ready for reconciliation with Turkey “without preconditions”, despite last year referring to Ankara in an interview with Al Jazeera as “the main initiator of this war”.

According to Turkey’s pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper, Pashinyan said during a recent meeting with Lithuania’s Armenian community that he had announced he was ready for a “high-level summit” with Baku, as far back as July 1.

But despite the conciliatory tone, accusations of ceasefire breeches and unpunished war crimes are never far away from both sides. Both have filed international criminal cases against each other for, among other things, racial discrimination.

“A year after the war, life has returned to normal in Armenia, but there is an underlying sadness and incomprehension – people wonder ‘What happened in 2020? Why?’” said Vicken Cheterian, who teaches international relations at Webster University in Geneva and has written books about Armenia and its neighbours.

“Armenians are still struggling to understand the cause of the defeat after being victorious in the first Karabakh war.”

For Azerbaijan, and more specifically for its leader President Aliyev, who has been in power since 2003, victory has helped curry favour with a weary public, said analysts.

“It’s hard to overestimate the significance of winning the war for Azerbaijan as a nation. This has become a nation building exercise,” said Melikishvili.

“It has contributed to the revival of the national spirit, which was flagging for a really long time. A year on, I am not aware of any major anti-government rally that has taken place and that should tell you something.”

The construction of Zafar Road, the Ahmadbayli-Fuzuli-Shusha highway, is nearing completions. The length of the two- or three-lane road is 101 kilometres [Emre Caylak/Al Jazeera]

Since the victory, a number of infrastructure projects have been undertaken by Azerbaijan, including a new road to the recaptured town of Shusha, known as Shushi to Armenians, in just eight months.

Two hotels have been renovated and are ready for guests and an airport has been completed in the nearby Fizuli region.

The aim is to reintegrate the newly-regained territories into Azerbaijan proper, also by reconnecting with Azerbaijani electricity supplies, making the gains of the last war irreversible.

Smart towns based around renewable energy are planned, with foreign investment expected to help build infrastructure from sources such as the British oil and gas company, BP.

Development has been hampered, however, because much of the area is unsafe due to the presence of landmines and unexploded weaponry.

It is understood that Pashinyan would be willing to hand over all of his remaining minefield maps if Azerbaijan were to release its remaining Armenian detainees.

The new airport in Fuzuli, Azerbaijan [Emre Caylak/Al Jazeera]

Armenia describes the captured men as prisoners of war and says that, according to its fact-finding, more than 125 people are yet to be returned.

Baku maintains that they have between 40 and 50 Armenians in their care and that they are all being tried legitimately under criminal law, on either war crimes or terrorism charges.

According to Azerbaijani deputy foreign minister Mammadov, three Armenians are being tried for torture carried out during the first war, while the other men were detained for attacking Azerbaijani land after the peace statement was signed.

He said the International Committee of the Red Cross has been allowed to access the prisoners and that they will be released should they be found innocent.

However, Siranush Sahakyan, an Armenia lawyer who represents some of the families of the detained, said the criminal cases brought by Azerbaijan have no legal basis.

“On one hand, Azerbaijan grossly underestimates the number of PoWs. On the other, it has labelled the acknowledged PoWs as criminals to justify its deliberate delay to their repatriation,” she said.

“In reality, Azerbaijan is holding Armenian captives hostage to enforce political demands.”

Meanwhile, residents on both sides are still grappling with huge losses, adjusting to life without their loved ones who died in the war.

The mental and physical trauma of war cuts deep and thousands remain displaced on both sides, with huge numbers of Azerbaijanis from Karabakh who were uprooted by the first war still without a permanent base. Their situations are unlikely to be resolved in the short term.

​Forkner Elementary to become first school in FUSD to be named after an Armenian-American

Your Central Valley, CA
Oct 14 2021

Forkner Elementary to become first school in FUSD to be named after an Armenian-American

KSEE24 NEWS

by: Karen Alvarez

Posted: Oct 14, 2021 / 07:08 PM PDT / Updated: Oct 14, 2021 / 07:08 PM PDT



FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE) – A Fresno Unified elementary school is getting a lot of attention after school board members voted to change its name to honor a prominent Armenian figure.
It’s the first school in the district to be named after an Armenian-American.

Following an emotional debate, the Fresno Unified school board voted to change the name Forkner Elementary to H. Roger Tatarian Elementary.

“I actually think that’s an absolutely fabulous idea and that needs to happen eventually,” says Ryan Duff principal of Forkner Elementary. “What I am here to do is to speak and support my current students and be here on behalf of them.”

One by one, community members took to the podium to express their opinions.

Michelle Asadoorian, one of the members spearheading the campaign to change the name, was present at Wednesday night’s meeting and says the name change is long overdue.

An Armenian herself, she says the name change is a step in the right direction and finally reflects a significant part of the Central Valley’s population.

“In 140 years and now I believe 110 schools, there had not been until last night a school honoring the contributions of Armenian-Americans,” says Asadoorian.

Asadoorian says it’s important to have role models to look up to and that’s why they went with Roger Tatarian, a prominent Armenian journalist.

One of the main reasons for the proposed name change is the alleged past of the man the school is currently named after. Jesse Clayton Forkner was a Fresno developer in the early 1900s who reportedly refused to sell land to people of color.

People like Juanita Cantu are excited about the change.

“Definitely excited about the name change, it should be all positive,” says Cantu. “We’re going to be the first school who’s named after an Armenian.”

A father of a current Forkner Elementary student says he’s not opposed to the name change but says the name changing process was ill-advised and will be disruptive to current students.

“I think the kids don’t need this type of change in their lives after a year and a half of remote learning and I also think the way the board went about doing this change, without outreach to the Forkner community, without an outreach to parents, was wrong.”

Forkner Elementary was built in 1980 and has over 500 students.

A spokesperson with Fresno Unified says physical name changes to the school will begin after the end of the current school year, with the name change becoming effective at the start of the 2022/2023 school year.

Europe offered Turkey cash to join Paris climate accord

Politico.eu



Germany, France, UK and two development banks involved in deal with Ankara.
By Karl Mathiesen
October 8, 2021 8:04 pm

Turkey’s ratification of the Paris climate agreement this week came
after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government was offered a
guarantee of financial support in talks with France, Germany, the U.K.
and two development banks.

The parliament in Ankara ratified the deal late Wednesday night,
ending years of refusal to take the final legal step to join the
international agreement to limit global warming it signed in 2015.

It came after a deal in principle to provide Turkey with financial
support to clean up its emissions, which was struck between Ankara and
officials from France, Germany, the World Bank’s International Finance
Corporation and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,
according to two people who described aspects of the discussions. They
would not confirm whether the governments themselves were the source
of the funding, or the development banks. The details of the deal
would be announced "in a timely manner," one said.

The U.K. was also involved in the talks but not a signatory of the deal.

German Environment State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth called Turkey's
ratification "a very important step on which I cooperated long and
intensively with our Turkish colleagues."

Turkish Environment Minister Murat Kurum held talks last Saturday with
U.K. COP26 President Alok Sharma, French Minister of Ecological
Transition Barbara Pompili and Flasbarth.

An IFC Spokesperson said it was "glad to support Turkey as Turkey has
chosen to ratify the Paris Agreement, but it is not correct that IFC
funds have been pledged toward this end."

After those discussions, Turkey announced a new goal of "net zero
emissions" by 2053 — a precise date that may owe less to detailed
economic analysis of Turkey's emissions pathways than to the 600th
anniversary of the fall of Byzantine Constantinople, today's Istanbul,
to the Ottoman Empire. Turkey hasn't clarified if that goal is for all
greenhouse gases or CO2 alone.

Turkey has withheld its legal assent to the climate accord as leverage
in a decades-long campaign to be considered a developing country under
the terms of the 1992 U.N. climate convention. That would make it
eligible for a share of certain climate funds.

Turkey's current status is in limbo, where countries have offered it
an exemption from having to pay financial contributions, but it
officially remains part of the group of developed nations.

Turkey's ratification statement said it would implement the Paris deal
"as a developing country." But one of the people who described the
deal with the European governments and banks said Turkey's status
under the convention would not change as part of the deal they had
struck with Ankara.

Germany had floated a deal with Turkey as far back as 2017, but with
the U.S. at that point shaping to withdraw from the Paris deal,
Erdoğan was not subject to the pressure from major powers he has felt
in the run-up to the COP26 climate talks, which start in Glasgow in a
little over three weeks.

But with Joe Biden's administration having rejoined the deal this
year, Turkey was the only G20 economy not to have ratified the deal.
Only Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Iran and Eritrea remain outside.


 

Azerbaijan DM denies reports soldier killed civilian in Nagorno-Karabakh


Oct 10 2021



Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry denied claims by the de facto Republic of Artsakh that Azerbaijani soldiers had shot and killed a civilian in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on Saturday.
The police force of the Republic of Artsakh reported on Saturday that Aram Tepnants, a 55-year-old resident of Martakert in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, was shot by a sniper from the Azerbaijan Armed Forces while driving a tractor in an agricultural area.
The Foreign Ministry of the republic strongly condemned the alleged shooting, saying it was aimed at "creating an atmosphere of fear among the peaceful population of the Republic of Artsakh and emigration of Armenians from the country." 
The Republic of Artsakh is a de facto republic internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Last year, the area in which the republic sits was recaptured by Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh war against Armenia.

"Ribbon of Eternity" monument in Armenia vandalized again

News.am, Armenia
Oct 10 2021

The “Ribbon of Eternity” monument in Armenia was vandalized again after anonymous people stole the copper mold parts from the monument, the Kotayk Regional Service for Monument Protection reports.

The Service also reported that construction and renovation works have been in progress since the beginning of this year, adding that the monument had been completely destroyed due to such incidents and asking citizens to refrain from taking such actions since any manifestation of vandalism is condemnable and criminally punishable.

Life among ghosts: One year after the war in Nagorno-Karabakh

Oct 4 2021
by GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
000

A year after the Nagorno-Karabakh war erupted on September 27, 2020 the Armenians of the enclave are trying to restore their lives even if challenges persist.

At first glance, everything seems normal in the Nagorno-Karabakh capital of Stepanakert. Food stores have raised their blinds again, as have clothing stores, beauty salons, cafes and restaurants. The market in the region’s main city, bombed during the war, is brimming with life again and buses are waiting for passengers from the central station: to take them wherever they are going. However, not everywhere is accessible to them anymore. Over 100 villages are now under Azerbaijani control..

On the morning of 27 September, 2020, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian populated unrecognized state in the Caucasus. The war that lasted for 44 days ended with the defeat of Armenians and territorial losses.

One year later, absences weigh heavily in this little-known corner of the Caucasus. The trilateral agreement to end hostilities signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on November 9 redrew the map of the region, displacing thousands in the process. For Gegham Stepanyan, Human Rights Ombudsman of Nagorno-Karabakh, housing is the number one problem in Nagorno-Karabakh today.

“Of the 40,000 displaced by the war here in Artsakh and in Armenia, more than half live in inhumane conditions,” said the 30-year-old defender, using the Armenian name of the self-proclaimed republic. “The government, is struggling to cope, a fact made worse by the failure of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to live up to its commitment of addressing the problems of the internally displaced under the November declaration.”

Instead, local authorities have had to rely on the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeeping contingent, deployed in the region just hours after the war, to provide humanitarian aid to local populations. Armenia and its diaspora have also extended a helping hand.

“Our letters to international organizations remain unanswered,” explained Stepanyan. In addition to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, he has also alerted UNESCO about the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage by Azerbaijan in the territories today under its control. So far there has been no reaction.

The humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh is compounded by frequent water and electricity shortages after most of the water resources and hydroelectric power plants came under Azerbaijani control after the war. As for the telephone and internet connections, they are also elusive. There is huge damage done to infrastructure, but also interference in the audio frequencies from Baku to sabotage Armenian services in Karabakh.

Colleges and universities have just resumed the start of the new academic year without water or electricity, but also without measures to contain the outbreak of COVID-19. The incidence of the virus remains low, something that is attributed to the isolation of the enclave.

A single road connects Nagorno-Karabakh to the rest of the world through Armenia, an “umbilical cord” that the Azerbaijanis managed to cut during the war, but which today remains guarded by Russian peacekeepers in the area. This ensures the distribution of supplies, but also makes entry difficult for non-Armenians. International journalists are today another of the absences in Artsakh. Local authorities use “security reasons.”

Yana Avanesyan, lecturer of international law at Artsakh State University, said that she finds it difficult to explain to her students that international law can be a protection mechanism against attacks like last year. “What credibility do I have after everyone turned their backs on us?” said the 27-year-old lawyer.

She also recognizes that she still does not assimilate everything that has happened last year. “I can’t get used to the idea that I can’t visit Shushi, less than fifteen minutes from here, or the Tigranakert fortress.”

Fear

The borders have moved during the last twelve months, and sometimes even crossing towns through the middle. This is the case of Taghavard: today there are Azerbaijani forces deployed in its church and cemetery. On the other side of the fence, the locals watch the scene from their windows.

Mayor Oleg Harutyunyan is one of those who lost his old house next to the cemetery. He said that of the 1,325 registered in Taghavard before the war, only 600 remain. After firing from the Azerbaijani side became as common as the lack of water or electricity, the Russian peacekeepers deployed between both sides. The mayor said that this has brought “a certain tranquility” to the people.

“At the beginning of the academic year we had only five students in our school, but today there are more than thirty,” said Gohar Shakaryan. She teaches history in a class overlooking the Azeri troops, a privileged vantage point from which to observe the course of events in real time.

Many have returned to the village, but uncertainty is today the most difficult challenge they face. And it is that, beyond the material and territorial losses, the psychological impact of war on society. “We think a lot about what will happen next, and what awaits us, and still know nothing,” the teacher said, expressing the concern of the villagers.

Adding to the pain are the videos circulating on the internet that record the inhuman treatment inflicted on Armenian soldiers still in prison by the Azerbaijanis. Yerevan assures that Baku has returned 69 and, although the number of those still being held is unknown, international organizations such as Human Rights Watch have accused Azerbaijan of “war crimes” after verifying these videos.

There are also those that show the looting of the houses in lost towns, the vandalization of their cemeteries and their churches.

In recent days, a video circulated online, showing an Armenian van with a children’s soccer team held at a makeshift Azerbaijani roadside post. After scrapping Nagorno-Karabakh’s flag from the bus door with a hunting knife, an armed soldier intimidated boys between the ages of fourteen and fifteen.

They belong to a generation that began adolescence with a war, the same as many of their parents during the 90’s.

Although there are no longer any big celebrations or fireworks, people still get married in Nagorno-Karabakh. From the notary of the Ministry of Justice, Liana Mirzoyan speaks of “record numbers” so far this year.

“In the period from November 1, 2020 to August 31, 2021, we have registered 1,072 compared to 282 same time last year. It is the highest figure to date,” said Mirzoyan.

A new generation is on its way.

By Anush Ghavalyan (Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh)


Arman Tatoyan: Policy of Armenophobia has received new extremist and fascist manifestations in Azerbaijan

Panorama, Armenia
Sept 27 2021

Azerbaijan carried out a genocidal and ethnic cleansing policy in Artsakh during the 44-day war and its policy of Armenophobia has received new extremist and fascist manifestations, Armenia’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan said in a statement on the first anniversary of the war on Monday.

He reminded that the large-scale war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh and Armenia on September 27, 2020 was accompanied by unprecedented war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"On the first day, 9-year-old Viktoria Gevorgyan was killed at the yard of her own house as a result of shelling of the town of Martuni. Civilians, 69-year-old Genadi Petrosyan from Madatashen and 82-year-old Yuri Asryan from Azokh were brutally beheaded. The whole process was filmed by the Azerbaijani troops," Tatoyan wrote.

Civilians as well as Armenian soldiers were tortured and ill-treated both during and after the war, targeted attacks and the use of prohibited weapons destroyed civilian settlements and Armenian churches were desecrated, the ombudsman said.

Tatoyan underlined that Azerbaijan's attack in the light of the coronavirus pandemic was directed against humanity. As a result, it led to an increase in the number of deaths due to the paralysis of the health system of Artsakh and Armenia.

“All this was accompanied by propaganda of hatred and hostility, which the Azerbaijani authorities only encouraged. What happened allows us to draw an unambiguous conclusion: a policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide has been carried out.

“We must not forget that Azerbaijan’s state-sponsored policy of Armenophobia and hostility has not only not diminished, but has also received new extremist and fascist manifestations,” he noted.

The ombudsman recalled that to date, not a single perpetrator of the war crime has been held to account.

"As long as the perpetrators are not brought to justice, the policy of hatred and enmity towards Armenians will continue, the danger of atrocities will remain and peaceful and safe life of people will be disrupted," Tatoyan concluded. 

First Pediatric Palliative Care Center of Armenia opened in Yerevan

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 14:57, 28 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. The first Pediatric Palliative Care Clinic in Armenia was opened today at the R. Yolyan Center of Hematology in Yerevan.

The clinic was initiated and funded by the City of Smile Charitable Foundation.

R. Yolyan Center of Hematology Director Samvel Danielyan said that they needed the clinic for decades.

“When the patient was staying in the department with 30 other patients it was difficult to organize palliative care, while home treatment was complicating the issue even more because of other children living in the home. Now, the Pediatric Palliative Care Clinic is opening, and it is very important for us,” he said.

Bishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the President of the Board of Trustees of City of Smile and Prelate of the Diocese of Tavush of the Armenian Apostolic Church, thanked everyone who participated in the creation of the clinic. He described the clinic as a “pain management center”, which will be a big support for cancer patients.

City of Smile Executive Director Esther Demirchyan spoke about the importance of the clinic, noting: “We were impatiently waiting for the opening, but due to some circumstances, namely the coronavirus and the 2020 Artsakh war, the opening was delayed. By cooperating with one of the leading clinics of the world and seeing their palliative care center we realized that we really needed to have such a center in Armenia as well.”

Healthcare Minister Anahit Avanesyan was also in attendance of the inauguration. “There are cases when even the best doctors are powerless to do anything. What matters is that all children and adults be surrounded with care and their loved ones until the end. Having this kind of a center is extremely important,” she said.

Bishop Galstanyan then delivered a prayer.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

University of California Approves Blair’s Armenian Academy IB Literature Class; Added to A-G List with Honors Weight

Pasadena Now, CA
Sept 29 2021


The Armenian Academy at Blair High School (BHS) Armenian International Baccalaureate (IB) Literature Class has been officially approved by the University of California. It has been added to the A-G list with Honors weight. It is the FIRST of its kind in the world approved by the IB Organization outside of Armenia. PUSD congratulates the Armenian Academy at Blair for this spectacular achievement. ~ Brian McDonald, Ed. D – PUSD Superintendent

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond, is making a special visit to Blair this Thursday because he has heard “great things about Blair”. He will be seeing the amazing International Baccalaureate Program BHS have and the dynamic international community that exists here. The Armenian Academy is proud to be part of such an outstanding school. Applications of Interest for the 2022-2023 school year are open. 6th-12th grades. Any student from ANY city welcome. www.armenianacademy.org

Armenian Academy at Blair. (Credit: Maro Najarian Yacoubian Facebook page)

 

A peek into Ms. Linda Kalachian’s wonderful class. Students are working in groups on Google slides to create presentations on Hripsime church. Ms. Linda is always filling the room with Armenian spirit! (Credit: Maro Najarian Yacoubian Facebook page).

Blair High School, 1201 S. Marengo Avenue, Pasadena, (626) 396-5820 or visit www.pusd.us/site/Default.aspx?PageID=55.