Author: Hambik Zargarian

Erdogan Can’t Complain About Foreign Operations on Turkish Soil

Hambik Zargarian
AEI – American Enterprise Institute
Dec 8 2023

By Michael Rubin

AEIdeas

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted with outrage at reports Israel might target Hamas leaders on Turkish soil. On November 3, Israeli public broadcaster Kan aired recordings in which Ronen Bar, the head of Israel’s external security agency Shin Bet said, “The cabinet set a goal for us, to take out Hamas. And we are determined to do it, this is our Munich,” a reference to Israel’s assassination campaign against the terrorists involved in the 1972 massacre of Israeli Olympians.

Erdogan warned of “consequences [that] can be extremely serious.” should Israel conduct any operation on Turkish soil. In another recent speeches, the Turkish leader demanded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu face an international tribunal in The Hague for supposed war crimes. “Beyond being a war criminal, Netanyahu, who is the butcher of Gaza right now, will be tried as the butcher of Gaza, just as [Serbian nationalist Slobodan] Milosevic was tried,” Erdogan declared.

On both counts, Erdogan secures the title as the world’s greatest hypocrite.

Under Erdogan’s direction and through the efforts of former intelligence chief (and current Foreign Minister) Hakan Fidan, Turkey dispatched assassins and kidnap squads across the globe. He murdered many Kurds and sought to kill other dissidents. Turkey’s intelligence service even spied upon Kurds and Turkish dissidents in the United States. Turkish agents not only kidnapped dissidents in Kenya, Kosovo, and Kyrgyzstan among many other countries, but also openly bragged about their operations, distributing photographs and videos of the prisoners in handcuffs or chains, or forcing the dissidents to submit to perp walks.

After Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Erdogan has been among Hamas’ greatest cheerleaders and supporters. He has given Hamas leaders Turkish passports to ease travel, worked to undermine international pressure to force them to foreswear terrorism and recognize Israel, and even supplied weapons, explosives, and training. By any objective standard, under Erdogan Turkey has become a state sponsor of terrorism.

When Erdogan refuses to condemn Hamas’ mass rape and mutilation of Jewish women and girls, its torture of Israeli children, or its slaughter of babies, it is not only because Erdogan lionizes Hamas, but also because Turkish forces have acted similarly against Armenians, Greeks, and Kurds.

Put aside the Armenian Genocide from a century ago, or the ethnic cleansing of Cyprus that nears its 50th anniversary. Under Erdogan, Turks have killed far more Kurds than have Israelis killed Palestinians. Whereas Israel targets terrorists and gives civilians fair warning to evacuate, Turkish drones regularly target civilians, especially those who come from ethnic or religious minorities. And while Israel has no desire to govern Gaza, colonialism and racism drive Turkey’s actions against the Kurds. There is simply no other way to explain Turkey’s ethnic cleansing of Afrin, for example, or Turkey’s establishment of Turkish post offices and other elements of the Turkish state into the Turkish-occupied territories.

Erdogan’s bluster may play well among rejectionist Arab states and in Iran, but the West should not be cowed. Rather, the proper response from Washington and Brussels would be to tell Erdogan that he has now acknowledged the criminality of his own policies. If anyone spends his final years in The Hague, it should be Erdogan himself.

220 applications approved in state-funded home building project in border towns

Hambik Zargarian

 13:13, 6 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The government has so far approved 220 applications for the state-funded home construction program in border towns.

Gayane Gharagyozyan, an official from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, said at a press conference that the state works with banks to provide up to 16 million drams in loan for building a house in a border town. The entire amount is subsidized by the state and people signing up for the program don’t have to make any expenses.

Most of the applications come from Tavush and Syunik provinces.

The government expects that some of the forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh will also start applying for the program, Gharagyozyan, the Coordinating Advisor of Individual Functions of Structural Divisions at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs said.

The program was introduced in 2022.

Key takeaways from Armenia’s participation in 30th OSCE Ministerial Council

Hambik Zargarian

 17:02, 2 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has outlined the main takeaways from FM Ararat Mirzoyan’s participation in the 30th OSCE Ministerial Council. 

“Concluding three days at the 30th OSCE Ministerial Council from November 30 to December 1 in Skopje, North Macedonia.

Minister Mirzoyan delivered remarks at the Council, highlighting the challenges faced by the OSCE and the countries in its area of responsibility, including in the South Caucasus: violations of international law in any part of the world must be unequivocally condemned and must not be tolerated, otherwise it causes a sense of impunity, becoming the new “normal” in other parts of the world.

Minister Mirzoyan held over 20 meetings with representatives of international organizations and Foreign Ministers of other countries, including:

the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, as well as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malta, who assumed the OSCE Chairmanship for 2024,

the OSCE Secretary General, the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the High Representative of the EU HR/VP, the Special Representative of NATO SG, the Foreign Ministers of the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, from the EU member states France, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, as well as with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Andorra, Liechtenstein and Montenegro.

The Deputy Foreign Minister had a meeting with his Canadian counterpart.

During all meetings, the challenges faced by Armenia, the consequences of the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan, as well as Armenia's vision and efforts towards establishing stability in the South Caucasus, the "Crossroads of Peace" project, and the basic principles of the normalization of relations with Azerbaijan, were presented,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ani Badalyan said in a statement on social media.

Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation commission’s meeting held

Hambik Zargarian

 15:39,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. On November 30, the fifth meeting of the Commission on Delimitation and Border Security of the State Border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan and the State Commission on the Delimitation of the State Border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia was held on the border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Mher Grigoryan and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev, the foreign ministry said.

The sides continued the discussion of border delimitation issues and touched upon a number of organizational and procedural issues.

The parties have reached preliminary agreement on the text of the Order for organization and conduct of sittings and joint working meetings of the Commission on Delimitation and Border Security of the State Border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan and the State Commission on the Delimitation of the State Border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia.

The sides have arranged to commence the elaborations to agree upon the draft Regulation on joint activity of the Commission on Delimitation and Border Security of the State Border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan and the State Commission on the Delimitation of the State Border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, as well as agreed to intensify the conduct of meetings between the Commissions.

The sides agreed to set the date and the place of the next meeting of the commissions in working order.




Egypt says agreement is close on two-day extension to Israel-Hamas truce

Hambik Zargarian

 19:18,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. A senior Egyptian official said on Monday that Egypt and Qatar were close to reaching a deal to extend a truce between Israeli and Hamas forces in Gaza by two days, continuing a pause in seven weeks of warfare that has killed thousands and laid waste to the Palestinian enclave, Reuters reports.

''Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt's State Information Service (SIS), said the extension would include the release of 20 Israeli hostages from among those seized by Hamas during its Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel. In exchange 60 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails would be freed,'' he said.

''With the release of 11 Israeli hostages expected on Monday, negotiations remain ongoing for the release of 33 Palestinians,'' Rashwan added.

Armenia urged to establish transitional justice mechanisms to address human rights violations

Hambik Zargarian
Nov 27 2023
World Bank
AUN human rights expert today urged Armenia to establish comprehensive transitional justice mechanisms to address human rights violations committed in the context of Soviet rule, autocratic governments, and the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Fabian Salvioli, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, said that since Armenia’s independence from Soviet rule in 1991, authorities have adopted a series of measures to address the legacy of those violations.

“Although these measures have not been embedded in a transitional justice process, or officially considered part of such an agenda, many have been directed at reverting the heirloom of repressive or autocratic regimes towards democratic consolidation, or at investigating and providing redress for violations suffered by Armenian soldiers or civil society in the conflict,” Salvioli said in a statement at the end of a nine-day visit to the country.

“However, progress in truth-seeking, criminal justice, reparation and memorialisation of past human rights violations has been inconsistent,” he said.

Salvioli, called on Armenian authorities to establish an independent mechanism to investigate and record those violations, and make them accessible to current and future generations, He also called on the prosecutorial and judicial authorities to urgently step-up efforts on accountability for those violations.

He praised efforts to provide reparations to victims of Soviet repression, soldiers dead or incapacitated during the conflict, civilian victims of the conflict, and victims of the 1 March 2008 events, but noted that other victims of human rights violations have struggled to receive reparations.

“I urge the Government to adopt necessary legislative and administrative measures to ensure that victims of illegal expropriations, state repression and abuse in the context of manifestations, and torture and suspicious deaths in law-enforcement or armed forces are given specific legal status as victims of human rights violations and full reparation accordingly,” Salvioli said.

“The country has made strides in establishing democratic and efficient institutions since the 90s onwards. However, the progress has not been linear, and enormous challenges were encountered, such as electoral fraud, insufficient independence of the judiciary, widespread corruption in state institutions and excessive use of force in security and armed forces in previous years. A comprehensive reform package was adopted in 2019 aimed at redressing some of these shortcomings, but many remain to be implemented,” said the expert.

“The government must give an unequivocal sign to society of its commitment towards a holistic transitional justice process aimed at addressing past abuses, preventing their recurrence, and consolidating the rule of law,” Salvioli said.  

The expert said the latest stages of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 and 2023 had created enormous challenges. “My arrival in Armenia has coincided with the forced displacement of 110,000 Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the conflict. I have met with refugees and authorities in receiving communities and in Yerevan, where I observed the pain and urgent needs of the displaced population and immense efforts by the authorities to address their basic and urgent needs,” he said. “I extend my solidarity to the refugees, and commend authorities for assisting these victims,” he said.

During his visit, Salvioli met government officials, civil society representatives, refugees and families of victims, and representatives of the international community. He also visited memorials, refugee camps and conflict sites.

https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/2725492-armenia-urged-to-establish-transitional-justice-mechanisms-to-address-human-rights-violations

Contested Caucuses: Armenia, Azerbaijan, America, Russia, Israel, and Iran

Hambik Zargarian
Nov 27 2023

By Antonio Graceffo on

The majority of the ethnic Armenians who once lived in the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan, representing 25 percent to 30 percent of Azerbaijan’s Christian population, fled their ancestral homes in September and sought refuge in Armenian lands that remain out of Azerbaijani hands. This tiny region in the South Caucasus, measuring only 1,700 square miles, has quickly become a significant strategic battlefield with implications not only for the future of a Christian minority that faced genocide under the Ottomans, but also for the complicated web of alliances that ties Azerbaijan and Armenia to Iran, Russia, Turkey, Israel, and the United States. 

The region has long been disputed. Under the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, was geographically within the Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) of Azerbaijan, but was also an autonomous oblast with its own governing structure. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and independence of several former SSRs, the mostly ethnically Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh voted to formally join newly independent Armenia. The First First Nagorno-Karabakh War, which lasted from 1988-1994, resulted in the de facto independence of Nagorno-Karabakh as the Republic of Artsakh from Azerbaijan and unification with the rest of Armenia, though this territorial change was never internationally recognized. 

The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, which lasted only from September to November of 2020, saw Azerbaijan take back much of the territory it lost 30 years ago. However, rather than a total recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a Russian-brokered ceasefire that kept the status of Artsakh in limbo. Artsakh remained de facto independent, but cut off the rest of Armenia, only accessible via a small area called the Lachin Corridor where Russian peacekeepers would be stationed. This effectively led to a siege/stalemate of Artsakh’s Armenian inhabitants for most of 2023. 

Then, on September 19th, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive against the Republic of Artsakh. This region, which is surrounded by Azerbaijan, was once home to approximately 150,000 people who practice the Armenian Apostolic faith, Armenia being the first nation to formally adopt Christianity in 301. Following the conflict, about 100,000 predominantly Armenian Christian refugees have hastily departed for Armenia. Today, Stepanakert — once the largest city in Nagorno-Karabakh — is an abandoned ghost town. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has described Azerbaijan’s recurring threats against Armenians, including the recent invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh, as “ethnic cleansing” and “a crime against humanity.”

The Azerbaijan takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh and the resulting exodus of Christians from the region carry significant global political implications. Armenia, once part of the Soviet Union, shifted its post-Soviet allegiance closer to Russia than to Europe, viewing Russia as its protector, particularly against Azerbaijan, a predominantly Islamic nation. Russia was among the first countries to officially recognize the Armenian genocide, which occurred in 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Since 1994, Armenia has been a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military alliance comprising six post-Soviet states led by Russia. However, in May this year, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan publicly expressed that he was considering withdrawing Armenia from CSTO due to Russia’s perceived failure to protect Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Pashinyan told a press conference, “Multiple cases of terror against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor, and Azerbaijan’s September 19 attack against Nagorno-Karabakh, have raised serious questions about goals and motives of the Russian Federation’s peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh.” 

In a tragic historical twist, Azerbaijan’s military employed weaponry sourced from Turkey, the descendants of those responsible for the Armenian genocide. Other Azerbaijani armaments were purchased from Israel, a nation whose own population has experienced genocide. Both the European Union and the United States have called for sanctions against Azerbaijan. Concurrently, the U.S. is imposing sanctions on Turkish entities which have supported Russia’s war in Ukraine. Simultaneously, the U.S. and EU are contemplating sanctions against Azerbaijan due to its support for Russia’s gas exports. The American Enterprise Institute is additionally advocating for sanctions on Israeli arms exporters for their role in supplying weapons to Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijan-Israel relationship is intricate and multifaceted. Israeli weapons shipped to Azerbaijan include advanced Harop precision drones and missile interceptor systems. In return, Azerbaijan plays a crucial role in meeting 40 percent of Israel’s energy requirements. Despite Azerbaijan’s predominantly Muslim population, both nations share a common opposition to Iran. Their intelligence services have collaborated to facilitate Israel’s spying on Iran.  

Jerusalem is particularly concerned about Tehran’s support for Hamas and Hezbollah, which pose a direct threat to Israel’s very existence. At the same time, Azerbaijan’s government in Baku is concerned that the Iranian military has conducted frequent military exercises near the Azerbaijani border, simulating potential invasion scenarios. Tehran, in an ironic turn, blames Israel for influencing Baku’s stance against Iran. The Saudi Arabia-Iran peace agreement, negotiated by China, was perceived as altering the regional balance in the Middle East, threatening the interests of both Azerbaijan and Israel. As a result, Baku and Jerusalem have found themselves on the same side, standing against Iran. But now, both are on the wrong side, standing against Armenia, and neither recognizes the 1915 genocide of Armenians.  

In 2021, the U.S. officially recognized the Armenian genocide, paving the way for improved diplomatic relations with the Armenian government in Yerevan. Just a week before the conflict erupted in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian and U.S. military forces carried out their first-ever joint training exercises. Furthermore, in response to an influx of refugees into Armenia, the nation’s parliament boldly defied Russia and decided to become a member of the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin.

The ultimate outcome of Azerbaijan’s takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh could potentially lead to Armenia aligning more with Europe, strengthening its alliance with the U.S. This shift may reduce Russia’s influence as it loses an ally. Simultaneously, Azerbaijan may find itself drifting further from the West. Nevertheless, both Israel and Azerbaijan will inadvertently continue to serve U.S. interests by countering Iran. From a religious perspective, the exodus of Christians from Azerbaijan is part of a broader trend of Christians leaving Muslim-majority regions. Turkey, for instance, has witnessed a drastic decline in its Christian population from 20 percent to just 1 percent over the past century. In Iraq, 80 percent of Christians have left within the last two decades, reducing their presence to a mere 2 percent of the population. Over the past decade, Syria has seen a 50 percent decrease in its Christian population. Lebanon, which once had a Christian majority, is now 35 percent Christian. In the Holy Land, the Palestinian Christian community has been reduced to just 1 percent.

https://providencemag.com/2023/11/contested-caucuses-armenia-azerbaijan-america-russia-israel-and-iran/

Armenia may deliver 200 ballistic missiles and S-300s to Ukraine

Hambik Zargarian
Bulgarian Military
Nov 21 2023
By Boyko Nikolov On Nov 21, 2023

Among Russian bloggers, there is concern that Armenia may become an unexpected donor to Ukraine. The Russian Telegram channel Militarist [TCM] reports that “Yerevan intends to hand over the launchers of the Tochka-U missile system and 200 missiles to Ukraine.”

  • Pinaka Mark-II guided missile to face Israel’s HAROP in Armenia
  • Kyiv rejected the free Bastion APCs and they went to Armenia
  • Russia stole APCs and IFVs from Armenia and sent them to Ukraine

According to TCM, Washington has asked Yerevan [the capital of Armenia] to provide Ukraine with Osa-K air defense systems, which are also in service with the Armenian army.

The United States and Great Britain have long traveled the world in search of remaining Soviet standard weapons that could be sent to Ukraine, writes TCM.

“And given Pashinyan’s general pro-Western course, this news does not seem incredible. He may find a ‘moral justification’ for this act in the fact that Russia sells arms to Azerbaijan,” commented the Russian blogger on Telegram.

TCM fears that Armenia, the USA, and Washington will not limit themselves to the already mentioned Soviet weapon systems. Armenia has at least five divisions of S-300PS and at least as many S-300 PTs. “Armenia also has five divisions of Iskander ballistic missile systems,” TCM also wrote.

“By the way, given the specifics of Ukrainian logistics, it can be assumed that Point-U from Armenia may already be in Ukraine,” the Russian blogger suggests.

The OTR-21 [Yochka-U] is a streamlined mobile missile launcher system, specifically created to operate seamlessly within land combat scenarios. However, the 9K52 Luna-M missile system is somewhat larger and lacks the precision of the OTR-21. Yet, the OTR-21 excels in size and accuracy, making it a formidable navigation tool. 

This missile can hit enemy targets such as control posts, bridges, and storage facilities with precision. It can target troop concentrations and airfields as well. The fragmented warhead can be replaced with a nuclear, biological, or even chemical weapon. The solid propellant ensures ease of maintenance and deployment. 

The 9K33 Osa showcases an integrated 9A33 transporter-launcher and radar vehicles capable of detecting, tracking, and engaging aircraft independently or with the help of regimental surveillance radars. Its transporter vehicle, the VAZ-5937, boasts full amphibious capability and air mobility. The ground coverage is estimated to be around 500 km. 

The S-300, developed by the former Soviet Union, is a long-range surface-to-air missile system series. It was industrially produced by NPO Almaz for the Soviet Air Defence Forces as a defensive measure against air raids and cruise missiles. Even today, the S-300 is considered one of the most effective anti-aircraft missile systems in operation. 

The S-300 system has been adopted by Russia, Ukraine, other countries of the former Eastern Bloc, as well as Greece and Bulgaria. It also finds use in China, Iran, among other nations in Asia. 

This missile system is fully automated but can also allow manual observation and operation. Each associated radar signifies targets for the central command post. The command post then scrutinizes the data it obtains from the targeting radars to sift out false targets. The command post also offers both active and passive target detection modes. Its missiles can cover a maximum range of 40 kilometers [or approximately 25 miles] from the command post. 

Film: Palestinian Filmmaker Earns Best Director Prize At IDFA; Armenian Documentary ‘1489’ Wins Best Film

Hambik Zargarian
DEADLINE
Nov 17 2023

Documentaries about the impact of war claimed two of the top prizes as the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam handed out awards Thursday night.

1489, directed by Armenian filmmaker Shoghakat Vardanyan, won Best Film in International Competition. The film revolves around the disappearance of the director’s 21-year-old brother, Soghomon Vardanyan, who went missing in the early days of the renewed fighting in 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, an area Armenians refer to as Artsakh. 

The award comes with a €15,000 cash prize. The jury members of the International Competition were Emilie Bujès, Francesco Giai Via, Tabitha Jackson, Ada Solomon, and Xiaoshuai Wang. 

Jurors called 1489, “A film that acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence. Cinema as a tool of survival—to allow us all, to look at the things we would rather not see. And ultimately, an unforgettable example of cinema as an act of love.”

Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly won Best Director in International Competition for his film Life Is Beautiful, an account of how he became stranded in Norway while making his earlier film Ambulance. While in the Scandinavian country in 2014, the border to Gaza was closed, preventing his return. But when Jabaly went to apply for a visa to stay longer in Norway, there was a snag. The form he had to fill out by computer did not list Palestine as a country. 

“For me, I was a bit shocked when I realized that I’m stateless,” Jabaly told Deadline in Amsterdam earlier this week. “Coming to Norway, applying for a new visa and then like, hey, I cannot choose Palestine [from the drop-down menu]. And that’s for me, what does that mean?”

The directing award comes with a €5,000 prize.

Jurors described Life Is Beautiful as, “A timely cinematic _expression_ of the universal need to be recognized in our full humanity. A compelling indictment of the bureaucratic and political structures that deny that. A directorial tone that, almost impossibly, manages to find hope and humor amid unimaginable pain. An urgent call for freedom, freedom of movement, freedom of opportunity and the freedom to pursue our dreams.” [Scroll for full list of IDFA Awards winners].

The IDFA Award for Best Editing (recipient of a €2,500 prize) in International Competition went to Anand Patwardhan for The World Is Family.

“A vivid evocation of 100 years of history in less than 100 minutes of cinema,” jurors wrote of The World Is Family. “An intimate act of family portraiture whose spirited subjects are lovingly painted with humor and deep humanity. A facility with scale and whose fluidity in form beautifully reflects flow of life, death, and history.”

The IDFA Award for Best Cinematography in International Competition (along with a €2,500 prize) went to Flickering Lights, directed by Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan.

Jurors called the film, “A beautiful relationship between a vibrant community and the audience, created through the curious and patient gaze of the camera. An accomplished portrait of existence without electricity, of life without light, until a moment of transformation. With an unshowy but deeply effective sense of really being there.”

‘Canuto’s Transformation’Courtesy of IDFA

In the separate Envision Competition, a section devoted to daring cinematic approaches to documentary, Best Film was awarded to Canuto’s Transformation, directed by Ariel Kuaray Ortega and Ernesto de Carvalho. 

The award comes with a €15,000 prize. Envision Competition jurors included Annouchka de Andrade, Cao Guimarães, Kirsten Johnson, and Kivu Ruhorahoza. (Basma al-Sharif, a Palestinian director and artist, withdrew from the Envision jury in the midst of the festival, citing displeasure over how IDFA had handled a pro-Palestinian protest that interrupted the opening night ceremony).

‘Canuto’s Transformation’Courtesy of IDFA

The Envision jury said of Canuto’s Transformation, “With a decades-long commitment to the filmmaking process within community, a sense of humor, and a quest to move between worlds. This film embodies the many meanings of transformation.” 

In addition, Ariel Kuaray Ortega and Ernesto de Carvalho won the Award for Outstanding Artistic Merit for their film and a €2,500 prize.

Kumjana Novakova earned the Best Directing honor (and €5,000 prize) in the Envision Competition for her documentary Silence of Reason.

Jurors praised Novakova for her “rigorous presentation of forensic evidence and the incredible courage of women whose testimony meant that rape would be internationally recognized as a crime of war. Kumjana Novakova cinematically rendered these crimes unforgettable.”

In other categories, At That Very Moment directed by Rita Pauls and Federico Luis Tachella won the IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary. The award is accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize.  

The jurors said, “For its simplicity, spontaneity, and transparency in dealing with people, things, and small details, and for the depth of the questions raised in it that are profound despite their apparent simplicity, and for its smooth and intense cinematic work, especially photography and lyrical editing, the jury awards the IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary to At That Very Moment by directors Rita Pauls and Federico Luis Tachella.”

A special mention went to My Father directed by Pegah Ahangarani.  

“For this filmmaker’s ability to transform archival photographs and video recordings into a film that combine to form an intimate visual narrative, and restores a sensitive, realistic, and influential era – with the negative and positive that it entails—in both public and private history, the jury gives a Special Mention to My Father by Pegah Ahangarani,” the jury wrote. 

Jury members for the IDFA Competition for Short Documentary were Nadim Jarjoura and Brigid O’Shea. 

The IDFA Award for Best Youth Documentary (13+) went to Mariusz Rusiński for Sister of Mine. The award is accompanied by a €2,500 cash prize.  

The IDFA Award for Best Youth Documentary (9-12) went to Sebastian Mulder for And a Happy New Year. Cash prize: €2,500.

A special mention went to Boyz by Sylvain Cruiziat.   

The jury members for the IDFA Competition for Youth Documentary were Maria Vittoria Pellecchia, Ileana Stanculescu, and Pawel Ziemilski. 

Complete List of IDFA 2023 winners:

  • IDFA Award for Best Film – International Competition: 1489, dir. Shoghakat Vardanyan  
  • IDFA Award for Best Directing – International Competition: Life is Beautiful, dir. Mohamed Jabaly 
  • IDFA Award for Best Editing – International Competition: The World Is Family, editor Anand Patwardhan  
  • IDFA Award for Best Cinematography – International Competition: Flickering Lights, cinematographers Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan 
  • IDFA Award for Best Film – Envision Competition: Canuto’s Transformation, dir. Ariel Kuaray Ortega and Ernesto de Carvalho 
  • IDFA Award for Best Directing – Envision Competition: Silence of Reason, dir. Kumjana Novakova  
  • IDFA Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution – Envision Competition: Canuto’s Transformation, dir. Ariel Kuaray Ortega and Ernesto de Carvalho  
  • IDFA DocLab Award for Immersive Non-Fiction: Turbulence: Jamais Vu, dir. Ben Joseph Andrews and Emma Roberts  
  • Special Jury Award for Creative Technology for Immersive Non-Fiction: Natalie’s Trifecta, dir. Natalie Paneng 
  • IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling: Anouschka, dir. Tamara Shogaolu  
  • Special Jury Award for Creative Technology for Digital Storytelling: Borderline Visible, dir. Ant Hampton  
  • Special Mention – IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling: Despelote, dir. Julián Cordero and Sebastian Valbuena
  • IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary: At That Very Moment, dir. Rita Pauls and Federico Luis Tachella  
  • Special Mention – Short Documentary: My Father, dir. Pegah Ahangarani  
  • IDFA Award for Best Youth Documentary (13+): Sister of Mine, dir. Mariusz Rusiński 
  • IDFA Award for Best Youth Documentary (9-12): And a Happy New Year, dir. Sebastian Mulder  
  • Special Mention – Youth Documentary Competition: Boyz, dir. Sylvain Cruiziat
  • IDFA Award for Best First Feature: Chasing the Dazzling Light, dir. Yaser Kassab 
  • IDFA Award for Best Dutch Film: Gerlach, dir. Aliona van der Horst and Luuk Bouwman 
  • Special Mention – Best Dutch Film: Mother Suriname – Mama Sranan, dir. Tessa Leuwsha 
  • Beeld & Geluid IDFA ReFrame Award: Selling a Colonial War, dir. In-Soo Radstake 
  • Special Mention – Beeld & Geluid IDFA ReFrame Award: Milisuthando, dir. Milisuthando Bongela 
  • FIPRESCI Award: 1489, dir. Shoghakat Vardanyan  
  • IDFA Forum Award for Best Pitch: Son of the Streets, dir. Mohammed Almughanni  
  • IDFA Forum Award for Best Rough Cut: Coexistence, My Ass!, dir. Amber Fares 
  • IDFA DocLab Forum Award: Turbulence, dir. Ben Joseph Andrews and Emma Roberts 

Shoghakat Vardanyan’s war documentary ‘1489’ wins IDFA Award for Best Film

Hambik Zargarian

 11:20,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. Armenian filmmaker Shoghakat Vardanyan‘s “1489,” which follows the director’s family after her brother goes missing while serving in the army during the 2020 war, has won IDFA‘s best film prize.

The jury of the International Competition section of the documentary festival said that 1489 “acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief, and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence. Cinema as a tool of survival—to allow us all, to look at the things we would rather not see. And ultimately, an unforgettable example of cinema as an act of love.”

The film also won the FIPRESCI award.