Author: Hovik Karapetian

Azerbaijan trying to solve disputed issues in barbaric, not civilized manners – Head of parliament

Hovik Karapetian

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 18:55, 20 April, 2021

YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. President of the National Assembly of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan gave a speech at the Euronest PA 9th Session, where he particularly referred to the Azerbaijani – Turkish aggression against Artsakh, noting that Azerbaijan’s xenophobic and hateful behavior clearly demonstrates that Azerbaijan is trying to resolve the contentious issues through the barbaric and uncivilized means. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the parliament of Armenia, Mirzoyan particularly said,

''Excellencies,

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to address the 9th Ordinary Session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. From the very beginning of its establishment, the Euronest has been playing, and I hope will continue to play a uniting role between the European Union and Eastern Partner countries, thus contributing to the promotion of the values that constitute the cornerstones of the Eastern Partnership.

I firmly believe that we shall continue to foster our common goals respecting and fairly evaluating vital interests and priorities of each member state of the Assembly.

I would like to underscore the importance of Armenia’s cooperation with the European Union, in particular, within the framework of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between the Republic of Armenia and the European Union, which fully entered into force on March 1, 2021. The Agreement elevates the bilateral relations between Armenia and the European Union to a new, higher level. It is an inclusive document, which creates a solid legal basis for the partnership between the two sides, outlines the framework of cooperation in various areas, ranging from justice, security, economy, agriculture, and infrastructure to the environment and climate, education, science, culture, and health.

We are confident, that the effective implementation of the CEPA will bring tangible results for our citizens through the promotion of democracy, enhancement of the political, economic and social stability via extensive reforms, which will considerably improve the quality of life of our citizens.

In this regard, the Parliament of Armenia will bring its crucial contribution not only by supporting the executive bodies in implementing the Agreement, but also by playing its oversight role. We have already launched a Twinning project together with Greek and Italian Parliaments in order to build institutional capacity for proper oversight of CEPA agenda.

I would to take the opportunity and highlight the principles enshrined in CEPA, which reaffirms EU's commitments to support the efforts and approaches of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, based on the principles of non-use of force, equal rights and people’s right to self-determination.

Nevertheless, just six months ago we witnessed a brutal violation of the principle of non-use of force by Azerbaijan: on 27 September 2020 Azerbaijan unleashed a large-scale military offensive against Artsakh and ultimately Armenia. Despite many facts proving that Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh, directly supported by Turkey and the latter's affiliated foreign terrorist fighters had a pre-planned manner, Azerbaijan still cynically blames Armenia in provoking the war, where they demonstrated unprecedented violence and committed massive war crimes.The 44-day aggressive war resulted in huge human losses and immeasurable material damage. Taking the chance, I would like to thank all the MEPs, who stood on the side of truth condemning actions of Azerbaijani side.

Consistent and deliberate violations of the November 9 Trilateral Statement by Azerbaijan continue to seriously undermine a full implementation of the Statement and poses new challenges for regional peace and security.

The obligation to release and repatriate the prisoners of war, as well as of the hostages and other detainees, is unequivocally stipulated in the November 9 Statement. However, the Azerbaijani side continues to disregard its own commitments under various pretexts. It was also stated by distinguished members of EP Marina Kaljurand, Andrey Kovatchev and Željana Zovko that Azerbaijani government has failed to comply with the interim measures of the European Court of Human Rights which ordered Azerbaijan to provide information on the conditions of detention of the detainees, their state of health, as well as the measures taken to return them. I want to make it clear for our European partners that such actions of Azerbaijan create serious risks for opening the regional infrastructures and creating stability in the South Caucasus.

Moreover, Azerbaijani government continues its policy of Armenophobia, which they have been feeding their citizens for decades. Just a few days ago Azerbaijan has demonstrated another despicable example of hatred in the so-called Park of Military Trophies by displaying helmets of the Armenian soldiers killed during the war.

Xenophobic and hateful behaviour like this clearly demonstrates that Azerbaijan is trying to resolve the contentious issues through the barbaric and uncivilized means.

We urge our colleagues to condemn Azerbaijan’s unlawful and reprehensible actions. The return of the prisoners of war and other detained persons has to be completed as soon as possible – without any preconditions and artificially created obstacles.

To sum up, I want to state that Nagorno Karabakh conflict isn’t still solved, as the right of the people of Nagorno Karabakh to self-determination is not realized. We are confident to continue the negotiations of the peaceful settlement of the conflict under the auspices of Minsk group Co-Chairmanship and call all our international partners to support the works of this format.

Dear colleagues,

Coming back to Armenian domestic affairs I would like to inform that political parties represented in the Parliament came to agreement to hold snap parliamentary elections on June 20. We have necessary political will to organize free and fair elections, as it was in 2018, where all the citizens of Armenia can demonstrate their will and form democratically elected government, which is the only legitimate way of power. I hope, that European Parliament together with other international partners will be present to conduct both long-term and short-term observation of elections. Despite all the difficulties caused by the COVID 19 and the war democratic changes in Armenia are irreversible.

Thank you for your attention’'.





Armenpress: ”All for all” exchange of POWs will allow progress in other important directions – Zakharova

Hovik Karapetian

''All for all'' exchange of POWs will allow progress in other important directions – Zakharova

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 19:07, 22 April, 2021

YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Russia is making active efforts to eliminate one of the strongest dividing lines between Yerevan and Baku, ARMENPRESS reports, official representative of the Russian MFA Maria Zakharova said in a weekly briefing, answering the question referring to the return of the Armenian POWs.

‘’We support ‘’All for all’’ solution to POWs issue. That will really create favorable conditions for moving forward in a number of other important issues’’, Zakharova said.


Armenian President sends letter to Georgian counterpart, thanks for recent meeting and discussion

Hovik Karapetian

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 11:44,

YEREVAN, APRIL 23, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian has sent a letter to President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili, expressing gratitude for the warm welcome shown to him during the recent official visit in Georgia, as well as for the constructive discussions about the bilateral and regional affairs, the Armenian President’s Office told Armenpress.

“Our meeting, which was held in an atmosphere of complete mutual trust and respect, outlined new directions for the future development and strengthening of the cooperation between Armenia and Georgia. I fully agree that we bear a responsibility for the formation of relations between the future generations of the Armenian and Georgian peoples.

I am happy to note that there are joint interests and promising prospective partnership in new technologies, education, science, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, energy, transport and other areas.

I believe that the practical and effective agreements reached during the visit will further deepen the cooperation between our countries in different fields for the welfare of our brotherly peoples”, reads the Armenian President’s letter addressed to the Georgian counterpart.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Newsweek: Turkey’s Christians Face Increasingly Dangerous Persecution | Opinion

Hovik Karapetian
Newsweek Magazine
April 13 2021
LELA GILBERT , FELLOW, HUDSON INSTITUTE
ON 4/13/21 AT 8:00 AM EDT

Once upon a time, tourists in Turkey eagerly made their way to Hagia Sophia—a historic architectural marvel shimmering with the golden light of ancient mosaics. Although marred by many centuries, images of Jesus, Mary and John the Baptist reflect the spirit of a fledgling Christian world. In fact, Turkey's earliest churches are recalled in the New Testament itself—in Antioch, where St. Paul began his missionary journeys, and in the Seven Churches portrayed by St. John in his Book of Revelation.

Christianity once flourished in Turkey, until the Ottoman Empire's 1915 genocide of Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks and other Christians. Now the Islamist regime of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his neo-Ottoman agenda has magnified Turkey's anti-Christian hostility. Since a failed coup attempt in 2016, the regime intensified its scapegoating of Christians, while occasionally making deceptively amiable gestures toward them.

In July 2020, Erdogan officially declared that Istanbul's Hagia Sophia—beautiful mosaics and all—would once again become a mosque. Erdogan announced that this would gratify "the spirit of conquest" of Mehmet II, the Ottoman sultan who captured Constantinople from the Christian Byzantines in 1453, and turned the church of Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

That, and the transformation of Istanbul's beautiful Chora Church of the Holy Saviour, merged into a swelling stream of Turkish Christian churches being confiscated, shuttered, torn down, or converted into mosques.

Troubles within the Greek Orthodox patriarchate and a disputed election of the Armenian Orthodox patriarch have also sounded international alarms. But even more troubling are the enmity and abuse displayed by the regime toward Christians themselves, both as faith groups and individuals.

During the genocidal ISIS invasion of Syria and Iraq, floods of refugees poured into Turkey. Most were Muslim, but a considerable number of them were Christians representing venerable Middle Eastern churches. As a bloc, the refugees were useful to Erdogan who, if his political demands weren't met, periodically threatened to release millions of them into Europe.

Meanwhile, according to numerous sources, Christian refugees in Turkey have been treated with contempt, consigned to remote locations, far removed from existing churches or co-religionists. Neither Turkish speakers nor Muslims, the Christian men could not legally find employment, while language and religious issues sidelined women and children struggling to work or attend school.

Unwarranted confrontations with authorities have become commonplace.

In this photograph taken on February 23, 2020, a young member of the Assyrian Christian community walks with incense during a Sunday mass at the Mor Behnam Kirklar Church in Mardin, southeastern Turkey.BULENT KILIC/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

My friend Charmaine Hedding is founder of Shai Fund, a Christian charity. After the ISIS invasion in Iraq, she visited Turkish refugee centers across the country several times in order to provide food vouchers for destitute Christian families. On one visit, quite unexpectedly, she and two colleagues were roughly taken aside by a local government official. He ordered them into a room, locked the door and then angrily slammed a Koran onto the table in front of them. He pointed a finger at each of them, demanding that they convert to Islam. This angry radical lectured them for several hours before their release. They were terrified.

One beloved Christian, who selflessly assists refugees who fled ISIS, is a Chaldean Catholic priest named Father Remzi Diril, who visits and comforts Christian families, providing religious services, sacraments, infant baptisms and charitable assistance. He "logs thousands of miles tending his flock, the community of Iraqi Christian refugees in Turkey. Their exact number is unknown, but it is estimated to be 40,000." Unsurprisingly, Father Diril has also faced harassment.

Ominously, Father Diril's elderly parents—71- and 65-year-old residents of a tiny Christian community—were kidnapped from their home in 2020.

AsiaNews reported in March 2021, "Turkey's human rights agency has rejected the request by Fr. Remzi Diril for an investigation. Nothing is known about his father who went missing over a year ago while his mother's body was found naked, with signs of torture." This horrific crime remains unresolved.

As Father Diril prays and waits, we're reminded of the arrest and imprisonment of American Pastor Andrew Brunson. After serving as a Christian clergyman in Turkey for 23 years, he was suddenly locked up in solitary confinement in October 2016 under ridiculously false charges. Brunson's case became a top news story in the U.S. while former President Donald Trump repeatedly demanded his release. Brunson, who struggled with intense anxiety and depression during his imprisonment, finally walked free in July 2018.

In the meantime, friends inside Turkey report, since 2019, some 73 foreign Christians have been expelled from the country, including spouses of Turkish pastors, thus tearing innocent families apart. Some of these workers are denied re-entry at passport control upon arrival. Others receive N82 visa stamps on their travel documents, falsely labeling them as a threat to public health, safety and/or order and making their return to Turkey impossible.

Recently, Morning Star News reported, "A German pastor fighting expulsion from Turkey is hopeful that he may be the exception to a wave of foreign Christian leaders expelled from the country as 'threats to national security.'" And a Syriac Orthodox monk was accused of terrorism, tried and sentenced to more than two years in prison for providing bread and water to hungry monastery visitors.

Violations of religious freedom against Turkey's Christians are increasingly rampant. I asked former Turkish parliamentarian and Foundation for Defense of Democracies scholar Aykan Erdemir to explain.

"The Erdogan government's glorification of the Ottoman 'spirit of conquest', and references to the 'right of the sword' in converting Hagia Sophia and other churches, have relegated Turkey's Christian citizens to an inferior rank of conquered minorities," Erdemir said. "Such supremacist policy and rhetoric will exacerbate precarious conditions for Christians. They will be at the mercy of a repressive government that swings back and forth between outbreaks of persecution and spectacles of tolerance."

Lela Gilbert is senior fellow for religious freedom at Family Research Council and a fellow at Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.

 

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 04/13/2021

Hovik Karapetian 
Armenia Condemns Azeri ‘Trophy Park’
April 13, 2021
        • Marine Khachatrian

Armenia - A session of the National Assembly, Yerevan,April 13, 2021

Armenia strongly condemned Azerbaijan on Tuesday for opening a special park in 
Baku to display military equipment seized from Armenian troops during last 
year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The “park of trophies” inaugurated by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on 
Monday features not only military hardware but also helmets of Armenian soldiers 
killed in action and degrading wax mannequins of Armenian military personnel. 
The public demonstration of these and other items is meant to underscore 
Azerbaijan’s victory in the six-week war which Russia helped to stop on November 
10.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry accused Baku of “dishonoring the memory of victims 
of the war, missing persons and prisoners of war and violating the rights and 
dignity of their families.”

“Azerbaijan is completely solidifying its position as a global center of 
intolerance and xenophobia,” a ministry statement said, adding that the park 
makes mockery of Aliyev’s calls for regional peace and stability.

Armenia’s human rights defender, Arman Tatoyan, decried the “clear manifestation 
of fascism.” “This once again shows that we must not allow ourselves to be 
numbed by Azerbaijan’s false pacifist programs,” he said.

The development also prompted uproar from senior members of the Armenian 
parliament representing the ruling My Step bloc.

“We are dealing with a terrorist state,” one of them, Vladimir Karapetian, 
declared on the parliament floor.

Opposition lawmakers seized upon the public display in Baku to again denounce 
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s recent calls for a post-war normalization, 
including through commercial projects, of Armenia’s relations with Azerbaijan 
and Turkey.

Taron Simonian of the Bright Armenia Party said Yerevan should forget about 
seeking “economic or other friendly relations with such a criminal regime.”

“I think we can end the discourse about whether Azerbaijan and Turkey are our 
enemies. Yes, they are enemies, old enemies. Yes, they are barbarian states,” 
said Arman Abovian, a deputy affiliated with another opposition party, 
Prosperous Armenia.



Constitutional Court Refuses To Reinstate Opposition Lawmaker
April 13, 2021

Armenia - Naira Zohrabian, a senior member of the Prosperous Armenia Party, 
holds a press conference, December 28, 2020

The Constitutional Court has refused to declare unconstitutional the recent 
dismissal of the chairwoman of an Armenian parliament committee representing the 
opposition Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK).

The outspoken lawmaker, Naira Zohrabian, was replaced as head of the committee 
on human rights in late December for what the parliament’s pro-government 
majority described as offensive comments posted by her on Facebook.

In an apparent attack on hardcore supporters of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, 
Zohrabian lambasted the “scum” which she said has taken over Armenia and is 
responsible for its recent misfortunes. She said it must be disenfranchised and 
even forcibly “educated” for the good of the country.

Deputies from Pashinian’s My Step bloc condemned Zohrabian, saying that she not 
only insulted hundreds of thousands of Armenians but also called for them to be 
stripped of their civil rights.

Zohrabian denied insulting anyone and claimed that My Step’s decision to strip 
her of her parliamentary position is “political persecution” ordered Pashinian. 
She went on to appeal to the Constitutional Court.

The court ruled on Tuesday that her removal did not breach any constitutional 
provisions guaranteeing political pluralism and freedom of expression. A 
spokeswoman for the court, Yeva Tovmasian, said the ruling will be made public 
later this week.

Zohrabian’s BHK has the second largest group in the current parliament. The 
party led by businessman Gagik Tsarukian is part of an opposition alliance that 
has blamed Pashinian for Armenia’s defeat in the recent war in Karabakh and 
demanded his resignation.



Ex-President’s Nephew Arrested Again
April 13, 2021
        • Robert Zargarian

Armenia -- Narek Sarkisian is escorted by police officers at Yerevan airport 
after being extradited from the Czech Republic, December 21, 2019.

A nephew of former President Serzh Sarkisian accused of illegal arms possession 
and drug trafficking has been arrested again five months after being released on 
bail.

Narek Sarkisian fled Armenia shortly before his family’s house in Yerevan was 
searched by the National Security Service (NSS) in July 2018. The NSS claimed 
that he asked one of his friends to hide his illegally owned guns, cocaine and 
other drugs in a safer place.

Sarkisian reportedly produced a fake Guatemalan passport when Czech police 
detained him in Prague in December 2018. He was extradited to Armenia and 
immediately arrested a year later. The Armenian Court of Appeals agreed to grant 
him bail last November.

Acting on an appeal lodged by prosecutors, the higher Court of Cassation 
overturned the ruling and allowed investigators to send Sarkisian back to jail 
late on Monday. It said that he spent more than a year on the run and could 
again try to escape prosecution.

One of the suspect’s lawyers, Karen Mezhlumian, criticized the court’s decision 
as unfair and biased on Tuesday.

Mezhlumian insisted that there are no grounds to hold his client in detention 
because the latter has not gone into hiding or committed crimes and has attended 
all sessions of his trial since being set free in November.

Narek Sarkisian has pleaded guilty to the accusations leveled against him.



Opposition Leader Rules Out Support For Pashinian’s Reelection
April 13, 2021
        • Karlen Aslanian

Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian meets with opposition leader Edmon 
Marukian, December 29, 2020

Edmon Marukian, the leader of the opposition Bright Armenia Party (LHK), on 
Tuesday ruled out a power-sharing agreement with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian 
that would enable the latter to remain in power after snap general elections 
expected in June.

Marukian said that the LHK, which is one of the two opposition parties 
represented in Armenia’s current parliament, would also not join a coalition 
government headed by former President Robert Kocharian, another major election 
contender.

“During the election campaign we will be telling our people that we agreed to 
these elections … not for the sake of Nikol Pashinian’s reelection,” he told 
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “What’s the point of holding the elections if he is 
to get reelected?”

Asked whether his party could strike a post-election coalition deal with 
Pashinian, Marukian said: “We rule out any coalition under the premiership of 
Nikol Pashinian or Robert Kocharian.”

Marukian said that his party is open to other “compromise solutions” that would 
not lead to Pashinian’s reelection as prime minister or Kocharian’s return to 
power.

“We need to ensure that no political force has an outright majority in the new 
parliament,” he stressed. “That’s the only way to ensure that nobody can be 
single-handedly elected as prime minister.”

Pashinian has pledged to hold the elections in June to resolve a continuing 
political crisis sparked by last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh. He has 
dismissed calls for his resignation made by virtually all opposition groups.

Kocharian said last week that he will lead an electoral alliance comprising at 
least two opposition parties. The ex-president, who had ruled Armenia from 
1998-2008, predicted earlier this year a “bipolar” parliamentary race, implying 
that he will be Pashinian’s main challenger.

Marukian last week urged both Kocharian and Pashinian to drop out of the 
unfolding race. He said Armenia needs to follow a “third path” represented by 
his party.



Canada Bans Drone Technology Sales To Turkey Over Karabakh War
April 13, 2021

Nagorno-Karabakh -- An Armenian Defense Ministry photo that purportedly shows 
fragments of a Turkish-manufactured combat drone shot down in Nagorno-Karabakh, 
October 22, 2020.

Canada has formally banned the export of drone technology to Turkey, citing 
“credible evidence” that it was used by Azerbaijan during last year’s war in 
Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Canadian government suspended export permits for such technology in early 
October one week after the outbreak of large-scale fighting between Armenian and 
Azerbaijani forces. It pledged to investigate reports that Turkish-manufactured 
Bayraktar TB2 combat drones heavily used by the Azerbaijani army are equipped 
with imaging and targeting systems made by L3Harris Wescam, a Canada-based firm.

“Following this review, which found credible evidence that Canadian technology 
exported to Turkey was used in Nagorno-Karabakh, today I am announcing the 
cancellation of permits that were suspended in the fall of 2020,” Canada’s 
Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said in a statement issued on Monday.

“This use was not consistent with Canadian foreign policy, nor end-use 
assurances given by Turkey,” Garneau said, adding that he raised his concerns 
with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu earlier in the day.

Cavusoglu reportedly criticized the embargo and urged Canada to reconsider it.


Nagorno-Karabakh -- An Armenian Defense Ministry photo that purportedly shows a 
Turkish-manufactured combat drone shot down in Nagorno-Karabakh, October 20, 
2020.

Armenia did not immediately react to Ottawa’s decision to scrap export permits 
to Turkey altogether.

Yerevan had welcomed the suspension of such exports in October and urged other 
Western countries to follow Canada’s example.

Karabakh’s Armenian-backed army claimed to have shot down several Bayraktar 
drones during the six-week war stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire on 
November 10.

The Armenian Defense Ministry released in late October photographs of what it 
described as fragments of such unmanned aerial vehicles. One of the photos 
purportedly showed a drone’s largely intact camera system.


Nagorno-Karabakh -- An Armenian Defense Ministry photo that purportedly shows 
the camera system of a Turkish-manufactured combat drone shot down in 
Nagorno-Karabakh, October 20, 2020.
“It was manufactured by the Canadian company Wescam in June 2020 and installed 
on Bayraktar TB2 in September 2020,” a ministry spokeswoman said at the time.

Canada had first suspended export licenses for such equipment in 2019 during 
Turkish military activities in Syria. The restrictions were then eased but 
re-imposed during the Karabakh war.

According to exports data cited by the Reuters news agency, Turkey’s military 
exports to Azerbaijan rose six-fold last year, with sales of drones and other 
military equipment rising to $77 million in September 2020 alone. Most of the 
purchased drones, rocket launchers, ammunition and other weapons were delivered 
after July.


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

Life in America: Descendants of the Armenian Genocide

Hovik Karapetian

Anahit meets with a 108-year-old Assyrian Turkish genocide survivor.

This story was originally published in the April issue of ICC’s Persecution magazine.

04/15/2021 United States (International Christian Concern) – For descendants of the Armenian genocide living in America today, the heart-aching reality of their history is something they never want to experience first-hand. As Turkey and Azerbaijan continue to spread their ideology throughout the region and the world, anti-Armenian rhetoric and hate crimes are spilling over onto U.S. soil.

Many displaced Armenians came to America to seek refuge and find safety under the blanket of religious freedom. Now, the stories Armenians grew up listening to from their grandparents are being replayed in real-time in front of their eyes.

Death March
Lucy is one of those who grew up listening to these stories from her grandfather.

Lucy was born in Soviet Armenia. Her paternal grandparents were on a death march in the early 1920s.

“It’s kind of funny because anytime you ask an Armenian where they are from, regardless of whether we were born in Massachusetts, if we were born in Fresno, California…when you ask that question, what you are really asking is ‘Where were your grandparents from?’ We never really stopped looking for our families because, in 1915, there was a systematic effort on the part of the Ottoman Empire to exterminate Armenians,” said Lucy.

Trickle-Down Intolerance
Today, Turkey continues to deny the history of the Armenian genocide. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is power-hungry and does not tolerate anyone who creates opposition to his viewpoint within Turkey and beyond its borders.

“For example, when Erdoğan was visiting Washington, D.C. a couple of years ago, there were individuals who were protesting his visit. Erdogan’s bodyguards beat up these individuals. When they returned to Turkey, they were celebrated.”

Erdoğan seemingly wants to build Turkey to the power of the Ottoman Empire, a superiority complex that has infiltrated its way throughout the world… into our own backyards.

On U.S. Soil
The first skirmishes of the conflict in Artsakh happened on July 12th, 2020. Just 12 days later, in San Francisco, an elementary school located inside a church was attacked. Over the course of the next several months, numerous attacks targeting Armenian Americans occurred.

In the first incident, vandals spray-painted “Azerbaijan” in the colors of the Azerbaijani flag on the property of an Armenian elementary school. Families coming into the school the following morning were confronted by the vandalism.

On September 17th, the Armenian church in San Francisco was set ablaze. At this time, the same elementary school was fired upon by a gunman.

False Security
Last year, red cross markings appeared on the front doors of Armenian households, a tactic used during the anti-Armenian pilgrimage in Sumgait. In 1988, a red cross on your door indicated that the inhabitants would soon be killed.

“These weren’t isolated, and they weren’t separate. This happened in 2020, not 1920,” said Lucy. “When you had a red cross on your door when you were 10- or 11-years-old when you first saw that, you are now seeing it as a 40- or 50-year old. That’s a little bit hard to imagine because you’re now being attacked on peaceful soil in a country that accepts and celebrates diversity.”

Many Armenians from Sumgait ended up immigrating to the United States, and a fairly large population of Armenians escaped those pilgrims in San Francisco.

“In a country that was built upon one’s ability to practice its religion, that is being challenged by something that is 7,000 miles away. But, is it? Is it 7,000 miles away if it’s happening to you in your own city?” Lucy adds. “How does that feel if you are living in what you think is a modern, western society and hate crimes are happening around you? You are now having these feelings of what your grandparents had shared with you as a grandchild of genocide survivors. What does that say about your sense of security, about your sense of freedom, about your sense to identify yourself as who you are—a Christian and an Armenian—when all you know is what your grandparents had told you is that your family was persecuted because they were Armenian Christians.”

A Descendant of Two Genocides
Anahit’s mother and father are Assyrian and Armenian, both groups of people subjected to genocide at the end of the 19th century and during World War I.

“My grandfather used to live in a village in Iran called Khosrova (Husrava), where I get my last name. During World War I, Ottomans were just entering those villages because of the genocide of the Christian population (Ottoman Christians). In Iran, we used to have 70,000 Assyrians who were subjected to genocide, also by the Ottomans. My grandfather’s family was one of those families. He lost a lot of members, such as his older brother and his father,” said Anahit.

According to documents in the Armenian National Archive, on January 2-3, 15,000 refugees came from that Iranian territory, escaping the Ottoman genocide. Anahit’s grandfather was one of them.

“There are so many sad stories, so many sad stories. And being the kid, sometimes you don’t even realize and maybe it becomes boring when you hear those stories. But you grow up and you see, especially now, history repeats itself.”

As history repeats itself on U.S. soil, it is imperative that Americans stand beside Armenian believers to create a safe community. By loving each other as Christ loved the church, may we alleviate a century-old burden of bloodshed and replace it with a future of hope for all nations and tribes.

Azerbaijan grossly violates commitment to return POWs – Parliament Speaker

Hovik Karapetian

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 20:46,

YEREVAN, APRIL 15, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan continues to illegally and by force keeping hundreds of Armenian POWs and civilians in detention, ARMENPRESS reports President of the National Assembly of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan said in an international conference themed ‘’Global challenges and threats in the light of the pandemic. Terrorism and extremism’’.

‘’The exchange of hostages and those kept by force, as well as bodies of victims is one of the mandatory points of the November 9, 2020 trilateral declaration. This process has to start immediately after signing. Moreover, there was an agreement that the exchange of the hostages, those kept by force and bodies of victims should have taken place according to the principle of ‘’all for all’’. But after over 4 months we document that the Azerbaijani side grossly violates the agreements’’, the President of the National Assembly of Armenia said, adding that Azerbaijan continues to keep by force hundreds of Armenian POWs and civilians.

Ararat Mirzoyan added that there are irrefutable and confirmed facts of how many hostages have been tortured and even killed. ‘’Those crimes have been video-recorded and spread in social networks and have been broadly accepted by the Azerbaijani public. It’s obvious that the delay in the process of return of the captives by Azerbaijan is exclusively artificial and creates serious obstacles for the implementation of November 9, 2020 declaration, as well as the announcement of January 11 of this year’’, Mirzoyan emphasized.

The President of the National Assembly assured that the Armenian side has fully implemented its commitments, but Azerbaijan consistently refuses to implement the agreements of the trilateral declaration, manipulates over the lists of prisoners of war and detainees, invents artificial criminal cases and, in general, continues his policy of xenophobia, thus hindering the process of stabilization and unblocking of infrastructure in the South Caucasus.

Such an attitude towards the agreements cannot leave our partners that are interested in peace and stability in our region indifferent. We are confident that immediate and practical measures will contribute to the solution of this extremely important issue’’, the head of the Armenian parliament said.


Sports: European Weightlifting Championships: Armenia finish 3rd in medal standings

Hovik Karapetian
News.am, Armenia

Armenia took third place in the overall medal standings at the European Weightlifting Championships that concluded Sunday in Moscow.

Armenia won 2 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze medals in combined totals.

Ukraine placed first, and Bulgaria—second.

Armenia came fifth, with 23 medals, in the team standings.

As reported earlier, the European Weightlifting Championships are a qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics.

President Sarkissian receives Chairman of Supreme Judicial Council

Hovik Karapetian

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 16:31, 6 April, 2021

YEREVAN, APRIL 6, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian received today President of the Supreme Judicial Council Ruben Vardazaryan, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The meeting touched upon the legislative package on making amendments and changes to the Judicial Code which has been approved recently by the Parliament and submitted for the President’s singing.

Ruben Vardazaryan presented his position and approaches over the legislative package.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenian, Russian Prosecutor Generals sign statement over cooperation development

Hovik Karapetian

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 15:52, 8 April, 2021

YEREVAN, APRIL 8, ARMENPRESS. Prosecutor General of Armenia Artur Davtyan and Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov signed a joint statement in Yerevan over the cooperation development plans between the Armenian and Russian prosecutions, Head of the PR department at the Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia Arevik Khachatryan said on Facebook.

She informed that the statement aims at raising the qualification of prosecutors and strengthening the partnership in numerous directions.  

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan