Author: Hovik Karapetian

Armenian government to grant Temporary Protected Status to forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh

Hovik Karapetian

 17:12,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government will grant a Temporary Protected Status to the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said.

The decision will be adopted during the October 26 Cabinet meeting.

The status will enable to maximally protect the rights of the forcibly displaced persons.

“We are doing this to record the fact that our forcibly displaced brothers and sisters of Nagorno-Karabakh are refugees, and in order to also further expand the opportunities for protecting their rights both locally and internationally,” the prime minister told lawmakers.

Immediately after the adoption of the decision the forcibly displaced persons of NK will have the possibility to apply for Armenian citizenship.




Prime Minister Pashinyan congratulates Kazakhstan’s Tokayev on Republic Day

Hovik Karapetian

 10:50,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has congratulated Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on the country’s Republic Day.

“Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of the main national holiday of Kazakhstan, Republic Day,” PM Pashinyan said in a letter addressed to the Kazakh President.

“The political path of strengthening statehood, modernization and diversification of the economy consistently implemented by you is a solid basis for carrying out socio-economic reforms and raising the country's international reputation.

“I am sure that further joint efforts of Yerevan and Astana for the benefit of expanding Armenian-Kazakh cooperation enjoy great demand and correspond to the fundamental interests of the peoples of our countries. I wish you, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, good health and great success, and prosperity to the friendly people of Kazakhstan,” the Armenian PM added.

German lawmaker calls for sanctions against Azerbaijan if the latter continues its aggressive, provocative policy

Hovik Karapetian

 16:56,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The European Union has failed the balanced policy that was pursuing towards young and democratic Armenia and rich and autocratic Azerbaijan, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German parliament, the Bundestag, Michael Roth said  at a briefing with journalists.

"The balanced policy that we were conducting towards young and democratic Armenia and rich and autocratic Azerbaijan has failed. This means that we should reformulate our policy, that is, to have a clear position regarding those two countries.

If Azerbaijan does not stop its aggressive and provocative policy,  there will certainly be sanctions against the Azerbaijani regime, which are currently being developed. We will continue to actively support all negotiations aimed at reaching peace with the same intensity," Roth emphasized.

When asked under what conditions sanctions would be applied against Azerbaijan, for example, if Azerbaijan attacks Armenia, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Bundestag replied that he would do everything to ensure that sanctions were on the table and applied. 

In any case, we will not allow the EU to intensify energy cooperation with Azerbaijan. Authoritarian states understand only one language, and therefore it is necessary to emphasize what consequences their possible military actions will have if such developments take place ,” Roth concluded.



Trump threatened with prison for violating gag order

Hovik Karapetian

 20:12,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 20, ARMENPRESS. The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s $250 million civil fraud trial in New York raised the possibility on Friday of putting the former president in prison after Trump failed to comply with a partial gag order requiring him to remove a post trashing the judge's law clerk on social media, NBC News informed.

Judge Arthur Engoron said in court on Friday morning that Trump had posted on his social media account "an untrue and disparaging post about my clerk" and that he spoke to the former president about the matter.

Armenpress: Armenia Human Rights Defender, California Superior Court Judge meet

Hovik Karapetian

 21:27,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 20 , ARMENPRESS. On October 20, Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia Ms. Anahit Manasyan received the judge to the California Superior Court, member of the Armenian Bar Association of America Armenuhi Amy Ashvanian.

Welcoming the guest, Ms. Anahit Manasyan presented the issues related to the protection of the rights of people of Nagorno- Karabakh forcibly displaced due to the Azerbaijani aggression, which were recorded as a result of the fact-finding work carried out by her and her staff.

“During the meeting Anahit Manasyan referred to the policy of ethnic cleansing carried out against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as other cases of torture, mutilation and ill-treatment by the Azerbaijani forces prohibited by the international law.

The mentioned information was included in the extraordinary report of the Human Rights Defender, which was the first to be presented by the Defender to international organizations and actors with a mandate to protect human rights.

Within the framework of the meeting, Anahit Manasyan referred to the problems of human rights protection caused by the border security of the Republic of Armenia, noting that the presence of the Azerbaijani armed forces in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia is very worrying from the point of view of the protection and guarantee of human rights,’’ the Human Rights Defender’s Office said in a statement.

The parties also discussed issues related to the expansion of cooperation between the Institution of the Defender of Human Rights and Armenian Bar Association of America.

In her turn, Armenuhi Amy Ashvanian thanked for the warm reception, underscoring the role of the Human Rights Defender’s institution in the implementation of the high mission of human rights protection.



Pope calls attention to humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh

Hovik Karapetian
Vatican News
Oct 15 2023
Speaking after Sunday's Angelus, Pope Francis recalls the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh and the serious humanitarian conditions affecting the displaced. He also appeals for the protection of the monasteries and places of worship, expressions of faith and signs of fraternity.

By Thaddeus Jones & Stefan J. Bos

Speaking at the conclusion of the Sunday Angelus, Pope Francis renewed his concern about the grave humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh affecting displaced people in the South Caucasus region.

According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, more than 100,000 refugees have fled to Armenia since 23 September. The UN agency is working to deliver life-saving assistance and supplies, especially before the colder weather takes hold. 

The Pope also added a special appeal for the protection of the monasteries and places of worship in the region. He expressed his hopes that "they can be respected and protected as part of the local culture, expressions of faith and a sign of a fraternity that makes it possible to live together despite differences."

Pope Francis' appeal to Azerbaijan to protect houses of worship in Nagorno Karabakh comes as Russia has urged new peace talks. However, Armenian Christian refugees are reluctant to return to an area they called home for generations…

Tearful, exhausted, and with painful memories, some 120,000 Armenians have passed through the Armenian border town of Goris, an important seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

They fled Nagorno-Karabakh, leaving behind their historic Christian heritage embedded in the enclave, which was overrun by forces from Azerbaijan.

Christian aid workers share Pope Francis's concerns that ancient monasteries and churches may now be destroyed.

Joel Veldkamp, a spokesman for the rights group Christian Solidarity International, is shocked. "I saw a video of a news source that I trust of Azerbaijani troops firing on a 13th-century monastery in Nagorno-Karabakh. That is just the beginning," he said.    

Yet, Hikmet Hajiyev, an advisor of the president of Azerbaijan, claims Armenians have nothing to fear. "Indeed, we do regret that the civilian population has decided, many of them, to leave. And, of course, in this case, we respect freedom of choice and freedom of movement," he stressed.    

Don't tell that to Armenian journalist Siranush Sargsyan, who recalls the horrors of Azerbaijan's recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh. "My neighbor lost one of his sons. Another one, my history teacher died and his son was wounded," in attacks by Azerbaijan. "And this is only from my village. I met several mothers who lost two sons, three sons," she said while interrupting her words as she cried.

"And some of the [survivors] they don't know, there is no information. We lost so many people. We almost all know each other. And this is like my family story," the journalist added.      

Sargsyan and others enjoyed relative freedom after the enclave separatists broke away from Azerbaijan following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.

As Azerbaijan has recaptured the region, virtually the entire Armenian population has left.

Broadcaster Al Jazeera's reporter Osama Bin Javaid witnessed how the main city in Nagorno-Karabakh, Khankendi, had been all but abandoned. "Here in the town center, you will hear nothing if I go quiet. There is absolutely no one who is left here apart from a few elderly, disabled, and others," he said amid chairs and other belongings that appeared to have been left behind in a hurry.

"Some puppies have been following us around, possibly looking for food. It is hard to describe the feeling when you enter a town when you have looked at pictures of it where there was so much activity. But now it is a ghost town with no soul left," the reporter explained.    
 
Russian President Vladimir Putin said over the weekend that he believed a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan was achievable if both sides showed goodwill.

He earlier proposed holding talks between the two nations in Moscow. But whatever the outcome of those discussions, the refugees here seem to have no appetite to return to Nagorno-Karabakh under Azerbaijan's rule.

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-10/pope-calls-attention-to-humanitarian-crisis-in-nagorno-karabakh.html

Armenians accuse Azerbaijan of ethnically cleansing Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians, urge UN to impose measures

Hovik Karapetian
FOX NEWS
Oct 12 2023
Associated Press
  • Following three decades of separatist rule, Nagorno-Karabakh is planning to reintegrate back into Azerbaijan.
  • The reintegration of Nagorno-Karabakh into Azerbaijan has prompted 100,000 Armenians to flee the region.
  • Armenians is urging the United Nations’ top court to impose orders that would protect Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians.

Armenia urged the United Nations top court on Thursday to impose new interim orders on Azerbaijan to prevent what the leader of Armenia's legal team called "ethnic cleansing" of the Nagorno-Karabakh region by Azerbaijan from becoming irreversible.

Armenia is asking judges at the International Court of Justice for 10 "provisional measures" aimed at protecting the rights of ethnic Armenians from the Nagorno-Karabakh region that Azerbaijan reclaimed last month following a swift military operation.

In a 24-hour campaign that began on Sept. 19, the Azerbaijani army routed the region’s undermanned and outgunned Armenian forces, forcing them to capitulate. The separatist government then agreed to disband itself by the end of the year. More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh.

THOUSANDS OF ARMENIANS FLEE NAGORNO-KARABAKH AS AZERBAIJAN RECLAIMS SEPARATIST REGION

"Nothing other than targeted and unequivocal provisional measures protecting the rights of ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh will suffice to prevent the ethnic cleansing Azerbaijan is perpetrating from continuing and becoming irreversible," the head of Armenia's legal team, Yeghishe Kirakosyan, told judges.

Lawyers for Azerbaijan are scheduled to respond Thursday afternoon. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has said that the departure of Armenians was "their personal and individual decision and has nothing to do with forced relocation."

After six years of separatist fighting ended in 1994 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia.

Azerbaijan took back parts of the region in the south Caucasus Mountains during a six-week war in 2020, along with surrounding territory that Armenian forces had claimed earlier. Nagorno-Karabakh was internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory.

20 DEAD IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH IN EXPLOSION AT GAS STATION CROWDED WITH RESIDENTS FLEEING TO ARMENIA

The world court is currently considering two cases focused on the deep-rooted tensions between the two countries. Armenia filed a case in 2021 accusing Azerbaijan of breaching an international convention aimed at preventing racial discrimination. A week later, Azerbaijan filed its own case, accusing Armenia of contravening the same convention.

The court has already issued so-called "provisional measure" rulings in both cases. The measures are intended to protect the rights of both nations and their nationals as their cases slowly progress through the world court.

Armenia on Thursday accused Azerbaijan of driving Armenians out of Nagorno-Karabakh even as the legal wrangling continues.

Alison Macdonald, a lawyer for Armenia, said court orders could prevent Nagorno-Karabakh being "swallowed up" by Azerbaijan.

"It is still possible to change how this story unfolds," she said. "The ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh is happening as we speak. It must not be allowed to set in stone."

Armenia: UN launches urgent appeal to help refugees fleeing Karabakh

Hovik Karapetian
UN News
Oct 7 2023
7 October 2023Humanitarian Aid

The UN and its partners launched on Saturday an emergency response plan to help 136,000 refugees, appealing for $97 million to respond to urgent needs of those who fled the Karabakh region and their hosts in Armenia.

“We call upon the international community to urgently support refugees and their hosts,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “International support is crucial to sustain this welcome and to enable us to respond to immediate needs and to also build upon the resilience of this population.”

Following the escalation of hostilities at the end of September, more than 100,000 refugees arrived in Armenia in less than a week.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, with UN entities and non-governmental organization (NGO) partners, is appealing for emergency funds to provide urgent humanitarian aid and protection to refugees and those hosting them in Armenia, in support of the Government-led response.

“Local host communities have generously opened their doors and displayed tremendous solidarity with refugees,” Mr. Grandi said. “The local response, led by national authorities, volunteers and civil society, has also been equally remarkable.”

The Armenia emergency refugee response plan brings together 60 partners, including 43 national NGOs, and covers relief efforts for a six-month period, until the end of March 2024.

The joint plan aims to support some 231,000 people including 136,000 refugees and 95,000 members of local host communities. The plan also takes into account the upcoming, harsh winter months.

Among new arrivals, are some 30,000 children and many vulnerable people, including pregnant women, those with disabilities, and others with chronic health conditions. More than half of the refugees are older people and children. 

Many fled with just the few possessions they were able to grab and arrived distressed, exhausted, and apprehensive about the future. They now require critical support, according to UN agencies.

Having to absorb more than 100,000 refugees in a matter of days, there is immense pressure on the host community in Armenia and on existing national services. Refugee arrivals represent over 3.4 per cent of the country’s population and are in addition to a pre-existing refugee, asylum seeker, and stateless population of some 35,000 people.

The response plan will support and complement the Government response, with an emphasis on emergency protection and assistance, while at the same time focusing on inclusion, resilience, and solutions from the start, reaching both refugees and the host communities, according to UNHCR.

The plan covers multiple sectors, notably protection, with a focus on gender-based violence, child protection, education, food security, nutrition, health, resilience, shelter, and non-food items. A longer-term focus will aim to ensure inclusion and the strengthening of national public services.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142017

Azerbaijan moves to reaffirm control of Nagorno-Karabakh as the Armenian exodus slows to a trickle

Hovik Karapetian
Oct 2 2023

  • By The Associated Press

The last bus carrying ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh left the region Monday, completing a grueling weeklong exodus of over 100,000 people — more than 80% of its residents — after Azerbaijan reclaimed the area in a lightning military operation.

The bus that entered Armenia carried 15 passengers with serious illnesses and mobility problems, said Gegham Stepanyan, a human rights ombudsman for the former breakaway region that Azerbaijan calls Karabakh. He called for information about any other residents who want to leave but have had trouble doing so.

In a 24-hour campaign that began Sept. 19, the Azerbaijani army routed the region's undermanned and outgunned Armenian forces, forcing them to capitulate. The separatist government then agreed to disband itself by the end of the year, but Azerbaijani authorities are already in charge of the region.

Azerbaijan Interior Ministry spokesman Elshad Hajiyev told The Associated Press on Monday the country’s police have established control of the entire region.

“Work is conducted to enforce law and order in the entire Karabakh region,” he said, adding that Azerbaijani police have moved to “protect the rights and ensure security of the Armenian population in accordance with Azerbaijan’s law.”

While Baku has pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians, most of them hastily fled the region, fearing reprisals or losing the freedom to use their language and practice their religion and customs.

The Armenian government said Monday that 100,514 of the region’s estimated 120,000 residents have crossed into Armenia.

Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan said some people had died during the exhausting and slow journey over the single mountain road into Armenia that took as long as 40 hours. The exodus followed a nine-month Azerbaijani blockade of the region that left many suffering from malnutrition and lack of medicine.

Armenia alleged the closure denied basic food and fuel supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh, but Azerbaijan rejected the accusation, saying the Armenian government was using it for weapons shipments and argued the region could receive supplies through the Azerbaijani city of Aghdam — a solution long resisted by Nagorno-Karabakh authorities.

Sergey Astsetryan, 40, one of the last Nagorno-Karabakh residents to leave in his own vehicle Sunday, said some elderly people decided to stay, adding that others might return if they see it’s safe for ethnic Armenians under Azerbaijani rule.

“My father told me that he will return when he has the opportunity,” Astsetryan told reporters at a checkpoint on the Armenian border.

Azerbaijani authorities have arrested several former members of the separatist government and encouraged ethnic Azerbaijani residents who fled the area amid a war three decades ago to start moving back.

The streets of the regional capital, which is called Khankendi by Azerbaijan and Stepanakert by the Armenians, appeared empty and littered with trash, with doors of deserted businesses flung open.

The sign with the city’s Azerbaijani name was placed at one entrance and Azerbaijani police checkpoints were set up on the outskirts, with officers checking the trunks of cars.

Just outside the city, a herd of cows grazed in an abandoned orchard, and a small dog, which appeared to have been left behind by its owners, silently watched passing vehicles.

Russian peacekeeping troops could be seen on a balcony of one building in the city, and others were at their base outside it, where their vehicles were parked.

On Sunday, Azerbaijan prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Arayik Harutyunyan, who led the region before stepping down at the beginning of September. Azerbaijani police arrested one of Harutyunyan’s former prime ministers, Ruben Vardanyan, on Wednesday as he tried to cross into Armenia.

“We put an end to the conflict," Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in a speech Monday. “We protected our dignity, we restored justice and international law.”

He added that "our agenda is peace in the Caucasus, peace in the region, cooperation, shared benefits, and today, we demonstrate that.”

After six years of separatist fighting ended in 1994 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia, turning about 1 million of its Azerbaijani residents into refugees. After a six-week war in 2020, Azerbaijan took back back parts of the region in the south Caucasus Mountains, along with surrounding territory that Armenian forces had captured earlier.

Armenian authorities have accused the Russian peacekeepers, who were deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh after the 2020 war, of standing idle and failing to stop the Azerbaijani onslaught. The accusations were rejected by Moscow, which argued that its troops didn't have a mandate to intervene.

The mutual accusations have further strained the relations between Armenia and its longtime ally Russia, which has accused the Armenian government of a pro-Western tilt.

Allegations of shooting on both sides resumed Monday for the first time since a Sept. 20 cease-fire.

Russian Defense Ministry alleged Monday that its patrol in the region's capital, conducted jointly with Azerbaijani forces, was fired at by a sniper, although it added that it wasn't clear who was behind the attack.

Armenia's and Azerbaijan' defense ministries, in turn, traded accusations of cross-border shooting. The Armenian military accused Azerbaijan of shooting at one of its vehicles, killing one soldier and wounding two more in an area near the Armenia-Azerbaijani border in the Gegharkunik region of Armenia. The ministry said a car carrying food for soldiers came under fire, along with an ambulance. Azerbaijani forces said the Armenian military opened fire at their positions in the Kalbajar region, which lies between the north of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan alleged Thursday that the exodus of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh amounted to “a direct act of ethnic cleansing and depriving people of their motherland.”

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry strongly rejected Pashinyan’s accusations, arguing their departure was “their personal and individual decision and has nothing to do with forced relocation.”

Speaking to the AP in Lachin, the Azerbaijani town that had been controlled by separatists for nearly three decades until Baku's forces reclaimed it in 2020, Solmaz Abbasova, 67, said returning home was a dream that sustained her family since the earlier exodus.

“It was a boundless happiness to come back home after 31 years and see the things which were so dear — the land, the river, the forest and the lake,” Abbasova said, adding that her husband and son were with her but their daughter died before she could return.

She said the Armenians are leaving the region safely by their own choice, unlike her family and other Azerbaijani refugees, adding that many were killed as they tried to leave.

“I feel sorry for simple Armenians leaving Karabakh now, but there is a big difference: They and their children aren't being hunted and killed as they killed our refugees,” she said. “They have a choice whether to stay or leave calmly.”

Azerbaijan's presidential office said the country has presented a plan for the “reintegration” of ethnic Armenians in the region, noting that “the equality of rights and freedoms, including security, is guaranteed to everyone regardless of their ethnic, religious or linguistic affiliation.”

It said the plan envisages improving infrastructure to bring it line with the rest of the country and offers tax exemptions, subsidies, low-interest loans and other incentives. The statement added Azerbaijani authorities have held three rounds of talks with representatives of the region's ethnic Armenian population and will continue the discussions.

Associated Press writers Aida Sultanova in Shusha, Azerbaijan, and Avet Demourian in Yerevan, Armenia, contributed.

https://www.beloitdailynews.com/news/national-news/armenian-exodus-from-nagorno-karabakh-ebbs-as-azerbaijan-moves-to-reaffirm-control/article_b1facbba-3fec-5548-bde9-17d99c268934.html