Author: Hovsep Chakrian

Armenia bloc: Authorities, together with Turkey and Azerbaijan, implement program to expel Armenians from Artsakh

Hovsep Chakrian
NEWS.am
Armenia – Aug 9 2022
19:55, 09.08.2022

The current authorities serving Turkish-Azerbaijani interests are in fact implementing with them a program to expel Armenians from Artsakh, a statement of the "Armenia" bloc, received by Armenian News-NEWS.am, stated.

 "As a result of Azerbaijan's criminal aggression carried out in recent days, as a result of the policy of coercion and defeatist behavior of the current Armenian authorities, Armenians have once again faced the threat of expulsion from their homes.

Azerbaijan is once again violating the clause of the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020. It does not provide for the surrender of settlements in order to build the road, nor does it contain a clause stipulating that the new road must bypass the settlements of Berdzor, Aghavno and Sus. This is genocide.

This is evidence of another flagrant violation of international law, and the willingness of the Armenian and Artsakh authorities to meet them gives us grounds to state that we are again dealing with agreements reached behind the backs of the people.

Peace offered at the price of unilateral concessions cannot be stable and long-term. Because of the inconsistent policy of the Armenian authorities there is no proper cooperation in any of the areas, be it in peacekeeping forces, the co-chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group, or international structures in general.

The series of defeats must be stopped as soon as possible, and this is possible only if the current government is removed. Only then can new losses be avoided and real peace achieved. The unification of the Armenian people has become an imperative today. A nationwide consolidation and trinity of Armenia, Artsakh, and the Diaspora is necessary," reads the statement.

Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh state shelling

Hovsep Chakrian
Caucasian Knot
Aug 5 2022
Over the last 24 hours, the positions of the Azerbaijani Army were shelled 12 times; three of them – from the territory of Armenia, and nine – from Karabakh, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has informed. Its Nagorno-Karabakh counterpart claims that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces violated the ceasefire regime by using small arms.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 3, Azerbaijan announced a "Retribution" operation in Nagorno-Karabakh in response to the murder of an Azerbaijani serviceman. The MoD also reported that the Azerbaijani Army had captured a number of dominant heights. Baku demanded an immediate removal of Armenian militaries from Nagorno-Karabakh and threatened "even more destructive countermeasures" in case of provocations on the contact line. The authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh called for the world community to respond to Baku's actions. In the evening on August 4, the Russian MoD announced that the peacemakers registered four violations of the ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh during the day.

"Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed formations shelled the positions of the Azerbaijani Army for 12 times in total," the press service of the Azeri MoD has stated this morning.

According to the MoD, three times the border positions of the Azerbaijani Army in the directions of the Kelbadjar and Lachin Districts were shelled from the territory of Armenia. "The remaining nine incidents have to do with periodic shelling of Azeri positions located in the territory where Russian peacemakers are temporarily stationed; the shelling was conducted from sniper rifles and various small arms," the Azeri MoD said in its statement.

There are no losses among the personnel and equipment of the Azerbaijani Army.

In its turn, the Nagorno-Karabakh MoD reported a tense situation on the contact line. "On August 4, at night on August 5 and in the morning as of 9:00 a.m., the operative-tactical situation on the contact line was relatively stable, but tension remains. In some directions, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces violated the ceasefire regime by using small arms. There are no losses from the Armenian party," the "Interfax" quotes the MoD's press service.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 5, 2022 at 10:58 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

See earlier reports:
Operation in Nagorno-Karabakh improves Azerbaijan's strategic dominance, Russia's MoD finds four violations of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani MFA considers accusations of violation of trilateral agreement hypocritical.

Author: Faik Medjid Source: CK correspondent
Источник:
© Кавказский Узел

Kremlin concerned by escalation in Nagorno Karabakh

Hovsep Chakrian
Public Radio of Armenia
Aug 4 2022
August 4, 2022, 16:28

 1 minute read

The Kremlin is concerned by the aggravation of the situation in Karabakh, monitors its development and calls on the parties to restraint, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

Close contacts at various levels between Russia and Armenia will help to clear questions, which Yerevan has in regard to Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, Peskov said.

“There are trilateral agreements, which serve as the starting point,” Peskov said speaking at a news briefing. “The most important is to implement all obligations, which the parties assumed under these documents.”

“If there are questions, they must be certainly answered,” he continued. “At the same time, all close contacts, which we enjoy at various levels with the Armenian side, will help us to clear all persisting questions.”

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said speaking earlier in the day at a government meeting that recent events in Nagorno-Karabakh raised a number of questions regarding activities of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.

Pashinyan said in particular that: “A number of events that have taken place in Nagorno-Karabakh since 2020, including those in recent days, evoke questions from the Armenian public about the content and nature of the peacekeeping operation in Nagorno-Karabakh. In this context, there is an urgent need to agree the details of the peacekeeping operation there.”

The Armenian prime minister added, however, that he regarded the Russian peacekeepers’ presence and activity in Nagorno-Karabakh as a key factor for maintaining the Armenians’ security and appreciated Russia’s efforts to ensure security and stability in the region.

Only specific military units are included in the declared partial mobilization. Artsakh Information Headquarters

Hovsep Chakrian

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 18:16, 5 August 2022

YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh Information Headquarters, taking into account the various public discussions regarding the partial military mobilization, has issued a clarifying message.

ARMENPRESS reports, the message particularly reads,

"Taking into account the various public discussions about the partial military mobilization, we consider it appropriate to come up with an additional clarification.

Due to the increased tension in the line of contact in the recent days, there has been a need to recruit separate military units and military or civilian positions. For that reason, by the decree of the President of Artsakh, a partial mobilization was declared, which, unlike the general mobilization, is a mobilization of a part of the armed forces of the state based on the specific situation and the tasks of the armed forces at the given moment. In each case of a partial military mobilization, the scale of military mobilization and the degree and number of subjects involved are determined by the competent authorities.

Therefore, only specific military units are included in the declared partial mobilization, and only the citizens attached to those units receive notifications. This means that those who have not received notification, there has been no decision for mobilization for their military units. The notifications were sent to all persons attached to the given military units, without any discrimination, including officials, who are involved in military service.

Armenia submits to ECHR new interstate complete complaint against Azerbaijan

Hovsep Chakrian

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 15:09, 2 August 2022

YEREVAN, AUGUST 2, ARMENPRESS. On July 27, 2022, Armenia submitted to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) a new interstate complete complaint against Azerbaijan, the Office of the Representative of Armenia on International Legal Issues said in a statement.

The complaint particularly relates to the violation of rights of civilians of Artsakh as a result of the Azerbaijani aggression launched in the direction of Artsakh’s Khramort and Parukh villages this year, the real threats made by Azerbaijan towards the residents of border villages of Artsakh, as well as the cases of use of force by the Azerbaijani armed forces against the civilians of Artsakh in 2021-2022, as a result of which the person’s right to life has been violated.

Yerevan.Today: Several hundred soldiers urgently evacuated and demobilized from Artsakh in middle of night

Hovsep Chakrian
NEWS.am

Armenia – Aug 3 2022
21:29, 03.08.2022

Last night panic broke out in the military units of Artsakh at once. The command gave the alarm to the conscripts on duty and they quickly assembled and went down to the military units. informed that they would be demobilized early, reports Yerevan.Today.

At night, buses quickly organized themselves and came to the military units to transport the troops to Armenia as quickly and discreetly as possible, and after midnight, more than a dozen buses left simultaneously.

The troops were brought into Yerevan at night and dropped off near the Monument to Labor Glory; because of the panic, they didn't have time to tell all the parents to meet the early demobilized children at the old Monument to Labor Glory site. Most of the soldiers camped out on the sidewalks and greeted the dawn in Yerevan.

Yerevan.Today contacted early demobilized soldiers and their relatives from Kotayk, Ararat, who confirmed the information. The families were happy to have met their children alive and well, but were dismayed that the demobilization dates had been broken and their sons had been sent home prematurely and forcibly. "We are in shock. We took one restaurant on August 11 and another on August 16. We gave it to the army for entertainment. But now they came ten days earlier, and it's obvious that this is what Aliyev wanted… The situation is tense, our guys were demoted from their positions and sent home to destroy Artsakh, Artsakh will remain defenseless," the parents said.

"Azerbaijan gave time on Monday, but the Armenian army remained in its positions, on Tuesday the enemy realized that it was necessary to escalate the situation. The guys told about the attempts of sabotage groups to penetrate in different directions in recent days, provocations to go out without firing. It turns out that the Armenian government took note of the "deadline" back on Tuesday, and we were frightened, spreading panic, that we were evacuating the army so it would not start again on September 27. This is the reality. They devastated Artsakh in order to give it to the Turks. And it was actually done without negotiations. It was done in a few hours. I don't know who will answer to whom for these concessions," the Yerevan.Today interlocutor said.

Azerbaijan constantly reminds Armenia that war is not over, MP says

Hovsep Chakrian
Panorama
Armenia – July 29 2022

MP Tigran Abrahamyan of the opposition Pativ Unem bloc says Azerbaijan’s recent increased ceasefire violations in Artsakh and on the border with Armenia are attributed to a number of factors.

“In the post-war period, the parties are forming new borderlines, which implies a race for gaining favorable positions,” he wrote on Facebook on Friday.

“By and large, immediately after the war Azerbaijan, taking advantage of the political connivance and silence of the Armenian authorities, has solved its main task, gaining tactical and strategic advantage at the key points. There are some areas where the positional struggle is still going on, which is marked by changes in the situation,” the MP said.

Abrahamyan insists that Azerbaijan is using its positional advantage and constantly reminding the Armenian authorities that in case of non-compliance with their promises and agreements it will resort to force again.

“Due to the so-called seasonal nature of engineering work, the activity on the frontline has increased, which inevitably leads to various escalations,” he said.

“Azerbaijan views any movement of the Armenian troops, from internal redeployments to infrastructure changes on the border, as an attempt of revenge and shows that it is ready to stop it at any cost.

“Azerbaijan constantly reminds us that the war is not over, its ambitions are far from being met, and regardless of the Armenian authorities’ conciliatory policy, the pressure will continue, while the demands put forward to them will expand,” the lawmaker charged.

Armenian opposition to hold next rally on September 2

Hovsep Chakrian
Panorama
Armenia –

The Armenian opposition will hold its next anti-government rally in Yerevan on September 2, marked as Independence Day in Artsakh, opposition leader Ishkhan Saghatelyan said on Friday.

“Rallies and other events are scheduled to be held in Artsakh on the same day,” he said, addressing protesters in France Square.

No rallies are likely to be held in the Armenian capital in August, Saghatelyan said, adding next month the opposition plans to continue visits to Armenia’s regions where it has already set up councils.

The resistance movement also plans to hold a “pan-Armenian” forum in Yerevan in mid-August, which is expected to bring together famous political figures and intellectuals from Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora.

Former Artsakh army officer arrested for violating combat duty rules

Hovsep Chakrian
Panorama
Armenia –

A former senior officer who held the post of commander in the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Defense Army during the 2020 war has been arrested, Armenia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement on Saturday,

The colonel, identified only by his initials as S.A., violated the rules of combat duty established by a number of normative legal acts, the law enforcement agency said.

In particular, on September 26, 2020, he organized a feast to mark the formation of the military unit with the participation of around 100 officers. The commanders of the subordinate units on combat duty alerted him about the Azerbaijani build-up of manpower and equipment on the Artsakh border, which indicated a dramatic increase in the risk of the outbreak of hostilities. However, the colonel did not put the troops on high alert.

Moreover, from 6:10am on 27 September he was informed about the advance of Azerbaijani tanks and armored vehicles towards the frontline, but “continued to show inaction and failed to fulfill the powers and duties assigned to him by law”, the Investigative Committee said.

"Under these conditions, on September 27, 2020, at around 7:10am, the Azerbaijani military launched a large-scale attack along the defense line and in the following hours broke through the defense of a number of combat positions, inflicting heavy losses on the Armenian troops․.. As a result, the entire personnel of the military unit was forced to retreat, while the villages of Talish and Mataghis of the Martakert region fell under the control of the enemy,” reads the statement.

S.A. has been charged with violating the rules of combat duty or combat service during martial law, war or in a combat situation under Article 365 (Part 3) of the Criminal Code. He was placed under arrest on July 29.

The investigation is underway.