Author: Jane Topchian

Biden’s nomination of new Ambassador to Armenia sent to Senate

Jane Topchian
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia – July 12 2022
July 12, 2022, 10:46

 1 minute read

The White House has sent a number of nominations and withdrawals to the Senate.

US President Joe Biden earlier nominated Kristina A. Kvien, of California to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Armenia.

A career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, Kvien serves as Deputy Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassy Kyiv. She was previously Chargé d’Affaires ad interim from 2020-2022. Prior to that, she served as Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France and as Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. In both Paris and Bangkok, she served more than one year as Acting Deputy Chief of Mission. She also served as Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in London.

Earlier in her career, Kvien was detailed to the National Security Council in Washington, D.C. as Director for EU, Ukraine and Belarus affairs. Other overseas assignments include the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia; the U.S. Mission to the EU in Brussels; and the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Republic of the Philippines. Domestic assignments include the Office of European and Regional Affairs, and the Office of Central European Affairs, both in the Bureau of Europe and Eurasian Affairs.

Kvien, a native of California, holds a BA from Occidental College and an MS from the U.S. Army War College. She is a recipient of multiple State Department performance awards and speaks Russian and French.

Yerevan’s Matenadaran to host unique exhibition of artist Jean Boghossian

Jane Topchian
Panorama
Armenia – July 12 2022

The Mesrop Mashtots Matenadaran in Yerevan will be hosting the exhibition Dialogue of well-known contemporary artist Jean Boghossian, co-chair of the Boghossian Foundation. The exhibition opens at 5pm on Tuesday and is curated by famous Italian art critic Bruno Corà, organizers said.

The exhibition is unique because for the first time contemporary art will be displayed next to ancient manuscripts at the Matenadaran. The core of both collections is the book, through which it became possible to create a bridge that connects the works of a contemporary artist with medieval manuscripts. Boghossian’s numerous works in the form of books dialogue with the manuscripts kept and exhibited at the Matenadaran and are presented harmoniously side by side.

The peculiarity of Boghossian’s art is the use of fire in his artworks. Fire is Boghossian’s artistic language of choice, with which he works on canvas, paper, books, and plastics. In his paintings and drawings, Boghossian uses different multimedia including watercolor, charcoal, oil, pigments and acrylic paint.

The following series of artworks will be showcased at the exhibition: Livres-objet brulés (2012-2020), Exultet (2014-2016), Fans (2014-2020), Livres reliés (2012-2020), Abstract Writing (2016-2021), Sculptures (2007-2020), and other artworks.

This exhibition provides a new experience to represent the old and the new under one roof, to show that the book summarizing the memory of humanity and its heritage can be presented in different artistic ways.

The Dialogue exhibition will be open to visitors until October 8, 2022.

Jean Boghossian is an abstract multidisciplinary artist whose recent artworks all bear, at different degrees, traces of burn degradation. It is through the process of willful damage with an invasive and rather violent method (fire), that Boghossian continuously searches for harmony. Conscious that one will never completely tame the chaotic move of flames and smoke, he enters the fire dance and moves along with the blaze until he chooses to stop the process. This is where he feels the right balance has been reached.

Born in Aleppo in 1949, Boghossian comes from a family of jewelers for whom he worked while studying Economics and Sociology at University of Saint-Joseph in Beirut. In 1975, the Lebanese Civil War forced Boghossian to leave the country and settle in Belgium. Over three decades ago, Boghossian decided to enroll in the Academy of Fine Arts in Boitsfort, Brussels, while continuing to oversee the family business. In 1992, together with his brother and father he created the Boghossian Foundation. Globally, Boghossian is one of the few artists who experiments by applying fire and smoke to various works.

Holy Cross Cathedral to celebrate 100 years of service to LA’s Armenian community

Jane Topchian
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia –
, 09:22

 

One hundred years of service to the Los Angeles Armenian-American community by the Holy Cross Cathedral will be celebrated at a gala banquet on Saturday, September 24, under the auspices of Prelate, His Grace Bishop Torkom Donoyan, Asbarez reports.

To mark this occasion, an evening church service is planned for Saturday, September 10, with the blessing of the incense and crosses at 7:00 p.m. The celebration will continue on Sunday, September 11, 2022 at 11:00 AM with the official divine liturgy; the blessing of Madagh; Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and Name Day of Holy Cross Cathedral.

This is a unique opportunity for the Los Angeles Armenian community to gather together to celebrate the Cathedral’s 100th anniversary. The church has served as a haven to many of the immigrants and their families who came to this country seeking freedom while maintaining a connection to their heritage.

Founded 100 years ago on 20th street in the heart of the then-Armenian-populated district in what is now Downtown Los Angeles, Holy Cross served as the spiritual anchor for the Armenians who were then slowly congregating in Southern California. Today, the Church, that was relocated in the 1980’s to the City of Montebello and recognized as a Cathedral, is the spiritual home for thousands of Armenian Americans across Southern California.

Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations hosts Disaster Preparedness Assessment Team of US European Command

Jane Topchian

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YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. A meeting-discussion was held today at the Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations attended by heads of different units of the Ministry and the Disaster Preparedness Assessment Team of the US European Command, the ministry said in a news release.

The aim of the Team’s visit to Armenia is to implement nationwide assessment on the issues of the disaster preparedness.

The Team first visited Armenia in 2019. Now they are in Armenia to revise and make amendments to the assessment report made during the previous meeting.

The sides discussed the role of the Ministry of Emergency Situations during all types of dangers, as well as other issues relating to preparedness planning and response.

Turkish president, Armenian PM vow to push for normalization of ties

Jane Topchian
Cyprus –

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a phone conversation on Monday on the diplomatic normalization process to end decades-long hostilities between the two neighbors.

The two leaders expected the steps agreed upon in the Vienna meetings earlier this month will be implemented soon, Erdogan’s office said in a statement.

They agreed that the normalization between Turkey and Armenia will “contribute to the strengthening of peace and stability in the region,” it said.

The two leaders also exchanged holiday greetings on the occasions of Eid al-Adha in Turkey and the upcoming Vardavar Festival in Armenia, it noted.

Representatives of the two countries met in Vienna on July 1 for the fourth round of talks on normalization, where they agreed on taking new steps to push forward the process, including moves to enable border-crossing for third-country travelers and direct air cargo trade between Turkey and Armenia at the earliest possible date.

After the first bilateral meeting was held on Jan. 14 in the Russian capital of Moscow, the two countries in February resumed charter flights between Turkey’s largest city Istanbul and the Armenian capital of Yerevan.

Relations between the two countries were severed in 1993 during the first war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh when Turkey closed the border with Armenia in support of Azerbaijan. ■

Ministry of Internal Affairs to be reestablished in Armenia

Jane Topchian
ARMINFO
Armenia – July 7 2022
Alexandr Avanesov

ArmInfo. The Ministry of Internal Affairs will be reestablished in Armenia. As reported by the press service of the National Assembly, The issue will be discussed  at the parliamentary hearings to be held on July 12.

Topic of the hearings: <Establishment of the Ministry of Internal  Affairs. The Importance of Civil Control>. Minister of Justice Karen  Andreasyan and Chairman of the NA Commission on Defense and Security  Andranik Kocharyan will make keynote speeches. As part of the  hearings, the model of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the  fundamental principles and functional and structural directions of  its activities will be considered, as well as foreign experience will  be presented.

Earlier, at the April 23 meeting, the Government of the Republic of   Armenia approved a reform strategy and  an action program for   2020-2022.  One of the reform areas will be the establishment of the   Ministry of Internal  Affairs, which will develop policies and bear   political  responsibility for the reform process. The initiative   proposes to  maintain the position of chief of police, provided that   he will be  appointed by the Prime Minister at the proposal of the   Minister.  It is envisaged to distinguish between civil service in   the police  and military, for example, the administration of visas   and passports  and the registration center of investigations. It is   also planned to  create a Patrol Service and a single operational   management center.  This will happen as a result of the merger of the  Traffic Police and  the Patrol Service. It is also proposed to    include the Central Bank's Financial Monitoring Center in the    structure of the ministry, as well  as to include the functions of   the Migration Service in the new organizational and legal structure   of the police. As part of the  reforms, it is envisaged to reorganize   internal troops into the National Guard. The National Guard may, in    appropriate cases,  participate in maintaining public order and   ensure the protection of strategic facilities (the functions of the   Main Directorate of State  Guard are transferred to the National   Guard). It is envisaged that  the National Guard will participate in   the prevention and suppression  of mass riots, in the implementation   of anti-terrorism measures, in  ensuring the legal regime of martial   law and in emergency situations,  in assisting with search and rescue  operations in the event of  natural or man-made disasters, and in    ensuring the safety of transportation special cargo.  

It should be noted that as part of the reform program, a new Patrol  Service and a single operational control center are already operating  in the country. This happened as a result of the unification of the  traffic police unit and the patrol service. Earlier it was  reported  that the goal of the reform was to transform  the police  into  modern, specialized and technically equipped,  respected and   trustworthy law enforcement forces, to create the image  of a   policeman inherent in a democratic law and order. To achieve  this   goal, it is proposed to solve a number of issues, in particular,  to   review and reform the system of training and advanced training of    police officers in terms of both the content of the program and the    training method, to create an executive body with mechanisms for the    development and implementation of policies, accountability and    civilian oversight, and also conduct a structural and functional   analysis of the police service in accordance with changes in the main    directions of reform. 

Charles Michel continues to be actively involved in Armenian-Azerbaijani dialogue

Jane Topchian
July 7 2022


Yerevan /Mediamax/. President of the European Council Charles Michel will continue to be actively involved in the process of building peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

EU Special Representative Toivo Klaar said this in an interview with Trend.

“I hope in the future we will see new meetings between the leaders – this format is of great importance. Ilham Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan and Charles Michel managed to achieve progress on a number of important issues. We will continue to work at other levels as well. I personally, together with my team, as well as with colleagues from President Michel’s office, will interact with Baku and Yerevan. There are many key issues in which the EU has been and will continue to be actively involved in order to help,” Klaar stated.

Commenting on the issue of opening transport communications in the South Caucasus, the EU representative said:

“During the last meeting of the leaders on May 22, this issue was an important part of the discussions, and the leaders reached certain important agreements that formed the basis of the discussions at the meeting of the vice-premiers of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia last month for solving this problem. I am sure that it is possible to find a solution and move forward on this very important issue in the near future, because it is of natural interest to all involved. The EU will continue to pay great attention to resolving this issue.”

ANCA Senate testimony shines spotlight on Azerbaijan’s ethnic-cleansing of Artsakh, torture of Armenian POWs

Jane Topchian
July 2, 2022 ANCA ANCA News 0

In ANCA testimony submitted on June 30th, Government Affairs Director Tereza Yerimyan urged Senate appropriators to allocate $50 million in U.S. aid to Artsakh to help its families “rebuild their lives and resettle in safety upon their indigenous Armenian homeland.”

WASHINGTON, DC – Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Government Affairs director Tereza Yerimyan shared findings from her recent, three-person ANCA fact-finding mission to Artsakh in testimony submitted this week to the US Senate panel drafting the FY23 foreign aid bill. Yerimyan underscored the longstanding calls for to end all US military aid to Azerbaijan and the delivery of an urgently needed $50 million aid package to Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh).

“Having recently returned from a fact-finding mission in Artsakh, I can bear witness to the devastating humanitarian impact of Azerbaijan’s aggression against Artsakh’s civilian population,” stated Yerimyan. “As many as 100,000 Armenians were displaced. Many schools and hospitals, destroyed during the war, remain in ruins. Countless homes remain uninhabitable. The maternity ward of the state hospital has been rendered completely unusable. In addition to losing at least 70% of their indigenous lands, the Armenians of Artsakh now live upon a landscape littered with landmines and, especially, unexploded ordinance, posing a threat to the daily lives of children and families.”

Yerimyan continued, “Azerbaijan, for its part, continues to illegally hold and abuse Armenian prisoners of war, in contravention of the ceasefire agreement and Baku’s own commitments under international law. During our recent ANCA visit to Artsakh we interviewed a repatriated POW – an 80-year-old female civilian who was captured in her village home, witnessed the beating of her husband, and was tortured herself.”

Yerimyan made the case that Congress should hold the Aliyev regime accountable for the ethnic-cleansing of Artsakh and Baku’s ongoing occupation of sovereign Armenian territory by cutting off all US military aid to its armed forces. She also pressed for a long-term developmental investment in Artsakh, to help its families “rebuild their lives and resettle in safety upon their indigenous Armenian homeland.”

Speaking to the need for increased aid to Armenia, Yerimyan prioritized US aid programs aimed at materially strengthening Armenia’s security and sovereignty in the face of escalating Turkish and Azerbaijani threats.

Senate appropriators are currently drafting their version of the FY2023 foreign aid bill, to be taken up by the committee, likely over the next month.

In May, Yerimyan, ANCA IT director Nerses Semerjian and ANCA Programs director Alex Manoukian were joined by ANC International’s Gevorg Ghukasyan in a week-long fact-finding mission to Artsakh. While there, they worked closely with the ANC of Artsakh, which was launched in September 2021, to focus on protecting the rights of Artsakh’s citizens, securing international recognition of the Artsakh Republic, and restoring Artsakh’s territorial integrity.

The ANCA team discussed Artsakh’s geopolitical challenges with Foreign Minister David Babayan and learned new details about the plight of the 100,000 Armenian refugees forced from their ancestral homes during the 2020 war from Artsakh Republic Minister of Social Development and Migration Armine Petrosyan. Artsakh Human Rights Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan discussed the effects of Azerbaijan’s ongoing attacks on border villages and the water and gas challenges facing the Artsakh population. During meetings with Vardan Tadevosyan, the founder and director of the Lady Cox Rehabilitation Center, the ANCA team learned more about the life-changing assistance the center provides for soldiers and civilians injured during the 2020 Artsakh War, while working with children and adults with physical and mental disabilities. The ANCA team also met with representatives of The HALO Trust, whose demining efforts have saved countless lives in Artsakh for over two decades, in part through ANCA-supported US assistance.

The ANCA’s Tereza Yerimyan and ANC Artsakh’s Gev Iskajyan on the field with The HALO Trust Artsakh directors and deminers during the ANCA’s May, 2022 fact-finding mission.

In April, Yerimyan submitted ANCA testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, sharing similar pro-Artsakh/Armenia funding priorities. Earlier this week, the House Appropriations Committee called for $60 million in US aid to Armenia, $2 million for Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) demining and a special report by the State Department and US Agency for International Development to identify humanitarian needs in the aftermath of the 2020 Artsakh war as part of its version of the Fiscal Year 2023 foreign aid bill.

#####

The Armenian American Community & U.S. Foreign Assistance Policy For Fiscal Year 2023
presented by Tereza Yerimyan, Government Affairs Director
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
for the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, Committee on Appropriations, of the United States Senate

Thank you, Chairman Coons, for your strong leadership of this Subcommittee and your long history of support for the national and democratic aspirations of the Armenian nation.

In the wake of Azerbaijan’s ethnic-cleansing of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), and amid Baku’s ongoing occupation of sovereign Armenian territory, we ask this Subcommittee to hold the Aliyev regime accountable by cutting off all U.S. military aid to its armed forces and to help meet pressing humanitarian and developmental needs in Artsakh with a robust assistance package.

Having recently returned from a fact finding mission in Artsakh, I can bear witness to the devastating humanitarian impact of Azerbaijan’s aggression against Artsakh’s civilian population. As many as 100,000 Armenians were displaced. Many schools and hospitals, destroyed during the war, remain in ruins. Countless homes remain uninhabitable. The maternity ward of the state hospital has been rendered completely unusable. In addition to losing at least 70 percent of their indigenous lands, the Armenians of Artsakh now live upon a landscape littered with landmines and, especially, unexploded ordinance, posing a threat to the daily lives of children and families. Azerbaijan, for its part, continues to illegally hold and abuse Armenian prisoners of war, in contravention of the ceasefire agreement and Baku’s own commitments under international law. During our recent ANCA visit to Artsakh we interviewed a repatriated POW – an 80-year-old female civilian who was captured in her village home, witnessed the beating of her husband, and was tortured herself.

As members of this panel know, both Artsakh and Armenia continue to endure the brutal consequences of the unprovoked attack launched on September 27th of 2020 by dictatorial Azerbaijan – backed by its ally Turkey – against democratic Artsakh. USAID has estimated that 90,000 Armenians have been displaced from their ancestral homes, describing their situation as an “acute humanitarian crisis.” Azerbaijan has destroyed countless homes, churches, and hospitals. It has targeted civilians, used prohibited cluster munitions and white phosphorus, illegally detained and abused Armenian prisoners of war, and continues to desecrate Armenian Christian holy sites and cemeteries. Shockingly, Azerbaijan has yet to be held to account. Just the opposite, in fact: Azerbaijan’s oil-rich Aliyev regime continues to receive U.S. military aid under President Biden’s reckless waiver of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act.

Sadly, neither the Trump nor the Biden administration investigated Turkey’s role in Azerbaijan’s aggression, including Ankara’s recruitment of jihadist mercenaries from Syria and Libya to fight against Armenians. Nor has either administration investigated reports of Turkish F-16s having been used in Azerbaijan’s attacks. Closer to home, we have yet to see either the Pentagon or Department of State look into potential violations of U.S. arms export laws related to the discovery of U.S. parts and technology in Turkish Bayrakdar drones deployed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh.

Our specific requests related to the FY23 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs bill fall into three categories:

1) Aid to Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh):

Through the leadership of this Subcommittee, since Fiscal Year 1998, direct U.S. aid to Artsakh has provided its peaceful inhabitants with maternal health care, clean drinking water, and life-saving demining by the HALO Trust. In the wake of Azerbaijan’s 2020 attack, this aid program must be meaningfully expanded to meet the humanitarian and development needs confronting the families of Artsakh – estimated at well over $250,000,000 – helping them rebuild their lives and resettle in safety upon their indigenous Armenian homeland. In this spirit we ask the Subcommittee to support a long-term investment in Artsakh, and, in order to meet the most urgent needs facing Artsakh, request the following language to be included in the body of this Act:

Of the funds appropriated under this act making appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs not less than $50,000,000 shall be made available for global health, humanitarian, and stabilization assistance for the Armenian population in Artsakh:

Refugee Relief: $20,000,000
Housing: $10,000,000
Food Security: $5,000,000
Water/Sanitation: $5,000,000
Healthcare: $5,000,000
Rehabilitation: $3,000,000
Demining/UXO: $2,000,000

2) Azerbaijan

We remain troubled that the Administration – even in the wake of Azerbaijan’s attack on Artsakh – has chosen, recklessly and irresponsibly, to waive Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act. Compounding this misstep, the Administration has – according to the General Accountability Office – officially confirmed that it has demonstrably failed to meet its statutory reporting obligations under this law.

U.S. military aid to Baku – including Section 333 (Capacity Building), Foreign Military Financing, and International Military Education and Training – should not materially add to Baku’s equipment stores, tactical abilities, and offensive capabilities, or free up its state resources for renewed cross-border action against both Artsakh and Armenia. Moving forward, the Administration should strictly enforce Section 907. Congress, for its part, should rescind the President’s authority to waive this provision of U.S. law, and enact statutory prohibitions on any new U.S. military or security aid to Azerbaijan.

We request the following language to be included in the body of this Act:

No funds appropriated or otherwise made available under this Act may be provided to the Government of Azerbaijan for U.S. military or security programs.

3) Armenia

Armenia – an ancient Christian nation deeply rooted in Western democratic values – has, despite the crushing economic impact of Turkish and Azerbaijani aggression and blockades, stepped forward as an ally and partner for the United States on a broad array of complex regional challenges. Armenia is a member of NATO’s Partnership for Peace and the Armenian military has been among the highest per capita providers of peacekeepers to U.S.-led deployments, including those in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Kosovo, and Mali.

Moving forward, the U.S. aid program to Armenia should focus on Armenia’s security and sovereignty. As such, we request the following language to be included in the body of this Act:

Of the funds appropriated by this Act, not less than $100,000,000 shall be made available for assistance for Armenia to support Armenia’s security and sovereignty in the face of regional threats from Turkey and Azerbaijan.

We commend the Subcommittee’s commitment to American Schools and Hospitals Abroad, and encourage continued support through this program for the American University of Armenia and the Armenian American Wellness Center. We also ask the panel to prioritize supporting Armenia’s role as a regional safe haven for at-risk refugees.

In closing, we would like to underscore, once again, our urgent calls for robust aid to the Armenian population of Artsakh and a statutory prohibition on U.S. security or military aid to Azerbaijan.

The ANCA, as always, thanks you for your leadership and looks forward to working with the Subcommittee to help save Artsakh, defend Armenia’s sovereignty, strengthen the U.S.-Armenia alliance, and advance American interests and our shared democratic values.

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The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.


Armenia signals readiness to restart controversial mine project

Jane Topchian
June 29 2022
Ani Mejlumyan Jun 29, 2022
Protesters watch as police carry away guard trailers that sparked a new round of demonstrations at Amulsar in 2020. (photo courtesy of Tehmine Yenoqyan)

After years of indecision, Armenia appears to be preparing the way to resume development of the controversial Amulsar gold mine project.

On June 18, new amendments in the country’s mining code went into force. Among other things, they allow companies to carry out mining with environmental impact assessments more than a year old, as long as the delay was caused by reasons that include “civil disobedience.”

Development of the Amulsar mine was suspended in 2018 following large protests against the project’s potential environmental damage. Since then its prospects have fallen and risen as the government appeared unable to reconcile the need for investment and jobs in the country with the serious environmental consequences that the mine threatened, and the resulting popular opposition to the project.

The government has not said formally whether it intends to restart the mine project. But activists monitoring it say that all signs point in that direction. 

After parliament passed the law earlier this year, a group of activist organizations appealed to the government to revoke it. “This legislative change is, in fact, a restriction on the constitutional right to hold public meetings, rallies, marches, demonstrations, as well as the right to participate in decision-making,” the February 10 letter read. “It is obvious that the legislative change is primarily related to [the] Amulsar gold quartzite mine development project.”

The activist organizations appealed to President Vahagn Khachaturyan to not sign the law but he did on June 18, saying that experts consulted by his office confirmed that the law was constitutional. 

Amulsar is one of the largest foreign investments in Armenia. The company that operates it, Lydian International, says that it has already invested $300 million in the project and claims that the mine would contribute $488 million to the state budget through taxes and royalties over its 11-year operation, amounting to 1.4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. 

But many experts and environmentalists believe that the mining process in Amulsar, close to the resort town of Jermuk, will harm the local ecology and could even pollute Lake Sevan, Armenia’s largest source of fresh water. 

As an opposition politician, Nikol Pashinyan also opposed the project, the contract for which had been signed in 2007. When Pashinyan became prime minister following 2018’s “Velvet Revolution,” activists, encouraged by the rise to power of someone they saw as an ally, rallied for a new wave of protests against the mine that summer. The prosecutor general’s office launched a criminal case in August 2018 against the operator of the mine, Lydian Armenia, accusing it of damaging the environment by unauthorized mining operations.

The government commissioned a new audit of the project, arguing that the initial environmental impact assessments were tainted by the close association with Lydian Armenia of the experts who carried them out. When the new audit was released, in August 2019, it largely supported the previous assessments, though it did identify some additional risks. 

Pashinyan initially said the new audit was positive enough to go ahead with the project, but a public backlash forced the government to backtrack and promise that it would produce yet another environmental impact assessment. 

Lydian responded by threatening to sue for damages of up to $2 billion if the government pulled out of the project. Demonstrations began again to gather steam, with clashes between police and protesters in August 2020. A month later, however, the war with Azerbaijan started and the issue largely dropped off the public agenda. 

The criminal case, meanwhile, was terminated in December 2021. No new environmental impact assessment was ever carried out, and the new law means that Amulsar can move forward using the most recent assessment.

Sources in the current and former governments have told Eurasianet, on condition of anonymity, that economic needs in the post-war period have meant the likelihood of the mine reopening has significantly increased. 

Western embassies, in particular the British and American, have long supported the project. United States Ambassador Lynne Tracy visited the mine site in April and “encouraged an expeditious and transparent resolution of outstanding disputes around the project,” the embassy said in a statement. She also “welcomed Lydian’s commitment to upholding the highest international labor and environmental standards and noted the potential for the project to serve as a significant driver of growth for Armenia’s economy.”

Environmental activists disagree. 

“[T]here is abundant evidence of serious violations of a wide range of rights in the development of the Amulsar gold mine, from substantive and procedural environmental rights to social, economic and political rights of affected individuals and communities,” wrote CEE Bankwatch Network, an organization monitoring projects in the region funded by international financial institutions, in a new report.

It recommended that the Armenian government revoke all licenses to operate the mine, initiate an “independent expert assessment of the costs and benefits” of the project, then “take this assessment into account to ensure that negative impacts are duly identified and prevented and that local populations and communities may directly benefit from the project if it is finally pursued.”

Ani Mejlumyan is a reporter based in Yerevan.

Rep. Judy Chu reiterates calls to stop US military assistance to Azerbaijan

Jane Topchian
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia – July 2 2022
July 2, 2022, 12:42

 1 minute read

Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) reiterated her calls to stop U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan, in a statement issued today expressing her disappointment in President Biden’s decision to waive Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to the racist Aliyev regime.

“Azerbaijan’s 2020 war of aggression against the peaceful people of Artsakh took thousands of lives and displaced entire communities. There is no reason for the United States to support the military of a regime that continues to pursue this violence and aggression. That is why I have called for an end to U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan, and why I strongly disagree with the Administration’s decision to waive Section 907,” stated Rep. Chu.

Rep. Chu, along with Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), visited Artsakh in 2019, here they saw, first-hand, the heavy tolls of Azerbaijani aggression, the life-saving demining work of The HALO Trust, and the Artsakh people’s commitment to democracy and freedom.